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Hobbes
02-06-2014, 06:31
I came up with this scenario for my first solo mission. It's basically a variant of the "Sitting Ducks" Scenario from the rule book, but I thought I share it with you. I will post an AAR as soon as possible.

Material:
SOG-Starter Set

1 British SOL (HMS Defiance)
1 French SOL (Fougueux)

Terrain Pack: Coasts and Schoals (3 to 4 terrain elements, 2 schoals, all as shown on the set-up images)
Terrain Pack: Coastal Batteries (The fort with a starting fire power of 3 in the one available firing arc)

1 or 2 SoG Game Mats


The Scenario: Two French SoL (Fougueux and Aquilon) are anchored in a bay which is protected by fort high above. Due to undergoing repairs, the French Ships can't evade incoming enemies and hope to be protected by the fort. A small squadron of british SoLs (HMS Defence and HMS Defiance) spots the french and decide to attack and destroy them.

Players: 1. (Controling the British SoLs)

Gaming Surface: I created two versions.

1 Game Mat Version
Set-up the game according to the shown image.

8895

The british set-up zone deliberately allows the player to place his ships in line of battle.

2 Game Mat Version
Set-up the game according to the shown image.

8896

The british set-up zone deliberately denies the player to place his ships in line of battle. The first gaming mat gives enough room to manouver into position.


In both variants, the wind comes from left of the british side. All coasts and schoals are rocky and dangerous within width of a ruler.


British Player: HMS Defiance and HMS Defence (or whichever two british SoLs you have) in zone as shown.

French Player: Aquilon and Fougueux (or whichever two french SoLs you have) as shown(automatic).

Additional rules needed: Reefs, Islands, Rules for Solitary Play, Forts. Anchored ships don't move.

Additional rule: The fort is sitting on an highly elevated part of the coast. Naval guns therefore can't reach the fort and the normal [A] firing range is extended by an additional quarter of the ruler ([C/E] coloring of the ruler).

Winning conditions: The british player wins if he forces both french ships to surrender.

Variants:

Tilt the french ships to allow for a better covering of the british approach.

Winning conditions: British player only wins if he destroys the french ships. Surrender from loss of crew and/or 3 broken masts does not suffice. (The british want the ships to be out of the war forever, not allowing the french to reequip the ships.)

Hobbes
02-06-2014, 06:33
I would like to have your oppinion on this scenario.

I already played it once (AAR will follow) and I lost the HMS Defence, but both french ships surrendered. The Fougueux surrendered due to three broken masts, hence the idea of the additional winning conditions.

Uthoroc
02-06-2014, 06:45
Will a French ship that surrenders due to crew or mast loss be removed from the table (as the rules normally state) or can they still be shot at, so the British can reach their mission objective?

Hobbes
02-06-2014, 06:56
I kept all ships on the table as described in the optional rules. The surrendered HMS Defence narrowed the exit of the harbour quite a bit for the other ship.

Uthoroc
02-06-2014, 07:03
But those rules don't say anything about further damaging the ship - all its damage counters are even removed. My concern for the scenario is that the British would basically defeat their own objective by making a French ship surrender due to crew or mast damage. You'd need your own optional rules of being able to damage a ship that's already surrendered (and that sounds pretty a historical).

So I think I'd remove that special victory condition. But otherwise it sounds like fun!