We finished the Morrow Project Campaign this weekend. It ran a month short of 2 years in real life and about half a year in game.
The world was saved, for the lost of one PC (Sgt Preston Walker). He died buying time for his teammates to escape, taking the master villain of the epic with him by setting off the mini-nuke self-destruct in an old project CDC/research base that had been taken off by said villain
Also missing in action was the team scientist NPC, Doctor Winston. He too may have been buying time for the team to escape an earlier event (a collapsing tower, who's fall was brought about by an overloaded dimensional portal). Or maybe he saw a technical pretty and just had to investigate it and lost track of the fact that everything was falling apart around him. Those left, will never know. But history will likely selected the heroic end.
The backup to Prime Base was located, and the Project is coming fully online. There are untold adventures left in that world. But the characters have done their primary job, and the players are moving on to a different setting in the meta-time that runs from Middle Earth of the past to the far future.
All in all, very successful and everyone had a great time.
This was the first campaign that I've done that had a planned end point. Previously I've always been more of a sandbox player and where there have certainly been arcs, the campaigns themselves were never planned to end. There is a certain joy in completing something. I see advantages to both approaches if done right.
As to what's up next? We spent a couple of hours determining just that last night. I'll be talking about it some here as I iron out the details.
Showing posts with label Morrow Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morrow Project. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Is really that hard to replace an almost 50 year old rifle?
One of things I keep up with is firearms, both out of interest and the use they see in my games. A lot of research goes into weapons for my games so that people selecting them have reasons behind their choice related to real world.
Sometimes the news is (while not unexpected) silly. In that line, it seems that yet another attempt to replace the M16 is on the edge of failure. I've nearly lost count of how many time they've attempted to find a replacement, just off the top of my head there was the ACR, the OCIW, and XM8 and now this one and it was only targeting a small percentage of the total weapons. Currently just about every firearm maker offers a improved M16 in one form or another.
So what's going on here? Has firearm tech really stalled to the point that there's nothing better? Is it actually politics and penny-pinching being hidden by spin? Are people stupid?
Well, that last always applies of course. After all, people still stick with D&D and that's a worse performing platform than the M16 ever was. This is true even if the goal is playing rpgs instead of killing people.
But here I think it's mostly a case that the technology just hasn't moved very far in the last hundred years. I'll still take a M1911 over any 'modern' pistol and for many cases I'd take weapons from WWII over those deployed today. About the only real improvement has been in weight, and that seems to have hit its limit.
In any case, I think any replacement project is doomed as long as they insist on the replacement being chambered in .223. You can add bells and whistles all you want, but no amount of improvement around the edges is going to impress anyone if you're still using a poor ammo choice. After all, rifles are built around the bullet. And it's far pass time for them to revisit that first choice if they want an improvement for the future.
Note: Currently (and somewhat in line with my thoughts), SOCOM is still going to buy the 7.62mm version of the rifle.
Sometimes the news is (while not unexpected) silly. In that line, it seems that yet another attempt to replace the M16 is on the edge of failure. I've nearly lost count of how many time they've attempted to find a replacement, just off the top of my head there was the ACR, the OCIW, and XM8 and now this one and it was only targeting a small percentage of the total weapons. Currently just about every firearm maker offers a improved M16 in one form or another.
So what's going on here? Has firearm tech really stalled to the point that there's nothing better? Is it actually politics and penny-pinching being hidden by spin? Are people stupid?
Well, that last always applies of course. After all, people still stick with D&D and that's a worse performing platform than the M16 ever was. This is true even if the goal is playing rpgs instead of killing people.
But here I think it's mostly a case that the technology just hasn't moved very far in the last hundred years. I'll still take a M1911 over any 'modern' pistol and for many cases I'd take weapons from WWII over those deployed today. About the only real improvement has been in weight, and that seems to have hit its limit.
In any case, I think any replacement project is doomed as long as they insist on the replacement being chambered in .223. You can add bells and whistles all you want, but no amount of improvement around the edges is going to impress anyone if you're still using a poor ammo choice. After all, rifles are built around the bullet. And it's far pass time for them to revisit that first choice if they want an improvement for the future.
Note: Currently (and somewhat in line with my thoughts), SOCOM is still going to buy the 7.62mm version of the rifle.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Morrow Project meets THEM!
A post-apocalyptic world without giant radiated ants is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the jelly.
Add in the fact that THEM! was one of my favorite movies of my childhood (and one of the best 50s monster movies), and the case was settled. Giant ants would be one of the first villains the players would encounter.
The HERO System write-up is fairly straight forward, and is based upon the movie. There are a couple of points that likely need to be explained however.
The Physical Limit: Takes Cumulative Body for example is an exception to a house rule I've used since Hit Locations became part of the system. In HERO Body is cumulative like HP is in D&D- add up the total damage and when it equals or exceed your Body you're dying.
That's fine (well, not really- but it works ok) if one isn't using Hit Locations. But if you are, characters who have been shot in the foot or hand for injuries that aren't even impairing are suddenly dying. And that's silly both from a genre and realism point of view.
So normally Body damage isn't cumulative in my campaigns (bleeding is), you take the effect of the individual injury and go on down the road.
For THEM! however, cumulative body works very well. The ants don't feel pain as such and in the movies would wade through gunfire unless it was fully automatic or done in mass.
The combination of the Damage Reduction and cumulative reflects this perfectly.
The second thing I'd like to point out is the Mandibles Multi-power. The movie didn't have THEM! cutting people in half (and it's a better movie IMO for that, I hate stupid and excessive gore). I reflected this by saying that the Mandibles aren't sharp by human standards- thus the normal damage attack. They however convert to a kill attack against large enough targets.
Reflects the movie well, and from a game PoV makes it easier for the players to live through a encounter greatly roughed up instead of dead. Assuming they win of course...
So, with the explanation finished, it is time to deal with: THEM!
Add in the fact that THEM! was one of my favorite movies of my childhood (and one of the best 50s monster movies), and the case was settled. Giant ants would be one of the first villains the players would encounter.
The HERO System write-up is fairly straight forward, and is based upon the movie. There are a couple of points that likely need to be explained however.
The Physical Limit: Takes Cumulative Body for example is an exception to a house rule I've used since Hit Locations became part of the system. In HERO Body is cumulative like HP is in D&D- add up the total damage and when it equals or exceed your Body you're dying.
That's fine (well, not really- but it works ok) if one isn't using Hit Locations. But if you are, characters who have been shot in the foot or hand for injuries that aren't even impairing are suddenly dying. And that's silly both from a genre and realism point of view.
So normally Body damage isn't cumulative in my campaigns (bleeding is), you take the effect of the individual injury and go on down the road.
For THEM! however, cumulative body works very well. The ants don't feel pain as such and in the movies would wade through gunfire unless it was fully automatic or done in mass.
The combination of the Damage Reduction and cumulative reflects this perfectly.
The second thing I'd like to point out is the Mandibles Multi-power. The movie didn't have THEM! cutting people in half (and it's a better movie IMO for that, I hate stupid and excessive gore). I reflected this by saying that the Mandibles aren't sharp by human standards- thus the normal damage attack. They however convert to a kill attack against large enough targets.
Reflects the movie well, and from a game PoV makes it easier for the players to live through a encounter greatly roughed up instead of dead. Assuming they win of course...
So, with the explanation finished, it is time to deal with: THEM!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Another Morrow Project Build
Given yesterday's post on the Landmaster, I thought I'd follow up by providing an example character sheet for one of the PC in the Campaign.
The team consists of half a Special Forces A-Team plus a couple of scientists. Rather than the hard-core realism of the original game, it's done as almost a pulp style version action adventure.
The team consists of half a Special Forces A-Team plus a couple of scientists. Rather than the hard-core realism of the original game, it's done as almost a pulp style version action adventure.
Creating a good Special Forces write-up in HERO System takes more than just a few points. The real world training is extensive and they start with already experienced soldiers for the most part. A base of 100 points plus disadvantages will just get you there leaving little to individualize the character, so we started with the top end (for non-superheroes) of 125 points plus up to 125 points of disadvantages.
The character sheet is laid out in a rather odd way. It actually starts on the back with the package deals that make up the character's training presented in chronological order, and presented in their complete form. The front contains specialized training and individual skills.
The result is that the same skill may appear more than once, when this happens we've put the skill roll on the first occurrence of the skill on the back of the sheet, or on it's appearance on the front if present. The rest of the entries are marked with a '$' (called cash money upgrade by the players).
This makes the sheet dificult to read until one gets used to it, but keeps the training history of the character intact.
These characters are in many ways the most competent and well-rounded characters we've ran in HERO System.
Our example PC is First Sergeant Preston Walker.
By nature Preston is an idealist protected by enough experience to understand realism. He joined up to protect his country and takes the SF motto of de oppresso liber (to 'free the oppressed') to heart. His grandfather was a hero in WWII and he strives to live up to that idea.
A strong family man who's lost track of his wife and son due to the breakdown of the Project. He was told that they were to be taken to safety and likely put into stasis at one of the major bases. However he doesn't know if they made it there as the last transports left under fire. Nor does he know which base, or for that matter where any other base at all may be located.
As a result he is quite angry at waking up long after the planned period, and is currently thinking that things are moving too slowly. This is often most reflected in conflict with Prof Winston, one of the scientists who in Preston's mind is taking this as more of a puzzle to be solved than the serious disaster that it is.
His Captain is worried about this mindset, given that Preston is his top Sergeant currently, and he needs him calm and in control.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Behold the Landmaster!
Back in 1997, Fox released a movie by the name of Damnation Alley. It's subject was a cross-country run by a small band of survivors through the 'safest' 100 mile wide 'alley' in a post-apocalyptic world.
While that was a very promising setup (one of the best IMO), it was a rather bad movie. The special effects couldn't handle recreating the mutant threats that would have given it real kick, and the writing was sub-par as well. Sigh.
It's most remembered for two things. The first was being almost forgotten in the year that saw Star Wars come to the screen.
The other and more important was the Landmaster. For a generation that loved special vehicles like Bond's car or the Batmobile, the Landmaster was pure wishfulfillment. An armored all terrain RV with the teeth and electronics able to take the worst the post-apocalypitc world could throw at it.
And it was a real vehicle too. Well, the weapons were just props bolted on, but the core was real enough.
I've kept it in my imagination down the years along with the Enterprise and some other icons of sc-fi. It was a natural for it to appear in my Morrow Project campaign. And the designers of the original Morrow Project thought so as well, as it was the basis for the MARS One vehicle.
The MARS One however was too expanded- double the size with enough weapons to make an desert painted Abrams turn green with envy. It was just too much.
So I went back to the original and like the original put two in the hands of my players. They just reached them in play, although digging them out of the bunker will prove to be hard and dangerous work...
Given that the original was from 1977 and mine would be made in 2012, it needed some updates although far less than I at first expected.
First up was the standard Project almost magical Fusion power system and the electrical engine that comes with it.
It's already impressive 1 cm thick armor would be improved by concepts from a project that I read about- the use of magnetic fields to greatly enhance vehicle armor. The idea was to provide the same protection found on the M1A2 battle tank to an armor car like the LAV 25. That sounded perfect for my new model Landmaster.
The original had six machineguns mounted at different points. These were cheap Hollywood props as the forward ones clearly are glued on barrels without room for the actual gun. I decided to go with pulse lasers (again taking something from both current projects and the original MP game itself). I decided a low rate of fire would explain why the side mounts (and front for that matter) were in pairs. Powered by the fusion reactor, their independance from ammo will be useful in the game and they could look like they were bolted on as the 'gun' wouldn't have to be of conventional shape.
The twin rocket pods on the back were clearly 2.75" seven shot pods in common military use even today. Mostly an air-to-ground weapon, what were they doing on the Landmaster?
I thought that maybe if one replaced the warhead with a HEDP one (i.e. able to double duty for anti-vehicle and anti-personal) and added laser guidance- one might have something...
... look no further than the real world Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and the M247 warhead of the Hydra 70.
The forward firing mortars at first seemed odd with the APKWS system installed. But if they were basically just an auto-loading 60mm mortar using cheap (and small) ammo- they could be used for targets not requiring the expense of the APKWS. So I kept them for this use.
Toss in the Boomerang shooter detection system, which I expanded to detect the location of any incoming fire, and I was just about done. Except for the sensors and a few other odds and ends that made up the vehicle.
So here's my HERO System 5th Edition Morrow Project Landmaster write-up. It's my first draft, but is very close to final. Note that it is built to my own house rules and standards.
While that was a very promising setup (one of the best IMO), it was a rather bad movie. The special effects couldn't handle recreating the mutant threats that would have given it real kick, and the writing was sub-par as well. Sigh.
It's most remembered for two things. The first was being almost forgotten in the year that saw Star Wars come to the screen.
The other and more important was the Landmaster. For a generation that loved special vehicles like Bond's car or the Batmobile, the Landmaster was pure wishfulfillment. An armored all terrain RV with the teeth and electronics able to take the worst the post-apocalypitc world could throw at it.
And it was a real vehicle too. Well, the weapons were just props bolted on, but the core was real enough.
I've kept it in my imagination down the years along with the Enterprise and some other icons of sc-fi. It was a natural for it to appear in my Morrow Project campaign. And the designers of the original Morrow Project thought so as well, as it was the basis for the MARS One vehicle.
The MARS One however was too expanded- double the size with enough weapons to make an desert painted Abrams turn green with envy. It was just too much.
So I went back to the original and like the original put two in the hands of my players. They just reached them in play, although digging them out of the bunker will prove to be hard and dangerous work...
Given that the original was from 1977 and mine would be made in 2012, it needed some updates although far less than I at first expected.
First up was the standard Project almost magical Fusion power system and the electrical engine that comes with it.
It's already impressive 1 cm thick armor would be improved by concepts from a project that I read about- the use of magnetic fields to greatly enhance vehicle armor. The idea was to provide the same protection found on the M1A2 battle tank to an armor car like the LAV 25. That sounded perfect for my new model Landmaster.
The original had six machineguns mounted at different points. These were cheap Hollywood props as the forward ones clearly are glued on barrels without room for the actual gun. I decided to go with pulse lasers (again taking something from both current projects and the original MP game itself). I decided a low rate of fire would explain why the side mounts (and front for that matter) were in pairs. Powered by the fusion reactor, their independance from ammo will be useful in the game and they could look like they were bolted on as the 'gun' wouldn't have to be of conventional shape.
The twin rocket pods on the back were clearly 2.75" seven shot pods in common military use even today. Mostly an air-to-ground weapon, what were they doing on the Landmaster?
I thought that maybe if one replaced the warhead with a HEDP one (i.e. able to double duty for anti-vehicle and anti-personal) and added laser guidance- one might have something...
... look no further than the real world Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) and the M247 warhead of the Hydra 70.
The forward firing mortars at first seemed odd with the APKWS system installed. But if they were basically just an auto-loading 60mm mortar using cheap (and small) ammo- they could be used for targets not requiring the expense of the APKWS. So I kept them for this use.
Toss in the Boomerang shooter detection system, which I expanded to detect the location of any incoming fire, and I was just about done. Except for the sensors and a few other odds and ends that made up the vehicle.
So here's my HERO System 5th Edition Morrow Project Landmaster write-up. It's my first draft, but is very close to final. Note that it is built to my own house rules and standards.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Seems I need to tackle weather...
The Morrow Project game is off and running.
I was in evil GM mode to start with, this team was placed in an unfinished bolt-hole (located SW of Colorado Springs) to start with due to the world falling apart around them. Their transport crashed short of their planned location, so they had to make do with a bolt-hole with nothing but their assigned personal (i.e. carried) gear. No vehicles, no extras.
Upon waking, they decided to head to the nearest town and get more information on why upon waking they don't have any radio sat contact, and how they have full growth trees around their location when the plan was for a 5 year 'sleep'. Upon finding ruins, they turned south east and headed for their 'planned' location in the hopes of getting both more equipment (vehicles they cry!) and perhaps more information.
About a week of cross-country hiking though wilderness.
So I got to hit them with mutant rats and lizards, many outdoor survival experiences (great fun), and the run away weather as they enter something of a wild zone (that I like calling Damnation Alley, stolen from the movie of course).
By pure luck, one of the eight PCs took all the significant 'hits'. He was grabbed by the man-eating plant. He had to live with common if painful insect stings, He was hit not once, but twice by the random post-apoc Lightning storm that is common in the Alley.
Oh, and he was stabbed in the backside by a flying piece of lumber blown by the wind storm in the same Alley after their failed 'find/make Shelter' roll left him in the open.
One other character got sunburn...
Such is the roll of the dice.
Oh, about the title of this post. I used the weather charts from the original Morrow Project rule book. But I was hoping to find something with a bit more detail broken down by various weather 'zones'.
Anyone have any suggestions that I can find online? I want something in table/chart format and not a generator program.
I was in evil GM mode to start with, this team was placed in an unfinished bolt-hole (located SW of Colorado Springs) to start with due to the world falling apart around them. Their transport crashed short of their planned location, so they had to make do with a bolt-hole with nothing but their assigned personal (i.e. carried) gear. No vehicles, no extras.
Upon waking, they decided to head to the nearest town and get more information on why upon waking they don't have any radio sat contact, and how they have full growth trees around their location when the plan was for a 5 year 'sleep'. Upon finding ruins, they turned south east and headed for their 'planned' location in the hopes of getting both more equipment (vehicles they cry!) and perhaps more information.
About a week of cross-country hiking though wilderness.
So I got to hit them with mutant rats and lizards, many outdoor survival experiences (great fun), and the run away weather as they enter something of a wild zone (that I like calling Damnation Alley, stolen from the movie of course).
By pure luck, one of the eight PCs took all the significant 'hits'. He was grabbed by the man-eating plant. He had to live with common if painful insect stings, He was hit not once, but twice by the random post-apoc Lightning storm that is common in the Alley.
Oh, and he was stabbed in the backside by a flying piece of lumber blown by the wind storm in the same Alley after their failed 'find/make Shelter' roll left him in the open.
One other character got sunburn...
Such is the roll of the dice.
Oh, about the title of this post. I used the weather charts from the original Morrow Project rule book. But I was hoping to find something with a bit more detail broken down by various weather 'zones'.
Anyone have any suggestions that I can find online? I want something in table/chart format and not a generator program.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Here's what I'm carrying
Yesterday I talked about all the gear the PCs in my Morrow Project Team have to haul on their backs.
The thought occurred that I may as well list it. So here it is in a PDF. As per the article the list is broken up into the various load types- they stack except for the last three that are meant to be environmental specific additions to the stuff above (i.e. pick one).
I pity the guy who needs both the Cold Weather and the Mountain Climbing gear at the same time...
The thought occurred that I may as well list it. So here it is in a PDF. As per the article the list is broken up into the various load types- they stack except for the last three that are meant to be environmental specific additions to the stuff above (i.e. pick one).
I pity the guy who needs both the Cold Weather and the Mountain Climbing gear at the same time...
Monday, August 10, 2009
You're carrying how much?
Our Hero System based Morrow Project meets a more serious Gamma World campaign is coming along nicely. We've completed most of the pre-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it adventures with one more to go.
During this last week, I was finalizing the equipment load outs for the Special Ops team that makes up the core of the PCs. I found a rather good source for what today's soliders carry into the field.
They make most RPG characters look under-equipmented. A full 'existence' load is over 120 lbs, and a light 'combat load' is over 50 lbs and that doesn't include the body armor or the Land Warrior systems seeing use in Afghanistan. Heck, it doesn't even include the more than 8 lbs of clothing the guys are wearing. And that's lean, with things like SAWs and anti-tank weapons unaccounted for.
None of this came a surprise to me, I've long know that the military has been waging a losing battle against equipment weight. There are all these useful toys that can save your life or kill your foe, plus the stuff just needed to exist in the field. And then there's the poor back of the trooper that has to carry this stuff.
Things are even a bit worse for the Project, given that they have to live on what they start with far more today's grunt in the field who can count on daily resupply for the most part. So there was interesting choices for me to make. The body armor plates for example were dropped, and they'll have to depend upon the near magic Project cover-alls for protection.
All this of course just increases the importance of the team vehicle, because it can carry all this stuff. Pity I've decided to be evil to my players and start them off in a different bolt hole from their transportation. I went through all this trouble to determine what the pack contains- so they'll have get to use them for a few days after waking up :)
During this last week, I was finalizing the equipment load outs for the Special Ops team that makes up the core of the PCs. I found a rather good source for what today's soliders carry into the field.
They make most RPG characters look under-equipmented. A full 'existence' load is over 120 lbs, and a light 'combat load' is over 50 lbs and that doesn't include the body armor or the Land Warrior systems seeing use in Afghanistan. Heck, it doesn't even include the more than 8 lbs of clothing the guys are wearing. And that's lean, with things like SAWs and anti-tank weapons unaccounted for.
None of this came a surprise to me, I've long know that the military has been waging a losing battle against equipment weight. There are all these useful toys that can save your life or kill your foe, plus the stuff just needed to exist in the field. And then there's the poor back of the trooper that has to carry this stuff.
Things are even a bit worse for the Project, given that they have to live on what they start with far more today's grunt in the field who can count on daily resupply for the most part. So there was interesting choices for me to make. The body armor plates for example were dropped, and they'll have to depend upon the near magic Project cover-alls for protection.
All this of course just increases the importance of the team vehicle, because it can carry all this stuff. Pity I've decided to be evil to my players and start them off in a different bolt hole from their transportation. I went through all this trouble to determine what the pack contains- so they'll have get to use them for a few days after waking up :)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Taking the Assault Rifle to the extreme
One of the interesting things I came across while researching rifles for my Morrow Project game was two possible chamberings for AR15 style rifles.
The .458 SOCOM and the .50 Beowulf. Both of these are extreme attempts to improve the stopping power of the M16 rifles by in effect turning the ballistic design on its head. Large heavy bullets moving at slower speeds instead of the original's small and fast bullet.
It's basically a return to old school, the .458 SOCOM for example is very much like (i.e. in effectiveness, not techology) the .45-70 used in the old Springfield Trapdoors seen back in the days of the Old West. Making it a concept over a 130 years old!
For a semi-auto rifle, I actually want one of these in real life. The sheer stopping power would be highly impressive and would remain, especially so for the 'Assault Rifle' ranges out to 400 yards. And I should be able to manage the recoil.
The drawback is a heavy reduction in amount of ammo carried. A M16 style 30-round mag for example drops to 12 rounds for the Beowulf and 15 for the SOCOM.
Also auto/burst fire with these may be something of an experience, thus I would think one should leave the selector set to semi. That may not be all that bad of a deal, because if you run into something that can take one of these and keep coming I doubt three rounds of a lesser weapon would fair any better...
The last disadvantage is that of range, while the .45-70 has proven it can be a 1000 yard rifle (these new shells have not, but have the potential from the specs given)- it is a slow reach across that 1000 yards. The arc is extreme, and the travel time long meaning that it is much more subject to changing conditions and requires better shooting skills than faster, more level traveling bullets.
The increased ammo weight and reduction in mag sizes was the final reason I passed on these for the Project, but they look to just be fun. Maybe I can fit one of them in as a specialized loadout...
The .458 SOCOM and the .50 Beowulf. Both of these are extreme attempts to improve the stopping power of the M16 rifles by in effect turning the ballistic design on its head. Large heavy bullets moving at slower speeds instead of the original's small and fast bullet.
It's basically a return to old school, the .458 SOCOM for example is very much like (i.e. in effectiveness, not techology) the .45-70 used in the old Springfield Trapdoors seen back in the days of the Old West. Making it a concept over a 130 years old!
For a semi-auto rifle, I actually want one of these in real life. The sheer stopping power would be highly impressive and would remain, especially so for the 'Assault Rifle' ranges out to 400 yards. And I should be able to manage the recoil.
The drawback is a heavy reduction in amount of ammo carried. A M16 style 30-round mag for example drops to 12 rounds for the Beowulf and 15 for the SOCOM.
Also auto/burst fire with these may be something of an experience, thus I would think one should leave the selector set to semi. That may not be all that bad of a deal, because if you run into something that can take one of these and keep coming I doubt three rounds of a lesser weapon would fair any better...
The last disadvantage is that of range, while the .45-70 has proven it can be a 1000 yard rifle (these new shells have not, but have the potential from the specs given)- it is a slow reach across that 1000 yards. The arc is extreme, and the travel time long meaning that it is much more subject to changing conditions and requires better shooting skills than faster, more level traveling bullets.
The increased ammo weight and reduction in mag sizes was the final reason I passed on these for the Project, but they look to just be fun. Maybe I can fit one of them in as a specialized loadout...
Friday, May 22, 2009
Reaching out and touching someone
After dealing with the issue of fire support, the next item was long range precision fire- or a sniper rifle as most people would call it.
As I reviewed the matter and considered how a team might operate I realized that what I wanted wasn't actually the classic sniper and his rifle, but instead what is called a Designated Marksman.
As a member of a Project Team, their role would be to support the maneuver of that team. This is a different role than that of the classic 'lone wolf' (or pair of wolves as the case may be) sniper team. And it calls for different weapons and training as the ability to deliver rapid fire is a major concern.
Once I settle that question, the next was the desired chambering. I could stick with the same 6.8mm SPC that I selected for the main Assault Rifle, adding a scope, longer barrel and other improvements over the base rifle. The advantage of common cartridge should be clear. However that round isn't well suited for long range (up to 800 m) use.
Changing it would improve the proformance of the weapon at the cost of a different ammo type. Here I had two choices: the 6.5mm Grendel and the tried and true 7.62mm Nato. The latter became a clear choice given that I had already selected it for the M240E6 Machinegun. I might not have a common cartridge with the assault rifles- but I'd have a common cartridge with my team fire support.
That just left the rifle itself, and the HK 417 with 20" barrel was the natural choice given my previous selection of the HK 416 as the standard rifle. Common design would make things easier for the users in the field.
As I reviewed the matter and considered how a team might operate I realized that what I wanted wasn't actually the classic sniper and his rifle, but instead what is called a Designated Marksman.
As a member of a Project Team, their role would be to support the maneuver of that team. This is a different role than that of the classic 'lone wolf' (or pair of wolves as the case may be) sniper team. And it calls for different weapons and training as the ability to deliver rapid fire is a major concern.
Once I settle that question, the next was the desired chambering. I could stick with the same 6.8mm SPC that I selected for the main Assault Rifle, adding a scope, longer barrel and other improvements over the base rifle. The advantage of common cartridge should be clear. However that round isn't well suited for long range (up to 800 m) use.
Changing it would improve the proformance of the weapon at the cost of a different ammo type. Here I had two choices: the 6.5mm Grendel and the tried and true 7.62mm Nato. The latter became a clear choice given that I had already selected it for the M240E6 Machinegun. I might not have a common cartridge with the assault rifles- but I'd have a common cartridge with my team fire support.
That just left the rifle itself, and the HK 417 with 20" barrel was the natural choice given my previous selection of the HK 416 as the standard rifle. Common design would make things easier for the users in the field.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Selecting Team Fire Support
Continue with Morrow Project weapons choices, the next up is fire support for the team- i.e. some sort of machinegun.
The US Military uses the M249 SAW, however fires the rather wimpy 5.56mm NATO round that I've already dismissed as unsuited for the Project. It does have it advantages, especially in the role of suppressive fire due to the ability to carry larger amounts of ammo. Throwing some lead down range is almost more important than killing anything with it. So it was tempting, but just not tempting enough.
That didn't leave me with many choices as not much effort has been directed towards SAW development of late. There is the IAR concept, which in many ways strikes me as a return to the famous BAR. But like the Army, I just can't buy into that concept.
This left me with basically two options- either rechamber the M249 for the 6.8mm SPC to match my rifle choice, or go with a general purpose MG instead.
I decided upon the latter, and since the campaign starts 'near-future' the M240E6 with it's titanium receiver for weight reduction suits perfectly.
I'm a little less certain in this choice then my previous ones. But I doubt the players will be unhappy. Most of the advantages offered by lighter weapons/ammo will not impress them as in practical terms the weapon will be far more used to put heavy fire on target than it will be for suppression.
The US Military uses the M249 SAW, however fires the rather wimpy 5.56mm NATO round that I've already dismissed as unsuited for the Project. It does have it advantages, especially in the role of suppressive fire due to the ability to carry larger amounts of ammo. Throwing some lead down range is almost more important than killing anything with it. So it was tempting, but just not tempting enough.
That didn't leave me with many choices as not much effort has been directed towards SAW development of late. There is the IAR concept, which in many ways strikes me as a return to the famous BAR. But like the Army, I just can't buy into that concept.
This left me with basically two options- either rechamber the M249 for the 6.8mm SPC to match my rifle choice, or go with a general purpose MG instead.
I decided upon the latter, and since the campaign starts 'near-future' the M240E6 with it's titanium receiver for weight reduction suits perfectly.
I'm a little less certain in this choice then my previous ones. But I doubt the players will be unhappy. Most of the advantages offered by lighter weapons/ammo will not impress them as in practical terms the weapon will be far more used to put heavy fire on target than it will be for suppression.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Picking a Sidearm
Picking back up my sort of series on my Morrow Project game, I needed to select a standard sidearm for the team. For the Project this is a more important selection than for the military due to conditions under which it would operate. As the saying goes, the best weapon is the one you happen to have with you. Often that may be a sidearm as there would be no 'safe' areas, and the teams would be too small to count on just the assigned sentries for protection.
The US Military currently uses the M9 pistol in 9mm for its standard sidearm. Sadly this was a poor choice, driven more by NATO treaty requirements and ignorance than need. We've used that pistol in past campaigns and it was without exception hated by the players. So I rejected all 9mm options out of the starting gate.
The US Coast Guard uses a rather nice pistol in .40 SW, the Sig Sauer P229 KAKTM. A true law enforcement weapon in an acceptable chambering. However it lacks any special spark for me, being a very workman style weapon.
The other intelligent military option is an old one- the M1911 .45 ACP that's approaching a hundred years of use. It's currently in service with Marine Force Recon units as well as law enforcement across the nation.
Slighly upgraded, but still in design basically unchanged I love this pistol having owned a number in various chamberings. It has a stouter recoil than the .40 SW, but one that with practice can be dealt with easily even by people inflicted with arthritis such as myself.
So old school will be the best school for the project.
Or as Colonel Robert J. Coates said: "The 1911 was the design given by God to us through John M. Browning that represents the epitome of what a killing tool needs to be. It was true in 1911 and is true now."
The US Military currently uses the M9 pistol in 9mm for its standard sidearm. Sadly this was a poor choice, driven more by NATO treaty requirements and ignorance than need. We've used that pistol in past campaigns and it was without exception hated by the players. So I rejected all 9mm options out of the starting gate.
The US Coast Guard uses a rather nice pistol in .40 SW, the Sig Sauer P229 KAKTM. A true law enforcement weapon in an acceptable chambering. However it lacks any special spark for me, being a very workman style weapon.
The other intelligent military option is an old one- the M1911 .45 ACP that's approaching a hundred years of use. It's currently in service with Marine Force Recon units as well as law enforcement across the nation.
Slighly upgraded, but still in design basically unchanged I love this pistol having owned a number in various chamberings. It has a stouter recoil than the .40 SW, but one that with practice can be dealt with easily even by people inflicted with arthritis such as myself.
So old school will be the best school for the project.
Or as Colonel Robert J. Coates said: "The 1911 was the design given by God to us through John M. Browning that represents the epitome of what a killing tool needs to be. It was true in 1911 and is true now."
Friday, May 8, 2009
Submachineguns, what are they good for?
Now that I've decided upon the main rifle in my new upcoming Morrow Project campaign (featuring new and improve alien mayhem), the next item on the list was to be Submachineguns. The original game included a number of different models, and I turned my attention towards them with fond memories, but then reality dashed those rather quickly.
What would I use these for?
Things like the MP5 are five and half to nearly 7 lb weapons. Meanwhile the HK416 carbine with a 10" barrel is 6.7 lbs. That's not much of a weight saving, and the recoil of the HK416 isn't meaningfully worse for the typical character- so that's not a significant advantage either.
And the 9mm round the MP5 fires is worthless compared to even the worse of assault rifles, let alone the 6.8 SPC round that I settled on. Why would I want a less powerful, much shorter range weapon that basically weighs the same?
There are smaller SMGs to be sure, but those bring into play isssues of control as the lack of weight and size reduces one's ability to keep the weapon on target when set to autofire. Sort of counter-productive isn't it?
Some are small enough to use as concealed carry (i.e. like the Secret Service has been known to to do). That's useful enough even with a bit of control problem (countered by using the weapon at very close ranges), but the Project isn't the Secret Service and has little need for this advantage.
The one area when they do show some promise is that they can be fitted more effectively with a suppressor to muffle the sound and flash of a shot. The new H&K 2000 can even be set to vent gases to reduce standard ammo to subsonic velocities to take advantage of that. Rather cool- and rather specialized. Not something the typical team member would ever use although I could see them be used by specialists here and there.
They do also have the advantage of not blowing through walls and killing people you don't want to kill. But there's AR ammo that gives you that ability if needed.
So, nope. No standard issue SMG for the Project although they may appear in specialist teams. Oddly enough, the US Military and I agree on this point. They have dropped them as standard issue as well, although they remain in rare use because of their suppression advantages.
What about PDWs? These are what SMGs are developing into. Things like the FN P90. Meant to overcome armor while being small and more easily carried... well, meant to be anyway. They are at least better against armor than previous SMGs were.
But the problems here remains much the same. The P90 is 5.5 lbs unloaded- only a 1 lb saving over the HK416 Carbine. Just not enough of a difference to make up for the disadvantages IMO. The MP7 is another lb lighter and much more compact and might almost work except...
...that the International Wound Ballistics Association current viewpoint is that they lack the stopping power of normal SMGs (let along rifles) against unarmored targets.
Nope, I'll have to pass on them too. Just not enough to be gained for what is lost.
SMGs were wonderful weapons for WII and preceding. But that was then and this is now. Their day is past outside a very narrow role. Time to move on to other weapons.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Combat Rifles- The Search for Perfection Part II
Yesterday I settled on the HK 416/417 series of rifles for the standard in my upcoming Morrow Project Campaign. But I didn't really settle on which of the two. Ideally the Project would only want to issue one weapon with one chambering. So it's a choice between the .223 (5.56x45mm) and the .308 (7.62x51mm).
The .223 allows one to carry more ammo for the same weight/space. It's light recoil is well suited to female users and older less fit males, a serious consideration for the Project. One can recovery from firing and quickly fire again (major concern for close quarters battle- CBQ), and the weapon is controllable on auto-fire. The light bullet however is often less than effective against humans, and unsuited for any larger creature.
On the other hand, the .308 is much more effective bullet for bullet, able to handle any North America big game and better suit to dealing with the left overs from the alien invasion that caused the Project to come into being in the first place. It is however heavy both in weight and in recoil. Quick recovery from shots in CQB is an issue.
So it's a bit of damned if you do, damned if you don't decision. Makes one wish there was something inbetween doesn't it? Well, it seems I'm not the only one with that thought.
Members of SOCOM working with Remington attempted to address this very issue with the 6.8mm Remington SPC. The problem here is that there's no current or planned US Military Rifle chambered in this, let alone the HK416/417. However that doesn't mean that one couldn't be- it was designed for AR15 pattern rifles and it should be easy enough to modify the HK 416.
Selecting this last option however means cutting oneself off from using non-Project ammo found along the way (which would likely include .223 and .308 but not 6.8mm).
Also from a background PoV, it means the Project had to produce it's own weapons and ammo for deployment rather than 'buying off the shelf'. Less of a problem in my campaign as it had Gov. backing, but still an issue.
So much for reality, how does this stack up in game terms? I use HERO System and have my own real world conversion methods for firearms. Let's take a look:
HK 417 .308 20" Barrel:
Damage: 2d6+1K
Stun Mod: +1
Armor Mod: 1 point piercing
STR Min: 14
CQB: -3 (modifier to DEX only to determine order of action).
Shots: 20
+1 OCV, +4 RMod (match barrel modifier added)
Stun Mod: +0
Armor Mod: 0
STR Min: 12
CQB: -2
Shots: 30
+1 OCV, +2 RMod
6.8mm SPC 16.5" barrel
Damage: 2d6
Stun Mod: +1
Armor Mod: 1 point piercing
STR Min: 12
CQB: -2
Shots: 28
+1 OCV, +2 RMod
The .223 allows one to carry more ammo for the same weight/space. It's light recoil is well suited to female users and older less fit males, a serious consideration for the Project. One can recovery from firing and quickly fire again (major concern for close quarters battle- CBQ), and the weapon is controllable on auto-fire. The light bullet however is often less than effective against humans, and unsuited for any larger creature.
On the other hand, the .308 is much more effective bullet for bullet, able to handle any North America big game and better suit to dealing with the left overs from the alien invasion that caused the Project to come into being in the first place. It is however heavy both in weight and in recoil. Quick recovery from shots in CQB is an issue.
So it's a bit of damned if you do, damned if you don't decision. Makes one wish there was something inbetween doesn't it? Well, it seems I'm not the only one with that thought.
Members of SOCOM working with Remington attempted to address this very issue with the 6.8mm Remington SPC. The problem here is that there's no current or planned US Military Rifle chambered in this, let alone the HK416/417. However that doesn't mean that one couldn't be- it was designed for AR15 pattern rifles and it should be easy enough to modify the HK 416.
Selecting this last option however means cutting oneself off from using non-Project ammo found along the way (which would likely include .223 and .308 but not 6.8mm).
Also from a background PoV, it means the Project had to produce it's own weapons and ammo for deployment rather than 'buying off the shelf'. Less of a problem in my campaign as it had Gov. backing, but still an issue.
So much for reality, how does this stack up in game terms? I use HERO System and have my own real world conversion methods for firearms. Let's take a look:
HK 417 .308 20" Barrel:
Damage: 2d6+1K
Stun Mod: +1
Armor Mod: 1 point piercing
STR Min: 14
CQB: -3 (modifier to DEX only to determine order of action).
Shots: 20
+1 OCV, +4 RMod (match barrel modifier added)
HK 416 .223 16.5" barrel
Damage: 2d6Stun Mod: +0
Armor Mod: 0
STR Min: 12
CQB: -2
Shots: 30
+1 OCV, +2 RMod
6.8mm SPC 16.5" barrel
Damage: 2d6
Stun Mod: +1
Armor Mod: 1 point piercing
STR Min: 12
CQB: -2
Shots: 28
+1 OCV, +2 RMod
The STR MIN above are unmodified, but lets add a Muzzle Brake for a -1 modifier and another -1 for the inline design advantage of the AR15 pattern rifles, reducing the STR Min for all the above by 2 points.
The clear winner in my mind viewing the game stats is the 6.8mm SPC (which matches my opinion in the real world). But does that make up for drawbacks of using such a non-standard chambering?
The upside of doing one's own campaign is that one gets to write or even rewrite history. I could easily say that the US Military got off it's backside and switched to the 6.8mm SPC after its testing was completed. Or I can say that the alien invasion resulted in the switch, perhaps not completed by the time the Project was equipped- but it was well underway.
With that in mind the question becomes one of:
- Do I want to use one of the other two chambering to give the game the air of 'Gov't FUBAR' or not? The .223 is perfect for that option.
- Or do I want to use the best gear for the job?
I'm leaning towards the latter right now, and unless I change my mind before the campaign- the standard rifle will be the HK416 chambered for the 6.8 Remington SPC.
Perhaps as I pick the other Project weapons that will change.
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