GMing a city defense

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

And it cuts both ways.

Worth noting that any little trick or makeshift weapon system the PCs/defenders come up with, the militia could also be using.
Drainpipe mortars, chlorine gas, jam tin grenades, trench catapults, etc. The only limit is imagination.

[guncrazy]

The game commenced last night (Tuesdays are game night) So far the battle has started off poorly for our struggling PCs. After some time preparing and talking amongst themselves about defense prep they get underway and fast forward to the action. The siege begins with M198's shelling the town killing 10 men and giving one of the PCs a wake up call lol. Due to a great observation roll on the outskirts one player spots their F.O in the distance (we are in Texas/NM so desert terrain. The 81mm mortar is ordered to fire on that position. The player rolls for the mortar team and rolls a 20, catastrophic failure! being the nice GM I am I let him roll again to avoid a true nightmare scenario, the player rolls another 20. The round cooks off in the tube killing the crew and all remaining round for the one mortar. Only 1 81mm remains in the city. Round 2 sees the second mortar roll a 1 on its roll and hits the F.O position silencing the militias Howitzers, at least for the time being. Trucks can be seen and heard approaching the city as the shaken but determined defense prepares for urban combat....Thats where it stands now, next round will be actual initiative and combat commences.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by guncrazy

The game commenced last night (Tuesdays are game night) So far the battle has started off poorly for our struggling PCs. After some time preparing and talking amongst themselves about defense prep they get underway and fast forward to the action. The siege begins with M198's shelling the town killing 10 men and giving one of the PCs a wake up call lol. Due to a great observation roll on the outskirts one player spots their F.O in the distance (we are in Texas/NM so desert terrain. The 81mm mortar is ordered to fire on that position. The player rolls for the mortar team and rolls a 20, catastrophic failure! being the nice GM I am I let him roll again to avoid a true nightmare scenario, the player rolls another 20. The round cooks off in the tube killing the crew and all remaining round for the one mortar. Only 1 81mm remains in the city. Round 2 sees the second mortar roll a 1 on its roll and hits the F.O position silencing the militias Howitzers, at least for the time being. Trucks can be seen and heard approaching the city as the shaken but determined defense prepares for urban combat....Thats where it stands now, next round will be actual initiative and combat commences.

Dang! Sounds like they needed a team outside to harass the howitzer crews.

[guncrazy]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

Dang! Sounds like they needed a team outside to harass the howitzer crews.

Yeah I think they are finally gettign that point lol. But now that the first wave is coming they will have to deal with street to street combat first. Their first combat ever, pretty excited for it. Its amazing how some timely placed terrible rolls add to the roleplay lol.

[.45cultist]

Originally Posted by guncrazy

Yeah I think they are finally gettign that point lol. But now that the first wave is coming they will have to deal with street to street combat first. Their first combat ever, pretty excited for it. Its amazing how some timely placed terrible rolls add to the roleplay lol.

I did the improvised flame weapons for Dark Conspiracy since they involve fuel. Every thing from the Eagle Cocktail to flame barrels using the Engineer manual and the flame thrower rules. I statted out the flame initiator and everything. Also statted the M10 destructor for converting ordnance to explosive charges there too.

[.45cultist]

Here is a fast T2K conversion:Flame Ops.pdf

[guncrazy]

Thanks for these, they will definitely come in handy!

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by guncrazy

Yeah I think they are finally gettign that point lol. But now that the first wave is coming they will have to deal with street to street combat first. Their first combat ever, pretty excited for it. Its amazing how some timely placed terrible rolls add to the roleplay lol.

I'm sure the fun isn't over yet. Those Militia probably have 3 or 4 FOs. This means that the first FO team could have "marked" (ranged and determined the grid coordinated of) EVERY important roadway/terrain feature, weapon's bunker, commo antenna, and AFV in the town. The M198s will then begin to fire on every strategically important object until they reduce it to rubble. It takes about 10 seconds to load during sustained fire and the HE shell's flight speed is about 800m per second. If they are 10km out, this will equate to a shell landing every 20 to 30 seconds (4 to 6 rounds) as long as the ammo holds out. Danger Close for artillery is around 1000m so not targets within 1km of the Militia will be targeted.

On the bright side, your players could be considered to have "Registered" (ie pre-ranged) all of the important terrain features and objectives. This will make your mortar fire ONE LEVEL EASIER and you may have "Short Orders" set up for these locations.

A "Short Order" is a single word designator like "location Lima Two" or "hill 123" that allow you to direct fire onto a location with just a single 5-second combat round of communication. "Registration" can also be done with crew-served machineguns (the tripod can record azimuth of fire and elevation needed) and AT weapons.

[guncrazy]

Originally Posted by swaghauler

I'm sure the fun isn't over yet. Those Militia probably have 3 or 4 FOs. This means that the first FO team could have "marked" (ranged and determined the grid coordinated of) EVERY important roadway/terrain feature, weapon's bunker, commo antenna, and AFV in the town. The M198s will then begin to fire on every strategically important object until they reduce it to rubble. It takes about 10 seconds to load during sustained fire and the HE shell's flight speed is about 800m per second. If they are 10km out, this will equate to a shell landing every 20 to 30 seconds (4 to 6 rounds) as long as the ammo holds out. Danger Close for artillery is around 1000m so not targets within 1km of the Militia will be targeted.

On the bright side, your players could be considered to have "Registered" (ie pre-ranged) all of the important terrain features and objectives. This will make your mortar fire ONE LEVEL EASIER and you may have "Short Orders" set up for these locations.

A "Short Order" is a single word designator like "location Lima Two" or "hill 123" that allow you to direct fire onto a location with just a single 5-second combat round of communication. "Registration" can also be done with crew-served machineguns (the tripod can record azimuth of fire and elevation needed) and AT weapons.

Yes the M198's are 5km out and the PCs (or at least one of them) did scout outside of town and "prep" likely routes as well, AT mines have been placed at strategic locations, and they were made with an outstanding success roll (the few they have made). I was going to make a roll to see if the Milita's vehicle convoy does indeed roll over the mines (they likely will with a roll of a 1 by the PC)

As for multiple FOs there are certainly more out there, however I have to ease the players in since they are not familiar with modern day realistic military tactics and doctrines. So I will be cutting some slack in some areas. After all it should be fun first and foremost. Its also another reason why the players chose to a more "Postman/Jericho" style campaign, though 2 of the characters are military. One Force Recon marine with sniper terms, One Doctor with med school ( I guess he wanted to be the "cleric") and the other is a civilan construction worker, criminal, and former prison imnate who was drafted as a deal to get out of prison.

I was going with Artillery reigning down every 4 turns until either taken out or the FOs are taken out. They would have had a working Tank Breaker but they failed their gunsmithing check to fix it. And now the city is down to only a single 81mm mortar for infantry support. The Militia really wants Mr Jackson (The NPC who has PHDs in metallurgy and Civil Engineering) I figure in such dire times educated people would be worth their weight in gold and extreme measure would be taken to secure them, willingly or not.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by guncrazy

Yes the M198's are 5km out and the PCs (or at least one of them) did scout outside of town and "prep" likely routes as well, AT mines have been placed at strategic locations, and they were made with an outstanding success roll (the few they have made). I was going to make a roll to see if the Milita's vehicle convoy does indeed roll over the mines (they likely will with a roll of a 1 by the PC)

As for multiple FOs there are certainly more out there, however I have to ease the players in since they are not familiar with modern day realistic military tactics and doctrines. So I will be cutting some slack in some areas. After all it should be fun first and foremost. Its also another reason why the players chose to a more "Postman/Jericho" style campaign, though 2 of the characters are military. One Force Recon marine with sniper terms, One Doctor with med school ( I guess he wanted to be the "cleric") and the other is a civilan construction worker, criminal, and former prison imnate who was drafted as a deal to get out of prison.

I was going with Artillery reigning down every 4 turns until either taken out or the FOs are taken out. They would have had a working Tank Breaker but they failed their gunsmithing check to fix it. And now the city is down to only a single 81mm mortar for infantry support. The Militia really wants Mr Jackson (The NPC who has PHDs in metallurgy and Civil Engineering) I figure in such dire times educated people would be worth their weight in gold and extreme measure would be taken to secure them, willingly or not.

If the guns are that close (need a reason? commo range of hand helds), I'd be engaging in an "Artillery Duel" with them using the 81mm. The PCs could get lucky. This WILL have an adverse effect on the Militia's morale too. The PCs just need to close the 1km gap and achieve a good (covered) firing position.

[swaghauler]

Originally Posted by .45cultist

Dang! Sounds like they needed a team outside to harass the howitzer crews.

THIS!