Showdown in Pico-Aldo - First Stargrave Game

[Scarper]

I ran a slightly shrunk-down Stargrave game using half size teams to teach myself the rules before playing with friends. I went with a captain and 200 pts of soldiers for each side, using models I had to hand. The scenario involved 3 objectives on a 2.5" x 2.5" board. I thought it would be fun to share a little report!

Some of the paintjobs for these makeshift crews are very old, so don't look too closely please 




The first crew were a group of scavs from the local collective. From left to right, Captain Moss; Crow, a sniper; Marv, a casecracker; Moss' pet hacker-bot; and Gunther, a runner.


Their opponents were military-remnant ne'er-do-wells, tipped off about the incoming group. Scavs or otherwise, the co-op groups sometimes carried decent gear. From left to right, Captain Millwall, a burner, 2 troopers and a recruit.



In return for some medical aid and a few nights' shelter, Moss and her team were tipped off by the survivor of a White City caravan about a potential haul of Jackson-Song goods. If the kid was to be believed, there was a stash of experimental explosives left behind when the corp abandoned Pico-Aldo, the old colony in the wastes to the North. While they were likely too dangerous to use in defending the collective, Moss reckoned that selling them off to the Halcyon trade ships could net them enough credits to finally fix the condenser in the greenhouse. Pico-Aldo was technically in the territory of some of the remnant PDF gangs, but they'd been busy fighting eachother lately, and tended not to pay too much attention to small groups passing through. Probably fine. Definitely fine.





The scavengers move in on the objectives in the ruined buildings - a still-functioning data point in the tower silo to the West, plus two locked-down secure containers in the central and Northern structures.




But they're not alone! Concentrated fire from the waiting remnants pins Moss' project robot, while the team runner makes a solo dash for the physical loot out in the open.




Crow, the team sniper, lined up some good shots on the soldier who seemed to be commanding their opponents, winging him and forcing him to keep his head down.




Gunther, the scav team runner, managed to open the secure container on his first try!




But was cornered by some fast movers from the remnant forces before he had a chance to retreat.




Meanwhile, scav team leader Moss found herself facing down an unsavoury character as she rushed for the datapoint, leaving her bullet-riddled robot behind her as she ran.




Marv, the team casecracker, also found the loot container rapidly springing open beneath his dancing fingers. Things seemed to be going great for the scav team! Now they just needed to get out of there...




The remnants had other ideas. Marv was wounded twice as he tried to make his escape. Gunther was put down in close combat by the recruit that had cornered him.




Crow tried shifting position to cover Marv as he made his escape...




But quickly found herself in the crosshairs of the advancing military team.




Wounded and encumbered, Marv had little chance of escape. The remnant burner caught up to him, and he went down in a wash of flames. (A nat 20, no less).





A bit of a disaster for the scavs in the end! Crow and Moss made it off the board (Moss with data in hand, at least), leaving three casualties behind. The remnants lost a single trooper that Moss had taken out in hand-to-hand, making off with two physical loot.

A fun game, all in all, and helped me get my head around the rules. I hadn't grasped how short 3" is for the purposes of activating other soldiers during the captain / first mate phases, which I'll certainly try and learn from in future. The rest was just the wee learning curve of a new game. I'm excited to play against some real opponents once I finish up my proper team!

I've not made any kind of battle report before, so I hope you enjoy! Apologies that not all the terrain is painted, but I'm getting there. Let me know what you like, and I can hopefully change things up for future reports.

[Ragsta]

 
Good report! The writing is fluid and concise for a grumpy impatient guy like me 

The setup already looks great, what did you find the stand out pros and cons to the rules in this practise?

[Scarper]

 
Good report! The writing is fluid and concise for a grumpy impatient guy like me 

The setup already looks great, what did you find the stand out pros and cons to the rules in this practise?

Thanks, man!

The activation system is pretty cool - you roll for initiative at the start of each turn, so you can't predict who's going first. After that the captain and up to 3 soldiers within 3" activate, following by the same on the opposite team. The same then happens with the first mate, and finally any unactivated soldiers. It encourages splitting up into little fireteams, and forces you to be flexible.

The action system is pretty simple once you get your head around it, and shooting and combat are reasonably simple. It's generally quick and fun to play. I'm looking forward to getting a game in with you!

[Kourtchatovium104]

Always enjoying a good report like yours 

[Munindk]

Looks like a fun game

I've had my eye on stargrave for a while now, so thanks for the details on the activation system.
Most reviews I've found just calls it "frostgrave in space" and lament the swingyness of thd D20.

[Scarper]

Always enjoying a good report like yours 

Thanks so much! That's really kind to say.

Looks like a fun game

I've had my eye on stargrave for a while now, so thanks for the details on the activation system.
Most reviews I've found just calls it "frostgrave in space" and lament the swingyness of thd D20.

It was a lot of fun! Probably a lot more so with a real human opponent, but I'm sure I'll find that out soon

If you're interested in the rules, the quick reference is available for free on the Osprey website - it should give you a decent overview of how the game is played, and a solid idea of whether it's something you'd enjoy playing. I've heard the complaints about swinginess before as well, but I think that's okay in a system that's more narrative driven than competitive. I quite like playing a game where the outcome is not guaranteed!

[Munindk]

Did you use the solo rules from one of the supplements?

[Scarper]

I didn't, in the end! I've got the Dead or Alive supplement, and it does look really good. I figured if I was just learning the rules, though, it was better to keep it as simple as possible. I played both sides.