First Ork Trukk

This is my first Trukk for my 40k Ork army. This started life as the old Ork Truck but it has been heavily modified. The old Trukk model is just too small so I stretched it out a few inches. I build the cab to hide the fact that I am missing the drivers.

This one will hold a full 12 man unit on the Trukk. I have one more conversion in the works and then I think I will get the current model.

Rules of Engagement - First Game

Today Tim and I got together in the garage game room to try out the Rules of Engagement. We were looking to try out the basic rules first, before trying any of the cools stuff like artillery or tanks. The game uses a unique army selection that does not use points. Your force is centered on an infantry platoon and you have required elements and optional elements. For most armies you must take a Platoon HQ and two infantry squads. To keep things simple we just used the basic force for each side.

I went with the US Infantry. The picture above is my force which had a 5 man HQ and 2 twelve man squads. The US gets a nice ROF from the M1 Garand but the BAR as a support weapon leaves a bit to be desired.

Above is Tim's German platoon. He had a 6 man HQ and 2 nine man squads. The basic German rifle only has a ROF of 1 but has a longer range than the US riffle. In addition, the Germans have a light machine gun in each squad which can really put out some firepower.

We selected the Advance to Contact scenario. This is basically a meeting engagement type of battle. It is supposed to use a hidden deployment but we opted for the quick - throw stuff on the table - approach.

The terrain was pretty basic with a few hills and some woods. Again, we just wanted to keep things simple.

The turn starts with the Discipline phase, which is where you do various checks and tasks related to morale. On the first turn there is nothing to do. Next is the Orders phase. There are four basic orders that relate to how you want each unit to behave in the following phases. Depending on the order selected you unit may move fast or slow, it might be able to shoot and assault or it might not. The orders aren't complicated but they add an interesting aspect to the game. In the order phase you must also declare your targets for each unit to shoot at in the Shooting phase as well as any units you wish to Assault in the Close Quarters phase. This declaration of targets is really different and takes some getting used to.

In the first turn we both just issued Advance orders and moved up and started shooting. The US was able to get in the first kill. Discipline is a big part of the game and it is mostly centered on how many hits are scored on a unit in a single Shooting phase. If you score a number of hits equal to the size of the unit after casualties are removed then the unit becomes Suppressed. If you do double the number of hits than the unit has models it becomes Shaken. The different levels have there own drawbacks and limit what the unit may do and how it may act. We quickly learned that the umber of hits on a unit is, in many ways, more important than how many kills are inflicted by those hits.

After a couple of turns of trying different orders and shooting away at each other we had managed only a couple of kills. Tim did manage to get my HQ to Shaken and it took the next couple of turns to get them back in good order and back in the fight.

On the US left, the Germans advanced behind a small wood and prepared to assault a US squad that was defending a wall. The US would get a turn of shooting before the Germans were in position so I tried lobbing some grenades. This did not work out but it was neat to be able to do it. Many games just ignore grenades or make up some sort of abstraction to explain them away but they were an important part of WW2 combat and really add flavor to the game.

On the German's turn they swung into position and opened fire. The scored 5 hits but no wounds and 5 hits were not enough to Suppress the unit. In the close Quarters phase the Germans launched their assault against the troops defending the wall...turns out this was a bad idea. The CQ combat system uses a target number that is then modified up or down based on a series of factors. Each soldier in base to base fights separately and the fights are resolved one at a time. Each side checks there modifiers, rolls the dice and modifies the score. The side with the high score wins and the looser is removed as a casualty. Repeat for each model in base to base. This is quicker than is sounds and much bloodier than you think.

The Germans launched the assault with 8 men, six of which made it into contact. They lost every fight and the two survivors surrendered. This turned out to be the climax of the battle as the Germans were reduced to their break point. We got in a couple more turns but it was over for the Germans.

The game played well and if you are familiar with Warhammer 40K or Flames of War you will quickly pick-up the rules. It is not the same as either game but it has enough in common to allow for points of reference. I can't wait to play it a few more times and try out some of the more interesting units and rules.

Rules of Engagement

While on a recent vacation to Disneyland I made a quick stop at Brookhurst Hobbies. The last couple of times I have stopped in I haven't found much to get excited about, but to be fair they have been doing lots of work and the place has been in disarray. I did not have big expectations this time but I was very surprised to find a copy of Rules of Engagement.

This is a set of World War II rules for 28mm figures. The rules are published by Great Escape Games in the UK and are a bit of a bitch to get in the US. In fact, I was not aware that Brookhurst had these rules. The only place listed on Great Escape's site where you can get the rules in the US is On Military Matters. The main reason I did not order these from OMM is they want $65 for the book and a set of templates...ouch. Brookhurst not only had the rules, they were on sale for only $35! No templates but who cares?

Now, on to the good stuff. The book is a nice hardbound edition. The rules are fairly well written but have the typical English rules style that Americans can find a bit frustrating. There is a nice table of contents as well as an extensive index.

The rules section covers everything you need to know to play the game. The rules are infantry centric and seem to be inspired by Warhammer 40K 2nd through 4th editions. There are also some influences from Flames of War. There are rules for vehicles, fortifications, and artillery support. There are nine scenarios and well as a simple ladder campaign.

After the rules section there is a brief history of World War II centered on the Western Front from the Normandy invasion to the end of the war. After this there are several Orders of Battle for creating forces for the game. These include 5 different German armies, 4 British and Canadian armies, 4 US armies, and a French Resistance army. Each of these lists includes the weapons stats and support options. In the middle of the book there is a hobby section with some painting and modeling info. At the end of the book is a quick reference chart and the templates and counters for the game.

I have read through the rules and so far it seems like it will play well. As a fan of 40K I was really looking forward to trying these rules. The plan is to get in the first game tomorrow. I have been looking for a game like this for a very long time but have failed to find anything that I liked. It has been so frustrating that I started work a few years ago on my own rules. The problem with writing your own rules is you become 'that guy.' You know, the beardy git who carries around his rules binder. I never wanted to be that guy, so hopefully, these rules will play well and I can get out of the rules design business.

More to come...

2250 Beastmen List

Back in 2008 I acquired a collection of beastmen models. I tried to get a painting and model building challenge going in by local game group. I managed to get a few models painted but thinks kind of tapered off. The rumors of a new codex for the Beasts of Chaos helped to slow my enthusiasm.

Now that the new codex has been released I have put together my first real Warhammer list. The primary design consideration for this army is to focus on the models I have in the collection. I also wanted and army that looked like an army. Many WHFB armies are nothing more than a few monster models and maybe a single unit of infantry.

Here is what I have come up with for a first try. I am sure the WHFB pros out there can pick it apart.

Characters

Beast Lord
Axes of Khorgor
Blade-Blunter Armor
235

Wargor
Heavy Armor
Extra Hand Weapon
93

Battle Standard Bearer
War Banner
Heavy Armor
129

Brey-Shaman
Level 2
Gnarled Hide
Dispel Scroll
Jagged Dagger
160

Total - 627

Core

28 Ungor
Spears
Full Command
183

24 Ungor
Spears
Full Command
159

24 Gor
Shields
Full Command
217

24 Gor
Extra Hand Weapon
Full Command
217

Tuskgor Chariot
80

Tuskgor Chariot
80

10 Chaos Warhounds
Poison Attack
Scaly Skin
100

Total - 1036

Special

20 Beastigor
Full Command
270

4 Minotaurs
Bloodkine
Standard
Great Weapons
292

Total - 562

Army Total - 2225

There it is. The beauty of the army is that it is built and the painting is well under way. I will take a few pictures and do some more work in progress posts. And I will certainly do up a Battle report as soon as I get it on the table.