Scenario for Two Hour Wargames: Péter and the Wolves

Here is a little treat for some of you!  Lately, I have been ‘cleaning’ up my computer files, mainly reorganizing and renaming files, to get rid of duplicate files and find things more efficiently.  Today, I came across this scenario that I wrote up years ago and forgot about.  I cleaned it up a little, but it is mostly unchanged.  I might one day update it to the work with the current Two Hour Wargames’ systems.  I never play-tested it, so if anyone ever uses it, let me know how it went.  Unfortunately, I probably never use it as I sold off most of my 28mm figures that would be needed for this scenario. 

Sapper

Scenario: Péter and the Wolves

Chain Reaction v. 2

Combat de Jacques André Portefaix et de ses compagnons contre la Bête du Gévaudan

Opening scene:

“Péter!  Péter!” could be heard through the dark Eastern European forest coming from a band of men carrying torches and weapons.  Even with the full moon shining above, the low lying fog was so heavy that even the light of the torches seemed surreal.

As the boy shivered in the cold behind a tree, he was not sure if they were the Gypsies that chased him into the forest or if they were men from his local village looking for him.  All he could see was the glow of the torches from the path that they were on.  At first he wanted to run to them as he thought he recognized one of the voices, but then he decided to wait until he could see them better.  As he waited, the fear swelled greater and greater in him as they approached.  He decided to run away and try to find a better hiding spot where he could see them, but they could not see him.

As he settled in his new hiding spot, Péter saw something moving in the darkness, off to one side.  It appeared to be something big and furry.  It look like a wolf, but is looked much bigger then any wolf he has ever seen before. It was moving very stealthily towards him.  It would move a little bit and stop while hunching down.  As terror froze Péter in place, he watched in horror at the wolf slowly crawling towards him.  His eyes darted over to the band of men calling his name and back at the thing edging towards him.  That is when Péter noticed that there was more than one wolf!  They were all closing in on him.

Péter decided that the band of men, even if they were Gypsies, were not the worst of fates.   That is when Péter screamed louder then he has ever screamed before…

Summary and Objective:

A band of men from a village are looking for Péter, a small boy that has gone missing in the forest.  Fearing that wild animals or a band of Gypsies may have done harm to him, they are going armed.  The villagers were also able to get the local police to assist in the search.  The object of the villagers is to find Péter and exit the gaming table.

Gaming Table:

The table should be heavily wooded with some hills and a few open areas.  At least one foot path should be present.  A creek and some rock croppings could also be present. 

Villagers:

Depending on the number of players, up to four figures could be “Stars” with the remaining being “Leaders”:  The Huntsman, the Police Sergeant, the Blacksmith, and the Mayor.  These men have a mob of other village men to support them.

Huntsman:  Rep 5; Armed with an axe and a crossbow.

Police Sergeant:  Rep 4; Armed with a black powder pistol and sword.  He also carries a lantern.

Blacksmith: Rep 4; Armed with a large hammer and does extra damage due his muscles

Mayor:  Rep 4; Armed with a black powder pistol and sword.

Mob: This should be a band of 10 to 20 men variously armed with clubs, muskets, axes, bows, pitchforks, torches, etc.  I suggest that no more than a quarter be armed with the same weapon.  Their Rep will be mostly 3, but a small number could be 2.

Péter:

Rep 2 and Unarmed; Base move is 8”.  Peter has special Reaction Charts (see below.)  

Peter sets up randomly on the board but no closer then 16” from the villagers and 16” of the adversaries.  There should also be a minimum of two “fake” Péter counters that will react as the same as the “real” Péter for reactions.  These are to force the villages to decide on their search options. 

Péter’s Reaction Charts 

Insight Chart for seeing the Villagers

2d6 – Péter is convinced that is a band of men from the village.  He will start moving towards them when he has his turn.  He needs not to take another Reaction test to identify the villagers.  If the villagers are under attack, Péter will either try to run to the closest villager not in combat or wait were he is at if he is not able to reach the closest villager in one move. 

1d6 – Péter is not sure if they are men from his village.  He will wait where he is at “Hidden”, and watch them on next turn.  If they are within one move of him, he will move away from them, but will not be “Hidden” for the next turn. 

0d6 – Péter is convinced that they are Gypsies!  He will move away from them and will be immediately “Hidden” after his move.  He will get to roll again for making another Insight reaction test for the Villagers.

Insight Chart for seeing the “Wolves”

2d6 – Péter is scared, but has some sense about him.  He will scream (can be heard up to 24”) and will run towards the villagers, if he had already identified them, or away from both if he did not recognize the villagers.

1d6 – Péter is frightened, but has some sense about him.  He can’t scream, but he will run immediately away from the “Wolves”. 

0d6 – Péter is terrified!  He can not scream and can’t move!  He will remain “Hidden.”  This reaction overrides any reactions on the “Insight Chart for seeing the Villagers.”

The “Wolves” 

Who are the “Wolves”?  Well, as the Game Master, you can have several different options... 

The “Wolves” are the Gypsies!  A gang of Gypsy bandits spotted young Péter after they committed a horrible crime to some lonely travelers in the woods.  They are after Péter to kill him and prevent him from telling the local police about their crimes.  They are wearing wolves’ pelts to disguise themselves and cause fear to lonely travelers.  When the villagers showed up to find Péter, they decide to ambush the villagers to plunder them or discourage them from pursuing their murderous little band deeper into the forest.

Another option is that the “Wolves” are really a pack of wolves!!!  The wolves are very hungry and desperate for food as the forest has been over hunted by the nearby villages.  So the wolves have taken to hunting men for food.  They will try to find Péter, but when they spot the villagers, they will try to kill the “weaker” ones from the “herd”. 

Finally, the “Wolves” could be a werewolf or a small pack of werewolves that were prowling the forest on this full moon night.  The werewolves caught the scent of Péter and were hunting him down for a meal, when they caught the scent of the villagers.  They will not attack Péter as they are more concern about attacking the villagers to prevent them from discovering their lair and because they are armed, whereas Péter is not armed.  If they are successful in killing the villagers or forcing them out of the forest, then they can go back to hunting down Péter.  In this scenario, you could also have the Gypsies be either a secondary group that may be either “good guys” or “bad guys” as well.  Maybe the Gypsies still want to kill Péter but now the werewolves are hunting them as well, or maybe the Gypsies were actually killing a werewolf in human form which was what Péter saw and now they want to help save him from the werewolves too!  If you go this route, only the "Stars" have silver / blessed weapons that can kill the werewolves.  Everyone else can only stun or knock down a werewolf.

Inspiration:

I have been thinking about running a similar scenario of a mob hunting down a monster as that could be an interesting game after buying the West Wind’s Gothic Horror line miniatures of the Transylvanian mobs and Eastern European Police.  Matter of fact, this scenario was designed specifically for those figures.

Good Luck and Happy Hunting!

Whimsical Wednesday

Sorry I still don't have anything to post, work has been eating my time and just not a whole lot of anything has been going on with me or my hobbies.

Anyway, I leave you with these pictures to think about...

It's good to be the bear!

Whimsical Wednesday...Are you ready for the end of the world, again?

Ragnarok: One Month Left Before Viking Apocalypse Ends Life on Earth

 

By Hannah Osborne | IB Times Wed, Jan 22, 2014

Link Source

 
There is just one month left before the Viking apocalypse is upon us, at which point the nine worlds of the cosmos will be destroyed in a cataclysmic event. Ragnarok, or the end of the world, will begin when the wolf, Fenrir, son of Loki, breaks out of his prison. A chain reaction will then take place, with the Midgard snake Jormungand rising from the sea and a wolf devouring the sun.

These events will accumulate in a huge battle, where the Gods, mankind and all races from the nine worlds will fight.

According to the Jorvic Viking Festival, which takes place in York every February, these events were prophesied by Odin, who had hung himself from Yggdrasill, the world tree, for nine days so he could die and be re-born with wisdom and foresight.

"The wisdom acquired by Odin allowed him to see the events of Ragnarok enabling him to plan for the end of the world, including rounding up all the Vikings heroes who died in battle to Valhalla, his great hall where they would feast and wait for the end of the world and the battle to end all battles," festival organisers explain.

When the world ends, the Sun's beams will turn to black and the weather will become treacherous: "Brothers will fight and kill each other, sisters' children will defile kinship. It is harsh in the world, whoredom rife - an axe age, a sword age - shields are riven - a wind age, a wolf age - before the world goes headlong. No man will have mercy on another," a prophetic poem says.

Normally, the Viking festival of Jolablot takes place every 22 February to mark the end of winter. However, this year it also coincides with Ragnarok. But will the world really end one month from today?

"No one can say for certain – we have only interpreted the myths as best we can. What we do know for certain is that the Vikings loved to feast and wouldn't want to miss an event like this!"

Some have even suggested Ragnarok has already happened, with prophecies being fulfilled in recent world events. In Norse mythology, it says: "Boundaries that exist shall crumble." Some have interpreted this as the global rise of social media and the apparent non-existence of internet security.

The Migard Serpent has also been linked to two giant oarfish that were washed up on a shore in California a few months ago.

The Jorvik Viking Festival is expected to attract around 40,000 people to York, with the celebrations running from 15 February.

Danielle Daglan director of the festival, said: "Ragnarok is the ultimate landmark in Viking mythology, when the gods fall and die, so this really is an event that should not be underestimated."

So don your helmets, bite your shield, and sound the horn!  We soon may have to fight side by side at the Rainbow bridge!  And to get your blood flowing...

Sapper

Update - February

Well, I have been busy with work mainly and have not been keeping up with things.  This entry basically an update for where I am at and what have I done.

On my reading goal, I am just over half way through "War of the White Death", but I have not been reading for the last week and a half.  I am hoping to get some reading in over the weekend.

Kickstarters / Indiegogo projects:  Currently I am support a few that I would like to mention here:

Machinas - Death Races in the Wasteland:  This is an Indiegogo project by Two Hour Wargames.  It looks interesting as it designed to be played in sort of minimalistic manner for space required.  While it is more in line of Death Race 2000, for weapons, I am hoping to use it more in line of chase scenes from Mad Max and The Road Warrior using 1/64th cars, as well as the opening scene from Quantum of Solace using 1/43rd or 1/72nd scale cars.  There is about two weeks left on it, so give it a look.

Knights of the Dinner Table: Live Action Series: This is Kickstarter project to do a live action show based off of the long running comic based around a group of role-players.  While this is not miniature wargaming related, I am also a RPG'er and find the stories quite funny.  Matter of fact, I still remember buy issues #1 & #2 at gaming store where I went to college in 1996!  I have been reading it ever since.  So you could say that I am one of the longest running fans.  This Kickstarter has made it to its goal to do a 60 minute movie, but still needs more funding to become a series.  There is less then two days left.

Ravenfell 28mm Fantasy Village: This is a Kickstarter by Fat Dragon Games to put out a lovely 28mm paper terrain village that can be disassembled and stored flat.  Well it is designed for fantasy gaming, it has a lovely Tudor style to it and can be used for historical gaming as well.  Since it will be pdf files, you can easily scale the printing and use it for 15mm or 20mm too!  There is about two weeks left.  If they can raise another $15K, they will be releasing a Viking village as well! (As well as tying into my Whimsical Wednesday too!)

For gaming purchases, I ordered TFL's Chain of Command: At The Sharp End campaign supplement, but have not had a chance to read it yet.  I also ordered some 20mm vehicles from Oxford Diecast and B.W. Models, but have not received them yet either. 
 

Finally, I broke down and bought into another 28mm project...sigh!  I pre-ordered the North Star / Osprey's, A Fistful of Kung-Fu miniature rules & miniatures, including the limited edition not Kirk Russell in a John Carpenter's movie.  I am planning to go more in the line of John Woo movies like A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled with the project.  I am also hoping that with a minor tweak or two, this would also work for James Bond or Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, or RocknRolla style movie games.

Oh!  If all goes well, I will be doing my first game of the year on 2/22...20mm Falklands using TFL's Chain of Command.

For a moment of Zen, here is the trailer for Hard Boiled:

Sapper