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Heroes of North Africa Desert Raiders Print and Play Mod

Heroes of North Africa Desert Raiders Print and Play Mod v2

Broadsword56

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Broadsword56 submitted a new resource:

HoNA desert raiders mod print-and-play countersheets - 3 Custom countersheets that add LRDG, SAS, Italian Autosaharan and more to Heroes of North Africa.

These print-and-play countersheets (2-sided, 6 files in all, to make 3 countersheets total) add light raiding forces to Heroes of North Africa.

Before mounting the printed sheets, I recommend trimming off the white borders (at least the top and one side) to help you align the front and back sides.

The counterset gives you units and vehicles of the Long Range Desert Group and Special Air Service with some of their historical leaders, special heroes, and 1941 and 1942 versions of the...

Read more about this resource...
 

Broadsword56

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One note about some special new corner triangles on vehicle counters:
As we know, vehicles always move in the direction that the triangle points to.
Usually in LnLT, that triangle is red and it means the vehicle moves and fires in that covered arc.

But in this counterset, you'll also see some vehicles with green or white triangles.
Although these vehicles move in the direction their triangle points to, just like other vehicles...

A GREEN triangle means the vehicle's main weapon FIRES only in the vehicle's REAR covered arc (i.e, it fires to the rear because it's mounted in such a way that it can't shoot over the truck cab.

A WHITE triangle means the vehicle's main weapon FIRES in ANY direction (i.e., the weapon is on a pivot mount and has 360-degree coverage).
 

Broadsword56

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You can find a lot of content online for "Flames of War" miniatures that is historically informative, readily adaptable to LnLT and can give you some fun scenarios to use for your desert raiders counters. One of the things I like about these missions is that they're about a type of situation as opposed to a playtested, playbalanced scenario with specific forces and all the details spelled out, as we're used to seeing in LnLT. Here are links to some of the materials I've found:

Flames of War “Raiding Aces” campaign booklet and rules:

https://flames-m58ip69dfg.netdna-ssl.com/portals/0/Documents/RaidingAces/Raiding-Aces.pdf

Flames of War intelligence briefing on LRDG and SAS raiding forces:

http://www.flamesofwar.com/Portals/0-org/Documents/LRDG-SAS-rulebook.pdf

Raiding mission: “Get Away”

https://flames-m58ip69dfg.netdna-ssl.com/portals/0/Documents/Scenarios/Raiding/Get-away.pdf

Raiding mission: “Missing in Action”

https://flames-m58ip69dfg.netdna-ssl.com/portals/0/Documents/Scenarios/Raiding/MIAMission.pdf

Raiding mission: “Chart the Unknown”

https://flames-m58ip69dfg.netdna-ssl.com/portals/0/Documents/Scenarios/Raiding/ChartMission.pdf

Raiding mission: “Roadblock”

https://flames-m58ip69dfg.netdna-ssl.com/portals/0/Documents/Missions/Roadblock.pdf

Raiding mission: “No Retreat”

https://flames-m58ip69dfg.netdna-ss...nts/Scenarios/Missions/No-Retreat-Mission.pdf

Other Flames of War missions that can be useful:

https://flames-m58ip69dfg.netdna-ss...Scenarios/Missions/Third-Edition-Missions.pdf
 

Broadsword56

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The counters look great. Thanks for spending all the time and effort to create these.
Thanks Ralph! That means a lot especially coming from you, given that you designed and developed HoNA and made most of its scenarios!
I'm sure we'd all love to hear any ideas that you come up with for playing with these, or how your own games turn out.
 

Rydo

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Very cool counters, good job!

I see a very interesting thing in those countersheets...POWs! Are they too into the main module or they are new?
 

Broadsword56

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Very cool counters, good job!

I see a very interesting thing in those countersheets...POWs! Are they too into the main module or they are new?

Thanks, Rydo!

These POW counters are new and are my own invention.

Two ways I envisioned using them:

1. Since it is possible for units to surrender in LnLT (Rule 5.1, when Shaken units are engaged in a Melee and no other friendly, GO, Melee Eligible units are with them, they surrender), it seemed to me that it might enhance play to have them turn into a POW counter. Also, under Rule 8.1 after a Melee, any Non Melee Eligible units (Leader, Hero) and non-Hero SMC are removed if all the Melee-Eligible counters are gone. Those could be considered captured, too, if you like -- or, if you don't mind the added complexity, you could make some kind of dieroll check and they become POWs if they fail, or get killed if they pass because they resisted to the end.

2. Friendly or enemy POWs can also become an objective in a scenario. For example, the LRDG might be raiding an Italian outpost with the goal of freeing British POWs who are being held in a building under guard.

You'll notice that the POW counter has a very low morale (3), which seems reasonable to me since they were captured, may be far behind enemy lines and likely to be feeling pretty hopeless. So they will shake easily, and when flipped to Shaken they simply cower and don't move at all. Notice that they have a movement allowance, but it's only 1 because they're likely to be tired, hungry and thirsty, possibly wounded, and they're a sullen lot who shuffle along only grudgingly and at gunpoint.

But I also like the idea that a POW counter can turn back into a combat unit under certain circumstances. What would make that happen? Well, how about if a friendly GO Melee-eligible unit enters their hex (and, if they are Shaken, a friendly Leader has to successfully rally them)? I think in that case the POW counter should be replaced by a good-order Crew counter -- representing their rescuers having given them some pistols or other light weapons.

Also, I think a POW counter that isn't guarded (it's not in weapon range of any GO enemy unit) should consider trying to escape if it's within LOS of a GO friendly Melee-eligible unit. Perhaps a morale check determines whether the POWs try to escape, with a +1 to their morale rating for every GO friendly Melee-eligible unit they can see. Escaping POWs are still hampered by that very slow movement allowance, because they still have to reach a friendly unit's hex to turn into a Crew.

I can see how this could make for some realistic tactical tradeoffs (guarding prisoners is a distraction and takes trigger-pullers away from your combat troops) and some highly dramatic situations -- POWs trying to escape under fire, or troops fighting their way into a compound and trying to eliminate the guards without harming the POWs, etc.

Also, some LRDG or SAS missions involved capturing a prisoners for intelligence purposes and bringing them back safely to base for handover to HQ. The prisoners could be just hapless survivors of an enemy patrol, or Erwin Rommel himself! So in a campaign game you would not only have to successfully accomplish your objective in a battle to capture the prisoner; you'd also need to carry the POWs back across the desert on your vehicles and make sure your precious cargo makes it back to base with you in one piece, even if you have battles to fight on the way home (where they could get killed or escape).

There you have it -- lots of new play value in a simple new counter!
 

Ralph Ferrari

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Haven’t had time to do any gaming recently, but when I try this out, I’ll let you know. Thanks again.
 

Rydo

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Your whole POW stuff...
Very interesting, i'm accustomed to details as i play ASL.

Tell me if this could work:

A shaken mmc ( not smc as those will get captured and carried away immediately ) that gets meleed rolls a MC. If it passes it it is killed as usual, if fails it they became POW with a firepower of 0, range of * and movement of 2.

They are "carried" by their captors ( must be a mmc ) and this mmc subtract 2 from its movement factor.

If within friendly LOS the POW can attempt to escape ( immediately after they get a LOS to a friendly unit, must be a mmc ) as if it was OP fire, so even in an enemy impulse. They do a MC ( terrain apply ) and if they pass it they will move their full movement towards that friendly unit. They can be target to OP fire.

If they reach that friendly unit, during the next rally phase they swap them into a half squad with the lower factors avaible to that faction.

Examle: A Marine 3-6-4-5/6 became a 0-*-2-3 POW. They escape and reach a friendly unit, the following rally phase they became a 1-5-4-5/5.

? :)
 

Broadsword56

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Here is a play aid for a campaign using HoNA and the desert raiders counters with Decision Games' Long Range Desert Group.

When you select your Allied forces for a campaign mission, this aid shows you what what each campaign-level counter means in HoNA and how many Reserve Recruit Points it costs.

When the campaign game generates a battle, this chart shows you the specific HoNA counters to deploy on the map. It also gives you each unit's point value if you want to use the HoNA Scenario Generator.
 

Attachments

  • lrdg_to_lnl_tactical_conversion_chart.pdf
    2.5 MB · Views: 6

Broadsword56

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Here's a 7-page play aid showing the Orders of Battle for Axis troops when your desert raiders campaign generates a battle.
The OOBs are organized for garrisons, patrol forces, pursuit forces and the Italian Saharan Force. Each type of OOB comes in German or Italian versions and in three sizes (small, medium or large) to match the size of battle you generate.
 

Attachments

  • OPFOR_OOBs.pdf
    8.3 MB · Views: 4

Broadsword56

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Someone pointed out that the LnLT system was designed to include only about 1/3 of the actual support weapons that a unit at this scale would have had. I don't know if that's true, but you might want to bear this in mind and reduce the SWs accordingly when you use this aid. That will also reduce counter clutter and speed gameplay, although it will tilt things more in favor of the Allied side (they have a lot of firepower).
 

Broadsword56

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The first desert raiders mod scenario, "Hit and Run," is available to try out:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RAjBjiBULk14eNA3nXO2uA06Ee6WytVs

It's not an "official" scenario, so it hasn't been extensively tested or play-balanced.
It's designed to be played solo.
Please post AARs, feedback, suggestions, etc.!

Please be advised that to play this scenario you'll need:
- The desert raiders mod counterset
- The posted play aids
- The HoNA Battle Generator.
 
Last edited:

Broadsword56

Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2017
Messages
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The first desert raiders mod scenario, "Hit and Run," is available to try out:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RAjBjiBULk14eNA3nXO2uA06Ee6WytVs

It's not an "official" scenario, so it hasn't been extensively tested or play-balanced.
It's designed to be played solo.
Please post AARs, feedback, suggestions, etc.!

Please be advised that to play this scenario you'll need:
- The desert raiders mod counterset
- The posted play aids
- The HoNA Battle Generator.

And an AAR is now online on Boardgamegeek:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1978470/aar-desert-raiders-mod-scenario-hit-run
 
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