Play test story 3 mission 4

So tonight, me and Don opted (more, I suggested, he agreed) to do a play test of this mission, seeing if having more than just one head, planning things would make a difference.

It was on a 3x3 planet map, with the planet in the “SE” corner, 2 cargo/fuel crate locations, in neutral territory with a 14 turn limit.

Since Ryan wasn't coming, rather than run it at 4 ships (which would up us to having to guard two freighters, vice one at 3 ships), I 'dropped' Shrek, and just ran with Snoopy (PS 8, I selected both my seismic bomb and ion bomb, thinking i'd get good use out of them). Don had his new A-wing Shatter (PS 7, Concussion missile), and Twitch (PS 6, selected his sensor jammer, his cluster mines and his ion bomb). Thus our average PS was 7, so that upped the YT, and some of our opposition...

DOH.

Our opponents were; 2 tie fighters in both alpha and beta squads, starting out (though I did have all the ships needed, had we ran it for 6 players pulled out). Alpha started all the way over in the SW corner, spot 9, while Beta started on spot 2.

Twitch started up in the NW corner, so he could drop his cluster mines, to catch Falcon when they showed up. Shatter was in the middle, with me in the NE corner, just outside the YT.

The first two rounds, went relatively ok, but in round 3, Don made a mistake with Twitch, thinking both in Alpha would turn in behind him, and Showed his back to the just showed up, Delta squad (two regular defenders). His saving grace through this and many other rounds, was his sensor jammer, limiting him to losing 1 shield a round, till round 8, when he lost the last 2 he had.

Snoopy and the YT took out both fighters in Beta, and Shatter, got in on the action with Twitch, leaving Snoopy to help guard the YT..

Eventually, Gamma squads aggressors showed up, and Shatter turned away from helping Twitch, to assisting me in stopping the aggressors, but his shot missed, so did mine AND the YT's.. In the 6 ^th round, when the first of the elite bomber squads showed up, the Aggressors had took 2 of the YT's shields away (3 now, since Beta-2 took one off the YT). Falcon's Advance had lost both of his shields, and things slowly went bad..

The YT got bumped into and that slowed its draining of the 2 fuel tanks near the SW corner... Eventually the Aggressors disabled it.. Thus leading to us having to shoot the last fuel tank..

We barely got into doing it, when the imps destroyed it for us..

So like my play tests, this went wrong. BUT that was more cause of our own stupidity in how we went about it, than poor rolls...

Don, completely forgot about engaging Sabine Wren, when both his cluster mines AND his ion bomb went off, that allowed Falcon-1 to survive 2 rounds longer than it should have. And I stupidly went with both bombs, and only used ONE of them, and that was in the 2 ^nd to last round we played... I should have taken both my torpedos and my TLT, rather than my dorsal turret...

Even with it being a loss, Don had great fun playing his new A-wing, without any worry's about it being killed/losing anything..

Who's got the Snow Shoes, replay #1

So after a month, due to Donovan having a holiday up in Scotland (lucky bugger), we got back to gaming. After randomly rolling the mission, he made the choice to re-try this mission, even knowing it was hostile terrain..

So as a refresher, the mission is on a 3x3 planet mat (use starkiller base), 12 turn limit, 2 imperial hangers, a base, shield generator, 2 turrets (both heavy turbo lasers), 3 proxi mines, and the following for ships.

Alpha - 3 tie fighters

Beta- 2 tie Bombers, both starting out.

Round 3 - Delta - 2 tie interceptors.

Round 5 - the Decimator activates (Unless it activates earlier due to the base OR it being shot)

Round 7 - 1 tie bomber ELITE...

So our ships got set up all in the corner, with his A-wing “Shatter”, being the fast runner, tasked to swoop in, scan and get out asap. The rest of us would try to keep the fighters and other imperial ships off him..

In the first round of fire, we damaged one imperial fighter, and Twitch killed another, while Snoopy damaged one of the mines.

In the 2 ^nd , Both “Shrek” and “Snoopy” had fired but wasted their torpedos, missing a fighter and a bomber respectively. Twitch finally lost 1 shield and his stealth device.

In the third round, Shatter got in range to shoot one of the turrets, did it a little damage, a 2 ^nd tie fighter was gone, and both Shrek and Twitch lost some more shields.. Luckily for us, the Decimator didn't activate.

In the 4 ^th round, Snoopy was rumbling with both bombers of Beta squad, Alpha was down to 1, and the two Ties of Delta, were being smacked into by Shrek and Twitch, causing one to be blown up..

In the 5 ^th , Shatter started his scan, was too close to be shot by the turrets, but the Decimator zoned in on Twitch damaging him bad, and stripped another shield off of Shrek. Snoopy had finally gotten some one in range to drop his Ion bomb..

In the 6 ^th , due to forgetting which side of the map he had to go off, Shatter went more towards the south/west, and lost his first shield from one of the turrets.. the 2 ^nd interceptor went bye bye, Alpha was gone to a tie fighter, and one of the bombers had gone bye bye.. Thanks to Twitch's Cluster mine!!

Twitch Finally died in the 7 ^th round, Shrek and Snoopy started fleeing, So did Shatter, after correcting his path.

It took 3 more rounds for Shatter to get close to escaping, but he finally died from the Decimator tagging him with 2 criticals and 1 hit, vs NO EVADES.. yea for an A-wing! Snoopy and Shrek both made it out safely winning the mission.

With the terrain being Hostile, both of donovan's ships rolled 3 die. Shatter lost his Concussion missile, and half his XP (dropping from 6 earned to 3 earned), so rebought it back.

Twitch lost both Predator AND his Cluster mine. He earned 13 XP, so re-bought that mine back, but used the remainng XP and what he had in Bank, to upp his PS to 7.

Snoopy upped his PS to 9!! And Shrek upps his to 5....

Replay #2 for Capture imperial officer part 2, No-body's home.

PC count: Snoopy (Y-wing) – now PS 9, will equip Seismic bomb and Proton torpedo, Dorsal Turret.

Shatter (A-wing) – PS 7, will equip Cruise missile.

Twitch (B-wing) – Now PS 7, Cluster mine and plasma torpedo equipped.

And Shrek (X-wing) – Now PS 5. Equips Plasma torpedo.

PS averages to 7.

Enemy count:

Alpha squad 1 Tie interceptor

Beta squad – two tie interceptors (since we are at PS 6+)

Delta squad – 2 fighters and 1 Tie advanced

Epsilon squad – 2 fighters and 1 Tie advance prototype.

Command squad – 1 Lambda elite.

Shatter and Twitch stayed back, near the 'decoy' Lambda, Shatter pointed towards the imperial Lambda, while Shrek and Snoopy were over on the side the three Interceptors were all lined up at..

In the first round, Alpha squad's interceptor banked in front of the other 2, causing them to both bump him. The lambda ran aground on a debris field, but due to his enhanced sensors, took no damage or lost an action. Some fighters moved. Twitch and Snoopy both revealed themselves. Twitch laying his Cluster mine, right in between 2 asteroids, causing a choke point of sorts. Snoopy's reveal allowed him to damage all 3 interceptors with a seismic bomb, then wounded the Tie advance taking one of its shields.

In the 2 ^nd round, some more imperials split up, bumped others and generally got in each other's way. Shatter revealed himself, launching his Cruise missile, STRIPPING all 5 shields off the Lambda in one punch, Shrek took out one of Beta's two interceptors, Snoopy missed the advance prototype with his first proton torpedo, while Twitch also missed. THEN he got raked losing 3 of his shields from 3 fighters and the advance prototype.

In the third round, Twitch moved over to engage the rest of the interceptors, so did Shrek, while Shatter 5k'ed and Snoopy moved into the Lambda's rear. His shot on one of the fighters missed, so did Shatter's. Twitch shot but also missed, while Shrek killed a fighter, and lost one shield in return. Snoopy and Shatter were both missed, but Twitch lost a 4 ^th shield.

In the 4 ^th round, Snoopy gravely wounded the Lambda, for 3 hull, a 4 ^th came from Shatter, and the kill was done by Shrek. However, both one of the fighters in Delta and the Advance prototype were both in range and scanned the decoy, shifting the rest to fleeing.

2 more rounds passed, with 2 more ties being blown up (Alpha's interceptor and 1 more fighter), leaving 1 last interceptor, 2 fighters, and both the advance and advance prototype to deal with.. IF we didn't kill at least 2 more of them, we'd lose..

In the 7 ^th round, just when it looked like 2 of them may escape, Twitch ioned one, keeping it on the debris field it was located, the Advanced ran into his butt, Shatter tore into the Advance prototype and so did Snoopy. Shrek got sent EVA.

In the 8 ^th , Snoopy's second seismic bomb, dealt a big blow, leaving 2 of the enemy for Twitch and Shatter to take out. Leaving only the advance and one tie to flee..

MISSION Victory. YAY.

Shatter earned 10xp, he purchased an Assault missile (5xp), Munition's failsafe, and the EPT of Wingman.

Twitch only earned 6xp, and used 5 of it to acquire a Proton bomb.

Snoopy earned a whapping 12xp. I will bank it all, bringing me to 13xp. Once I hit 20 I will purchase a B-wing, so I can take EITHER ship for what ever the mission needs...

Shrek, even though he went EVA earned 8xp, lost NOTHING (Rolled a blank). Used all 8 to purchase the EPT of Opportunist.

OK, so after having almost 3 weeks off, due to me having new flooring installed, me and Don got back into it. We rolled up two missions, the first was Imperial counter attack, part 2, Evacuation. The 2 ^nd mission was part 3 of the Capture officer story-line, Miner's strike. Don selected this one, so we could finish off one whole story-line string.

So the mission was on a 3x3 planet map, 12 turn time limit in Neutral territory. At our player and PS level, we had 8 cargo containers (each takes 5 hull damage to destroy), 4 imperial turbo lasers, 2 Cargo Convert Lambdas, each equipped with an Anti-pursuit laser, and 2 'end=caps', which each Lambda started docked on.

For the imperial forces, Alpha squad had 2 Tie fighters to start, Beta also had 2 tie fighters. Gamma came in on Turn 6, with 2 more tie fighters AND one imperial Defender (sporting a Homing Missile), and on turn 8, came Delta squad, 2 more fighters and 1 tie advance (with a sensor jammer).

Our Goals was to eliminate all the cargo containers and have at least ONE of us escape before the 12 turn limit was over.

So we lined up, Twitch and Shrek facing down south, towards Cargo-1 and the two turrets near him, Snoopy facing the middle of the board and turret 1, while Shatter swooped eastward, towards the northern most Four pack of cargo containers.. His assault missile paid off, damaging all the containers, but dealing only 2 damage to his target, plus each of the tie fighters arranged either side of it.

By the end of the 3 ^rd round, one of the turrets was taken out, 1 cargo unit taken out, and 3 ties damaged (Snoopy dropped his seismic bomb right onto one!).

Shatter took the brunt of the early tie fighter fire, losing almost all of his shields and his stealth device, EVEN IN AN A-wing. Shrek and Twitch each got dingged a little, but Snoopy was making out like rabbits.. After we took out 2 more cargo units, it got to where the first reinforcement squad came in, Heading right towards Snoopy and Shrek. Twitch stayed over by one of the turrets and the mid-map cargo pairing, and Shatter had to start making his exit, if he didn't want to go EVA. By the 8 ^th round, we were down to only 2 cargo units left, but Twitch had gotten smacked real bad, Shrek was shieldless and only 2 of the Tie fighters were KIA..

It took till the 10 ^th round to see 2 more go KIA, Shrek was exiting the board as well, due to being down to 2 hull left, and Twitch and Snoopy were left to clean up the last 2 cargo crates.. Eventually they were taken down, but not before Twitch got sent EVA. And as Snoopy couldn't exit in time, he said “lets go out taking one of these buggers with me”, and he too went EVA..

Mission was a success, FIRST TIME OUT. YAY! So Shrek earned a mighty 5xp.. Woopie. Shatter earned only 3. Snoopy WOULD have earned a whapping 12 xp, but rolled two Focuses for his EVA die, and lost ALL of his earned XP. Twitch did the same, losing out on pocketing 8xp.

Both Shrek and Shatter banked all their earned XP.

Minefields part 1, Tread Softly.

For our next outing, we have rolled up Defection, part 2, Defector. And Tread softly, part 1, Minefields. Defection part 2, is a 3x3 space map, Hostile terrain with a 10 turn time limit. Goals are 'make contact with the defector, and ensure the defector gets to jump to hyperspace while 1 friendly ship is in play. IF we win, each player gains one free cannon, modification or missile upgrade.

Our enemies consist of; Set up – Prototype squad, 3 imperial defenders. Alpha squad – 3 tie fighters (PS not high enough yet to shift one up to the first random), Beta squad, 2 more tie fighters with one Tie interceptor (due to our PS being 6+)

Coming in on round 4, Gamma squad, 1 Lambda with Two Tie fighters

and on turn 8, Delta squad, 1 more Tie fighter, with a Tie Aggressor (due to our PS being 6+).

Where as Minefields part 1, is also played on a 3x3 space map, 12 turn time limit in friendly terrain. There are 3 mine fields per player (so there will be 12 proximity mine fields in play). Our goals are to kill as many mine fields as possible, Once we get down to 1 mine field LESS THAN the # of ships (IE 3 remaining), we win. IF we eliminate all, we earn +2xp).

Imperial forces are; starting out – Mine layer squadron, 2 Tie bombers. If possible, Mine layer squad will deploy a new proximity mine, in the round AFTER we start eliminating them. MUST take these guys out swiftly! Alpha squad 2 Tie fighters with 1 interceptor.

Turn 5 Elite squad of one ELITE Bomber

and turn 7, Beta squad, 3 more tie fighters.

So after yapping online, me and Don chose Tread Softly.

So the map was set, 12 mines out total (3 per player), Shrek and Shatter (the A and X wing) set up on the far north east edge, running directly towards the mine-layer squad, while Twitch and Snoopy lined up, east of center, heading inward to take mines out, before engaging alpha squad.

Our plan was set, but alas, the dice didn't go in our favor most of the mission. Snoopy got one mine killed in round 1, Shatter and Twitch both damaged a 2 ^nd and 3 ^rd mine, while Shrek killed a 2 ^nd mine. Neither mine-layer squad bombers could lay a new mine..

Then the 2 ^nd round came, the fighters (and one interceptor) in alpha squad slowly approached, Tore 2 shields and the stealth device off of Snoopy, Shrek lost all of his shields, to both mine-layer bombers, only for a 3 ^rd mine destroyed and 1 hull dealt to Mine-layer 1.

After turning inward, Shatter started tearing into 2 more mines, but tripped a 3 ^rd , while Shrek, Twitch and Snoopy got into a furball with not just the fighters/interceptor in Alpha, but both fighters in Mine layer squad. Shrek got tore INTO again, for 2 hull, then finally died and went EVA from the interceptor, while Twitch started losing his shields...

By the time the elite bomber, came in on the 5 ^th round, Two of the 3 mines we had destroyed got replaced, and we'd Still not even taken ONE bomber or fighter out, though Snoopy caught all 3 in Alpha with his ion bomb.. Luckily for him when he ran over another mine, cause of having Dash Rendar, he didn't set it off, lose any more shields or had his action neutered.

But then Twitch lost his remaining shields, from both mine-layers tearing him up, and the interceptor got 4 hull hits on him, sending him EVA with Shrek. This left Shatter, and Snoopy. Unfortunately Snoopy had been caught in the blast zone for Twitch's ion bomb, along with the 2 ^nd mine layer (we'd finally taken one out), and both fighters and interceptor. He got tore into for 3 hull, just as Shatter escaped into hyperspace. Luck was with him, in the 7 ^th round, as he lost only 1 more hull.. And escaped himself, before getting any more shots on him..

So this mission was a MUCHO loss.. Shrek earned 2xp, but his EVA penalty was he lost his Engine Upgrade.. He's got enough XP banked, he repurchased it. Twitch lost his Proton bomb, earned 4xp, but used it to purchase a proton torpedo instead. Shatter earned only 3xp, and is using it along with the 5 he had in bank, to purchase the EPT of Outmaneuver. Snoopy earned 5xp, bringing his bank to 18. He's saving it to purchase a B-wing, so he can switch between the two each mission he goes on in the future...

Defection part 2, Defector

1 ^st roll was mission #6 on the chart, which is imperial counter attack part 2, Evacuation. 2 ^nd roll was #4. Defection part 2, Defector.

Evacuation is played on a 3x4 space map, Friendly terrain with a 12 turn time limit. We have a rebel facility, 2 hangers, 2 Turrets, a YT-1300 and a YT-2400 to defend, while they get loaded up and evacuate. The imperials have

Alpha squad, starting out – 3 Tie fighters

Beta squad, starting out – 2 tie bombers (neither are elite), each equipped with both a proton and plasma torpedo

Reinforcements are Gamma squad, turn 3, 1 regular and 1 elite bomber, same as beta, though the elite upgrades to an advance proton torp and adds a 2 ^nd plasma torp.

Delta squad, turn 5, 1 regular and 1 elite tie aggressor.

Epislon squad, turn 5 -. 1 Lambda with +3 shields

Sigma squad, Turn 7 -, 1 lambda.

Defection part 2, is a 3x3 space map, Hostile terrain with a 10 turn time limit. Goals are 'make contact with the defector, and ensure the defector gets to jump to hyperspace while 1 friendly ship is in play. IF we win, each player gains one free cannon, modification or missile upgrade.

Our enemies consist of; Set up – Prototype squad, 3 imperial Elite defenders (clear base). Alpha squad – 3 tie fighters (PS not high enough yet to shift one up to the first random, Red base), Beta squad, 2 more tie fighters with one Tie interceptor (due to our PS being 6+, Orange base)

Coming in on round 4, Gamma squad, 1 Lambda with Two Tie fighters (Blue base)

and on turn 8, Delta squad, 1 more Tie fighter, with a Tie AAdvanced (due to our PS being 6+ White base).

Between the two of us, we chose Defection.

Snoopy will equip his TLT, Ion bomb and proton torpedo, Shrek his plasma torpedo. Twitch went with his Proton bomb and Ion torpedo and equipped his Sensor Jammer., while Shatter went with his Assault missile. PS average is still 6.

We all lined up in the “north-west” corner, Shatter in the middle, facing somewhat towards the Defenders, with Snoopy on his outside.

Round 1, Shatter went straight 5, Snoopy 3, same for Twitch and Shrek went 4. The fighters in Alpha came on strong, going 5 straight, while Beta came up 4 straight. Shatter got in a pot shot but missed, Shrek also missed, Same for Twitch, but Snoopy wingged one tie.

In the 2 ^nd round, we finally got into the thick of it with the Defenders. Twitch did a little damage to one of the fighters in Alpha, Shrek lost a shield, and Snoopy whiffed both shots with his turret. Shatter ID'ed one defender but it was NOT our defector.

In the 3 ^rd round, Twitch planned to drop his Proton bomb, but even with bumping into one of the Tie fighters, he still chose to do so, knowing he'd lose his Stealth device, and wound up taking a Structural damage critical. Shatter ID'ed our defector, as the last of the 3 defenders, but Snoopy had already dropped his first Ion bomb, catching all 3 defenders, Two fighters of Beta squad, but unfortunately also caught Shrek. This proved Shrek's downfall several rounds later..

Now the Defender was identified, the imperials started shooting him, So in the 4 ^th round, he got his shields (and stealth device) stripped, but removed 2 shields of one of the other defenders. Twitch missed his ion torpedo's shot on the newly incoming Lambda shuttle, Shrek continued to try and plink away at some tie fighters, and Snoopy slowly circled around to take on another.

Over 2 more rounds passed, and we finally took one of the defender elites out, then 2 more fighters got killed.. However Shrek finally went EVA, and Snoopy got tore into losing all of his shields.

In the 7 ^th round, our defector defender finally got to move out of the roadblock of ioned enemies, and started moving to where he (next round) would get to hyper out, but lost a hull in fire, killing off one of the tie fighters shooting him. Snoopy AND shatter both got tore into going down to 1 hull each.. EEK.. We may not win this one..

Luck shined on us, as both Snoopy and Shatter, along with the Defender all safely entered hyperspace on the 8 ^th round, Twitch waited one round, after failing himself to enter hyperspace.. But safely did so in the 9 ^th round..

Shrek, due to going EVA, got severely smacked. Earned ½ xp, so the 8 he earned dropped to 4, lost his Engine upgrade AND his most expensive EPT, which was Opportunist. With what XP he does have, he upgraded to a B-wing. Snoopy earned 8xp, and Purchased a B-wing using my HR (20xp, and can switch between it and his Y-wing at the start of a mission), Sold back one of his two Shield upgrades, purchased the Crew slot of Sabine Wren and a Sensor Jammer. Twitch earned a whapping 12xp (he did great), and thus used it to purchase the Named Pilots of Nera Dantels (5xp) and Garvan Dreis (6xp), to fill his vacant PS5 and 7 EPT slots. Shatter earned 4xp, so banked it all.

Replay #2, Imperial Counter Assault, part 2; Evacuation.

Rolled 5, and 3 on my mission tracker. 3, is a First running of Chasing Phantoms part 2, Bait.

5, is a 3 ^rd going at Imperial Counter assault part 2, Evacuation.

We chose Evacuation! (this would be our 3 ^rd run at this mission).

Evacuation, is a 3x4 space map, we defend the base (in the middle of the map), starting just behind the base. It is in Friendly territory, with a 12 turn limit. WE have to defend both a YT-1300 and a YT-2400. Enemy bombers are to target the Base AND/OR Freighters, which then the Lambda's coming in try to dock with and capture. IF A FREIGHTER surrenders, we can only win by eliminating the Shuttles..

Enemy forces comprise of; Starting out – Alpha squad 3 tie fighters. Beta squad, 2 Tie Bombers.

Round 3, Gamma squad with 1 regular and 1 elite bomber.

Round 5, Delta squad comes in with 1 regular and 1 elite Tie Aggressor.

Epsilon and Sigma's Squads Shuttles ONLY COME IN once a YT has been disabled, or on Turn 5 and 7 respectively.

The YT-1300 can start moving out in turn 6, while the 2400 starts in turn 8. AS LONG AS AT LEAST one freighter is docked on the base, OUR 2 turrets get to fire! BUT while docked, they do NOT SHOOT OR get to evade/take actions, nor do they roll any evade dice when attacked.. SO WE MUST protect them!

At our PS level BOTH YT-s are upgraded. The YT-1300, comes with a Merc Co-pilot crew slot, Tactical Jammer, Chewie pilot and a Cluster missile. The YT-2400 comes with a Gunner crew slot, a Concussion missile and ion cannon. No named pilot or EPTs though.

All tie fighters, can ONLY shoot at us, unless the base or a YT is at range one of it and it has no other target. BOTH Bombers of Beta and Gamma squads, focus on the YT's first, then the base after. They do draw a Pilot card, but use the same for BOTH squadrons, however they replace their listed card's ordinance with a Plasma torpedo each (two for the single Elite) and a Proton torpedo each (Replaced with an Ion bomb for the elite). THEY start firing with the Plasma torpedo.. Similarly to part 1 of this mission string, they cannot fire on rebel fighters, TILL THEY suffer damage, but even then they ONLY use their main guns, not their ordinance (other than the Ion bomb of the elite) on rebel fighters. This lasts TILL both Freighters have been disabled (once they are brought to 2 or 1 hull)

The Tie aggressors have an Ion cannon, and the Elite adds in an Ion pulse missile. Though they prioritize the YT's (for the missile) they instantly shift that strike AI to focusing on Fighters, once they've suffered damage.

The Lambda's, both use the same AI pilot card rolled (but neither are elite, however Epsilon's comes with +3 shields). Their goal is to DOCK with any activated but disabled YT, or the base if none have left (and both got disabled before they left). IF BOTH YT's got disabled while still attached to the base, NEITHER LAMBDA TAKES ANY SHOTS, even if a rebel fighter is at range 1 of it!!!

Epsilon goes for the YT-1300, or hanger 1, while Sigma goes for the YT-2400 or hanger 2.

Twitch went with both his torpedos (his proton and his ion), Shatter went with his Assault missile, Shrek (now in a B-wing) took his two torpedos (Plasma and ion), while Snoopy stuck in his Y-wing, with his TLT, a seismic bomb and proton torpedos. Our PS averaged out to 6, so the 2 ^nd wave of tie bombers (gamma squad), had one of them being an elite, and Delta squad's aggressors also had one as an elite.

With both the starting imperial squadrons arranged in the south-east corner, we all lined up facing south, Snoopy, then Shrek, then Twitch and lastly Shatter.

After 2 rounds of movement, one of the three tie fighters was killed, however the Bombers had started chewing into the shields of the YT-1300.

By the 3 ^rd round when Gamma squad showed up, they came in over on the NORTH edge, slap bang in the YT-2400's front . Twitch and Shatter both started moving over that way to engage them, but it would take them 2 rounds to get over there, giving the new bombers (inc the elite one) a chance to whittle the YT-2400's shields down to nothing, before they started dealing damage. By this time Shrek and Snoopy had managed to at least kill one of the Beta squad bombers off..

Then the Lambda of Epsilon squad showed up, just east of where Gamma squad's bombers did.. And the YT-2400 got disabled. And once Delta's aggressors came in, they started to join in the whaling in on the YT-1300..

Things looked dire, but the YT-1300, managed to activate and started moving out, with just ONE hull remaining before it would have been disabled. And eventually made it out of there. We slowly tore into the two lambdas (as Sigma's showed up on spot 7, going right for the South most hanger).. It was the first one to fall, then the elite aggressor went, and the elite bomber next, with the second of Beta squad following that.. By the 11 ^th round, we were not sure we'd be able to take out the last lambda in time, but we got in the kill in that round.. Making it a mission win for us.. We tried to finish the rest off in the 12 ^th round but by the end of that round, one of the two aggressors were still left, the 2 ^nd (non elite) bomber of Gamma, and Alpha-1 was still in play. Shrek had barely lost 3 shields, Twitch lost 4, Snoopy lost 3, and Shatter had not even been touched....

All in all this was a slow win for us, but we turned it around in the end..

Twitch earned himself 12xp, and with what he had in bank, was able to upgrade his PS to 8. Shatter iirc earned only 8, and banked it all. Shrek earned 11xp, Purchased a Heavy Laser cannon and a Stealth device. Snoopy earned the most at 15, and is also purchasing a heavy laser cannon, and the named pilot of Wedge Antillies, to go with his named pilots of Dash Rendar and Etahn Abaht.

Shatter did not earn enough to get himself a System though, but will be purchasing himself the Fire control system with his next XP awards...

Next up. Rolled Bait again, and Refueling station part 3, capture station.

Capture station Is a 3x3 space map, hostile terrain (which shifts t o friendly once we capture the station).

6 asteroids, 2 base +2 extra imperial turrets, 5 fuel tanks, 2 shield generators and a command center.

Primary mission goals: 1) Destroy the shield generators, 2) the assault team must dock, 3) the commando team must capture the command center, and 4) Survive till the 12 ^th round (OR destroy all enemies).

Our side gains a YT-1300, with +1 shield per player. NO UPGRADES though. It must land in one of the 2 docking bays. Once there, roll 3 attack dice, if the # of hits EQUALS the # of emplacements on that station, they've captured it. Once at the center tile, they need 3 hits to enter the command center and take it over. IF THE COMMAND CENTER GETS DESTROYED WE LOSE!.

IF we take over the command center before turn 12, the imperials in play retreat (enter hyperspace or go off any side BUT OUR entrance side). If not, WE ARE ALL DESTROYED.

Imperial forces. Set up – Alpha squad, 1 Tie fighter and 1 tie interceptor. Beta squad, 2 more tie interceptors.

Reinforcements; Gamma squad, turn 4, 2 tie fighters and 1 Tie advance.

Delta squad, turn 5, 2 more bombers.

Elite squad – 1 elite turn 8, a Tie aggressor. OTHER THAN THIS GUY, there are NO elites.

So off we went. I took Snoopy in his brand new B-wing with his heavy laser cannon, Shrek was also a B-wing. Snoopy went with his seismic bomb and his proton torpedo, had a sensor jammer (thought it was a fire control system though, as I buggered up, and didn't take the character sheets, so went off memory). Twitch was in his B-wing, and took his proton torp and ion torp. Shatter took his concussion missile..

We set up to where Twitch was on the far west (right side) with Shrek just inside of him, Snoopy dead center, so Dash rendar would make him ignore the 2 asteroids right in his path, Shatter out on the east (left) side by the YT. It was slightly angled inwards.

Alpha squad's one tie fighter and 1 interceptor, started out on Hanger one, facing towards the YT and Shatter, the two interceptors in Beta were on hanger 2, angled away.

Round 1, Shatter went 2 straight, the YT went 3 straight, so did Shrek. Snoopy planned a 2 bank left, while Twitch stressed doing a 4 straight.

Alpha 1 (the fighter) banked 3 towards Shatter, Alpha 2 (the interceptor) banked 2 towards Shatter after taking his free focus. Alpha-1 did a focus, while 2 took an evade. The interceptors in Beta both turned right 2, then boosted right, after taking their free focus.

We rebels move. Shatter and the YT both locked onto Alpha-1, Shrek barrel rolled inward and to his left (getting now in range to shoot turret 1), Snoopy locked Alpha-2, and Twich had no shot.

Snoopy scored first blood getting 2 hull on Alpha-1, which Shatter then missed. The YT missed, so did Shrek on the Turret. However the Turret return shots did not, stealing 3 shields off of him. Snoopy then lost 3 shields (as he was the closer target) to Alpha 2, and lost his Stealth device.. Had I remembered he had the Sensor jammer, he'd have only lost 2.

In the 2 ^nd round, Twitch got in range and locked onto Beta-1, Shrek went 3 straight again, the YT went 4 straight, Shatter did a 5k, and Snoopy banked 2 right this time.

The interceptor of Alpha rolled a 5k, but had to shorten it to a 3k to avoid an asteroid, Alpha-1 kept his 5k. The others came on strong 4 straight, but didn't bother boosting or barrel rolling as both had shots and could not barrel roll to avoid Twitch's fire arc.

Shrek and Snoopy locked onto the same turret, the YT locked onto Turret 3, Shatter took a stress and Twitch locked Beta-1. His ion torpedo whiffed. Shatter finished off Alpha-1, Snoopy dealt 3 hull to the turret, Shrek missed. Then both of them got tore into with the remaining turrets, Snoopy losing a 4 ^th shield, Shrek losing his last 2. Twitch lost two of his shields and his stealth device... The YT got smacked for 2 shields too.

By the 4 ^th round, one turret was gone, Shatter lost his first shield, and we'd only killed two enemy ships, but the Advance of Gamma (and the 2 fighters of it), were fair game, when Twitch used his 2 ^nd ion torpedo successfully. Snoopy had stripped all 3 shields off generator 2, while Shrek did it to generator 1. The YT dealt 1 hull to it..

After 2 more rounds, Shrek was sent EVA, Shatter lost all of his shields, Snoopy was down to his last, so was the YT, and we'd ONLY killed off the advance.. Nothing else was gone, though 2 more turrets were at 3 or 4 damage, and generator 1 and 2 were gone.. However with the bombers of Delta now showing up, we felt that the mission would be a loss... So we planned to hyper out in round 7..

Round 7 came, Snoopy, the YT and Shrek all safely entered. Twitch failed, lost his 2 more of his shields, leaving him with just 2 left.. BUT he safely entered in round 8, just as the Aggressor showed up.

Looking at it, had Twitch gone with one of his bombs and a torpedo vice both torps, he'd have been able to take out at least one of the interceptor in Beta squad, and had Snoopy took his ion bomb vice his seismic (which did good vs the Advance of Gamma and the interceptor in Alpha), we might have cleared out some more enemy... As it stood though, due to the mission being a loss, Shatter lost his shield upgrade (he had enough XP to buy it back), Twitch lost his proton torpedo, did not earn enough XP to buy it back though. Snoopy lost his heavy laser cannon, but he earned enough, with what he had in bank, to buy it back..

Shrek though, rolled THREE CRITICAL HITS for his Eva roll, and died.. SPLAT. OUCH.

Donovan is doing 2.0 Epic next week, so we're back to playing in 2 weeks. Hopefully we get one or two more players....

Next up

So for our next outing, we've got a 1 ^st replay of Minefields part 1, and a 1 ^st run of Cold day in **** part 2, Eviction day.

Mine fields, we know what's there. BUT if Michael K shows up, that gives us 3 players, so if we take both ships we'd have the enemy count higher, i'd suggest if he shows up running it just with one ship each..

For eviction day, its a 3x3 planet map, hostile terrain, 12 turn limit. Same Base set up as in mission 1. Mission goals: Primary #1, Destroy all base turrets. #2 Destroy the shield generator on the base. #3 destroy the sensor dish. And #4, destroy as many of the proximity mines.

WE ONLY need #1 and 2, to be complete, before we can try to bug out.

Secondary goal of destroying the Decimator, and stopping the Interceptors of Charlie, and bombers of Delta squadrons.

Imperial forces are (at 3 players), 2 tie fighters, patrol box D for Alpha squad.

Hanger 1, one tie bomber Beta squad.

Turn 4, out of hanger 1, Two tie interceptors (OR strikers).

Turn 7, out of hanger 1, Is Delta's Tie bomber.

Since Delta was NOT destroyed totally in part 1, Gamma squad's two defenders do Not show up, to replace the bombers.

However the Decimator is still there, activating in round 7, if not before....

If we shift up the # of players, the # of enemies will be larger..

We went with Minefields. Just me and Donovan (MK< couldn't make it as his vehicle was in use by his wife).

So I kept with my Y-wing for this mission, sporting a proton torpedo, TLT and seismic charge. Twitch was in his PS 7 B-wing, Shatter in his PS 7 A-wing, and Koresh, my new replacement X-wing, for Shrek. (I ran Koresh through 3 missions, in SINGLE player, just me vs the baddies, and BARELY won two of those missions).

So Koresh and Twitch lined up on the North east side of the map, heading towards mine-layer squadron, Twitch more to the inside. Shatter and Snoopy over on the north-west side, heading towards Alpha squadron's Two tie fighters and one tie interceptor.

The first round, saw Shatter fire off his assault missile into the interceptor dealing it a hit, which caused both of the fighters in Alpha to also take a hit, Snoopy dealt 2 hull to one mine with his forward guns (****, i'd run over it the following round losing my stealth device and one shield). Twitch destroyed one mine, so did Koresh. Shatter lost all 3 shields to the interceptor, but got missed by both fighters.

In the 2 ^nd round, Koresh lost both of his shields to the bombers, one got tore into for 4 hull by Twitch, while after the fighters and interceptor had moved, Snoopy dropped his seismic bomb. Since both him AND Twitch had Sabine wren as a crew slot, BYE BYE went both one of the fighters AND the interceptor. Snoopy then finished off a 3 ^rd mine. However Mine-layer 2, did manage to replace one of the prior destroyed mines..

2 more rounds had past, and one of the bombers of Mine layer had been taken out, 2 more mines were gone, and Shatter was playing footsy with the last fighter.

Then the elite bomber came into play, and he was swiftly taken out.. came in on turn 5, got killed in turn 6.. By the end of turn 6, we had also eliminated enough of the minefields, to technically qualify for a mission win, but we said “lets keep it up”..

Beta squads 3 tie fighters came in to play, on the 7 ^th turn, and were all dead, along with the last bomber by the end of the 9 ^th round..

MAN this was our day. Our dice were HOT AS HECK...

Twitch earned himself 13xp. Banked it all. Shatter earned himself 13xp as well, and upgraded his PS to 8, and purchased his last modification of “Extra munitions”, taking him down to only 2xp left in his bank.

Snoopy earned a whapping 16xp, mostly from taking out three fighters, the interceptor and the elite bomber, but had little to spend it on, so only purchased himself a Proton bomb for now.. This leaves him with 13xp in the bank.. Let's hope one of the two other new ships (the U wing or ARC-170) come open to play, so I have something else to spend my xp on...

Koresh, earned the least, gaining himself only 8xp. BUT that was sufficient enough, joining what he still had in bank, to upgrade his PS from 3 to 4, and purchase a shield upgrade...

Next up.

Rolled 2d as usual. 1 ^st mission rolled up is Defection part 3, Pride of the Empire.

This is a 12 turn mission in neutral territory. Space map. 6 asteroids. 12 'tabs' for incoming foes.

Mission goals – Must destroy at least 3 enemy squadrons totally. EACH squadron we completely eliminate is +1xp to all.

Rebels get to come in ANYWHERE on the edges..

IF all tie defenders are eliminated, we remove ALL future tie defenders from any future mission.

For the imperials, we have starting out,

Instructor ship, a Lambda with +4 shields (+2 If we only have 3 ships).

Alpha squad is 1 elite defender, +1 tie fighter

Beta squad is 2 tie fighters +1 elite defender

Gamma squad is 1 tie fighter +1 elite defender.

Delta squad, is two fighters only

For reinforcements we only have one squadron, Epsilon squad.

Epsilon squad comes in on turn 8, has two Interceptors and one tie fighter.

As per the mission write up, the FIRST ROUND Only, all imperial ships are “Surprised” so do not move or take actions (though they still get to shoot).

The Lambda is 'well-coordinated', and when ever an imperial ship is within range 1 of it, IT may convert ALL FOCUSES to either hits or evades (as if they always had a focus token).

The Lambda is dead center, Alpha squad starts on “Spot” C, to its north-west, Beta is on spot D, to its South-west, Gamma is on tab E, to its south-east, while Delta squad is on spot F, to its north-east..

Alpha 'faces' west, Beta faces south, Gamma faces east and Delta faces north.

With all the enemies, this is a Bomb droppers heaven. However, with the # of foes, especially elite defenders (3 of the buggers) I predict it may be hard.

IF We lose this mission, this string is done for, we can't replay it... (the empire gains a victory point in essence).

2 ^nd up was, Mine-fields part 2, Imperial Entanglements. This is a 10 turn mission, neutral territory.

12 proximity mines are out, the GR-75 rebel transport is in use (though does nothing other than sits there)..

6 tabs are placed around the map edge, 3x3 space map, for the imperials to come in on.

The GR-75, Quantum storm ran through the mind field and is damaged, unable to do anything. EACH ROUND it does not move, but generates ONE energy. IT can perform one action, OR we can roll one die. On a focus only, it gains +1 energy. Once it hits 7 energy, it must hyperspace out at the end of the combat phase for that round.

WE MUST HAVE IT EXIT!

Our mission goals are to, Ensure the GR-75 exits before the end of round 10, OR ELIMINATE all imperial opposition by turn 10.

We gain a bonus, IF we ensure the enemy does not hit it with any of its ion pulse missiles.

We gain a +3 xp bonus, if we get it into hyperspace AND DESTROY the decimator.

Imperial starting forces, are Alpha squad, 3 Tie interceptors, ONE of which is an elite.

Beta squad 3 tie fighters.

Reinforcements are
Gamma squad turn 3, two tie bombers. WE DO NOT draw a PILOT card for those 2, they just come equpped with a single Ion pulse missile that, IF HITS THE GR-75, Drains 2 energy PER MISSILE that hits, instead of giving any damage or ion tokens. Once these bombers have fired their missiles, they flee the board.

Turn 6, a Decimator with +2 shields, an Anti-pursuit laser cannon, the EPT of Determination and the Crew slot of Mara Jade. While in play, the Decimator ONLY MOVES forward 2, 3 or 4 straight. IT WILL NEVER BANK or turn. IF IT starts the phase touching the GR-75, it boards and Captures it. IF THIS HAPPENS we lose!!!!

And also on turn 6, Delta squadron, two Elite tie defenders.

Other than the tie bombers of Gamma squad, NO OTHER Ship will shoot at the GR-75. Also, remember, in 1 ^st edition, if WE (or an imperial fighter) Bumps into the GR-75, it gets destroyed, they WILL ALTER THEIR Moves to avoid this (like with asteroids!)..

If we lose this mission, we lose our most expensive upgrade.

We selected this mission, feeling great about mission 1 of the string.. BUT our over confidence proved our downfall. Twitch took his ion and plasma torpedo (with extra munitions), Shatter his Assault missile with extra munitions, Koresh just had his proton torpedo, and Snoopy went in his B-wing with an ion bomb and his proton torpedo, with extra munitions.

The first round, Shatter hit one mine for a hull, Twitch blew a 2 ^nd mine up, Snoopy whiffed his shot, and Koresh dealt 2 damage into one of the interceptors, but lost 2 of his 3 shields back.

Then we were in the furball, The fighters of Beta, actually connected on a lucky range 3 shot into Shatter, taking his stealth device and two of his shields in the 2 ^nd round, Koresh lost his last shield and took one hull, and we'd barely touched any of the others.. Shatter though had blown one fighter up and damaged the other two with his missile..

Then snoopy ionized two of the three interceptors with his first ion bomb, and we started moving towards the bombers.. However we could not stop them hitting the GR-75, reducing the 3 energy it had so far acquired, dropping it back down to 1 (two solid hits, one from each bomber took one energy).

Then in the 5 ^th round, Shatter got sent EVA, the surviving bomber popped off its ion pulse missile into the Gr-75, reducing it back down to 2 energy... But one bomber and two interceptors had been killed...

In the 6 ^th round, Koresh tore into the decimator taking 4 of its shields, then died to it in the 7 ^th round.. Snoopy and Twitch decided to try and push it out for one more round, but That proved to be Snoopy's downfall..

he lost all of his shields, and took one hull, fighting one of the defenders and the decimator.. Twitch lost two of his shields to the other one....

Then in the 8 ^th round, Twitch made it safely into hyperspace, Snoopy rolled a blank and a focus, so failed to enter himself.. This led to him being sent EVA by the 2 ^nd defender....

All in all, a swift butt whupping by the imperials.. Twitch lost his Proton bomb only (cause the mission causes you to lose one upgrade if you lost). Twitch earned 7xp, combining with what he had in the bank, he re-purchased the bomb, and purchased an Advance proton torpedo.

Shatter lost his assault missile and his EVA penalty was losing one of his Shield upgrades. He earned only 3xp, so bought it back.

Koresh went down from 8xp, to 4, and lost his proton torpedo. He repurchased it back.

Snoopy lost his heavy laser cannon, his twin laser turret, and half his xp, taking him down from 10 earned to only 5. Adding to what he had in the bank, he was able to buy both upgrades back, but this almost wipes out his bank of xp...

Oh well.. Post mission, both me and Donovan thought maybe we should have both taken proton bombs on Twitch and Snoopy, had those two tangle with the tie fighters, and sent Shatter and Koresh to fight the fighters, till the bombers showed up and tore into those as a group... Rather than the haphazard way we went about it....

Lesson learned for next running....

Since Donovan won't be playing Epic next week, we will get together then to play another session...

Next mission. Redo #1 of Imperial Entanglements:

This is a 10 turn mission, neutral territory.

12 proximity mines are out, the GR-75 rebel transport is in use (though does nothing other than sits there)..

6 tabs are placed around the map edge, 3x3 space map, for the imperials to come in on.

The GR-75, Quantum storm ran through the mind field and is damaged, unable to do anything. EACH ROUND it does not move, but generates ONE energy. IT can perform one action, OR we can roll one die. On a focus only, it gains +1 energy. Once it hits 7 energy, it must hyperspace out at the end of the combat phase for that round.

WE MUST HAVE IT EXIT!

Our mission goals are to, Ensure the GR-75 exits before the end of round 10, OR ELIMINATE all imperial opposition by turn 10.

We gain a bonus, IF we ensure the enemy does not hit it with any of its ion pulse missiles.

We gain a +3 xp bonus, if we get it into hyperspace AND DESTROY the decimator.

Imperial starting forces, are Alpha squad, 3 Tie interceptors, ONE of which is an elite.

Beta squad 3 tie fighters.

Reinforcements are:
Gamma squad turn 3, two tie bombers. WE DO NOT draw a PILOT card for those 2, they just come equpped with a single Ion pulse missile that, IF HITS THE GR-75, Drains 2 energy PER MISSILE that hits, instead of giving any damage or ion tokens.

As per Errata via the HOTAC Facebook, Tie bombers (and other ships which get a free target lock), can DO THEIR LOCK either BEFORE they move, or AFTER they move.

AS Soon as they have fired their missile each, they shift to a Flee AI, with orders to exit via any map edge. THEY only shoot their main guns at rebel fighters in their front arc, while trying to flee.

Turn 6, a Decimator with +2 shields, an Anti-pursuit laser cannon, the EPT of Determination and the Crew slot of Mara Jade. While in play, the Decimator ONLY MOVES forward 2, 3 or 4 straight. IT WILL NEVER BANK or turn. IF IT starts the phase touching the GR-75, it boards and Captures it. IF THIS HAPPENS we lose!!!!

And also on turn 6, Delta squadron, one more tie fighter + one elite defender.

Other than the tie bombers of Gamma squad, NO OTHER Ship will shoot at the GR-75. Also, remember, in 1 ^st edition, if WE (or an imperial fighter) Bumps into the GR-75, it gets destroyed, they WILL ALTER THEIR Moves to avoid this (like with asteroids!)..

If we lose this mission, we lose our most expensive upgrade.

For the rebels, we have Shatter, PS 8, will take his concussion missile again. Twitch PS 7 still, going with his newly acquired advanced torpedo and his proton bomb. Koresh, PS 4 with a proton torpedo, and Snoopy, PS 9. Will be in his Y-wing this time, will be going with his proton bomb and proton torpedo this time, for ordinance. This averages us to 6ps.

In the very first round, Shatter's concussion missile took out one of the tie interceptors, another was damaged, but the return fire stripped all 3 shields and hulled Koresh.

It took till the bombers showed up, in round 3, before the 2 ^nd interceptor died off.. Then the route was on. We slowly chewed through the imperial opposition, Though Snoopy lost all 4 of his shields. Over the next three rounds, taking us to when the Decimator showed up, we killed off the last interceptor, and two of the three fighters in Beta squad.

Though Don made a booboo in thinking he had extra munitions on Twitch, the bombs of both him and Snoopy helped make short work of the empire..

Even then, we still let one bomber in, to use his ion pulse missile on the GR-75.. This hurt it initially, but it still got the needed energy by the end of the 9 ^th round.. and so it escaped in the 10 ^th ..

This mission was a total clean sweep for the rebels, wiping everyone out.. However, Koresh and Shatter both got sent EVA. A total turn around from our last outing, where we had our butts handed too us.

Twitch earned the most XP, with 22! Well, he did get the kill on 2 of the 3 interceptors, 3 of the 5 tie fighters, the Decimator AND one of the bombers.. He also took out 3 of the 6 proximity mines the map had.. That's why he heard so much.. He purchased the Extra munitions he needed, and upped his PS to 8. He still has fourteen XP in the bank.

Shatter rolled the loss of his shield upgrade, but as he earned 12xp, he purchased it back, and bought an Ion pulse missile, to replace his lost Assault missile. This dropped him to 6xp for his bank.

Koresh only earned 8xp, 4 before he got sent EVA, 4 after from mission goal awards AND the elite defender being killed. He lucked out though rolling two blanks, so lost none. He banked it all.

Snoopy earned 15xp, purchased himself a Cluster mine, to go with his other ordinance, as well as his own advanced proton torpedo.