CONCEPT - War of the Worlds Campaign

[maestrostewart]

Hello all!

This is a very BETA outline for a campaign I'm setting up that plays through the War of the Worlds. Comments welcome. I've got lots of plans. Below is an outline of my current thoughts.

England – War of the Worlds

This campaign is inspired by the plot outline of H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds. Some details have been altered to fit within the timeline of Tripods & Triplanes base game while retaining the flavor of the novel. To keep the length of the campaign manageable, the amount of cylinder landings has been reduced from seven to five with some events from the novel combined into single scenarios to keep the martian invasion to 7 scenarios. The scenarios are designed to create a cohesive story; however, each scenario can be played as an individual event.

While not critical, landing cylinders are a great enhancement to the scenery. To keep the scale, landing cylinders can be created using 3-4” diameter shipping tubes. Decoration, length and angle of impact are completely up to your aesthetic.

Idea: Create option where destruction of cylinders equal points towards game.

Urban Terrain & Movement

There are several scenarios that take place in a village or urban environment. Unless otherwise noted, these modifications use the Terrain Elements rules found on page 25 of the Tripods and Triplanes core rule book.

Structural terrain impacts the movement of Martian tripods based on the tripod’s height. Tripods are currently divided into three zones

A - Mk1 or Mk2 (~10m/32ft)
B - Mk3 (~7m/23ft)
C - Mk4 (~14m/46ft)

Tripods may not traverse over/through structures whose height is within 2m/6ft of the tripod’s height. Tripods attempting to traverse across structures between 25ft and individual max height limit must draw an A damage card for each movement action, with a 0-1 resulting in a topple.

Structures under 25ft high are treated as per the crater or marsh rules.

Black smoke is unaffected by structures.

When firing the heat ray, terrain in line of fire draw from damage deck A. On a result of 2-5, that area is turned to rubble in addition to any other damage caused. Tripods may optionally declare as their attack the deliberate creation of rubble using their heat ray. In this case, all structures in short range in the beam are destroyed. No planes within line of fire are damaged and a damage card draw is not necessary.

Tripods moving into rubble treat that area as per the crater or marsh rules with the following exception – damage cards of 0-2 have no effect.

Urban Terrain & Firing

All structures within 2m/10ft of the tripod’s height partially obstruct line of sight. Structures greater than 2m/10ft in height fully obstruct line of sight.

Optional War of the Worlds campaign rule

In the event Martians achieve the scenario winning condition, experienced players wishing to recreate the sense of urgency and overwhelming odds from the novel can select to have surviving Martian scenario units used as reinforcements in each subsequent scenario. Damage is retained through each subsequent scenario.

Planned Scenarios

i. Woking, Surrey
ii. Addlestone Golf Links
iii. Pyrford
iv. Bushey Park
v. Sheen
vi. Protect the Civilians!
Planes must protect 2 sets of fleeing civilians, one by river, one by land.
vii. Assault on London
Large scale scenario. All remaining planes and tripods with reinforcement rounds.

[flash]

Urban Terrain & Firing
All structures within 2m/10ft of the tripod’s height partially obstruct line of sight. Structures greater than 2m/10ft in height fully obstruct line of sight.

Are you using scaled terrain or will you use markers with noted heights ? How do you propose dealing with the partially obstructed LoS ? If terrain is 20ft high, how does that obstruct LoS of a Cuttlefish ? (Or did you mean Structures greater than 2m/10ft in height than a tripod fully obstruct line of sight ?)
Target altitude must come into this. Like the ideas though - low flying machines could use terrain to mask their approach then pop up and attack.

[maestrostewart]

Are you using scaled terrain or will you use markers with noted heights ? How do you propose dealing with the partially obstructed LoS ? If terrain is 20ft high, how does that obstruct LoS of a Cuttlefish ? (Or did you mean Structures greater than 2m/10ft in height than a tripod fully obstruct line of sight ?)
Target altitude must come into this. Like the ideas though - low flying machines could use terrain to mask their approach then pop up and attack.

Terrain would be up to the players. The London scenario could get quite expensive trying to replicate chunks of the city with scaled terrain.

The LoS isn't an issue for a cuttlefish. It's ~45ft high so a 20ft building isn't within 10ft of it's height. That goes both ways. The building couldn't be used for cover either.

[flash]

...The LoS isn't an issue for a cuttlefish. It's ~45ft high so a 20ft building isn't within 10ft of it's height...

Hence the question as you wrote: "Structures greater than 2m/10ft in height fully obstruct line of sight." It didn't make sense.

[maestrostewart]

Hence the question as you wrote: "Structures greater than 2m/10ft in height fully obstruct line of sight." It didn't make sense.

I'll clarify

[matt56]

I like the campaign idea, and as Dave and I have talked about elsewhere in this T&T forum section, altitude is an issue, for sure...

I like the ideas you have come up with for basic scenarios, Scott - I look forward to seeing where things go from here - but altitude should definitely play a role in things going forward...

All the best,
Matt