Miniatures Wargames + Traveller - what do you use?

[siefertma2]

I've been playing around with the notion that some DSII weapon systems and vehicle options are only available at certain TLs. For instance, a TL 15 tank could mount a DFFG, but a TL 13 AFV couldn't. The thing is, that fusion power and grav vehicles are available at relatively low TLs (8 and 10 respectively) so perhaps Aramis' space option could be the better way to go.

I've been toying around with meson artillery too. I was thinking that a meson artillery mission should be priced VERY high for balance sake--about the same as nuke rounds or more. They would have the same beaten zone as normal artillery only anything caught under it is automatically KOed.

 

[kaladorn]

25 tons = 25 DS capacity point?

You might have to expand the scales a wee bit, or not. And you'd have to think how to model things like the nuclear dampers, and the various weapons.

Possible conversions:
VRFGG - GAC/1 (MDC/1)
Autocannon - RFAC/1 or /2
Standard tank gun - HVC
Low pressure tank gun (76mm on Scorpion) - LVC
Laser - HEL
Plasma and Fusion Guns - DFFG (though you may want to resolve plasma as one class smaller DFFG)

Armour becomes much less granular, with only 5 levels.

The reason I was interested in doing Stargrunt II is that I percieve it as being the least likely GZG game to be re-issued. FT3 is somewhere in progress, and DS3 has been mulled over a lot. Jon is a 'slow press' kinda guy, but DS3 may differ a bit (or a lot) from DS2, so tying a new product to DS2 may be problematic (or at least you'd know a re-write might be required).

 

[kaladorn]

Thinking about it, to match weapon loadouts on Trav system vehicles, you'd probably have to bin a number of DS2 restrictions, like weapons count <= size class for one. You'd also have to look at variable movement rates within a mobility type.

 

[etherflyer]

Originally posted by kaladorn:
So, what games do other folks use?

For ground actions, At Close Quarters. Great rules for small skirmishes, designed by an ex-Ranger and approved of my my kids' sergeant

For space battles, Power Projection.

 

[etherflyer]

Originally posted by Jame]:
What are some good ship wargaming figures?

You mean miniature starships?

GZG makes the best, I think.

For Vargr ships, the Centauri from B5 work well, even if they're a bit pricy.

 

[theSea]

For Vargr ships, the Centauri from B5 work well, even if they're a bit pricy.

Be sure to get the ships in the 'fleet action' scale - the regular B5 Wars scale ships are *big* The FA scale ships are less expensive and scale better with the the GZG ships.

 

[mike wightman]

If I only had GZG miniatures to chose from I would use:

Outrim Coalition - K'kree ('cos of their saucer shaped hulls)

OUDF - Hiver (very blocky in apperance)

Islamic Federation - Vargr (crescent shaped fins etc)

FSU/UNSC - Imperial

ESU/Japanese - Solomani

New Israeli - Zhodani

 

[travellerne]

Originally posted by kaladorn:
... a Traveller game of Zhodani Commandos versus Imperial Marines. The IMC figures were GZG UNSC Marines (look a lot like BD) and the Zhos were Denizen/Ainsty Ventaurians with helmets on ...
used Stargrunt II to do squad based actions. And Dirtside is a good candidate for 1/300th scale Traveller combined arms company sized clashes.

So, what games do other folks use?

My group in San Jose has played exactly that (SG2 with the UNSC and Ventaurian miniatures) for our skirmish level games.

We frequently use Striker for our larger scale games. This month we are going to use Striker II and in a few months try Dirtside as well. We use micro-scale for both these games.

We have plenty of premade Striker designs and units ready for play and posted online at http://www.3rd-imperium.com.

We've started a log of our games at:
http://3rd-imperium.com/Tactics-0/

K.

 

[aramis]

The reason I was interested in doing Stargrunt II is that I percieve it as being the least likely GZG game to be re-issued. FT3 is somewhere in progress, and DS3 has been mulled over a lot. Jon is a 'slow press' kinda guy, but DS3 may differ a bit (or a lot) from DS2, so tying a new product to DS2 may be problematic (or at least you'd know a re-write might be required).

Since DS2 and SG2 are BOTH the same vehicle design sequence (more correctly, my copy of SG2 says to use the design sequences from DS2), I dont' see any problems with tying to DS2...

It does, however, look like its about time for Jon Tuffley to decide to revise or reprint (He's OOS on DS2).

I do like the damage system from SG, as it doesn't require drawing chits...

 

[travellerne]

Originally posted by Travellerne:
We frequently use Striker for our larger scale games. This month we are going to use Striker II and in a few months try Dirtside as well. We use micro-scale for both these games.

The group in San Jose played "Striker II" this month for the first time. It ran very smoothly and I heartily recommend it to anyone who can get their hands on it.

There are a few typos in the book where "inches" are referenced--convert these to the equivalent centimeter distance. These are just an artifact of being cut-and-pasted from "Command Decision."

K.

 

[kaladorn]

Originally posted by Aramis:
Since DS2 and SG2 are BOTH the same vehicle design sequence

Almost true. There are some key distinctions where the rules differ, but they are very similar, though DS2 has more options (SG and DS have similar weapons systems, but both have systems not represented in the other).

It does, however, look like its about time for Jon Tuffley to decide to revise or reprint (He's OOS on DS2).

He'll reprint before he completes DS3. He (and his testers) have been working on DS3, FT3, FMA Skirmish, etc. for years now.

I do like the damage system from SG, as it doesn't require drawing chits...

One of the options for DS3 is an FMA-ized (using polyhydrals like SG2 does) damage system and combat system. I've played and enjoyed it. But some people (Jon among them) are a bit traditionalist. And they feel chits give a wide range of results and a certain feel to the game. Personally, I feel chit pulls slow the game down a lot and the dice-based resolutions have run much faster IME. But we'll see what sees the light when DS3 is finally out. But hold not thy breath....

 

[clementk]

fwiw GZG released DSII online; not the best scan but it's free

DSII in pdf form

Casey

 

[kaladorn]

Yep, that's a sop to the folks who want to see it.

You have to understand Jon's business model. He makes money on figs. Rules are just a way of leveraging into more figure sales. The cost of the rules is mostly (not entirely) the cost of printing, etc, and various distributor markups. Jon's point is to get you to want to buy lots of little metal vehicles and men.

Reprinting in large print runs is expensive, and a bit silly if you have a half-complete plan to release a new version... someday. (He has many of those, in different game systems, it seems). He's also busy touring UK gaming conventions, because those make him a whack of dough relative to his exports.

So releasing DS2 as PDF makes sense - no expense for a reprint run, a successor coming out sometime down the road, and people will maybe buy more of his white metal tanks and such.

 

[Agent Brown]

Nobody has mentioned GW's new set of Epic rules. They're free as a pdf and actually really very good. Sacrifice a bit of detail for a fast moving and ,dare I say it, more realistic game.
http://www.specialist-games.com/epic/tlr.asp

Well worth a look. Their vehicle prices are exhorbitant, but the infantry (all plastic) is very well priced, £12 in the UK for about 30 5x figure stands in 6mm.

http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/Frames/SF300/index.html

Brigade models in the UK do a superb line of 'realistic' vehicles. Again, well worth a look.

 

[The Oz]

Those Epic rules do look rather nice, and once they were detached from the GW background might be useable.

I think they might tend to break down at the higher TRAVELLER tech levels, however. TL14/15 infantry in battledress (especially with grav belts) are not just troops in heavy armor, they're more like one-man armored fighting vehicles that can fly at NOE.

I'm not sure that the d6 mechanism allows enough variation to cover all the possible TRAVELLER tech level interactions. I think it would work well from TL5 to about TL12, though.

 

[solsec23]

I'm writing my own Skirmish rules set at the small, man-to-man level called Strike Force Commander. I may do a Traveller setting for it at a future date.