Over the New Year Dr De'Ath and I finally had the opportunity to try out an underwater game.
We used the new Galactic Heroes rules (the latest variant of Fistful of Lead rules) with the following tweaks:
- Diving suits had 4" move per action and counted as Armoured
- Merrow swam 6" per action and counted as Armoured
- Spearguns had range 12" and needed to be reloaded after firing (one complete turn to reload)
- Swimmers (i.e. Merrow for this game) could cross any troops or terrain (except the kelp forest) without penalty. They could also fire over friendly walkers.
Dr De'ath chose 6 divers and a Merrow scout. All but one of his divers had a speargun.
I chose 7 divers and a Merrow scout. Three of my divers, including my leader, had boarding pikes instead of spearguns.
The object of the game was to recover material from a pair of barrels in the middle of the table.
Initial deployment:
Dr De'Ath's divers scored first blood as we raced towards the objective:
Things quickly started getting messy as our forces closed, with both Merrow taking wounds after discharging their spearguns:
Drawing their blades the two Merrow rushed each other, remaining locked in combat for most of the rest of the game:
As the casualties on both sides mounted, my Merrow scout eventually vanquished his opponent:
The game ended with Dr De'Ath's force reduced to two men left standing and heavily outnumbered:
Conclusion:
The rules worked well for the game. The underwater rules modifications we used gave the game a completely feel to other games using the FFoL system, yet at the same time they felt right for the setting.
Future additions will include fully armoured diving suits and more powerful options for both ranged and close combat weapons. We will also be introducing aquatic predators, such as sharks.