Hello all.

I am about to embark on an much improvised, patched-together chaotic hybrid-scenario, as it a mix of the two scenarios "Shadow of Madness" and "A Stony Sleep".

In the SoM scenario, the characters are going up against the Tau, which includes (XV 15) Stealth suits x3 and a single Tau Commander in a crisis suit. Also, a squad of fire warriors, drones and the horrible possibilty of a charging up Manta ship (avoidable only if the KT manages to kill the Air caste crew standing outside, in time). I use actual miniatures for all these parts (except the Manta ship, which totally ruins any normal economies if bought from FW).

But my question is this:

Since I use miniatures, how to simulate the Stealth suits being near invisible on a table top? And, both the Stealth suits and the commander has flight ability, how to simulate that in a good strategic manner?

My own solution on the stealth suits is to build up a table top terrain and have secretly appointed terrain features that stands for instances of their movement. But that is hard to keep track of even if made prior to the gaming session. And the flight tactics I'm not getting any ideas on.

I've also bought/built and painted a Tau Sensor Tower from FW, which has markerlight ability. I am going to use a laser pen to point at one of the players (characters) and by that surprise them with a seeker missile if they don't shoot down the tower first.

Is your problem before the combat starts or after?

Pre combat, I would just define where the suits are without using miniatures.
In Combat I would use blibs (pieces of cardboard with a picture of the unit) and state that the enemy has to be somwhere near the location of the blip.

Umbranus said:

The problem I see is after the combat starts, that is with the Stealth suits. I didn't properly explain it, but the original idea is to harass the KT with the Stealth suits in the field, long before they reach the Tau base in the end. OR, the other idea is to wait with the Stealth suits until the final battle at the base (where the Manta is). But, my dilemma is the same anywhere.

The blip idea sounds good. But doesn't that give away the general position of the Stealth suits even if only seeing a "blip"?

Why not use various blips, with some obviously being ghost signitures, these appear on the team's Auspex scanner. Have the player use Augery scans to cut down on the possible ghost blips. Or use the tactic of blips from Space Hulk - When detected you turn the blip counter over, and it may end up showing either the Stealth suit or a false reading showing nothing.

Akishma said:

Yep that could work, nice idea! I DO own the old Space Hulk (1st Ed), so I'll just use the blips for that one then! Thanks!



Btw, IMPORTANT: do you think the muzzle flame from the burst cannons reveal the the Tau's position when in active stealth mode?

When I run a pre-planned encounter with hidden opponents, I draw up a map of the battlefield I intend to use ahead of time, and mark the hidden figures locations in pencil. Then, during the game, as the PCs move across the table, I erase and re-draw the hidden figs locations on the map as needed, placing their figure on the actual table only when one of the PCs passes an Awareness test to spot them.

I don't have much experience with flying figs; maybe mark their ending elevation each turn on the map? If they have been spotted, you can place dice next to their figure to indicate elevation, making it plain to both you and the PCs.

Hope that's helpful.

Adeptus-B said:

Yes, I think that's some good ideas! But do you also use the maps in conjunction with table-top figs? And if so, how? Maybe that's what you mean with the dice thing?

dracopticon said:

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I draw out a map of the battlefield ahead of time, usually on graph paper; then, when Game Day rolls around, I use that map as a guide to set up the tabletop terrain (if it's an outdoor combat) or draw it out on a big wet-erase board (if it is indoors). I keep the small map- with the hiddin locations written in pencil on it- concealed from my players. As they move across the battleboard, I compare their locations to the small map to see if they potentially have line-of-sight to the hidden figures. If they do, and if they pass an Awareness test, I then set the hidden figure on the board in its corresponding location for all to see.

I was suggesting using dice as a simple way to track elevation. Leaving out invisibility for a moment, I would place the flying figure on the battleboard with dice sitting next to it indicating its elevation in meters; that way, both you and your players can look at it and tell right away "That guy is 16 meters off the ground". Now, if the figure is both flying and hidden, I would track it's movement on the paper map, also writing its elevation next to its location. If/when it gets spotted, then I would set it on the board with dice markers for elevation.

Does that make sense?

Adeptus-B said:

Yes that definately makes some serious sense to my brain!! Thanks, but I actually already understood that you used the number on the die as a elevation-marker. What I didn't know before was if you also used table top terrain and figs for the end result. But now I know! My brainstem is rebuilding as we speak! Sorry, I just had to say it!

I've been gamemastering full time for two days now (friday and saturday) and will begin 11.00 AM tomorrow, ending 18.00 (sunday) - which it has become here when I write this. My brain is really tired after keeping all the "balls in the air" so to speak. I'll try to make a recap on all of this - the mix of the two scenarios "A Stony Sleep" and "Shadows of Madness" (Karlack turned into Baraban with a twist).

I have only three players (originally four when running the "A Price of Hubris), with three extra NPC's (of which one is the player character of the player who's away). They've behaved really well and now are trying to solve a mystery of maps left by Investigator Vincent (new handouts I put in). Wish me luck!