RPG Design: The Core of an RPG

 

At heart, this is not a blog about RPG Design.  At best I am a dabbler.  There are far better blogs about RPG design and you should probably go look at those.  However, as a dabbler I have come to a few thoughts about RPGs that I like to write a bit about.  If I have learned anything from my forays into RPG design, it is that there are a lot of different preferences, styles, and history out there.  I know my preferences, so I will most likely be leaning into those.  I look forward to being told how wrong I am in comments!  

In Wargame Design, we know the basic elements are the 4Ms. Sure, there is a lot of flash and chrome you can add to it, but a wargame ultimate comes down to Movement, Missiles, Melee, and Morale.  These act as the starting point for any effort at wargame design.  If you can not cover those basic components, then you probably do not have a wargame design yet.  

RPGs also have a basic starting point for an RPG and everything else is just additional chrome and features built on top of it.  It is a simple equation.  

Situation + Player Action = New Situation   

At the heart of every Role-Playing Game you find this simple equation.  A situation is introduced, the player decides how to react to that situation and this generates a new situation.  The details vary from one RPG to the next, but the core is always this same equation.  

You will notice that the Core of an RPG is not about creating characters, classes, levels, skill trees, or anything else.  All of that is window dressing and chrome beyond the core function of a Role-Playing Game.  The purpose is to allow players to "play a role" and the only way they can do that is by giving a player a situation, allow them to take an action as the character, and then relate what the new situation is because of the action.  The New Situation then becomes the starting Situation, and the process repeats itself ad infinitum until the player no longer wants to generate new situations.  

Therefore, if you are going to be creating an RPG, you need to build off this core idea.  If you don't, you may not have a Role-Playing Game yet. 

Situations

Let's take a closer look at the components of this simple equation.  The first step is a "situation".  What is a situation?  

In this case, it can be one of a number of potential things and is often considered a scene, a setting, an encounter, etc.  However, a situation in this case is actually a choice.  Whenever a Player has the choice to act, that is a situation. The situation is simply a call to action, and point where the Player is asked to make a decision for the character in order to proceed.  

Some basic examples: 

- You come across two doors.  Which way do you go? 

- A rival appears.  What do you do? 

- The advisor to the king counters your argument.  Now what?  

- They land on an alien world.  Now what? 

Those are all very simple examples of a situation.  You can see that they do not need to be complex.  There is a lot more detail and nuance that can take place in the situation, but the heart of it is a call for the character to act, and the player to make some sort of decision. 

Of course, the Player will have their character take some action.  By taking action, the situation is changed.  It does not matter if the action succeeds or fails, the simple act of making a decision is enough to change things.  Even if the decision is NOT to act yet, that leads to the new situation and the next call to make a decision.  This is the New Situation.  

For example:  

- You come across two doors.  Which way do you go?  Go left.  It opens into a hallway with a doorway at the far end.  Do you go to it?   

- A rival appears.  What do you do?  I go to a nearby table and throw a cream pie at them.  It hits and they are covered in whipped filling.  They are angry.  Now what?       

- The advisor to the king counters your argument.  Now what?  I reveal he is an enemy spy.  The King is shocked and demands proof.  Do you have proof?   

- They land on an alien world.  Now what? We check for breathable air.  It is not breathable.  How are you going to go outside?

  

To Infinity and Beyond

The key component is that this simple equation continues to play out, over, and over, and over again.  Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of times a Situation + Player Action = New Situation as it continues to repeat.  The only way it ends, is if the player chooses to stop playing.  Even if a player's character dies, that doe not have to end this loop.  It just creates a new situation. 

The "Game" in Role-Playing Game focuses on this endless loop.  That's it.  Seeing what happens and determining your next actions based on the evolving situation IS the game.  It is not about wealth, experience, skill building, character arcs, etc.  Those are chrome that you can add onto a game but the true reason for the game is to take actions and change the situation, and see where it leads you. 

Core Mechanic and Core Gameplay Loop

Therefore, if the core Gameplay Loop is: 

Situation + Player Action = New Situations

The next logical question is how does your game facilitate the transition from Situation to New Situation.  That is your Core Mechanic.  The Core Mechanic is to help facilitate how to determine the success and failure of the Player's Action and how that translates into a New Situation.  Success may lead to one outcome while failure leads to another.   Success, failure, or no action in the mechanic should still lead to New Situations.  

The only core utility of the  Core Mechanic is to help players make the transition from the situation to the new situation.  Typically success is a positive outcome for the player's character and failure is a negative outcome for the player's character.  Anything else is all details and chrome. 

Final Thoughts

Obviously, we are still at a very abstract level when talking about Role-Play Game design.  We are not doing probability math yet, we are just talking about concepts.  However, without a strong understanding of these concepts, no probability math in the world will save you.  If you don't understand the Core Gameplay Loop, then you can't design effectively.  Of course, your Core Mechanic needs to support and ease the transitions in the Core Gameplay Loop.  If it doesn't, you will not have a successful RPG. 

I look forward to seeing how wrong I am in the comments!  Until next time! 

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Battle Report: Under The Martian Yoke - Running From Danger!

 

Here we are at game 6 out of the 10 games I wanted to play in the campaign.  Can my survivors make it out of Martian territory?  So far, it has been a rough campaign.  After early successes, things went downhill rapidly!  Now, they are battered, bruised, and dying of thirst.  Far from the plucky band of heroes they started as!  Let's see if they finally catch a break?  However, this is a horror game so don't count on it!

The group just found a new hide-out after their last one and its stash got destroyed.  They have been out of food, water, and scrap for the last two games now.  This is a make of break game, because without water people are going to die at the end of this one.

His throat was burning.  It had been a long time, and it was best not to think about it.  John limped along with the group.  He knew as much as anyone that they needed to find water, but his leg was killing him.  He was too tired to be ornery, but his body was aching.  

Luke glanced down at the map Annie had.  He didn't want to get too far away from their new hide-out.  All around them was just blank space on the map.  A whole lot of nothing and woods.  

Tommy signaled to the group, and they all crouched down.  He scooted back and reported in, "There is a shack up ahead."

"Anyone in it?" The young boy shrugged his shoulders.  

"Okay, good work.  Let's spread out and approach from the woods.  Be cautious, and don't get ahead of your boots," Luke said.

The small group approached, but before they could get inside an loot the place, things took a turn for the worst.  A Tripod reared up from the woods on the opposite side of the house.  It's war horns trilled as the sunset glinted off it's reddish hull.  In response, dogs howled nearby.  

Annie's eyes went wide, "By Christ, let's get outta here!"  Luke found his feet moving before he could respond.  

Our Survivor Band

Right now, our plucky band is 4 survivors.  I am using Copplestone Casting gangster range for the miniatures.

The back left is Handsome John.  He was a criminal archetype who ran for the hills to survive.  

Activation    Aimed    Suppression    Fight    Brawn    Brains    Nerve  Exp

5+/2                6+        3+                    4+        8+            9+        7+        5

- Cool Customer 

- Body Injury (+1 to Grit tests)

- Leg Injury (3MU Move) 

- Fear the Dark - If in a Dark Place and alone, must take a Fear test

- Pistol, Knife, Canteen of Alcohol

- Duck and Weave- Shooting attacks have a -1 TN when he has moved.

Next is Tommy Wilkins.  He is just a kid, but survived when a building fell on his family.  He managed to dig his way out.  

Activation    Aimed    Suppression    Fight    Brawn    Brains    Nerve      Exp

3+/2             9+                8+               6+          4+        7+          5+ (6+)       4

Pitter Patter of little feet, Fear of Enclosed Spaces

- Improvised Fight weapon, Satchel, Good Shoes 

- Shellshocked 

- Jump Back skill

The lady is Annie McCall is a devout believer who is struggling to process what is going on.  She was part of an ambushed evacuation, and forced to flee. 

Activation    Aimed        Suppression    Fight    Brawn    Brains    Nerve      Exp

6+/2              7+ (8+)           5+                   9+        8+          4+         3+          14

Pray, +3 Experience

- Pistol, Map, Bandages, and Knife

- Eye Injury

Finally we have Luke Goodson who is the leader of this little band of survivors.  He survived when he was suddenly knocked unconscious.

Activation    Aimed    Suppression        Fight    Brawn      Brains    Nerve    Exp

5+/2              7+           6+ (7+)                    4+       8+          9+        3+          14

Do As I Say, Do Not Be Afraid

- Knife, Flares, Empty Canteen

- Nerve Damage

- 1 Game without water

They are all suffering deprivation for two games now, making their Target Numbers even higher!  Luke managed to get water from a Canteen for 1 game, but that was empty after the last one. 

• Every Game without enough food = +1 TN for Brawn and Fight (Max 10)
• Every game without enough Water= +1 TN for Brains and Nerve (Max 10)
• Every game without enough Scrap= +1 TN for Shooting and Grit (Max 10)

If John, Tommy, and Annie do not get water at the end of this game, they are going to die! 

Scenario

We followed the scenario generation method in the rules.  I was very disappointed to roll up a 1, Martian Swarm!  Oh dear.  Annie has a map, and that allowed me to move it to the next higher scenario and only slightly less dangerous, the Running From Danger scenario.  These guys really need a Scavenge or Loot scenario about now!  

This scenario starts with 3 Dangers on the table.  We randomly roll up 4 Wild Dogs, a Jolter, and .....  oh man..... a Tripod!  That is not a great way to start the scenario!  This one is going to take place at dusk.  That will help reduce Line-of-sight BUT Handsome John is afraid of the Dark since a bad encounter with Black Dust. 

In addition, we rolled up 3 Green Gas Clouds that are hovering around the area.  This will make things just a bit more dangerous for our heroes.  

Set-up

This will be played on a 36 x 36 MU board with each MU equal to 1 inch. 

I used the method to place terrain outlined in the rules.  This gave me a decent mix of terrain for this board.  Hopefully, it will give my survivor's chance.  However, with the Green Gas Clouds and a Tripod to start with, things are going to be tough for turn 1!  

The Survivor's chose their deployment zone and started per the scenario, then we deployed the Martian pursuers.  In the end, the board looked like this.....

Before starting, I moved my little band up into the woods at the top of the board.  I did not want that Tripod seeing me right away!

As usual, I won't go over every turn but try to give you a high level overview of the action.  

The Game   

Our heroes creep to the edge of the woods, but stay hidden in cover.  They let the sunset and stay down to reduce Line-of-sight, before they make their move.  However, their plan is foiled as the Tripod starts heading their way.  It sees them as they are at the edge of the woods.  

With the Tripod heading their way, the survivors try to break cover and get across the trail and to the woods on the other side. However, in their deprived state they get caught up in the brush before they can get to cover, or fail to activate a second time. 

Wild Dogs swarm Annie as she tries to stumble through the shrubs!  The pack makes short work of her and she is quickly down and possibly dead! Not seeing any foes, the Jolter just leaves the area, wandering around looking for prey elsewhere.  The Martian Tripod sweeps its heat ray, but Handsome John manages to duck and weave to avoid its deadly rays.  Trees nearby explode as the moisture in them evaporates!

Handsome John manages to pass his Fear test after watching Annie go down.  He has a pack of Wild Dogs too close, so he fires at them to suppress them.  The dogs are too hungry to be scared off by his shots.  Worse, he runs out of ammunition as well.  He stumbles away from them, but probably not far enough.  

Tommy manages to get into the woods after some desperate thrashing.  He manages to hold it together, despite seeing Annie go down.  Luke moves to where he can help Handsome John if the Dogs attack! 

Of course, the dogs attack.  Luke manages to kill one.  Handsome John struggles with two more, and gets a nasty bite, but fights on.  Just a scratch!  However, the Tripod lumbers in and sweeps the area with his Heat Ray once more!  Two more dogs are killed, and the third flees from the blast.  However, Luke and John manage to avoid the exploding shrapnel and manage to just get severely banged up, but are still standing!

Tommy manages a Dynamic Action test and dashes through the woods and to safety!  Luke and Handsome John are way behind now, but manage to make it into the woods for some cover!  The Tripod can barely see them in the fading light, and fires again!  This was 1 Heat blast too many and the two go down.  

With that, my survivors involuntarily Scatter.

Post-Game Sequence

Well, Luke and Handsome John ended the game down. However, they barely manage to make their Grit tests and avoid serious injury.  That means they can scavenge!   Annie is not so lucky!  

• Annie receives a Leg wound and is reduced to 3 MU movement
• Tommy gains 6 Experience, which he banks for now

No one scouts for Martians as they need to get Water over anything else!  Thankfully, none find their new Storefront even with a -4 to the roll!  This will allow them to re-roll a Scavenge tests!  

Tommy manages to find an old scrapyard, where he finds 20 scrap, and some ammo for a pistol.  Handsome John re-loads his pistol.  Handsome John then goes out searching, but collapses from exhaustion and finds nothing.   Luke finds a pond and manages to get 4 water, and rummaging around in the storefront he finds 8 more water in a buried cistern!  

In the Deprivation stage, there are tough choices.  8 water is used to keep all of them from depriving further from water.  I then uses the last two on Tommy and Annie to get them back to down 1.  Luke and John are now down 2 each, on the edge of death.  They have enough scrap to shelter in place and avoid deprivation from scrap, and keep 8 in the stash for next time.  However, none of them have food, and are now at 3 days without.  Two more and people start to die!     

Conclusion

Cool, cool water.  He had never tasted anything so good!  He tapped his flask of alcohol, but that didn't even hold up.  He was still thirsty, but his body aches seemed to subside from it.  However, his stomach growled to remind him how far behind he was on a meal.  How much longer could they go on?  

"Look Luke, I don't know how much longer we can go?  All of us have taken a beating," John grimaced.

"What's the alternative? Lay down and die? 

Tommy shook his head aggressively.  Annie was sleeping, but she thrashed around a bit.  Tommy did his best to hold her still.  Her wounds were freshly bandaged, but those were running low too.  

"We need to keep going, our only chance is to get away from the Martians," Luke said. 

John grimaced, but kept his ill-thoughts to himself.  What if there WAS no getting away from the Martians.     

Another very tough scenario.  My group is in rough shape, and still needs to last 4 more scenarios.  Things do not look very good as they run low on food, water, and injuries are stacking up!  Can they make it?  I am not sure, but I have to start rolling better on the scenario chart!  

Until next time!   

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Wargame Design: Dealing with Burnout

 

Burn-out is a common topic amongst wargamers.  Losing the mojo to paint.  Losing enthusiasm for a project half-way through.  Never finishing and leaving half-loved ideas, game systems, and collections in your wake.  It is something we have all experienced, so let's talk about it!  

First off, I am not an expert on burn-out.  I don't even think I could define it.  For those two reasons, I am not even going to bother to try.  We have all experienced it, and we can all look back at a time in our lives when it was impacting us.  If you have never experienced it.... lucky you!  There are other great posts for you to enjoy on the blog!  

The second thing to remember is that whatever advice I give is worthless.  We all experience burn-out differently, and we all cope with it differently.  What I write below will probably not work for you.  However, these are all tips and tricks that have worked for me in the past.  If you are extremely lucky, some of them make work for you.  

Now that we have set the ground rules are you ready to talk about the war elephant in the room?  

The Nike Method

Of course, Nike is the Greek goddess of victory..... and a major shoe company.  Those of us of a certain vintage know there famous tag-line, "Just Do It".  Honestly, the number one with a bullet (another vintage saying) method I use for getting over burn-out on a project is to just do it.  I don't wait or expect me to feel a certain way about a project.  Instead, I just get on with it and realize that my output may not be the best.  If it is writing that is what the editing process is for.  If it is painting that is what the wash is for.  If it is researching that is what the internet is for.  Just get on with it all ready.  

You see, the hardest part of doing a thing is doing a thing.  Therefore, to get past the burn-out stage you just have to do the thing.  Once you start it is a lot easier.  The hardest thing for a writer to look at is a blank page.  For a wargame project it is unopened boxes and unassembled models.  For painting it is picking up a brush and applying it to model.  

I am in a slightly different place than many of you. I make money based on my output.  No reviews, no painted models, no rules, no money.  Granted, this is just a side hustle.  If I stopped doing this, no one would miss me; and my life could go on.  My kids would not starve and house would not be repossessed.  However, I still make money from this and that helps motivate me to use the Nike method.  No output equals no budget for any projects.  

Even more important, I like to think there is some contingent of folks out there who ARE counting on my output.  It is not my family, friends, or True Crit Gaming Guild.  They will be there if I keep finishing gaming products or not.  However, YOU help keep me going and creating content.  Trust me, there are some days where I just do not want to write, paint, play, review, or make content.  Who thought posting on Social Media could be such a chore!  

Therefore, the Nike method works well for me.  Just do it.  

Move the Goalposts

The next technique that I use to keep things fresh is that I do not set myself strict timelines, deadlines, or even strict goals.  I give myself plenty of room to "move the goal posts".  By that I means, I just have a vague idea of what needs to be done and when, nothing is set in stone.  This gives me the freedom of action I craze to follow where my brush takes me, follow where my dreams lead, and get a lot of stuff done.  

I have heard the saying, "I am a wargaming butterfly" many times.  That typically means you float from project to project and often do not finish anything.  I am not a wargaming butterfly.  I always have multiple projects running at a time, and definitely flit between them.  However, I finish a lot of projects.  I typically have 2-6 rules projects, 2-5 blog posts, and 2 painting projects running at any given time.  However, I also have no given time to have them done.  Instead, I have loose Goals and Objectives and if I don't hit them, I don't hit them.  

I do not start or purchase anything for a new project until one of the other projects is completed.  Therefore, my plate is always full, but never overflowing.  

Expose Yourself to Inspiration

Here, is is about getting new stimuli into your brain.  This often takes the form of movies, TV shows, music, books, graphic novels, art work, plays, opera, improv and anything else that can be fuel to create!  You need to expose yourself to a wide variety of sources.  Do not limit yourself to just screens either.  In fact, the more you expose yourself  to media outside your status quo the better.  Look at new genres, try different mediums, and get beyond the tropes and story lines you are used to seeing.  

Your brain will often take the ideas you are exposed to and bury them deep into your subconscious.  For me, these ideas are often then expressed in my dreams.  Some of my best work as concepts and mechanics has come from dreams!        

Touch Grass

As the kids say today, sometimes you just need to get outside and touch some grass.  Like the above, you are attempting to expose yourself to inspiration but also to de-clutter your headspace.  A bit of exercise can be helpful in this regard.  

I tend to to hiking and if there is one thing about day-hiking in this area you spend 2/3rds of it going up.  You can feel the anerobic (?) activities of the body and then tends to toss out all the rest of the crap in your head.  Plus, the views can often be inspiring in and of themselves.  Sure, maybe you didn't make any progress on your painting backlog, your writing project, or the diorama you are building, but you did just climb a mountain.  

All of us have access to that outside activity that we like.  Mine is day-hiking.  My wife likes swimming laps.  Other folks in my group go rockhounding, running, biking, wandering around on foot aimlessly, etc.  The key thing is to get outside, do something active, and clear your head of clutter by focusing on physical activity.  This can often give you fresh ways of thinking.    

Final Thoughts 

There you have it.  I am no expert on burn-out or how to deal with it.  However, these are some things that work for me.  If you are lucky, maybe they are some things that will help you too.  We are all different, but maybe this insight will be some use to you?  If not....well..... you get what you paid for!  In this case, nothing!  

Until next time. 

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Review: Return of the Witch Lord - Hasbro/Avalon Hill

 

Welcome back to more exciting Heroquest action!  For those following along at home, I have been talking about and reviewing various Heroquest expansions as I finish painting them up.  So far, I have completed the Core set, Against the Ogre Horde, and Kellar's Keep.  Now it is onto my latest purchase, Return of the Witch Lord!  

Of all the expansions of the original game, this was the only one I had back-in-the-day.  I mostly expanded it myself, with my own creations.  I was all ready a blossoming RPGer and Wargamer, so I had plenty of miniatures floating around to expand the HQ experience for my "casual" friends.  I used Heroquest as a gateway drug to suck some of the Normies into my strange, esoteric, and forbidden hobbies!  Despite owning it, I don't think we ever played it out.  

One of the big draws to pick up this Questpack was that it was a direct continuation of the original storyline from the main core set.  The Witch Lord is a recurring NPC from that initial campaign.  It is arguably the players themselves who have unleashed the Witch Lord on the good people of the realm!  Therefore, it makes sense that they would need to eventually deal with the consequences.  Unlike Kellar's Keep, this one is not a McGuffin hunt, you set-out with the purpose to defeat the Witch Lord. 

So, don your armor and heft your blade for it is time to delve into the labyrinth beneath great ruins of Kalos to face the vile necromancer.  Who know what we will find......

Things I Liked

As in Kellar's Keep, the game introduces the idea that you enter and escape the board via an entrance and an exit.  It is not always based on entering or leaving via a stairway.  

There are about 5 new Artifacts, even if the Throwing Dagger is also in Kellar's Keep.  There are some new ones too.  The Armband of Healing is especially useful.  However, the key thing is that the game is continuing to expand on it expendable items for heroes to acquire and use.   

The dungeons in this Questpack seem more elaborate and dangerous than the ones in Kellar's Keep!

Things I Did Not Like

At one point in the Quest, two of the Characters are captured.  This fate is unavoidable, which screams railroad.  Thankfully, this isn't a true RPG.  More importantly, that means, if you have a group of 4 player, two are sitting out for some adventures.  Boring.  If you don't have a full group, it is less of an issue.   

There are several "named" foes in this Questpack.  It would be really cool to see some special minis for these foes instead of the same old Dread Wizard.  I mean, the art for the Witch Lord is pretty cool, it would be nifty to see him on the board.  I think Against the Ogre Horde did this right with some of the main Ogres getting their own special miniatures.  Now I am spoiled and want that for the Witch Lord and his crew!  They should really come out with a "Villains" of Heroquest boxed with minis for the Witchlord, the Guardian of Grin's Gap, Skulmar, Balur the Fire Mage, Ulag and Grak, etc.   

Where is my model?

Meh and Other Uncertainties

Of course, defeating the Witch Lord just opens the door to further adventures!  All the conclusions in these Quest Books just lead to more branches to follow later.  

As usual, the end of the booklet has reference pictures for making your own dungeons with the new components.  I really appreciate this as it was what made the original game such a standard for us to play as young'ins! 

The game set comes with the Iron and Wooden door, and several new Undead models.  They are simple repeats from the Core set; 8 Skeletons, 4 Zombies, and 4 Mummies.  Unlike Kellar's Keep I think you need these expansions to properly play all the scenarios in the book.  The Core set miniatures will not be enough.  

The Death Mist mechanic and token is a nifty little idea.  I also enjoyed the revolving room.  They are nice unique twists to keep the game fresh.  Players and Zargons keep discovering new little twists to how you thought the game was played as you keep going.  This helps the game feel fresh.   

  Final Thoughts

This feels like a better Questpack than Kellar's Keep.  It looks tougher, and the undead focus makes a solid theme.  That said, I am glad I have them both because now the players can make a choice at the end of the main Heroquest Core set, and that leads them to different adventure paths.  If I had to choose one over the other, I would go with this one. 

Kellar's Keep and Return of the Witch Lord are basically just ports from the old game.  They do not add a lot of new mechanics.  The main draw is simply more quests and more miniatures.  After painting this up, I will have a decent sized set of Undead to go with my Greenskins for this game.  Probably more than I really need!

I still need to try the App.  If you have given it a shot, let me know about what you thought of it in comments.  Thanks!   

Now, Hasbro..... let's talk about an updated and re-release of Battlemasters using Heroquest style sculpts and mechanics.  

Until next time!   

Become a Patron and get access to all the cool stuff, a peak behind the curtain of Blood and Spectacles, and early-access to playtest games!  

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Battle Report: Under the Martian Yoke - Sneak Past

 

We have been following some plucky survivors of the Martian invasion of 1938.  Things started out pretty good for our little band of heroes.  However, last game things took a dramatic turn for the worst!  As they tried to hole up in a nearby corner store, a Martian Tripod ambushed them and quickly downed the whole party!  To make matters worse, their farmhouse base was over run and their stash was destroyed!  Everyone went hungry and got some sort of injury from the encounter! 

Now, they find themselves deep in Martian territory and on the run.  As they sneak through the forested area, they run across some Martian sentinels and need to sneak past.  

Thankfully, it wasn't winter yet.  Even though, the darkest parts of night were still chilly.  Luke blew on his hands, but the tingling in his right hand was not going away.  He was starting to think it was more than just the cold.  

Annie and Tommy were hunkered up together trying to stay warm.  Luke and John had laid down their jackets, but the two were still mostly sleeping on the ground.  Luke knew that could drain your body heat real fast.  They did not dare to make a fire to ward of the chill.   

John had tried to keep a watch, but he was swinging his gun at every shadow.  Luke got up and relieved him as soon as possible.  Luke had never seen John act so hysterical.  He kept pacing around and swinging his pistol around wildly.  It was only a matter of time before he was going to accidentally fire, and that would bring the Martians.  The man settled himself by a tree and quickly fell asleep.  

As the first pink of sunrise glinted on the horizon, Luke got everyone moving.  They were out of food, out of water, and had no protection from the elements.  The Martians were crawling all over the area.  They had to get moving and find some fresh supplies or they would never make it West.  

The small group headed out, using Annie's map as best they could in the pre-dawn light.  As they cleared a patch of trees, Luke caught a glimpse of movement.  He quickly signaled everyone down, and they went silent.  Annie's good eye bulged as she tried to see what Luke was gesturing at.  

A flash of red metal in the pre-dawn light, the rustling of leaves.  It Luke to like like a mini-tripod, just about man-sized moving through the undergrowth.  It hadn't spotted them, and if he had his way it never would.  The survivor's watched for a long time as it shuffled and shambled around the area.  It did not look like it planned to leave.  The only option was to try to sneak past it.    

The Survivor Band

Right now, our plucky band is 4 survivors.  I am using Copplestone Casting gangster range for the miniatures.  

The back left is Handsome John.  He was a criminal archetype who ran for the hills to survive.  

Activation    Aimed    Suppression    Fight    Brawn    Brains    Nerve  Exp

5+/2                6+        3+                    4+        8+            9+        7+        4

- Cool Customer 

- Body Injury (+1 to Grit tests)

- Fear the Dark - If in a Dark Place and alone, must take a Fear test

- Pistol, Knife, Canteen of Alcohol

- Duck and Weave- Shooting attacks have a -1 TN when he has moved.

Next is Tommy Wilkins.  He is just a kid, but survived when a building fell on his family.  He managed to dig his way out.  

Activation    Aimed    Suppression    Fight    Brawn    Brains    Nerve      Exp

3+/2             9+                8+               6+          4+        7+          5+ (6+)       8

Pitter Patter of little feet, Fear of Enclosed Spaces

- Improvised Fight weapon, Satchel, Good Shoes 

- Shellshocked 

The lady is Annie McCall is a devout believer who is struggling to process what is going on.  She was part of an ambushed evacuation, and forced to flee. 

Activation    Aimed        Suppression    Fight    Brawn    Brains    Nerve      Exp

6+/2              7+ (8+)           5+                   9+        8+          4+         3+            8

Pray, +3 Experience

- Pistol, Map, Bandages, and Knife

- Eye Injury

Finally we have Luke Goodson who is the leader of this little band of survivors.  He survived when he was suddenly knocked unconscious.

Activation    Aimed    Suppression        Fight    Brawn      Brains    Nerve    Exp

5+/2              7+           6+ (7+)                    4+       8+          9+        3+       8

Do As I Say, Do Not Be Afraid

- Knife, Flares, Empty Canteen

- Nerve Damage

- Had water last game thanks to a Canteen

In addition, their stash was taken out and they were not able to scavenge after last game.  They are all suffering deprivation.  

• Every Game without enough food = +1 TN for Brawn and Fight (Max 10)
• Every game without enough Water= +1 TN for Brains and Nerve (Max 10)
• Every game without enough Scrap= +1 TN for Shooting and Grit (Max 10)

Oh dear.  This is going to be rough! 

Scenario

I followed the process for setting up a scenario as outlined in the main rulebook.  We rolled up the Running From Danger scenario, but Annie used her map to move it to Sneak Past.  Perhaps less dangerous and still thematically appropriate for the situation.   

The survivors had a restless night out in the wilderness after their hide-out was destroyed by Martians.  Therefore, they got up early to try and head westward.  This scenario will take place at dawn!  That might help our heroes sneak past the Martian foes.  

For complications, we rolled Dangerous Terrain.  Any terrain we enter could end up being "Dangerous" on a die roll. 

Lastly, I rolled up what Martian foe the group had to sneak past.  Oh dear, and 8.  I hope it is not another Tripod all ready!  Thankfully, it was not a Tripod.  However, it is still a Martian Whip Drone.  Those are still pretty nasty, especially with my team all messed up at the moment.  

Set-up

This will be played on a 36 x 36 MU board with each MU equal to 1 inch. 

This time, I wanted a very "rural" board.  I.e. no buildings.  Just trees, rocks, hills, etc.  After all, the survivors just spent the night out in the elements.  They were forced out of the small bit of humanity they had been in last game.  Therefore, lots of trees and the like.  

We placed the Whip drone, and then the survivor's decided they were going across East to West.  

As usual, I won't go over every turn but try to give you a high level overview of the action.  

The Game

The survivors cautiously move forward, with Annie and Handsome John trying to keep the Whip Drone in their sights.  

Tommy manages to bolt ahead.  Luke, takes a slow and steady approach through the underbrush.  It is slow going, and fate seems to be with them as the Drone stays still or moves away from them.  However, some failed Activation rolls keep raising the Danger Level. 

Tommy makes a break for the board edge, but the Whip Drones turns at an inopportune time and sees the kid.  It immediately starts to scuttle rapidly his way!  Tommy tries to get away as fast as he can, but he is hampered by the undergrowth.  

Handsome John moves up to get a shot, but fails his secondary activation roll!  The Martian Whip Drone is right behind Tommy!  At this point, a second Whip Drone enters the table at the survivors deployment zone!     

Tommy barely manages to get across the board as he barely passes a Dynamic Movement test thanks to his good shoes.  The Whip Drone was closing in, but gets distracted by the other humans out in the open.  Unfortunately, the sun is now fully risen and LOS is at maximum.      

Handsome John takes several shots at the Whip Drone after Tommy.  They ping off its armored shell, and it seems unphased by the shots.  In return, the Whip Drone charges Handsome John, and the Martian machine makes short work of him.  He is quickly Downed and made Unconscious and Possibly Dead from the attack.  That raises the Danger Level immediately! 

Luke managed to easily make it across the board.  

Annie is the only one left standing.  She slowly skulks through the underbrush as the Whip Drones begin to search the area for more prey.  The last survivor and the Drones play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse for a few turns as she tries to skulk away without catching the drones attention.  They close in on her hiding spot..... but she is long gone.       

However, things get more complicated for Annie when a Martian Feral arrives on the scene.  It sees her and slowly plods her way.  Thankfully, it is far away from her current location.  

She is almost home free when a cadaver trooper, a Gunner; stumbles out of the woods near her.  It fires at her, but the shots go wide.  Annie passes her fear test, and keeps going.  

Thankfully, none of the other Martian creatures are able to locate her.  She darts away to safety as the Gunner fires blindly into the woods for a few seconds, cracking trees with its heat ray.  However, the woods soon grow silent again.  

Post-Game

Well, three of the four survivors made it.  Handsome John goes down again!  This time, the Whip Drone managed to mangle one of his legs pretty badly.  At this rate, he isn't going to be handsome any longer!   

• Handsome John - Leg wound 

The other three all manage to score 6 XP for surviving and making it off the board.  Luke and Annie decide to bank their 14.  Tommy goes for an Agility skill.  

• Tommy earns Jump Back as a skill

 That will be useful to keep him mobile and out of close combat. 

Luke choose to look for a new Hide-out.  Annie and Tommy both go scavenge for supplies.  They did not scout for Martians, but none seemed to find them in their tents.  Luke manages to locate an abandoned store front for the group to take over as a hide-out.  In the future, they can try to scrounge what is left in its stores before heading out.  

Annie goes out and runs into more Martian searchers.  She is barely able to avoid them, and is lucky to get away unharmed!  She doesn't find anything in her search.  Tommy uncovers another survivor lurking in the woods.  However, as Tommy calls out to him, the shadowy figure flees back into the darkness.  

The group nets no new resources for their trouble! The Martians are too thick in this region of the countryside, they will have to keep moving. This is going to be another cold, hungry few days for the survivors as their rations were completely lost when the Martians wrecked their last hide-out! 

• Luke is -2 Food, -2 Scrap, and -1 Water
• Everyone else is -2 food, -2 scrap, and -2 water

One more scenario without water and folks are going to die!     

Conclusion:

Things are starting to get a bit desperate, and we are only half-way through the campaign! One more rough scenario and it is all over for my little band of survivors!           

Luke helped John sit down in a chair.  The man had managed to drag his way along, and Annie stumbled on him while out scavenging.  Her bandages and a prayer got him moving again.  It was enough to get him back with the group.  

Using Annie's map, Luke located another store, something called Cooper's Corners.  Not much else there, but a field and a burned down house.  The place had all ready been ransacked.  He was confident they could find some rations inside but someone had clearly gotten there first.  All the easy items were gone.  However, it was enough to not have to sleep on the ground in the woods again.  

John winced as Annie checked the bandages and tightened them up on his wounds.  Luke wasn't sure how long they were going to be able to call him Handsome John.  His body had taken a beating and now he had a bum leg.  John pulled out his canteen and took a hit of his alcohol, and offered it to Luke.  He took a swig. 

"This isn't gonna help us?" Luke sighed as he wiped the dribbling from his chin, "We need food and water."  To punctuate the point, his stomach growled at the mention of food.  

John shrugged, "Well, I need it.  My whole body hurts."  

Annie pulled out her map and showed it to the group, "Nothing much around here, at least not on the map. We should decide if we are going to stay here or try to move-on?" 

John nodded at Annie's cross around her neck, "What does He think?" 

Annie scowled, "I haven't been talking to Him too much."

"Well, hopefully he can rain some Mana down on us like the Israelites!" John laughed but it changed into a wracking cough.  He grab his leg and grimaced. 

Luke said, "Probably shouldn't be doing much laughing right now."

"Yeah well, right now that's about all I got.  Got no food, got no water, and got not a lot of hope either.  Besides, laughter is the best medicine right?"  

The little group lapsed into silence.  There wasn't much else to be said. 

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