"Headquarters Hell"
Pacification Arc - Mission 4
A Firefight 2.0 scenario for two players by Greg Rumbles.
A tip from a captured looter has led Sir Conner Sinclair’s Canlastrian Borderer combined action team to the dishevelled slum area of Coggshall’s Zone 5 searching for some Yordist ‘Stay Behind’ troops.
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The dishevelled slum area of Coggshall’s Zone 5, known among the soldiers as ‘Pig Ally’. Often frequented in off duty hours by those seeking companionship and cheap spirits. Both of which were to be found aplenty for those with the cash to pay for such things, neither of those were the reason why Sinclair was here tonight. It was a tip from a captured looter that had led Sir Conner Sinclair’s Canlastrian Borderer combined action team here, and they were ready.
Four cloaked and hooded figures left the building he was watching, a typical city slum, through a side door and double timed past the dilapidated home. Sir Conner Sinclair switched his voice communicator to speaker mode and pumped the volume to full. “Halt! Halt you boggin bawheids, in the name of her Highness, the Baroness Margrette!”
The cloaked figures stopped abruptly in the middle of the alley, in the silence of the night Sinclair heard one speak softly, “Sod it.”
He sent the silent signal to his team, -be ready-
Louder, the one who had spoken suddenly called out, “Yer ‘eads lit!”
Sinclair watched as the moment’s silent pause before a firefight happened, the milliseconds where time stands still, slowly passed by. Suddenly the figure’s cloaks billowed about them as they swiftly turned and unleashed a hail of rapid fire from their concealed Angis Rifles at the Canlastrian’s ‘hired help’, the Tocs Borderers.
The Alwite armoured Retained of Sinclair’s Post coalesced in formation in the middle of the street, refusing to take cover despite their readings confirming their opponent’s cloaks covered similar armour. It was an encounter between equals. Grimly they returned 12.5mm fire, standing stoically beside their Knight as he bellowed “Lost me mind ‘ave I? Aye, yer Maw!!!”
Dust, brass casings and a hailstorm of brick chips flew in the cacophony of weapons fire and oaths.
Sinclair’s attached muster rifle squad had been following closely behind the Toc Retained and, now that the firefight had begun, quickly assaulted the recently vacated slum with an eye to flanking the now uncovered Yordist Retained. Well, that had been the cunning plan of the young Muster Emeritas…
However, when blood is being split on the streets little goes to plan. The house was not as empty as reports had shown; they were immediately engaged by a squad of Yordist Mustermen. The fighting was going to be fast and furious, a test of the quick and the dead.
There were going to be no ties this day.
The Mission and Its Aims
A copy of IAG001 Firefight 2.0 Killing Streets for the Firefight rules is necessary to play this mission. Also required are two squads of ION Age Muster miniatures and a post of Retained.
This is a two to four player mission, with the Canlastrian player(s) commanding a Canlastrian mercenary Lothian Borderer Retained post trying to round up and capture Yordist ‘stay behind’ forces in Zone 5 of Coggshall. They are supported by a rifle squad of Tocs Mustermen.
The Yordist player(s) also command a Retained post and a squad of Yordist Mustermen, who have been caught by Canlastrian units while leaving a ‘safe-house’. The Yordist objective is to disengage from the initial firefight and escape down either of the two alleyways on each side of the building or to try and shoot their way through the Canlastrian forces and make their getaway down the street out front. The Canlastrian objective is to stop them. The buildings in the area have outer walls of dodge score 3 value. All building inner walls are of dodge score 2 value.
Creating the Playing Area
One ‘safe-house’ building at the centre of the board, placed in the centre of a ‘U’ of street boards. Make the two sides narrower by adding the two thin building pieces to each of the streets which will become alleyway ‘arms’ of the ‘U’. A building board should be placed behind the safe-house building. This should create a battle area which is 3 boards wide by 3 boards deep.
Player One – Sir Conner Sinclair, Mercenary Retained Knight of the Lothian Tocs Borderers
You have a 105 point post of Retained troops. One Retained Household Knight (Sinclair) with a Tumbler MkIII SMG and an Octa Sword, one Retained Household Medic with a Tumbler MkIII SMG and two Retained Household Varlets, each armed with an Angis 12.5mm Automatic Rifles and a Hobbes Bomb.
Your second squad of 78 points has one Emeritas (John Kerr) and three Mustermen all carrying 9mm Moth Type VI Automatic Rifles and a Hobbes Bomb. One of them is a medic.
Place the Canlastrian Mercenaries 2 or 3 squares in front of the of the Yordist safe-house in the centre of the board. The Tocs Retained post must be positioned in the street looking down the west alleyway at the Yordist Retained post which has just exited the building. The Tocs Mustermen should be placed within 1d6 squares adjacent to the Tocs Retained post, but directly opposite the front of the house.
There are no alternate options for these units.
Player Two – Yordist Retained Household Knight, Sir Reginald Oxford of Yordan III
You have a Retained Post of 116 points, containing one Household Knight (Oxford) with a Tumbler MkIII SMG, one Knight HW with a Minstrel Taser, one Knight HW with a Moth Type XII Launcher and one Varlet with a 12.5mm Automatic Rifle. One character may have a Hobbes Bomb. The Moth Type XII is limited to three rounds of ammunition.
You also have a 65 point squad of Mustermen, containing one Emeritas (Tom Thorn) with a Moth Type VI 9mm Automatic Rifle, and three infantry, also with Moth VI Rifles. One character may have a Hobbes Bomb.
Place the Retained post (Oxford’s) 1D6+2 squares directly opposite and facing the Canlastrian Mercenary Retained. The Musterman squad (Thorn’s) should be placed in the back of the safe-house. Thorne must fight his way out of the building to escape.
There are no alternate options for these units.
Special Rules and Conditions
There are no special rules for this mission.
Expanding The Mission
This mission is part of the Pacification Firefight 2.0 Campaign Mission Arc, set after the fall of Bosworth IV, and should be played with other missions in the Arc in the correct order.
This mission sets the stage for the following missions and it should not be expanded.
It may also be played as a stand- alone scenario.
Designer’s Notes
This mission is the fourth of a series of missions in a Firefight 2.0 Campaign Arc which is meant to show the difficulties faced by an occupying force in a built up area in time of war. I have drawn upon the reports of recent military experiences in the modern age and have applied them to this mission arc. When the players have finished all of the missions, it is my hope they will be enlightened to the truly difficult job military personnel have when forced by circumstance and orders to occupy and garrison a city in a foreign land.
The mission reflects a patrol sized action. One of the rare, yet brutally sudden stand up fights which can occur when insurgent forces are caught unawares and forced to fight toe-to-toe.
This mission’s play tests showed it is quite literally anyone’s game. The sides are evenly matched, the Yordist advantage in heavy weapons offset by the close range and lack of launcher rounds.
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Webmaster's Notes
This article was originally published on Barking Irons Online and is reproduced here with permission.
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