Combat! Starring Vic Murrow!
A Chance Encounter
Sgt. Saunders and his squad awake in the ruins of an old French house at the edge of a wood. Perhaps it was a hunting den or small cottage before the war, but now it is just wreckage. However, what woke them is the sounds of men moving through the brush. This close to the front lines, and it is probably a German patrol sweeping the area and doing some scouting of their own. Now what?
Forces:
Americans
Sgt. Saunders- Star
Tommy Gun, Pistol
Little John- Cast
Rifle, Bayonet, Grenades
Kirby- Cast
Automatic Rifle, Knife
2 Extras
Rifle, Bayonet
Germans
Sergeant- Cast
SMG, Knife, Grenades
2 Extras
LMG
3 Extras
Rifles
I realized right away that my terrain selection for WWII games set in France is not very good. Therefore, I threw together a wooded board. It is 3 feet by 3 feet. The models themselves will just be Green Army Men, perhaps later I will get a box of Americans and Germans from somewhere for something a bit more in-character.
The scenario will be straight forward. Try to eliminate the enemy and not get killed yourself.
Shall we begin?
Scene 1
Per the rules, we roll a d6 to see who gets to activate a model. Even it is the Allies, and Odd it is the Axis. A 5, so the Axis. An extra got the nod and made for the center hill. He couldn't get there so he rolled an Action roll for his extra Screentime and succeeded. He moved up to the edge to cover the road.
Next, we rolled Even, so Kirby moved down the road. He saw the German and tried to use his Screentime to shoot, but failed. Lucky for Kirby the Extra had no more Screentime to fire at him! Unlucky for Kirby he was in an exposed position for the other guys.
However, for our next activation roll the Allies won, so Kirby took a shot at the German extra anyway! He sprayed away at him with his Browning, and managed 1 single hit! It was enough as the Injury roll was Removed from Episode! However, Kirby has used all his Screentime! The Krauts are out there!
One of my Extras can draw LOS on Kirby and fires away! He has 2 firepower and needs a 6 to hit, but he misses. However, since Kirby is in the open he must take a Guts N Glory test or be pinned! He passes with a 6! So he isn't even pinned. My extra tries for extra Screentime to move, but fails.
The Axis and Allies trade off activation and move around a bit. No one tries for extra Screentime. The LMG moves to try and get the bead on Kirby, but is blocked by a hill. On the next activation they move up to cover the right side of the hill.
One of the Allies Extra used his last Screentime to fire on the LMG team that is in cover instead of getting out of the way! He rolls his two dice and gets a 6 for suppression fire! A hit! The Loader goes down with a Wilhelm scream and the Extra manning the gun takes a Guts N' Glory test with a +2 because he is behind blocking cover! Which he passes with a 6. The LMG has lost a crewman, so it is now immobile. However, I am okay with the fire arc.
The Allies and Axis trade moves as Little John and an Extra move up on the left side of the center hill, and the Germans set-up to receive them. Saunders wisely moves out of the LOS of the LMG, and uses Screentime to do so. The German Sergeant fails to go on Covering Fire to cover the right side of the hill with his SMG. He decides to hold onto his activation as a deterrent.
Sgt. Suanders moves up and takes cover behind the center hill and the German NCO takes cover behind a big tree and covers the left side of the hill, content to let the LMG cover the other side. There is no more Screentime left to be used, and the scene ends.
We start with the establishing shot. However, no one needs to Get Up, Check for Wounds, or take any Guts N Glory tests. Everyone's Screentime is replenished.
The Activation goes to the Germans. Too bad for Kirby and an Extra as they are standing in the Line of Sight of a LMG. He opens fire with the LMG, and fails to hit any of the targets! However, he forces them to take Pinning Tests on their Guts N Glory stat. Both of them fail, so they hit the dirt, pinned. That means Kirby and that Extra won;t be doing anything until the next Scene.
The German Sergeant sets up Covering Fire on the left side of the hill, waiting for Little John or another American to come around the corner. While one of the Extras moves up and covers the other side. The last Extra fails to set-up Covering Fire with a failed Action roll. The one on the right dashes across trail, and gets behind some trees.
Finally, the Americans win an activation roll! The American Extra re-positions himself in cover to try and get a shot at the German extra coming around the LMG covered side of the hill. He rolls and gets more Screentime, and fires on the Kraut, but misses. The German passes his Guts N Glory test, and is not pinned.
The Germans keep winning activation, but they are set-up pretty well! The Extra behind the hill gets Cover Fire set-up, and the LMG fails to do likewise.
Finally, the Americans get a go. Littlejohn darts across the trail towards a tree, but the German Sergeant opens fire on him! He removes Littlejohn's Plot Armor as a Cast member and forces him to take a Pinning test in the open! He fails, and hits the dirt.
Seeing his buddy go down, and knowing the Kraut Sergeant only has 1 Activation left, he goes for it and dashes around the edge of the hill. The Kraut Extra on Cover Fire shoots as he rounds the hill, and removes his 1 Plot Armor, and Saunders fails his pinning test! Oh no! Is this the end for our heroes?
With his final activation, the Kraut sergeant shoots at the pinned Sgt. Saunders, but misses.
Scene 3
As the Establishing shot starts, things look bad for our heroes! It is time to try and Get-up! Kirby and Little John fail, but the Extra and Saunders get up! No other tests are needed. A lot rides on this first activation roll! It is a 2, the Americans!
Saunders Activates, he takes aim at the German Sergeant and then rolls for extra Screentime to shoot, he needs a 3+ as a Star. 4! Wow, suspenseful. Now, he only needs a 4+ on his shooting to hit the German. 6, 6, 4! Three hits, I guess he didn't need to aim! The German loses his 1 Plot Armor, and rolls for injury. 6 and 5! Just a scratch twice! However, he is still considered downed as his stats go above 6+. Either way he is pinned and not a threat.
Saunders isn't out of the woods yet! There is still a German Extra off to the side of him, and the Star is out of Plot Armor! He has to extend his Screentime again to act! He needs a 3+ and gets a 6! He quickly backpedals behind the hill and safety! He decides to hold onto his last Screentime.
The Americans activate again. The extra in the way of the LMG high tails it out of the way. Which is lucky for him as the Germans activate next. The LMG opens fire on the pinned Kirby. One hit removes his point of plot armor! However, the LMG is jammed and out of the game. The Axis again get the activation and the extra by the tree, turns to potentially trade shots with the American Extras. The German fails to get any extra Screentime though.
One of the Americans shoots first! However, his rifle jams, and is now useless! The other extra opens fire. He misses, gets extra Screentime and misses again. However, the German fails his Guts N' Glory test and is pinned in Cover.
The German Extra on the other side steps around the hill enough to shoot at the pinned Little John, gets extra Screentime and shoots but misses.
For the final activation, Saunders tries to rally Little John. It succeeds and he immediately becomes unpinned. Since no one has activations, Little John unloads on the Kraut extra. He hits the target twice and puts him down!
Conclusion
With that, the remaining Germans decide that discretion is the better part of valor and withdraw! Sgt. Saunders and his squad can push onward to Paris!
Final Thoughts
The Campaign phase will make each scenario and battle count even more. That is where many of the TV Show elements get added. However, for today, I just wanted to show-off a stand-alone game to show how the game works. If you want to give it a try yourself feel free as it is available in the Free Games section of the blog. Just let me know how the game went!
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