Two more games of Xenos Rampant

I played two more games of Xenos Rampant early in the year but my memory of them is now a little hazy. The first was against my friend Ian and utilized my still unpainted 15mm Near Future armies. I was wondering if more cover would overcome the tendency to get bogged down in firefights. There was more movement in this game until the forces converged at the centre where mine were convincingly ground down.

The second was against Ian's house guest, Ivan, utilising some of Ian's 28 mm 40K armies in a crowded urban environment. Some of the units had only a hand-to-hand capability and this also helped to induce movement. It was an aesthetically attractive and fun game which I marginally won, shooters having some advantage over those trying to close.

Since playing these games my attention has been drawn to the 'Stabilised Weaponry' attribute which allows infantry to move and shoot as an ordered activation in the same way as vehicles. I will try this in the future in another attempt to avoid shooty games.

My forces on this side. Ian's in the distance.

 

In the first of these two games, the progression to the centre is pretty obvious in these overview photos.

My heroic humans move forward...

...backed up by mortars.

The monstrous opposition was beaten back.

Xenos Rampant: first game

Eurasian forces massed in a corner of the
table. The armies will be getting some paint
when reinforcements arrive from GZG.

Ian and I played our first game of Xenos Rampant. We improvised a scenario based on points for controlling three objectives, the points value of destroyed enemy units and a limit to the number of turns set by dicing for game end from the sixth game turn onwards. The game actually ran to seven turns at which point I readily admitted defeat.

As expected, the Rampant engine proved sound and we both enjoyed the game. There were, however, some issues we need to address.

Firstly, we mistakenly overlooked some unit characteristics which would have made certain units more effective.

Secondly, there were some flaws in army design within the context of this game. My side lacked anti-armour power and my Heavy Infantry hit only on a 6. Upgrading to 10 strength points would make them to hit on 5+ which would give them a much better chance against heavy armour.

Thirdly, we should have kept the table to the standard 4' x 4'. I increased the size because we were using 36 point forces but it wasn't really justified as the units were expensive rather than numerous.

Fourthly, and most importantly, it got very shooty. Once enjoying a target, even at extreme range, there was little incentive to move. I put this down to the unlimited ranges. Now, unlimited ranges are quite realistic for a modern/futuristic skirmish game and I actually like that aspect, but it seems to me to put the game in the same territory as Crossfire which would be unthinkable (and not worth playing) without closing down the ranges with close terrain.

Current events indicate that modern war is all about concealment and detection (not to forget artillery). Forces should only expose themselves and attack when they have local superiority. You can't capture that type of battle on an open table where everything can be seen, so our next game is going to have lots of woods for more of a hide-and-seek approach.

2023 Plans

RCW Reds: now accommodated
by Xenos Rampant

My intentions for 2023 are so focused that I feel confident enough to call them plans. They are:

(1) To continue with To the Strongest!

I have a number of fully-painted 15mm and 10mm armies which haven't yet been tabled. I also have some individually-based 28mm forces that might be used on sabots, and to facilitate that I recently supplemented my Late Medieval Swiss/Burgundians with another modest eBay purchase.

(2) To play Xenos Rampant (my current obsession) and other Rampant games.

I have three projects which have now become Xenos Rampant projects:

• 15mm Eurasia vs Oceana Near Future Sci-Fi. Existing figures and vehicles are based and mostly undercoated but I am now adding a few more models. I also have a huge collection of domestic detritus which I had intended to turn into SF industrial scenery. I will hopefully be able to attempt a game early in the new year and am currently working on foamboard storage trays to fit RUBs so the armies can be stored and transported safely.
  
• 28mm Irish War of Independence. I actually have completed armies for this, as well as a host of additional unpainted figures which I recently rediscovered.
  
• 28mm Russian Civil War. These are based and undercoated.
  

(3) To play Blucher

I have some ideas for making very flat, light scenery to complement the unit cards. This will make it a handy game to carry about.

Any painting or modelling will be directed into these three areas.

Xenos Rampant unit profiles for Near Future Sci-Fi forces

Some Brigade Models reinforcements with
Heavy Weapons for the Elite Infantry.

I've been working on Xenos Rampant unit profiles for my 15mm Near Future Sci-Fi Detachments. These are mostly collected and even undercoated but I am waiting on a few new additions.

One of these forces has a neo-Soviet flavour and was originally inspired by the early Russian insurgency in Ukraine. The other was conceived as a sort of US/NATO force. The current frightfulness has made me uncomfortable with that so I am rebranding them as the forces of Eurasia and Oceana.

The profiles basically follow what seems credible for the look of the models. The Oceana force is a little more hi-tech. I'm aware that the points costs are high which might mean some dumbing down and almost certainly having Detachments of more than the standard 24 points. We found the same thing with Dragon Rampant as opposed to Lion Rampant.

Eurasia

Spider Drone Swarm
Elite Infantry 6
Armour-Piercing 1, Heavy Weapons 2, Mechanoid 0
9

Infantry Squad
Light Infantry 1
Armour-Piercing 1, Heavy Weapons 2, Brutal Leader 1
5

HMG Squad
Support Infantry 5
Armour-Piercing 1, Heavy Weapons 2
8

AT Squad (RPGs)
Support Infantry 5
Anti-Tank 2
7

Tank
Fighting Vehicle 6
SMU, Armour-Piercing 1
7

IFV
Transport Vehicle 4
SMU
4

Walker
Fighting Vehicle 6
SMU, Armour-Piercing 1,Walker 2
9

Aerial Gunship
Fighting Vehicle 6
SMU, Area Effect 2, Armour-Piercing 1, Light Armoured Vehicle -2, Flying 2
9

Oceana

Powered-Armour Squad
Elite Infantry 6
Armour-Piercing 1, Heavy Weapons 2, Mobile 1
10

Bike Squad
Light Infantry 1
Armour-Piercing 1, Mobile 1, Skimmer 1
4

Jetpack Infantry Squad
Light Infantry 1
Armour-Piercing 1, Heavy Weapons 2, Mobile 1 Skimmer 1
6

Infantry Squad
Light Infantry 1
Armour-Piercing 1, Heavy Weapons 2
4

Aerial Drones
Recon Infantry 2
Flying 2, Mechanoid 0
4

HMG Squad
Support Infantry 5
Armour-Piercing 1, Heavy Weapons 2, Indirect Fire 1
9

AT Squad (Mini-Missiles)
Support Infantry 5
Anti-tank 2
7

Mortar Squad
Support Infantry 5
Engulfing 1, Indirect Fire 1
7

Tank
Fighting Vehicle 6
SMU Armour-Piercing 1, Skimmer 1
8

IFV
Transport Vehicle 4
SMU Skimmer 1
5

MRLS
Fighting Vehicle 6
SMU Area Effect 2, Artillery 2, Indirect Fire 1, Light Armoured Vehicle -2
9

High Mobility Wheeled Vehicle
Soft-skin Vehicle 2
SMU, Transport (5) 1
3

Aerial Gunship
Fighting Vehicle 6
SMU, Armour-Piercing 1, Light Armoured Vehicle -2, Flying 2
7

20th Century Rampant?

Irish War of Independence

I wrote here about adapting the Rampant Colonial Rules, The Men Who Would Be Kings, for the early Twentieth Century, particularly for the Russian Civil War, Irish War of Independence and Mexican Revolution.

I had quite a few original (and stolen) ideas about how to do this but never got round to trying them out. The publication of the Sci-Fi Xenos Rampant set, replete with vehicle rules, now seems to provide not only a more suitable starting point but may suffice without adaption.

Have Daniel Mersey and Richard Cowan developed the killer app of skirmish wargame rules? I see indications that XR is absorbing games that were previously played with other rules...Games Workshop beware!

Anyway, here are some examples of my very provisional take on some relevant unit definitions. Some are straight from the suggested army lists.

IWI Auxiliaries
Heavy Infantry
Increased Squad Size
Heavy Weapons (Lewes Gun) 

IWI Regular British Infantry
Light Infanty
Increased Squad Size
Heavy Weapons (Lewes Gun)

IWI RIC/Volunteers
Light Infantry
Increased Squad Size
Undisciplined

IWI Shotgun squad
Light Infantry
Close Quarters Doctrine
Undisciplined

HMG
Support Infantry

IWI Lancia armoured truck
Transport Vehicle
SMU
Transport (10)

IWI Crossley Tender
Soft-skin Vehicle
SMU
Civilian
Transport (10)

RCW Cavalry
Berserk Infantry
Increased Squad Size
Mobile

RCW Heavy Tank
Fighting Vehicle
SMU
Anti-Personnel Specialism (Female)/Armour-Piercing (Male)
Slow
Unstable

RCW Light Tank
Fighting Vehicle
SMU
Anti-Personnel Specialism

Armoured Car
Fighting Vehicle
SMU
Anti-Personnel Specialism
Light Armoured Vehicle

RCW Tschanka
Soft-skin Vehicle
SMU
Civilian
Technical

Xenos Rampant

I collected some 15mm Sci-Fi/Near Future forces to play Gruntz 15mm but never got round to completing the project. The publication of Xenos Rampant by Daniel Mersey and Richard Cowan has renewed my interest in the genre. My friend Ian implied that my armies are “not true Sci-Fi” but I’m old school and find a grimey near future or post-Apocalyptic concept more credible than, say, the more exotic Fantasy-tinged Sci-Fi world of Games Workshop. Each to their own.

Happily XR is a remarkably rich and flexible set of rules which will seemingly accommodate any flavour of Sci-Fi. It’s clever, imaginative and colourful and also betrays an appealingly dry sense of humour. Although Gruntz 15mm also looked very good, I‘m swayed by the ease of adopting another Rampant system game which is also likely to go down well in the local club.

On the downside my SF collection includes a lot of vehicles which is not a good match for XR's infantry bias, and I spent a few days looking at 28mm figures as an alternative. I particularly liked the CP Models and Pig Iron figures and may get some next year, but I also decided to keep the 15s as the model ranges are more extensive and the on-table weapons ranges more convincing.

My existing figures are Ground Zero Games (UNSC faction), Armies Army Russian insurgents (now available from The Scene), and some figures in power armour from Brigade Models. Even though I am not short of vehicles, I've ordered a couple of new ones in the light of current military developments as well as some additional infantry support models.