Double Header Wargaming
Ed's Night Actions and the Opossum
Written by Tom Ballou
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The game was done in a darkened room with black lights. Guys peering into the darkness trying to discern figures. When they fired, they had to put down 6-inch dowels painted day-glow orange. Everyone and his dog on the table then knew the location of the shooter. Better hope you weren't firing at a bush! The trick thing of the game besides its novel (and very simple mechanics) was that the Russians were trying to open the floodgate of the dam and flood the valley (and damn those Russian Jaegers were tough tosee!). The stream and dam were actual water! In the darkness it looked like glossy epoxy, but a guy fired and his rod floated down stream! When the Russians opened the floodgates the actual valley on the table would flood, drowning all the 25mm figures! You should have seen it. Boy it sucked to be the German troops with the white pants. --- Some other details, they also had a lantern on a tree near the base of the bridge, a campfire, and lantern in the Sergeant's tent. These where dimly glowing bulbs that could backlight figures. You could kick out the fire, or blow out the lanterns, (if you thought of it) and they would be turned off. Another feature of the game was the road and bridge, they used a light colored gravel for the road any figure who attempted to cross the bridge could clearly be seen as a dark shape on the light roadway. Cool game mechanics, they took a 1.5" piece of angle iron and flocked it. When a figure wanted to kneel, the iron was laid in front of the figure on its side, covering about 50% of the figure (hiding the white pants of the Westphaliens). To go prone, the iron was set on end covering the figure making it look like a bush. Also they had lighted dice boxes on each end of the table so you could roll your dice and see them. Each player had to wear a hat with a painted day-glow number on it to help the GM's identify them. Play was done by having each side turn away while the other moved. Players only commanded 2 figures. Each figure was based on a "L" shaped stand with the bottom of the "L" facing the player, this was coated with some day-glow green paint so that you could spot your own figs by the dim glow of the paint. Some of the cool effects that they didn't have time for was the thunderstorm. They were going to have a boxes set up in the corners with stencils of lighting flashes and xenon strobes. So at random times the room would be flashed brightly and everyone cold see the table, too bad they also lost their night vision. They had brought a PC with them with sampled .wav files of thunder, rifle shots, hooting owls, just for color. They just didn't have time to set it up. When people shot they placed the day-glow rod in the direction they wanted to shoot. Then both sides turned away and the GMs would confirm there was a target. Then the player would dice to hit, at the declared range. Some of the confirmed targets were trees and bushes. SCENARIO TWO
VERSION 1: Wargamer's AAR Version Analysis using the WWII wargame "BattleGround" by Peter Mancini ***Scenario Order of Battle*** German:
French: 1x Veteran Trooper
Turn 1. Veteran Trooper encounters enemy opossum (must be German because it is in Grey, that would make the Trooper French because he is in blue.) The possum appears to have a heavy wound and is getting triage from a UN* unit. (* Undeniably Nuts) Turn 2. The French side orders the UN Medical Unit to leave. Oddly they even admit openly about the atrocity they are preparing to commit on the wounded German. The UN unit exits the board. Turn 3. Veteran French Trooper illuminates the target after checking for crossfire and collateral casualties risk. The Veteran French Militia engages with 9mm Para. Range is Point-Blank, base to hit is 16 or less on a D20. Aimed shot makes it 18 or less. Target is hit and a roll is made on the G column of the effects chart. Modifiers are -2 for point-blank, -1 for on road, -2 for aimed shot, +2 for target prone for a total of 3. Militia rolls a 14 (actual result 11) and the result is suppression. The German possum is forced prone (well, it started that way so no effect.) Turn 4. The German Possum, (rated as expert at "Playing Possum"), shows that in fact it was not Heavily Wounded but only lightly wounded. It only has one action, which it uses to move into better cover. At this point the French player continues to illuminate the German with the flashlight while the militia starts to panic and "open up" on the position. No longer firing aimed shots and now with cover to deal with the "to hit" roll goes to 12 or less (effective range). The Militia still manages to get a couple of hits into the target. The effects modifiers are now Brush (+1). Again on the G column we get the following rolls: 17(+1) = 18, No Effect, and 6(+1) = 7 Morale check. The German player easily passes the morale check. Turn 5. The German Possum wins initiative again and moves deeper into cover with his one action. Flustered at the German's ability to shake off wounds, the French again fire on the position. Same chance to hit (12), both actions result in hits. Now, however the check for effects modifier is Light Woods (+3). The rolls are 15(+3) = 18 No Effect and 1 (+3) = 4 Light Wound. The German passes morale and uses a special free action: play dead. Turn 6. The French player, fooled by the "death rattle," exits the battlefield. Turn 7. The German player moves into the woods to lick wounds after achieving total victory. VERSION 2. THE "LITERAL" STORY
Last night, I pull up behind a local police officer who is just getting out of his cruiser. There is a woman on the side of the road holding a large, let me say this again, LARGE possum. It has been hit by a car. Not by her, but someone else. She called the police and then exited her car. She picked up the struck animal and was holding it in her arms giving it comfort as it was bleeding and twitching. Now, I know some of you might want to do this, but let me advise against it. Please remember that it is a WILD animal, an injured WILD animal. This injured/wounded WILD animal has very sharp teeth and claws. In addition, it is probably not thinking too clearly after recently getting run over. Contrary to what some might think, I too do not like to see animals suffer, (I don't torture small animals either, well, maybe a cat every now and then). That doesn't mean I want to have this thing bite, claw or in any other way maul me. I don't need to suffer with it to feel its pain. After much discussion, we convinced the motorist that it would be best if we shot the animal and put it out of it's misery. She then told the animal that it was going to be ok and that the pain would be gone soon. She placed the possum on the ground and got back into her vehicle. During the whole time, I don't believe she was scratched or bitten once, but that's not a chance I'm gonna take. We then advised her it would be best if she left the scene after assuring her that it would quick. Now here's where the story gets weird! Myself and the local officer are going to send this animal on to its rest. I light it up with my flashlight so he can get a good shot. The possum is laying on the ground, we've got a good back stop for the bullets, everything is a GO. He fires one shot and hits it clean in the chest area. The possum turns and starts to move away, so he shoots it a second time. At this the animal stops moving and is laying on the ground breathing. We're going to stick around until the animal is dead and stops breathing. After about a minute or two, the possum gets up on all four legs and starts walking towards the woods! I keep it lit up and 2 more rounds are fired into it. Both rounds hit and the possum again collapses on the ground, bleeding from 4, yes 4 gunshot wounds and injuries from being hit by the car. Its breathing is slow and we feel that it won't be long before it is gone. Then it happens again. This THING, gets up! This is turning into some scene from the X-Files! It won't die! It starts walking towards the woods again on all four legs. 2 more shots into it and the beast starts its death rattle. It expires a few minutes later after being struck by a car and 6 9mm shots! So much for our promise of it being a quick mercy killing. The local officer and I were amazed. I then said aren't you glad it was a car-struck opossum and not a jumped-up crack head with a machete. Gives you an idea on the stopping power of a 9mm and why cops shoot so many shots when their lives are in danger. I could go into why the US Government introduced the .45 Colt Auto to replace the .38, but that's a story for another time. Peter Mancini wrote: Um, Pete, ever consider the fact that this critter was merely lightly wounded (they are known to play dead) and would have survived the minor scrape with the car? Back to Veteran Campaigner August 2001 Table of Contents Back to Veteran Campaigner List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by Pete Panzeri. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com |