Below is a random events system I use to liven up miniatures scenarios set in Vietnam.

The rules I use employ a 1:1 figure scale; each inch is equal to five meters on the ground. The typical size of a US/Allied force is one platoon of 24-36 men, organized into 3-4 squads of 9-12 men each. Each player handles one squad. Players represent the US/Allied side; the Communist side is run by the Referee.

Victory goes to the side which earns a preponderance of Victory Points (VP); if the US side wins, an additional comparison is made to determine which player contributed the most to victory. The overall winner is the US player whose squad accrued the highest number of VP.

Scenarios include Patrol; Village Search; Convoy Escort; Hostage Rescue; Defense of a Firebase; Heliborne Assault; Tunnel Rats; and Riverine Assault. Each scenario features Operational Turns, during which US/Allied troops are out of contact with the enemy, and Tactical Turns, which consist of combat and its immediate aftermath. Action on the table during a scenario may toggle back and forth between Operational and Tactical Turns, depending on the players' objectives and the outcome of combat. The Random Events (REs) shown below are most appropriate for use in the first four types of scenarios -- that is, ones in which a fair number of Operational Turns can be expected to occur prior to the point at which "all hell breaks loose."

The following rules apply to the introduction of random events into Vietnam scenarios:

1. The effects of REs must be moderated through a Referee.
2. The Referee must decide at the outset of play how often REs will have a chance to occur: will they be drawn for every turn, every other turn, or every third turn? [NOTE: I find that drawing for an RE on every other Operational Turn works best].
3. REs should be drawn for only if, at the beginning of the turn, there are no firefights or other combat actions in progress. These are turns corresponding to the Operational Turns featured in my system. Both players and Referee have enough to do once the shooting starts, without worrying about Random Events!
4. REs are drawn for at the start of each designated turn, before any other actions take place.
5. The Referee draws for REs from a standard 52-card deck, Jokers excluded. Only Clubs result in REs; Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds mean "No Event." Since a given card draw will thus result in the actual occurrance of an RE only about 25 percent of the time, a period of Operations eight turns long should result in two REs, on average.
6. REs affect only the US/Allied side. Usually, a given RE affects only one of the several Allied squads which may be present on the table. The Referee chooses which unit is affected randomly, or as directed in the RE description itself.
7. Discard all cards drawn so that they cannot be repeated during play [EXCEPTION: the RE card codes shown underlined;these can be repeated during play]. An RE card which has an effect stretching over several turns, or which has a contingent effect, is iven to the player controlling the US/Allied soldier or group involved, to act as a memory aid for both the player and Referee.
8. A few REs are worth US/Allied Victory Points directly. As soon as they are drawn, the number of VPs shown is earned by the US/Allied player whose man or squad is influenced by. or first to act upon. the Event. The amount earned may be negative, representing an immediate VP loss. A few other Events dictate conditions which must be fulfilled in order for US/Allied Victory Points to be earned.
9. Portions of an RE Description in bold are those which remain the Referee's privileged information for all or part of the time the encounter remains "live."
10. As used below, the word "platoon" shall denote equivalently the word "squad" and vice versa, as appropriate.

    Card Event

    Only Clubs result in random events: other suits are "no effect." Discard after use EXCEPT for italicized cards (i.e. 3C, 6C, 7C, and JC).

    A-C A US/ALLIED SOLDIER MAN FINDS an obviously ancient, solid gold Chinese coin, standing upright in the earth and half-exposed by recent rains. The next Fire Effect (potential damage) to which the bearer of this coin would normally be subject hits the coin instead, with no effect on the bearer. The coin is destroyed instantly. There are no other such coins in the area.

    2-C MOISTUPE HAS INVADED A GRENADE. Tell the players that this Event does not apply. However, the next hand grenade or RPG thrown or fired (by either side) is automatically a dud. Keep this card until then as a reminder.

    3-C LIGHT RAIN BEGINS TO FALL throughout the table area. Visibility effects are inconsequential, but audibility of movement on foot or by nonmotorized light vehicle is cut by 50 percent. If it is already raining when this card is drawn, the rain ends and audibility returns to normal.

    4-C A LONE YOUNG PIG has taken an interest in the platoon and begins trailing along behind it at a distance of about 15 meters. He approaches readily if beckoned and can be picked up and carried (both hands) by any JS/Allied soldier. He stands stock-still if gunfire or explosions are heard, and disappears into the brush should shooting break out or shells impact within 75 meters. He will continue to follow the squad unless killed, frightened away by gunfire, or conciously shooed away (in the latter two cases, replace this card in the Event Deck -- he could be back!). The little porker becomes visibly agitated when any Communist soldier (only) is within 50 meters of him -- 20 meters if it is raining. Vietnamese civilians who are secretly VC affect him similarly. He has no other special abilities, obeys no commands, cannot be trained, and cannot carry anything or make attacks.

    5-C A US/ALLIED SOLDIER FINDS A FLATTENED CHICKEN COOP made of light wood and baling wire. The hinged lid of the coop consists of a weathered wooden plank which has been heavily pockmarked -- as if by shrapnel. Faded red stencils on the underside of the lid read: "Caution! Mines!" in English, French, and Vietnamese. This plank was transported from some distance to build the coop. There are no mines in the immediate area.

    6-C US/ALLIED WEAPON MALFUNCTIONS. The next US/Allied soldier attempting to discharge an AUTOMATIC or SEMIAUTOMATIC firearm or SUPPORT WEAPON suffers a Jam result and must spend one complete Tactical Turn unjamming the weapon for it to function further. Choose the weapon jammed randomly if more than one such weapon is fired on the same turn.

    7-C VC/NVA WEAPON MALFUNCTIONS. The next Communist soldier attempting to discharge an AUTOMATIC or SEMIAUTOMATIC firearm or SUPPORT WEAPON suffers a Jam result and must spend one complete Tactical Turn unjamming the weapon for it to function further. Choose the weapon jammed randomly if more than one VC/NVA weapon is fired on the same turn.

    8-C A RANDOM US/ALLIED SOLDIER ENCOUNTERS A PUNGI PIT. Handle the Spotting procedure to avoid this (solitary) trap, and any subsequent damage, per the Booby Trap rules you use.

    9-C A SWARM OF LOCUSTS suddenly engulfs a random platoon member and everything within ten scale inches of him. Portions of any Lines of Sight/Fire which traverse the affected area are treated as if they were two inches long for every one inch of measured length. Movement of personnel and non-buttoned vehicles is similarly halved. Weapons fire and all other actions (including melee) are at half normal chance "to hit" within the cloud. The locusts disperse at the conclusion of the second turn of effect.

    10-C 5 VP. A SOLDIER GROWS SUSPICIOUS of a tree stump sitting slightly askew near his line of march. If he eases it over, he reveals a narrow pit entrance to an apparent tunnel. NOTE: The 5 VP is earned only if a US/Allied soldier who has seen this entrance leaves (or, at end, can be reasonably expected to be able to leave) the table alive. For purposes of this scenario, the tunnel cannot be entered.

    J-C A NOISY, COLORFUL GAGGLE OF TROPICAL BIRDS suddenly flutters out of the jungle directly above the Communist soldier presently nearest, in table inches, to a US/Allied soldier. All hidden VC/NVA notice this.

    Q-C A TINY VIETNAMESE GIRL in ragged clothing emerges from the jungle within 4" of an American chosen at random by the Referee. She runs up to the American, wraps herself around his leg and says, as if repeating something she has heard a thousand times, "USA numba one; VC numba ten! I wan' go home wi' you." Tears course down her muddy cheeks. She knows no other English. At the end of each turn, she must if possible be in base-to-base contact with the person whom she first contacted. Upon his death or incapacitation, she will be automatically befriended by the American nearest to her at that instant. She is worth no VP, cannot be abandoned, shooed away, or intentionally mistreated by the Americans, and basically acts as an incompetent dependent for the contacted soldier (and his companions) for the duration of the scenario. Her death, however it occurs, counts against US victory just as that of a GI would. The little girl will lie still if an adult holds her down; otherwise she covers her ears with both hands and stumbles around aimlessly, grimacing, during a firefight. While Communist troops will not preferentially target her, neither will they go out of their way to avoid sending fire in her direction if it is tactically advantageous to do so.

    K-C AN AMERICAN PHOTOJOURNALIST pants into view about 100 meters behind the platoon's line of march. Upon Spotting the senior remaining US/Allied leader, he jogs to the location of that soldier and asks consent to "hang around" the edge of the action, taking pictures. If permission is granted, he stands in the open within 20 meters of the platoon member who appears to be engaged in the most interesting or controversial activity (Referee' 5 discretion). He is completely exposed at all times while snapping away. If permission is refused, he crouches in cover within 100 meters of the latter soldier and begins taking (telephoto) pictures, anyway. He will not leave the table while any US/Allied soldier is on it and he himself is alive and unwounded. His intended photographic subject can change from turn to turn, depending on what he sees the US/Allied soldiers doing. NOTE: The injury, death, or capture of this photojournalist counts against the unit belonging to the senior US/Allied leader present at the time he asked permission.

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    © Copyright 1996 Hal Thinglum

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