DAY 12 – APRIL 29th 2000
NORTH-EAST of DOBRODZIEN, POLAND – DAY
ROUND 04
“You let me go now” says ENEMY 2, his eyes alternating between LED and ALEX’s position.
LED points at the PRISONER “let the woman go and you can leave”
“Poczekaj idioto” comes the LEADER’s voice “wait American, let’s talk some more”
“Sorry tovarishch” says LED in response “ty bol’she ne glavnyy” [Russian: you’re no longer in charge]
LED then looks at ENEMY 2, he points at his eyes “look at me, hey, look at me” he says calmly “you do not have to die today, I can let you go, but you have to let the woman go first”
“I am going now” shouts ENEMY 2 “and she is going with me!” he takes one step back, pulling the PRISONER along.
LED raises one hand “if you move, my men will shoot you!” he says quickly. “Just stop, stop, there” he adds calmly.
The LEADER says something in Polish.
“Zamknąć się!” is once again ENEMY 2’s response.
LED takes one step forward “you don’t want to die, right?”
“You let me go now American!”
LED can almost hear the short, heavy breaths of the man. “Just let the woman go” he says calmly once more.
“Let me go!” responds ENEMY 2.
“Let the woman go” repeats LED more seriously and at a slightly higher tone.
“No, no…” ENEMY 2 is looking around nervously “I go now”
“Let the woman go” repeats LED again, quicker and louder.
The enemy LEADER speaks once again in Polish.
ENEMY 2 turns towards him “mówiłem ci, żebyś się zamknął!”
LED takes one step forward “let the woman go” he orders again firmly and loudly.
“Stop! Don’t move!” yells ENEMY 2, his voice panicking. He moves the PRISONER slightly and now LED can see the AKM is pointed at him.
“Let the woman go” keeps pushing LED.
The PRISONER turns her head to the side and says something.
“Zamknąć się suka!” shouts the now exasperated ENEMY 2, who then turns to LED “American… I now… I now…” his eyes keep darting between LED and the forest around.
LED takes one more step forward “let the woman go, now!” he yells at full volume.
ENEMY angrily pushes the PRISONER who falls into the grass in front of her, lifts his assault rifle and points it at LED.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
ENEMY 2 has now reached his tipping point. Some considerations are in order:
- ENEMY 2 is starting this new phase of the (fire)fight and – just like LED in Round 01 – should be the first to act
- Yet both ALEX and DONNA have overwatch on him (as he is the only enemy standing and therefore clearly visible in the hex)
- DONNA is not a skilled shooter, so she will refrain from engaging ENEMY 2, but ALEX will try and shoot him. NASCAR is also keeping overwatch, but on a different hex, so I’ll place him after ENEMY 2 in the initiative order
- I’ll draw a card for LED and for the enemy LEADER, and the PRISONER will go in last place
New initiative order:
- PRISONER
- ALEX
- DONNA
- ENEMY 2
- NASCAR
- Enemy LEADER (for whom I drew the card #2)
- LED (for whom I drew the card #6)
End of Round 04
ROUND 05
ALEX has attentively watched ENEMY 2, his hunting rifle aimed at him, his eyes focused on every nervous gesture, trying to distinguish between a move dictated by anxiety and one of violence.
He sees the woman being pushed forward, revealing a clear picture of his target, then in a split second the AKM of ENEMY 2 is lifted, greenlighting his intervention.
He quickly leans forward against the stock, holds his breath and takes a shot (fast + slow action).
ALEX’S ROLL [click to expand]
I briefly considered a called shot at ENEMY’s 2 head, but judged it unnecessary. The PRISONER is out of the way (hopefully, that is; I’ll have to decide what happens if ALEX misses), so ALEX will aim at center mass (or wherever the Hit Location Die says).
ALEX shoots at short range (no penalty) at a standing target (no penalty) firing once (no ammo dice):
- RANGED COMBAT [D10+D8] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 1 and 4)
He pushes the roll (the 1 cannot be re-rolled and will lower his rifle’s REL by 1 point):
- Pushed RANGED COMBAT [D8] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 2 on the re-rolled D8)
No luck. ALEX misses, so there’s a chance – albeit small – that the round could hit the PRISONER or the enemy LEADER. We turn to page 65 of the Player’s Manual, specifically the final paragraph about friendly fire: if your shot misses, roll two D6 base dice – any success means a random friendly is hit instead, and a second success will increase the damage by 1.
If the roll says there’s friendly fire, it will be 50-50 between the LEADER and the PRISONER. Also, both the LEADER and the PRISONER will have to make a CUF roll or be suppressed, whether they are hit or not (I’m treating them as major NPCs at this point):
- Friendly Fire [D6+D6] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 6 and 1)
This is getting interesting… ALEX is hitting someone after all: 1-50 is the LEADER, 51-100 is the PRISONER:
- Roll [D100] = 51 (of course…)
The PRISONER is hit; it will be base damage and therefore not critical (still, it’s 3 damage points and the PRISONER started the fight with 4 hit points…). In the interest of the story, let’s see where she’s hit:
- Hit Location Die = TORSO
Final rolls are CUF for both the LEADER (CUF C) and the PRISONER (CUF C):
- LEADER rolls CUF [D8] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 1)
- PRISONER rolls CUF [D8] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 7)
The enemy LEADER is suppressed, the PRISONER is wounded and ALEX fires a single round.
That’s a lot for a single roll.
ALEX can tell his aim was too low and to the right, as there’s no apparent effect on his target.
From her position, DONNA sees the PRISONER being pushed, but doesn’t want to risk firing in her direction, so she keeps her overwatch.
ENEMY 2’s mind has tuned out the shot coming from the trees and he is now fixated on LED, his rifle already leveled, he aims and presses the trigger (fast + slow action).
ENEMY’S 2 ROLL [click to expand]
ENEMY 2 is at short range (no penalty) and rolls 4 ammo dice (full ROF for the AKM):
- RANGED COMBAT [D10+D8] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 4 and 8)
- Ammo Dice [D6+D6+D6+D6] = 1 + 4 + 4 + 6
- Hit Location Die = TORSO
On target: LED is hit in his torso, suffering 2 base damage points + 1 for the 6 rolled on the ammo dice and mitigated by 1 for LED’s flak jacket, for a total of 2 damage points.
LED rolls CUF to avoid suppression (no Morale as he has no line of sight on any friendlies):
- Roll CUF [D12] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 9)
LED takes the hit but he’s still in the fight. His flack vest has a 1 in 6 chance of deteriorating and lose his armor level:
- Roll [D6] = 1 -> LED’s flack vest drops to armor level 0
ENEMY 2 has fired 1+4+4+6 = 15 rounds. He should have 7 more rounds to fire, but I’ll stick with the simplified rules for NPCs used so far: he rolled 1 on his ammo dice, and now he has to reload.
The PRISONER is in between ENEMY 2 and LED, so the former is shooting right above her. He won’t hit her, but could suppress her:
- PRISONER rolls CUF [D8] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 8)
Tough woman this PRISONER
A hail of bullets flies towards LED, and a couple strike the frontal plate of his flack vest. He grins through the pain of the impacts and quickly adjusts his feet to keep his balance.
A bit further from the action, NASCAR sees ENEMY 2 push the PRISONER who disappears into the knee-high grass, then he hears a single shot from his right while ENEMY 2 opens fire with a long burst towards LED’s position.
From his position NASCAR cannot see whether ENEMY 2’s fire has hit or missed, but an active shooter is enough for him to react. He abandons his overwatch, trains his M249 at ENEMY 2 and opens fire.
NASCAR’S ROLL [click to expand]
NASCAR is firing at medium range (-1) at a standing target (no penalty) and his Machinegunner specialty grants him a +1. He fires a small burst (rolls 1 ammo die):
- HEAVY WEAPONS [D12+D8] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 8 and 2)
- Ammo Dice [D6] = 2
He pushes the roll:
- HEAVY WEAPONS [1 SUCCESS+D8] = 2 SUCCESSES (rolled 6 on the re-rolled die)
- Ammo Dice [D6] = 3
- Hit Location Die = ARMS (rolled after the pushed attack roll)
It’s a hit: ENEMY 2 suffers 2 base damage points + 1 for the extra success on the attack roll, for a total of 3 which is critical and kills him (simplified rules for NPCs).
NASCAR fires 3 rounds.
Once more, the LEADER and the PRISONER are in the line (or rather the hex) of fire. The LEADER is altready suppressed, so one more CUF roll awaits the PRISONER:
- PRISONER rolls CUF [D8] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 1)
That was too much even for her
The three rounds departing his SAW are enough to bring ENEMY 2 to the ground.
The enemy LEADER is prone in the grass and loses both his actions on account of being suppressed.
LED wants to close this once and for all, and sees an opportunity as soon as ENEMY 2 is brought down by NASCAR’s M249. He makes a run for the area where the PRISONER and the LEADER are.
LED’S ROLL [click to expand]
When standing, a PC/NPC can move 2 hexes without rolling dice, consuming a fast action. LED decides to also consume his slow action and rolls MOBILITY to attempt to get as far as he wants to in this round. He has a +1 for his Runner specialty.
- MOBILITY [D10+D8] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled double 1…)
He only moves the standard 2 hexes.
LED sprints but finds himself out of breath after roughly 20 meters, his chest still hurting from the previous hits he suffered. He drops to the ground in the grass (free action).
“Vse koncheno, tovarishch” he says between breaths “time to surrender” [Russian: it’s over, comrade]
The PRISONER loses both her actions recovering from suppression.
End of Round 05
