Diamonds in the Rough: Escape from Kalisz (4e Rules, v1 Timeline)

[Raellus]

What follows is a log/narrative for my 4e solo campaign.

The cast of characters (so far) is:

Capt. Drea Walker (specialties: logistician, psy ops, quartermaster)
SFC Don "Sarge" McNulty (specialties: tactician, scout, navigator)
CPL Carter "Bird" DeLong (specialties: sniper, scout, hunter)
SPC Pete "P.R." Randall (specialties: rifleman, communications, linguist [Polish])
SPC Dontrell "Grease" Willis (specialties: racer, mechanic, scrounger)
Chaplain Assistant Robert "Deacon" Hooker (specialties: counselor, runner, musician)
PFC Ethan "Honeybear" Porter (specialties: machinegunner, load carrier, cook)
PFC Lisandra "Sandy" Vasquez (specialties: grenadier, rifleman)


Party vehicle is an OT-64/SKOT-1, "Pole Position"

Ref's Notes: It's a big party, but I wanted to cover as many skills as possible and provide opportunities for character development through interaction. I used the archetype char-gen method, including Spartan's house rule (every skill rank C and higher receives a specialty) so that every PC started with 3 specialties.

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[Raellus]

Encounter 1

"The truth is of course that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time." -David Bowie


July 18th, 2000
Somewhere southeast of Kalisz, Poland


"Stop!" Bird shouts, his normally flat Wyoming twang pitched slightly higher than usual.

Standing in the SKOT commander's position, the team marksman points out an olive drab disc, about the size of a pie plate, nestled snuggly in a pothole less than 10m from the blunt nose of the former Polish Army 8x APC.

"Shit," Grease mutters from the driver's seat, the expletive steeped in a briny mix of frustration and relief.

Pole Position, the afore mentioned SKOT-1, six months in the service of the US 5th Infantry Division, Mechanized (aka, the Red Diamond), had been rolling roughly southeast along on a two-lane hard top when the team's best lookout (Bird) spotted the first mine.

"Dismount," Sarge orders. "Form a perimeter and WATCH. YOUR. STEP." The grizzled former US Army Ranger knows that proper anti-tank minefields always include a smattering of anti-personnel mines to make it harder on the opposition's combat engineers.

The dismounts scan the surrounds, a small, shelled-out light industrial complex, roughly 25 klicks southeast of Kalisz, Poland, looking for enemy positions. As Sarge has explained before, minefields are only truly effective obstacles if covered by fire. It's only pedantic if it doesn't save your life.

"Looks like Ivan set it and forget it," Honeybear quips, breaking the tension. There's no sign of enemy troops still in the area.

"Forward or back" Sarge asks. The crackle and pop of gunfire can be heard over the SKOT's idling engine. It sounds like its coming from somewhere off to the northwest, the way they've just come, and it's a bit louder now than it was the last time anyone stopped to think about it.

"What do you think" Captain Walker asks. Six months ago, she was still in the rear with the gear.

"I think Ivan's stretched pretty thin. They can't cover all the roads, so they left these mines here and set up shop someplace else," Sarge answers. The grey stubble on his chin and the Ranger tab perched over the subdued 5th ID diamond on his left shoulder indicate that he's got a good idea what he's talking about.

Captain Walker's quiet for a few seconds. "Okay, let's keep moving."

The dismounts walk ahead of Pole Position sweeping for mines. Grease does an expert job of moving around those that are spotted. Those that can't be avoided are carefully lifted and moved out of the way. It's slow going and nerve-wracking work. Fortunately, the minefield is only about 30m deep. Clear of the danger, the dismounts climb back aboard their armored bus and Pole Position picks up speed.


Ref Notes:

This was the Watch Your Step encounter from the random encounter deck. I needed to push once during the transit of the minefield. I forgot to roll for the day's weather.

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[Raellus]

Encounter 2

"How long they been dead" Honeybear asks.

In spontaneous, unspoken consensus, everyone defers to Deacon, the de facto team medic.

The chaplain assistant shrugs, answers, "Uh, I'd say about a year, give or take,"

Three shriveled bodies, dressed for sleep in bedclothes splotched with rust-colored stains, lie in repose on a large brass bed in the master bedroom. The corpse in the middle is adult-sized; those on either side are smaller- a mother and her two children. Next to the bed, a nearly headless man slumps back in his chair, a double-barreled shotgun leading against one out-splayed leg. It's been long enough since the act for everything to have dried out, the smell of death faded to a general, stale mustiness.

"Guess they just couldn't take it anymore." Honeybear continues, his tone not unsympathetic.

"Should we bury 'em" Vasquez asks.

"No. Let them rest in peace." Cap replies.

"Be kinda creepy, sleeping in the same house with a buncha skeletons." Vasquez says.

"We'll leave a nightlight on for you." Randal teases.

The party had turned off the cracked and cratered highway shortly after successfully navigating the minefield, thereafter spending most of the afternoon blindly following back roads. In forest clearing, they'd stumbled upon a lonely farmhouse, seemingly abandoned. It was, and it wasn't.

"Might be a good place to hole up for a couple of days, wait for the reds to wear themselves out." Bird opines.

Those not assigned to watch help Grease rummage around the place. The only food uncovered is a crate of desiccated potatoes, rock hard and most likely inedible. The evening's big haul is a manual typewriter (its ribbon, sadly, dried out), a broken wristwatch, playing cards, and a box of fireworks. There's some reluctance to relieve the homeowner of his shotgun, but he's not going to need it anymore and it could come in handy for hunting weapon small game. The weapon's new owner will only have three shells with which to do so.

Bird climbs into the farmhouse attic, kicks out some shingles to create ersatz viewports on each side of the rectangular structure. This dim, dusty aerie provides particularly good views of the northern and eastern approaches.

The sun sets, the curtains are pulled, and a fire is lit in the fireplace. For the first time in several days, gunfire is neither close nor frequent enough to keep people awake. Everyone gets a solid chunk of much-needed sleep.


Ref Notes:
This was the Final Rest random encounter from the deck. Scrounging rolls were successful; results are from the table in the ref's manual.


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[Raellus]

Encounter 3

July 19, 2000

Dawn breaks cool and clear. The soldiers rise, groggy, and achy from bunking down on the floor. Still tired, empty bellies grumbling in protest, they move about the complex, poking around some more and setting up the still. Grease gives Pole Position some TLC.

It's midmorning when the party's PRC-77 radio crackles to life. Bird's laconic drawl fills the airwaves,

"Got a Russian patrol just come out of the trees on the north side of the clearing. Don't think they've seen us. Looks like they're checkin' out the other homestead. Over."

The nearest neighbor is nearly 400m away.

Sarge orders everyone out of sight. It's a long shot, but the hope is that the Soviet patrol assumes that this particular farmhouse is likewise abandoned and moves along without investigating. The fireplace has been cold for a couple of hours, so there's been no smoke since before dawn. After about ten minutes or so, Bird issues another report,

"They're comin' this way. Nine of 'em. One RPK, one grenade launcher, one radio."

"Hold your fire. Maybe they'll turn around." Cap replies into the radio handset.

Sarge and Cap peek through cracks in the curtains. The Soviet patrol is still coming.

"They're not gonna stop," Cap opines. Sarge nods in agreement.

The senior noncom quickly briefs the group, "Alright people. They get to within 100m, we're gonna to hit 'em. Bird will zap their officer. When he does, the rest of us'll move into firing positions. Honeybear, set up outside, northeast corner. I'll be with you. Vasquez, you set up at the northwest corner. Randall, you and the Captain will stay here. Grease, get Pole Position warmed up and ready to roll. Deacon, stay in cover- you're on call if anyone gets hit. Everyone good"

Sarge transmits the Cliff's Notes version of the plan to Bird who's lying prone just overhead in the attic.

At about 80m, Bird kicks things off. A muffled crack splits the tension. Betrayed by his binoculars and map case, the Soviet officer takes one lurching half-step backwards before collapsing in a heap on the road. The other Soviet soldiers scatter, dropping prone in the drainage ditches alongside the road or rushing 20m or so towards a shallow irrigation ditch running perpendicular to it. Bird curses himself for waiting for them to get close enough to make it cover in a single sprint.

The other Americans scramble into position. The enemy patrol starts blasting away at the farmhouse with automatic fire. It's likely they don't know exactly where the shots came from, but they put enough lead into the building to suppress the American sniper. Bird is showered with dust and splinters as the attic is pelted with fire. Nearly horizontal, 5.45mm-around shafts of light appear suddenly all around, as incoming rounds punch holes in the roofing. It's almost like the bad guys are shooting at him with lasers.

Lying prone near the northeast corner of the farmhouse, Honeybear cuts loose with several controlled bursts of MG fire. One of the enemy troops on the right pitches forward into the ditch.

At the opposite corner, Vasquez sends a 40mm grenade in a shallow arc towards a clump of Russians on the left (the enemy's right flank). It bursts in a puff of dust and white smoke close to the aim point, and two Russians go silent (although it's unclear if they were actually killed or wounded by the small blast).

Enemy fire has so far been heavy, but ineffective. A Soviet 40mm grenade explodes well wide of the farmhouse. The sturdy brick structure stops most of the incoming Soviet bullets.

The Americans continue to pour rounds into the Soviet patrol. Honeybear gets another one with a head shot. Sarge adds to the tally with one of his own. The amount of incoming fire has decreased to the point where Bird can reengage. The narksman picks off the RPK gunner with a single, well-placed round.

Honeybear's head snaps backwards, then slumps forward. Sarge grabs the big machinegunner's boots, drags him back around the corner of the farmhouse.

"Medic!" Sarge bellows. Deacon comes running. As they roll him over on to his back, Honeybear comes to. "What happened" he asks with a casualness so absurd under the circumstance that it's amusing. The torn camouflage cover and furrow running along the crown of his Kelvar K-Pot helmet provides the answer.

Meanwhile, Cap and Randall each take another enemy out of the fight. Another Soviet grenade explodes, this one short, but close enough to chase the two Americans away from the windows for a few seconds.

One of the remaining Soviets tosses a cylinder out of the ditch. It spews forth a rapidly expanding cloud of pinkish red smoke.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Sarge roars over the din. Outgoing fire peters out; incoming fire has stopped completely.

"Bird, whattaya see" Cap calls up to the attic.

"Uh, looks like they're runnin'," the sniper reports calmly on the platoon net.

"You get a shot, take it."

"Somethin's wrong with my scope," Bird replies, disappointedly.

All the team sniper can do is watch as three enemy soldiers emerge about 40m beyond the smoke, sprinting towards the far side of the clearing (they've got about 200m to go before reaching the tree line). None are carrying a visible weapon.

"Time to go," Cap says flatly, unable to hide the disappointment in her tone.

"Let me take Randall and Deacon, grab any intel," Sarge asks.

Captain Walker hesitates for a few seconds, answers, "We're leaving in five."

Sarge cautiously leads the small clearing team towards the kill zone, with Bird maintaining over-watch from the attic aerie. The trio recovers a pair of binoculars, leather map case, R-392A radio, an RPK, and two AK-74s.

Pole Position rolls out of the barn and turns on to the road.

"Let's go!" Cap calls from the air guard hatch.


Ref Notes:
This was the Shoot On Sight random encounter from the deck. I used the simplified Crit rules for NPCs (critical hits automatically incapacitate/kill hostile NPCs), but rolled CUF for each individual enemy soldier. I ruled that, once the patrol commander was eliminated, the radioman didn't have the skill to call in artillery fire (he was able, however, to call in the contact). I got really lucky rolling hits for the good guys and even luckier with hit location rolls (multiple head shots). Only Honeybear got hit, in the head no less, but his K-Pot saved his life (he only took one damage). The party burned up a lot of ammo during the engagement, as I rolled 3-6 ammo dice on almost every roll (except for Bird's M21, which, with Dam 3, Crit 3, turned out to be a critical hit machine). It was worth it, though, as I rolled numerous sixes, adding damage to hits, and suppression to misses. I pushed a couple of rolls, to good effect, but Bird's M21 lost 1 reliability point on the lone failed push. I learned that 40mm HE grenades don't do much damage on hits to targeted hexes. Next time, I think I'll take the -2 penalty to target an individual so that, on a hit, the target takes at least the weapon's listed direct damage.

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[kcdusk]

I'm about to get to grenades and their effects in my own solo game.

Good read so far, looking forward to more.

I've found using ammo dice has simulated "spray and pray" well so far in limited use. It burns through lots of ammo, but can provide the occasional extra hit/suppression. Its not efficient, but can be effective.

[Raellus]

Thanks, KC. Your recent posts in this sub-forum inspired me to write up my sessions in pseudo-narrative form and share them.

I agree completely with your assessment of ammo dice. There's definitely a trade off- ammo for effects- and the PCs are going to start running low soon if they keep opting for high volume fire.

P.S. Stay tuned for my first experience with 4e hand grenades.

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[kcdusk]

P.S. Stay tuned for my first experience with 4e hand grenades.

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My solo game is 80% drawn from the random encounters, 20% me steering the game towards certain sections of the game deliberately to trial specific rules.

I started with HTH, then a pistol, then SMGs .... slowly ramping it up. Spoiler alert, weather, travel, camping and heavy weapons & vehicles are in the pipeline!

[Raellus]

Encounters 4 and 5

"Think they're full" Randall whispers.

"Why would Ivan be sending empty tanker trucks to the front lines" Vasquez answers.

"Good point."

The Soviet fuel convoy (a ZIL-131 gun truck with improvised armor on point, three Zil tanker trucks, and a UAZ with a pintle-mounted PKM bringing up the rear) rumbles past, apparently unaware of the Americans lurking just inside the woods bordering the road.

After leaving the scene of carnage, both old and new, at the farmhouse, the party attempted to traverse a veritable maze of unpaved back roads and farm tracks, intending to exit the area whilst staying off the beaten path. Their two maps of the area, however, lack detail- like back roads and farm tracks- so accurately orientating themselves proved nearly impossible. Essentially, they'd more or less been traveling in circles while morning matured into early afternoon. Tired and frustrated, they'd given up and taken the first paved road they ran into, hoping to finally orient themselves and move away from the area. Said blacktop was passing through a patch of woods when Bird, once again acting as team lookout, spotted the Soviet convoy approaching on a closing course. His warning prompted Grease to execute a hard right turn. The Polish-made APC left the tarmac and rolled into a copse of saplings, stopping roughly 10 meters into the thicket. Everyone but the vehicle crew (Grease at the wheel and Honeybear behind the DShK HMG in the gunner's cupola) dismounted and dispersed in the nearby woods.

With an amalgam of relief and regret, he party watches the convoy roll away.

"We could've really hurt 'em," Sarge says, practically scowling, "Put the brakes on their pursuit, helped some of our people escape."

"Yes, we could have," Cap concedes. "And we could probably outrun the survivors, but we won't outrun their radios," she sagely points out.

"I know, I just..." Sarge trails off.

"I know, Sergeant," Walker says, sympathetically.

...

A few minutes after the convoy moves out of sight, Pole Position rolls back out of the brush, leaving a few mangled saplings in its wake. Concluding that this particular stretch of blacktop is currently serving as a Soviet MSR, the group exits on to the next unpaved road they find. At a small hamlet they'd passed through earlier that day (from a different direction), they take a new road- an overgrown track, really- that disappears into a thickly wooded area to the west. The party follows this track for some ways, until it becomes clear that it's entered a proper forest. A few klicks in, it's decided to stop and make camp. Pole Position has burned a significant quantity of meth over the past 48 hours or so, and the party's food is starting to run low. Camp is set up about 30m off the path; a decent amount of time and effort is spent trying to conceal it. Grease assembles the still, while Bird departs on a solo hunting expedition (after persuading Cap and Sarge to let him go alone). The Wyomingite spots a rabbit, sneaks to within 20 meters of the hapless rodent, and kills it with a blast of birdshot (from the shotgun scrounged at the murder-suicide farm). He returns to camp with the prize and Honeybear cheerfully prepares it for roasting. The party is sitting down to eat when they hear Vasquez, posted on watch near the track, shouting. Sarge, Cap, Honeybear and Randall grab their weapons rush to the grenadier's aid, to find her confronted by nearly two dozen filthy, ragged, and increasingly surly refugees who've somehow managed to find the hidden camp. With Randle translating, Cap tries to persuade the highly agitated group to leave...

P.R.'s dispassionate delivery contrasts with the increasingly shrill tone of the refugee group's apparent leader, a rail-thin man with a peeling bald pate and several days worth of scraggly growth on his face.

"This isn't your country. You come here uninvited, kill our people, destroy our homes. We're starving to death and it's your fault. You must give us food."

"Tell him we're sorry, but we don't have enough food to share," Walker says evenly.

"You lie! I can smell it!" Randall translates.

"I'm sorry, but..." Captain Walker stammers.

"Chodźmy!" the man shouts.

Like a human wave, the refugees rush the Americans, most flowing through or around the weak cordon and breaking hard towards the camp. Walker grabs the leader by the arm as he shoulders past her, but the scrawny civilian shakes loose. When she grabs him again, this time by the back of his shirt, he spins around and sticks a butcher knife into her belly. Vasquez butt-strokes the leader's arm, and he drops the knife. Honeybear shoves another refugee into a tree, knocking him down. Sarge absorbs a painful blow from a metal pipe with his left arm, punches his assailant square in the face. Walker gingerly pats her belly, feeling for a wound. She'd relieved to find that the Kevlar of her PAGST vest stopped the knife point from penetrating.

Back at camp, Bird, Grease, and Deacon are surprised by the sudden surge of grasping refugees. Bird grabs the shotgun, fires a blast of birdshot over the swarming fugees' heads, to no apparent effect. The assailants go after food and supplies. A woman takes hold of the spited rabbit; Grease grabs the other end of the spit and a sloppy tug-of-war ensues. A man tries to brain the team driver with a hatchet. Grease narrowly sidesteps the killing blow. Bird takes aim at the hatchet wielder's legs and lets fly with the last of the 12-gauge shells. The close-range blast of birdshot nearby blows the man's foot off at the ankle. His agonized screams seem to shock the other refugees into quiescence. With the rest of the Americans' guns drawn and trained, the refugees flee, carrying whatever small items they'd managed to grab (mostly empty ration packaging) but leaving their screaming companion behind. Aside from a few bumps and bruises, everyone in the party is OK.

The campsite is secured an a quick inventory is taken. Only Sarge's pack is missing, but it contained the party's only night optical device. The sun has just gone down and it's growing increasingly dark beneath the trees. Two debates arise (punctuated by the wounded man's anguished cries): first, whether to move on and try to find another campsite in the dark (without NGVs), or to stay put. Second, what to do with the wounded 'fugee After some pretty intense back-and-forth, it's decided to stay put and double the watch; Deacon begins treatment on the wounded man's mangled foot. The medic successfully stops the bleeding and eases his patient's agony a bit with a dose of painkillers. The refugee literally smells like shit. Deacon determines he's ill- probably dysentery or cholera, given the stained, crusty condition of his trousers. With Randall translating, Cap tries to get some useful information out of the "prisoner" but the interrogation only yields inane rambling sprinkled with passionate curses, stressing Walker close to the breaking point.

The watch is doubled and the party spends a largely restless night in the woods. Although there are no more interruptions, no one sleeps long or particularly well, getting only enough to stave off exhaustion for another day of flight. The party leaves the wounded, shit-covered refugee by the side of the forest track with a full canteen and drives west. Although no one was badly hurt, the encounter was costly in terms of supplies.


Ref's Notes:
Encounter 4 was generated using the appropriate tables in the ref's manual. #5 is Hungry & Angry from the random encounter deck. Bird made use of the called shot rules to incapacitate hatchet guy. Captain Walker took a point of stress from a failed persuasion roll during the attempted interrogation of the wounded 'fugee. She even had help! This particular encounter really highlighted the survival aspect of 4e rules. Despite Bird's successful hunting foray, the party is now down to just a couple of rations and full canteens each, so finding food and water has just become a top priority.

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[kcdusk]

I would have stayed put over night too.

I would let the refugee go in the morning, no doubt the group will move off anyway, and he can try and find his "tribe".

I haven't got to stress points yet.

How did you determine that only Sarges backpack was missing, with the NVG. Some sort of random roll

[Raellus]

How did you determine that only Sarges backpack was missing, with the NVG. Some sort of random roll

Yes. I assigned each party member and then rolled a d8 to determine whose pack was stolen. The NVGs were part of Sarge's starting equipment (included in the Operator archetype starting kit list). All of his rations and 1 of his canteens were in the lost pack as well.

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[Raellus]

Encounter 6

July 20, 2000

Pole Position rolls to the western edge of the woods. There's a small village about a klick to the southwest, across farm fields. The approaches slowly, cautiously, observe the settlement from a safe distance. They determine that it is inhabited, but not occupied by enemy forces. Walker and Sarge decide to take a risk and speak with the locals in an effort to get a fix on the unit's position and attempt to trade for some food and fresh water. Contact is made. The party learns that they are in REDACTED, approximately 30km south-southwest of Kalisz. The villagers are a bit standoffish at first, but seem to warm up to the Americans fairly quickly. They let the unit refill its canteens from a hand-pumped well, free of charge, and agree to trade two chickens or one piglet for two AK-74s (the party opts for the chickens). In speaking with the locals, the party learns that there are PolCom troops in the area, reportedly concentrated around Kepno, to the south.

Unbeknownst to the Lost Diamonds, the village elders are in disagreement regarding what to do about their American visitors. Some want to conclude the deal and send the foreign soldiers on their way; others are afraid that if the PolCom or Soviet troops in the area find out that the villagers aided and abetted the enemy, there will be dire consequences for the village (or at least its erstwhile leaders). After some vigorous debate, it's decided to inform nearby Polish troops of the US soldiers' presence; a boy is sent on a bicycle to the nearest patrol base, (a town about 7km to the west) with a message.

Meanwhile, a few of the Red Diamonds have made friends with some of the village children. Randall breaks the ice with some card tricks (using the deck scrounged from the murder-suicide farmhouse). He rewards a young volunteer helper with the broken wristwatch scrounged from the murder-suicide farmstead. The shamefaced recipient sheepishly confesses that his older brother is on his way to tell Polish soldiers that American are in town. Randall immediately shares this intel with Sarge and Cap. Feeling hurt by the villager's duplicity, the unit mounts up and rolls out of town, heading east-southeast (although they intend to make for some woods to the south).

The rest of the morning is spent the same way as the previous one was- driving around on unpaved country roads, trying to keep a generally southeasterly bearing.


Ref's Notes:
This encounter was generated using tables in the Ref's Manual. Pulled card for settlement. Then pulled card for its problem: "divided". Decided that meant the inhabitants didn't know what to do with a party of Americans. Some wanted friendly relations, others wanted to turn them in to gov't forces. Pulled another card (Oracle) and it was black. The elders decide to inform the Polish army.
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[Raellus]

Encounter 7

A tremendous explosion rocks Pole Position. Vasquez is slammed face-first into the open port-side air guard hatch and falls, dazed, into the troop compartment. Instead of following SOP and continuing to drive through what is likely a kill zone, Grease brakes hard, freezing up from the shock of the blast; Honeybear (in the gunners cupola) also seem stunned. Dust and smoke fill the air.


Ref's Notes:
This Death from Below, from the random encounter deck. The shaped-charge IED fails to penetrate the SKOT's armor. What! Yeah, the IED is damage 4 and the SKOT's side armor is 4. No penetration. I roll the hit location die and consult the non-penetration damage table. The result is ricochet. So, basically, everyone riding exposed must roll CUF (2/4 succeed). I roll blast damage B and only one PC is injured (2 points damage). The SKOT isn't damaged at all. Thanks rules I start the clock on the marauder force, They'll be arriving in 5 minutes.


"Dismount!" Sarge yells. Those that can, do. Deacon stays behind to attend to Vasquez.

Lying the shallow drainage ditch at the side of the road, the Diamonds face outwards, squinting as they try to pierce through the haze, searching for their attackers. Seconds pass. Aside from the ringing in their ears, it's quiet. No incoming fire, no movement. The dust settles.

"Landmine" Cap asks.

Sarge glances back at the APC. There's a large scorch mark on the right rear quarter, but none of the wheels appear damaged, not even a flat tire. There's no crater in the road either, just a smoldering bare patch just off the right shoulder, grass and other ground cover blasted away.

"Directional mine, maybe. Or IED," Sarge answers.

A couple of minutes pass. No attack materializes. Having regained his composure, Grease inspects Pole Position for damage. He can't quite believe it, but the Polish-made PC appears to have escaped relatively unscathed. As for its human passengers, miraculously, aside from a few bumps and bruises, everyone is okay. Vasquez got the worst of it- a bloody nose and bruised ribs, but she can still fight, if need be.

"Somethin's comin'!" Bird says, urgency clear in his tone.

Sure enough, looking up the road, the Diamonds see a slab-nosed truck, a heavy machine gun on a tall AA pintle mount poking up from behind the crew cab. It's maybe 100m away and closing fast. Gear heads would recognize the vehicle as a GAZ-66 4x, or the Polish knock off.


Ref's Notes:
The encounter card says PCx2 in a pickup truck technical. The pickup truck only seats a total of 6, though [did the designers assume PC parties of 3], so I upgraded their ride to a GAZ-66 (13 passengers; leaving 3 marauders behind at their base). The marauders fail their recon role, so they assume they are approaching a soft-killed AFV and proceed with incaution.


There's no time to discuss the next course of action. Sarge shouts, "Honeybear, hit it!"

Pole Position's A gunner brings the vehicle's DShK to bear and opens fire. The big gun hammers out rounds; tracers streak away and disappear into the truck's crew cab and engine compartment. The GAZ drifts to its right (the party's left) and crashes to a halt in the shallow drainage ditch. The rest of the Diamonds open fire, pumping rounds downrange. The unarmored truck stops very few of these and casualties quickly mount.


Ref's Notes:
I learned that I don't want the PCs to ride in an unarmored vehicle. The GAZ is rated at armor 1 (all sides). The DShK does 4 damage. I rolled all six ammo dice. Long story short, with 22 rounds, HB kills the commander and driver and damages the engine. I roll deviation dice and determine that the out of control GAZ swerves (not sharply) right and stops abruptly in the ditch. I rule that all passengers take falling damage (the minimum possible, so 1) as inertia throws them violently forward in the truck bed. The PCs emerge from the lee of the SKOT and pour rapid fire (3-6 ammo dice) into the crashed GAZ. In short order, two passengers in the bed, including the HMG gunner, are killed (one of them slowly, after his arm is blown off). Vasquez misses 10m long with a 40mm HE round. In v2.2, this would still do some damage. In 4e, it does not- the latter is probably the more realistic outcome. As the OPFOR continue to fail CUF rolls (caused by close calls or stress from seeing their buddies killed in front of them), or spend slow actions to un-ass the crippled GAZ, the PCs continue to blast away. The engine block is pulverized by another long burst of HMG fire. Small arms rounds blow out tires and puncture the fuel tank (but the leaking meth doesn't ignite, per the rules). Another passenger cowering in the bed is killed.


Bird and Vasquez set up over-watch on the front and rear of the truck, respectively. The Diamonds pause to reload and come up with a tactical plan to finish the enemy. Sarge swaps weapons with Cap (his M16A2 for her M4 carbine), collars Randle, and pulls Honeybear off the SKOT's HMG (replacing him with Grease), thus forming a 3-man assault team. The plan is simple, but not without risk: cross the road, advance to within hand grenade range, and assault the covered side of the truck. With the others providing covering fire, the assault team sprints across the road into the drainage ditch. Lying in wait, Bird and Vasquez both shoot and kill marauder riflemen that appear at either end of the GAZ. The assault team starts to advance along the ditch towards the GAZ. The high volume and accuracy of covering fire, and the geometry of truck, ditch, and opposing forces, conspire to keep the assault team largely out of the enemy's line of sight for most of the advance.


Ref's Notes:
At this point in the firefight, I'm kind of struggling with what the six surviving marauders would do. I'm not even sure what I would do if I was in their shoes, tactically speaking. They're pinned down and taking casualties every round. Almost all of the survivors have failed at least one CUF roll. I remember to use the Oracle. I draw a red 6 (mild boon). What does that mean I decide that it means that some of the marauders try to retreat. I roll a d6: two is the result. Two marauders pull a runner. After playing with Google maps, any retreating OPFOR would have maybe a 10m lane where the PCs wouldn't have LOS, but then I thought about the HMG on the SKOT. It's elevated about 2m off the ground and the flatbed GAZ is in a ditch, so I decided it's likely the SKOT gunner would be able to see over the truck once any runners were 20-30m removed. I ruled that the runners' upper bodies would be visible starting at 100m (SKOT and GAZ are 80m apart).


From his elevated perch in Pole Position's gunner's cupola, Grease spots two figures running away from the fight. They're trying to use the truck to screen their flight, but at about 120m, their upper bodies are unmasked. The team driver/mechanic takes aim and squeezes the trigger. Tracers reach out towards the runners. Both targets are knocked down and out of sight by the long burst. Grease is about 90% sure he hit them.

Ref's Notes:
Grease engaged at about 120m (short range for the DShK is 150m) and rolled multiple hits. Hit location was arms for both and, since they only had 3HP each and the DShK does 4 dam (Crits!), they were both killed.


The three-man assault team closes to within 30m of the crippled GAZ. PR and Sarge prep hand grenades, while Honeybear covers them with his MAG. The Diamonds' throws are dead-on. Both frags explode close-in on the sheltered side of the truck. Honeybear swings out wide left and drops prone behind his gun while Sarge and PR rush forward to follow up the grenade attack. There's no one left to finish (in sight). Four bodies lie in various contorted positions along the starboard side of the ravaged Gaz.

Only the interior of the truck bed and the space behind the tailgate are not visible.

"Tell them to surrender," Sarge pants.

"Poddać się! To twoja ostatnia szansa! Wyjdź z podniesionymi rękami!"

After a pregnant pause, two men emerge from behind the tailgate, hands raised, eyes filled with terror. The firefight is over.


Ref's Notes:
I learned that hand grenades are more deadly than 40mm grenades. PR rollis a D12 and a D6, Sarge just a D6. Both hit! Roll the 2 d8s for Blast C. Half the dice hit. That's 4 damage, enough to kill both the marauders near the nose of the GAZ.

The results of the combat were great. None of the PCs were injured (after the IED). The victory did cost a lot of ammo (56 rounds of 12.7mm, alone) but the party will be able to recover 200 rounds from the unfired enemy DShK, 1/4 tank of meth, and a bunch of AKMs (with one reload each). Next up, interrogating the two prisoners...

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[kcdusk]

Encounter 6: good job with interacting with a village. I know in my own games, combat happens and is easy enough to work out. But i've struggled gaming out social interactions. V4.0 seems to make it easier for me, and i've noted in my own game i intend to game out more social interactions. So good to read your own example.

[kcdusk]

Refs Notes:
At this point in the firefight, I'm kind of struggling with what the six surviving marauders would do. I'm not even sure what I would do if I was in their shoes, tactically speaking. Theyre pinned down and taking casualties every round. Almost all of the survivors have failed at least one CUF roll. ).


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At this point i think they'd surrender. I'll have to reread v4.0 to see if it mentions % of squad losses leading to panic or surrender (or maybe that was another set of rules i was reading). Or i'd make up a random table for their decision, from surrender, retreat/escape, fight on ....

[Raellus]

At this point i think they'd surrender. I'll have to reread v4.0 to see if it mentions % of squad losses leading to panic or surrender.

I also remember seeing something about that in one of the rulebooks but I couldn't find it. A couple of the REC's specifically mention that the OPFOR retreats after taking 50% casualties, so maybe that's what we're remembering. Anyway, I would have had the marauders retreat once 7/13 had been killed, but there wasn't a safe egress route. I reckon the vast majority of people in a similar situation (pinned down behind cover 80m from the enemy with no other cover nearby) would stay behind cover rather than break and run essentially into the open whilst under heavy fire. It all worked out, in the end, though. But I definitely had to give the situation some thought.

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