Excluded Territory- Game 3 AAR - Concluded 18.12.23

[Doug ex-em4]

The first 2 games in my solo  Zona Alfa inspired campaign are here:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=142142.0

This is a continuation of those games.

SCENARIO BACKGROUND

Captain Lillianne Tomoe was feeling in a benevolent mood as she beckoned Sergeant Ken "Slasher" McKay into her office. His squad had only recently been tasked with missions into The Territory and they’d done pretty well. They’d made useful contributions to the widows and orphans fund and the Captain was keenly interested in the prosperity of that fund. So she was awarding them another mission. Although missions into The Territory were frequently dangerous, they were strongly sought after by the squads. Badly paid, poorly trained, inadequately equipped and, frankly, not of the highest quality, the Security Squads were able to make decent money from salvaging useful or unique equipment during Territory runs. So, although the troopers always moaned and complained when told another mission was in the offing, they were desperate to get them.

Captain Tomoe outlines the Team’s next mission to Slasher McKay

"Sergeant McKay, are you familiar with Stoney Valley in the north of The Territory?"
"Yes, mmm," lied Slasher. Mmm was the closest Slasher could bring himself to address his superior by the customary honorific due to her rank. The idea of using the full "ma’am" was inconceivable to Slasher who was a throwback to values commonly held many decades ago. And anticipating a lucrative mission in the offing, he felt it advisable not to admit to ignorance about the likely area of operations.
"As you know, that area was notorious as a centre of occult activity - every kind of wacky, loony, crazy cult claims it as the hub of their beliefs. There’s a stone circle thousands of years old, now crumbling and overgrown since The Incident."
Slasher nodded along, looking, he hoped, knowledgeable and wise.
‘Well, there’s been an illegal incursion by a particularly obscure cult which has announced an intention to restore the stone circle to its pre-Incident state and then put into effect various ceremonies and practices with the guaranteed result of reversing the effects of The Incident and bringing about a beautiful new world, controlled and run by this cult. Obviously, we can’t allow this to go on. If they are allowed to carry on like this all sorts of incursions will be encouraged and our control of The Territory will be compromised. Your job is to end this nonsense. Apart from the usual benefits, I should remind you that this is a remote, off the beaten track area but at one time was planned as the sight of a scientific base. It never came to anything but a number of shipping containers of equipment were brought in by Chinook and dumped there. They have been looted several times since but I’m sure your lads will be able to find stuff the average, amateur looter will have missed."
"Thanks for the opportunity, mmm, it will be an honour to protect the Service’s interests." Slasher almost managed to make that blatant falsehood sound genuine. In fact, the thanks were genuine because this could be a nice little mission. The honour of the Service was a non-existent concept but was called upon from time-to-time to make plunder and looting respectable.
"Some more good news, continued the Captain. Pigeon McGrath has gained a stripe."[had some stats improved by spending Advance Points].
"Im sure he’ll be very grateful, mmm. Well deserved; good man."
"And, she continued, Faith Heals has potential but he’s fat and unfit. What did he do before joining the Service?"
"Er, he was a cleaner in an abattoir, mmm."
"Classic record for one of our troopers."
"Yes, mmm."
"Well, I’m sending him on a strength and conditioning course and Windy Trumper with him. They both need slimming down and toning up. However, I’m not leaving you under strength. I’ve got a civilian, very experienced and capable, knows the area. He’ll be seconded to you. He’s a local man."
"Local..! Interrupted Slasher not a bloody P…."
"Stop there, Sergeant." The Captain cut in. "We don’t use the P word and you know it. Any of that talk and you’re busted. We’re trying to be inclusive towards the indigenous population. Hearts and Minds, Sergeant; Hearts and Minds."
Slasher had a vague memory of that expression being used in some forgotten 20th century war. He also remembered the standard response from the sharp-end; something to do with encouraging Hearts and Minds by taking hold of other anatomical parts first. Anyway, whatever the Captain said, this civilian was a bloody Pom and the squad were not going to like that.
"Oh, and by the way, you already know him - it’s Tremlett Dukes……"
"What?’ Slasher was incredulous. "WHAT..!!!" Slasher was enraged. "WHAT THE F-"
"Enough, Sergeant." For the second time, Slasher was interrupted just in time to stop him saying something that would get him demoted.
"He’ll be a great asset. He’s à Territory veteran, an outdoorsman and a great shot. He favours a rifle and none of your squad use one, as I recall. Now I think of it, didn’t you find a scope on your last mission? Perfect, you may as well give it to Tremlett; none of the others can use it. Excellent."
Captain Tomoe studiously ignored Slasher who appeared to be having a seizure.
"Thank you Sergeant - any questions. No? Right, see Lieutenant Langer for maps, transport and so on. Dismissed."

Lieutenant Langer was waiting in his office for Slasher. By the standard of the Security Service, Langer was a spit-and-polish man; he’d even been known to request that subordinates salute him which never failed to raise a laugh. Slasher quite liked Langer and always threw him an approximation of a salute which was appreciated out of all proportion to its quality.

Lieutenant Langer in ‘Listen Up, Soldier’ mode

Langer’s briefing was mainly a repeat of what the captain had already said. The team would be taken by truck to the edge of Stoney Valley. From then on, the terrain was impassable to vehicles so they were on foot, on their own. Their objective, the old stone circle, was almost totally overgrown but its location was on the map so they would have no problem finding it. Langer assumed that, like most members of the Security Squads, Slasher and his Team would have mediocre map-reading skills so he reminded Slasher that they would have the local knowledge of Tremlett to help them find it. This made Slasher swear horribly but not out loud. The approximate location of the abandoned shipping containers was also on the map
"Should be some good stuff for your boys there, Slasher" said Langer, trying to sound enthusiastic.
Slasher merely nodded, making no attempt to mirror the enthusiasm.
"We think this cult have found something: artefact, weapon, hi-tech gizmo, maybe even magic, who can say these days? Whatever it is, we need to take it off them. I say ‘we’. Of course, I mean you. Go and brief the Team, get your stuff together. Truck will pick you up at 04.00 tomorrow. Questions? No? Excellent. Good luck - see you when you get back."

When he got back to the Team, he found that Tremlett Dukes had already joined them. He seemed to be getting on with the rest of them which pissed Slasher off even more than he already was. Even worse, Tremlett was kitted out as a sniper from the Old Army and it turned out that that was what he’d been before The Incident happened and everything changed. This meant he was certainly better trained and more capable than any Security Squad member, not excluding Slasher himself. Nevertheless, he had a job to do and first, he had to brief his Team. As he ran through the details of their mission, he couldn’t help noticing that Tremlett seemed to be quietly amused by something. He vowed that Tremlett’s rôle would be point man when they reached the valley.

Tremlett Dukes - ready for action

scenario outline nd AAR follows



Doug

[Bullshott]

Looking forward to this (probably a lot more than Slasher is)

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Brilliant story, as usual. Looking forward to a report of this latest mission. Tremlett Dukes is looking well 'ally'!

[Spinal Tap]

Can't wait for the AAR.

[Doug ex-em4]

Looking forward to this (probably a lot more than Slasher is)

Things are never easy for Slasher.

Can't wait for the AAR.

Thanks - here we go:


GAME SET UP
I decided that there would be 4 POI which would yield random loot. One of them was known - the abandoned containers. The others would be discovered by triggering "suspicious areas", 20 of which were scattered round the board and marked by counters. Whenever one was triggered by a character coming within 3" or spotting [from afar] I would roll d20 and consult my list. 25% of them were complete blanks. The others resulted in various events including hostiles, environmental events and mystery objects but only 3 of those were Points of Interest/Hot Spots with loot.

The Team consists of: Slasher McKay - (Leader) Veteran, SMG; Chappelli (2i/c) Veteran SMG; Pigeon McGrath Hardened SMG; Wingnut Gilchrist Rookie Shotgun; Tremlett Dukes Veteran Battle Rifle with scope.
Faith Heals has been sent on a strength and conditioning course by Captain Tomoe so is not in the Team



The table. Red spots indicate possible encounter areas



ON WITH THE GAME
Having been dropped off at the end of Stoney Valley, the Team were now on their own. Their entry point was randomly determined by a die roll. This turned out to be roughly in the middle of their base table edge.




As the sun rises in the, er, East, the Team leave their transport and enter the valley



"OK Tremlett, you’re the one with local knowledge so your point. Head for the containers." Slasher took grim pleasure in putting Tremlett up front from the start.






Everyone was aware that the Valley was a weird place and they would probably imagine stuff that wasn’t real and miss things that were. Tremlett leads off towards the containers, the location of which they know. Without even realising it, he triggered a possible encounter. It was a "no event". When he sights the containers he takes up a covering position and triggers another possible event - once again no result.. Chappelli joins him and chucks a stone at the containers. He gets his arm tangled in his equipment and muffs the throw but the stone still hits a container and bounces off with a clang.

Tremlett, who hasn’t been in action for a while, is still organising himself to give cover when 6 rad ghouls erupt from the container dump. Chappelli and Tremlett are in trouble.



The first ghoul attacks Chappelli and the big man has no problem in defeating the brute. It’s a different story with Tremlett. He only has a knife to defend himself with and takes a couple of wounds that lay him out cold. He has enough awareness to apply his med kit but that’s not enough to get him back in his feet.



Chappelli, meanwhile, roaring mad has seen off another ghoul. However the third one to reach him isn’t quite so easy to deal with and Chappell gets locked into an inconclusive melee.




Slasher, Pigeon and Wingnut are too far behind to give immediate assistance


Finally help, in the shape of McGrath, is at hand. Moving up he washes a ghoul with his red dot sight and blows it away. Not far behind is Slasher who takes out another ghoul. In his haste to deal with a tricky situation, he fumbles his gun [critical miss] and loses the chance for another quick shot.





Chappelli gets the initiative in his fight [unpins before his opponent] and deals with the ghoul he’s in melee with before shooting the last enemy at the cost of his gun jamming [critical miss]. Slasher heals Tremlett without much enthusiasm then moves over to the containers where he’s joined by Pigeon McGrath.




 Tremlett gets uncertainly to his feet and takes a while to gather himself [removes 3 Pins] while Chappelli clears the jam in his SMG and Gilchrist joins their group.


When they’ve got themselves sorted out, Tremlett and Chappelli take up covering positions while Pigeon searches the  containers - it’s a task he excels at and this is no exception. He finds salvage which at a glance he values at well over 1000.




To be continued…….

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Great stuff, so far! Tremlett seems to be a little bit rusty!

[CapnJim]

Very interesting.  Last time we heard about Mr. Dukes, he was being led off by the Security Service in shackles.  And now, here he is, working for them.  Although, he doesn't seem to add much value just yet.

Waiting for the next part.  Things could get dicey, depending on what all the squad finds.

[mikedemana]

Enjoying the account, and looking forward to more! Wondering what the arcane rituals may turn out to be... 

Mike Demana

[Doug ex-em4]

Great stuff, so far! Tremlett seems to be a little bit rusty!

Yes, it’s been a few years since he was in action. He had a job squeezing into his old uniform and his fieldcraft and weapons handling are only slowly coming back to him.

Very interesting.  Last time we heard about Mr. Dukes, he was being led off by the Security Service in shackles.  And now, here he is, working for them.  Although, he doesn't seem to add much value just yet.

Waiting for the next part.  Things could get dicey, depending on what all the squad finds.

Yes - as it says in the intro, Slasher was less than happy to have Tremlett foisted on him and to have to gift him the scope they’d found on the previous mission was the last straw.

Enjoying the account, and looking forward to more! Wondering what the arcane rituals may turn out to be... 

Mike Demana

You know what these rituals are like, lots of weird dancing and chanting in all probability.


TO CONTINUE……

Anxious to move on, Chappelli throws a rock at a suspicious patch of undergrowth with the result that a thick cloud erupts from the area. Everyone recognises it as spores from the giant fungi to be found in these despoiled woods. All the Team are out of range of the spores but that doesn’t stop Slasher from bellowing "Keep well away!" One of the weaknesses of Slasher as a leader is his belief in the value of shouting.



Formation dancing fungi…!



Behind the mushrooms and dead ahead of the Team is the stone circle within which is their objective, a dense grove of gnarled trees. The whole circle is overgrown with trees and bushes so not much can be seen of the standing stones themselves or the grove in the centre.





Slasher orders Pigeon and Gilchrist to angle left through some thick, alien-looking undergrowth so as to get round the dangerous poisonous fungi spores.



 Tremlett and Chappelli remain on alert to cover this move.




Once everyone is in position, Slasher takes stock. There are no visible threats. The canopy of the copse in the circle can be seen but the intervening undergrowth prevents a proper assessment of likely dangers. He orders Pigeon and Gilchrist to lob some rocks at it while he, Chappelli and Tremlett cover them. The target is obscured so the throwers are working blind. Gilchrist misses hopelessly but Pigeon lands a little short of the middle of the grove but nevertheless still in it. Hidden from the Team, on the far side of the circle, two separate groups of strangely clad men creep warily from the grove and begin the move round the edge of stones, one group going left and the other, right. They remain out of sight of the Team.







"OK lads, all clear," yells Slasher, inadvisably (and totally inaccurately). His incautious shout alerts the mysterious (and still hidden) figures who are quietly edging close to the Team through the bushes. The poor standards of training and leadership in the Security Squads are once again evident. He does at least take the precaution of ordering Pigeon to  the edge of the circle to check things out. This he does and is unable to see any of the advancing hostiles through the bushes so returns to Slasher and reports "All clear" at which precise point, over to the right, Chappelli opens up with his SMG at a figure sneaking through the bush near the circle. First shot kill! Chappelli then hunkers back down on alert. Seconds later, it’s Tremlett’s turn but he misses and his rifle jams [critical miss].




Slasher finally realises something’s amiss. He orders Gilchrist to go alert [donates an Action to enable him to do this] and then follows suit. Chappelli spots another enemy and shreds him with one burst but when he targets another enemy, his gun jams [first shot was critical hit followed by a bonus action which resulted in a critical miss!].

It is now clear to those of the Team who have spotted their enemy that they are dressed bizarrely in hoods and robes. "Damn," thinks Chappelli "they actually dress like, y’know, cultists just so we know what they are. I have to say, I’m not impressed." Tremlett’s thought processes are on similar lines.


The Exciting (indeed, Thrilling) Denoument follows………

[CapnJim]

Well, at least the squad knows who to shoot at.  Purple robes and hoods makes 'em a dead (for the cultists hopefully...) giveaway.

Waiting to see how this all develops further.   

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Formation dancing fungi…!

Absolutely love it!   

The Cultists are looking damn cool, great report.

[mikedemana]

Love the purple clad cultists!

The Blood Brotherhood from my campaign say they're pulling for them...



Looking forward to the finale!! 

Mike Demana

[Dentatus]

Great battle report. It's good to see those older figs in action. 

[Kourtchatovium104]

Great report! Always interesting to have a detailed background, I like it! 

[Doug ex-em4]

Well, at least the squad knows who to shoot at.  Purple robes and hoods makes 'em a dead (for the cultists hopefully...) giveaway.

Waiting to see how this all develops further.   

These cultists never seem to realise that purple robes aren’t sensible…

Absolutely love it!   

The Cultists are looking damn cool, great report.

Thank you. They are rumoured to be the same memebers of the same cult that terrorised Borsetshire way back in the early 20th century. You may remember them?
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=125080.0

Love the purple clad cultists!

The Blood Brotherhood from my campaign say they're pulling for them...



Looking forward to the finale!! 

Mike Demana

They’re a fine looking bunch of cultitsts

Great battle report. It's good to see those older figs in action. 

Thanks - I like to make use of them and, to be honest, they don’t seem that old to me; maybe because I’m pretty ancient myself

Great report! Always interesting to have a detailed background, I like it! 

Thanks very much - our little group are very hot on background development.




CONTINUATION AND FINALE

There are two separate groups of cultists. One group is heading towards Tremlett and Chappelli and have taken a casualty. The survivors are keeping in cover. The other group headed the opposite way round the copse and are now approaching Slasher, Pigeon and Gilchrist. They are lead by a sword swinging fanatic who suddenly appears opposite Gilchrist who opens up with his auto shotgun but his target is partly obscured in undergrowth and the blast misses him. Even worse, Gilchrist’s gun jams. This has been an all too common occurrence on this mission and points once again to the poor standard of the Team’s training - they’re just not looking after their weapons properly.

Sword swinging fanatic



At about the same time, Slasher spots an enemy and gives him a burst from his SMG. Even though it’s another tricky shot at a target in cover, he scores 2 hits and his target is down.



 But it now seems inevitable that every time a Team member shoots, his gun jams and Slasher is no exception. Things are not looking good; 4 out of 5 operatives fired and 3 of them are now wrestling to clear their weapons. They killed 3 enemy but more are swarming toward them from both sides of the copse. Also, time is running out. This is no place for a small Team to be out at night with no back-up, diminishing ammunition and a tendency to jam their guns!



Tremlett is first to get his gun clear, just in time to spot a cultist who appears to be armed with a Thompson SMG; maybe not the latest thing in guns but it could cause a lot of pain if he gets the chance to hose down the Team. Tremlett has good line-of-sight. As a veteran of the Old Army, Tremlett has a cooler head than the rest of the Team. He makes no mistake and the tommy-gunner is despatched efficiently. And glory be - Tremlett’s gun doesn’t jam. He’s ready to deal with any more cultists who appear.



Chappelli is next to get his weapon ready. He has no visible targets so takes up a position covering the likely line of enemy approach.

Slasher gets his gun clear then shouts encouragement to Gilchrist who responds quickly, clears his jam and takes another shot at the swordsman. This time he makes no mistake. The cultists makeshift armour is useless against the blast of the shotgun and he is uncompromisingly blown away. However, guess what, Gilchrist’s gun jams…! More "helpful advice" from Slasher and Gilchrist clears his weapon in record time. As he is doing this, another cultist appears and makes straight for him but Pigeon, who has been waiting for an opportunity to join the action, opens up with his SMG and scores a couple of deadly hits. Having gained time by Pigeon having given him vital cover, Gilchrist is ready when a cultist races from the undergrowth and charges into him. There’s no-one in the team that can intervene so it’s Gilchrist mano-a-mano with a crazed cultist. The cultist has a pistol and a heavy, metal case which he wields as a club. However, Gilchrist has a loaded shotgun so the result is not in doubt. Another dead cultist to Gilchrist’s credit.

Gilchrist is faced by a cultist who appears to be politely offering him a present. He isn’t!


Meanwhile, another cultist, armed with a flamethrower, appears at the edge of the wood, behind the patch of giant mushrooms.



 Chappelli has a clear shot but Tremlett’s line of sight is blocked by the mushrooms. Chappelli keeps cool and calm and slots the flamethrower man 4 times, 3 of the hits being critical. That’s going to be nasty; yes indeed. The flamethrower canister explodes majestically, the operator is vaporised and, as a bonus, the deadly mushroom patch is obliterated.



 Amidst all this chaos, a machete-armed cultist bursts from the undergrowth and rushes Tremlett who gets off a couple of shots. One hits but the second is a critical failure. The damned rifle is jammed again. However, the first shot is enough to settle the cultist and Tremlett is the winner of that little contest.




The wave of cultists seems to have abated but time is running out. To be caught in the valley after dark was a one way ticket to oblivion. Slasher has to make a decision. He needs to try and secure the main objective which is in the middle of the stone circle. He decides to order Chappelli and Tremlett to make a dash for their objective in the middle of the stone circle and neutralise whatever the cultists have stashed there. He’s taking a risk - a generous observer may call it a calculated risk. He’s gambling that all the cultists have been dealt with and that there’s no other guardian of The Secret to challenge the two veterans. At the same time, he, along with Pigeon and Gilchrist, move to secure the escape route so that Chappelli and Tremlett will have a clear path to safety.

Amazingly, all went according to plan. Chappelli and Tremlett got to the centre of the stone circle, found the objective - a curious object that looks like a hi-tech gizmo on wheels - ("Think we’ve found ourselves a banker here, mate" grunted Chappelli) and successfully carried it back to the start line, their route secured by the rest of the team.

Chappelli and Tremlett secure the objective

The truck was waiting for them at the rendezvous
"Good job, lads, said Slasher as they climbed aboard, "we should do well out of this job."

Which just goes to show how wrong you can be….

so it’s back to base; check out gains and losses and find out what the next mission will be.

Doug