STALKER7

An EXPLOIT ZERO OMNIBUS AAR

Another round of cyberpunk espionage and mayhem on the tabletop.

After the Song Ree run, I decided to dust off some more older minis and, seeing how that crew bolted out of the mission area before things got interesting, I also arranged this team to square off exclusively against D10 Tier H-SEC. With a defined quantity and quality of opponent, this mission was similar to a combat engagement in a tactical RPG.

Black and Blue

Blackfriar Security and Blue Rose Import/Export, respectively. Old Hasslefree minis, save the RAFM Modern Heroes aerial drone. Great sculpts. Shame the company imploded.

Blackfriar are all standard Tier 3 troopers with a Free Move and 3 D10 actions. Blue Rose Agents. Two Ronin, 2 Razors, all kitted out with CAPs and Equipment. They get their Free Move + Action Dice Pool (1D6, 1D8, 1D10)

The Mission Area is a semi-automated factory on a nameless artificial island in the South China Sea. Corporate Intelligence Services have determined the site is used as a staging area for a rival’s black ops teams, and Blue Rose’s employers sent a memo that their competitor’s tactical capabilities should be ‘temporarily degraded.’

So a firm but limited statement. Taking out their Comms Relay and Fueling Station should do it. After all, wouldn’t want to start another corporate war, would we?

Two Objectives, each requiring two actions. Six Turns. D10 H-SEC only.

Turns 1-3 will see one D10 H-SEC model spawning at two of four possible arrival locations. Turn 4 will see two D10 H-SEC models arrive. (drone and handler count as 1) Agents enter via the middle of the bottom edge and must exit between the two green containers on the opposite side.

3 x 3 game area. 11 H-SEC models. 4 Agents. A short, sharp engagement.

“Move, Move, Move!”

A line from every action movie you’ve ever seen. It’s the usual mad dash as the Agents jockey for position. Blue Rose decided to split up, with a Razor/Ronin pair heading to each of the objectives. Simple strategy; a Razor does the deed while a Ronin provides cover. Get it done then get out.

But for those pesky H-SEC…

Wave 1 H-SEC spawn. One trooper in front, one behind. They quickly take up positions and start shooting. The Ronins return fire while the Razors stay focused on their respective objectives. One trooper goes down but Wave 2 arrives and takes aim at the Razors.

One down – One to go.

Razor at the Fuel Station is brisk and efficient. She paid attention during those demolition exercises. The one at the Comms Tower manages to reach the actual mast but is dealing with a wound, a lot of lead in the air, and fumbled Move actions. His Ronin is trading shots with H-SEC who have taken cover directly in front of them.

To the rear, the Ronin takes out the second H-SEC, then starts to shift forward to keep watch over his partner.

All good until it isn’t.

All of my solo/cooperative games are weighted in favor of the players. Real Life can be tough enough. Hobbies are supposed to be fun, relaxing. A bit of relief and escapism. Besides, who wants to play a game where they lose/die most of the time?

Things can get hairy, yes. Especially in the later turns when higher tier enemies show up. But in general, if the characters stay focused and keep moving, they emerge victorious more often than not.

Unless your dice start rolling bad.

The Razor at the Comms Tower gets his act together and plants the C5 charge. His Ronin is trading shots with D10 H-SEC. Once again, spawning rolls have generated a roadblock between the Agents and the exit.

Despite Smart Ammo and even a Targeting System CAP, she simply cannot dislodge them from cover. With the game turns counting down, the second Ronin joins in the firefight, while the Razors decide they have to risk charging in from the flanks to help clear a path. Activate those Wired Reflexes, RFN.

Here they come. Run like hell.

Turn 4, the final wave of Tier 3 H-SEC with two arriving at two of the corners. Before and behind – again. With a free move and three actions with D10, those angry, 4+ rolls are imminent.

With death and/or virtual interrogation highly probable, both Razors mix it up with the roadblock. They manage to take them down but the new arrivals open fire on the female Razor. From the rear, the H-SEC with the drone push forward and start putting lead on target. Time to pass those Move rolls and run like hell.

The injured Razor doesn’t even try to stop the bleeding, she just runs. And makes it out. The second Razor isn’t far behind. Both Ronins fire once, then bolt after them. Once again, it’s a close call as the Agents slip out the door with danger breathing down their necks.

Mission Accomplished.

Another tense mission that followed the similar pattern; the job got done but it went down to the wire and the Agents survived by hasty exit more than tactical prowess. A common occurrence.

That the objectives and battlefield were simple and straightforward certainly contributed to the resemblance and repetitiousness. A quick, tense game is fine for a one shot, but I’ve got more ideas on adding narrative twists and complications to my cyberpunk black ops in the dystopia of New Kowloon.

Stay tuned.

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by.

The EXPLOIT ZERO OMNIBUS is now available at Wargame Vault in PDF.

Print Version at Amazon.