Onkel has added Baz's to all the Eagle's Bulldog rosters, Baz !
"He is wise who watches"
What a blooming great idea. Thanks Dave. I shall look forward to writing about my new Aussie pilot. Cuppa
We have a new pilot joining the Kaiser's Eagles - Gary (Hu Rhu) is joining the fray, he recently joined the throng at Entoyment and hoping to join us for Flight Club. Please join me and Onkel in welcoming him to the skies over the trenches
"He is wise who watches"
Hi Gary, welcome to the world of OTT. May your pilots be blessed with many victories and stories of valour and glory.
Hi Gary,
Welcome to the best side
Baz
Welcome to the madness, Gary! The Kaiser is pleased.
Willkommen!
Good to have new wingmen flying for the Kaiser.
Thanks for the warm welcome, Meine Freunde.
I hope to join in with Mission 3 but I might start off with a practice using one of the earlier missions to get a feel for how the AI works.
Welcome Gary! Glad to have some Eagle allies!
Welcome Gary. More the merrier.
Edward
Three days to go until the next mission - I see the Yanks are more than fashionably late to the party again !
I'm away from 4th Sept and won't be in a position to process anything for over a week, so get 'em in quick if you want them done gents.
Last edited by flash; 08-28-2021 at 08:35.
"He is wise who watches"
Working on it, Onkel! Am still in a state of shock having done turn 1.
A big welcome Gary. Always good to have some opposition
Hi Gary, great to see you've decided to join in the campaign and looking forward to reading your stories.
As has been said "the more the merrier" and you could quite quickly catch up on the last two missions before starting on number 3
Watch out for the Hun in the sun.
Oh, I forgot - you are the Hun in the sun.
Cheers
Welcome to the front Gary
I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing
Gangiung up on me are you!!! Never mind, I'm sure my new roster of pilots will have some scores to settle.
Uncle will be shutting up shop as of this evening for a spot of Blighty leave so don't wreck the place while he's away & don't pish on the Aspidistra...
I'm looking at you Willis !
"He is wise who watches"
Enjoy your break, Onkel.
I am playing Mission 3 today so should have something ready for your return.
What, me gov.I'm looking at you Willis !
Welcome back Uncle - I trust the aspidistra was in good order and to your satisfaction More to the point, did you have a good trip?
Yes we did, thanks ! Caught the best of the weather and managed to get into the surf everyday.
"He is wise who watches"
Always do Mike !
Now I've found snr managements photo stash...:
This is me in the Camel estuary at low tide - IQ reducer set to dum as I'd had the sun on my neck.
Nothing to see now but left out of frame on the headland was RAF Padstow's airfield.
And me again at Trevose Head in a shirt I picked up on the way home from Origins 2018.
Last edited by flash; 09-17-2021 at 02:08.
"He is wise who watches"
Ah my old stomping grounds when I lived in Plymouth and worked in Kernow.
Treyanon bay was our fav for body boarding withe the kids.
I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing
Mission 4 is posted chaps - so come on you laggards who haven't submitted mission 3 - or 2 & 3 in one case...
"He is wise who watches"
My apologies as well. We are super short staffed as work and barely have time to eat or sleep. As soon as I have some time off I will get them caught up.
On Special Ops Near Gibraltar till the 15th. Brought the write up but not the photos so I might just publish the AAR without snaps
I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
Coming down is the hardest thing
Yep, I'm behind with things too - real life taking priority at present But I'll be back, as the saying goes
Good to see those pics Dave. Camel estuary is one of my bass fly fishing venues, although its been a few years since the last one - must go back there next year
As a n00b to OTT, I use a "quick guide" sheet I've created with relevant and optional rules I tend to forget, and some reworking of the C&W and E&E procedures to hopefully clarify the order of things. It's not meant to be complete coverage, but instead a guide to key elements. I share it here in case it helps others -- let me know if I've botched anything
Victories: No shared kills in OTT campaigns. (If in doubt who got the kill, ie two or more aircraft could have finished the target aircraft in the same phase then the nearest aircraft is adjudged to have fired first & gets the kill).
This also applies to two-seater crew. Only the shooter is credited. Whilst not historically accurate their actual kill count will be.
Ace Abilities: An inherent, one use, ace skill will be given randomly to some of your roster, that is the first ace skill they'll achieve. Further ace abilities will be earned with victories.
Explosion Card: Explosion cards are expected to be played. Pilots and crew survival, or not, will be determined by rolling dice using the Resolution Crashes/Wounds table.
AI Special Damage: Special damage for the AI applies - if it suffers rudder damage then either turn it the other way or sub in a straight or other card, ie do whatever is best for that aircraft at that time. Same with engine damage - just sub one move with a stall; same with fire, do whatever you think is best for the AI machine.
Morale:
All aircraft will actively engage until they are:
a. Within 3 of destruction, or,
b. Within 5 of destruction if on fire, or,
c. The pilot is wounded on A deck 5 or B deck 3 (includes those with strong constitution) or,
d. The engine is damaged.
They will then disengage and head for the barn at best speed taking whatever evasive maneuvers are necessary for survival, and shots at targets of opportunity - that's something in range crossing their nose!
If possible, leave the board at the nearest friendly edge but in dire circumstances they may just need to escape the battle area so any edge will do (unless stated otherwise in BRF). They could also dive/over dive out of combat, of course, and head for friendly territory but they should still react to enemy aircraft actions - not fly dumb without any reaction to being shot up. Be the I in AI & do what is best in the situation given.
Wounded pilots:
Wounded pilots bugging out - Rather than they just go we use the damage number to dictate the result, ie the potential severity of the wound. On a Wounded Pilot A deck hit of 5 or B deck hit of 3 the pilots head for home but on a Wounded Pilot A deck 3 or B deck 1 they will stay in the fight. This means your pilots may fight on if wounded, or, equally, may push off home. The cards will decide.
Two pilot wounds – if your pilot receives a second wound, he is not immediately killed. He is, however, shot down and the appropriate post game results applied to combat die rolls, ie 2WIA (+ appropriate EXP/FLM/SD).
Collisions:
If models are at the same level and a base cannot be placed because it overlaps central peg of the other aircraft a collision occurs: 1 C damage card to each aircraft involved. Note: Other than the Explosion card Special Damage is ignored.
Option: Those who wish to use the resolve collision cards may do so.
Altitude:
Scenario will be written without altitude in mind - those who wish to play with altitude may add that dimension to their game if they so wish using whatever altitude rules they prefer.
2nd AAR:
If you post a second (or more) AAR from the same scenario your pilots are still at risk and any results from enemy action stand but any kills you score are counted as probable, i.e. Unconfirmed kills. So, make sure the first one you post is the one you want counted.
Optional Rules:
Wounded Observer:
Option for obs/recon/bomb missions:
a. You knock him down for the remainder of the turn he is hit in.
b. He stays down the whole next turn.
c. He returns to action at the beginning of the next turn with these penalties applied:
* 4 moves to unjam guns
* can only fire at short range & not after steep, Split-S, Immelmann, and climb cards.
d. On a second wound, observer is incapacitated for the rest of the game.
Gun Jams:
Optional rule for twin mounted guns:
Only one gun is jammed on a single gun jam card not both unless the card is a 0 Red GJ or a 0 Green GJ, in which case BOTH guns are jammed.
Both guns are also jammed if two gun-jam cards are received in a single phase, or, a second jam appears in a subsequent phase.
If one gun is jammed then after each maneuver a player can decide to clear the jammed gun, or, fire the remaining gun.
If they choose to clear, they discard a jam token; if they choose to fire, they use the B deck.
It is permitted to stop clearing a gun to fire with the other weapon in any phase, but the jammed counters are immediately restored to three.
If both weapons are jammed, they are cleared at the same time after three consecutive maneuvers. No separate account of clearing each weapon is necessary.
Altitude for AI: Should you want to play a scenario using official altitude rules then this simple mechanic can be employed for the AI pilots to get them on terms with their adversary:
AI pilots can react to the upward or downward movement of another aircraft by using the next straight it draws to substitute a dive card, or, the next straight or steep drawn to substitute a climb card.
Exception: if the AI plane has engine damage only straights may be converted into climb cards.
The AI can climb until it is an altitude level above its target.
Remember to use the Butchers Tally format at the end of your AAR as it makes the admin much easier:
Pilot’s name & aircraft identifier / what happened to them & where / injuries / Victories or not & Probables (note FRTB reason).
example: Lt Stan Deasey - DH.2 #4 / EXP-ET / WIA / 0 Kills / 1 probable FRTB-D
Use this to help calculate what happens to them & write it out, for example:
Crash: Rolled 9 -1SD -1WIA = 7 Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 3 = Skip 2
E&E: Rolled 12 -1BEL -1WIA -1WIC = 9 Didn't even see me! Total Skips 2
Doing this will help greatly as the calculation can be quickly checked and corrected if required.
Note: Failure to do so will result in your game stats going unrecorded, kills unconfirmed.
RTB- Returned to base
FRTB - Forced return to base
SD - Shot down
EXP - Shot down Boom card
COL - Downed by Collision
FLM - Shot down flamer
WIA - Wounded in Action (ie shot)
WIC - Wounded in Crash
KIA – Killed
FT - Friendly Territory
ET - Enemy Territory
NML - No Man’s Land
BEL - Behind Enemy Lines
SEA - Sea, or, other water landing
You only need to roll on aircraft that crash for any reason, are FRTB, have wounded crew, or a combination of these.
Planes that get off the table are presumed RTB unless they are on fire with cards still to draw, in which case those cards are drawn and result applied, (off-table overdives not permitted). If they survive, they are RTB; if not they are flamers and kill can be awarded.
If FRTB, roll 2D6: crash on a double, all other rolls = Landed Safely.
• If crash - roll for the Crash/Wounds result and include both +1RTB and -1FRTB modifiers.
• If no crash - you stuck the landing and no Crash/Wounds roll required unless wounded.
Then roll 2D6 for the Crash/Wounds result, applying appropriate modifiers and check the result table:
Modifiers to Crash/Wounds dice roll:
Exploded: -3 ----------------------------------------- Boom card drawn for any reason - overrides flamer/collision
Flamer: -2 -------------------------------------------- Downed by fire, or, downed whilst burning
Collision: -2 ------------------------------------------ Downed due to Collision (Not cumulative with the above)
Shot Down -1 ---------------------------------------- Just shot to bits! (Not cumulative with the above)
Wounded: -1 per wound -------------------------- Receive 2 wounds & you're shot down, but you may survive!
Crash landed in No Man’s Land or Sea -1 ----- Not the safest or smoothest place to land
Crashing in darkness -1 -------------------------- Sorry - Didn't see that!
FRTB -1 crash landing ------------------------------ FRTB-E/W/F/D.
Ace: +1------------------------------------------------- If your pilot’s skill is Acrobatic/Evasive/Daredevil/Lucky Git
RTB: Landed safely in Aerodrome: +1 --------- Made it!
Crash and Wounds Effects Result Table:
2 or less - Dead!
3-4 - Injured - Skip 1D6 Scenarios
5-6 - Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios (1-2=1; 3-4=2; 5-6=3)
7-8 - Injured - Skip 1D2 Scenario (1-3=1; 4-6=2)
9+ - All’s well when you land well!
Escape & Evasion: Crashed in No Man’s Land or Enemy Territory - Roll 2D6, apply modifiers & check result table
Modifiers to the EE dice roll:
Boom/Flamer: -1 --------------------- Smoke/flame of your aircraft's funeral pyre draws unwanted attention
Wounded: -1 per wound-------------- Includes wound sustained from crash ie a crash result between 3 or 8 = -1WIC
No Man's Land: +1 ------------------- Not far to go now!
Behind enemy lines: -1 -------------- Dodge the patrols and find a friendly local
In Sea: -1 ---------------------------- Cumulative with above
Crashed in darkness on land +1 ---- Darkness may be your friend
Crashed in darkness at Sea -1 ------ Darkness may not be your friend
Escaping Enemy Territory Result Table:
2 or less - Captured! The war ended for this pilot...
3-4 - Captured and escaped! - Skip 1D3 Scenarios (1-2=1; 3-4=2; 5-6=3)
5-6 - In hiding! - Skip 1D2 Scenarios (1-3 = 1; 4-6 = 2 )
7-8 - Landed almost home! - Skip 1 Scenario
9+ - They didn't even see me!
You will notice landing in NML is penalized but is still rewarded for escape purposes, whereas, landing behind the lines is penalized. A sea landing is penalized in both and is cumulative with being Behind enemy lines for E&E calculation.
Concurrent Penalties:
Crash & E&E results will be counted as being concurrent, so whichever is highest result is the total skipped.
For example, Crash results in a skip 3 & E&E results in skip 2 you will only skip total of 3. (appears as R R W on roster).
Or, crash results in a skip 2 & E&E results in skip 3 you will only skip total of 3.(appears as W W R on roster).
If result is tied, then it will likely just show as W's on the roster.
'Forced' Landings:
If your machine has been badly mauled & FRTB but it's unlikely you can escape off the table, you have the option of a forced landing:
As your machine has health points you are making a 'controlled landing'. ie it's not shot down, you can put it down without any kind of modifiers other than NML/SEA; night landing (-1) which would force a crash roll.
If you are behind enemy lines, roll for E&E with the standard mods for BEL, NML/SEA or WIA - and count the machine as a kill to the opposition.
RTB is different as you're landing on an approved strip with support of staff to help so it has a positive modifier, landing elsewhere is effectively a zero, ie no modifier.
Butchers Tally Example:
Pilot’s name / what happened to them & where / injuries / Victories or not & Probables (note FRTB reason).
Example: Lt Stan Deasey / SD ET / WIA / 1 Kill
Use this to help calculate what happens to them & write it out:
Crash: Rolled 9 -1SD -1WIA = 7 Injured - Skip 1D3 Scenarios. Rolled 3 = Skip 2
E&E: Rolled 12 -1BEL -1WIA -1WIC = 9 Didn't even see me! Total Skips 2
Please note - no job titles, no medals, no shorthand, no notice of damage in the example.
Notations to use in Tally:
RTB- Returned to base
FRTB - Forced return to base (Add cause: -D for damage; -F for fire; -W for WIA; -E for Engine damage eg FRTB-E)
SD - Shot down
EXP - Shot down Boom card
COL - Downed by Collision
FLM - Shot down flamer
WIA - Wounded in Action (ie shot)
WIC - Wounded in Crash
KIA - Killed in Action
FT - Friendly Territory
ET - Enemy Territory
NML - No Mans’ Land
BEL - Behind Enemy Lines
SEA - Sea, or, other water landing. (well someone's bound to!)
A note to all from Uncle - please don't combine the final crash results into the first bit of the Tally. That should just show what happened to the plane and pilot in the air or when it fell out of it: did it get shot down, how, where, was the pilot shot, did he get a victory, probable, etc. It's from this the final crash result is then calculated. If you can conform to this it makes it so much easier for me to check the math.
Chris that would be absolutely brilliant if you'd posted it yesterday. I've spent all morning producing an almost identical sheet so I don't get on Dave's bad side again. I could have finished game 4 today if I'd had this.
I should be happy thinking that great minds think alike but as I don't have a great mind I'm a bit worried for you.
Well done for posting the synopsis though, I'm sure it will be useful for the rest of the gang.
Cheers
Good job Chris. I'm getting more and more forgetful. This will come in handy.
Many regrets guys, but I this morning I let Uncle know that I am withdrawing from the campaign, at least for a time. Just hit a brick wall one day, when it came to writing AARs and playing Wings solo. Haven't stopped playing against human opposition and still enjoy that a great deal, but I need time to regain my former enthusiasm for both the solo game and AAR writing.
Its been a blast, and I really hope to be back again one fine day. Its been fun reading all of your AARs and I shall get around to doing that part again soon. In the meantime, a great deal of thanks is due to Dave / Flash / Uncle for putting on this show and I hope I have done it some credit over the past months.
Watch your six all,
Laters,
Mike
Sorry to hear that, Mike, but I can understand.
The enthusiasm seems to have waned across the group in the last while.
I will definitely miss your excellent presentations.
Hang in there, and I hope to see you back one day.
Only having joined this year I guess I am still in the enthusiastic throes and quite enjoy it but find the AAR’s quite challenging to write.
Hope to see you at the Fight Clubs and really enjoyed reading your games this year, you will be missed.
Baz
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