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Post by brunop on Jan 11, 2022 12:05:50 GMT
I set out trying to find a wargame, but now I’m leaning toward the rpg. I must say my favorite video games of all time are Mass Effect, and X-com.
In MAss Effect, I usually play with the lowest difficulty since I am much more interested in the awesome story than the combat. So it seems 5150 would be right up my alley.
Now if I was to compare the actual differences between the RPG and Star Army, it’s that in Star Army there are less tools to create a story, and more tools to simulate combat?
Am I right? Because from my understanding, both can be used to create a narrative.
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Post by soypunk on Jan 11, 2022 15:35:54 GMT
But the rules include a special table called Challenge, and it can be anything you want it to be! Want to climb over a barbed wire fence? Challenge! Want to sneak past a guard? Challenge! Thanks for reminding me the the Challenge rules are good way to not only expand the game but also simplify things when you are learning new rules or perhaps don't want to do the page flipping to work out the specifics in a particular moment.
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Post by easyeight on Jan 11, 2022 15:42:46 GMT
<q>Another question about the RPG. Can it handle some spy story, with infiltration and the like?</q>
Easily! In addition to what davidlhsl said, there are some missions that lend themselves well to spy stories -- like Raid (from a smash & grab to an infiltration to get something), or Find (you're seeking information), and the system tells you where you need to go to do the mission. It could be, for example, what you want is in a secure database, so you can make a Hacking attempt to get the info, etc.
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Post by squidlord on Jan 11, 2022 16:04:30 GMT
Now if I was to compare the actual differences between the RPG and Star Army, it’s that in Star Army there are less tools to create a story, and more tools to simulate combat? Am I right? Because from my understanding, both can be used to create a narrative. That's not quite the case. You might be better served thinking of the target for the text: New Beginnings has mechanics which largely focus on things on the scale of individuals to small groups, the number of people in your typical adventuring party, and enemy groups/oppositional groups of equal size and slightly less complexity. You can run things which are larger but sometimes the mechanics can be a little clunky as you start moving out of that space. Star Army, on the other hand, tends to have mechanics which focus on larger groups, from fire teams up, making it easier to manage them as more abstract clusters than strictly individual. There is obviously some overlap, but the scale is larger – including vehicles, mecha, etc. "Narrative" as being used here is probably a little wrong. Narrative is just what happens when we tell other people what happened to us. It's a story. There are stories about large groups of people, war stories, histories, etc. There are stories about small groups of people, character studies, the stories told around a campfire by war bands. All of these are narratives, they only differ in kind, not quality. NB creates narratives which largely focus on individuals and small groups. SA creates narratives which focus on larger groups, companies, the progress of wars, etc. Each of them can encompass stories which are wider than their basic focus, of course, but the game mechanics mostly help you form coherent narratives of the appropriate scale.
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Post by brunop on Jan 11, 2022 16:17:47 GMT
I went ahead and tried an encounter using the free Chain Reaction 2018. Some rules were a bit less clear for me, but overall I am quite surprised by the experience. The fight was quite cinematic and evocative despite being essentially some dice rolling with decisions limited to selecting your targets.
A narrative spontaneously sprung in my head while playing. Something I had never really experienced before in my quest for a wargame/rpg
My Police Star and his 2 partners Mike and Kelly (first rules question: not sure how my partners are supposed to be generated) went to confront his nemesis: Bob, the drug dealer and his 3 henchmen (Ben, Bill and Bucky). (first rules question: not sure how my partners are supposed to be generated)
We met outside a building, on their home turf so they had the advantage and activated first.
Ben shot at Mike, Bob shot at my Star, Bill shot at Kelly and Bucky, decided to shoot at my Star (Second rules question, is that how it works, each character must be targeted once before it can be targeted a second time?). I decided not to spread the shots to keep things simple.
Result: Duck back for Mike Obviously Dead for my Star, but my Star Power reduced that to duck back Out of the fight for Kelly And Bucky missed
My team passed the will to fight test and they remained to fight
MY team is now active, recover from Duck back and is in cover.
Mike target Ben and Bob and the Star target Bob and Bill
Mike misses both shots (Forgot the return fire from both targets, oops) Star kills Bob, and Bill is out of the fight.
Seeing their leader dispatched so easily (will to fight test), the rest of the band flee.
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Post by infierno on Jan 11, 2022 17:39:24 GMT
Yep, THW encounters tend to just write themselves. For your first question, with regards to Chain Reaction it's basically however you want. Most rulesets have a table for generating individual NPCs, but CR doesn't, so there's really no wrong answer. If I want to randomize an individual NPC I roll 1d6 for Rep and 1d6 for Weapon: 1 - 3 = 3 Rep 4 - 5 = 4 Rep 6 = 5 Rep 1 - 3 = Pistol (P-1) 4 - 5 = Big A$$ Pistol (B-2) 6 = Automatic (A-3) For your second question, it looks like you did it correctly.
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Post by Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy on Jan 11, 2022 20:33:27 GMT
Sounds like you did well. FYI - If you score a return Fire, resolve the fire before any Will to Fight tests are taken. Hope this helps.
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Post by brunop on Jan 11, 2022 21:20:37 GMT
Just bought 5150 NEw Beginnings. PDf version since I live in Canada and shipping almost double the price.
Thanks everyobdy
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Post by Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy on Jan 11, 2022 21:27:24 GMT
I know. USPS just went up on their prices and it's crazy. You could print the color stuff - Battle Boards and Counters on color cardstock and still save lots of money on postage.
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Post by karl on Jan 12, 2022 10:29:26 GMT
Indeed, "Chain Reaction" is a good way to start: www.twohourwargames.com/chainreaction.htmlAs a free set of introductory rules it has all the basic mechanisms of THW, including solo rules. A good way to see if you like the system. Note that the PDF has two versions of the rules. The 2015 version is for a 3' by 3' tabletop game, including movement, and 2018 is more RPG-like, with encounters done a smaller "BAttle Board".
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Post by brunop on Jan 13, 2022 2:08:36 GMT
I’ve begun reading the New Beginnings book and I must say it’s a bit overwhelming.
Should I read through the whole book first, then start playing? What is the best way to learn how to play?
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Post by Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy on Jan 13, 2022 2:23:12 GMT
Go to page 6. Build you character but only do the following stuff Is it a Star or a Grunt? • What is its Race? • What is its Gender? • What is its Profession? • Does it have any Attributes? • What is its Reputation? • What are its Skills?
Then go to page 44 to see how the combat plays. It's over on page 50 - all the tables you'll use are on pages 241 to page 243, only 5 tables. Then go to page 55 and do the Stop Box, step by step. Skip the Draw Off and Bar Fight and you'll have an idea how to play the combat rules. Do it three different times with multiple chartcers and once you get used to it, move on to the other stuff. Let me know when you have questions.
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Post by Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy on Jan 13, 2022 2:30:58 GMT
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