Life Lessons from Chess

     Over the weekend my younger son and I played a game of chess. It lasted two hours, which in itself is a testament to my son's improved concentration and focus. I started teaching my boys to play chess two years ago. I'm not a great player but I do all right if I can remember to always look down the board for the likely response to my move. I can't count the number of games that I've lost because of a hasty move that cost me a key piece, usually the queen. As I reflected on this defect in my own play, I got to thinking during a short break about the lessons about life one can learn from chess. Below are few things that came to mind. I can't really claim any special insight or wisdom, and probably better chess players could add a lot to this. All the same, this is my blog, so here's what I think one can learn about life and living from chess:
 
Be patient. Chess is not like arcade games. You have time to think, use it.

Consider the consequences before you make a move; and its' corollary: Everything you do will have consequences.
 
Cooperation is better than going it alone. Ask any Knight or Bishop that has been sent to die on the enemy's line all by itself.


Respect everyone, even the little guys. A lowly pawn can take down the King, and a pawn that sneaks to your back line is suddenly a very BIG problem.


Whether you win or lose any particular game, it is always an opportunity for you to learn something. It can be about your play, your opponents, or about life above the board. Every game can make you better.   

Planning is a good thing. Having no plan leaves you at the mercy of an opponent who does have one. 

You can wish for a perfect setup if you want, but the setup you have to deal with is the one on the board. Take life as it comes and make the best of it.

You will have to change your plans if your opponent doesn't cooperate. Which he probably won't.

You always have to make a move on your turn, so make the best one you can. Even if it is not an ideal move, do something. No one wins at anything by being frozen in place.

Opponent is not the same thing as Enemy. When you're playing for fun, play to win, but shake hands and be a good winner OR loser. No one should lose a friend over a chess game.

Expect some losses along the way. No one wins a chess game with their whole army intact. Everyone will face some defeats in life, but as long as you're alive you can keep playing. (Yes, I know there's the Fool's Mate, but seriously, how often does that happen?)
 
Abandon your plan as soon as it is clear that it won't work. Evil Overlords throughout history have lost it all by clinging to their Evil Plan that isn't working.


Skill and patience, not luck will get you to your goal. Sure, you will get lucky sometimes, but you have no control over when and how often. It is the same as not having a plan.

Every move entails some risk. You can manage it with good planning, but never eliminate it. Learn to live with uncertainty.

And let me conclude with what is our unofficial family motto:

Latin - “tardus stabilis laborque, finis obtineatur”  
English - By slow and steady labor the goal is achieved.


If you've got Chess advice for Life, please add it in the comments section.  

For the record, my son did not beat me (this time) but he did have me on the ropes once or twice. I expect that he will beat me in the not too distant future. If I've taught him to play chess, great. If I've taught him how to live life, even better. 

Off the Cuff Movie Review - Operation Petticoat

   If you've read many of my off the cuff reviews, you've probably gotten the idea that I like Cary Grant movies. This film is one of his later comedies, set during the beginning phase of World War II, but it ends in the modern day (for when the film was released). It co-stars Tony Curtis - I've already quoted or paraphrased him from this film in another post. 
     Anyway, Grant & Curtis are Navy officers aboard the submarine Sea Tiger, which got sunk in port within days of the war's outbreak. Captain Sherman (Grant) wants to get his boat repaired and back into the war, while Acting Supply Officer Lt Holden (Curtis) wants to get back to Hawaii, so he can marry his rich fiancee. Events conspire to make it difficult for either to get what they want, but Lt Holden manages at every turn to steal or bamboozle his way into "a better deal than what I've got now". By the film's end, one of them gets what he wants, while the other changes his mind about his goal. Along the way, a goofy cast of characters from the crew of the sub to South Pacific locals, to a group of stranded Army nurses create one headache after another for Sherman, and every move Holden makes to get them out of one jam gets Sherman deeper and deeper in Holden's constant scamming. It's hilarious to watch the usually calm & suave Grant play the progressively more perplexed and bewildered Capt. Sherman, to the point you wonder who's really running the boat. Despite the serious backdrop of the war, the film manages a breezy and fun-filled tone throughout. There's romance in the air for both Holden and Sherman, and even the ship's comically misogynist chief mechanic ("It's either her or me in this engine room!" he demands) warms up to the presence of the women. When the boat ends up being painted pink (it makes sense in context) suddenly both sides are out to get the Sea Tiger, assuming it's a trick of the other side. It takes all of Sherman's and Holden's wiles to get them out of this one. 
     There is nothing in this movie that I would caution parents about letting kids watch. A few sailors go shirtless, but it is because they're working, not showing off. The women are stared at appreciatively, but there's no leering or off-color talk. Lt Holden's scamming gets tolerated by Capt Sherman only because it is a practical necessity - the rest of the crew are concerned about getting caught stealing so much stuff, but agree that they will have to give up the ship as unsalvageable without it. Two characters kiss, but only briefly. No one gets hurt any worse than getting knocked into the water by a clumsy nurse. 
    My boy's favorite line from the film, which you'll have to watch to understand: "What happened?"  "We sunk a truck!"

      Now, this movie's setup is a great template for an adventure or even a campaign theme. This idea will work better in a game world with modern or future technology, but I suppose it could be made to work in a low-tech fantasy setting. The setup is that the characters are the crew of a vessel, which by reason of outside circumstances, must keep on the move - finding themselves behind enemy lines seems a good idea. Complications should include extensive damage to the vessel and the scarcity of repair parts, an enemy that harasses them  rather than conducting all-out assaults, crew or passenger issues that force side-trips and unreliable or too-brief access to repair facilities. The movie above plays this for laughs, but it could be made into a very serious scenario. Depending upon how far the vessel has to go, or the danger of the area to be traversed, this set-up could last for many game sessions.

The Art of War - Kasserine Pass

     My older son and I are playing a new game of GDW's Bloody Kasserine wargame. I'm playing the Allied side this time so for eleven days of game time, I have to hold back the Germans & Italians in their drive to hold Kasserine Pass and capture my airfields.

      The game sets victory conditions upon the holding of important towns at the end of the game. Unit losses are not counted, only holding territory. There are three airfields: I hold Tebessa and Le Kef and the Axis holds Kairouan. Five towns are strategically important for victory: Kasserine, Thala, Sbiba, Faid and Feriana. I hold all but Faid at the start.

Photo from http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2431604

     The red ovals are the strategic towns, the black rectangles are the Axis setup areas.

       I've played this game before, but this time I'd like to do something a little different. I've been reading Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and I am going to attempt fighting this battle as Sun Tzu would have done, taking what instructions I can from his book. The Art of War is arranged by chapter-and-verse, if you will, so when quoting from the text I will note it as such: Chapter II, verse 4, or (II, 4).

      In chapter one, Sun Tzu establishes five factors that must be considered in planning. They are the Moral Law, Heaven, Earth, the Commander, Method & Discipline (I,4). I think that all five have some representation in the game.

      The Moral Law relates to the soldier's willingness to fight; in game terms, unit morale. This comes least into the game, and is all in the realm of the player.

      Heaven relates to weather. We are using the optional rule for weather this time. Rain affects tactical air support and heavy rain grounds all aircraft, slows movement and affects supply.

      Earth relates to distance and terrain. The Allies start in the hill-and-wadi region and can easily use the terrain to their defensive advantage. The Axis must in the south cross a lot of open ground, and then run into restrictive ground with fewer options for movement.

      The Commander is the player. How clever and daring he is determines how well the armies will move. Knowing when to fight and when not to is critical.

      Method & Discipline relates to supply and the effective use of specialized units such as engineers, air power and artillery.

      As it stands at the beginning, the Allies will win a victory if I give up no Victory Point (VP) cities. The Axis must take at least a few to avoid defeat. This means I will be fighting a defensive battle. Offensive moves should be limited to relief of Allied forces or re-taking of a VP city.

      Sun Tzu said, “The highest form of Generalship is to balk the enemy's plans” (III, 4). So my goal is to prevent the loss of the VP cities. I can cede any other ground or town to the Axis if it will allow me to continue defending the critical locations.

      Sun Tzu said,"all warfare is based on deception" (I,18). Of course, the deception part is harder to do in a tabletop game that has all of the units face-up on the table. To simulate this, I will insist that neither side can pick up and examine enemy counters. So I'd better keep track of what units are stacked where. If I lose track of his flak units, my air support will be in trouble.

      Sun Tzu said, “If equally matched, we can offer battle; if slightly inferior in numbers we can avoid the enemy” (III,9) I will avoid whenever possible fighting at 1:1 odds, where I am least likely to get a Defender Retreat or Defender Eliminated result. Also, I will retreat from 3:1 or worse odds except when defending a VP city.

      Sun Tzu said, “there are five essentials for victory: 1, he will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight” and “4, he will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared (III,17). I will ignore none of my units, even if I do not move them, and look for when the Axis has ignored them. Then I will attack where he does not expect an attack.

     Sun Tzu said, “The skillful fighter puts himself into a position which makes defeat impossible” (IV,14). I will make maximal use of rugged crests and cliff hexsides – I can attack down a cliff, but the enemy cannot attack up, nor does his Zone of Control extend up a cliff face. The heaviest Axis units cannot cross rugged crests either, so I will use them to channel Axis forces.

      Sun Tzu said, “The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him” (VI,2). In turn two, I used my engineers to sever most of the bridges across the wadis. This does not prevent the Axis from crossing but it does slow them down. I will tie him down with delaying attacks well short of the VP cities.

     I'll write up a gaming report once the battle is over, with observations on how well I applied those lessons, and what I missed.

Race Results - Coleman's Run

      Coleman's Run is an annual fundraiser race in our area. from the website: Coleman’s Run is a benefit 5k event with the intention to increase autism awareness and support local charities. The eponymous Coleman was there, and he ran, and while I did not get to meet him personally, I did meet some nice dogs that also joined in the run.
   I was encouraged by a friend to get involved and as it happens I have a nephew who is autistic. Besides, I don't need much encouragement to run in a race. Unlike some I've participated in, this was not a very competitive race, as its primary purpose is fundraising.Check out the links above, and consider how you might be able to support autism research.
     So on a sunny and breezy Saturday morning I and about 150 other people ran, walked and rode in strollers along a country lane and over some wooden train bridges. I must make a point of going back and walking along that road, so I can appreciate the scenery, which was beautiful from what I glimpsed while panting along. I finished 25th out of the pack, with a time of 25:12. For my first race of the year, and coming off a long cold wet winter, I'm very pleased. As a bonus I won a pair of "compression leg sleeves" which are a new running 'technology' to me. They're patterned with American flags.


     Now, how to apply this to gaming? In many RPG's the profit motive is the most common motivation for adventuring, but what about charities? There are enough examples of real-world charities that adapting them to a game world should not be hard. 

• A player character may have or gain some connection to an NPC who is part of a charity organization, or is afflicted with a malady that the charity is trying to cure. 
• A player character may have a religious Duty or Oath to donate a portion of his earnings to a specific charity. If the PC gets in trouble, the GM can raise the percentage owed to the charity as penance.
• A charity organization may ask the PC group for help:

1. The charity needs protection while it transports its collected goods to the home office.
2. The charity has already been robbed, and asks the PCs to recover the donations
3. The charity needs help in locating a Macguffin that will help advance the charity's cause
4.  Competing charities are causing strife in the community, and the officials ask the PCs to mediate
5. Charity A may suspect Charity B of fraudulent activity and asks the PCs to investigate

• A Charity group may be a front for some other activity - espionage, secret society, revolutionaries. Whatever it is, they will accomplish Big Badness if not stopped. Local citizens or the local officials ask the PCs to find out the truth.
• And of course, there's the possibility of setting up challenges like races, obstacle courses or duels for the PCs to take part in directly as a public spectacle to raise money.

Happy charitable gaming!
    

76 Patrons - The Fighting Sullivans and Others

     As I watched the movie last night it was obvious to me that if one took the Sullivan brothers out of history and into an RPG world, they would be the cause of many adventures. Here are a few ideas that I came up with:

Adventure hooks/plots based on The Fighting Sullivans

Honestly, just about any scenario can be livened up by a group of five capable, loyal and organized brothers as allies or antagonists.

      The PC's owe the five brothers a debt of honor, which entails providing for their dependents after they're dead. This includes one very attractive widow.

      The five have been hired for a mission directly in opposition to the PC's mission.

      The five have been hired for a mission in competition with the PC's mission.

      The five brothers have a Destiny upon them and all five must survive long enough to fulfill it, to prevent Big Badness. The PC's are responsible for their survival during the big mission leading up to the Fulfilling of the Destiny.

      One of the five is lost/missing/kidnapped/captured and the remaining four hire the PC's to help recover the fifth.

      A Patron hires the PC's to eliminate the five brothers, as they stand between the patron and a large inheritance.

      The five brothers are a super-hero or secret agent team, and the PC's have discovered their identities.

     

Gender flip: it is a family of five fighting women. Gender split: a family of 3 men 2 women or 3 women 2 men that all operate together.

    

My wife is a big fan of audio books. We love Librivox! Also we love borrowing books on CD from the public library to listen to in the kitchen or in the car on long trips. My wife is a big fan of Agatha Christie and Elizabeth Peters, so:

Adventure based on Agatha Christie's Cat Among the Pigeons:

  The PC's have been hired to be covert security for a student at a private academy, and must take civilian jobs on the academy campus. No heavy weaponry is going to be allowed. This should be a brains not brawn assignment. 

Adventure based on the Amelia Peabody series:

     The PC's get involved in an archaeological expedition, either as security, as the dig leaders, or even as porters/staff. During the dig, rare and valuable macguffins are uncovered, stolen and in need of recovery. There may be international forces involved in the thefts. Murder of the archaeologists is not out of the question. A war may start up during the dig, which may or may not have anything to do with the dig itself. Depending on the genre, the macguffins could be magical or mystical.

Military Research Online Resource

Combined Arms Research Library

     I was introduced to this site recently, and got rather excited by it. As a former soldier, amateur historian and student of things military, this publicly accessible site is a deep well of information. This collection will be useful to history buffs, wargamers in general, writers of history and military fiction (historical or science-y) and Traveller players in particular. Thanks to TimeRover51 over at the Citizens of the Imperium Board for bringing this to my attention. Sections include:

• World War II Operational Documents
• School of Advanced Military Studies Monographs
• Combat Studies Institute
• Master of Military Art and Science Theses
• Obsolete Military Manuals
• Civil War Order of Battle documents
• Military Review (journal)

I've already downloaded papers on the effects of rifled weapons on Civil War tactics, the employment of an 81mm morter (hey, you never know), a Field manual on Mountain Operations and one on the organization of a WWII Infantry Battalion. Interesting reading, if not of any immediate practical employment.

Gaming Report - Asteroid

     This time it was my younger son who played with me. He requested that we play Asteroid, a Traveller-like game from GDW where the heroes must stop a mad computer from destroying the Earth by causing an asteroid collision. The rock in question was tunneled out as a mining control station, and the central computer went wacky after the IT guy tried to upload his brain to the mainframe.
     My son asked to play the heroes, and choose from a rather motley assortment of characters to go into the station: from the beefy Muscles McGee to Alex the professional thief, to The Professor and his daughter and their dog, Sascha. Each character has some skill or talent that may be useful. Muscles' brother Lucky can fix things by whacking them, another is a psychic, and another just a very good shot with a laser. Against them are the station's robotic crew, a mix of mining, utility and defense robots. The computer's control over them is erratic, though, and during the game, several small robots went over to my son's side. The computer's units are laid face-down on the map so my son had to investigate them one by one, trying to find the computer central terminal to shut it down.
     The fighting rules are pretty simple but work well, dice rolling is at a minimum and there's only one chart to consult. Many of the robots and a few of the heroes were killed before the computer was shut down. The rest escaped and Saved the World. The asteroid station itself is laid out on eight map sections, four for the upper level and four for the lower. The maps are designed in such a way that they can be connected in any sequence, so the station never looks the same twice. A rule that I missed until after the game appealed to me so I'll have to put it in for the next time - once the computer player decides where all his units go, the maps are laid out in number order, so the heroes have no idea which map section is connected to which other section. This adds a great layer of complexity to the heroes' mission. 
     We will have to play a few more times to really come to grips with all the potential of this game, but managed to finish in about two hours. My son was glad to have won, but was saddened every time one of his robots got smashed by the larger robots. At least Sascha the dog made it out all right. 

Pictures will eventually go on the Gaming Events page.  

Gaming Report - Kasserine Pass

     Yesterday afternoon my older son and I finished a game modeling the Battle of Kasserine Pass (1943), specifically the GDW game Bloody Kasserine [1992].  It is a mid-complexity wargame with units at the battalion level. I bought the game back in 1992, when it was new, and have finally, 20 years later, actually played against an opponent.
     Kasserine Pass was a step up in terms of the complexity of game for my son. This game includes air units, and specialized ground units like engineers and anti-aircraft (flak) units. Of course my son the plane expert knew all of the aircraft types, both American and German. I played the German side, which has more on the board in the first turns, but at least in the air finds the odds evening and shifting away to the Americans. My son had the rule booklet near memorized by the time we began, and he made few strategic errors. His plans may not have been Patton-esque yet, but he certainly stalled me out in the titular pass. The town of Kasserine is right in the middle of the map, but is actually one of the less strategically important towns. The airfield at Tebessa and the city of Le Kef are much more valuable. I never reached either of them, as the Allied forces went quickly on the offensive and hit me on the south side of the mountains, away from the crucial airbases. The Allied air support was notably more effective than the German's. Only time I've ever not liked the Supermarine Spitfire. They shot down a lot of my Me-109's and FW-190's. A lot of the battles were pitched at 1:1 odds, which is not my favorite, and resulted in the two sides locked in position without any ground being traded. There were a lot of flanking/surrounding moves on both sides. 
     In the end, my son held on to enough strategic ground to end up with a narrow Allied victory, nicely approximating the actual outcome of the battle. Maybe next time, we'll use the optional "what if?" rule that makes George Patton the commander of the Allied forces - this means the Allies get reinforced sooner, and get a movement point bonus reflecting Patton's hard-charging tactics. I'm pleased and excited to see my son's game improving, and as a bonus I have more fun from more serious challenge. I think I'm a big enough guy to congratulate my son if ever he should wipe the board with me.

New (Old) Gaming Goodies

     Last month (or so) I mentioned that I had won second place in the Zhodani Base's "76 Patrons" contest with a little adventure called Renovations. With that honor came a gift cert good over at Drive Thru RPG. Yesterday I finally got around to spending my hard-earned credit, and I picked up some nice play aids. I got a D66 sheet of 66 Cargoes - things interesting and mundane to find in a ship's hold. I picked up some back issues of Signs & Portents, Mongoose Publishing's house organ, which usually features some material for Traveller. Best of all, I got a PDF version of the Judge's Guild supplement Starships and Spacecraft with it's selection of deck plans for some of the typical Traveller small starships. Deck plans are fun to make, but can be very time consuming, so this supplement is a time-saver, and looks cool as well.

Nostalgia Success

     Today my boys and I finally finished our first game of Revolt on Antares, a TSR minigame from 1982. I bought the game back in the early 80's but owing to my lack of a consistent gaming group, I had never actually played the game against another person. The 'sci-fi-ness" of the game's pieces intrigued me, particularly the artifact known as the "Sonic Imploder."
     I bought it again a few months ago from an online shop mostly for the nostalgia value of having it about. Then after having enjoyed playing some other games, like House Divided and Monopoly with my two boys, I figured, why not try Revolt on Antares? 
     I am glad to report that the game went pretty well. It is a simple enough game in concept and mechanics, but with some complexity in decision making - who should I attack and with how much?  Should I try to form an alliance?  Should I buy mercenaries or just use my own troops?  How should I employ the Artifacts (very powerful alien tech left over and appropriated by the warring factions), in particular the Devastator, which will destroy everything in a one-hex radius from itself. My younger son was considering using the Big D to break a siege of his fortress by my older son, until I pointed out how much of his own stuff he'd lose in the process. The siege was never lifted, but the older one did not ever take the fortress. He was so distracted by the siege that he did not notice my sneaking up on one of his fortresses until I had snatched it. I almost grabbed one of the younger boy's fortresses as well, but just didn't have quite enough firepower to do it.
     In the end my younger son won, owing in part to having more initial territory by luck of the draw. I think that we'll have to play it a few more times before they really see the tactical possibilities of the multi-player game, where the one holding the most territory at the end wins.
     Both as a game experience and as practice in being a good sport and 'playing by the rules', Revolt on Antares was good fun and a win all around. Some day, I expect them to figure out that they can gang up on their old dad. So far, though, I'm safe.

Napping in the Library

     A colleague recently sent me a link to this article from Library Journal about how some libraries are taking a different approach to the perennial issue of students coming into the library not to read but to sleep. Snoring, unattended ringing phones (esp with annoying ring-tones), long-term occupation of limited seating space and other irritants are of concern for librarians who want the library as inviting, but not become a substitute apartment or lounge. Wesleyan University has installed a number of high-tech barcaloungers called Energy Pods which create a sleep-friendly environment for one person, complete with white noise generator and a vibration wake-up alarm to keep the occupant from missing their next class. Personally, I wouldn't mind being able to take a 20-minute nap in the middle of the afternoon, while at work. 


Now, as is often the case, I'm pondering how I can apply a real-world technology/event to gaming. These sleeping-pods would be more likely to show up in a modern-day or sci-fi setting, but there's no reason why a fantasy/magic based game couldn't have them as well. And in the fictional world of the game, even a humble couch can be an adventure hook. Say there's a minor spell (or Vita-Rays, or some technobabble equivalent) that makes the couch work as a sleeping pod. What if some evil wizard or spy agency or subversive group has tampered with the couch so that it reads the sleeper's thoughts, stealing secrets or implanting subliminal suggestions? Or perhaps the couch keeps its occupant asleep for a long time, allowing the person to be kidnapped or shanghaied? A spy could arrange to leave messages in the sleeping pod, so a contact can pick them up either in hard copy or by the above mentioned spell/tech? In a more mundane vein, if the PC's are supposed to meet someone in the sleeping pod lounge, what complications can develop from popping open the wrong one? At the very least, in any game where the PC's do a lot of travelling, these short-rest stations could be as common as the tavern & the inn.

Fighting Smart in RPGs

In a previous post I shared an article from STRATFOR on dealing with emergency/danger situations in real life. Today I want to draw from that article a few thoughts on how players of RPGs can employ this advice in their gaming.

Situational Awareness

Players have to make an effort to keep their characters aware of the world around them. Most game systems have a pre-combat mechanic for spotting danger or avoiding surprise attacks. The GM should be employing that mechanic, and if the players do not announce that they are being watchful and alert for suspicious activity in their surroundings, the GM can feel free to surprise them as often as it takes for them to learn. Set up a standard observation/crowd-scan policy and announce that your character is doing it in any situation that you think could get dangerous. GMs should keep in mind that not all antagonists are going to be masters of stealth, so keep it varied and challenge the players to keep vigilant.

Run, Hide, Fight

Run Just because some NPC wants to start a fight does not mean your character has to go along. Ever considered negotiating? If talking doesn't work running is a viable option. Fight on your terms, not on theirs. If for some reason your characters are unwilling to run, they had better be aware and looking out for possible trouble.

Hide Going into a potential conflict situation, the players should pay attention to the layout and keep in mind escape routs and places that provide concealment or cover. Remember that concealment is not the same as cover unless you have not been spotted yet. If your opponent hasn't seen you yet, don't break concealment unless you're going to get trapped in that spot. When the shooting starts, don't stand out in the open or you make yourself target number one – get to cover fast.

Fight Know your capabilities as a character and as a team so you'll know when you're over-matched. Assess your opponent's weaponry and power. Have a general plan in place for handling different kinds of threats; a grenade launcher and a sub-machine gun are not employed the same way. Coordinate with your fellow characters; teamwork is a force multiplier.

Whenever you fight, remember that your first objective is always survival. Don't hesitate to break contact if things are going against you.

In World Wars 1 & 2, automatic weapons and artillery caused far more casualties than personal weapon fire. So identify your opponent's biggest gun and target it first. Suppress the heavy hitter while protecting your own biggest gun, because the enemy will likely be using the same tactic.

Use maneuver to get to the combat range that is most favorable to your side. Handguns are close range weapons, if you've got better ranged weapons, don't let your opponents get close.

MDACC

Maneuver Moving targets are harder to hit, plain and simple. If you're not under cover, maneuver to cover as quickly as possible.

Distance Again, avoid close range combat if at all possible. The closer you are to your opponent, the easier it is for him to hit you, and you want to survive.

Angle Rather than running in straight lines, dodge and weave about, forcing an opponent to track and lead you, throwing off his aim. In Traveller, this is called Evading.

Cover & Concealment Cover is anything solid that will stop attacks from hitting you. Concealment is anything that blocks your opponent from seeing you. You can hide behind cover as it offers protection, but you should move behind concealment, as it will not stop bullets. Anything between you and an opponent is helpful, but always try to get to cover.

Survival Mindset

If the game system you're playing has 'panic rules', expect the GM to enforce them. This should encourage more planning and non-combative solutions to confrontation, as no-one wants to freeze out in the open to get shot. Rules for initiative, or who acts first in a combat turn, can also simulate this hesitation under fire. GMs should allow players a chance to improve their character's performance under fire.

Not all RPG's try to be realistic, but for those that do, where combat is expected, your characters should fight smart or face the likelihood of getting beaten by NPCs who do.

When Things Go Bad

     I have on several occasions before referenced Strategic Forecasting (STRATFOR) as an invaluable resource for understanding the geopolitics of our world, and how that knowledge can be translated into gaming 'worlds' such as Traveller. This article in not only good practical advice for us here in the real world, but it provides some useful tips and tools for handling fight scenes in gaming or in writing fiction. This article is reproduced with permission.

"When Things Go Bad is republished with permission of Stratfor."

When Things Go Bad

By Scott Stewart

Over the past several weeks, we have discussed a number of different situations that can present a common problem to people caught up in them. First, we discussed how domestic terrorism remains a persistent threat in the United States, and that despite improvements in security measures since 2001, soft targets still remain vulnerable to attack by terrorist actors driven by a variety of motivations. Due to the devolution of the jihadist threat toward the grassroots, there is also a growing trend of jihadist actors using armed assaults instead of bombing attacks. We also discussed the continuing problem of workplace violence, and finally, we discussed last week evacuation plans for expatriates due to natural disaster, civil unrest or war.

People caught in any of these situations could find themselves either confronted by an armed assailant or actually coming under fire in an active shooter scenario. Of course, there are other situations where people can find themselves confronted by armed assailants, from street muggings and carjackings to bank robberies. Because of this, we thought it might be useful to our readers to discuss such situations and how to react when caught in one.
Mindset

Perhaps the most important factor affecting a person's reaction to a life-threatening incident is their mindset going into the situation. As we have previously noted when discussing situational awareness, the way the brain is wired makes it very difficult for a person to go from a state of being "tuned out" and completely unaware of what is going on around them to a state of high alert. When confronted by such a jump, it is not uncommon for people to freeze, go into shock and become totally unable to respond to the situation confronting them. This type of panic-induced paralysis can be extremely deadly, and at that point the only hope of surviving an incident is sheer luck or divine providence. People in such a state can do nothing to save themselves.

Another factor of this mindset is the need for people to recognize that there are bad people in the world who want to hurt innocent people, and that they could be potential targets. This means that people must not only practice situational awareness but also trust their gut when they feel something isn't quite right. Denial can be a very dangerous thing when it overrides or rationalizes away gut feelings of danger. Over my former careers as a special agent and corporate security officer, I have interviewed numerous people who allowed denial to override suspicious indicators they noted, and who then proceeded to do things that resulted in their victimization -- all because they had the mindset that they could not possibly become victims. These situations ranged from a mugging victim, who thought there was something odd about the way three guys on the corner looked at her, to the kidnapping victim who spotted the deployed abduction team but proceeded into the attack zone anyway because he thought the team would target someone with more money than his family had. In shooting situations, I have spoken with victims who did not realize that shots were actually being fired and instead dismissed them as pranks or fireworks. I have seen media reports of similar remarks from witnesses regarding recent shooting incidents, such as the July 20 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. In short, denial is deadly.

By practicing the proper level of situational awareness and understanding the possibility of being targeted, a person will be mentally prepared to realize that an attack is happening -- something we call attack recognition. The earlier a target recognizes the attack, the better. In the kidnapping case noted above, the victim recognized the attack before it was sprung, and could have avoided a long (and costly) hostage ordeal, had he taken immediate action to avoid the attack site. As we have mentioned repeatedly, criminal and terrorist attacks do not appear out of a vacuum. Instead, they are part of a planning process that can be recognized if one is looking for it. We have also noted over the years that criminals and terrorists tend to be very bad at camouflaging their actions, and their suspicious demeanors often leave them vulnerable to early detection.

Admittedly, there is the slight danger of embarrassment in the aftermath of a false reaction. I have blushed after hitting the ground and rolling to cover in response to unexpected celebratory gunfire in Yemen, but in general it is far better to initially overreact when there is no threat than it is to underreact in a truly dangerous situation.

But even if one cannot avoid an attack, recognizing danger immediately and then quickly taking action to avoid it can often mean the difference between survival and death.
Run, Hide, Fight

Some people have been critical of the simplicity of the "Run, Hide, Fight" public service video available on YouTube, which was produced by the City of Houston and funded by the Department of Homeland Security. In our assessment, the video does a good job achieving its goal of raising awareness of active shooter situations and of providing a simple, easy-to-remember mantra similar to the "stop, drop and roll" fire-prevention slogan. The video also discusses the necessity of having an evacuation plan and being aware of surroundings. Is the video a complete self-defense course? Clearly not, but it does meet its limited objectives.

Once a person has recognized that an attack is taking place, a critical step must be taken before they can decide to run, hide or fight -- they must determine where the gunfire (or threat) is coming from. Without doing so, the victim could run blindly from a position of relative safety into danger. We certainly encourage anyone under attack to get out of the attack site and run away from danger, but you must first ascertain that you are in the attack site before taking action. Many times, the source of the threat will be evident and will not take much time to locate. But sometimes, depending on the location -- whether in a building or out on the street -- the sounds of gunfire can echo and it may take a few seconds to determine the direction it is coming from. In such a scenario, it is prudent to quickly take cover until the direction of the threat can be located. In some instances, there may even be more than one gunman, which can complicate escape plans.

Fortunately, most attackers engaging in active shooter scenarios are not well-trained. They tend to be poor marksmen who lack tactical experience with their weapons. For example, in his attack on a Los Angeles Jewish community center daycare Aug. 10, 1999, Buford Furrow fired 70 shots from an Uzi-style submachine gun but only wounded five people. The Uzi is an effective and highly accurate weapon at short distances, meaning the only reason Furrow did so little damage was his poor marksmanship. During the July 20 shooting in Aurora, James Holmes only managed to kill 12 people -- despite achieving almost total tactical surprise in a fully packed theater -- due to a combination of poor marksmanship and his inability to clear a malfunction from his rifle.

This typical lack of marksmanship implies that most people killed in active shooter situations are shot at very close range. There are some obvious exceptions, like the shooting at the University of Texas on Aug. 1, 1966, when ex-Marine Charles Whitman shot several people from the top of a tower on the college campus. But even then, most of Whitman's victims were shot early on in his attack, and his ability to successfully engage targets declined rapidly as victims realized where the shots were coming from and either moved away from the threat or took cover and waited for the authorities to respond.
MDACC

As seen in the Whitman case, potential victims can do several things to reduce their chances of being shot, even with a trained shooter. We use an old acronym to describe these steps: MDACC, which stands for motion, distance, angle, cover and concealment.

First, it is much harder to shoot a moving target than a stationary one, especially if that target is moving at a distance. Most tactical shootings happen at distances of less than 7 meters. Indeed, there are very few people who can consistently hit a stationary target beyond 25 meters with a pistol, much less a moving target. Most people can put 25 meters between them and an attacker in just a few seconds, so motion and distance are your friends.

The angle between the target and the shooter is also important, because shooting a target running away in a straight line is easier than shooting a target running away at an angle, since the second scenario would require the shooter to swing the barrel of the weapon and lead the target. Both require a good deal of practice, even with a rifle or shotgun. If the target can run at an angle behind objects like trees, cars, office furniture or walls that obstruct the shooter's view of the target (concealment) or stop bullets (cover), that is even more effective.

Whether running or trying to hide, it is important to distinguish between concealment and cover. Items that provide concealment will hide you from the shooter's eye but will not protect you from bullets. A bush or tree leaves may provide concealment, but only a substantial tree trunk will provide cover. A typical office drywall-construction interior wall will provide concealment but not cover. This means that if a person is forced to hide inside an office or classroom, they might be able to lock the door but the shooter will in all likelihood still be able to fire through the walls and the door, should they choose to do so. Still, if the shooter cannot see his or her target, they will be firing by chance rather than intentionally aiming.

In any case, those hiding inside a room should attempt to find some sort of additional cover, like a filing cabinet or heavy desk. It is always better to find cover than concealment, but even partial cover -- something that will only deflect or fragment the projectiles -- is better than no cover at all.
The Inner Warrior

Mindset also becomes critical when a person is wounded. In active shooter situations it is not unusual for many more people to be wounded than killed; this also relates to the issue of poor marksmanship discussed above. In such a situation, it is extremely important for the wounded person to understand that, unlike what is portrayed in the movies, most wounds are not immediately fatal and rarely immobilize the victim right away. However, it is not uncommon for people to drop to the ground when they are shot and freeze in panic or go into shock. This gives the shooter an opportunity to approach them for a point-blank coup de grace.

It is very important for people to realize that most gunshots are survivable and that, even after being wounded, their bodies can continue to function to get them away from the attack site and to safety. Certainly, once a target gets out of the immediate danger zone they will want to seek first aid or treat themselves with improvised pressure bandages to stop the bleeding and avoid going into shock. Modern trauma medicine is very good, and as seen in the Aurora shooting, most victims wounded in these types of attacks will survive if they get prompt medical assistance.

It is no mistake that training regimens for special operations forces soldiers and serious athletes place so much emphasis on the mental aspect of combat and sports -- that is, learning that your body can keep functioning and continue to do amazing things, even after your mind has told you that it is time to quit. That same sense of drive and determination, the inner warrior, can help keep a person's body functioning after they have been wounded. The inner warrior is also critical when it is time to fight rather than to run or hide, but that is a topic for another time.

76 Patrons - Custom Build

My second entry in the 76 Patrons contest at the Zhodani Base has been posted here.

The player's & referee's information is here:

Custom Build
for 4+ characters


Patron: Scout Pilot
Skills Required: Technical skills, Administration
Equipment Required: tools

Player's Information:
The PC's are contacted by a detached duty Scout, who is looking 

for help on a building project. He has acquired a starship hull, 

which is sound but lacking some key components. The Scout has 

borrowed against the selling price of the ship to purchase or 

build the required parts. He offers the party a share of the 

selling price, initially 30% to him and 70% split amongst the 

group. The Scout claims to have a buyer already lined up.

Referee's Information:
The situation is as the Scout has explained it, the hull is legally

his, and he has secured funding. Referee can choose the size of 

the ship based upon the size of the PC group and their skills. 

Any starship, even a rebuild should be worth several MCr. The ship

sits on a paved area that used to be a warehouse floor, outside of

the local metropolis, and he has rented some heavy equipment 

necessary to lift large components. The referee must determine the

number of parts still needed and their cost. It is suggested that 

the referee consult the Traveller Book,p. 78 'Repair parts', the 

Starship Operator's Manual page on Maintenance, under Other Tasks,

the JTAS article Starship Malfunctions, (JTAS 15 p.16), and 

'Refitting Ships' and 'Repairs' in Adventure 5: Trillion Credit 

Squadron.

Of course there will be complications. 

RIP Harry Harrison

     The news is no longer current, but I have just learned that author Harry Harrison died on August 15th. Harrison was the author of (among other things) a long running series of sci-fi stories featuring the intergalactic master thief James "Slippery Jim" DiGriz, better known as the Stainless Steel Rat. I first read Harrison's stories in Junior High school because my sister was reading them. I enjoyed the stories immensely, and even tried once to make a home-made audio book of "The Stainless Steel Rat for President". 
     I can't say that Harrison directly influenced any of my Traveller gaming, but I'm going to go back and re-read The Stainless Steel Rat books to mine them for Traveller ideas.

     Some of his works are available for free online from Project Gutenburg and from Librivox, including "Deathworld" and "The Misplaced Battleship". Have a read/listen of some great classic science fiction and say a prayer for the soul of our departed friend. May his memory be eternal!

76 Patrons contest at Zhodani Base

BeRKA over at the Zhodani Base site is holding a contest for the best "76 Patrons" style adventure outline. The rules are here http://zho.berka.com/2012/07/01/the-zhodani-base-76-patrons-writing-contest-2012/: and this is my first entry.

76 Patrons Writing contest

Sparkly Hoozits

Patron: Businessperson

Location: any

Skills required: Liaison, Streetwise, Thief skills

Job: The patron recently bought a rare Sparkly Hoozit. It cost a lot, and the patron barely out-bid a local underworld boss and fellow collector of Hoozits. The Hoozit was even more recently stolen, and the patron has reason to believe that the gangster was responsible. The Hoozit requires special care, so there’s only a few places the gangster could have hidden it. The problem is that the patron bought it at an illegal hot property auction, so he can't file charges with the police, and wants to keep this quiet. The patron wants the PC's to act as go-betweens, to negotiate the return of the Hoozit. The PCs should have no trouble in locating the gangster, and little trouble in determining where the Hoozit is being kept.

Complication: After the first meeting with the gangster, but before a deal is made, the Hoozit vanishes. The gangster accuses the patron of a double-cross, the patron accuses the gangster of a further swindle to drive up the price, and by all accounts, there may be a criminal war erupting any day. The patron turns out to have access to armed enforcers. On the chance that the gangster is telling the truth, the patron wants the PC's to find out what really happened and where the Hoozit is now, and get it back.

     The six options are listed below, but in white text to hide them. Click and drag to highlight the possible ways this scenario could play out.

Options:

1 The gangster is faking, and will offer to sell it back at a greatly inflated price.

2 One of the gangster's people stole it so he can sell it himself.

3 One of the gangster's people stole it, to goad the patron into 'removing' his superior.

4 The previous owner of the Hoozit has stolen it back, and plans to leave the planet with it.

5 Unrelated thieves have stolen the Hoozit, and are unaware of the trouble they have started.

6 The patron is trying a double-cross and instigated the war to eliminate the gangster (reason left to the referee)

Gaming Report - Antietam

     My older son and I have once again taken the plunge into a tabletop wargame. This time the subject is the Battle of Antietam, (Sept 14, 1862). The game is part of SPI's Blue & Gray set (1975); SPI was James Dunnigan's game company. This was the battle where Union General George McClellan squandered an opportunity to deal a decisive blow to General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Some have argued that if Lee had been crushed here, the War Between the States might have come to an end in 1862. I don't know about that, but I've been interested in this battle for several years, after visiting the battlefield in Sharpsburg, MD, and discovering that my side of the family has an ancestor who fought in this battle, Benjamin F. Jamison, of the 125th PA Regiment (1Bde, 1Div, 12th Corps).  When I covered this battle in my military history class last year, I used this book from the Army Center of Military History: Antietam Staff Ride.
    My son elected to play the Confederacy, which is the less complicated side to play. All the Confederates have to do is survive and be able to exit the map via ferry over the Potomac by the last turn. The Union's task is to capture/eliminate as many Confederates as possible and secondarily to capture Sharpsburg. The Union has one big limitation, though. To model McClellan's indecisiveness, the Union side can move only 10 units per turn, while the Confederates have no restriction. 
     Five turns into the game, and very little of significance has happened. The Confederates have retreated and massed around Sharpsburg, they have units protecting the ferry and are maintaining a decent perimeter. The Union forces, such as I can get to move, are across Antietam creek, but so far have had no luck in getting past the Confederates to cut off their retreat. I am in position to get troops into Sharpsburg; possession of the town is a major victory point consideration. The Confederates managed to isolate, surround and destroy two Union brigades, pinning them against the Potomac upstream from the ferry. 
     The last half of the game proved to be much more exciting.  The Union forces momentarily broke the South's hold on Sharpsburg but lost it on the next turn; the Confederate counterattack was costly to them, but effective. Then on the following turn, a small Union force cut off the bulk of Lee's army from the ferry with a picket line of units. On the last turn of the game Confederate forces launched a costly assault on the western end of the picket, which succeeded in turning the Union flank, and were able to break through to re-open the line of retreat to the ferry. With the setting of the sun, the Union forces were ordered to hold in place, and watched in frustration as nearly all of Lee's force marched away to safety on the far side of the Potomac. 
     I haven't studied the battle sufficiently to really venture an opinion in print as to whether another Union commander would have been more successful, say Meade for example. In the game, though, the movement restriction on the Union forces meant that over half of my forces spent the battle sitting on their setup hex, never getting orders to advance. There were maybe 20 brigades out of the over 40 on the field that did all the fighting. Simply infuriating to see opportunities open up that I couldn't exploit simply because I didn't have enough units to move into the area. 
     In the final analysis, while I picked off over a dozen Confederate units while losing only four myself, the accomplishment of his two objectives meant that my son won a substantive victory. Next we're going to try Chicamauga, and see how that plays out. A good game, over all.

Gaming Report - Battle of Chantilly

       This morning I served as referee as my sons and two of their friends re-fought the Battle of Chantilly, also known as Ox Hill. Never heard of it?  Not surprising, as it was historically a minor skirmish between the 2nd Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Antietam. Look it up. Then Examine the map.
     Right from the start, this battle was a toe-to-toe slugfest.  The Confederate forces, attempting to stop Pope's retreat back to Washington, took up positions on and around Ox Hill, near Chantilly. The game objective for the Union was to force the Confederates off of Ox Hill, and the Confederates had to hang on to the hill for two hours, the game's stated length. 

      The Union forces, occupying some covering stands of trees, pushed forward aggressively, both sides charging into melee every turn. The Confederate artillery on Ox Hill quickly silenced the Union guns in a classic artillery duel, but Union reinforcements were able to replace the guns and knock out the Ox Hill batteries. The Confederates, fearful of being pushed off the map by morale checks in melee, advanced into the Union lines, and brigades got mowed down like wheat. 

     After two hours of close in fighting the remnants of the Confederate forces re-grouped on Ox Hill, consisting of several brigade-less commanders, a third of Stafford's brigade and Gen Kearney's staff. One of the last three intact Union brigades charged up the hill to push the Confederates off. The whole battle came down to one die roll - whichever side rolled higher would hold the hill and win the game. Much to our surprise, the tottering Confederates held on by a fingertip, and forced the Union back as time ran out. There was much cheering and some weeping, but everyone had a good time. We hope that there will be more events like this over the summer.

Gaming Report - Battle of Bladensburg

     This year marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, sometimes called America's Second War of Independence. Maybe this year I'll write some posts about the war, but this is a game report. Last year, my Military History class re-staged the Battle of Bladensburg, (August 24, 1814) which was the run-up to the British sack/burning of Washington DC. Historically, the American force crumpled before the oncoming British, and in the class' re-enactment, things went much the same. The American militia was unable to even significantly slow the British advance. 

     Check out the page Pictures from gaming events to see the battle. 
 
      Well, today was different. I played the battle again, with my older son, on the floor in the basement. My son played the Americans, and I played the British. The American forces lined up on the west bank of the Potomac, and met the British advance with steady fire that not once but three times forced back the leading British units when they tried to cross the Potomac bridges. I made use of Congreve rockets which sowed panic among the American lines, but far fewer of the Americans ran that I had hoped. Instead of great big gaps, I got only small tears in their lines. The American's fire was not even as hard as it could have been, for the front line units blocking the units behind from adding their fire. American artillery greatly harassed the British lines until one battery was put to flight by the Congreves and the other was charged and over-run. Once the British had crossed the Potomac they made modest gains down the road to Washington, but the superior American numbers had chipped and chopped away them to the extent that the attack lost steam in the middle of the map. An American Dragoon (cavalry) unit got in behind the British and convinced me that the situation was unsalvageable. The remnants of the British force retired back over the Potomac and returned to Chesapeake Bay. The British lost two Battalions of Foot and two Battalions of Marines, including several officers.

The Theology of Firefly - Ancient Faith Radio

     I am a fan of Firefly, the ill-fated 2002 Fox TV space-western, and its theatrical follow-on, Serenity. It is the closest thing I have seen in visual media to the pencil-and-paper roleplaying game Traveller, about which I have written in other posts. As one Traveller player put it on a discussion board long ago, "Nothing says Traveller like shotguns in space!"
     Another reason why I enjoyed Firefly was the inclusion of a Christian character in Shepherd Book. Now, the show didn't last long enough to delve into the particulars of Book's denominational background or his theology, but the simple fact that the 'Verse was presented as still having an active, viable place for religion was a surprising change from some other TV sci-fi shows I could mention, and from literary sci-fi as well. I have read a lot of 'classic' sci-fi books, from the fifties and sixties, including Asimov, Heinlein, Piper and Niven. In their works, religion was often a feature of the universe, almost never the subject of the story, but religious images and people were present, and accepted as being consistent with the existence of space ships and ray guns and supercomputers. It seems to me that by the 80's and 90's and beyond, religion had largely been drummed out of sci-fi; the two biggest influences, Star Trek and Star Wars, having only vague awareness of organized religions, and then only as 'quaint native curiosities' to be 'enlightened' by the god Science. 
     Firefly's presenting a regular character of the show as being devoutly religious (Book), and the main character (Malcolm Reynolds) as conflicted by his faith which was crushed by disappointment was unusual, and engaging. 
     So, as I was listening today to Ancient Faith Radio, I came upon this short podcast, The Theology of Firefly. Browncoats, listen and learn!