I was cleaning up my office a bit and found the X-Wing PC game strategy guide, which I bought almost two years ago as a resource for creating scenarios.

One of the missions that always stuck out to me involved protecting a CR90 as it transferred medical patients to a Nebulon-B Frigate. You and a small squad had to protect them as an Imperial Frigate danced around the map and dropped Bomber/Fighter mini-squads around the map. It really forced you to manage the balance between your shields/lasers/and engines to get to the Bombers and take them out, while avoiding being torn to shed by the TIE Fighter escorts.

The mission also became part of the EU. In the first Rogue Squadron novel, the new recruits get put into a simulator version of it as a training exercise.

This is the first draft of an attempt to translate this mission for the tabletop game.

I would be extremely grateful if any of you folks wouldn't mind reading it and offering feedback. I'd be ecstatic if anyone out there would be willing to give it a try to let me know how it goes.



http://tools.fantasyflightgames.com/xwing/htmlpreview/1162/

I love the tie-in to the game & EU, wish I had 8 bombers.

I would change the attack requirement to require the bombers to target only the corvette while it is still in play. Otherwise they have no reason to do anything but pound the transport.

The Redemption scenario had a reputation for being extremely difficult. Right now, I'd say that this scenario is going to live up to that reputation.

If my back of the envelope range math is right, the Korolev is going to stick around maybe just long enough to get one volley off at a squad of TIE Bombers with its quad guns before it leaves the play area. It will probably get ~2 shots with its main guns. So not a whole lot of firepower there. That's assuming the Imperial player went right for the throat with the bombers.

The rebel squad will then be out-costed by over 2:1 by the bomber squads, minus whatever the Corvette did before it left town. The Transport, lacking any other upgrades than combat retrofit, can't be counted on for much support. It'll just be trying to stay alive when the bombers are in range.

The bombers will be attacking from ~4 angles, which is a nightmare, and they are coming on the board in quick succession. I think it would be difficult to successfully intercept two squads of bombers, even ignoring their escorts. If the imperial player played smartly, they could play keep-away with whatever group the defenders try to intercept.

Meanwhile, I think the transport will need at least 5 turns (probably more) after the Korolev leaves to reach a hyperspace buoy; more than enough time for two squads of bombers and their escorts to finish off the transport; and that is assuming that two whole squads were intercepted and destroyed.

I'd want to confirm this all on the table or on Vassal, but I'm pretty sure that this mission is quite suicidal for the rebels in its current format, which may be what you're going for.

I think the underlying problem is that this mission is drawing too literally on the Redemption scenario to be winnable, from the Rebel perspective. In the video game it was possible, as you say, to max out engines at the cost of shields and lasers, and to fly very quickly when needed. Conversely, maneuvering is much more tricky in the tabletop game and X-wings have the same speed as TIE bombers. Not to mention to firepower/durability differences between the two game systems.

I'd recommend a quick and dirty play-test just to see how things basically play out. My gut feeling is that the Rebels are going to need some serious help to have a fighting chance. That could be in the form of free upgrades (engine upgrade, for example could really help) for the small rebel ships or even the Redemption.

You could also reduce the distance the Redemption needs to run before making the jump to hyperspace, or delay the Bombers a little more.

Yeah, It would probably be a good limitation that the bombers can only use their torpedoes and then have to leave the board.

I'm reminded of those D&D scenarios WOTC did in fourth edition. I forget what they called it but it was an extension of encounters. Each player made a new high level character and you played what amounted to a ridiculous boss battle. They were extremely difficult and **** near impossible, especially if the players didn't coordinate their party to min/max as much as possible, which was of course the problem with fourth edition. Though I have to say it was fun, if for no other reason then the extreme challenge, and then trying it again the following week to try and get it right. But again it felt more like a WoW raid then an RPG.

I'd love to try this, but there would need to be something, like the free EU mentioned above to play out the speed aspect.