Orcs in the Webbe

The idea of this article is that you can select pretty much anything you want in your unit, because ultimately you don't know what your opponent will be taking or what sort of game you'll be playing. The 'scenario' (or force 'posture') each player chooses determines the mission and terrain placement, as well as the objectives used to determine victory.

Scenario

Each side secretly decides if they will attack, patrol or defend. This is likely to determine the overall build of the force, but a canny leader prepares for things to go awry. Once decided and your units are built, cross reference the following for table set-up:

Encounter: A ‘meeting engagement’ in neutral ground. Random terrain generation.

Ambush:  One side sets an ambush for the patrolling foe. Ambusher sets up terrain in his half of the table, random terrain generation in other half. Ambusher uses hidden set-up.

Assault: One side launches a deliberate attack against the other, who occupies a position. Defender sets up terrain.

Raid: One side cautiously probes/infiltrates/recce’s the other’s outer defences. Defender sets up terrain. Attacker uses hidden set-up.

?: As two defensive sides have no reason to encounter each other you could roll randomly to see what mission they've been assigned. Or, for a more interesting alternative and if you have the miniatures, you could have both sides forced into an uneasy alliance against a larger enemy force. Assign them one of the assaulted objectives below and use the Flintloque solitaire rules to control the enemy force. If yourspare miniatures don't make up a full unit don't worry, just make it a deserter band !

Determine Objectives

Objectives represent the overall orders a commander gives his force as battle is joined. Each side decides on an objective, chosen from the following and depending on the Scenario.

For an extra twist you could also choose an obective randomly.

Encounter: Hold at all Costs; Rout the Foe; Kill ‘em All; Breakout; Breakthrough; Assassinate; Capture Ground; Take and Hold; Kidnap; Carry to safety

Ambusher: Rout the Foe; Kill ‘em All; Assassinate; Kidnap

Ambushed: Hold at all Costs; Rout the Foe; Kill ‘em All; Breakout; Carry to safety

Assaulting: Rout the Foe; Kill ‘em All; Breakthrough; Assassinate; Capture Ground; Take and Hold; Kidnap; Rescue; Steal; Overt Sabotage

Assaulted: Hold at all Costs; Rout the Foe; Kill ‘em All; Breakout; Carry to safety

Raiding: Rout the Foe; Kill ‘em All; Breakthrough; Assassinate; Take and Hold; Kidnap; Rescue; Steal; Covert Sabotage;

Raided: Hold at all Costs; Rout the Foe; Kill ‘em All; Breakout; Carry to safety

Objectives Explained

Hold at all Costs: Take not a step back – win by standing ground.

Rout the Foe: Win by making as all enemies flee.   

Kill ‘em All: Win by killing all the foe.

Breakout: Escape entrapment, get your forces out.

Breakthrough: Overrun the enemy, breaking through them to the green fields beyond.

Assassinate: Kill a specific enemy character.

Capture Ground: Dominate a specific area of the battlefield.

Take and Hold: Capture and hold onto a specific terrain feature.

Kidnap: Take alive a specific enemy character.

Rescue: Rescue a previously captured friendly.

Steal: Take a specific object from a specific terrain feature, and get it off the table.

Carry to safety: One friendly model must escape.

Covert Sabotage: Destroy a specific terrain feature, and escape. Enemy must not discover objective.

Overt Sabotage: Destroy a specific terrain feature.

When a figure or terrain piece is to be targetted you can simply select it or roll for it randomly. Imagine the difference between having to assassinate a lowly Private compared to a Captain !

Victory Conditions

You win by fulfilling your objective.

If you both do so, it’s a draw, in which case add up secondary objectives, plot hooks etc, to get a ‘winning draw’, pyhrric victory etc.

Objectives are not fuzzy – all or nothing! All stand or none - kill them all or none, etc.

Author's Note

See what you think of the above in your games and let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Webmaster's Notes

Andy Hoare's Mission Generator was published here on the 2nd December 2011 as part of the 2011 Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar with kind permission from the author.

All the comments in red italics are mine.

Andy is a freelance author and games developer with ten years experience in the tabletop wargaming and roleplaying games industry including work for Games Workshop, Fantasy Flight Games and Black Library.

You can read Andy's blog where he talks about a variety of things including general ramblkings and things he's working on by clicking on this link.