A ray of hope II

[Adm.Lee]

One deal made, one deal offered, one case of mistake identity, one firefight.

We started with the group motoring to a crossroads roadhouse to trade an MG for food. They tried to set up covering positions in a nearby barn, but the (lightly armed) farmers dissuaded them from taking it over. There was no shootout at the roadhouse, just some toasts to seal the deal.

Then, the smuggler who brought them food (the group was down to its last MRE) observed that they were on the wrong side of the big river from the rest of NATO-- maybe he could offer them a boat ride? The group's negotiator pressed for contact with someone on the other side, as well, so they agreed to meet again in 5 days. The group returned to the abandoned village they were camping in, now with 4 days' of food.

One player (remember, these are 13-year-olds) wanted to do something destructive, so he slipped out at midnight, took their scouting bicycle, and pedalled back to the farm, wanting some pig. Again, the sharp-eyed farmers saw him coming, and ran him off with Mauser fire. (I had hoped this would scare the player back into line-- nope.)

When he got back to the building they were using for base, he tried to mess with the sentry. When challenged, he hollered, "No speak-a English!" So the sentry shot him. (The fun part here is that the two players involved are brothers.) Only then does he identify himself, and they agree to let him get closer once they get a flashlight on his face.

This is when the evil GM has the other sentries spot someone else moving on them from another direction! Eighteen marauders, hoping that the MG they traded away might weaken their defenses. It didn't. The Marauders got up to their house, close enough to put grenades through the windows, and even bust in themselves. A furious firefight at room-to-room range wiped out most of the marauders and wounded several PCs. The few that tried to run off were dropped by the group's sniper using NVGs.

While this was happening, the lone-wolf PC, upon entering the building had tried to shoot his brother's PC. And missed. The two of them got into their own little firefight through a closed door, which ended when the sniper (on another rooftop) shot up the lone-wolf. The inside brother almost finished him off.*

A court-martial, or at least an execution, was considered against the lone-wolf (unconscious) by some of the team, as they suspected him of bringing the marauders back on them. As GM, my gut was about to make me intervene, but things cooled off, and the player's promising to color within the lines from now on. We'll see.

Oh, and the kid whose characters I always seem to wipe out? He didn't make it to the game, so his guys were safe.

* This led to an intense discussion on the crappy damage done by pistols and SMGs in v2 rules, versus the really high hit-points that PCs have, against NPCs. The decision is to try it with v1 damage rolls next time: i.e., 4d6+4xDam at close range. NPCs will get doubled hit points, from 20 to 40, 'cause it seemed they were going down way too easy.

[headquarters]

We started playing this game in our early/mid teens too. I GMed alot but was also a player.
I have to say all of this rings a bell and brings back good memories of sessions past. The lone wolf wanting to get something destructive done - and subsequently gets into trouble with other PCs. The GMs silent worries about the "alignment" of their PCs . ( Yeah its a game but sometimes you consider - is torture , massacre or fratricide really a good subject for a game?)

And of course the PC vs PC or indeed NPC damage discussions... ( v.2.0)

These were though in our group and firstly led to all players getting a sawed of 12 gage. The relatively low bulk and very high damage means that it was dubbed the party killer. One hit in an unarmored location was almost sure to bring the subject down. Many PCs were erased from their sheets by one of these. Over time this brutish way of dealing with quarrels among the PCs went out of fashion. ( Were we getting older and more mature??) But it is still practiced by one or two of the PCs. ( Equipping a PC with implies that you are geared for an infight )

Now the PCs have adopted more sophisticated ways of killing eachother. A favourite these days is secretly arranging with the GM that the next firefight some of your shots will be going into the back of your fellow party member..In a chaotic loud firefight no one will be the wiser as long as this is aranged by sending a note or the slight nod to the GM to do the preplanned murdering..ah..the joys of gaming..

Keep the log coming. It is a fun read.

Originally Posted by Adm.Lee

One deal made, one deal offered, one case of mistake identity, one firefight.

We started with the group motoring to a crossroads roadhouse to trade an MG for food. They tried to set up covering positions in a nearby barn, but the (lightly armed) farmers dissuaded them from taking it over. There was no shootout at the roadhouse, just some toasts to seal the deal.

Then, the smuggler who brought them food (the group was down to its last MRE) observed that they were on the wrong side of the big river from the rest of NATO-- maybe he could offer them a boat ride? The group's negotiator pressed for contact with someone on the other side, as well, so they agreed to meet again in 5 days. The group returned to the abandoned village they were camping in, now with 4 days' of food.

One player (remember, these are 13-year-olds) wanted to do something destructive, so he slipped out at midnight, took their scouting bicycle, and pedalled back to the farm, wanting some pig. Again, the sharp-eyed farmers saw him coming, and ran him off with Mauser fire. (I had hoped this would scare the player back into line-- nope.)

When he got back to the building they were using for base, he tried to mess with the sentry. When challenged, he hollered, "No speak-a English!" So the sentry shot him. (The fun part here is that the two players involved are brothers.) Only then does he identify himself, and they agree to let him get closer once they get a flashlight on his face.

This is when the evil GM has the other sentries spot someone else moving on them from another direction! Eighteen marauders, hoping that the MG they traded away might weaken their defenses. It didn't. The Marauders got up to their house, close enough to put grenades through the windows, and even bust in themselves. A furious firefight at room-to-room range wiped out most of the marauders and wounded several PCs. The few that tried to run off were dropped by the group's sniper using NVGs.

While this was happening, the lone-wolf PC, upon entering the building had tried to shoot his brother's PC. And missed. The two of them got into their own little firefight through a closed door, which ended when the sniper (on another rooftop) shot up the lone-wolf. The inside brother almost finished him off.*

A court-martial, or at least an execution, was considered against the lone-wolf (unconscious) by some of the team, as they suspected him of bringing the marauders back on them. As GM, my gut was about to make me intervene, but things cooled off, and the player's promising to color within the lines from now on. We'll see.

Oh, and the kid whose characters I always seem to wipe out? He didn't make it to the game, so his guys were safe.

* This led to an intense discussion on the crappy damage done by pistols and SMGs in v2 rules, versus the really high hit-points that PCs have, against NPCs. The decision is to try it with v1 damage rolls next time: i.e., 4d6+4xDam at close range. NPCs will get doubled hit points, from 20 to 40, 'cause it seemed they were going down way too easy.