Post by maduncleandy on Sept 28, 2012 13:34:37 GMT -5
This is a sloppy rough draft...posted now to get input from the hive mind as I put polish on it. If/when it gets to the point where it works, I'll write up a nice copy to post on the Yahoo group files section.
One of my favorite BSG episodes was '33,' and in speaking with other BSG fans, I don't think I'm alone. The MVM rules seem to provide a great way to recreate the tension of '33' in tabletop format.
In the off chance you haven't seen the episode, I recommend you stop reading right now and go watch it. Really. Now. Why are you still reading? The scenario will contain spoilers... you have been warned.
Alllllrighty then. I presume anyone still reading has seen the episode in question.
So, this scenario is actually a linked series of mini games . I cannot foresee a "game" going more than 4 or 5 turns, but the mini campaign may last an afternoon. (or not...based on my first playtest) A single colonial warship is leading a convoy of FTL capable civilian ships. The Cyborg are relentlessly pursuing them jump after jump.
In each game, the Colonials will set up mid-map. They get a single warship, and a fleet of civilians. A single squadron of fighters may be flying CAP.
The Cyborg then sets up a single ship anywhere on the table. The race is on.
The goal of the Colonials is simply to get away with as many souls possible (represented in civilian ship hardpoints), and not lose their warship in the process. The warship's "leave noone behind" rule extends to the civilians...she cannot jump while civilians remain on the board.
The Cyborg, on the other hand, are trying to either destroy the warship or to destroy half of the fleet's population.
Unfortunately for the Colonials, one of the Colonial civilian warships is carrying a Cyborg 'mole'...an agent/device which transmits the fleet's next jump location as soon as the Cyborg jump in. This uses the new Cyborg "Deus Ex Machina" communications system...it cannot be jammed, nor can the source of the signal be pinned down to a particular source/ship.
Cyborg resources for the mini-campaign are: Two identical ships (I am using Type-1 3-blade). Only one of these will ever be able to attack at a time, however...the two alternate. Also, they have an off-screen Fleet Auxillary ship which never participates in battles, but which can perform repairs on the ships between games.
The Cyborg also have their 'mole.' They select a single ship before the game, and write its name down in secret. This cannot be the Warship, nor any of the special civilian ships (see later).
For my Colonial warship, I'm using an Acropolis Refit
Colonials win by doing one of the following: Destroy *both* Cyborg ships (one at a time, of course), or destroy the colonial ship with the mole on it.
Cyborg win by either destroying the Colonial warship or by reducing the fleet to half its starting "souls". If you can keep track of "Souls Remaining" on a whiteboard, this adds a nice touch. Extra points if you get Mary McDonnell to do the scorekeeping for you.
The Colonials killing the "mole" ship *does* count against souls lost. If the Colonials mistakenly destroy another of their own ships, thinking it is the mole, this counts double against souls lost.
Details left to be ironed out: Civilian ship stats, including number to use and "Souls Aboard" for each, and how they are divvied out among hardpoints. Ideally, I'd like to find some way of doing it where any number of civilian ships can be used (within reason) to cope with different folks having differing numbers of civilian ships handy.
Also, I am strongly considering giving certain civilian ships useful traits [E.G., One with missiles- (as the Adriatic), one with Flagship (like Colonial One), one or more that act as limited Fleet Auxillary ships (Mining/Refinery ships)].
Owing to the difficulty I see for the Colonials to win this, I suggest it be played twice, alternating sides, with victory going to the Colonial who holds out the longest / wins first.
Initial playtest game soon to be posted on "After Action Reports."
One of my favorite BSG episodes was '33,' and in speaking with other BSG fans, I don't think I'm alone. The MVM rules seem to provide a great way to recreate the tension of '33' in tabletop format.
In the off chance you haven't seen the episode, I recommend you stop reading right now and go watch it. Really. Now. Why are you still reading? The scenario will contain spoilers... you have been warned.
Alllllrighty then. I presume anyone still reading has seen the episode in question.
So, this scenario is actually a linked series of mini games . I cannot foresee a "game" going more than 4 or 5 turns, but the mini campaign may last an afternoon. (or not...based on my first playtest) A single colonial warship is leading a convoy of FTL capable civilian ships. The Cyborg are relentlessly pursuing them jump after jump.
In each game, the Colonials will set up mid-map. They get a single warship, and a fleet of civilians. A single squadron of fighters may be flying CAP.
The Cyborg then sets up a single ship anywhere on the table. The race is on.
The goal of the Colonials is simply to get away with as many souls possible (represented in civilian ship hardpoints), and not lose their warship in the process. The warship's "leave noone behind" rule extends to the civilians...she cannot jump while civilians remain on the board.
The Cyborg, on the other hand, are trying to either destroy the warship or to destroy half of the fleet's population.
Unfortunately for the Colonials, one of the Colonial civilian warships is carrying a Cyborg 'mole'...an agent/device which transmits the fleet's next jump location as soon as the Cyborg jump in. This uses the new Cyborg "Deus Ex Machina" communications system...it cannot be jammed, nor can the source of the signal be pinned down to a particular source/ship.
Cyborg resources for the mini-campaign are: Two identical ships (I am using Type-1 3-blade). Only one of these will ever be able to attack at a time, however...the two alternate. Also, they have an off-screen Fleet Auxillary ship which never participates in battles, but which can perform repairs on the ships between games.
The Cyborg also have their 'mole.' They select a single ship before the game, and write its name down in secret. This cannot be the Warship, nor any of the special civilian ships (see later).
For my Colonial warship, I'm using an Acropolis Refit
Colonials win by doing one of the following: Destroy *both* Cyborg ships (one at a time, of course), or destroy the colonial ship with the mole on it.
Cyborg win by either destroying the Colonial warship or by reducing the fleet to half its starting "souls". If you can keep track of "Souls Remaining" on a whiteboard, this adds a nice touch. Extra points if you get Mary McDonnell to do the scorekeeping for you.
The Colonials killing the "mole" ship *does* count against souls lost. If the Colonials mistakenly destroy another of their own ships, thinking it is the mole, this counts double against souls lost.
Details left to be ironed out: Civilian ship stats, including number to use and "Souls Aboard" for each, and how they are divvied out among hardpoints. Ideally, I'd like to find some way of doing it where any number of civilian ships can be used (within reason) to cope with different folks having differing numbers of civilian ships handy.
Also, I am strongly considering giving certain civilian ships useful traits [E.G., One with missiles- (as the Adriatic), one with Flagship (like Colonial One), one or more that act as limited Fleet Auxillary ships (Mining/Refinery ships)].
Owing to the difficulty I see for the Colonials to win this, I suggest it be played twice, alternating sides, with victory going to the Colonial who holds out the longest / wins first.
Initial playtest game soon to be posted on "After Action Reports."
