The seven things - May 17th

So, here are today's seven things (I also did seven yesterday, but I've already forgotten them...):

- Ate three meals

- Filled one car (the Subaru) with gas

- Got my hair cut

- Took a shower (at 9:30 p.m.), shaved and brushed my teeth (at 8:30 p.m.)

- Shopped (unsuccessfully) for cabinets and comforters

- Started a new 3D print and painted a couple of existing prints

- Did some laundry and decided to throw out one thing rather than wash it and donate it

Seven Things

 So, one of the pieces of advice that I have run across several times is that writing down a daily list of accomplishments is a good idea.  Most of the advice has been along the lines of "write down ten things you did today" or 'write down ten things you are grateful for".

So, I'm going to give it a shot, but I'm only going to do seven things a day.

Here is yesterday's list:

1. Fixed a loose piece on Leah's sewing machine cabinet, which I'm now using for my primary computer desk.  I know we bought this cabinet, used, not long after we got married, and it's probably the only piece of furniture that I still own from the early days.   
2. Moved money from Leah's savings into our joint savings to pay for a variety of expenses, both past and future.
3. Ate breakfast
4. Shredded a full shredder basket worth of paper
5. Went to Target and bought some minor things I needed and also bought some food.
6. Tried to work in the yard, but just couldn't.  Working in the yard and playing an online computer game were the last two things Leah and I did before she fell ill.
7. Went to a friend's house and ate a reasonably healthy dinner.

Here is today's list:

1. Got up at my (new) regular time
2. Cooked and ate breakfast
3. Dealt with ALL the thank you cards for every condolence card I've received so far
4. Did laundry
5. Worked on some 3D printing
6. Worked on Leah's clothes
7. Looked at the paperwork from Leah's office about her death benefits.  It's a LOT of paper (close to an inch thick stack).  Can't actually deal with it today.  Will call her HR contact on Monday to discuss it.

______ for _____ values of ______

Sometime in the last few years, I have started using the phrase, "_____ for ____ values of ____".  For example, at the end of the work day, Leah generally asked me, "How did your day go?", to which I would respond, "Fine, for most values of fine", or "Great, for some values of great".  I often used it to describe my progress (or frustration at my lack of progress) during a project - "Fine, for only a few values of fine", or "Great, for one value of great".

This experience sucks for ALL values of suckage.

Fortunately, it has begun sucking less.  

I drove from the Washington, DC area, where my wife and I lived, to central Arkansas to bury her.  It's about a 16 hour drive, if you could do it non-stop, which I last did circa 2005.  Ever since then, Leah and I always did the trip over two days, and this journey was no exception.  One thing about driving that far, alone, is that you are, of course, alone with your thoughts and feelings, with nothing to really distract you unless you bring your own music or audiobooks (unless you are a BIG fan of religious programming, gospel music, or country music - which I am not).

I brought a large collection of audiobooks with me, many of which I found did NOT work well in an audio format.  One that DID work well for me (your mileage may vary), is Option B by Sheryl Sandberg.  Ms. Sandberg is the COO of Facebook.  She wrote Option B after losing her husband with no warning whatsoever.  I, at least, had a several hours warning that Leah's death was a possibility, then a few hours of knowing that her death was likely.  I then had a short span of time to process that her death was certain and she had only minutes, perhaps hours, but certainly not days, before she died.

Of course, processing such immense, life-altering, life-shattering knowledge can't happen in a span of minutes, hours, or frankly, even days or weeks.

I hope that writing this blog will help me process this knowledge.

Sad News

So, I know I haven't posted anything in a while.  First, I was trying to learn the V4 Alpha rules and decide how much I liked them and if I could even run a game using them.

Then, just as I was getting ready to start posting Alpha rules-based stuff, the Beta came out, so I went back to square one.

Then, yesterday, April 28, 2021, my wife of 35 years, Leah, passed away, completely unexpectedly and after only a brief (2 day) illness.  Needless to say my life has been shattered and I just can't see playing T2K anytime soon.

In a very real sense, Leah made T2K fun for me back in the V1 days.  She wasn't interested in playing, but she loved hosting the games and listening to the stories our group created.  Her after-game critiques helped me be a better T2K referee.

Ultimately, she did become a Dungeon Master for several years, and was a far better DM/GM than I was.  She was never going to be interested in PLAYING T2K, but she was looking forward to hosting games and even attending conventions, both RPG-related and wargame related.  

I look forward to resuming gaming and writing, but I have no idea when that will happen, or even if it WILL happen.  Please stand by.

Eastward Ho.

“Blake’s Raiders”
North of West Days, Mississippi

Friday, 19 July, 2030 

An uneventful night saw us up at our regular time.  We started the day by scouting eastward along Church Road toward I-55.

We stopped briefly to check out an industrial building.  It turned out to be the site of "Brentwood Originals", a company that made foam pillows, chair pads, etc. before the war.  A small group of hunters was occupying the offices in the front of the building.  
Initially, they decided our mounted scouts were 'soft' targets and tried to ambush them.  Fortunately, they changed their mind and showed themselves, just as SGTs Whitehead and Rodriguez were about to begin shooting.

[Encounter roll 3, "armed".  Second roll in "other" territory, 3, hunters.  I judge an 90% chance that they will be friendly.  Roll is 92, so no. (Dammit).  C'est la vie.]

[There are 1d6 hunters, roll of 6.  On a roll of 1-4, they are on foot; 5-6, they are mounted.  Roll is 5, so they have horses.  They apparently want to kill the scouts to take their horses...  Per the rules, three are armed with shotguns, and three with sporting rifles.  I judge a 50/50 chance of the sporting rifles being 30-30 or 30-06.  Roll is 6, so they are armed with 30-06 rifles (ROF: 1, Mag: 2 (internal); Rage: 60; DMG: 4; Armor Modifier: -)  Being armed with powerful 30-06 rifles also explains why they are willing to take on the scouts...]

[I judge they are veteran NPCs - skills: 50, coolness: 2, hits (2d10x2)=10 (really)]

[The scouts have a DIF:RCN:75, (-6) to spot the hunters.  Roll of 26, final result of 20, so success.  The hunters have an AVG:RCN:50 to spot the scouts.  Roll of 42, also success, but the scouts have the advantage, rolling 17 under their number (37) versus the hunters that rolled only 8 under their number (50).]

[Initial range (clear) is 1d10 x 300 meters, roll of 3, so 900 meters. The scouts pull up 400 meters short of the building, picket their horses, and radio their contact report in.  The HumVee also pulls up to within 400 meters of the building (MK-19 Medium range) as the scouts begin their stalk.]

[At this point, I judge a 75% chance that the hunters will fold and show themselves.  Roll of 80, so no.  (dammit)]

[The advantage is now with the scouts.  I judge every 100 meters, they need to roll AVG:RCN:75 against DIF:RCN:50.  First rolls are 24 for the scouts (success) and 44 for the hunters (failure).  The scouts are now 300 meters from the front of the building.  Second rolls are 39 for the scouts (success) and 62 for the hunters (failure).  The scouts are now 200 meters from the front of the building and they decide to set up their shots at medium range.  They check in with Captain Blake and agree to initially limit the combat to sniper rifle fire unless the scouts radio in a request for support or pop a smoke grenade, at which point the HumVee will open with five rounds from the MK-19 while Captain Blake and SSGT Ruiz dismount and move in to support the snipers. SPEC McCarthy will wait five minutes and fire five more MK-19 rounds unless ordered otherwise.]

[At this point, I judge only a 25% chance that the hunters will fold.  Roll of 17, so the hunters decide to surrender at the last minute.]

Just as the SGTs are taking their final sights, a young boy came of the front door, wildly waving a dirty, but still mostly white, t-shirt in his hands.

SGT Whitehead stood up and moved toward the building, staying out of SGT Rodriguez's (and the HumVee's) line of fire.  After a short conversation, she radioed the "all clear" signal, and we moved up to the front of the building.

[I judge a 50/50 chance that the factory was not looted, since the production machinery isn't obviously usable and it is in a pretty remote location.  Roll of 32, so yes, the factory is intact.]

We spent the rest of the morning talking to the hunters about the situation.  They agreed to garrison the factory until someone from the 197th shows up.  Unfortunately, the factory foreman passed away over the winter, but I assured them that the 197th is expanding their security perimeter this way and will want to get the factory up and running again if at all possible.  Being able to supply foam mattresses will be a big morale boost!  We left them with two days worth of food and grain for their horses as a goodwill gesture and continued east down Church Road toward I-55.

[Next encounter roll is 5, Military Convoy.  There is no reason for a military convoy to be moving around this area, so I judge it to be "no encounter".] 

We spent the afternoon scouting through the town of Horn Lake.  We thought we hit the jackpot when we got to the High School.  From the outside, the building looked untouched, but vacant.  Unfortunately, it had been completely stripped of anything of value [I judged a 10% of finding school books, roll of 100, so not just no, but no to ANYTHING being left at the school.]  Having found the High School, we started looking in earnest for other schools.

It took an hour or so, but we finally found the former Shadow Oaks elementary school to the north, except it was clear from the outside that it had been ransacked. [roll of 99 this time...]  Same story at the nearby Horn Lake Middle School [roll of 78].  We didn't have any luck finding textbooks at the last school we found, Horn Lake Elementary [roll of 11], but Specialist McCarthy [DIF:SCR:50, roll of 11] spotted what looked the remains of a business sign in front of a house down the street from the school.  He suggested we check it out, since the building seemed mostly intact.  Turned out it the house had been turned into a used book store, and we were able to gather some books that hadn't been ruined by mold or weather [d%, roll of 43].  We carefully packed them up for turn in at the end of our mission.

The rest of the afternoon passed uneventfully.  We scouted through Horn Lake, finally reaching I-55 early in the evening.

[Encounter roll 3, armed.  Second roll in "other" territory is 6, no encounter]

A gas station / garage on the west side of the I-55/Church Road intersection had gone bankrupt long before the start of the Twilight War and the building was largely intact.  The garage doors didn't work, but it didn't take long to put up the camouflage netting.  The overpass was an ideal spot for a lookout.  At least we didn't have to worry about putting up the radio antenna that night...

Not that we got much rest.  Just after 2:00 a.m., SGT Rodriguez radioed in that she had spotted a small group working their way up I-55 and that they appeared armed and armored, but were on foot and she was pretty sure they had spotted her.  Once the rest of the team was in place, she was going to shift position to the far side of the overpass, where we had already established a secondary guard post position.

[To be continued...]

On the Road Again

“Blake’s Raiders”
The “Village” of Lake Cormorant, Mississippi

Thursday, 18 July, 2030

After Tuesday's combat, the afternoon was spent dealing with prisoners, burying the dead (the CO of the 197th's force allowed any prisoners who wished, to participate in a graveside service, under guard, of course...), inventorying captured material, caring for the captured horses (and our own as well), and other post-combat tasks.  Tuesday night, the 197th handled guard duty, so my troops got eight hours of uninterrupted sleep on real beds, after a hot meal that someone else cooked for once.  I volunteered to be in charge of the 2000-2400 watch, to allow one of the 197th's LTs who had been under fire to also get an uninterrupted night's rest.  SSGT Ruiz and I mostly spent the time playing rummy.

Wednesday was spent catching up on maintenance, getting resupplied, and getting ready to head out again.  The SGTs were invaluable in helping with the care of the ex-marauder horses.  In fact, they were both up before dawn, checking on them and not just our own mounts.

I spent part of Wednesday conferring with Major Canham, the CO of the 197th's detachment.  She didn't really have much to add to my original mission briefing material, but then we haven't been gone a full two weeks yet, so I wasn't expecting much.  She did say that while most scouting groups were meeting little or no resistance, and mostly finding refugees, the group to our east was overdue to check in.  They had started out down I-55 and were supposed to scout to the east of the highway, whereas we were scouting west of I-55 to the river.  So, we will need to be especially cautious as we approach the highway...

This morning, we ate one last breakfast prepared by the 197th's folks, checked out with Major Canham's sentries and headed back east on Star Landing Road, toward I-55.  Despite having just scouted this way a few days ago, I knew that conditions could change quickly, so we traveled in the standard, careful, travelling overwatch we always used when we were "outside the wire".  We quickly passed the High School and even made it back to the house we had camped at earlier this week in time to stop and eat lunch there, since we felt we understood the strengths and weaknesses of the site.

[Encounter Table - Road, roll of 4, derelict.  Since the group had been down this road already, I judge this to be "no encounter"]

Since the 197th was securing the territory to the west, and we had established friendly relationships with a group camped out to the southwest, I felt we should scout the area north along MS-301, through the town of West Days, MS up to Austin Road.  I wanted to scout the area along Austin Road to the west, since it didn't connect to Highway 61.

West Days was long abandoned and looted.  We scouted the small roads south of Austin Road, which led to abandoned households.  We did locate the site of a former truck farm that was surrounded by fields that once grew soybeans or some-other field crop.  This is a site worth redeveloping that I will include in my report. 

We then moved north along "Delta View Road", checking out the few buildings that were not obviously destroyed, until we reached Church Road, which ran east and west between US-61 and I-55.  I decided to camp at this intersection, so that we could scout east back toward our primary objective, I-55, tomorrow.

[Encounter Table - Road, roll of 9, armed.  This is 'Other' territory.  Roll of 6 - No encounter]

Contact and Aftermath

“Blake’s Raiders”
The “Village” of Lake Cormorant, Mississippi

Tuesday, 16 July, 2030

“As of this morning, the marauders are approximately 18 kilometers south of the Lake Cormorant railroad crossing.  Based on the information provided by my scouts, the commander of the 197th’s detachment divided his forces into three groups, with a HumVee and M113, along with their attached troops, on each wing, with the Bradley in the center, positioned to support any unit that found itself "in extremis".  The vehicles on each wing were to remain within long range of each other, to allow for mutual support.

Her troops (and mine) were up before dawn, and by daybreak, everyone had eaten breakfast, moved to their designated positions, and had begun preparing or improving their defensive positions.  My scouts reported in when the marauder's mounted units began moving north.  One disconcerting note was that the marauder's HQ remained stationary, with their three mortars deployed after the mounted units moved forward.

About an hour later, my scouts finally reported that the marauder HQ was packing up in preparation to move forward.

[The marauder’s HQ has a DIF:RCN:60 (-20) to spot the scouts and roll a 32 for a failure.  The scouts need an AFV:RCN:75 (+20, but -5 for fatigue) and roll a 16 - they are able to accurately observe the marauder’s activity.]

“Preparations for the upcoming battle continued throughout the day.  The marauder group made about 10 kilometers progress north before they stopped for lunch.  Our dispersed squads were under orders to complete their preparations and have all their men in their fighting positions by 1200.  A double ration of MREs had been distributed that morning to allow the men to eat well and be rested before the marauders were expected to make contact, sometime in the mid-late afternoon, in the hottest part of the day (of course).


"The westernmost squad, with a HumVee in support, made contact with a marauder cavalry squad late in the afternoon.  Although their squad leader was wounded in the initial firefight, they managed to kill or injure the entire group, capturing one horse, three wounded marauders, and a number of weapons and ammunition.  However, a second marauder cavalry group responded quickly, inflicting more casualties.  Fortunately, all of our casualties were relatively minor, while our troops were able to kill or incapacitate the entire second cavalry squad as well, capturing one more horse and more weapons and ammunition.

"There was an hour's lull before the third marauder cavalry group arrived.  We used the time to move our wounded troops, as well as the wounded marauders, into our secure rear area, and move fresh troops into position.

"The third marauder group was quickly eliminated with no losses or injuries to our own forces, and we were able to capture three more of their horses.

"Our scouts reported that the HQ unit was thrown into confusion when riderless horses began showing up, especially when one was dragging the very battered, and very deceased, remains of its former rider.

"Sensing an opportunity, the CO of the 197th's forces requested I have my scouts engage any leaders with their sniper rifles, then withdraw to the south, allowing the 197th to engage from the north.  She instructed her forces to prepare to advance, providing them with the location of the marauder HQ, as provided by my scouts.

"Fortunately, my SGTs knew from experience that mounted scouting missions often became dismounted sniping missions, and a brief radio conversation established that they needed only a few minutes to get into position and begin sniping.  At the agreed upon time, the 197ths armed vehicles moved forward...

-----------------

[Using the Macro Combat rules from the module Ruins of Warsaw, I reorganize the forces on both sides a bit...]

197th Combat Force
[The troops work out to one Elite squad of 7, two Veteran Squads of 6 each, and two Experienced squads of 6 each.  Since there are only three armored vehicles, the squads are distributed randomly by rolls of a d10 (1-2 = Elite; 3-6=Veteran, 7-10=Experienced) resulting in the following

M2A3 Bradley (Veteran Driver, Elite Gunner) (93 25mm rounds, 1 TOW missile
Elite Squad (M16, 120 rounds)

M113 APC #1 Experienced driver, Veteran gunner
M40 Recoilless Rifle (17 rounds)
Experienced Squad (M16, 120 rounds)

M113 APC #2 (Experienced crew)
M2 HMG - 4 belts
Veteran Squad (M16, 200 rounds)

HumVee #1 (Veteran crew)
MK19 GL (3 belts)
Veteran Squad (M16, 200 rounds)


HumVee #2 (Experienced crew)
MK19 GL (3 belts)
Experienced Squad (M16, 120 rounds)

Vehicle gunners are instructed to hold their fire in reserve.

The two 5-ton trucks and their crews remain back with the work crew, who were sent down to dismantle the solar panels and move them to a more secure location in Memphis.

Marauders:
The marauders have one Elite squad of 5, three Veteran squads of 5 each, three experienced squads of 5 each (I slightly shuffle the numbers around from the rulebook), making seven squads (not counting vehicle drivers/crew/gunners).  Four rolls of d20 later, the squads are:

Mounted Squad #1 - Experienced (M16, 50 shots)
Mounted Squad #2 - Veteran (M16, 60 shots)
Mounted Squad #3 - Experienced (M16, 50 shots)
Mounted Squad #4 - Veteran (M16 60 shots)

The three mortars are manned by one each Elite squad, Veteran Squad, and Experienced squad, with the Elite squad also serving as the HQ unit.  d100 rolls for mortar ammo are 67, 25, and 36, for a total of 128 rounds, or 43 rounds per mortar (rounded up, so actually 129 total rounds).

The marauder’s Bradley has an experienced driver and a veteran gunner.  The marauder CO is an elite NPC who stays near the Bradley with his elite XO and two Veteran guards. The Bradley has 30 rounds for its 25mm gun and no TOW missiles.

--------------

I roll a d10 for the 197th Unit to make first contact, against an d8 for the marauder mounted squad, resulting in HumVee #2 and it’s squad making contact with Marauder mounted squad #2.  The next closest 197th Unit is M113 #1 and it’s squad.  The next closest marauders are mounted squad #1, 1d10x300m away.  Roll is 9, for 2700 meters, so marauder squad #2 is going to be on its own for a while, while M113#1 and it’s squad are only long rifle range from HumVee #2 and its squad...

The 197th units are in soft cover, making it a DIF:RCN:50 roll for the marauders to see them.  They roll an 86 for a complete failure.

-----------------
The 197th’s squad elects to fire at medium range (4 shots per die rolled).  The six squad members all fire two aimed shots (+2 to hit), for a total of 12 shots (3 dice).  Four squad members fire a third aimed shot, for one additional die roll, for a total of 4 rolls (16 shots fired).  The rolls are  4, 4, 5, and 6 (before modifiers), for 4 hits.  The marauders hit are #1, #2, #2, and #3.  Hit locations are 1, 3, 4, 6.  The marauders take damage as follows:

#1 - 1/2 hit to the head, doubled to a full hit for a light head wound - may not fire or move for the rest of the current turn and the next full turn.

#2 - 1/2 hit to the body and 1 full hit to the body for a light wound - may not fire or move for the rest of the current turn and the next full turn.

#3 - 1 hit to the body for a light wound - may not fire or move for the rest of the current turn and the next full turn.

The 197th rolls a 4 for initiative and is able to fire again.  The two marauders who weren’t hit roll a 5 and are able to shoot back.

The 197th uses the same fire decisions for 4 rolls, targeting the two remaining marauders.

The marauders elect to use their full fire (15 rounds each) in response, for 15 die rolls (2 shots per die roll because they are veterans at medium range...)
The 197th rolls rolls 3, 3, 3, and 5 (before modifiers) for 4 more hits, evenly divided between the two marauders.

In return, the marauders roll 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6 for three hits.  (Sometimes  quantity doesn’t beat quality...). Of these three hits, two are stopped by cover.  The one successful hit targets trooper #1, the squad leader, isn’t stopped by his armor, and leaves him with a light wound.

The two hits on marauder #4 are not stopped by armor (hit locations 5 and 9) and he suffers a serious wound and is out.  The two hits on marauder #5 are also not stopped by armor (hit locations 9, 10) and he also suffers a serious wound and is out.

The marauders roll a 4 for morale.  With all five members wounded, I use a +10 to the roll, and the marauders are routed (if the three lightly wounded members survive the next turn).

The horses of the two seriously wounded marauders flee (AVG:EQ:50, rolls of 52 and 57).  There is a 10% chance that one of the marauders will get their foot stuck in a stirrup.  Rolls are 07 and 92, so one horse drags his rider off, killing them.

The next turn, the 197ths troops follow the same fire routine, but with only five members, the fourth roll will be at only +1, not +2.  The to hit rolls are 2, 2, 3, and 6, (before modifiers) for two hits.  Hits are on marauder #1 and #3.  Hit locations are 7 and 4, so both take an additional light wound and are now seriously wounded.

The 197th rolls a 9 for initiative and is able to fire again.  Hit rolls are 1, 3, 5, and 6, for three hits and the last marauder is down.

Two of the three remaining horses flee (DIF:EQ:50 (horses are herd animals and two of their ‘herd’ have already run off), rolls of 30, 34, and 5).  Neither of the marauders is dragged away...   

- - - - 

[While retrieving the one remaining horse, securing the wounded marauders, and recovering the marauder’s weapons and other gear, the 197th unit rolls AVG:RCN:40, roll of 23 and spots the next group of approaching marauder cavalry, but the marauders roll AVG:RCN:40, roll of 02 and spot them in return.  The 197th troops are able to get back into their fighting positions, with wounded trooper #1 guarding the wounded prisoners.  The marauders will get to fire during the first action phase this time.  The marauders choose to approach to medium range.

There is a 50/50 chance that another marauder cavalry unit is in range.  Roll is 37.  Mounted squad #4 is twice the encounter range, or 1d10 x 600 meters.  Roll is 10, so they are 6Km away (this marauder unit is on its own as well...)  There is only a 25% chance that the marauder HQ unit is in range.  Roll is 33, so no.  This is shaping up to be a classic “defeat in detail”.

The five marauders fire 12 shots each, for a total of 15 rolls.  They roll 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 6 for a total of 3 hits.  Two of these hits are stopped by the cover. 

Trooper #2 is hit for a light wound, putting him out of action for the rest of this turn and all of next turn.

The 197th again uses aimed fire for three rolls at +2 and one roll at +1.  They roll 4, 5, and 5, then roll a 4, for four hits!

Three hits are against marauder #3 and one against marauder #4.  None of the hits are stopped by armor.  #3 is down and #4 is lightly wounded.  ESY:EQ:40 (there are still riders able to give the riderless horse direction) roll of 44 means the riderless horse stays put.

The marauders roll a 1 for initiative while the 197th rolls a 7, meaning the 197th will shoot, but the marauders won’t.

The 197th is now down to three aimed fire rolls at +2, all against marauder #4.  Rolls are 1, 4, and 5, for two hits.  None are stopped by armor, and marauder #4 is seriously wounded and out of the fight.  AVG:EQ:40 roll of 30 means the horse also stays put (since this is the second rider to be shot down in this turn, the roll is harder...)

The marauder’s moral check is 6 after modifiers, so no effect.  The 197th’s morale check is also 6 after modifiers.

Second Turn

Firing just short of full fire (44 shots total), the three remaining marauders now get 11 rolls.  Their rolls are 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, and 6, for four hits, two of which are stopped by the cover.

Trooper #3 Is hit in the armor, which absorbs the hit for no effect, but trooper #4 receives a minor wound, putting him out of action for the next turn.  

The 197th again takes three aimed fire rolls at +2, spread against all three remaining marauders, but the rolls of 1, 2, and 2 are all misses.

Both sides fail their initiative rolls

The 197th rolls a 9 after modifiers for morale, BARELY managing to stay in the fight.  The marauders roll a 10 after modifiers and are suppressed, so they will begin a fighting withdrawal, so they will be at -1 to hit.

Third turn

Marauder #4 is back in action,.  The four marauders again fire 44 shots total, for 11 rolls.  Their rolls are 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6 for one hit, which is stopped by cover.  

Trooper #2 is now back in action, but with the squad down to nearly 50% strength, the Assistant Squad Leader calls for the M2 Gunner of the nearby M113 to open fire (next turn), holding the MK19 grenade launcher in reserve, with the hope of capturing more horses...

The 197th takes another aimed fire at medium.  They are back to three aimed rolls at +2 and one roll at +1.  Their rolls are 2, 3, and 6 for two hits.  The +1 roll is a 1 for a miss.  the hits are against marauder #1 and #4.  Marauder #1 takes a light wound that is not stopped by armor.  Marauder #4 takes a hit against his helmet, which is stopped by 1/2, but is doubled for a head wound, so she has now taken two hits, is seriously wounded and is out of action.  Her horse bolts (DIF:EQ:40, roll of 73), leaving her laying on the ground (10%, roll of 80).

Both sides fail their initiative check.

Both sides pass their morale check.

Fourth turn

Trooper #4 is back in action.  The 197th takes another aimed fire at medium, with flour aimed rolls at +2.  Rolls are 3, 4, 4, and six for four hits.  The hits are to marauder #1 (3 hits) and marauder #2 (1 hit).  Two 1/2 hits are absorbed by his body armor, giving him a second light wound.  The third hit is is not stopped by body armor, and he now has three hits, giving him a serious wound and putting him out of action.  His horse bolts (DIF:EQ:40, roll of 37), leaving him laying on the ground (10%, roll of 30).

Marauder #2 is hit in the helmet.  1/2 of the hit is absorbed by his helmet, but head wounds are doubled, so he now has a light wound and can’t move or fire until turn five.

The M2 (Experienced Gunner) fires at the marauders.  At medium for the M2, he needs 4 shots for each roll.  Full fire on the M2 is 16, so he gets 4 rolls at +1 for being a vehicle-mounted weapon.  Rolls are 3, 3, 4, and 5, for two hits.  Both hits are against marauder #5.  Neither hit is stopped by armor and marauder #5 is KIA.  His horse also runs off (DIF:EQ:40, roll of 50).

The marauders still get a chance to fire.  Their 11 rolls are 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5, 5, and 5 for four possible hits.  One hit is stopped by the cover.  The hits are to trooper #2, trooper #5 and trooper #6.  Trooper #2’s hit is stopped by armor.  Trooper #5’s hit is stopped by his helmet, but trooper #6 suffers a light wound and is out until turn #6.

The 197th troopers fail their initiative check, but the marauders make theirs.  However, the only marauder not seriously wounded is #2, and they suffered a light wound earlier this turn and our out of action until the start of turn 6 (assuming they live that long).

Fifth turn

The 197th is back down to three aimed rolls at +2.  With only one surviving marauder, they forgo the shots that would have given them a fourth roll at +1, trusting on the M2 to finish off the marauder if they all miss.  The rolls are 3, 3, and 5, for three hits.  None are stopped by the marauder’s helmet or body armor, and they are KIA.  Their horse runs off (DIF:EQ:40, roll of 76, but the first horse stills stays put (DIF:EQ:40, roll of 04).

The M2’s rolls are 2, 3, 4, and 5 (16 rounds expended) for two more hits, confirming the kill.

- - - - 

With four squad members lightly wounded, the squad calls for evacuation.  Two of the trucks are sent down to evacuate the captured marauders, who will be guarded by the wounded troopers.  The M113 and it’s troops move over, using the noise the trucks make to cover their movement [the marauders roll against AVG:RCN:50, roll of 95] and keeping the HumVee for heavy fire support.  The plan is to allow the marauders to approach to close range, and then open fire with both the squad and the M2 and hopefully end the combat quickly.

The marauders roll against DIF:RCN:50, roll of 66 and fail to spot the entrenched troops, or the camouflaged vehicles [AVG:RCN:50, roll of 65], so the ambush succeeds.

First turn

At close range, the 197th’s troopers need one shot per die roll. Each of the six troopers fires three aimed shots for a total of 18 rolls as +2.  The rolls are 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, and 6, for a total of 11 hits.  Since this is an ambush, the hits are evenly split among the five marauders, with marauder #1, who appeared to be the squad leader, getting the leftover hit.

Marauder #1 - one hit is 1/2 absorbed by his armor, giving him 2 1/2 hits for a serious wound.  
Marauder #2 - neither hit is stopped by armor, givIng them a serious wound
Marauder #3 - neither hit is stopped by armor, givIng them a serious wound
Marauder #4 - both hits are 1/2 stopped by armor, giving them a light wound
Marauder #5 - one hit is 1/2 stopped by armor, giving them a light wound

The M2 gets one shot per roll, with a +1 for being vehicle mounted.  The 16 rolls are 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, and 6, for eight hits.

Marauder #1 - two hits, neither stopped by armor.  KIA
Horse (AVG:EQ:50, 36) stays (because another horse, rolling at DIF:EQ stayed)

Marauder #2 - one hit, not stopped by armor, KIA
Horse (AVG:EQ:50, 57) runs away

Marauder #3 - one hit, not stopped by armor, KIA
Horse (AVG:EQ:50, 28) stays (because another horse, rolling at DIF:EQ stayed)

Marauder #4 - two hits, neither stopped by armor, KIA
Horse (DIF:EQ:50, 12) stays

Marauder #5 - two hits.  One to the helmet, 1/2 stopped by armor, but doubled for a head hit.  Second hit, half stopped by armor, KIA 
Horse (AVG:EQ:50, 85) runs away

- - - - - - - - - 

Captain Blake passes on the request from the 197th's CO.  While not wanting to press their luck, the scouts see the logic of the request and reply in the affirmative, stating they will need a little time to get set up and execute.

The marauder’s HQ has a DIF:RCN:60 to spot the scouts as they move up from their observation position to a sniping position.  Their roll is 57 for a failure.

Since the SGT's have been keeping this group under observation all day, I judge that they have identified the group's leadership.  The remaining question is, how many of them are out and about?

I judge there is a 50/50 chance of the CO and XO, and the CO and Gunner of the Bradley each being out.

The rolls are 16, 28, 24, and 29, so all four are out, conferring with the leaders of the three mortar squads, as their troops try to calm down and corral the horses that fled the three battles.

Knowing that the 197th is approaching in force, the snipers decided to target the Bradley CO and Gunner first, to take it out of service, then the CO and XO of the group, then the leadership of the mortar squads...

I judge a 50/50 chance that each mortar is set up.  The rolls are 80, 61, and 100, so none of the mortars are set up, and in fact, the experienced squad's mortar sight was damaged when they were breaking everything down this morning, so it is out of commission.

[I will use regular T2K hit rules for these shots...]

I judge the 197th forces will arrive in 2D10 rounds for a roll of 8.

First Round
Both SGTs are 42 to hit (-3 for one level of fatigue), since they are at close range for their sniper rifles.

SGT Rodriguez rolls a 47 and SGT Whitehead rolls a 79, so both miss.  Since they are both using suppressed sniper rifles, their targets have an DIF:RCN:60 to notice these first shots (the difficultly will go down to AVG next round).  The roll a 54, so they know something is wrong, just not what...

Second Round
SGT Rodriguez rolls a 04, and SGT Ruiz rolls a 36, for two hits.

SGT Rodriguez hits the Bradley CO in the head.  Since both the Bradley CO and Gunner would normally wear a Combat Vehicle Crewman Helmet, or CVC, and they are (or were) unaware that snipers were a possibility, I judge they are not wearing any headgear other than soft hats, so the Bradley CO is KIA.  They DEFINITELY know that they are under fire now...

The Bradley Gunner is hit in the left leg.  The Gunner has a hit capacity (2D10 x 2) of only 14.  The sniper rifle round does 28 damage (16+4D6), so the Gunner is KIA as well.

The Marauder CO and XO will spend the round readying their weapons and dropping to the ground.  They also need to roll against their CRM to avoid taking an extra round of hesitation and also to avoid a panic roll.  The CO and XO are both elite, but roll a 61 and 70 respectively, so they will have a hesitation next round.  They are at +2 to their coolness for having two people nearby killed in front of them...  They roll at 7 and 3, so they both pass.

I judge a 50% for the rest of the group to notice what is going on (they are also trying to deal with horses.  They roll a 51, so they will be at 75% next round.

Third Round
The SGT's roll 85 and 77 for two misses.

The marauders take their hesitations.

The other marauders roll a 15 and now know their leaders are being killed by snipers.  I judge it will take 1D6 rounds for the three squads leaders to get their people organized.  The roll is 4, so the action will likely be over before the rest of the marauders can really get their act together (since the SGTs will withdraw after their fifth shot (with magazines empty and an alerted enemy, sticking around to reload is a bad idea).

Fourth round 
SGT Rodriguez rolls a 15 and SGT Ruiz rolls a 32 for two hits.  This is not going well for the marauders.

The marauder CO has a hit capacity of 22 and is hit in the right arm.  He takes 32 damage, and is unconscious.  He may survive to be captured and executed, by hanging, for banditry.

The marauder XO has a hit capacity of 16 and is also hit in the right arm (what are the odds?).  She takes 35 damage and is KIA.

With only one round left in each of their magazines, and all four leaders down, and the rest of the marauders starting to react, the SGTs stick to their plan and begin their escape.  By the time the marauders get organized, the SGTs have remounted and are withdrawing.

The SGTs fail their DIF:RCN:75 "(-5 for fatigue) to avoid detection as they withdraw with a roll of 88 and the marauders roll a 23 against AVG:RCN:50 to successfully detect the SGTs as they begin to ride away.  However, just as the marauders start to mount up in pursuit, they roll an 11 against the same AVG:RCN:50 and hear the approaching armored vehicles.

--------------------

[Frankly, at this point, I want to move this adventure on.  The marauders take (D100) percent casualties, roll of 48, before surrendering / being captured.  The marauder CO dies of blood loss before he can be checked by a 197th medic (25% chance of surviving, roll of 26).]


While riding away, the SGTs were able to radio in (AVG:EQ:75 (-5 for fatigue), roll of 65, that the marauder's Bradley was unmanned, so the 197th forces were able to refrain from shooting it up, and were able to capture it.  With a wear value of only 4, it will be a valuable addition to the 197th's fighting strength, and will likely be attached to the force working with the GMSM.

I judge a 25% chance that the marauder's truck is captured.  Roll of 19, so it, the mortars, and the mortar rounds fall into the hands of the 197th as well, along with the marauder's personal gear stowed in the truck.  The truck has a wear value of 2, so the marauders must have recently acquired it, and their mechanics have been taking good care of it.  The 197th's G-2 staff will have to figure out where the truck came from, who the mechanics were, and if the mechanics can be reformed, but it's not a problem for Captain Blake, or his Raiders, to solve.

What about the Marauder's 4th mounted squad?  They fail an AVG:RCN:50 check with a roll of 82.  They show up at the marauder's HQ site, and proceed to try to 'liberate' their comrades.  The 197th's Bradley takes them under 25mm fire, and they take D100, roll of 96, casualties and are wiped out to the last man (and last horse, D100 casualties, roll of 82).  

Captain Blake and his troops will get to spend tonight, all day tomorrow, and tomorrow night, camping with the 197th's troops before continuing their mission.

----------------

Effects of Fatigue: A character’s effective STR, AGL, CON, and INT are reduced by one for each level of fatigue. 

If any attribute is reduced to zero, the character becomes unconscious and will sleep for one complete period (thus raising the attribute back to 1).

All base hit numbers are reduced by three at close range, two at medium range, and one at long range per level of fatigue. 

Load and throw range are reduced by two per level of fatigue. 

Body combat damage is reduced by one per level of fatigue. 

All skills are reduced by five per level of fatigue.

(Player's Manual, page 12)