Gators! |
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Scenario 2: MEU (SOC) |
In the nation of Hyrax, a renegade colonel has led his military units in a rebellion; they are claiming independence for their province. The government of Hyrax has asked for US intervention, and you've got the ball. The problems are that (1) the rebels may have biological weapons, and (2) they have taken hostages among Western diplomatic personnel. Destruction of those weapons and safeguarding the hostages will be your first priority. Once you have achieved this, you must clear the cities and towns of hostile forces, and eliminate the rebels' ability to make war.
There is good news. Intel is convincing the rebels that we're sending the 82nd Airborne to subdue them, so they'll be bracing for an aerial assault and won't be massing on the coasts to meet you. Still, you've got a tough assignment and not much time to do it. Semper fi!
Player 2: Our battle for freedom has begun! Colonel, our struggle will not be easy, but we can win. We expect the Americans to send their airborne troops to fight us, so prepare to defend the province against surprise attack, which could come at any point. Be ready to use whatever means you need to ensure our liberty, including the germs we have acquired and the deaths of the hostages we have taken. We must be ruthless in order to succeed, but our cause is just. Our people will long remember how we fight this battle. Victory or death!
Introduction: this rule set is for Scenario 2 of my game, Gators! You must refer to the basic rules for that game in order to play this one. The basic rules are identical; a few counters have been added, the map is different, and some rules have been added or expanded. If a rule issue is not addressed here, it is the same as in the original scenario.
Player 2 gets four hostage markers and two anthrax markers. The hostages can be placed in towns or stacked with 5-ton trucks; the anthrax must be in trucks. They cannot move unless in a truck.
The Colonel and his two Majors normally ride in (stack with) Player 2's M113 APC's, one officer for each APC. They can ride trucks or move independently if you wish, but lose their ability to give orders while doing so. The Colonel is the only one who can give the order to kill the hostages. Any of them can give the order to release the anthrax spores. They ride with their heads out of the hatches to see what's going on, and as individuals, they can be sniped by the Scout/Sniper Team. If that team kills one of them, the APC is unaffected, but the Colonel or Major is dead.
Player 2 gets both Hawk SAM batteries, and doesn't get the Missile Boat or the A-4 Skyhawks.
Once Player 2 has finished placing his counters, Player 1 puts his three ships on the edge of the map as usual. Then Player 1 rolls a die, rerolling any result of 1 or 6. The number that comes up is the number of small teams he can pre-position anywhere on the map, which reflects their ability to infiltrate. These units can be any combination of his Recon Teams, SEAL Team, and Scout/Sniper Team. They must not be adjacent to any Player-2 unit, or to a Town hex, and they can't bring their FAV's with them. He does not need to pre-position if he doesn't want to.
The Colonel will order the hostages to be killed if he feels personally threatened. Player 2 can order the deaths of the hostages under the following conditions:
If a Player-1 land unit is next to a hostage at the end of the Player-2 Combat Phase, and no Player-2 land unit (excepting a truck) is next to the hostage, that hostage is rescued. Remove the hostage marker; the truck (if any) is destroyed.
The only way for Player 1 to know if a truck contains hostages or anthrax is to scout it with one of his small teams. The only thing worse than Player 2 killing hostages is if Player 1 kills them by mistake.
The Colonel or Majors will order the anthrax containers opened if they think they are losing the battle. When opened, the anthrax quickly contaminates one hex in all directions, and does not go away. Player 2 can order the use of anthrax weapons under the following conditions:
Player 1's Medical Team can enter the danger zone at no risk. Units with a move of greater than 1 can enter the danger zone at no risk if the Medical Team is adjacent to the zone, and if the unit in question moves through the Medical Team just before it enters the zone.
If Player 1 attacks and destroys a truck with anthrax before the command to use it is given, the anthrax is destroyed along with the truck; it kills no one and makes no danger zone.
The only way for Player 1 to know if a truck contains hostages or anthrax is to scout it with one of his small teams.
Condition | Score |
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The Colonel dead | +10 |
Each Major dead | +5 |
Each hostage released | +5 |
Each anthrax weapon destroyed | +4 |
Each Player-1 land unit on the map | +1 |
Each town with no Player-2 land units | +3 |
Each hostage killed by Player 1 | -12 |
Each hostage killed by Player 2 | -5 |
Each anthrax weapon used by Player 2 | -2 |
Each Player-2 land unit in a town hex | -2 |
Each Player-2 land unit in some other hex | -1 |
Each hostage still being held | -3 |
Each anthrax weapon still in existence | -3 |
If the final score is greater than zero, Player 1 wins; if not, Player 2 wins.
There's obviously a lot more finesse involved here. Player 1 has to identify and take out certain units early in the battle or face a world of hurt, and Player 2's ability to use his special attacks is limited by how Player 1 wages his battle. But full-scale combat still plays a major role in success or failure.
Mike Fischer
mfischer@naisp.net