The Space Pirates have arrived and the supplement is available as a free pdf. Just go to the Hydra downloads page and click the “Space Pirates” link.

http://www.hydraminiatures.com/downloads.shtml

Will you be selling individual black hexes for asteroid fields, as used at Gen Con? If not, where can we get them?

Went through a quick playtest yesterday with some Zenitian Class I vs. Imperial Class I rockets.  Few questions came up?

When someone chooses a Delay Action, how many rockets can a player delay in his fleet?

To clarify, a rocket that is stunned is stunned until the next turn correct?

If a ship has an attack on another ship and gets stunned, that attack still counts correct?

Thanks,

Brian

Sometimes, I find it difficult to think of a color scheme I’d like on my War Rocket ships. In the past, I’d sacrifice a couple models to paint mock ups, but with Photoshop, a mock up can be made without having to sacrifice (or strip the paint off of) a couple models. I’ve created these schemes by simply coloring (with Photoshop) Phil Beauchamp’s original digital art. If you’re stuck for ideas, maybe one of these will spark an idea. Most of these are my own creations, but you’ll also see (my interpretations of) some units mentioned in the War Rocket rulebook.

I have a few previews posted here. You can find the rest of the schemes at: http://523rdsquadron.blogspot.com/2010/09/squadron-colors.html As I create more schemes, I will add them to that link.

Will and I played our first game of War Rocket on Sunday. It was a lot of fun. I took pics, but the ships were in various stages of painting, so I’ll hold off posting any for now.

We played probably the two most opposite forces in the game. The imperial forces with their high armor and low maneuverability against the Zenethians with their ‘Eldar-like’ movement rules and puny armor.

Good rolling on both sides eliminated the Zenethian Grade 3 ship and one of the Imperial Grade 2 models early on. Most of the rest of the game was a dog fight with the grade 1′s. (there was one Grade 2 imperial left, but he couldn’t maneuver for a shot to save his life.) In the end the Imperial forces proved too tough for the Zenethians. Will got shots most every turn, but had trouble penetrating the armor. A bad decision on Will’s part to hold movement for most of his fleet left him vulnerable for a stunning shot on his Grade 2 and then a killing shot.

The rules are quick and easy to pick up. The soul of the game is the different movement abilities for the races. It really makes the different races unique and adds a lot of strategy to the game. I’m looking forward to running some scenarios now.

For those of you who didn’t attend I figured I should at least chronicle the exciting events that happened last week. I didn’t have much time to write up any detailed AARs for the demos held last week but I do have lots of photos.

A quick brief on what happened.

Matthew Beauchamp and John Douma from Hydra Miniatures hosted several demo sessions at RIW Hobbies in Livonia Michigan last week during my clubs gaming session. Matt brought along with him not only painted samples of War Rocket models but also of the Retro Raygun line. Furthermore, he also had the stereolith prototype samples of the very impressive Imperial Class IIIand IV rockets.

The first session started with a quick shootout between Galacteers and Imperials just for everyone to get a feel of the mechanics. Then we got into the mission, where the Galacteers were to rescue a princess held captive by the Imperial Forces of Marduk. They were to fly into the city, dock with one of the towers, get the princess and make off. The city was protected by a fleet of rockets (including the Class III and IV) and 4 gun batteries. Imperials set up first and placed their fleet flying around within the city. The Galacteers got to deploy anywhere around the periphery of the city. The majority of them deployed where they could concentrate their fire on the vulnerable Class III. Which they did and after about 2 turns the monster went down. However in the process the Galacteers were loosing Class IIs at an alarming rate. The Imperial Class IV was pretty much wiping Galacteer Class I and IIs from the sky. The Galacteer Class IIIs (about 3 of them) went down almost all simulataneously as they closed into the city which started to turn the tides in favor of the Imperials. Then as both the lumbering Class IVs (from each side) got within range of each other they both went down from combined fire from both sides. This left the Galacteers with a dwindling number of Class Is which were now outnumbered and they had to pull out and declare the mission a failure. The princess was left to the will of minions of Marduk.

This scenario was played on a Hotz Mars Mat which looked pretty cool. John Douma provided the towers he made and the gun batteries were from some OGRE stuff he had.

The second scenario involved the Valkeeri attempting to destroy a Zenethian mothership. This was played on a Hotz space mat and the mothership was a modified Pegasus Hobbies Area 51 UFO. The Valkeeri were able to destroy much of the Zenethian ships but when the mothership showed up it’s added firepower started to turn things back in favor of the Zs. The Valkeeri failed to destroy all the generators on the mothership (they only got about 1/2 of them) before they lost too many ships. The Zenethians, despite loosing most of their fleet were able to keep their mothership in operation.

Matt also provided a drawing for each player that was involved in the demos. I was the winner of one of the drawings and MonteKev other. We each won 4 blisters of Class 1 and 2 rockets. Also participants each got a sample of Class I models. The store was also running a 20% off sale on War Rocket that day as well.

Overall we had a great time and many in my club are very excited about the game. Also we had some other people who saw the bulletins or walked in and participate or watch games going on. Thanks Matt and John for setting up a great session!

I ran a War Rocket game yesterday using dials from Dial Dude http://www.the-d-d.net/ to track the number of shots on targeted spaceships. I didn’t have to worry about d20s rolling around, having enough tokens to signify all the points of firepower engaged or to clean up all those tokens.
A dial consists of 2 magnetic discs. One is numbered from 1 to 10 and the other is black with a “pie slice” cut out. I merely turn the cut out die to expose the correct number of weapon factors targeted on the rocketship and I’m good to go.

Today I taught my friend Grumpy how to play War Rocket.  He bought the book back at Gen Con and me to show him how the game was played. We used some my ships and his space mat. We set up a 160 point game between Zenithians and Galacteers with the Asteroid Mining Scenario.

Each force was top collect 5 units of atomic ores from the 3 asteroid mining colonies located in the Beauchamp Belt.  The ores are vitally needed to fuel the Galacteer rocket fleet, however the Zenithians also need this ore to mount a new invasion fleet recently arrived from the 8th Dimension.  A new strike of ore had been found in this region of the belt and a Galacteer task force consisting of 10 Class I, 2 Class II, and 1 Class III war rockets had been ordered to secure it.  However, fleet of Zenithian saucers had also been sent to capture this ore for their next invasion campaign.  The fleet consisted of 3 Class III, 1 Class II, and 6 Class I saucers.  The first side to get 5 units off wins, however a rocket can only hold as much ore as it’s class size.  This put the Galacteers at a bit of a disadvantage as most of their fleet consisted of super fast light fighters.

Using their superior speed, the Galacteers arrive at the asteroids first and a Class II rocket docks while the fighters intercept the saucers and the massive Class III rocket provides fire support.  The Zenethians kept their distance from the Class III’s guns and concentrated on destroying the vulnerable docked rocket.  The Galacteer fighters failed to score hits on the invading saucers.  Things were not looking good for the Galacteers.

After destroying both Class II rockets the Zenethian saucers surrounded the Class III rocket and bombarded it with deadly neutrino blasts.  Despite being faster and more manuerverable, the Galacteer fighters failed to take down enough saucers.  The might Galacteer destroyer succumbs to all the blasts and explodes with all hands on board.

With the docking bays open the Class II saucer docks and it’s crew raid the stockpiles of atomic ores.  While the Class III Saucers move in to cover it.  The remaining Galacteer fighters zoom in to kill the vulnerable saucer.  Their hits temporarially stun the saucer hindering it’s collection operations as the fighters dance around the mammoth saucers.

The Class II Saucer undocks from the asteroid and peels off with thrusters to full throttle.  Three Galacteer fighters speed off after it.  Their shots score hits and destroy the saucer.

The remaining saucers must attempt to get the ore fast, as Shawn is discovering just how quick the Galacteer fighters can get around the table.

The fighters quickly intercept any saucers that make off with ore.  They destroy a Class I and Class III, however a Class I and Class III both make it off the board with a total of 4 units of ore.

If the 4 remaining Galacteer  fighters can destroy the remaining Class I before it gets off the board with it’s ore, they can call a draw.  The remaining ship tries it’s best to out manuever the fighters but they’re too nimble and get shots on the saucer.  Unfortunately the fail to score any hits and the saucer makes it off the field with the necessary amount to fuel their new war fleet.

Victory to the Zenithians, Invaders from the 8th Dimension.

I want to invite everybody to visit my site and perhaps join my PBeM game which will feature a lot of War Rocket goodness. Visit here http://www.oldspaceways.com/forum/

So, after the success of our first game, here’s the scenario for the next one.

Background

The queezog were feeding ravenously.  Tornpee were digging and storing with strange vigor.  Quop and pertsnoots were growing armored carapaces as never before.  And the scientists attached to the bustling Valkeeri colony of Evendre reported that the local star cluster was about to undergo a wave of sympathetic solar prominences and gamma ray bursts as Omicron Ceti, a mere ten light years from Evendre’s system, began a massive increase in energy output in its variable solar cycle.  Most historians agree that the events leading to the Battle of the Whiskey Nebula and the subsequent disaster at Black Hole Bottoms began at a meeting of the Evendre Congress.

Fearing an extended period confined to their protective habitats because of the solar storms, the citizens of Evendre contracted with the Wallingham Freight Company on Sturges to provide the necessities that would make that period bearable.  Given that Evendre was a rough, frontier colony, those “necessities” translated to entertainment, legal and quasi-legal, moral and downright immoral.  Escorted by a wing of Imperial warships, the Wallingham convoy set out from Sturges toward Evendre intending to deliver their cargo and return before the solar storms began.

As with all colonization, the pioneers were followed by families.  Schools and churches were built.  Laws were enacted.  Life became more settled and the riotous pursuits of the frontiersmen were looked down on.  And so it was that the Temple Crusaders, having heard of the Evendre-Wallingham deal, hired a tramp liner to take protesters from Russford to Evendre to, hopefully and non-violently, shut down that den of iniquity.  Even though he was not sympathetic to their aims, the Galacteer commandant at Russford would not, in good conscience, let the Crusaders make the journey alone because of the danger of Zenithian raiders.  So a flight of Galacteers joined the ISS Massengale as escorts.

The Zenithians took an interest in all the activity, having detected and translated the ansible messages between Evendre and Sturges, and amongst the convoy out of Russford.  Looking at this as an opportunity to capture valuable cargo and indirectly quash the Evendre colony, they headed to an interception point between Evendre and Sturges.

The Evendrens themselves, worried about the safety of the Wallingham convoy, organized a militia based around some unused Valkeeri rockets at the maintenance base there, and set out to meet the convoy.

These disparate groups inevitably converged in the heart of the Crow Nebula, which became known ever after as the Whiskey Nebula.

Board Layout

The battle is fought on a 4′x6′ board.  One narrow edge is designated Coreward; the other is Rimward.  One long edge is designed Upspin; the other is Downspin.  There are three 9″x9″ irregular nebula clouds within 12″ of the center of the board — one to Rimward, one Upspin, and one Downspin.  The first warp point is 10″ from the Rimward edge; the other warp points are each an additional 8″ further along, making the last one 10″ from the Coreward edge; but, they’re randomly spaced laterally from Upspin to Downspin.

Special Scenario Rules

The Wallingham freighter carries twelve cargo chits.  These may be destroyed as part of a boarding action but are otherwise invulnerable while on board the freighter.

If the freighter is destroyed, all remaining cargo chits are automatically ejected in escape pods.  The pods are aimed Coreward and move in a straight line with a speed of 6″.  They have a defense of 1.

Escape pods may be engaged just like rockets and destroyed by gunfire.

Any rocket that ends its turn adjacent to an escape pod may, as a special action, haul the cargo aboard.  The escape pod is then cast adrift (and removed from the board).  If the rocket carrying the rescued cargo is destroyed, so is the cargo.

Class I rockets cannot be boarded.

There are five warp points on the board, numbered 1 through 5.  When a rocket enters a warp point, roll a D6.  The rocket exits the warp point corresponding to the die roll with the same heading as when it entered the initial warp point.  If the die roll is a 6, the rocket does not reappear.  On the next turn, roll again.  On a roll of 1-5, the rocket exits the corresponding warp point facing in any direction desired by the player.  However, if a 6 is rolled, the rocket is permanently lost in warp space.

Evendrens (Valkeeri)

Mission and Victory Conditions

Protect the convoy from Sturges, and the cargo, and ensure that it gets to Evendre safely.

3 VP per cargo chit that exits the Coreward board edge
2 VP per cargo chit under control of the Evendrens at the end of the game
1 VP per cargo chit under control of the Wallingham freighter or the Imperials at the end of the game

Forces and Deployment

1 x Class III rocket
2 x Class II rockets
3 x Class I rockets

Enter on Turn 2 from the Coreward board edge, within 6″ of the center of that edge.

Wallingham Freight Company (Imperials)

Mission and Victory Conditions

Protect the convoy from Sturges, and the cargo, and ensure that it gets to Evendre safely.

4 VP per cargo chit that exits the Coreward board edge
1 VP per cargo chit under control of the Imperials or the Evendrens at the end of the game

Forces and Deployment

1 x Class III rocket
2 x Class II rockets
3 x Class I rockets
1 x Freighter (representing the supply convoy)

Deploy first, within 8″ of the center of the Rimward board edge.

Temple Crusaders (Galacteers)

Mission and Victory Conditions

Prevent the Wallingham convoy from reaching Evendre.  Be prepared to go all the way to Evendre to evangelize the colonists, if necessary.

1 VP per cargo chit under control of the Zenithians at the end of the game
3 VP per cargo chit destroyed
5 VP if the ISS Massengale exits the Coreward board edge before the end of the game
-10 VP is the Wallingham freighter is destroyed (yes, that’s a loss of 10 points)

Forces and Deployment

1 x Class III rocket
2 x Class II rockets
3 x Class I rockets
1 x Freighter (representing the ISS Massengale)
NOTE:  The ISS Massengale may perform boarding actions; the protesters on board count as Marines

.Deploy second, within 8″ of the center of the Upspin board edge.

Zenithian Raiders

Mission and Victory Conditions

Capture specimens and cargo while preserving your force.

1 VP per cargo chit captured and retained at the end of the game
2 VP per Imperial, Galacteer, or Valkeeri ship boarded
2 VP per class level of Imperial, Galacteer, or Valkeeri ship destroyed
-3 VP per Zenithian Class III rocket destroyed
-5 VP per Zenithian Class IV rocket destroyed
-8 VP if the Wallingham freighter or the ISS Massengale are destroyed (no matter who destroys them)

Forces and Deployment

1 x Class IV rocket
1 x Class III rocket
2 x Class II rockets
3 x Class I rockets

Deploy third, within 8″ of the center of the Downspin board edge.