R.I.S.K. and The Crew of the "Crimson Ghost"

Ok so the basic rule mechanic of R.I.S.K. is that you roll a d6 and add your skill or attribute. If it is unopposed then you have to roll better than a 6. If it is an opposed check then you roll higher than your opponent.

To use a combat skill requires a contested skill check. Both the player character and his opponent roll a dice and add their bonuses. The Higher result wins. So if a character is shooting at a bad guy. The character rolls a D6 for each Firepower point his weapon has and adds his shooting skill bonus and his agility to each die roll. The defending character rolls a D6 and adds his agility plus any modifiers for range or cover. If the attacking character gets the highest result then the defending character is hit and takes a wound or suppression. Suppression can be negated by a Courage check for a player character or an activation roll
for an NPC. Characters can take a number of suppression hits equal to their shooting skill. After they have reached their max suppression then they start taking wounds. They can only take suppression if they have some form of cover. If they have no cover they must go prone or make a courage check or run away.

Brawling works the same way but when a character runs out of wounds they are knocked out instead of killed. If they take a wound after they are knocked out then they are injured. If they take their wound total after they are knocked out they are killed.


Captain "Dodger" Dempsey (Right most)
Strength 1
Agility 1
Smarts 1
Toughness 2
Charm 2
Wounds 3

Skills
Pilot Freighter 1
Repair 1
Brawling 2
Shooting 2
Bargaining 2
Gambling 2

Equipment
Blaster range 12" FP 1
Knife
Flak Vest 5+ save

1st Officer "Hammer" O'Neil (Middle)
Strength 1
Agility 2
Smarts 1
Toughness 2
Charm 0
Wounds 3

Skills
Pilot Freighter 2
Repair 1
Brawling 2
Shooting 2
Notice 1
Gambling 1
Equipment
Blaster range 12" FP 1
Knife
Flak Vest 5+ save

Gunner "Dale"
Strength 1
Agility 2
Smarts 2
Toughness 0
Charm 1
Wounds 1

Skills
Gunnery Freighter 3
Repair 1
Drive, Ground 1
Shooting 1
Equipment
Blaster range 12" FP 1
Knife
Flight Suit 6+ save


Desert Raider

Strength 1
Agility 1
Smarts 0
Toughness 1
Charm 0
Wounds 2

Skills
Brawling 2
Shooting 2
Survival 2

Equipment
Blaster Rifle range 24" FP 1
Gaffi Stick
Clothes 6+ save

Next up will be the combat between the crew and the Desert Raiders...stay tuned.

Friday Night X-wing: Playtesting

I rarely get a Friday night off since I teach fencing most Friday nights. But for Memorial Day weekend it is almost pointless since everyone leaves early to get on the road and go somewhere so no fencing Friday or Monday. Which leaves me with a rare 4 day weekend. So after a spirited discussion on the Facebook group concerning mini swarms or swarms without Howlie I decided to play-test the five fingered death punch list a bit. The List consisted of four fingers: Mauler, Backstabber, Dark Curse and the new guy (Obsidian Squad) and a thumb: the Captain Kagi shuttle (Aka. The Kagi Blocker) with engine upgrade, sensor jammer and rebel captive.

The first game I played was against Mike and he ran the XXBB list with rookies and advanced sensors. I totally forgot to take pics because I was wound up to actually play rather than blather on about X-wing. It was a very close game. Highlights: 

Shuttle seemed dead set on running into every rock it could find, like it was trying to bang its head against a wall. The shuttle did shut down the rebels ability to get target locks on anything by just flying lazy circles around the middle of the board.

Mauler getting a range one shot an whiffing on all four dice... and then dying a horrible, explody death.

Backstabber getting a range one, surprise buttsex! shot with four dice and ....yes you guessed it...whiffed completely.

the game ended with Dark Curse and the rookie X-wing jousting with each other only to end with Dark Curse k-turning and landing on a rock...taking a crit...then dying a horrible, explody death.

That left one X-wing with no shields on the table.

Not bad for a first run against a tournament list.

Second game went much better. The TIEs are free of formation flying and buzz around the confused rebel scum. No target locks and the TIEs barrel rolling out of firing arcs and into range one side shots was very helpful.

The TIEs were able to get into numerous 2 v 1 situations or deny firing opportunities to the rebel scum. The TIE in the upper left corner is Backstabber he only has a range three shot against that B-wig on the far right... rolls two attack dice hits both...B-wing rolls two defense dice with focus...whiffs. Bye Bye Terrorist.

As you can see the casualties mounted for the Rebel Scum until it was the rookie vs the entire death punch. Rebel Scum - "I feel like I can take on the whole Empire myself."

Captain Kagi - "Woot, I can shoot at something." X-wing explodes. "Navigator find me another rock to hit, I am not dead yet."

Game three was against Josh and yet more Rebel Scum. He brought Wedge with Swarm Tactics, Biggs w shield upgrade, Roark in a HWK with a blaster turret and random rookie X-wing.

All the rebel scum were shooting at either PS 12 or 9 so most of my stuff went boom and the TIEs that survived couldn't hit a moon from orbit. 

Rebel scum hunting down my noble TIE pilots like common vermin. The shuttle was off on another geology mission to study the local asteroid belt.

"Dammit navigator that is not a rock...we are here to run into rocks"

At this point I conceded since it would take a miracle for a shuttle to defeat Wedge, Biggs Roark and their little sidekick all by itself.

Bobby tried out a bomber swarm with....wait for it....bombs. 

Joshes terrorists crushed them using underhanded tactics... not flying right into bombs... and destroyed the bomber swarm while Eric and I heckled them from the sidelines.

4th and last game was against Darryl running a Howlie mini swarm and a bounty hunter with gunner...another version of the Five Finger Death Punch. I ran the Wookie 360. Chewie with DTF, gunner, recon dude, MF title card. Two Grey Squad Wishbones with Blaster Turrets

Darryl focused early and managed to take down one of the Wishbones. Chewie and the Wishbones managed to kill three TIEs in exchange. Freaking Chewie was a beast... two turns back to back he one shotted Howlie and another TIE. BLAM BLAM...

The Wishbone and Chewie concentrated fire on the Bounty Hunter who finally made it into the fight. Chewie had one hull point left and they managed to do an obscene amount of damage to the hunter two turns in a row and finished it off.

Thanks to the guys for coming out and getting a few games in and to the Wyvern's Tale for hosting us.

Wolf Pack: TIE swarms

The Traditional TIE swarm is the wolf-pack incarnate. First you need an Alpha Wolf, Howlrunner, and then as many wolves as you can fit into the list. This usually runs Howlrunner and 6 or 7 noobs.

The Strength of the Wolf is the Pack

Now the strength of the Swarm is on numbers. The number of attack dice you can throw, the number of hits you can take and the number of re-rolls you make increasing your chances to do damage. The TIE swarm is a proven effective build in tournament settings. It has won championships and special events. It is undeniably difficult to beat if flown by an experienced player.

Like a wolf-pack the lynch-pin in the Alpha Wolf, Howlrunner. Kill Howlie and the swarm falls apart fast. It is still dangerous without Howlie but not nearly so deadly.

But is there another way to do an effective swarm than with just as many TIEs as you can fit?

The Strength of the Pack is the Wolf.

On our Facebook group, the Asheville Flight Club, we have been discussing the idea of a more elite 5 ship mini swarm. The idea is to use more name Pilots with special abilities or four TIEs and a Large Ships like Shuttle or Firespray to support.

Wolves
Howlrunner - Still effective with 7 buddies or 4.

Mauler Mithel - Throws extra attack dice at range one. Once the furball happens he can probably stay at range one for a while and if he is close to Howlie he can re-roll his 4 attack dice.

Backstabber - Good flanker and once the furball starts he might get some re-rolls from Howlie as they pass through.

Dark Curse - Right up there with Backstabber but a more defensive oriented ship where as Backstabber is offense oriented.

Black Squadron Pilot - His cheap cost an ability to take an ELlite Pilot Skill makes him useful in swarm chains and to pull crits with Draw Their Fire shenanigans.

Capt. Kagi - Kagi sucks in target locks around him and mount Rebel Captive and Sensor jammers and he can tank an disrupt for the more nimble TIEs. You can mount Engine Upgrade too in order to make him more offense oriented at the cost of trading the BSP for an Obsidian Squad dude.

Bounty Hunter with Gunner - This guy is the hammer of a five ship swarm. He has a ton of Hit Points and can fire fore or aft. He is not quite as usefule as a rebel ship with a turret but he is the closest the IMPs have to one.

Bombers - in lieu of taking a large ship like the BH or Shuttle you could field a couple of bombers with .... bombs. They have good HP and the bombs could disrupt your opponent's movement plans. They could escort Howlie and benefit from his re-roll.

Lt. Lorrir - Interceptor pilot with an awesome barrel roll option. Increased maneuverability an firepower and not too expensive.

Turr Fennir - Turd Ferguson is always a good option and very maneuverable.

Alpha and Avenger Squad - Cheap firepower and maneuverability

Saber and Royal Guards - Better PS than AA squads but more expensive. They do have access to EPS if you need them.

Lists
Five Finger Death Punch 100 points

4 Black Squad with Draw Their Fire
Bounty Hunter with Gunner and Seismic Charge

Black squad escorts the BH and once his shields are gone they pull crits off of each other so more ships can stay in the fight. The BH is the heavy hitter and also the tank. The Bomb is there to crew with your opponents plans as its presence will interfere with where he wants to move.

Mini Swarm with a Kagi Blocker 100 points

Mauler Mithel
Backstabber
Dark Curse
Obsidian Squad
Captain Kagi with Sensor Jammer, Rebel Captive and Engine Upgrade

Kagi runs interference and pulls TLs from the rest of the squad. The opponent either chooses another action or fires on the shuttle. If he fires on the shuttle he takes stress and the jammer reduces his effective fire. The other TIEs run around in formation or separately and can take care of themselves.

Y-wing: Workhorse of the Rebellion

The Y-wing was for a long time the workhorse of the Rebel Alliance. It was rugged if ungainly and could carry a heavy armament of proton torpedoes. It also possesses an ion turret which could be used to disable enemy craft. It had a two man crew, deflector shields and a hyperdrive which made it a highly effective raider. Pirates and mercenaries also operate the craft because of these abilities.

The Y-wing does not get much love in the X-wing miniatures game. It is not a sexy fighter like the X-wing nor is it as maneuverable as the A-wing and it doesn't have the resistance to crits that the B-wing does. It is tough and it can mount turrets. The original setup was for the Y-wing to mount Ion Cannon Turrets. This gave the Y-wing the ability to fire anywhere within range two of itself. This eliminated the downside for its less maneuverable dial compared to the X-wing. The Ion Cannon could only do one damage max but it could restrict your opponents maneuvering options.

The movement dial is not that bad with the only red maneuvers being 3 turns and a K-turn. With an R2 unit all your turns are green so it is easy to bleed off stress.


With the release of the Blaster Turret in the HWK-290 expansion this gave the Y-wing the ability to deal some significant damage at the same range as the Ion Cannon. The downside is that it requires a focus token to fire so you can't use it when you are stressed or if you bump into something and can't take your action. You still have your primary guns and with 2 attack dice they aren't terribad.

     


The X-wing game is a game of maneuver. If you can take the maneuver out of the equation and always be able to fire your weapons regardless of arc that counts for a lot. Fortress Falcon gives you two turrets that can re-roll attacks that don't hit and share damage. It has 6 attack dice and 26 hit points. On the flip side 4 Y-wings with blaster turrets and R2 units gives you more units, 12 attack dice and 32 hit points. So even with the falcon's gunners you still get the same number of attacks at minimum with the possibility of more since you get to fire regardless of whether the first attack misses.

You can cover more ground and threaten a larger area with 4 Y-wings than with two of any other ship. You could play traditionally and try to maneuver for close range shots with your primary guns which would give your 3 attack dice and if you fail or find yourself out of position then use your focus token to light them up with the blaster cannon.

Pirate List 100 points

Grey Squadron Y-wing 24 pts
Blaster Turret

Grey Squadron Y-wing 24 pts
Blaster Turret

Gold Squadron Y-wing 23 Points
R2 unit
Blaster Turret

Outer Rim Smuggler 29 pts
Anti-pursuit Lasers

With this list we have 3 x Y-Wings being supported by an Outer Rim Smuggler in a YT-1300. The list has a tone of Hit Points, all turrets, and some different pilots skills to allow for blocking. The ORS is used to block with its big base and take range one shots with its turret. If things bump into it they could take damage so Kamikaze his butt into everything, get in the way, be annoying. The Gold Y is used for the same thing get him in the way but don't ram anything just sit there and focus blaster everything until you die. The Grey Ys do the same thing so use them to focus fire lower PS guys before they get to shoot. The list gives you four tough ships with decent but flexible firepower. None of the ships is overtly dangerous so your opponent may have a hard time figuring out which one to focus down first since, unlike Wedge, no single ships screams "SHOOT ME NOW, SHOOT ME, SHOOT ME!

Target prioritization is important and in a generic list like this it is hard to determine which ship is the most dangerous. Because they are so generic the title of "most dangerous ship" on your side may change turn by turn. This may allow you to spread damage around all of your ships by making one ship each turn seem more of a threat than the others.

All in all I like the Y-wing an think that it is a very under-rated ship. 

Wedge's Dicta

1. Try to secure the upper hand before attacking. If possible, keep the star behind you

So how does this affect a miniatures game like X-Wing? It means to secure every advantage before the game starts. List building, Asteroid placement and Ship deployment. 

List Building:

Choose a list that fits your play style. If you like to tank damage and charge right in then choose ships that can take a beating while dealing damage to the enemy. If you like to maneuver then choose ships and upgrades that will allow you to boost, barrel roll or juke out of your opponents fire arcs. Determine what the local Meta is before the tourney and hopefully your list will be prepared for it. The more thought and prep you put into your list and how it works before a tourney or game the better it will fly. Also it is not a bad idea to practice with it. Either with an opponent or by yourself. Learn to fly in formation without bumping. learn to measure range by eyeball. 

Asteroid Deployment

Even before placing your ships you place asteroids in a tournament. Place them to give you maximum advantage during the coming dogfight. If you want to play the edge of the board then place your asteroids to interfere with the opposite side of the board and deny maneuvering to your opponent. You could also muck up the center with rocks so you can fly circles around the edge of the board. This works especially well with un-maneuverable ships with turrets like Y-wings and HWKs.

Ship Deployment

Place your ships in a way that give you maximum advantage for your build and maybe deny the enemy choices with how he either deploys or develops his plan of attack. This could differ wildly based on the list your opponent is running and what you are bringing. If you know what you are likely to expect then you deploy to counter the opposing build's advantages. 

2. Always continue with an attack you have begun

Once you have damaged or crippled an enemy ship then keep on them. Finish them off. The fewer guns shooting back at you the better. It doesn't matter if you do a ton of damage but spread it across the enemy squad and have them all shooting back at you. Focus fire and eliminate ships one at a time. Wounded ships can still kill you or wear you down so once you have started an attack on a ship don't stop till it is dead.

3. Open fire only at close range, and then only when the opponent is squarely in your sights

If you have a choice between shooting a ship at range one and shooting a ship outside of range one. Shoot at the range one ship every time. The more attack dice you can throw the better. The more damage you can do the better. If you have cards or upgrades that increase those attack dice or reduce the opponent's defense dice the better. 

4. You should always try to keep your eye on your opponent, and never let yourself be deceived by ruses

Don;t lose sight of your objective. The objective is to win, have fun or some other mission specific objective. Don't be tempted to throw away a lead with the temptation to get more kills. If you are ahead enough to win don't let your opponent who may be in a weaker position shame you into "a fair fight" since no fights are fair and the only rule of war is to win and not die. Stay on target.

5. In any type of attack, it is essential to assail your opponent from behind

Position is important. Use superior speed, agility or actions to stay our of your opponents fire arcs. But in the same vein keep the enemy ships in your fire arcs as much as possible. Any round you aren't being shot at but are shooting at the enemy is a good thing an plays to your advantage. Avoid head to heads, especially at range one, as much as possible unless you know you will finish off your opponents ship in that single attack run. With dice nothing is for certain but it should at least be a high probability attack. Example: Wedge with opportunist at range one vs a wounded TIE. 5 attack dice vs 2 agility when your opponent has only one or two hull left is a high probability attack.

6. If your opponent dives on you, do not try to get around his attack, but fly to meet it

Turn into an suspected attack and not away from it. A head to head attack is better than letting that enemy fighter get on your tail and take a free shot. At close range turn towards your enemy but at long range there may be a reason to turn away from the enemy such as you trying to hold the range open for a heavy laser cannon shot or fire missiles or torps. Also to preserve the extra agility dice at range three or to duck out of range of an enemy's attack.

7. When over the enemy's lines, always remember your own line of retreat

Once you have made your attack run make sure there will not be enemy ships to block you or asteroids or bombs that can damage you on your way out so you can set up your next pass.

8. Tip for Squadrons: In principle, it is better to attack in groups of four or six. Avoid two aircraft attacking the same opponent

The swarm is king. Make sure you bring enough hit points to weather the storm. IN the current Meta there is a four ship minimum to be really competitive. The swarm runs 7 or 8 ships. That is 21 to 24 hull and 14-16 attack dice. 4 - X-wings bring 12 attack dice and 20 hit points. The swarm can block you and still get its shots in. Three or Two ship builds just don't bring enough firepower or health (unless it is Fortress Falcons) to really challenge the swarm. So keep that in mind.

Wedge's Dicta is based on a WWI pilot's rules for aerial combat Boelke's Dicta (pronounced Bowl-key). Even in Star Wars they still apply.

Star Wars RPG Terrain Project: Cargo Bins

The first thing you will need are a bunch of soda bottle caps. Just don't give yourself diabetes, you could fish some out of the garbage if you don't feel like drinking them all...just wash the caps and your hands after.

Next glue them together with a little bit of superglue...You only need a little bit so don't glue your fingers to the caps.

Let the dry. You could also paint them different colors or add decals to make them more "authentic"

They make great cargo bins for firefights in launch bays or warehouses. They could also make storage bins like those things in the Old Republic games.

Escape from Hoth: an Ode to Red Squadron

During our first game Tycho gets one shotted by a Royal Guard Interceptor and Lando is destroyed in the Millennium Falsehood. The Transport escapes but with heavy damage.

"Red Squadron" 

(Sung to Bad Company by 5 Finger Death Punch)

A Rebel Cause, always on the run

Destiny is the Death Star Run

Oh, I was born with a blaster in my hands

In Echo Base I'll make my final stand
That's why they call me


The Transport barely escapes through the mines.

Red Squadron
And I can't deny
Red Squadron
Till the day I die
Oh, till the day I die
Till the day I die


Red Squadron fights off waves of Imperial Ships

Rebel scum, deserters we are called
Chose a gun and flew away for fun
Now these worlds, well they all know our name
The Death Star Run, is our claim to fame
That's why they call me


The Bright Hope actually runs over Arvyn Crenad and Hobbie while maneuvering and the game is called afterwards as the transport is down to one hull point.

Red Squadron
I can't deny
Red, Red Squadron
Till the day I die,
Untill the day I die,
Untill the day I die,
Until the day I die


The rebels are all out of experienced pilots and the transport is still suffering hull damage (direct hit crit) So a smuggler, a couple of prototype fighters and two red squadron pilots attempt to bring the Bright Hope through the final leg of the blockade.


Y for a TIE
Trooper for a trooper
Blood for blood
We've all gotta die
We're all gonna die


Soontir Fel and a Bomber loaded with hurt make a run on the transport after unloading on the smuggler ship. While a Bounty Hunter and Assault Shuttle come in from the front.

That's why they call me
Red Squadron
I won't deny
Red, Red Squadron
Till the day I die


Things get messy in a crazy furball around the Bright Hope.


Red Squadron
I won't deny
Red, Red Squadron
Till the day I die
Untill the day I die
Untill the day I die
Until the day I die


The Bright Hope's Captain tries to get clear of the swirling dogfight and escape.


UNTIL THE DAY I DIE

The Bright Hope plows into the smuggler's ships and sideswipes the heavily damaged bomber with its big, fat, juicy aft.

Afterward

The Ace of the day went to Zac Hines, Captain of the Bright Hope, who accounted for the most kills in all three games (X-wing, A-wing, YT-1300 and a TIE Bomber). His kill total left us wondering who's side he was actually on.

My TIE Bomber in game two actually manage to kill himself with his own bomb and damage two nearby TIE Academy pilots. While the rebel ships he was aiming to bomb were run over by their own transport. 

The Royal Guard Interceptor Pilot managed to one shot Tycho Celchu on turn 1 of game one using Opportunist and poor Deklan rolled all blanks for his three agility.

The Transport in game two was actually destroyed by the guns of the TIE bomber and two Academy Pilots. Not bad for two attack dice.

Torynn Farr kept ripping my target locks off of my bombers making my cluster missiles useless. 

Games were long with lots of extra campaign rules but it was fun and we all had a good time laughing at our hapless pilots all desperately trying to stay out of the way of the Transport (renamed "The Maneater").

I wouldn't if I were you
I know what she can do
She's deadly man
Amd she could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
Ooh, the beauty is there
But a beast is in the heart

(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy
She'll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
Watch out boy
She'll chew you up
(Oh-oh, here she comes)
She's a maneater

Thanks to Bobby for running it and to all the guys who showed up to participate.