X-Wing - Hunter Squad - ComicReaders Downtown - Thursday, March 21, 2013

[ChadBoudreau]

X-Wing - Hunter Squad - Thursday, March 21, 2013

WHAT IS X-WING?
X-Wing is a new miniatures game from Fantasy Flight Games set in the Star Wars universe. Based on the Wings of War game system, X-Wing pits Rebels vs. Imperials in intense space combat. These are ship-to-ship dogfights in which players control the awesome ships of the Star Wars universe-- including X-Wing, Y-Wing, Tie Fighter and Tie Fighter Advanced, A-Wing, Slave I, and even the Millennium Falcon.

SCENARIO DESCRIPTION

Hunter Squad is a playable scenario for 4 players written by ComicReaders Downtown's Chad Boudreau.

BACKGROUND

The Galactic Empire has fallen. The Emperor is dead and so too is the dreaded Darth Vader, Sith Lord, but victory does not mean it is a time of rest for the members of the Rebel Alliance.

While political leaders seek to establish the New Republic, generals are tasked with mopping up scattered remnants still loyal to the Galactic Empire. 

It has long been known that the Imperials had bases scattered in the furthest reaches of the known galaxy, including the Outer Rim and the territories known as Wild Space. The New Republic has created a special task force whose mission is to locate and dismantle any such bases. It is feared that these bases—often research stations, military prisons, or training grounds for elite troops—will be occupied by scattered Empire military personnel seeking established areas from which they can strike back against systems now loyal to the New Republic.

One such squad is headed by Lando Calrissian.

Calrissian is well suited to the job at hand because of his extensive contacts in the Outer Rim, contacts he had made during his years as a smuggler and gambler.

MISSION

New Republic
Calrissian has been tasked with infiltrating a recently reoccupied Imperial military research station located on a desolate moon in the Outer Rim. Lando's superiors want the installation secured not destroyed, in case there is intelligence or hardware that could be of use to the fledgling New Republic.

Squad
Lando Calrissian is piloting the Millennium Falcon with Nien Nunb as co-pilot. The freighter also carries a complement of New Republic troops.

Lando's squad, which he has affectionately called "The Hunters", is rounded out with 4 starfighters:

2 X-wing
2 Y-wing

...and must adhere to the following scenario rules:

- No rookies
- No named pilots

Objectives
The Falcon must enter the station's hangar bay. This is done by successfully ending a non-red manoeuvre with the front of its flight stand touching the hangar bay entry. (The research station itself is under the surface of the moon.) Descending into the base and disembarking the troops will take 2 rounds.  (The troops will then infiltrate the base.) The Falcon can exit the hangar with any green manoeuvre at the beginning of the third round.

The Hunter Squad must destroy all Empire opposition to secure the base.

Points
Disembark all troops:   3 points
Tie Fighter destroyed:   1 point      (3 point max)
Tie Interceptor destroyed:   1 point    (1 point max)
Tie Advanced destroyed:    2 points   (4 point max)
Gun turret destroyed:   ½ point    (3 point max)
Bounty Hunter destroyed:   3 points

Total points:      17 points

Empire

A disparate group has come together at this station. The base has been occupied for several months. A former Imperial ground forces commander is the leader of this rag-tag group of bureaucrats, technocrats, pilots, and support personnel. The Imperials have used smugglers when required to obtain supplies and information from nearby systems. It has also reached out to mercenaries and bounty hunters. This base is a staging area for strikes against weaker systems known to be sympathetic to the New Republic's cause.

The Imperials have 2 mid-size freighters and 1 corvette that frequent the base from time-to-time. All three are currently away for a period of days, information Lando has learned from his allies in the Outer Rim, thus making this an opportune time to strike. But the base is not defenceless.

There are six gun turrets placed along the surface of the moon in close proximity of the base's hangar bay. Any enemy seeking to penetrate the base will need to run the gauntlet imposed by those turrets.

The base also has a small yet loyal and experienced starfighter crew. These are veteran Imperials that have known and survived battle throughout the war with the Rebel Alliance. There are no rookies, no unblooded warrior in this bunch.

Squad

The Imperials have 6 starfighters. The make-up of the squads is up to the discretion of the Imperial player, but most adhere to the following scenario rules:

- No rookies
- No more than 2 named pilots
- 3 Tie-Fighters. These two are flying patrol when The Hunters arrive.
- 1 Tie-Interceptor. This ship is in the hangar when the New Republic arrives. It enters the game at the beginning of the second round with a green manoeuvre.
- 2 Tie Advanced. This is flying patrol when The Hunters arrive.

Objectives

*Determine New Republic objective:      2 point
**Prevent the Rebels from achieving objective:   4 points
Destroy the Millennium Falcon:      3 points
X-wing destroyed:            2 points   (4 point max)
Y-wing destroyed:            2 points   (4 point max)

Total points:            17 points

* To determine the New Republic objective, the Tie Advanced or bounty hunter must successfully scan The Falcon to discover its cargo. To scan The Falcon, the Tie Advanced or bounty hunter must maintain a range 3 contact with it for one round (360 degrees). To begin the scan, the player must announce 'scan' as its action, and cannot therefore take another action in that round.

** The only way to achieve this is to either destroy the Falcon before it enters the hangar or to prevent it from entering the hangar through the duration of the game.

If the objective is not prevented but a scan is successful, the Imperial player will be able to cause a delay for the New Republic player. The delay: The Imperial pilot or bounty hunter signals the base that the enemy seeks to deploy troops. This allows the Imperials to prepare a defence of the hangar. This means it will take the Falcon 3 rounds (instead of 2) to disembark the troops once inside the hangar, and it suffers the loss of one shield generator in the close-quarters scrap below ground.
   
Bounty Hunter (Imperial ally)

Krassis Trelix is a Bothan bounty hunter / mercenary. He has been invited to the base by its commander for the purpose of discussing a relationship. Krassis collects bounties, but is also the leader of a group of mercenaries. The base commander is in need of extra troops. Troops that know the nearby systems. Troops that can be as ruthless as money allows.

Krassis allies himself with the Imperials to gain favour with the base commander, to prove his worth as a fighter and pilot, and to be able to increase his asking price when it comes time to talk dollars.

DATE & TIME
Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 6:00pm (Estimating being done at 9pm)

LOCATION
Venue Information: Click Here

COST
None.

EVENT ATTENDANCE LIMITS
This event is full, but if you want to see X-Wing in action feel free to drop by between 6pm - 9pm.

REGISTERED PLAYERS
1. Chad B
2. Logan D
3. Shane H
4. Jason M

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Anyone that plays X-Wing may use the scenario described above in their own games. Feel free to modify as required.

[ChadBoudreau]

Prologue
One of the four players had to cancel, but we proceeded with three. I played the New Republic. Jason and Shane split the Imperials. To save time, I had the squads built and ready to deploy before the other guys arrived.

Battle Report

Lando's "Hunter Squad" arrived in two seperate squads and quickly began to angle toward the middle of the playing field. Imperials Tie Fighters and Tie Advanced that had been flying patrol in two seperate squads also angled toward the centre. To Lando, it seemed as if the two forces would meet just in front of the first array of emplaced gun turrets. That was agreeable to him because his plan was to lead his forces straight down the middle. The Falcon would punch any Ties that got in the way while the Y-wings dealt with the gun turrets. The X-wings would engage the Imperials or the gun turrets as required.

That was the plan...

A moment later, a Tie Intercepter came screaming out of the Imperial's underground hangar. The wake of the Intercepter's engines had barely dispersed when a Firespray came shooting out of the hangar, so far and so fast that it almost bumped into the Intercepter as it gained altitude. At the same time, a Tie Fighter came round one of the mountains that bordered the right-side of the playing area and had to barrel roll to avoid a collision. To Lando it looked like the Imperials were shaken by his squad's arrival. With words of good cheer to his co-pilot Nien Numb, he increased speed.

And then the ships were within range...

Lando took a shot at the Firespray and uttered an oath as the seemingly clunky vessel bobbed and weaved through all fired shots. The Falcon was then rocked by weapons fire from the speedy Intercepter. Two shields down! Over on Lando's left, a leading Y-Wing did some damage to an advancing Tie Fighter, but off to his right an X-wing lost some shields to a hungry Tie Advanced. Somewhere among all the shooting, one of the New Republic ships took out a turret.

Imperial ships that passed their enemies swung round to drop behind their prey. The New Republic forces, meanwhile, took out another turret and drove forward hard in an attempt to clear a path for the Falcon. No other ship was more desperate to get clear of the next round of fire then the Falcon. Lando felt sweat under his collar as his ship was rocked repeatedly. And when it looked like he might be clear what did he see directly in front of him but the proximity mine the Firespray had dropped in the midst of the first shots fired.

"I got a bad feeling about this," said Lando. Nien Numb could only nod, saggy jowls flopping morosely.

The damaged X-wing erupted in a ball of flame at about this time. Destroyed by the Tie Advanced that had softened it up earlier. On the other side of the killing zone, a Y-wing landed a direct hit on the Intercepter with its ion cannon. The Intercepter was dead in the water, but no Rebels ships were nearby to take a shot at the powerless craft. An opportunity sorely missed.

While Lando hauled hard on the controls in an effort to clear the proximity mine, the Firespray softened up the Falcon's hull with more damaging fire. "Come on, hold together," shouted Lando. Nien Numb was shouting too, something about a Tie Advanced, concussion missles and brace for impact.

The destruction of the Millennium Falcon rained debris across the moon's already pocked surface.

With Lando, Nien Numb and the troops the Falcon was carrying dead, the mission was a failure. The Imperial base could not be secured. The surviving New Republic pilots called off the attack, split off, and raced for open space. The Imperials and their bounty hunter ally let them go.

Epilogue
The three of us had a great time with this scenario. With one small tweak we think it would be more difficult for the Imperials to pound the Falcon like they did in the games we played, thus levelling out of the gameplay in general. Shane suggested I put one of the long mountain pieces in the middle of the playing field, thus splitting the "kill zone" in two. This would prevent a swarm of Imperials from hammering the Falcon on its way to the hangar. In terms of ships, the Firespray is a freaking beast. Shielded, armored, agile, fast, and armed to the teeth even without upgrades. The Falcon, meanwhile, was not as agile as we thought it would be. (I definitely did not get it to do any of the fancy flying seen in Empire Strikes Back.) It can take a pounding but in our game it definitely had a target painted on it.

After my glorious failure as the New Republic in Round 6, we decided to reset the field and swap. Shane and Jason were now the New Republic and I was the Imperials. We only managed four rounds before it was time to go home, but Shane and Jason were faced with a similar situation. The Falcon is a big target and can be easily pounded on by the Imperials.

I would also like to mention that Jason, in particular, as an Imperial against me, was rolling the deadliest dice I'd seen in a long time. And I was rolling some of the skunkiest dice I'd seen in a long time!