It is late 1936 and Sir Hugh Sinclair studies a typed dispatch with a puzzled frown. ”This can’t be right” he mutters to himself. Striding across his plush office floor he pulls open a concealed door to reveal several young secretary’s all busily typing and one young man waiting in a corner with owl like glasses perched on a long slender nose.
”Cartwright. Get in here and explain the meaning of this!”
Harold Cartwright is a young, slender man with pale skin and poor eyesight. For the past several months, Sir Hugh has had him working down in the basement, listening to intercepted radio transmissions, specifically transmissions of a non national nature. Broadcasts whose sources are obscure, whose messages are clandestine and which almost certainly originate from international criminal organisations.
Sinclair holds up the most recent Brazilian dispatch.
”An explanation if you please.”
Cartwright swallows nervously, he knows full well how unlikely his conclusion will sound but he is duty bound to do his utmost.
”Sir, I believe the recipient is in possession of a submarine called the Bremen, a German U boat to be specific.”
”A U boat?”
”Yes sir.”
”Your telling me that some one in Brazil, who isn’t a German naval commander, has a fully operational German U boat?”
”I’m afraid that is my conclusion based on the evidence sir”
Sinclair examines the paper in his hand for a few moments then sits behind his desk and reaches for a bright red telephone.
”Records? This is number one, put me through to Fanshaw...Thank you Cartwright, that will be all”.
Harold Cartwright breathes a sigh of relief and leaves, it seems as if his outlandish theory might not have been so far fetched after all.
Sir Hugh lights his pipe whilst he waits for the connection to go through. He is not surprised to learn that Baron von Schöenberg might be in possession of a submarine. An elderly voice cuts through the crackling line.
”This is Fanshaw speaking...”
”Fanshaw. What do we have on German U Boats?”
”A lot sir” The voice replies.
”I’m specifically interested in a boat called the Bremen. Ring any bells?”
”Just a second sir and I’ll look her up...”
The voice is replaced by shuffling footsteps, a hollow cough and a creaking floor board, then, after a few minutes of the old archivist muttering to himself, Sir Hugh finds himself listening to pure gold.
”The Bremen. Yes, here we are. Built in 1917 by the Deutsche Ozean-Reederei, a subsidiary company of the North German Lloyd shipping company as a merchant U boat at the Atlas werke in Bremen, she went missing on her maiden voyage, presumed lost to mines some where along the Northern Passage.”
”North German Lloyd shipping company? Are they any relation to our Lloyds of London?”
”Oh yes, very much so sir, let me see... The idea for building a submarine merchant ship is said to have emanated from one Alfred Lohmann, the then President of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce we don’t know too much about him I’m afraid. A company was formed under the name of Deutsche Ozean Rhederei G. M. B. H., and the Germaniawerft at Kiel, was awarded the job of building both the Bremen and her sister ship Deutschland. The German national bank provided a share of the costs”.
”Very interesting indeed.” Sir Hugh murmurs. ”What do we know about her capabilities?”
”Well, the U 151 class to which she appears to have belonged were originally built with merchant trading in mind though they later became war ships of course. Officially they could sail upwards of twenty five thousand nautical miles and carry some seven hundred tons of cargo. The remaining boats were all converted to cruiser type U boats and armed with two one hundred and five millimetre main guns, two eighty eight millimetre guns and carried eighteen torpedo’s. According to what it says here Bremen was probably not armed for she went missing before the refitting. She never even received a U number.”
”There’s no chance the Germans have built a new submarine called Bremen?”
”I doubt it, Germany has begun rebuilding U boats on the sly, but there has been nothing to suggest they’ve built anything similar to the original Bremen and she’s the only such submarine listed here under that name.”
”What happened to the Deutschland?”
”Ummm... she was surrendered and we scrapped her in ’21”
”Thank you Fanshaw”. Sir Hugh puts down the receiver of the red phone and gazes into the middle distance, after a while he picks up the phone again.
”Brazil again Margret. Yes, same number as last time”
”A U Boat?”
”That's what he said.”
Dan Mansfield sips his whiskey and waits as Marcel Messnier digests this latest news.
“It must be hidden some where along the river. Maybe we could take a few boats out and look for it?” Arthur suggests.
Messnier shakes his head.
“The river is too big. We could search for weeks and never find it. No, I think I must ask around amongst the native tribes. They are the only people who might have seen such a thing were it truly hidden on the river. Give me a few days and we’ll see what they say.”
“It has to be the Baron” Mansfield muses.
“Von Schöenberg?” Arthur replies. “What makes you so sure? It could be that the Nazi’s are after the Golden Anaconda too”.
“Perhaps, but I have a feeling our paths are going to cross soon. I’m almost certain that blond woman was at the air field.”
Messnier sitting in a rocking chair, nods slowly. He’d also heard the unmistakable chatter of an automatic Mauser interspersed with the heavier roar of a Bergman.
“Not many blond German women running around the jungle toting a pair of machine guns eh? still we could be mistaken. How long are we going to wait in this mosquito infested country anyway?”
“I don’t know. Until we find the Golden Anaconda maybe or until Sir Hugh tells us to go some where else”
Arthur nods wearily. So far Brazil has been a disappointment to him. Hot, humid and full of the most amazing insects, he catches Marcel's eye and they both sigh in resignation.
‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell stumbles out onto the veranda. “What’s that I heard about a U boat?”
“London thinks there might be one hiding some where up the Amazon”
Mitchell helps himself to a whiskey and soda.
“Is that so? Well I dare say we’ll be asked to go and put her out of business”
“It’s a funny thing though” George interrupts.
“What’s so funny old man?” Mansfield asks.
George shrugs. “I’m no expert, but it’s been almost twenty years since the U boat menace. Where did he get one?”
“Who?” Mitchell looks blankly from George to Mansfield.
“The Baron of course” George replies
“The Baron?” Mitchell gapes. “Why I was sure we’d seen the last of that Kraut varmint. You mean to tell me he’s here in Brazil too?”
Daniel Mansfield stands up and straightens his jacket over his muscular frame as a car pulls up and Sancho Gutiérrez steps out wearing a happy smile.
“I think that’s we’re about to find out old boy. Sancho...?”
"Good news my friends" the Brazilian accepts a whiskey and soda from George. "Capitano Ortiz and his men found the Golden Anaconda in a bush and I have your missing papers here in my car..."
"That's jolly good news old boy" Mansfield puts a conspiratorial arm about Sancho Gutiérrez's shoulders, "...but now we're interested in something a little larger."
"Larger?" Gutiérrez looks from face to face.
"Much larger"
Gutiérrez sighs with resignation.
"Very well, what is it?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The submarine is here..." Captain Ortiz points at a large map of the Amazon pinned to the wall.
Two days have passed and Mansfield and his friends are gathered in Sancho Gutiérrez's house. In a room cluttered with weapons and ammunition they listen as the Captain explains how local tribesmen reported the submarine earlier in the week, but no one took their tales seriously.
"...and as far as we can tell, the vessel is still moored in this tributary to the main river channel."
Ortiz glances about the attentive faces. "Gentlemen, it is but five hours sailing from here.
"Five hours?" Mitchell exclaims, "why then, what are we waiting for?"
Daniel Mansfield stands up and turns to Captain Ortiz.
"Can you get us there faster?"
Ortiz thinks for a second but shakes his head doubtfully.
"If you leave now, yes, but then I won't have time to gather my men..."
"Never mind that, I have a feeling that speed is of the essence here. Any delay and the U boat may slip away. We must strike now. That U boat is a key to the Barons entire operation!"
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Starting
Rocketman and his companions, approaching the Bremen from upstream, start at the north western corner of the game table (see map) in Government patrol boat Nr 17. Anticipating trouble Rocketman and the soldiers are below deck or concealed.
Despite observing the approaching vessel as soon as it comes into view, the U boat crew do not anticipate trouble as they have been approached by several similar vessels in the past few days, all proving to be river traders intent on selling merchandise. Since the Bremen is currently being stocked with local foods for a long journey, the crew are lulled into a false sense of security which directly translates to a -2 penalty on any percpetion rolls against the approaching boat.
Kapitan Bruch and his men are inside the Bremen, clustered around the command compartment.
Hauptman Fernando and his men are on the hull deck.
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Player One
Rocketman (SMG & grenades)
George Macarthur (Handgun & explosive charge x 2)’Mad Dog’ Mitchell (LMG)
Marcel Messnier (Rifle)
Sancho Gutiérrez (Handgun & explosive charge)
Player Two
Captain Ortiz (Handgun & explosive charge)
6 x militia infantry (Rifles & grenades)
Player Three
Player Four
Captain Armando (Handgun)
Marcel the river pilot (Handgun)
4 x River police officers (Rifles & grenades)
Player Four
Kapitan Bruch (Handgun)
5 x German sailers (5 rifles & grenades + 1 LMG)
+ 6 Schwarztepfeile reinforcements (Rifles & grenades)
Player Five
Hauptman Franz Fernando (Handgun)
5 x German sailers (5 rifles & grenades)2 x Schwarztepfeile guard (SMG)
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Map
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Victory conditions
Either side wins by defeating two thirds of the opposing force. The German reinforcements do not count until they are on the table.
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Special notes
Once firing starts, six members of the U boat crew who are nearby loading food onto the ships boat are alerted. They immediately grab their rifles and make for the submarine. They arrive on the south eastern corner of the game table in the tenth round after firing has begun.
The U-boat’s internal bulkheads are very strong, but if the water tight doors are locked and must be breached, then explosives must be employed. This gives rise to a serious risk of breaching the inner hull. If this happens, the U-boat will begin to sink. A maximum die roll against the hatches will result in a hull breach. From that point onwards the U-boat will begin to take on water. A die roll (1d6+3) determines how many rounds remain until the apartment adjacent to the rupture, and any subsequent exposed apartments are flooded.
To destroy the lock on a hatch, one must employ an explosive device and roll against 12.
There are two large native fishing boats moored along side the Bremen. These have been used by the crew for loading cargo but are currently not in use. They give +1 in protection.
The river runs from south to north, this means Boat Nr 17 is moving against the current (rough) when the game begins.
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Vehicles
'Bremen'
An un-armoured merchant submarine that can provide +1 when used as effective cover and +2 to any occupant of the conning tower. There are two large native fishing boats moored along side the Bremen. These have been used by the crew for loading cargo but are currently not in use. They give +1 in protection and have the same movement stats as the ships boat.
Top speed: 15 knots (7 knots submerged).
Range: 20,330km
Crew: 26
Length: 65m
Width:8.9m
Disp:2,272 2.8t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: 800 hp
Armour: None
Boat Nr 17
An un-armoured military vessel that can provide +1 to occupants if used as effective cover.
Top speed: 9 knots. Boat Nr 17 cannot be sunk by grenades. It is simply too big and absorbs the damage.
Range: 600km
Crew: 2
Length: 22m
Width: 5.2m
Displacement: 21t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: 120 hp Diesel
Armour: None
Speed is Good 12
Rough 8
Difficult 4
Ships boat
An un-armoured military vehicle that can provide +1 to occupants if used as effective cover. The ships boat can be sunk by grenades.
Top speed: n/a
Range: n/a
Capacity:6
Length: 3.4m
Width: 1.2m
Weight: 0.2t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: n/a.
Armour: None
Speed is Good 4
Rough 2
Difficult 1
Le Mollusc is at anchor in the middle of the Northern Lagoon (see red dot on image above). Several hours of darkness have passed before the Germans mount their counter attack, and the mercenary ship has been lulled into a sense of near complacency. Only Ivan Kopylov and Captain Wangai are still suspicious. Both remain at their posts, despite the late hour. Two other sentries have also been posted. Unfortunately for the mercenaries, the Germans have employed a team of divers, and these approach the ship, unseen.
Captain Wangai begins on the bridge with one other member of the crew to be chosen by player one. Ivan Kopylov is alone on the Observation deck and wide awake, note he can only look in one direction (perception) per round and he is hampered by ignorance of divers. This counters his attention, but does not affect his perception roll. Player one may specify two other sentries, to be placed any where on the ship; however these suffer a -1 penalty for boredom and inattention.
Players two and three begin the game in their cabins, mostly asleep. They may begin to deploy, one element at a time once the alarm bell rings or loud firing begins.
Player four begins off table. Once firing begins, the patrol boat moves to board the ship. The patrol boat can engage with its 20mm auto-cannon from off table any time it wishes to do so, but Le Mollusc’s twin .50’s can match the gun boat for range and destructive capability. The gun boat takes 4 rounds to get on table once it starts up its engines.
The game begins when player five’s divers reach the ships side. The rest of player fives elements begin off table, waiting to board the ship from a different direction. As it is not dark hulled, the dive boat is further away. It will therefore take longer for it to arrive on table.
Note. This chapter takes place simultaneously as chapter five
An un-armoured merchant submarine that can provide +1 when used as effective cover and +2 to any occupant of the conning tower. There are two large native fishing boats moored along side the Bremen. These have been used by the crew for loading cargo but are currently not in use. They give +1 in protection and have the same movement stats as the ships boat.
Top speed: 15 knots (7 knots submerged).
Range: 20,330km
Crew: 26
Length: 65m
Width:8.9m
Disp:2,272 2.8t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: 800 hp
Armour: None
Boat Nr 17
An un-armoured military vessel that can provide +1 to occupants if used as effective cover.
Top speed: 9 knots. Boat Nr 17 cannot be sunk by grenades. It is simply too big and absorbs the damage.
Range: 600km
Crew: 2
Length: 22m
Width: 5.2m
Displacement: 21t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: 120 hp Diesel
Armour: None
Speed is Good 12
Rough 8
Difficult 4
Ships boat
An un-armoured military vehicle that can provide +1 to occupants if used as effective cover. The ships boat can be sunk by grenades.
Top speed: n/a
Range: n/a
Capacity:6
Length: 3.4m
Width: 1.2m
Weight: 0.2t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: n/a.
Armour: None
Speed is Good 4
Rough 2
Difficult 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conclusion
The players, sans Oleg who played paparazzi
It felt good to get back into the Rocketman vibe, and what better way to start than with ships? Earlier campaigns have featured gun fights on merchant ship deck plans, but RM5 takes this a step further with combined models and deck plans to further enhance the visual ambience of the game.
'Bremen on the Amazon', was rather imbalanced, and though the imbalance was a deliberate factor in the game, with two players facing three, a real problem lay in the rules for hand grenades which I had misunderstood, and which were more powerful than I'd realised. This didn't hasten the pace of the game however. I'd expected the game to take about two hours and instead it took three hours and forty minutes. As it was Goeg's first time, there was some hesitation and explanation along the way, but nothing that dragged the flow of the game down.
We began with Rocketman & his companions (Rasmus) , Captain Ortiz (Oleg) and Captain Armando (Goeg) approaching the submarine in Government patrol boat Nr 17, but their pretence at being innocent traders was blown when the U boat captain made a successful perception roll and the Germans (Palle and myself) opened fire from the conning tower. The Brazilians returned fire, with Oleg using the first of his grenades to successfully supress the Germans. This opening salvo set the tone for the rest of the game, as I'd not given the Germans any grenades (they being relaxed, caught by surprise and not having any weapons to hand but their immediate hand guns).
With the Germans in the conning tower taking grenades, the Brazilian boat could come along side almost unopposed. Once this happened, the Germans attempted to withdraw into and secure the submarine.
Rocketman lends a hand
The Bremen had five hatches which had to be secured, but the Germans failed to secure one of the rear hatches, with Captain Ortiz firing down into the hatchway to suppress the crew member who attempted to reach up and shut the hatch door. More Brazilians leapt onto the U boat and the remaining Germans took up positions inside the sub. At this point I was reminded of the opening scene of Star Wars where the Rebels wait for the Imperial Storm Troopers to breach their hull. It didn't take long for a grenade to drop down into the submarine, killing the two Germans who were directly below, and quickly followed by the macho Captain Ortiz.
On the surface, a rowing boat of six German reinforcements was approaching the submarine, and as these came onto the table, Rocketman's engineer side kick, George Macarthur, set a demolition charge to crack opn one of the forward hatches. The fire fight inside the submarine continued with more Brazilians following Capt Ortiz into the submarine.
New models included the 'leather U boat', the cardboard river boat and a new improved Rocketman, and Rocketman-in-flight
Rocketman took to the air (see image above) and George Macarthur blew open the hatch. The Germans in their rowing boat began to take fire and return it, failing to down Rocketman who was hovering in the air above the submarine. There was some contention regarding Rocketman's ability to fire a submachine gun, whilst firing, the question being whether or not the recoil from his weapon would spin him around. It probably would, but such niggling details ring hollow once you've already accepted the premise of a man wearing a rocketpack...
Gov Health Warning; Grenades in confined spaces are bad for your health
Rocketman survived intact and dropped back down in to the comming tower and the fight continued with the Germans gradually being cut to pieces. In the end it was something of a blood bath, 14-3 to the heroes.
Given this game was originally designed for three players, and had been 'adapted' in order to allow for continuity, and a new player, then it was okay. The Germans couldn't really have won, but this was as much due to accident as design. On the whole I enjoyed it imbalanced though it was.
Aging disgracefully
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
Player One
Players two & three
Player Four: Kampfgruppen Rot
Player Five: Kampfgruppen Gelb
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map
Note. The three boats in the game are not included on the map
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victory conditions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special notes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Characters
The crew of Le Mollusc
First group
Vehicles
Boat
An un-armoured military vehicle that can provide +1 to occupants if used as effective cover. The boat can be sunk by grenades.
Top speed: n/a
Range: n/a
Capacity:6
Length: 3.4m
Width: 1.2m
Weight: 0.2t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: n/a. Armour: None
Speed is Good 4
Rough 2
Difficult 1
Ships motor boats
An un-armoured military vehicle that can provide +1 to occupants if used as effective cover. The ships motor boats can be sunk by grenades.
Top speed: 24km/h
Range: 40km
Capacity:8
Length: 4.4m
Width: 1.4m
Weight: 0.36t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: 70hp.
Armour: None
Speed is Good 12
Rough 8
Difficult 4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Despite being let down by Rasmus, 'Beach Assault' was quite a success, though no actual beach assault took place, unless you count Goeg's heroic effort to bring his HMG closer. Both sides had moments of glory and bloodshed and in the end, the result was satisfactory.
The players, sans Rasmus who never turned up
The game began with the Germans scrambling to get into position whilst the good guys, who were dubbed 'the pirates' for convenience, brought their two ships boats into position. Both sides used their long range weapons to engage, but found rifles to be at a distinct disadvantage and smaller weapons were useless. The range from the bunker to the ships bow was exactly 72 inches, and a rifle has an effective range of 36 inches in our rules.
Rocketman took one look at the Heinkel and decided to grab it. He flew off table to avoid being an airborne target (Which he is allowed to do, given the nature of his rocket pack) then flew back on to land on the jetty. The Germans immediately opened fire and suppressed him, but he was about to cut the tethers any way due to being crouched on the seaplane's pontoons. Meanwhile Oleg brought his ships boat, loaded with pirates closer in order to tow the Heinkel away and thus win the game. I have to admit, I didn't see this possibility. For a long time this game was designed as a straight up battle and the winning criteria were very different. I changed the nature of the game to save time (as we only have four hours or so) and because the plot cannot depend on one side winning. A consequence of this was I hadn't given too much thought to the jetty. Ah well, c'est la guerre.
Le Mollusc under fire.
Whilst Oleg was performing small miracle's, Goeg was still learning. Having lined up his pirates on Le Mollusc's superstructure (see image above), he had the most perfect firing squad I've ever seen. Unfortunately he was out of range, so his men were firing with a -3 and -4 penalty for the whole game). Given that my Germans were chemically enhanced (thanks to mad Dr Meztger), and out of range, the best he could hope for was to keep them pinned down. Goeg also had his African MG crew, with their Vickers Maxim. A dangerous weapon, but old and some what unreliable. In our rule system, its classed as a Machine Gun (as opposed to a heavy machine gun like a .50) which means it has a 36 inch range equivalent to a rifle, or an LMG. It does however do slightly more damage if it hits.
Goeg stuck his Vickers Maxim gun in the second ships boat and used the boat like a sort of seaborne 'technical', chugging closer in an attempt to do more damage. Unfortunately what happened was he became a priority target and spent most of his time suppressed (the MG gunners cowering for cover on a wooden boat). What Goeg, and Oleg didn't know, is that the Germans had some secrets up their sleeves. Palle had a second Heinkel, returning from patrol and able to attack with twin MG-17's and six 10 kilo bombs, and I had a sniper with an anti-materiel rifle; a 13.2mm M1918 Mauser.
Once Rocketman had secured the biplane, the game was nearing its end, but it hadn't ended yet. I couldn't see how the Germans could grab the plane back unless the German pilots risked a dash to grab the speed boat (which can be seen moored to the jetty in the image above). A risky move, but better than not doing anything. Palle however had other idea's. The second Heinkel came down from the north and hardly any one noticed it until it was strafing Le Mollusc's deck, clearing away pirates like a broom. At the same time, I used my sniper against Geog's commanding officer (Iron Fist Chung) and he then stopped commanding. I also used my grenade launcher (A non historical weapon developed exlusively by the Schattentroppen's gunsmith) to put Goeg's seaborne MG out of commission.
The Field of Mars.
In the foreground the Germans, watch in disbelief as Rocketman and his allies steal the Heinkel
For a moment, I thought we might have a chance, especially as the next round would see the second Heinkel deploy its bombs. Alas, I had counted my velociraptors before they were hatched, and Oleg put Rocketman into the air and used his rocket plumes (and 4 hero points) as a flame thrower to set fire to the speedng fighter as it passed below him (hence the title image). The burning aircraft hurtled over head and crashed behind the German line, probably landing on their camp.
Oleg was definately 'Man of the Match'. He was forced to contend with twice as many elements as usual, and they were all named characters (meaning a set of individual stats for about forty elements), he played Rocketman to perfection, bringing down the second Heinkel and he won the game by using Rocketman to quickly secure the first Heinkel whilst a boat chugged out to tow it away. A well deserved win.
Faced with such unbelievable heroism, the Germans fell back to better positions, and to salvage what they could from their burning camp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conclusion
wearing my oldest 'gaming t shirt' to look the part
I bought it in 1988 and it shows
This game took a very long time to 'incubate', I've been fiddling it since 2007 and the map turns up quite a few times in older sketch books, usually as a consequence of having watched an episode of 'Lost'.
The game began with a few notable changes due to Rasmus having cancelled and so the leeches got removed and I shortened the map by 20 inches or so. Even this didn't make it possible for Oleg and Goeg to fulfill their winning critieria, but this didn't matter too much as the emphasis of the game was surviving the strange and terrible dangers left lying around as a consequence of Dokter Metzger's diabolical experiments.
Rocketman and his allies set off up into the forested sides of the Islands extinct volcano, atop which is the curious building assumed to be a research station. In order to reach the building before nightfall, the group had to press on with all haste, but the Germans were aware of their approach and had activated a local asset; Johan. Oleg played Rocketman and the second group from Le Mollusc under the command of Dominique Lavarre. Goeg played the fifth group from Le Mollusc under the command of 'Iron fist' Chung. The remaining groups from the mercenary ship remained to guard the vessel from any possible German counter attack.
The red det marks the location of the game
One day, if I ever get a room I can devote to wargaming,
I'll build regular 3d table tops with better scenary and vegetation!
Rocketman, his friends and the mercenaries, crossed the lagoon and began to climb onto the far bank, but as they did so, they disturbed the first of the islands many surprises, a swarm of mutant killer bee's, each insect as long as three inches and with a terrible sting. Rocketman immediately tried to use his rockets to blast the bee's, but only partly succeeded. Curiously, he then used his machine pistol and the bee's fled in disarray, presumably having had enough of the commotion and disturbed by the weapons shock wave. What ever the reason, the hero's pleasure was short lived as the mutant plants which were growing on the northern bank of the lagoon, revealed another surprise. Some of the plants had mutated to the point where they were both carniverous and had flexible truncks which were activatd by pressure on the roots. Since the plants were all over the northern bank, it was impossible to spot the dangerous ones and the threat was only revealed when a Chinese rifleman suddenly had his head bitten off.
Chaos ensued.
Whilst the invaders were floundering in disarray, the Germans were quietly taking positions further up the slope. Due to the nature of our table top skirmish games, building a sloping battleground in my living room is a no no, so we make do with contour lines and fevered imagination (thankfully we have enough of the latter to compensate for any mistakes I might make drawing the contour lines).
I used my scratch built triffids for the carniverous plants
Oberst Dokter Holst and his small team of sharp shooters took up their positions around the crashed aeroplane, where exotic mushrooms had grown suspiciously tall and deadly. Fortunately for the Germans, they had gasmasks and could not be effected by the dangerous psychodelic spores which floated gradually from the underside of the mushrooms. Had any element not wearing a gas mask approached the mushrooms they would have suffered a chemical/biological attack and if defeated they would have gone mad; player four would then be in control of that element, allowing the mad person to be used against their own side. Alas, Rocketman and his friends never got that far up the table as once the snipers opened fire, the emphasis of the game changed from moving to surviving.
Johan makes his warm and lovable personality felt
Survival became all the more difficult when Johan sneaked down the gully to the lagoon and snuck up under the surface of the murky water. At the last moment, his presence was detected but by then it was already too late and the great mutant zombie arose from the water with his flamethrower arm spouting a great plume of fire towards Vesper and Ganz who were guarding the rear. Amazingly they survived this encounter but only by fleeing (see image above). Johann then turned his attention to a nearby group of four mercenaries and incinerated the lot.
The carnage wrought by Johann and Kampfgruppen Grün
We ran out of time not long after this and the game was a victory for the German side. Of Rocketman and his allies, only the fore most six of each side make it up hill to fight in chapter five.
These include;
Player one; Rocketman, George Macarthur, 'Mad Dog' Mitchell, Marcel Messnier
Player two; Dominique Lavarre, Jean-Francois Laguna and Vixen,
Player three; 'Iron Fist' Chung, Soo Suk Wang and three generic Chinese riflemen.
(All the photo's were taken by Oleg as usual)
Conclusion
The players, sans Oleg who played paparazziIt felt good to get back into the Rocketman vibe, and what better way to start than with ships? Earlier campaigns have featured gun fights on merchant ship deck plans, but RM5 takes this a step further with combined models and deck plans to further enhance the visual ambience of the game.
'Bremen on the Amazon', was rather imbalanced, and though the imbalance was a deliberate factor in the game, with two players facing three, a real problem lay in the rules for hand grenades which I had misunderstood, and which were more powerful than I'd realised. This didn't hasten the pace of the game however. I'd expected the game to take about two hours and instead it took three hours and forty minutes. As it was Goeg's first time, there was some hesitation and explanation along the way, but nothing that dragged the flow of the game down.
We began with Rocketman & his companions (Rasmus) , Captain Ortiz (Oleg) and Captain Armando (Goeg) approaching the submarine in Government patrol boat Nr 17, but their pretence at being innocent traders was blown when the U boat captain made a successful perception roll and the Germans (Palle and myself) opened fire from the conning tower. The Brazilians returned fire, with Oleg using the first of his grenades to successfully supress the Germans. This opening salvo set the tone for the rest of the game, as I'd not given the Germans any grenades (they being relaxed, caught by surprise and not having any weapons to hand but their immediate hand guns).
With the Germans in the conning tower taking grenades, the Brazilian boat could come along side almost unopposed. Once this happened, the Germans attempted to withdraw into and secure the submarine.
Rocketman lends a handThe Bremen had five hatches which had to be secured, but the Germans failed to secure one of the rear hatches, with Captain Ortiz firing down into the hatchway to suppress the crew member who attempted to reach up and shut the hatch door. More Brazilians leapt onto the U boat and the remaining Germans took up positions inside the sub. At this point I was reminded of the opening scene of Star Wars where the Rebels wait for the Imperial Storm Troopers to breach their hull. It didn't take long for a grenade to drop down into the submarine, killing the two Germans who were directly below, and quickly followed by the macho Captain Ortiz.
On the surface, a rowing boat of six German reinforcements was approaching the submarine, and as these came onto the table, Rocketman's engineer side kick, George Macarthur, set a demolition charge to crack opn one of the forward hatches. The fire fight inside the submarine continued with more Brazilians following Capt Ortiz into the submarine.
New models included the 'leather U boat', the cardboard river boat and a new improved Rocketman, and Rocketman-in-flightRocketman took to the air (see image above) and George Macarthur blew open the hatch. The Germans in their rowing boat began to take fire and return it, failing to down Rocketman who was hovering in the air above the submarine. There was some contention regarding Rocketman's ability to fire a submachine gun, whilst firing, the question being whether or not the recoil from his weapon would spin him around. It probably would, but such niggling details ring hollow once you've already accepted the premise of a man wearing a rocketpack...
Gov Health Warning; Grenades in confined spaces are bad for your healthGiven this game was originally designed for three players, and had been 'adapted' in order to allow for continuity, and a new player, then it was okay. The Germans couldn't really have won, but this was as much due to accident as design. On the whole I enjoyed it imbalanced though it was.
Aging disgracefully
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
”Take a seat” Sir Hugh Sinclair motions towards a plush armchair and Daniel Mansfield eases his tired body into its welcome embrace. The older man smiles sympathetically. ”How was your flight?”
Mansfield casts his mind back over the last three days. ”Strenuous” he replies.
Sir Hugh nods, then pulling out a thin brown folder, his face takes on a serious demeanour. He pulls out a map and places it on the low table between them. Mansfield picks it up and regards it.
”Farquhar Island” Sir Hugh says. ”One of our islands in the Southern Seychelles group. It features prominently in the log you recovered from Brazil.”
”Do we know why?”
Sir Hugh shakes his head. ”No. The island is controlled by a British corporation called Imperial Sea Foods. It maintains a large sea food farm on the island, along with an extensive research facility”
Mansfield looks up sharply. ”Researching what?”
”Officially, sea food. Unofficially, who knows?”
“I doubt the Brotherhood of the Black Cross are interested in sea food”
Sir Hugh shrugs then slides a second sheet of paper across the table. This is Imperial Sea Foods... As you can see, it’s connected right up to the very top. Two MP’s, one a former minister, and Lord Shaftsbury“
“The King’s cousin?”
“The same.”
“Do you suppose they are in league with Baron Schöenberg?”
“Probably not, at least not directly, but we must consider it a possibility and act accordingly. Any official investigation of the island will be noticed... and sending the Royal Navy in, which I would love to do mind you, is very much out of the question at this stage.”
Daniel Mansfield grins and Sir Hugh nods.
“Exactly. You will have to investigate using unconventional means.”
Mansfield ponders the problem for a long moment as he regards the map.
“What do we know about the island? How many people live on it?”
“There are no updated records, but we know it has seen considerable development in the last twenty years. Imperial have built a small harbour facility and a large research station on top of this peak. It’s possible the island contains several hundred people... perhaps even an armed force.”
Mansfield stretches his legs and yawns.
“If I feel I need to use force of arms...?”
“Then do so.”
Mansfield casts his mind back over the last three days. ”Strenuous” he replies.
Sir Hugh nods, then pulling out a thin brown folder, his face takes on a serious demeanour. He pulls out a map and places it on the low table between them. Mansfield picks it up and regards it.
”Farquhar Island” Sir Hugh says. ”One of our islands in the Southern Seychelles group. It features prominently in the log you recovered from Brazil.”
”Do we know why?”
Sir Hugh shakes his head. ”No. The island is controlled by a British corporation called Imperial Sea Foods. It maintains a large sea food farm on the island, along with an extensive research facility”
Mansfield looks up sharply. ”Researching what?”
”Officially, sea food. Unofficially, who knows?”
“I doubt the Brotherhood of the Black Cross are interested in sea food”
Sir Hugh shrugs then slides a second sheet of paper across the table. This is Imperial Sea Foods... As you can see, it’s connected right up to the very top. Two MP’s, one a former minister, and Lord Shaftsbury“
“The King’s cousin?”
“The same.”
“Do you suppose they are in league with Baron Schöenberg?”
“Probably not, at least not directly, but we must consider it a possibility and act accordingly. Any official investigation of the island will be noticed... and sending the Royal Navy in, which I would love to do mind you, is very much out of the question at this stage.”
Daniel Mansfield grins and Sir Hugh nods.
“Exactly. You will have to investigate using unconventional means.”
Mansfield ponders the problem for a long moment as he regards the map.
“What do we know about the island? How many people live on it?”
“There are no updated records, but we know it has seen considerable development in the last twenty years. Imperial have built a small harbour facility and a large research station on top of this peak. It’s possible the island contains several hundred people... perhaps even an armed force.”
Mansfield stretches his legs and yawns.
“If I feel I need to use force of arms...?”
“Then do so.”
Fourteen days later, Daniel Mansfield steps out of the fuselage of a Boeing 247 and regards the small sun baked airport of Port Victoria. Behind him, ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell fusses with a long heavy case.
“Can you see him?” Marcel Messnier asks from within the plane. The Frenchman pushes past his American companion and hops lightly onto the concrete. He gazes about; shading his eyes, and then gives a short Gallic exclamation of satisfaction.
“There he is!”
Mansfield follows Messnier’s gaze and sees a tall European man in a white shirt approaching them, flanking him are two hard faced Africans in gaudy clothes.
“Monsieur Lavarre I presume?” Messnier steps forward to meet the European. “Who are your friends?”
“Ship mates” the other replies with an unmistakable French accent. “You are Messnier?”
“Oui, and this is Mister Mansfield.”
“Mad Dog?” one of the Africans suddenly exclaims in a thick voice.
“Eh?” Mitchell looks down from the fuselage door. “Jo Jo Bouché? Is that you? Goddamn boy, where’s your Pa?”
“Do you know every one?” Mansfield asks the burly Texan
“Every cut throat, gun runner and smuggler from Athens to Jo’burg” Mitchell grins as he steps down from the plane. ”I’ve known Jo Jo’s old man since about 1927 or so. Haven’t seen this kid since he was fourteen, but I’d recognise that smile any where”
Daniel Mansfield regards the scarred face of the African, his chipped front teeth and the slightly manic gleam in his eyes and decides to remain silent”
“Papa is on the boat” Jo Jo grins. “He’ll be mighty pleased to see you again I bet”
The Frenchman, Lavarre, looks from face to face sneering slightly. “So we’re all good friends eh... Perhaps we can go some where and talk some business?”
“Time is a factor for us; perhaps we should go straight to your ship and look her over?”
“Certainly Monsieur, I shall arrange a car for you whilst you retrieve your luggage”
“Can you see him?” Marcel Messnier asks from within the plane. The Frenchman pushes past his American companion and hops lightly onto the concrete. He gazes about; shading his eyes, and then gives a short Gallic exclamation of satisfaction.
“There he is!”
Mansfield follows Messnier’s gaze and sees a tall European man in a white shirt approaching them, flanking him are two hard faced Africans in gaudy clothes.
“Monsieur Lavarre I presume?” Messnier steps forward to meet the European. “Who are your friends?”
“Ship mates” the other replies with an unmistakable French accent. “You are Messnier?”
“Oui, and this is Mister Mansfield.”
“Mad Dog?” one of the Africans suddenly exclaims in a thick voice.
“Eh?” Mitchell looks down from the fuselage door. “Jo Jo Bouché? Is that you? Goddamn boy, where’s your Pa?”
“Do you know every one?” Mansfield asks the burly Texan
“Every cut throat, gun runner and smuggler from Athens to Jo’burg” Mitchell grins as he steps down from the plane. ”I’ve known Jo Jo’s old man since about 1927 or so. Haven’t seen this kid since he was fourteen, but I’d recognise that smile any where”
Daniel Mansfield regards the scarred face of the African, his chipped front teeth and the slightly manic gleam in his eyes and decides to remain silent”
“Papa is on the boat” Jo Jo grins. “He’ll be mighty pleased to see you again I bet”
The Frenchman, Lavarre, looks from face to face sneering slightly. “So we’re all good friends eh... Perhaps we can go some where and talk some business?”
“Time is a factor for us; perhaps we should go straight to your ship and look her over?”
“Certainly Monsieur, I shall arrange a car for you whilst you retrieve your luggage”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Le Mollusc is an old French tramp steamer, long since fallen into decay and disrepute. Abandoned by her original owners in Indochine, then bought, sold and gambled from owner to owner she has come into the hands of a motley band of disreputable characters under the leadership of an aging Kenyan Captain named Wangai. Described by some as mere pirates, the gang have used their ship to great effect, usually to move weapons and supplies for many a local warlord or regional government, but just as often to engage other seaborne or coastal targets. Wangai himself is an ambiguous character, frowned upon by the British authorities and effectively banished from Kenya but still tolerated in the Seychelles.
“What a rust bucket” George Macarthur mutters to himself as he regards the ancient ship.
“You got that right” Mitchell says as he casts an eye over the bows. “What do you suppose that big wooden box is for?”
Jo Jo leans closer. “thats the big gun boss” he whispers as he widens his eyes theatrically.
“Oh?” Mitchell’s interest is immediately peaked. “What ya got under there?”
Dominique Lavarre turns with a frown, glancing disapprovingly at Jo Jo who ignores him. “A Schneider” he says in a low voice.
“A French 75mm gun” Mitchell tells George Macarthur who nods sagely.
A tall dark faced man appears at the gangway and nods to Dominique Lavarre.
“Captain Wangai” the Frenchman introduces the man with a broad hand gesture as the man steps from his ship.
“Pleased to meet you Sir” Daniel Mansfield says with an outstretched hand. “I’m Daniel Mansfield.”
“Greetings Mr Manfield. Welcome to our ship. I understand you are in need of some assistance. Come aboard and tell me all about it.”
“What a rust bucket” George Macarthur mutters to himself as he regards the ancient ship.
“You got that right” Mitchell says as he casts an eye over the bows. “What do you suppose that big wooden box is for?”
Jo Jo leans closer. “thats the big gun boss” he whispers as he widens his eyes theatrically.
“Oh?” Mitchell’s interest is immediately peaked. “What ya got under there?”
Dominique Lavarre turns with a frown, glancing disapprovingly at Jo Jo who ignores him. “A Schneider” he says in a low voice.
“A French 75mm gun” Mitchell tells George Macarthur who nods sagely.
A tall dark faced man appears at the gangway and nods to Dominique Lavarre.
“Captain Wangai” the Frenchman introduces the man with a broad hand gesture as the man steps from his ship.
“Pleased to meet you Sir” Daniel Mansfield says with an outstretched hand. “I’m Daniel Mansfield.”
“Greetings Mr Manfield. Welcome to our ship. I understand you are in need of some assistance. Come aboard and tell me all about it.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What do you know about Farquhar Island?”
Wangai and Lavarre exchange a glance.
“It has... a reputation” The Frenchman replies. “Fishing boats from here and Madagascar have... disappeared while fishing in its vicinity. The locals here have taken to calling it accursed.”
“That is interesting” Mansfield says. “I’d like to take a closer look”
“Why?” Captain Wangai asks abruptly.
Mansfield hesitates only slightly before replying, but the hesitation is enough to convey a sense of absolute caution.
“I believe the island is being used by a secret German organisation, an organisation which has high level connections in many countries, including in the United Kingdom.”
Captain Wangai’s eyes regard the Englishman’s face. He nods slowly then pulls out a cigar and then lights it.
“And you are an Englishman, investigating this mysterious German organisation... very well. It is none of our business, and we do not like the German, not after his misdeeds in Africa these last many years. You have your ship”.
“How large is your crew?”
Wangai looks to Lavarre who frowns before answering “...half a dozen. Why?”
“I need more than passage. I need to get on that island and possibly seize control of it.”
“Now wait a minute!” Lavarre begins, but when Wangai raises his hand he falls silent.
“If you want to land on the island, then yes, we can do that too Mr Mansfield... but we will need more men, a lot more, and the price will be higher, much higher.”
“How many men can you get by tonight?” Mansfield asks. The mercenaries’ eyes widen in surprise and Wangai laughs suddenly. “By tonight, I can have thirty men, maybe forty or so if Iron fist Chung is available.”
“I have myself and these three men” Mansfield indicates his companions, Mad Dog Mitchell, George Macarthur and Marcel Messnier.
Wangai and Lavarre exchange a glance.
“It has... a reputation” The Frenchman replies. “Fishing boats from here and Madagascar have... disappeared while fishing in its vicinity. The locals here have taken to calling it accursed.”
“That is interesting” Mansfield says. “I’d like to take a closer look”
“Why?” Captain Wangai asks abruptly.
Mansfield hesitates only slightly before replying, but the hesitation is enough to convey a sense of absolute caution.
“I believe the island is being used by a secret German organisation, an organisation which has high level connections in many countries, including in the United Kingdom.”
Captain Wangai’s eyes regard the Englishman’s face. He nods slowly then pulls out a cigar and then lights it.
“And you are an Englishman, investigating this mysterious German organisation... very well. It is none of our business, and we do not like the German, not after his misdeeds in Africa these last many years. You have your ship”.
“How large is your crew?”
Wangai looks to Lavarre who frowns before answering “...half a dozen. Why?”
“I need more than passage. I need to get on that island and possibly seize control of it.”
“Now wait a minute!” Lavarre begins, but when Wangai raises his hand he falls silent.
“If you want to land on the island, then yes, we can do that too Mr Mansfield... but we will need more men, a lot more, and the price will be higher, much higher.”
“How many men can you get by tonight?” Mansfield asks. The mercenaries’ eyes widen in surprise and Wangai laughs suddenly. “By tonight, I can have thirty men, maybe forty or so if Iron fist Chung is available.”
“I have myself and these three men” Mansfield indicates his companions, Mad Dog Mitchell, George Macarthur and Marcel Messnier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three days later, le Mollusc reaches her destination. Having carefully planned his approach, Captain Wangai has cunningly approached the island during the hours of darkness, and the small merchant ship slips into the northern lagoon as the first light of dawn touches the horizon.
On the bridge, Daniel Mansfield scans the early morning darkness through a pair of binoculars.
“I see an aircraft on the water” he reports.
“Where?” Wangai lifts his own glasses.
“Two points off the starboard bow” Mansfield replies. “A biplane... looks like a fighter, I suppose that explains the missing fishing boats...”
“There is a building just by” Wangai turns to Juan Luis Ortega who stands near by. “Ready a line. We’re going as close as we can”
“I see movement” Mansfield says. “Several men... “
Mitchell enters the bridge holding his Browning automatic rifle in one hand, and strange contraption of tubes and nozzles in the other. “Are you ready? They’re putting the boats over the side.”
“I’ll be right with you... Captain Wangai. Good luck sir. I think today you may see something you’ve never seen before.”
He grins happily then leaves the bridge leaving Captain Wangai to wonder what he meant...
Klaus Kreusser sits in his watch tower, shivering slightly. The dawn is the coolest part of the day on the island and after a long shift on guard duty he feels ready for a cup of coffee and then to his bed. Below him he can hear the sounds of early risers. Laughing voices, the unmistakable rattle of a safety razor in a cup of water, some one in the communications bunker fiddling with a wireless. Best of all comes that blessed aroma of coffee wafting faintly in the still air.
“Klaus!” the voice of Hauptman Krebs reaches him. “Come on down now. Scherber will be ready in a few minutes.”
Kreusser stands up and stretches his legs. He takes one last look about the lagoon before he turns to towards the ladder, then freezes and looks back. To the west of him, coming around the island is a smudge of smoke and below it a large dark shape. A ship is coming into the lagoon! For a moment he stares at it, amazed and uncertain, then his training takes over and he grabs the alarm handle and pulls it down hard.
On the bridge, Daniel Mansfield scans the early morning darkness through a pair of binoculars.
“I see an aircraft on the water” he reports.
“Where?” Wangai lifts his own glasses.
“Two points off the starboard bow” Mansfield replies. “A biplane... looks like a fighter, I suppose that explains the missing fishing boats...”
“There is a building just by” Wangai turns to Juan Luis Ortega who stands near by. “Ready a line. We’re going as close as we can”
“I see movement” Mansfield says. “Several men... “
Mitchell enters the bridge holding his Browning automatic rifle in one hand, and strange contraption of tubes and nozzles in the other. “Are you ready? They’re putting the boats over the side.”
“I’ll be right with you... Captain Wangai. Good luck sir. I think today you may see something you’ve never seen before.”
He grins happily then leaves the bridge leaving Captain Wangai to wonder what he meant...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Klaus Kreusser sits in his watch tower, shivering slightly. The dawn is the coolest part of the day on the island and after a long shift on guard duty he feels ready for a cup of coffee and then to his bed. Below him he can hear the sounds of early risers. Laughing voices, the unmistakable rattle of a safety razor in a cup of water, some one in the communications bunker fiddling with a wireless. Best of all comes that blessed aroma of coffee wafting faintly in the still air.
“Klaus!” the voice of Hauptman Krebs reaches him. “Come on down now. Scherber will be ready in a few minutes.”
Kreusser stands up and stretches his legs. He takes one last look about the lagoon before he turns to towards the ladder, then freezes and looks back. To the west of him, coming around the island is a smudge of smoke and below it a large dark shape. A ship is coming into the lagoon! For a moment he stares at it, amazed and uncertain, then his training takes over and he grabs the alarm handle and pulls it down hard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
The Germans are caught completely off guard. Having approached by night, le Mollusc is able to get as close as the lagoon allows before they are even in position. The game begins with le Mollusc to the north of the beach with both her boats in the water, sheltered behind her (these are not shown on the map as they are not static elements).
All elements of players one, two and three begin on le Mollusc or in the boats behind her.
Kampfgruppen Rot of the Schattentroppen are in position, in and around the bunker and along the beach. The two pilots are in their hut.
Kampfgruppen Gelb of the Schattentroppen begins off map. Unaware of the approach of the ship, they are caught by surprise and come running to reinforce Kampfgruppen Rot. They enter the game in small groups of three, beginning in round two.
Both sides want the aeroplane. The object of the game is to capture and hold it. In order to do this, at least one element should be in base contact with the end of the jetty at the end of the game. Alternatively a pilot could take possession of the aeroplane, start it up and taxi off map. In order to do this, the two mooring lines must be cut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~All elements of players one, two and three begin on le Mollusc or in the boats behind her.
Kampfgruppen Rot of the Schattentroppen are in position, in and around the bunker and along the beach. The two pilots are in their hut.
Kampfgruppen Gelb of the Schattentroppen begins off map. Unaware of the approach of the ship, they are caught by surprise and come running to reinforce Kampfgruppen Rot. They enter the game in small groups of three, beginning in round two.
Both sides want the aeroplane. The object of the game is to capture and hold it. In order to do this, at least one element should be in base contact with the end of the jetty at the end of the game. Alternatively a pilot could take possession of the aeroplane, start it up and taxi off map. In order to do this, the two mooring lines must be cut.
Player One
Rocketman (SMG)
George Macarthur (Handgun)
'Mad Dog' Mitchell (LMG)
Marcel Messnier (Rifle)
plus one group from le Mollusc
Divide the remaining four groups from le Mollusc between them.
See below for character details
Player Four: Kampfgruppen Rot
Hauptman Krebs (Handgun)
11 x Schattensoldater (5 x rifles, 2 x grenades, 2 x SMG, 1 LMG & 1 flamethrower)
Luftschutzobertruppmann Schultz (Handgun)
Luftschutztruppmann Klengel (Handgun)
Player Five: Kampfgruppen Gelb
Hauptman Seitz (Handgun)
11 x Schattensoldater (5 x rifles, 2 x grenades, 2 x SMG, 1 LMG & 1 flamethrower)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map
Note. The three boats in the game are not included on the map~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victory conditions
Either side wins by holding the sea plane at the end of the game, or by default if defeating two thirds of the opposing force. If one side should destroy the seaplane, the other side wins automatically.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special notes
The seaplane is cold but fuelled and ready to go. It takes six rounds to start up the engine and a further three rounds to rev up sufficiently to taxi off map. The mooring lines which secure the plane to the jetty run from fore and aft of the land side pontoon and must be cut. Cutting these takes a single round.
Unmooring and starting the speedboat takes two rounds.
Rocketman has six hero points in this game
The beach path and the pier are Good. The beach itself is Rough and the breakwater is Rough. Inside the buildings, boats and on board the ship is Rough. The sea is calm and there is very little surf. The sea is good going for boats and impassable for all other elements. The surf is Difficult for all elements.
Unmooring and starting the speedboat takes two rounds.
Rocketman has six hero points in this game
The beach path and the pier are Good. The beach itself is Rough and the breakwater is Rough. Inside the buildings, boats and on board the ship is Rough. The sea is calm and there is very little surf. The sea is good going for boats and impassable for all other elements. The surf is Difficult for all elements.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Characters
The crew of Le Mollusc
First group
Captain Wangai. A well built Kenyan approximately fifty five years old. Wangai was once a rebel of some notoriety who eventually left Kenya after several run ins with the British authorities who regarded him as little better than a terrorist. Inspired to sail for Europe, Wangai signed on to a Portuguese merchant ship but after a great many years roaming the high sea’s and never reaching his destination, Wangai gave up his dreams and concentrated on his own advancement. He was eventually made an officer on a French ship, but soon troubles in Indochine, saw him forced to take up arms again and fight to defend his shipmates. After this return to violence, Wangai turned to mercenary work, hiring himself out, at first to the French, but later to any one who could afford his services. He became Captain of Le Mollusc when he took the ship with his men during a coastal skirmish in 1931. Since then he has worked for a number of employers providing services which no government can be seen to touch. By 1937 he is based in the Seychelles and operating along the western coast of Africa, mostly in the pay of private British interests. In combat Captain Wangai is cool, cautious and calculating. He never takes unecessary risks being the perfect mercenary. Wangai means ‘Child of God’ in the Kikuyu language of Kenya.
Edith Flavien. A French woman who fell in love with Captain Wangai in Shangai and now sails as his lover. A hot headed woman who gets ‘excited’ when the bullets start to fly.
Murphy. An Irish engineer and former terrorist. Murphy is an expert on explosives, but due to years of opium and cheap whiskey he is also utterly mad. Murphy tends the engines on the ship, and is possesive of them.
Lester. A former Australian soldier who never managed to find his way home and who is drunk most of the time. Lester is the ships cook.
Fernando D’Alessio. A Spanish communist forced to flee Spain after the defeat of the civil war. D’Allesio is a fearless ideolog who regards men like Baron Schöenberg as imperialist swine who must be destroyed forthwith. He is probably the most fervent of all the crew and this shows in his desperate actions.
Juan Luis Ortega. A Brazillian communist who fled Spain with Fernado D’Alessio. Something of an alcoholic, he is less enthusiastic about his ideals, but due to his being drunk all the time he is more or less fearless.Ortega has no dreams nor hopes and he regards communism as merely the best cause to die for.
Ivan Kopylov. A huge Russian who cannot speak a word of English. Kopylov was a sailor who got left behind in the Seychelles by accident and who now works as a hired thug for local criminal gangs because he is a alcohol fuelled murdering machine who shrugs off bullet wounds. Kopylov can speak some of the local pidgin but not much.
Pierre San Uté. A French criminal who escaped frm prison and who has drifted about the harbours and ports of Asia ever since, drinking, gambling and longing to return to France.
Zoë. A French woman with attitude. Pierre San Uté’s lover. Nothing much is known about her except that she has a Chinese mark branded into her shoulder
Jean-Francois Laguna. A Frenchman who fled Indochine when he murdered another man over a local girl.
Ganz. A South African mercenary, born in Germany. Ganz is a despicable criminal whose hard life of villainy and misfortune has left him with a hook instead of a right hand. A true pirate at heart, Ganz is a murderer and rapist with a reward on his head. He fights hard and gives no mercy.
Vixen & Vesper. Twin sisters, born in Rhodesia, their father a British diplomat they grew up in South East Asia and studied Eastern mystic arts. When their parents were killed by a Chinese gangster family in Hong Kong, they took revenge and became outlaws. Both are deadly in close combat.
Coxley. A Rhodesian mercenary who just happened to be in a bar drinking his last shilling away when he heard a job was going down.
Boston. An American adventurer who gets into trouble every where he goes in his never ending quest to find some treasure and get rich.
Jack Marley. Boston’s partner in recent years, Marley is amongst other things, an explosives expert.
Maputo Diogo. A Mozambiquan Adventurer who has recently been in several scrapes along side Boston and Jack marley.
‘Butcher’ Bouché. A former French soldier from Senegal who left his home to fight in France in 1914. Unable to cope with returning to Senegal after the slaughter of WW1, Bouché eventually became a mercenary. He is an experienced machine gunner, professional and calm when under fire.
Jo Jo. The son of Bouché by a Maseille prostitute. Jo Jo is a popular member of the crew for his happy go lucky nature, and lewd stories. Following his fathers example he appears unconcerned by danger in combat.
10 x East African riflemen. Captain Wangai's gang.
Mehmet Ilchet. A middle aged Turkish engineer. Mehmet was formerly a gun running smuggler who left his homeland to seek his fortune, but ended up on Le Mollusc instead. A practical man, he maintains the ship, though he doesn’t touch the engines which are Murphy’s pride and joy
Mustapha . Mehmet Ilchet’s older cousin. Mustapha is a studious man who studied medicine with the intention of becoming a surgeon. An unfortunate incident involving the daughter of a village elder forced him to flee Turkey and join his cousin .
Ali. A young Turk with stars in his eyes. Ali ran away from home because he was the youngest son of seven and faced dim prospects. Saved by Mehmet Ilchet, he now plays the part of side kick.
Zebedee. A Malawian healer, much loved by the crew for his potent remedies, who took it upon himself to see the world and who ended up n board le Mollusc.
Usama Ibn Fadel. A Saudi gentlemen of some means, apparently from a high standing family. Forced to flee his home after murdering a cleric over a religious dispute.
Mohammed Al Jar. A Yemeni mule trader who was forced by a family feud to leave his country. A dark and passionate soul who takes his revenge on the world at large, Mohammed is prone to murder but a reluctant soldier.
‘Mad’ Abdul. A Palestinian Arab, Abdul was raised in a wealthy family with western tendencies. He went to school in Paris and learned to fly. He returned to Egypt in 1932 and was employed for a time as a pilot in the service of the Ottomans, After an unsuccessful uprising amongst the officer corps, Abdul fled to south and met Captain Wangai in Ethiopia. Wangai recognised Abdul’s potential and persuaded him to join the crew. In combat Abdul is as cool as ice. His nick name is the result of the crew’s misapprehensions regarding human flight.
Ali Al Zebid. An Arabian Beduin. A devout Muslim, Ali became a pirate after his sister brought shame upon his house and he was forced to kill her. Alas the damage was irrecersable and his clan ousted him. Ali accepted his fate and feels no remorse about his life. He refuses to kill Muslims but will happily slaughter infidels.
‘Iron fist’ Chung. A large, heavily muscled Chinese man, Chung is the leader of the ‘Asian group’.
Soo Suk Wang. Iron fist Chung’s Korean girlfriend.
10 x South east Asian riflemen. 'Iron fist' Chung's gang.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Edith Flavien. A French woman who fell in love with Captain Wangai in Shangai and now sails as his lover. A hot headed woman who gets ‘excited’ when the bullets start to fly.
Murphy. An Irish engineer and former terrorist. Murphy is an expert on explosives, but due to years of opium and cheap whiskey he is also utterly mad. Murphy tends the engines on the ship, and is possesive of them.
Lester. A former Australian soldier who never managed to find his way home and who is drunk most of the time. Lester is the ships cook.
Fernando D’Alessio. A Spanish communist forced to flee Spain after the defeat of the civil war. D’Allesio is a fearless ideolog who regards men like Baron Schöenberg as imperialist swine who must be destroyed forthwith. He is probably the most fervent of all the crew and this shows in his desperate actions.
Juan Luis Ortega. A Brazillian communist who fled Spain with Fernado D’Alessio. Something of an alcoholic, he is less enthusiastic about his ideals, but due to his being drunk all the time he is more or less fearless.Ortega has no dreams nor hopes and he regards communism as merely the best cause to die for.
Ivan Kopylov. A huge Russian who cannot speak a word of English. Kopylov was a sailor who got left behind in the Seychelles by accident and who now works as a hired thug for local criminal gangs because he is a alcohol fuelled murdering machine who shrugs off bullet wounds. Kopylov can speak some of the local pidgin but not much.
Pierre San Uté. A French criminal who escaped frm prison and who has drifted about the harbours and ports of Asia ever since, drinking, gambling and longing to return to France.
Zoë. A French woman with attitude. Pierre San Uté’s lover. Nothing much is known about her except that she has a Chinese mark branded into her shoulder
Second group
Dominique Lavarre. Second in command of the ship, Lavarre is a former Gendarme from Morocco who was forced to flee the law after he seduced the wife of his superior and was charged with rape. After several years in the West African underworld, he sought new pastures and found himself in Hong Kong where he worked for a while as a bar tender. Eventually he grew bored with the passive life and began peddling drugs. This put him in the way of the Golden Dragon Tong who chased him out of town. Lavarre left, but only after he murdered one of the leaders of the Tong to assist his lover Vixen. In battle Lavarre is brave, perhaps even foolhardy, but never stupid. He always takes good care of his men.Jean-Francois Laguna. A Frenchman who fled Indochine when he murdered another man over a local girl.
Ganz. A South African mercenary, born in Germany. Ganz is a despicable criminal whose hard life of villainy and misfortune has left him with a hook instead of a right hand. A true pirate at heart, Ganz is a murderer and rapist with a reward on his head. He fights hard and gives no mercy.
Vixen & Vesper. Twin sisters, born in Rhodesia, their father a British diplomat they grew up in South East Asia and studied Eastern mystic arts. When their parents were killed by a Chinese gangster family in Hong Kong, they took revenge and became outlaws. Both are deadly in close combat.
Coxley. A Rhodesian mercenary who just happened to be in a bar drinking his last shilling away when he heard a job was going down.
Boston. An American adventurer who gets into trouble every where he goes in his never ending quest to find some treasure and get rich.
Jack Marley. Boston’s partner in recent years, Marley is amongst other things, an explosives expert.
Maputo Diogo. A Mozambiquan Adventurer who has recently been in several scrapes along side Boston and Jack marley.
Third group
‘Butcher’ Bouché. A former French soldier from Senegal who left his home to fight in France in 1914. Unable to cope with returning to Senegal after the slaughter of WW1, Bouché eventually became a mercenary. He is an experienced machine gunner, professional and calm when under fire.
Jo Jo. The son of Bouché by a Maseille prostitute. Jo Jo is a popular member of the crew for his happy go lucky nature, and lewd stories. Following his fathers example he appears unconcerned by danger in combat.
10 x East African riflemen. Captain Wangai's gang.
Fourth group
Mehmet Ilchet. A middle aged Turkish engineer. Mehmet was formerly a gun running smuggler who left his homeland to seek his fortune, but ended up on Le Mollusc instead. A practical man, he maintains the ship, though he doesn’t touch the engines which are Murphy’s pride and joy
Mustapha . Mehmet Ilchet’s older cousin. Mustapha is a studious man who studied medicine with the intention of becoming a surgeon. An unfortunate incident involving the daughter of a village elder forced him to flee Turkey and join his cousin .
Ali. A young Turk with stars in his eyes. Ali ran away from home because he was the youngest son of seven and faced dim prospects. Saved by Mehmet Ilchet, he now plays the part of side kick.
Zebedee. A Malawian healer, much loved by the crew for his potent remedies, who took it upon himself to see the world and who ended up n board le Mollusc.
Usama Ibn Fadel. A Saudi gentlemen of some means, apparently from a high standing family. Forced to flee his home after murdering a cleric over a religious dispute.
Mohammed Al Jar. A Yemeni mule trader who was forced by a family feud to leave his country. A dark and passionate soul who takes his revenge on the world at large, Mohammed is prone to murder but a reluctant soldier.
‘Mad’ Abdul. A Palestinian Arab, Abdul was raised in a wealthy family with western tendencies. He went to school in Paris and learned to fly. He returned to Egypt in 1932 and was employed for a time as a pilot in the service of the Ottomans, After an unsuccessful uprising amongst the officer corps, Abdul fled to south and met Captain Wangai in Ethiopia. Wangai recognised Abdul’s potential and persuaded him to join the crew. In combat Abdul is as cool as ice. His nick name is the result of the crew’s misapprehensions regarding human flight.
Ali Al Zebid. An Arabian Beduin. A devout Muslim, Ali became a pirate after his sister brought shame upon his house and he was forced to kill her. Alas the damage was irrecersable and his clan ousted him. Ali accepted his fate and feels no remorse about his life. He refuses to kill Muslims but will happily slaughter infidels.
Fifth group
‘Iron fist’ Chung. A large, heavily muscled Chinese man, Chung is the leader of the ‘Asian group’.
Soo Suk Wang. Iron fist Chung’s Korean girlfriend.
10 x South east Asian riflemen. 'Iron fist' Chung's gang.
Vehicles
Boat
An un-armoured military vehicle that can provide +1 to occupants if used as effective cover. The boat can be sunk by grenades.
Top speed: n/a
Range: n/a
Capacity:6
Length: 3.4m
Width: 1.2m
Weight: 0.2t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: n/a. Armour: None
Speed is Good 4
Rough 2
Difficult 1
Ships motor boats
An un-armoured military vehicle that can provide +1 to occupants if used as effective cover. The ships motor boats can be sunk by grenades.
Top speed: 24km/h
Range: 40km
Capacity:8
Length: 4.4m
Width: 1.4m
Weight: 0.36t
Turret: No
Armaments: None
Power plant: 70hp.
Armour: None
Speed is Good 12
Rough 8
Difficult 4
Despite being let down by Rasmus, 'Beach Assault' was quite a success, though no actual beach assault took place, unless you count Goeg's heroic effort to bring his HMG closer. Both sides had moments of glory and bloodshed and in the end, the result was satisfactory.
The players, sans Rasmus who never turned upThe game began with the Germans scrambling to get into position whilst the good guys, who were dubbed 'the pirates' for convenience, brought their two ships boats into position. Both sides used their long range weapons to engage, but found rifles to be at a distinct disadvantage and smaller weapons were useless. The range from the bunker to the ships bow was exactly 72 inches, and a rifle has an effective range of 36 inches in our rules.
Rocketman took one look at the Heinkel and decided to grab it. He flew off table to avoid being an airborne target (Which he is allowed to do, given the nature of his rocket pack) then flew back on to land on the jetty. The Germans immediately opened fire and suppressed him, but he was about to cut the tethers any way due to being crouched on the seaplane's pontoons. Meanwhile Oleg brought his ships boat, loaded with pirates closer in order to tow the Heinkel away and thus win the game. I have to admit, I didn't see this possibility. For a long time this game was designed as a straight up battle and the winning criteria were very different. I changed the nature of the game to save time (as we only have four hours or so) and because the plot cannot depend on one side winning. A consequence of this was I hadn't given too much thought to the jetty. Ah well, c'est la guerre.
Le Mollusc under fire.Whilst Oleg was performing small miracle's, Goeg was still learning. Having lined up his pirates on Le Mollusc's superstructure (see image above), he had the most perfect firing squad I've ever seen. Unfortunately he was out of range, so his men were firing with a -3 and -4 penalty for the whole game). Given that my Germans were chemically enhanced (thanks to mad Dr Meztger), and out of range, the best he could hope for was to keep them pinned down. Goeg also had his African MG crew, with their Vickers Maxim. A dangerous weapon, but old and some what unreliable. In our rule system, its classed as a Machine Gun (as opposed to a heavy machine gun like a .50) which means it has a 36 inch range equivalent to a rifle, or an LMG. It does however do slightly more damage if it hits.
Goeg stuck his Vickers Maxim gun in the second ships boat and used the boat like a sort of seaborne 'technical', chugging closer in an attempt to do more damage. Unfortunately what happened was he became a priority target and spent most of his time suppressed (the MG gunners cowering for cover on a wooden boat). What Goeg, and Oleg didn't know, is that the Germans had some secrets up their sleeves. Palle had a second Heinkel, returning from patrol and able to attack with twin MG-17's and six 10 kilo bombs, and I had a sniper with an anti-materiel rifle; a 13.2mm M1918 Mauser.
Once Rocketman had secured the biplane, the game was nearing its end, but it hadn't ended yet. I couldn't see how the Germans could grab the plane back unless the German pilots risked a dash to grab the speed boat (which can be seen moored to the jetty in the image above). A risky move, but better than not doing anything. Palle however had other idea's. The second Heinkel came down from the north and hardly any one noticed it until it was strafing Le Mollusc's deck, clearing away pirates like a broom. At the same time, I used my sniper against Geog's commanding officer (Iron Fist Chung) and he then stopped commanding. I also used my grenade launcher (A non historical weapon developed exlusively by the Schattentroppen's gunsmith) to put Goeg's seaborne MG out of commission.
The Field of Mars.In the foreground the Germans, watch in disbelief as Rocketman and his allies steal the Heinkel
For a moment, I thought we might have a chance, especially as the next round would see the second Heinkel deploy its bombs. Alas, I had counted my velociraptors before they were hatched, and Oleg put Rocketman into the air and used his rocket plumes (and 4 hero points) as a flame thrower to set fire to the speedng fighter as it passed below him (hence the title image). The burning aircraft hurtled over head and crashed behind the German line, probably landing on their camp.
Oleg was definately 'Man of the Match'. He was forced to contend with twice as many elements as usual, and they were all named characters (meaning a set of individual stats for about forty elements), he played Rocketman to perfection, bringing down the second Heinkel and he won the game by using Rocketman to quickly secure the first Heinkel whilst a boat chugged out to tow it away. A well deserved win.
Faced with such unbelievable heroism, the Germans fell back to better positions, and to salvage what they could from their burning camp.
“Danke, danke mein damer und herrer...
I thank you for this honour from the bottom of mein heart. I cannot tell you how much it means to a scientist, to have his work recognized... to have my work recognized! You must understand the brilliance of my work, to appreciate what I have done. What I have done!
So few people appreciate my work, understand what I have tried to do, where I have succeeded. The sacrifices I have had to make. Mein Gott! The things I have had to do in the name of our glorious quest! ...I must thank the Baron, for though he has only a limited understanding of my work, he has ensured its success with his support... if only he would see the limitless potential... The potential for a New World Order! A Higher World Order! A world where my work is not hidden away in the shadows but understood and appreciated... It is I who should win the Nobel, not this man Otto Loewi and his acetylcholine. What is acetylcholine compared to the mysteries of life itself?
It is I who has defeated death, I who have Mastered the Very Secret of Life Itself. I Alone Who Have Done What Other Men only Dare To Dream About! It Is I who.... Ja?”
A knock at the door interrupts Herr Doktor Metzger in mid sentence, and scowling he turns to admit the intruder to the washroom.
“What is it?” he demands in a sullen voice.
Oberst Doktor Holst stands in the door, towering above the short deformed body of his civilian superior.
“Who were you talking to?” Holst looks about the room suspiciously. His inquisitive eyes rest upon the mirror over the sink at which Metzger is standing.
“No one... I was rehearsing a speech” Metzger mutters.
Holst drops the matter.
“The Island is under attack.”
“What?” Metzger convulses with a start, then pushes past Holst, begins to limp rapidly along the corridor before coming to halt. He turns to look back at the taller man.
“The British?”
Holst shrugs. “Reports indicate an armed ship full of Africans, possibly some Chinese and Europeans too. I do not know who they are yet”
“It is him! It is Mansfield!”
“How do you know?”
“Do You Question Me?”
Holst takes a deep breath and follows Metzger to the operations room, where the staff nervously move aside and Metzger glares at a map of the island.
“Where have they landed?”
“Here at the northern anchorage”
“Ach so....” Metzger examines at the map, his nose mere inches from it. A bead of sweat drips from his forehead and lands conspicuously on the paper.
“They will either take the road, or attempt to push inland” he decides. Have the road blocked, and then activate Johan!”
“Johan? ...ahh, is that prudent?”
“Do Not Presume To Question Me!
I Am The Ultimate Authority On This Island!
You Will Obey My Orders!”
I thank you for this honour from the bottom of mein heart. I cannot tell you how much it means to a scientist, to have his work recognized... to have my work recognized! You must understand the brilliance of my work, to appreciate what I have done. What I have done!
So few people appreciate my work, understand what I have tried to do, where I have succeeded. The sacrifices I have had to make. Mein Gott! The things I have had to do in the name of our glorious quest! ...I must thank the Baron, for though he has only a limited understanding of my work, he has ensured its success with his support... if only he would see the limitless potential... The potential for a New World Order! A Higher World Order! A world where my work is not hidden away in the shadows but understood and appreciated... It is I who should win the Nobel, not this man Otto Loewi and his acetylcholine. What is acetylcholine compared to the mysteries of life itself?
It is I who has defeated death, I who have Mastered the Very Secret of Life Itself. I Alone Who Have Done What Other Men only Dare To Dream About! It Is I who.... Ja?”
A knock at the door interrupts Herr Doktor Metzger in mid sentence, and scowling he turns to admit the intruder to the washroom.
“What is it?” he demands in a sullen voice.
Oberst Doktor Holst stands in the door, towering above the short deformed body of his civilian superior.
“Who were you talking to?” Holst looks about the room suspiciously. His inquisitive eyes rest upon the mirror over the sink at which Metzger is standing.
“No one... I was rehearsing a speech” Metzger mutters.
Holst drops the matter.
“The Island is under attack.”
“What?” Metzger convulses with a start, then pushes past Holst, begins to limp rapidly along the corridor before coming to halt. He turns to look back at the taller man.
“The British?”
Holst shrugs. “Reports indicate an armed ship full of Africans, possibly some Chinese and Europeans too. I do not know who they are yet”
“It is him! It is Mansfield!”
“How do you know?”
“Do You Question Me?”
Holst takes a deep breath and follows Metzger to the operations room, where the staff nervously move aside and Metzger glares at a map of the island.
“Where have they landed?”
“Here at the northern anchorage”
“Ach so....” Metzger examines at the map, his nose mere inches from it. A bead of sweat drips from his forehead and lands conspicuously on the paper.
“They will either take the road, or attempt to push inland” he decides. Have the road blocked, and then activate Johan!”
“Johan? ...ahh, is that prudent?”
“Do Not Presume To Question Me!
I Am The Ultimate Authority On This Island!
You Will Obey My Orders!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
Players one, two and three begin at the northern end of the table, on the northern bank of the ‘lagoon’.
Player four begins in secret positions upon the table (see secret notes)
Player five begins on the southern edge of the table.
Player four begins in secret positions upon the table (see secret notes)
Player five begins on the southern edge of the table.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player One
Rocketman (SMG & grenades)
George Macarthur (Handgun & grenades)
'Mad Dog' Mitchell (LMG & grenades)
Marcel Messnier (Rifle & grenades)
Players two & three
Each of the players takes one pirate group of their choice (see list above) but Captain Wangai and his group stay with the ship.
Note. No non named characters who were defeated in the previous game participate in this game.
Player Four: Johan's garden
Johan (Flamethrower)
Spore field
Flesh eating plants
Mutant bee’s
Player Five: Kampfgruppen Grün
Oberst Doktor Holst (Handgun)
4 x Schattensoldater (Rifles and grenades)
2 x Schattensoldater scharfenshutzen (Rifles with telescopic sights)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victory conditions
Players one, two and three win by moving two thirds of their surviving elements across the table.
Players four and five win by preventing players one, two and three.
Players four and five win by preventing players one, two and three.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special notes
All terrain is Rough, except the waterways which are Difficult and the rocky area’s which are impassable. The tree’s, rocks and bushes give the usual defence bonuses. The mushrooms offer little protection, but the large clusters (those bigger than two mushrooms per base) offer enough cover to conceal any one hiding behind them (equal to 2 inches of ordinary bushes). Shooting the mushrooms makes no difference to the spore cloud.
The lagoon is loaded with large leeches; up to several inches in length and any one crossing it must roll a die. A roll of 1 results in a serious leech attack, roll against a CF of 2. Any defeated elements stagger from the lagoon cursing and retching and find themselves incapacitated on the shore as downed elements.
The lagoon is loaded with large leeches; up to several inches in length and any one crossing it must roll a die. A roll of 1 results in a serious leech attack, roll against a CF of 2. Any defeated elements stagger from the lagoon cursing and retching and find themselves incapacitated on the shore as downed elements.
A roll of 2 results in a lesser attack, but the element must pause for 2 rounds once they reach the far back, to remove leeches.
The hut is very solid and cannot be destroyed by grenades. It offers standard protection.
The aeroplane fuselage offers +1 protection, regardless of direction.
Rocketman has two hero points in this game.
The hut is very solid and cannot be destroyed by grenades. It offers standard protection.
The aeroplane fuselage offers +1 protection, regardless of direction.
Rocketman has two hero points in this game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Secret notes
Crossing the game table is very difficult and most probably cannot be done in under four hours. In order for Rocketman to reach his destination in the event of the game bogging down, only the the six foremost elements of players two and three survive to participate in chapter 5.
All of Player One's elements survive regardless of whether or not they've been defeated in this chapter.
Johan is an old experiment which has been turned loose by Metzger, an amalgamation of reanimated dead body parts; he lives in the wooden hut. He has no free will as such, but is capable of picking his targets carefully once he has been ‘activated’ by a chemical compound released into his blood stream. Johan has multiple back up organs and armoured skin. This makes him very hard to kill, especially since he is technically already dead. A curious by product of his life support system is a highly flammable urine which is siphoned into a flame thrower unit that has been grafted onto his left arm. Johan’s right arm and legs are incredibly strong and his endurance is far beyond that of a normal human being. Johan is not intelligent enough to adapt quickly to new weapons.
The spore field extends three inches from any given mushroom
The flesh eating plants are concealed amongst the other tubular vegetation. They have a one inch range.
The mutant bee’s have a ten inch range, but will only attack one element at a time, and only that element which is closest to their hive.
All of Player One's elements survive regardless of whether or not they've been defeated in this chapter.
Johan is an old experiment which has been turned loose by Metzger, an amalgamation of reanimated dead body parts; he lives in the wooden hut. He has no free will as such, but is capable of picking his targets carefully once he has been ‘activated’ by a chemical compound released into his blood stream. Johan has multiple back up organs and armoured skin. This makes him very hard to kill, especially since he is technically already dead. A curious by product of his life support system is a highly flammable urine which is siphoned into a flame thrower unit that has been grafted onto his left arm. Johan’s right arm and legs are incredibly strong and his endurance is far beyond that of a normal human being. Johan is not intelligent enough to adapt quickly to new weapons.
The spore field extends three inches from any given mushroom
The flesh eating plants are concealed amongst the other tubular vegetation. They have a one inch range.
The mutant bee’s have a ten inch range, but will only attack one element at a time, and only that element which is closest to their hive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conclusion
wearing my oldest 'gaming t shirt' to look the partI bought it in 1988 and it shows
The game began with a few notable changes due to Rasmus having cancelled and so the leeches got removed and I shortened the map by 20 inches or so. Even this didn't make it possible for Oleg and Goeg to fulfill their winning critieria, but this didn't matter too much as the emphasis of the game was surviving the strange and terrible dangers left lying around as a consequence of Dokter Metzger's diabolical experiments.
Rocketman and his allies set off up into the forested sides of the Islands extinct volcano, atop which is the curious building assumed to be a research station. In order to reach the building before nightfall, the group had to press on with all haste, but the Germans were aware of their approach and had activated a local asset; Johan. Oleg played Rocketman and the second group from Le Mollusc under the command of Dominique Lavarre. Goeg played the fifth group from Le Mollusc under the command of 'Iron fist' Chung. The remaining groups from the mercenary ship remained to guard the vessel from any possible German counter attack.
The red det marks the location of the game
One day, if I ever get a room I can devote to wargaming,I'll build regular 3d table tops with better scenary and vegetation!
Rocketman, his friends and the mercenaries, crossed the lagoon and began to climb onto the far bank, but as they did so, they disturbed the first of the islands many surprises, a swarm of mutant killer bee's, each insect as long as three inches and with a terrible sting. Rocketman immediately tried to use his rockets to blast the bee's, but only partly succeeded. Curiously, he then used his machine pistol and the bee's fled in disarray, presumably having had enough of the commotion and disturbed by the weapons shock wave. What ever the reason, the hero's pleasure was short lived as the mutant plants which were growing on the northern bank of the lagoon, revealed another surprise. Some of the plants had mutated to the point where they were both carniverous and had flexible truncks which were activatd by pressure on the roots. Since the plants were all over the northern bank, it was impossible to spot the dangerous ones and the threat was only revealed when a Chinese rifleman suddenly had his head bitten off.
Chaos ensued.
Whilst the invaders were floundering in disarray, the Germans were quietly taking positions further up the slope. Due to the nature of our table top skirmish games, building a sloping battleground in my living room is a no no, so we make do with contour lines and fevered imagination (thankfully we have enough of the latter to compensate for any mistakes I might make drawing the contour lines).
I used my scratch built triffids for the carniverous plantsOberst Dokter Holst and his small team of sharp shooters took up their positions around the crashed aeroplane, where exotic mushrooms had grown suspiciously tall and deadly. Fortunately for the Germans, they had gasmasks and could not be effected by the dangerous psychodelic spores which floated gradually from the underside of the mushrooms. Had any element not wearing a gas mask approached the mushrooms they would have suffered a chemical/biological attack and if defeated they would have gone mad; player four would then be in control of that element, allowing the mad person to be used against their own side. Alas, Rocketman and his friends never got that far up the table as once the snipers opened fire, the emphasis of the game changed from moving to surviving.
Johan makes his warm and lovable personality feltSurvival became all the more difficult when Johan sneaked down the gully to the lagoon and snuck up under the surface of the murky water. At the last moment, his presence was detected but by then it was already too late and the great mutant zombie arose from the water with his flamethrower arm spouting a great plume of fire towards Vesper and Ganz who were guarding the rear. Amazingly they survived this encounter but only by fleeing (see image above). Johann then turned his attention to a nearby group of four mercenaries and incinerated the lot.
The carnage wrought by Johann and Kampfgruppen GrünWe ran out of time not long after this and the game was a victory for the German side. Of Rocketman and his allies, only the fore most six of each side make it up hill to fight in chapter five.
These include;
Player one; Rocketman, George Macarthur, 'Mad Dog' Mitchell, Marcel Messnier
Player two; Dominique Lavarre, Jean-Francois Laguna and Vixen,
Player three; 'Iron Fist' Chung, Soo Suk Wang and three generic Chinese riflemen.
(All the photo's were taken by Oleg as usual)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the day passes into twilight, Captain Wangai moves his ship out into the lagoon. He’d prefer to be away for he knows full well the Germans, having put up such a fight on the beach, will be back sooner rather than later. The sea is calm and the first stars are coming out. The sporadic crackle of gunfire from the Island’s interior has stopped now, but no red flare has been launched to warn le Mollusc to flee, so the mercenary ship must stay and wait out the night. Edith Flavien steps onto the bridge holding a steaming mug of tea. He thanks her and she stands close.
“Is it not dangerous to stay here?” she whispers.
“Very” he nods, “But our people need us to wait, so we must wait. I shall tell the others to expect an attack, but hopefully the Germans will be preoccupied with the others”
Edith nods vaguely.
Ivan Kopylov looms from the inky shadows and Captain Wangai regards the mute Russian. Since they cannot speak a word to each other, he merely points to the top of the ship, to the anti aircraft gun battery that sits atop the bridge.
“Da.” Kopylov grunts. He climbs the rusty stairs and disappears leaving only the strong smell of cheap alcohol and stale sweat behind him.
“Don’t worry” Wangai tells Edith.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“Is it not dangerous to stay here?” she whispers.
“Very” he nods, “But our people need us to wait, so we must wait. I shall tell the others to expect an attack, but hopefully the Germans will be preoccupied with the others”
Edith nods vaguely.
Ivan Kopylov looms from the inky shadows and Captain Wangai regards the mute Russian. Since they cannot speak a word to each other, he merely points to the top of the ship, to the anti aircraft gun battery that sits atop the bridge.
“Da.” Kopylov grunts. He climbs the rusty stairs and disappears leaving only the strong smell of cheap alcohol and stale sweat behind him.
“Don’t worry” Wangai tells Edith.
Out on the open sea, two large boats cut through the water like knives. The first has the appearance of a fishing boat, but its speed and the throaty roar of its engine belay that impression. On her after deck, several men in rubber suits prepare weaponry. The second boat is different entirely, almost invisible in its dark colours, its fore deck boasts a 20mm auto-cannon and cluttered behind a forward cabin are more guns, and men in dark uniforms. A light flickers from its bridge, and the first boat veers off onto a separate course. Her Captain turns to his superior and salutes briskly.
“We are approaching the Northern Lagoon now My Lord”
Baron Von Schöenberg nods briefly, his attention on the dark silhouette of Farquhar Island. Like its demented master, it served a purpose, useful for a while, but now obsolete, a dead end. Metzger’s promises of superiority came to nothing but horrendous monsters and freaks. If mankind’s supreme form is to be found, then the search must continue along other avenues. He shakes his head sadly, aware now that the great discovery will probably not happen in his life time as he’d once hoped. Now he must prepare for the future. He turns to the communications officer.
“Inform Helga we will return to Neu-Prußen as soon as we have taken the enemy ship.”
“Jawohl!”
“We are approaching the Northern Lagoon now My Lord”
Baron Von Schöenberg nods briefly, his attention on the dark silhouette of Farquhar Island. Like its demented master, it served a purpose, useful for a while, but now obsolete, a dead end. Metzger’s promises of superiority came to nothing but horrendous monsters and freaks. If mankind’s supreme form is to be found, then the search must continue along other avenues. He shakes his head sadly, aware now that the great discovery will probably not happen in his life time as he’d once hoped. Now he must prepare for the future. He turns to the communications officer.
“Inform Helga we will return to Neu-Prußen as soon as we have taken the enemy ship.”
“Jawohl!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
Le Mollusc is at anchor in the middle of the Northern Lagoon (see red dot on image above). Several hours of darkness have passed before the Germans mount their counter attack, and the mercenary ship has been lulled into a sense of near complacency. Only Ivan Kopylov and Captain Wangai are still suspicious. Both remain at their posts, despite the late hour. Two other sentries have also been posted. Unfortunately for the mercenaries, the Germans have employed a team of divers, and these approach the ship, unseen.
Captain Wangai begins on the bridge with one other member of the crew to be chosen by player one. Ivan Kopylov is alone on the Observation deck and wide awake, note he can only look in one direction (perception) per round and he is hampered by ignorance of divers. This counters his attention, but does not affect his perception roll. Player one may specify two other sentries, to be placed any where on the ship; however these suffer a -1 penalty for boredom and inattention.
Players two and three begin the game in their cabins, mostly asleep. They may begin to deploy, one element at a time once the alarm bell rings or loud firing begins.
Player four begins off table. Once firing begins, the patrol boat moves to board the ship. The patrol boat can engage with its 20mm auto-cannon from off table any time it wishes to do so, but Le Mollusc’s twin .50’s can match the gun boat for range and destructive capability. The gun boat takes 4 rounds to get on table once it starts up its engines.
The game begins when player five’s divers reach the ships side. The rest of player fives elements begin off table, waiting to board the ship from a different direction. As it is not dark hulled, the dive boat is further away. It will therefore take longer for it to arrive on table.
Note. This chapter takes place simultaneously as chapter five
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Player one
Captain Wangai (pistol)
& group one from Le Mollusc
Players two & three:
Each of the players takes one of the remaining groups from Le Mollusc (see list above)
Player four:
Baron Von Schöenberg (Handgun)
Kapitan Michael Lerner (Handgun)
2 x Crew
8 x Schattentroppen assault team (6 rifles & 2 SMG’s & grenades)
Player five:
Kapitan Hans Orff (Handgun)
2 x Crew
(Diver commander) Hauptman Horst Steinhof (SMG & grenades)
4 x Kampfschwimmer (SMG & grenades)
8 x Schattentroppen assault team (6 rifles & 2 SMG’s & grenades)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Map
1. Foredeck, with 75mm gun.
2. Main deck, with a hatch, down
3. Command cabin
4. Common room (currently being used to bunk Iron Fist Chung's gang)
5. Stairwell, up and down.
6. Captain Wangai's cabin.
7. Afterdeck, with stair well, up and down.
8. Bridge.
9. Stairwell, down.
10. Upper deck, stairs up and down.
11. Observation deck, with twin .50 AA gun, stairs down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victory conditions
Players four and five win by taking control of the ship. They can do this by fulfilling two of three criteria; capture the radio communications equipment on the bridge and hold it by the end of the game, defeat Captain Wangai and/or defeat two thirds of the enemy force.
Players one, two and three win the game by preventing players four and five from fulfilling two of their victory criteria.
Note. Removing Captain Wangai from the game, hiding him in the hull for example, counts as a defeat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
All exterior areas of Le Mollusc are rough. All interior areas of Le Mollusc are difficult.
All areas on the smaller vessels count as difficult. The sea is impaasable except for the divers, for whom it is difficult.
Climbing the ships sides requires a rope with grapnel (all the divers each have such an article). To attach the rope and grapnel, a stealth roll must be passed. To climb aboard requires the diver rolls above 7 on a d6 + H/H. If a sentry is within 6 inches of the rope and grapnel when the diver attempts to climb aboard, a further stealth skill must be passed against discovery. Once a grapnel has been attached it is imossible to dislodge it from the sea.
The Heinkel He-51 which was captured in Chapter two is moored along the starboard side of Le Mollusc in preperation for being winched aboard at first light. Tethered on either side of it are the two ships boats. Due to cables attached to the aircraft, it cannot be movd during the game. It can however be used for cover (+1) and destroyed (roll against 4)
All areas on the smaller vessels count as difficult. The sea is impaasable except for the divers, for whom it is difficult.
Climbing the ships sides requires a rope with grapnel (all the divers each have such an article). To attach the rope and grapnel, a stealth roll must be passed. To climb aboard requires the diver rolls above 7 on a d6 + H/H. If a sentry is within 6 inches of the rope and grapnel when the diver attempts to climb aboard, a further stealth skill must be passed against discovery. Once a grapnel has been attached it is imossible to dislodge it from the sea.
The Heinkel He-51 which was captured in Chapter two is moored along the starboard side of Le Mollusc in preperation for being winched aboard at first light. Tethered on either side of it are the two ships boats. Due to cables attached to the aircraft, it cannot be movd during the game. It can however be used for cover (+1) and destroyed (roll against 4)
This game takes place during the night so all visibility below 12 inches is impared so perception skills suffer by -1 and stealth benefits by +1.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vehicles
Patrol boat Hela
Top speed: 32 knots/ 60km/h.
Range: 1,600km.
Crew: 10.
Length: 24m.
Width: 5.8m.
Displacement: 38t.
Turret: No.
Armaments: 20mm MG FF auto-cannon & 7.92mm MG34.
Power plant: 2x Daimler Benz twenty-cylinder diesel engines; 2,200 hp.
Armour: None.
Dive boat ArconaTop speed: 14 knots/ 26km/h.
Range: 1,200km.
Crew: 3+4.
Length: 22m.
Width: 5.2m.
Displacement: 21t.
Turret: No.
Armaments: None
Power plant: MAN twelve-cylinder diesel engine 400 hp.
Armour: None.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Conclusion
The game table at the begining of the gameAs Le Mollusc lay in the placid waters of the northern lagoon, five German combat divers approached her. Captain Wangai and a few of his men were keeping watch, but as the hours passed, their attention faded. Suddenly there was a muffled clang as Diver Nr 5 failed to get his grappeling hook attached quietly. Slowly he pulled himself up out of the water, but suddenly he realised there was some one on the ship peering over the side. It was a young Turk with wide eyes, and unsure what to do, Diver Nr 5 took a shot at the sentry with his silenced submachine gun. He missed, the bullets scattering wildly along the ships side, and then he dropped back into the sea. Captain Wangai peered over the side and saw the ring of disturbed water in the darkness.
"Alarm! Attack!" The young Turk cried out, and one by one the sleepy crew began to crew began to pour out onto the deck.
Far out in the darkness, Baron von Shöenberg and his men waited for a signal, the sound of gun fire perhaps, or a flare. But neither the sounds of alarm, nor the noise of the silenced weapon carried across the sea.
As the crew of the small freighter clustered about the super structure, they became aware that several divers had climbed onto the front of the ship and were attempting to turn the 75mm gun to face the bridge. They were immediatly met with a hail of gunfire as Captain Wangai looked on. The divers, under the commander of Hauptman Horst Steinhof soon found themselves pinned down and in an impossible position. Even loading the gun proved impossible as the amount of ammunition richocheting about their ears created a lethal killing zone around them. Eventually, a 75mm shell was dropped on its nose and began to hiss ominously so the three divers manning the gun paniked and jumped over board leaving Hauptman Steinhof by himself. Steinhof didn't have time to shout orders though because the hatch he was guarding suddenly opened and a fat Turk tried to emerge from within the ship.
Hauptmann Steinhof and his men attempt to seize the 75mm gun All this gunfire had since alerted the lurking patrol boats and Kapitan Michael Lerner gave the order to attack. The patrol boat 'Hela' switched on her searchlight for a few seconds, just long enough to spot Le Mollusc and give the Heinkel a burst of gunfire from its main gun, a 20mm MG FF autocannon, firing high explosive rounds. The seaplane was destroyed but didn't catch fire, as Kapitan Lerner had hoped (his idea had been to illuminate the freighter with the burning aircraft).
HelaHauptman Steinhof, still fighting on the bow of Le Mollusc sent the fat Turk back down the hatch with a vicious chop to the back of his head, but even as the shame faced divers attempted to crawl back up the bows to help him, a mad Irishman wearing a fire helmet, greasy underpants and nothing else, climbed up the hatch clutching a fire axe! Hauptman Steinhof knocked him back down, but failed to kill him, and a few moments later the grinning Celt was back for a second try. This time, thanks to Diver Nr 3 having clamboured back to the bow, Hauptman Steinhof managed to make the first kill of the game and the Irish man went down for good (a post game die roll established his death).
THWACK! 
Diver Nr 5 takes a pot shot at Captain Wangai Whilst all these shenanigans were taking place, Hela was fast approaching, zig zagging to bring all her guns to bear, and spraying the rear of Le Mollusc with gun fire. The pirates weren't shy though, and returned fire with gusto. Alas, every one opened fire at extreme range so no one was doing any significant damage, though a lot of people spent their time suppressed.
Diver Nr 5 was still treading water, looking up at the ship he'd failed to climb aboard. He'd tried to climb aboard the Heinkel, but the 20mm gunfire from Hela had almost take his head off so he was left aiming his sub machine gun up at Captain Wangai* and naturally he took the shot, with a die roll of 1. Wangai noticed some one was firing at him, but didn't pay it much attention (thus passed my last decent opportunity to meet at least one victory criteria).
Time was running out and neither of the German boats was going to make it in time and when the sands ran out, we ended the game with an unsatisfatory victory for Le Mollusc and her crew. Curious to see whether they could make a dash for it, two of the divers on the bow started for the ships super-structure, only to be instantly cut down. At the same time, Ivan on the twin .50's took a tentative long range shot at the approaching dive boat and polished off a rifleman.
The game was unfortunately something of a failed attempt. The original idea had been to have a gunfight on board the ship, but what we end up with was two long range duels which took so long that we ran out of time, and as a consequence of the last few games I've come to the conclusion that narrative skirmish games can't function properly within the constraints imposed by our current system BAYONET.
Our solution will be to adapt the rules to this kind of game by increasing the length of time allocated to each round. Essentially what this means is that an unencumbered human running across good terrain will move twelve inches per round, instead of three. Oleg suggests automatic gun fire becomes more effective as a counter to the different time frame and I think this is probably a really good idea given that people will be moving much faster whilst the effective gunfire rate will be cut by a third. Its a compromise, but I can't see how else this type of game can function if each round only represents one second in game time.
Chapter Five will continue to use BAYONET, but after Christmas, RM6 will be played using BAYONET+. Oleg also has plans on putting all of our various rule systems online sometime next year, so any one curious will be able to see how the system works.
* Silenced sub machine guns were available in 1936, but I'm less sure about submachines which would function when fired from the sea... it is a historical ambiguity, I'll admit, but hardly a sticking point in a game like Rocketman.
Captain Wangai on the bridge
Edith Flavien
Le Mollusc returns fire against Hela
The dive boat, shown here prior to the game beginning, never even made it into the fight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the darkness of the fecund forest, Daniel Mansfield watches the building up above whilst down in the valley behind him come screams and the crackle of sporadic gunfire. Water drips all around, pattering against his shoulders and ringing softly on his helmet. He turns to ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell who is busy swatting mosquitoes.
“What do you think?”
“I think we better haul it before that thing gets here.”
A burst of fire erupts from barely two hundred yards away followed by an all too brief yet horrifying scream
“Good God!” Mansfield exclaims. Several of his retinue press closer, muttering insistently and George Macarthur finds his elbow.
“For heavens sake Daniel, let’s get out of this jungle before that creature finds us!”
“I don’t know, it could be a trap, the creature driving us forward”
Even as he speaks, the undergrowth along the path behind them erupts into a ball of fire.
“Forget it, I’m not waiting here to die” one of the mercenaries pushes past them and runs for the building. Nothing happens.
“Well I’ll be...” Mitchell chuckles, “And here we’ve been sitting for half an hour letting that thing get closer all this time! Come on, let’s go and find the Baron”
As Mitchell and the mercenaries run past, Mansfield grabs George’s arm.
“Wait... Are you carrying any explosives?”
George nods and holds up two fingers.
“Good... I think we might need them, that building looks like a bunker”
In a dim room, lit only by a desk lamp and the softly glowing dials of communications gear, Herr Doktor Metzger peers out of a window. Down below he can see several fires burning.
“Johann is coming” he mutters, “but where is Holst?”
A door opens behind him and he glances back over his shoulder. Hauptmann Seitz enters the room, his uniform wet and dirty.
“What did you find out?”
“The Baron’s ship left the harbour an hour ago. Both the patrol boats are gone also”
Metzger stares at the soldier in disbelief.
“Gone? Without me?”
Seitz regards the scientist bitterly; I’d have gone too if I was a bit faster he thinks.
“But... I don’t understand... they need me... my work...”
Metzger slumps onto a stool, his armoured fist clenching spasmodically, sweat upon his brow. Seitz peers out the window.
“What are your orders?”
“Mein orders?” Metzger shrugs despondently. He looks about the room, noticing for the first time the three guards who are standing behind Seitz awaiting his command. Suddenly aware of the pitiful figure he has allowed himself to become, he straightens up and smoothes down his tunic coat.
“Mein orders... Mein orders are to defend the laboratory at all costs!” he barks. He stands up and pushes his hair back from his forehead. “I don’t know what’s going on, but my work must not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands!”
Seitz nods to the guards and together they rush from the room.
Metzger pulls a small automatic from his belt.
“No one will take my work from me” he mutters.
Players one, two and three begin any where on the northern terrace.
Players four and five begin anywhere inside the building, except for Johann who begins off table, to the north.
George (Handgun & explosives)
'Mad Dog' Michell (LMG)
The survivors of the two groups chosen from Le Mollusc’s crew in Chapter three;
Player two; Dominique Lavarre, Jean-Francois Laguna and Vixen,
Player three; 'Iron Fist' Chung, Soo Suk Wang and three generic Chinese riflemen.
Johann (Flamethrower)
5 x Schattentroppen (3 rifles + 2 SMGs)
5 x Schattentroppen (3 rifles + 2 SMGs)
Victory conditions
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Every where inside the building is Rough going unless otherwise marked on the model. The terrace and balconies are Good and the forest and undergrowth are Rough unless otherwise marked.
Johann is still some way off the map, Player Four must roll each round until he rolls a 6 in order for Johann to appear along the northern pathway. Note that Johann is phyiscally too big to fit through most doorways, but he is strong enough to rip down the walls if he is chasing some one, though this reduces his speed to Difficult.
The building looks impressive but is in fact only made of concrete blocks which are easy to demolish. In order to destroy a wall, a die roll must succeed against 7. Effectively this means George Macarthur can blow two holes
Each player has one d6 grenades. These can be pooled by the player and used at will. The Schattentroppen may use toxic gas grenades.
Rocketman has 4 hero points in this game.
There is no map for this game because the game takes place inside a building and players one, two and three may have no idea of what is awaiting them. See below for images.
And so we finally got to finish the fifth Rocketman campaign. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, but I haven't read the manual for my new camera yet and I probably won't for a while as I have other more interesting things to do. Oleg didn't have his camera with him (though he did have his triffid flash assembly) so we made do.
The game began with the usual introduction text being read aloud, then each side pondering what would be the best tactic. This is always an interesting part of the game as each side goes off into a huddle and tries to come up with a winning strategy. Palle and I hummed and hawed but in the end we went with a straight forward plan of covering as many entrances as we could. we expected multiple entries though so we kinda, sorta had a plan where by we could fall back into the Main Hall in the middle of the building.
Oleg, Rasmus and Goeg went off into the kitchen and we heard them talking. Apparently there was a plan laid, but this wasn't apparent when they returned to deploy their forces. It had been specified that the 'good guys', having fled up the northern path, were positioned on the northern terrace, and this was their start position. The Germans could deploy any where inside the building and thus the tables were set for some classic urban combat/sneaking around.
For some as yet unexplained reason however, Rasmus and Goeg deployed in a congregated fashion, directly in line of fire of the Science Wing and Conservatory (see images below) rather than spread out along the terrace and to the rear of the Main Hall (where there was a convenient blind spot). Palle was guarding that side of the building and had laid a trap. The game literally began with Rocketman and friends charging into the building and Palle dropping his grenade (his die roll at the beginning of the game gave him only one grenade) onto Goeg's Asian mercenaries, downing both Iron Fisted Chung and his girl friend Soo Suk Wang in the first round.
The Heros line up for the slaughter
A grenade is dropped, the black marker indicates the epicentre of the explosion
As Goeg removes his commander, I drop a grenade on Dominic Lavarre
(note the black counter directly below the figure in the lower left hand corner)
Oleg in the mean time had deployed at the other end of the terrace, to the rear of the Barracks Block, which I was guarding. He spaced his three elements apart so I was only able to drop a grenade from the window above, onto Dominic Lavarre. Nothing happened (1). Dominic survived the blast with a laid back Gallic shrug.
Palle, Goeg and Rasmus now got into a strange and protracting mini slaughter which I found hard to follow. George Macarthur almost immediately ran into a laboratory and met a German soldier who automatically downed him, apparently with the butt of his rifle, and then took his two satchel charges (I'd expected them to be used to blow a hole in a wall, or set a counter ambush). Rocketman and Mitchell retreated into the Conservatory, only to discover it housed flesh eating plants.
Dominic Lavarre in the mean time kicked in the back door of the Barracks Block (which had suffered damage from my grenade) and jumped inside. He was immediately shot at by two Schattentroppen guards, one with a submachine gun, the other with a rifle. Nothing happened (2). Vixen in the mean while began crawling along the wall towards the Communications Tower and Jean-Francois Laguna covered her from the back wall of the Main Hall.
Once inside the Barracks Block, Dominic Lavarre then threw a grenade at the Schattentroppen guard with the rifle and Hauptman Seitz who had come forward to take a pot shot at Lavarre. The Schattentroppen with the SMG had withdrawn to cover the window under which Vixen was crawling. Lavarre's grenade landed right between the other two Germans ...and nothing happened (3). Some what disheartened, Lavarre fled back outside and both Germans tried to shoot him in the back, but nothing happened (4). Perhaps they were stunned by the concussion?
Kill that triffid!
Whilst a lot of spectacular nothing was going on between Lavarre and the Germans in the Barracks Block, Rocketman, Mitchell and Goeg's two remaining Asian merc's were still blasting away and throwing grenades about. There were two flesh-eating plants in the Conservatory and both were quickly shredded.
Meanwhile Hauptmann Seitz threw a grenade out the broken rear door of the Barracks Block at Jean-Francois Laguna, who was still in his original starting position, and killed him out right. Dominic Lavarre retreated to a dark nook whilst Vixen climbed on to the roof with the intention of scaling the communications tower. The Schattentroppen with the SMG who had first fired at Lavarre, followed him outside and found him in his dark corner. Fisticuffs ensued as the German attempted to take the Frenchman prisoner.
Dominic Lavarre takes cover whilst Vixen climbs onto the roof
Peekaboo!
It was at this point (I think) that Palle rolled a six and Johann stormed up the Northern Path, moaning angrily and venting flammable napalm-urine. Troubled by the probable danger posed by an insane, giant flamethrower-toting, zombie-amalgamation of reanimated body parts, with no means of controlling it, the Schattentroppen who were guarding the Science Wing (most of whom had climbed out of the windows so as to engage Rocketman and friends from outside), fled. Johann thus saw Rocketman inside the Conservatory and rapidly moved to attack him.
The Schattentroppen prudently flee before the wrath of Johann
Johann goes through the Conservatory wall as if it were made of cardboard
Whilst Johann was running amok, the Schattentroppen with the SMG managed to knock Dominic Lavarre for six on the far end of the Northern Terrace and Hauptmann Seitz came out to see what was happening and clap his man on the back for a job well done.
Neither German saw Vixen failing to climb the Communications Tower. She eventually did manage to do this, but only in time for the game to end...
Rocketman and Mitchell fled from Johann by climbing out of a window at the far end of the Conservatory, with Goeg's last Chinese mercenary doing the same thing through a different window. Unfortunately for him, Rocketman and Mitchell stumbled on a Schattentroppen guard who was sneaking around the back of the building and quickly blew him away, but then Metzger dropped a satchel charge on Mitchell and the last Chinese merc from an upstairs window and blew them to kingdom come. This effectively ended the game with the good guys having lost 75% their force. Rocketman had launched himself into the air in a last desperate attempt to do something heroic but it was too late and his progress through the air was noticed by both Hauptmann Seitz and the Schattentroppen with the SMG, both of whom fled back inside.
So, it was a decisive victory for the Germans, mostly due to a poor beginning by the forces of law and order, and Goeg and Rasmus's curious decision to attack the building in one large group. It was a fun game I think, with the scarcity of elements doing little to prevent mayhem and every one seemed to be enjoying themselves whilst Oleg and I had the additional pleasure of watching the others making a right mess of things. There was an imbalance of forces, given the Germans were better troops in a defensive position, but the size of the building meant the Germans couldn't cover all of it. This it transpired didn't really matter though.
Rocketman takes to the air
Mad German Scientist drops infernal device from high window... does it get any better than this?
The usual suspects
Note there is no aftermath to this game, because RM6 takes place immediately afterwards.
In the darkness of the fecund forest, Daniel Mansfield watches the building up above whilst down in the valley behind him come screams and the crackle of sporadic gunfire. Water drips all around, pattering against his shoulders and ringing softly on his helmet. He turns to ‘Mad Dog’ Mitchell who is busy swatting mosquitoes.
“What do you think?”
“I think we better haul it before that thing gets here.”
A burst of fire erupts from barely two hundred yards away followed by an all too brief yet horrifying scream
“Good God!” Mansfield exclaims. Several of his retinue press closer, muttering insistently and George Macarthur finds his elbow.
“For heavens sake Daniel, let’s get out of this jungle before that creature finds us!”
“I don’t know, it could be a trap, the creature driving us forward”
Even as he speaks, the undergrowth along the path behind them erupts into a ball of fire.
“Forget it, I’m not waiting here to die” one of the mercenaries pushes past them and runs for the building. Nothing happens.
“Well I’ll be...” Mitchell chuckles, “And here we’ve been sitting for half an hour letting that thing get closer all this time! Come on, let’s go and find the Baron”
As Mitchell and the mercenaries run past, Mansfield grabs George’s arm.
“Wait... Are you carrying any explosives?”
George nods and holds up two fingers.
“Good... I think we might need them, that building looks like a bunker”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a dim room, lit only by a desk lamp and the softly glowing dials of communications gear, Herr Doktor Metzger peers out of a window. Down below he can see several fires burning.
“Johann is coming” he mutters, “but where is Holst?”
A door opens behind him and he glances back over his shoulder. Hauptmann Seitz enters the room, his uniform wet and dirty.
“What did you find out?”
“The Baron’s ship left the harbour an hour ago. Both the patrol boats are gone also”
Metzger stares at the soldier in disbelief.
“Gone? Without me?”
Seitz regards the scientist bitterly; I’d have gone too if I was a bit faster he thinks.
“But... I don’t understand... they need me... my work...”
Metzger slumps onto a stool, his armoured fist clenching spasmodically, sweat upon his brow. Seitz peers out the window.
“What are your orders?”
“Mein orders?” Metzger shrugs despondently. He looks about the room, noticing for the first time the three guards who are standing behind Seitz awaiting his command. Suddenly aware of the pitiful figure he has allowed himself to become, he straightens up and smoothes down his tunic coat.
“Mein orders... Mein orders are to defend the laboratory at all costs!” he barks. He stands up and pushes his hair back from his forehead. “I don’t know what’s going on, but my work must not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands!”
Seitz nods to the guards and together they rush from the room.
Metzger pulls a small automatic from his belt.
“No one will take my work from me” he mutters.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starting
Players one, two and three begin any where on the northern terrace.
Players four and five begin anywhere inside the building, except for Johann who begins off table, to the north.
Player one
Daniel Mansfield (HSMG)George (Handgun & explosives)
'Mad Dog' Michell (LMG)
Players two and three
The survivors of the two groups chosen from Le Mollusc’s crew in Chapter three;
Player two; Dominique Lavarre, Jean-Francois Laguna and Vixen,
Player three; 'Iron Fist' Chung, Soo Suk Wang and three generic Chinese riflemen.
Player four
Dokter Metzger (Handgun)Johann (Flamethrower)
5 x Schattentroppen (3 rifles + 2 SMGs)
Player five
Hauptmann Seitz5 x Schattentroppen (3 rifles + 2 SMGs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Victory conditions
Either side wins by defeating 75% of the opposing force. Defeating Metzger or Rocketman is an automatic win.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Special notes
Every where inside the building is Rough going unless otherwise marked on the model. The terrace and balconies are Good and the forest and undergrowth are Rough unless otherwise marked.
Johann is still some way off the map, Player Four must roll each round until he rolls a 6 in order for Johann to appear along the northern pathway. Note that Johann is phyiscally too big to fit through most doorways, but he is strong enough to rip down the walls if he is chasing some one, though this reduces his speed to Difficult.
The building looks impressive but is in fact only made of concrete blocks which are easy to demolish. In order to destroy a wall, a die roll must succeed against 7. Effectively this means George Macarthur can blow two holes
Each player has one d6 grenades. These can be pooled by the player and used at will. The Schattentroppen may use toxic gas grenades.
Rocketman has 4 hero points in this game.
There is no map for this game because the game takes place inside a building and players one, two and three may have no idea of what is awaiting them. See below for images.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And so we finally got to finish the fifth Rocketman campaign. Sorry about the quality of the pictures, but I haven't read the manual for my new camera yet and I probably won't for a while as I have other more interesting things to do. Oleg didn't have his camera with him (though he did have his triffid flash assembly) so we made do.
The game began with the usual introduction text being read aloud, then each side pondering what would be the best tactic. This is always an interesting part of the game as each side goes off into a huddle and tries to come up with a winning strategy. Palle and I hummed and hawed but in the end we went with a straight forward plan of covering as many entrances as we could. we expected multiple entries though so we kinda, sorta had a plan where by we could fall back into the Main Hall in the middle of the building.
Oleg, Rasmus and Goeg went off into the kitchen and we heard them talking. Apparently there was a plan laid, but this wasn't apparent when they returned to deploy their forces. It had been specified that the 'good guys', having fled up the northern path, were positioned on the northern terrace, and this was their start position. The Germans could deploy any where inside the building and thus the tables were set for some classic urban combat/sneaking around.
For some as yet unexplained reason however, Rasmus and Goeg deployed in a congregated fashion, directly in line of fire of the Science Wing and Conservatory (see images below) rather than spread out along the terrace and to the rear of the Main Hall (where there was a convenient blind spot). Palle was guarding that side of the building and had laid a trap. The game literally began with Rocketman and friends charging into the building and Palle dropping his grenade (his die roll at the beginning of the game gave him only one grenade) onto Goeg's Asian mercenaries, downing both Iron Fisted Chung and his girl friend Soo Suk Wang in the first round.
The Heros line up for the slaughter
A grenade is dropped, the black marker indicates the epicentre of the explosion
As Goeg removes his commander, I drop a grenade on Dominic Lavarre(note the black counter directly below the figure in the lower left hand corner)
Oleg in the mean time had deployed at the other end of the terrace, to the rear of the Barracks Block, which I was guarding. He spaced his three elements apart so I was only able to drop a grenade from the window above, onto Dominic Lavarre. Nothing happened (1). Dominic survived the blast with a laid back Gallic shrug.
Palle, Goeg and Rasmus now got into a strange and protracting mini slaughter which I found hard to follow. George Macarthur almost immediately ran into a laboratory and met a German soldier who automatically downed him, apparently with the butt of his rifle, and then took his two satchel charges (I'd expected them to be used to blow a hole in a wall, or set a counter ambush). Rocketman and Mitchell retreated into the Conservatory, only to discover it housed flesh eating plants.
Dominic Lavarre in the mean time kicked in the back door of the Barracks Block (which had suffered damage from my grenade) and jumped inside. He was immediately shot at by two Schattentroppen guards, one with a submachine gun, the other with a rifle. Nothing happened (2). Vixen in the mean while began crawling along the wall towards the Communications Tower and Jean-Francois Laguna covered her from the back wall of the Main Hall.
Once inside the Barracks Block, Dominic Lavarre then threw a grenade at the Schattentroppen guard with the rifle and Hauptman Seitz who had come forward to take a pot shot at Lavarre. The Schattentroppen with the SMG had withdrawn to cover the window under which Vixen was crawling. Lavarre's grenade landed right between the other two Germans ...and nothing happened (3). Some what disheartened, Lavarre fled back outside and both Germans tried to shoot him in the back, but nothing happened (4). Perhaps they were stunned by the concussion?
Kill that triffid!Whilst a lot of spectacular nothing was going on between Lavarre and the Germans in the Barracks Block, Rocketman, Mitchell and Goeg's two remaining Asian merc's were still blasting away and throwing grenades about. There were two flesh-eating plants in the Conservatory and both were quickly shredded.
Meanwhile Hauptmann Seitz threw a grenade out the broken rear door of the Barracks Block at Jean-Francois Laguna, who was still in his original starting position, and killed him out right. Dominic Lavarre retreated to a dark nook whilst Vixen climbed on to the roof with the intention of scaling the communications tower. The Schattentroppen with the SMG who had first fired at Lavarre, followed him outside and found him in his dark corner. Fisticuffs ensued as the German attempted to take the Frenchman prisoner.
Dominic Lavarre takes cover whilst Vixen climbs onto the roof 
Peekaboo!It was at this point (I think) that Palle rolled a six and Johann stormed up the Northern Path, moaning angrily and venting flammable napalm-urine. Troubled by the probable danger posed by an insane, giant flamethrower-toting, zombie-amalgamation of reanimated body parts, with no means of controlling it, the Schattentroppen who were guarding the Science Wing (most of whom had climbed out of the windows so as to engage Rocketman and friends from outside), fled. Johann thus saw Rocketman inside the Conservatory and rapidly moved to attack him.
The Schattentroppen prudently flee before the wrath of Johann
Johann goes through the Conservatory wall as if it were made of cardboardWhilst Johann was running amok, the Schattentroppen with the SMG managed to knock Dominic Lavarre for six on the far end of the Northern Terrace and Hauptmann Seitz came out to see what was happening and clap his man on the back for a job well done.
Neither German saw Vixen failing to climb the Communications Tower. She eventually did manage to do this, but only in time for the game to end...
Rocketman and Mitchell fled from Johann by climbing out of a window at the far end of the Conservatory, with Goeg's last Chinese mercenary doing the same thing through a different window. Unfortunately for him, Rocketman and Mitchell stumbled on a Schattentroppen guard who was sneaking around the back of the building and quickly blew him away, but then Metzger dropped a satchel charge on Mitchell and the last Chinese merc from an upstairs window and blew them to kingdom come. This effectively ended the game with the good guys having lost 75% their force. Rocketman had launched himself into the air in a last desperate attempt to do something heroic but it was too late and his progress through the air was noticed by both Hauptmann Seitz and the Schattentroppen with the SMG, both of whom fled back inside.
So, it was a decisive victory for the Germans, mostly due to a poor beginning by the forces of law and order, and Goeg and Rasmus's curious decision to attack the building in one large group. It was a fun game I think, with the scarcity of elements doing little to prevent mayhem and every one seemed to be enjoying themselves whilst Oleg and I had the additional pleasure of watching the others making a right mess of things. There was an imbalance of forces, given the Germans were better troops in a defensive position, but the size of the building meant the Germans couldn't cover all of it. This it transpired didn't really matter though.
Rocketman takes to the air
Mad German Scientist drops infernal device from high window... does it get any better than this?
The usual suspects
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Note there is no aftermath to this game, because RM6 takes place immediately afterwards.
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