Post by navigator37 on Nov 23, 2011 14:43:26 GMT -5
I was the Game Master for Naval Thunder at my local gaming club on Monday night. The guys in the group are real veterans, and we've played all kinds of rule sets - including naval - through the years, but this was the first time I had GMd, and the first time they played NT.
I chose the Battle of Barents Sea; four players showed up, just about the right number for this scenario. I did a quick-but-thorough run-thru of the rules (about 40 minutes), and as visual aids, used two ship data cards, sequence of events, and the quick summary chart, all of which I had enlarged at Staples and mounted on foam boards. The rules summary was time well-spent, and the blow-ups really helped: once we started rolling dice the game flowed rather quickly.
We used the special rules listed for the scenario: 20" visibility, ‘escort’, ‘no taste for combat’, along with smoke screens. I also employed some house rules which I picked up form this forum: the 10 'to hit' number for destroyers; ‘evade’ with a flat 3 MP cost and a +1 ‘to hit’, evading ships cannot fire torps, evading DDs are immune from main gunnery attacks. I also customized the rules for firing through smoke, as follows:
• RN ships can fire through smoke at any range with a +1 penalty
• KM ships with radar (Hipper) can fire through smoke using the night time ‘to hit’ modifiers (+1 @ short range, +2 medium, +6 long)
• All other KM ships have LOS blocked by smoke and therefore cannot fire through it
Having play-tested the scenario a couple of times previously, I was pretty familiar with the 'does and dont's' for each side, and after a general scenario briefing and choosing-up of sides, I gave each team a private tactical briefing.
The aforementioned tactical brief was pretty much ignored by the RN players, and they paid a heavy price…
Turn One – The merchant ships wisely put about and were never engaged. First blood as the KM destroyers chose not to evade and one was sunk by multiple hits from Sheffield & RN DDs. Due to a communications mix-up, those same RN DDs took a divergent course from the RN cruisers and laid a smoke screen which shielded only themselves, leaving their larger friends exposed - an error from which the British side would not recover. Sheff & Jamaica sparred with Hipper to no great effect; Lutzow & escorts out of range (20” visibility) but charging ahead.
Turn Two – As the range closes, Hipper and Sheffield trade blows with Sheffield, surprisingly, coming out ahead, setting her opponent alight. Another of Hipper’s escorts is badly hit by Jamaica and listing (If not for evading, she would have been sunk). Lutzow continues to plunge ahead, needing to close within 20” before unleashing her 11” guns.
Turn Three – This decided the game. Hipper can’t put out her fires but lands some blows on Sheff. In return, Sheffield unleashes a massive broadside of 12 dice needing a seven-or-higher to hit and scores – NO HITS! (we later calculated that the odds of such a roll are something like two-tenths of one percent!). Lutzow finally gets to fire and punishes Jamaica. Her escorts, despite almost desperate odds, pepper away at Sheffield. A lucky hit jams her rudder, forcing her to turn in the direction of Lutzow and sealing her doom.
After that, it was “all over but the cryin’.” Hipper battered Sheffield down to but a few hull points; Lutzow finished off Jamaica; her escorts torpedoed the British flagship at short range.
Overall a really fun night. We were actually able to complete the scenario with time to spare – which almost never happens (nice job, Game Master!)– and even do a bit of a post-mortem. The Brits killed themselves by taking their destroyers out of the fight after turn one, leaving their light cruisers naked under the guns of heavy cruisers, and nullifying their only advantage: radar.
The blown-up Sequence of Events & Quick-Reference charts were a huge help, and really kept the game moving along briskly. Everyone had positive comments on the Naval Thunder system, and asked if I could GM again soon.
So…stay tuned for another exciting AAR, next time, from warmer climes, the Med I think…and with pictures! Cheers.
I chose the Battle of Barents Sea; four players showed up, just about the right number for this scenario. I did a quick-but-thorough run-thru of the rules (about 40 minutes), and as visual aids, used two ship data cards, sequence of events, and the quick summary chart, all of which I had enlarged at Staples and mounted on foam boards. The rules summary was time well-spent, and the blow-ups really helped: once we started rolling dice the game flowed rather quickly.
We used the special rules listed for the scenario: 20" visibility, ‘escort’, ‘no taste for combat’, along with smoke screens. I also employed some house rules which I picked up form this forum: the 10 'to hit' number for destroyers; ‘evade’ with a flat 3 MP cost and a +1 ‘to hit’, evading ships cannot fire torps, evading DDs are immune from main gunnery attacks. I also customized the rules for firing through smoke, as follows:
• RN ships can fire through smoke at any range with a +1 penalty
• KM ships with radar (Hipper) can fire through smoke using the night time ‘to hit’ modifiers (+1 @ short range, +2 medium, +6 long)
• All other KM ships have LOS blocked by smoke and therefore cannot fire through it
Having play-tested the scenario a couple of times previously, I was pretty familiar with the 'does and dont's' for each side, and after a general scenario briefing and choosing-up of sides, I gave each team a private tactical briefing.
The aforementioned tactical brief was pretty much ignored by the RN players, and they paid a heavy price…
Turn One – The merchant ships wisely put about and were never engaged. First blood as the KM destroyers chose not to evade and one was sunk by multiple hits from Sheffield & RN DDs. Due to a communications mix-up, those same RN DDs took a divergent course from the RN cruisers and laid a smoke screen which shielded only themselves, leaving their larger friends exposed - an error from which the British side would not recover. Sheff & Jamaica sparred with Hipper to no great effect; Lutzow & escorts out of range (20” visibility) but charging ahead.
Turn Two – As the range closes, Hipper and Sheffield trade blows with Sheffield, surprisingly, coming out ahead, setting her opponent alight. Another of Hipper’s escorts is badly hit by Jamaica and listing (If not for evading, she would have been sunk). Lutzow continues to plunge ahead, needing to close within 20” before unleashing her 11” guns.
Turn Three – This decided the game. Hipper can’t put out her fires but lands some blows on Sheff. In return, Sheffield unleashes a massive broadside of 12 dice needing a seven-or-higher to hit and scores – NO HITS! (we later calculated that the odds of such a roll are something like two-tenths of one percent!). Lutzow finally gets to fire and punishes Jamaica. Her escorts, despite almost desperate odds, pepper away at Sheffield. A lucky hit jams her rudder, forcing her to turn in the direction of Lutzow and sealing her doom.
After that, it was “all over but the cryin’.” Hipper battered Sheffield down to but a few hull points; Lutzow finished off Jamaica; her escorts torpedoed the British flagship at short range.
Overall a really fun night. We were actually able to complete the scenario with time to spare – which almost never happens (nice job, Game Master!)– and even do a bit of a post-mortem. The Brits killed themselves by taking their destroyers out of the fight after turn one, leaving their light cruisers naked under the guns of heavy cruisers, and nullifying their only advantage: radar.
The blown-up Sequence of Events & Quick-Reference charts were a huge help, and really kept the game moving along briskly. Everyone had positive comments on the Naval Thunder system, and asked if I could GM again soon.
So…stay tuned for another exciting AAR, next time, from warmer climes, the Med I think…and with pictures! Cheers.
With the RN DD's out of position, it put the two RN CL's in a very vulnerable position. Their only hope was to quickly overwhelm the Hipper and make a run for it before Lutzow could close the range. 