Hi.

I've written a mission and would like to get some feedback on it from the community.

Link to the Mission:

http://tools.fantasyflightgames.com/xwing/home/3600/

Abstract: Smugglers try to get past an Imperial inspection undetected.

Size: 3'x3'

Overview

The mission deals with a remote Imperial customs checkpoint, that Rebels (but probably scum just as well), try to get through undetected. The last word is essential here, as the smugglers have to stick to Imperial protocol, lest they want to be discovered and bring on the Imperial reserve. The non-Imperial player gets 100 points for his squadron, however limited to craft, that are not obviously modern military craft (X-Wing, A-Wing, B-Wing). This means only transports and outdated Z-95's and Y-Wings are allowed.

This fleet of smuggler ships carries contraband tokens, but the Imperial player doesn't know which ships do and how many tokens they carry, so they'll have to inspect them with their patrol ships.

The Imperial player starts the game with 4 Academy pilots patrolling and scanning the incoming ships, looking for contraband. 75 points may be spent on a reserve force that enters the play area, once contraband is found or the smugglers act suspicious any other way (flying a B-Wing for example).

Every Rebel ship that exits the play area over the Imperial table edge is worth 1 victory point, plus one for each contraband token it carries. The Imps get points for destroying the Rebels. obviously.

Mechanics

The concept is to have a sort of trade off, to break with the usual dogfight. The Imperials only get 4 Academy Pilots in the beginning, but the Rebels can not shoot, unless they want to worsen their odds by bringing on the Imperial reserve (potentially with ion weapons, that can easily thwart their smuggling run), meaning they have to fly smart. Due to the low speed of the Rebel force however, the Imperials should have enough time to inspect the ships. Unless of course one ship creates a diversion, so the Imperial player would have to choose: Chase that ship, or keep scanning the rest?

The smugglers can decide how much contraband they carry and how much is on each ship, so they can influence the odds a bit: contraband on every ship means lots of victory points - if all ships make it. Few contraband tokens equal little pay off in the end, but also less of a chance to be detected. I tried to keep it simple, but still interesting, but it may have gotten overly convoluted or complicated, so I'd like to hear your thoughts about the mechanics (and if you played it, what worked out and what didn't).

Link to the Mission:

http://tools.fantasyflightgames.com/xwing/home/3600/

Best regards

Sounds like fun!

Doesn't this incentivise the Imperials to kill everyone anyway?

I'd suggest penalising the Empire for killing innocent freight (ships that haven't fired on Imperial ships or carried contraband), adding a hyperdrive chargeup time mechanic (it's fairly easy for a ship to leg it for the edge of the map and even if the TIEs keep pace they won't take it down in time.

Thanks for your replies!

@TIE Pilot: The Imperial Navy has to follow the "Rules of Engagement" during this scenario, meaning they can't shoot at any ship, that hasn't been identified as Scum/Rebel (by either flying too fast, taking suspicious actions or being a clearly military craft like an X-, A- or B-Wing, that would not be used by a civilian). The Rebels on the other hand are only allowed to shoot, once they have been made.

Adding a hyperdrive mechanic sounds like a good idea, to give the Imperials a better chance to intercept.

I'll incorporate something to reflect that, thanks!

Hyperdrive could be something like:

You have to perform a hyperdrive action within range 1 of the imperial edge. On the following activation phase, you may leave the play area.

Yup, something like that! I already had something from another mission I wrote and reused that (slightly fitted for "Papers, Please"). Just updated the mission:

"changelog":

Glory to Arstotzka. Glory to The Empire.

This sounds like a very cool & flavorful mission. Kudos!

Edits look good, and the write-up is also very useful! I've started doing something similar, myself. MC's mission description screen is only so big, and it's really useful to have fleshed-out examples of the special rules for people to refer to.

I'm still a little fuzzy on whether or not imperial ships can inspect more than one ship per turn (I think they can?)

Hyperdrive action as written may be a little hard to do, especially with large ships. At R1 of the board edge, a ship might have to be approaching at a weird angle to do the 1-straight without going over the board edge (especially problematic for large ships since their 1-straight covers as much as a small ship's 2-straight).

I'd try to work the mission so that hyperdrive wasn't necessary, just to avoid the problem. Escaping over the board edge is simpler to implement, but i could see balance issues with it. If you want to keep the hyperdrive I'd change it to start at R2 so ships have enough space to complete the jump before flying off the table, going straight at the edge, or even have the ships come to a stop (white or red [stop] maneuver) when they get to R1 of the edge and charge the hyperdrive.

I'd add some guidelines for terrain placement, to avoid abusive setups like a wall of disabled ships intended to corral rebels into a chokepoint, and to encourage a realistic distribution of terrain.

I also think the Rebels should be able to 'shoot first', especially if they are going to be scanned that turn, but that's just me.

I'm not sure exactly how concerned you are with balance - pretty much how worried are you about people trying to 'break' the scenario as they play. Probably not a huge problem in real life, because people playing these scenarios are probably looking for a bit of fun, not trying to win at all costs. I usually like to assume that people are evil, but again that's just me. If I were trying to break the scenario, I'd bring something like:

Edits look good, and the write-up is also very useful! I've started doing something similar, myself. MC's mission description screen is only so big, and it's really useful to have fleshed-out examples of the special rules for people to refer to.

Cool mission! However, as you state in the article as well: The mission is quite complex. I'm aiming for a generic scenario, that has a special flavour, without getting as complex as an epic game etc.

I'm still a little fuzzy on whether or not imperial ships can inspect more than one ship per turn (I think they can?)

Each Imperial ship can perform one inspection at the beginning of the combat phase. Additional inspections my be triggered by careless Rebel/Scum pilots.

Hyperdrive action as written may be a little hard to do, especially with large ships. At R1 of the board edge, a ship might have to be approaching at a weird angle to do the 1-straight without going over the board edge (especially problematic for large ships since their 1-straight covers as much as a small ship's 2-straight).

I'd try to work the mission so that hyperdrive wasn't necessary, just to avoid the problem.

The "problem" is the correct pacing of the mission: If the Rebels are too fast, the Imperials don't stand a chance of stopping them. That is why the hyperdrive mechanic is there; to ensure the Rebels will stay on the table long enough for the Imps to have a chance.

If the Imperials discover the Rebels too easily (or the Rebels simply reveal themselves and bring firepower instead of smugglers), there is no point in a smuggling run - it'd become just another brawl. That is why the "rules of engagement" and "fly casual" are in place. Ideally the goal of the Rebel player would be to stay undetected as long as possible, without making that boring. To guarantee action I've added a line, that automatically reveals a Rebel ship once it is within range 3 of the imperial table edge, triggering the Imperial reserve. Depending on how much firepower a 75pt Imp force amounts to on average, that might make the hyperdrive mechanic superfluos.

Escaping over the board edge is simpler to implement, but i could see balance issues with it. If you want to keep the hyperdrive I'd change it to start at R2 so ships have enough space to complete the jump before flying off the table, going straight at the edge, or even have the ships come to a stop (white or red [stop] maneuver) when they get to R1 of the edge and charge the hyperdrive.

I'd add some guidelines for terrain placement, to avoid abusive setups like a wall of disabled ships intended to corral rebels into a chokepoint, and to encourage a realistic distribution of terrain.

Will be added as suggested.

I also think the Rebels should be able to 'shoot first', especially if they are going to be scanned that turn, but that's just me.

They will, most of the time. The Academy Pilots only have a skill of 1, and the Rebel force has the initiative, because they have the smaller force (and by the logic of the scenario that makes sense as well).

I'm not sure exactly how concerned you are with balance - pretty much how worried are you about people trying to 'break' the scenario as they play. Probably not a huge problem in real life, because people playing these scenarios are probably looking for a bit of fun, not trying to win at all costs. I usually like to assume that people are evil, but again that's just me. If I were trying to break the scenario, I'd bring something like:

Chewbacca (56)

YT-1300 (42), Lone Wolf (2), C-3PO (3), Flight Instructor (4), Millennium Falcon (1), Engine Upgrade (4)

“Leebo” (43)

YT-2400 Freighter (34), Determination (1), Flight Instructor (4), Engine Upgrade (4)

That might be pretty hard to beat; moving up at normal speed until scanned, then blasting across the board at top speed afterwards, turtling heavily. Something for you to look at in a playtest, maybe.

True, in my regular player group we probably wouldn't try to "beat the mission", but I'd like the mission to be usable for a variety of players, not just people who like to stick to the fluff. But this is a secondary objective I'll admit.

I think the mission rules look pretty solid at this point. All this mission really needs at this point is a few playtests and the corresponding tweaks. If you're on Vassal or in the NYC area I'd be up for a game!

Edits look good, and the write-up is also very useful! I've started doing something similar, myself. MC's mission description screen is only so big, and it's really useful to have fleshed-out examples of the special rules for people to refer to.

Cool mission! However, as you state in the article as well: The mission is quite complex. I'm aiming for a generic scenario, that has a special flavour, without getting as complex as an epic game etc.

Right; "Steel Trap" is fairly complex, especially considering the various special rules for the different Rebel abilities, and not all scenarios should be so complex. Simple scenarios that shake up the normal play-style are generally the best I think.

I've got scenarios all across the spectrum at this point - if you think Steel Trap was complex, take a look at Customs Station AX-412-D. That's a truly indulgent beast of a scenario that I expect practically no-one will play. I made that one for fun and as a sort of concept design for asymmetric scenarios.

On the other hand I've got four "tournament compatible" missions that were designed from the ground up to be inherently balanced, playable with standard 100 point lists, and easy to learn; those are next in line for a 'Scenario Showcase' treatment on Team Covenant.

Nowhere near NYC unfortunately (different continent) and I don't have Vassal, but I'll have some time in a few weeks to set it up, I think.