Playing Rogue Trader in 15mm

I have been spending most of my hobby time painting recently. Not that I think that is a bad thing, but I felt the urge to actually play with some of the figures that I have painted.

I ummed and ahhed over which set of rules to use from my somewhat large library for a while. This hunt for the 'right' set of sci-fi rules has been going on for longer than I care to admit, but something always pulls me back to an old friend.

I think some of the attraction of Rogue Trader is my familiarity with the rules. I bought them in 1987 or 1988, although I'm not 100% sure, and I have never stopped playing them. I am at the point where I don't need to check the charts to find the results, which really speeds things up.

I should probably try playing some rules that I am less familiar with, but I just didn't feel like it today.

A couple of years ago, I went on a real 15mm painting binge, inspired by the idea that 15mm is a much better scale for my 3 by 2 playing area. These forces have spent some time on the table, but probably not as much as they deserve.

After watching Outland, starring Sean Connery, the other week, I wanted something that was a little less sci-fi fantasy. *Rogue Trader* is a very flexible set of rules, which can be used for a lot of different flavours of science fiction.

Rather than trying to come up with a narrative, I turned once more to the book with all the answers and rolled on the narrative plot table. I picked up the dice and ended up rolling a 16 on Chart 2.

I took this bare-bones idea and developed it in my own way.  

Scenario 

The Turner's Mining Syndicate mining base on SC-150M was being hampered by attacks from the local populace, which were proving detrimental to the syndicate's profit margin. To limit these attacks and get the operation back on track, TMS security forces were to be sent to set up a perimeter defence shield. The TMS security forces would have to hold off any attacks by the locals until the technicians had got the shields online.

In advance of the main force, the local leaders sent two groups of their best soldiers to disable the perimeter defence shields before they were fully initialised.

Game obejctives

TMS Security Forces: Hold off any attacks until the technicians have finished bringing the perimeter defence shield online.

In Turn 7, roll a die. On a roll of 6, the shield is activated. In each subsequent turn, the required score is reduced by 1, so in Turn 8, a roll of 5 or more will succeed.

Hostile Locals:Their objective is to make contact with the perimeter defence shield's generator.

Forces
TMS Security Forces
Squad Alpha-(Imperial army stats)
Sergeant-Yeovil (champion), Lasgun, Bolt pistol, Powersword, Mesh, and Flak armour, and eye protection.
4x Troopers, Lasgun, knife, and Flak armour, and eye protection.

Squad Bravo-(Imperial army stats)
Sergeant-Newman, Lasgun, Bolt pistol, knife, Mesh, and Flak armour.
4x Troopers, Lasgun, knife, and Flak armour.

Squad Charlie-(Imperial army stats)
Sergeant-Williams, Autogun, Las-pistol, Flak armour.
4x Troopers, Autogun, knife, and Flak armour.

Squad Delta-(Imperial army stats)
Sergeant-Craig, Autogun, Las-pistol, Flak armour.
4x Troopers, Autogun, knife, and Flak armour.

Hostile locals
Phalons (Tyranid stats)
Leader- Zor Vix, Bolt gun, knife, Flak armour
2xTroopers-Bolt gun, knife, Flak armour
2x Troopers-Shuriken catapult, knnife, Flak armour

Xar (Zoat stats)
Leader- Dorthan, Bolt gun, knife
3xTroopers-Bolt gun, knife
1x Troopers-Shuriken catapult, knife

Deployment

In my solo games, I tend to experiment with different methods of random deployment, but for today's game, I kept it simple. I divided the board into three sections and rolled 1D6 to determine where each unit would start.

Squads Alpha and Charlie were deployed on their left flank.

Squads Bravo and Delta de-bussed in the centre of the defences alongside the technicians.

The Xar's approached the base opposite squad Alpha.

The Phalons were the last unit to arrive.  They took up position on their left flank.  They looked to use the forest as a safe way to approach the mining camp.

Battle Report

The dawn light was breaking as the TMS transports pulled into the outskirts of the mining camp. Sergeant Yeovil barked out his orders, sending his troops to their assigned positions while the technicians started work on the perimeter defence shield generator.

 

The scent of the ape-thing invaders sent a ripple of anger through the Xars. The chitinous insectoid centaurs roared with rage and scuttled towards the waiting interlopers.

The Xars levelled their weapons at Squad Alpha as they charged across the open ground. Shots slammed into the improvised barricades, which protected most of the squad from the barrage. One unlucky trooper was hit by a piece of shrapnel that punched straight through his armour, killing him.

Sergeant Newman studied his bio-scanner. He knew that the local pests would soon emerge at the forest edge. Their slow progress had given his men time to range in their weapons. As the forest undergrowth began to part, the squad opened fire as one. The fusillade tore into the advancing Phalons, one of them crumpling to the ground.

The Phalons showed no response to the death of their comrade. They calmly took cover in the undergrowth, their alien movements guided by invisible thoughts from far away. They returned fire on Squad Bravo, but their shots all impacted harmlessly on the barricades.

A cold shiver ran down Sergeant Yeovil's spine as he watched the Xars scampering towards his position. Switching on his comms, he directed both Squads Alpha and Charlie to fire on the Xars. The air ionised around Squad Alpha as its troopers opened fire with their lasguns, shortly followed by the boom of Squad Charlie's autoguns. This combined fire didn't even slow the oncoming aliens.

Sergeant Newman smiled as his men kept the roaches pinned at the forest edge. The very sight of these abominations made Newman's stomach turn. He realised that they needed to be wiped off the face of the planet. The NCO directed his men's fire. The withering barrage ripped another Phalon to pieces.

Dorthan bellowed his challenge to combat and led his brood brothers in a charge on the human position. The youngest brood brother was hit by a shot as they clambered over the ape-things' defences, but he simply shrugged off the wound. The stench of the ape-things became more acute as his brood brothers ripped them to pieces.

Zor Vix closed his cyclopean eye as a wave of disapproval reached into his mind. His troops were failing in their simple task of sweeping this nuisance from his home. The voice in his head commanded him to advance and finish these creatures off in melee combat. Zor Vix turned to his men and, in a fluting whisper, ordered them to charge the position.

The melee was a blur as Sergeant Yeovil fended off one of the giant centaurs with his power sword. Looking left and right, he saw his squad being torn to pieces. The NCO's resolve broke, and he fled the combat with the only other surviving member of the squad.

Seeing Squad Alpha break, Sergeant Williams led her troops in a last-ditch effort to save the surviving members of the squad. They desperately struggled with the chitinous creatures, but most of their blows bounced off the monstrous hide. Two of her soldiers wrestled with the smallest of the creatures. Together, they managed to prise apart a damaged piece of chitin and plunge a dagger into the exposed flesh, killing the creature.

Bravo Squad turned to look at their sergeant, none of them able to believe their eyes as the Phalons broke cover and started to sprint towards them. Sergeant Newman laughed softly as he told his men to exterminate the infestation in front of them. Hot beams of light flashed through the air, puncturing the advancing Phalons in multiple places. They all froze for a moment as their brains slowly realised that they were dead, before they fell. Zor Vix was the last to fall. He whistled a short lament to the futility of conflict, which, sadly, none of the humans could understand.

Sergeant Craig looked nervously at the defences on the left flank and realised they wouldn't hold for much longer. What chance did Charlie Squad have of holding off the centaurs? The balding, middle-aged sergeant wished he had taken the offer of early retirement after taking a bullet in the knee during the food riots on New Astor. Lifting his cap, he wiped the sweat from his head and ordered his men into a blocking position. The technicians needed more time to get the perimeter shield up.

Sergeant Williams and her men's valiant actions had bought enough time for Alpha Squad to break off and regroup, but they could no more stop these insectoid killing machines than King Cnut could hold back the tide. Charlie Squad broke and ran for their lives.

Dorthan sneezed as his olfactory senses were bombarded by the stench of fear from the fleeing ape-things. For a second, he was tempted to order his brood brothers to hunt down and slaughter the creatures, but the impact of a heavy round striking his hide reminded him that there were still enemies willing to put up some sort of a fight.

Taking a swig from his hip flask, Sergeant Craig tried to steady his squad as the alien creatures charged towards them. Squad Delta scored several hits on the Xars, but their bullets simply flattened against the chitinous hide. In the ensuing melee, Sergeant Craig was the first to fall. He was hampered by his old wound and ageing reflexes. The squad's resolve hardened as they watched their beloved sergeant die.

Dorthan and his brood brothers roared with joy as the melee raged. These ape-things did not flee. They stood, they fought, they died in honourable combat. They were worthy enemies. The death scream of one of his brood brothers added to the glory of the fight. The ape-things could fight, but they could not stand for long against Dorthan and his brood brothers.

Delta Squad was gone, Charlie Squad was out of the fight, and Alpha Squad was down to just two combatants. Sergeant Yeovil knew when a fight was over. He grabbed the last surviving member of his squad and ran for the transport. He was determined not to die that day. No amount of credits was worth it.

The technicians looked nervously at the approaching aliens, their work hampered by fear. The second technician wrestled with a thick cable, its surface slick with sweat and writhing in his hands like a snake. He finally managed to plug it in, and the generator flashed into life for a few seconds before dying again, smoke pouring from the portable battery he carried. He turned and shouted to Sergeant Newman, “You need to buy us more time!”

The acrid smell of smoke reached Dorthan's olfactory senses, and he saw the cursed machine that he and his brothers had been sent to destroy. A deep rumble sounded from his chest, and the three remaining Xars charged at the machine. One of the aliens fell before they reached it, but Dorthan and his companion laid into the machine. They ignored the fire from the ape-things. Their goal was to destroy the infernal engine, and they would not fail.

The perimeter defence shield generator was completely wrecked before Bravo Squad could put the aliens down. Sergeant Newman looked at the Second Technician as if to ask whether it could be fixed, but the technician just shook his head.

Finals thoughts

I am very biased, but Rogue Trader is a really cracking set of rules if you approach them in the right way. For me, the rules are best played at this sort of skirmish level, with a clear scenario and narrative.

The game was a real nail-biter, which I hope I have conveyed in this battle report. It reached Turn Eight, and, unluckily for the TMS forces, the die roll to start up the shield generator came up a four. The game wasn't over, though, as Bravo Squad managed to kill one of the Xars, forcing a morale check which they passed.

There were moments when, with better dice rolls, the TMS forces could have held the locals in check, but fate was simply not on their side.

 

 Trying out some skirmish rules

My recent urban terrain build has sparked my interest in playing some small-scale games. The question is, what set of rules to use? I have quite a few different rulebooks, a common problem for many wargamers, covering a wide range of periods and genres. Some of these sets of rules I have played a few times, while others I haven’t put on the table even once.

I was looking at 7TV 2nd Edition on the Crooked Dice website the other day, and at one point I was thinking about ordering it. But then I reminded myself that I bought the first edition rules over a decade ago and have never got them on the table. When I got the 7TV rules, I bought a bundle with tokens, cards and two supplements, so I thought I should give them a try.

For my trial run of the game, I thought it would be best to start small, so I built two small 100-rating casts. The main conceit of 7TV is that you are not fighting some historic battle but rather making a TV programme. So, rather than building an army, you make a cast, and instead of points, you have ratings.

The heroes were Kung Fu Kelly, a Hardened Investigator (Star), Little Jim Saxon, his Plucky Assistant (Co-Star). The villains were the O’Hara Gang, led by O’Hara, a Faithful Lackey (Co-Star), and four ‘Eavies (Extras).

The Scenario

I decided to play a simple Chance Meeting encounter. Kung Fu Kelly and Little Jim Saxon turned up in Kelly’s Ford Capri in one corner, while the O’Hara Gang arrived in a Ford Transit in the opposite corner. The two sides would try to eliminate each other.

The O’Hara Gang took the initiative at the start of the engagement. The ‘Eavies moved quickly towards Kelly and Saxon, while O’Hara held back, cocking his submachine gun.

Seeing the oncoming members of the O’Hara Gang, Kung Fu Kelly cracked his knuckles and quickly loosened up, ready to teach the goons the error of their ways.

O’Hara ordered two of his heavies to rough up the two interlopers. One of the ‘Eavies charged towards Little Jim and swung his bat, cracking the Plucky Assistant on the skull.

Kung Fu Kelly sprang to Saxon’s aid. Striking like a snake, he quickly knocked out the first ‘Eavy. He then took out a second ‘Eavy with a flying kick.

Telling Kelly to go deal with O’Hara, Saxon pulled his sawn-off shotgun out of his coat. Kelly heard the boom of the shotgun as he raced towards O’Hara and his waiting submachine gun.

O’Hara’s submachine gun peppered the area around Kelly, but none of the shots hit the master of Iron Bull Kung Fu. Kelly’s first strike knocked O’Hara back, taking the air out of him. Kelly smiled as he got ready to teach this old lag a lesson or two. The sound of two bats pounding on Little Jim stopped Kelly from finishing off O’Hara. He quickly turned back to aid his friend. The two ‘Eavies were surprised to be attacked from behind. They turned and tried to use their bats to defend themselves, but they were no match for the raging fists of Kung Fu Kelly.

Kelly’s timely aid saved Little Jim Saxon, but in dealing with the ‘Eavies, he let O’Hara escape this time.

My Thoughts on the rules

First off, I have to say that I enjoyed these rules. They are nice and simple, but with enough tweaks of their own to make them feel fresh.

A lot of the combat mechanics would not be unfamiliar to anyone who has played Warhammer or any of its offspring, such as Bolt Action. You roll to hit, and then there is a wound table in which Strength is compared to Defence on a chart to determine the number you need to cause a wound.

The initiative, activation and event cards are where the game differentiates itself from these mainstays of the hobby. Although initiative is just a roll-off between the two sides, the difference between the rolls gives you Audience Appreciation tokens that can be used to adjust rolls during the turn. Players will only be able to activate half of their force, which can really lead to some interesting decisions.

These rules are not some revolutionary, ground-breaking thing, but they make for a really good game, and I will definitely be getting them on the table again.

Building a world on a budget. Part eight

 Building a world on a budget

My urban construction has been ticking along quite well. After finishing two street tiles, I thought I would turn my hand to a building. I thought I would be able to get it finished in August, but things just didn’t work out, and I didn’t manage to get it done until 1 September.

Project eight: A biscuit box building

Construction

The pair of terrace shops started their life as the lid from a box of biscuits, whose shape and size seemed perfect for my urban tiles. 

The first thing I had to do was give the box a little more structural strength by gluing some supports into it. I used some offcuts of foam board for the supports. Like the Wombles, I don’t really want anything to go to waste.

I am not the most precise of people, which is why I wanted a box lid, as it gave me a regular shape to work with. Once I was happy that the box could hold up to the rigours of the tabletop, I drew up a plan of the building on paper. I tried to make the most of the square edges that the paper gave me to stop the building from being too wonky when I was drawing the plan.

With my plan in hand, I transferred the design onto the sides of the box lid, and then I used styrene to frame the building out. I had hoped that this would give me a precise, regular building that was true, but sadly I was not as precise as I thought I had been. Framing the building out was a mistake, which I didn’t realise until I moved on to the next stage and tried to clad the building with plasticard.

The cladding was a complete pain. I wish that I could think of something positive to say about this stage, but it was just very frustrating. At least I won’t make the same mistake again. My idea to frame the building first made it really hard to cut the plasticard into the right shape. It was all compounded by my less-than-stellar measuring, which made it impossible for me to get any of the cladding to fit flush with each other. I persevered with it, but by the end I thought that it looked like a right dog’s dinner.

Being really unhappy with the exterior look of the building, I thought that the best idea would be to cover it with modelling putty. I chose Tamiya Smooth Finish Modelling Putty, but other brands would also work. I use Tamiya putty because I am used to how it works, and it is the most readily available where I live. The putty work took the best part of an evening to do, but it saved the building for me. While I waited for the putty to dry, I used the time to make the doors out of plasticard.

I forgot to mention in the previous section that the roof surface was made from very fine-grit sandpaper. I really like the texture it has once it has been painted.

The overall paint scheme was fairly simple. I started by undercoating the building in white, then I gave it a base coat of Vallejo Desert Yellow. On top of the base coat, I first sponged on a layer of Dark Sand, and I finished it off with a layer of Ivory. The doors and the window frames were also given three different layers of paint in green and brown.

Once the paint had dried, I added the downpipes and signboards. I learnt another lesson here, one that I already knew but somehow slipped my mind: painted surfaces are not very good for getting a strong bond when gluing things together. I ended up having to scrape off the paint from the areas where I was sticking things to. It wasn’t much more work, but I could have avoided it pretty simply.

The next thing I did was to wash the whole building with Agrax Earthshade. The wash really helped to bring out the texture and details on the building.

The final detailing on the building was what was going to turn it from an okay piece on my table into a pretty good piece. I started by finishing the windows using some leftover pieces of UV-cut sheet that I had put on the glass doors of my apartment. I like the reflective blue effect that they give to the side and rear windows.

I had planned to just put some names on the signboards using transfers, but Uglub had been following the progress of my build on his Discord channel and kindly offered to make some artwork for me. If you are unaware of Uglub’s work, I can recommend his YouTube channel Uglub`s Armoury; it is a great source of inspiration for tabletop gaming. This artwork was the finishing touch that my building needed.

Now I need to get back to making some more streets, so that I have somewhere to place this building.