On Thursday, stsparks72 and I ran a Tatooine-inspired skirmish scenario for 10 players. Each player got a pre-made squad (of about 500 HP for balance) that was themed. It followed basic skirmish rules – each player faced off against his opponent until one was defeated. The remaining player got to choose his next target. The team aspect was that initiative was determined by combined roll of all five on one team and the five maps were attached side to side and all were fair game for movement.
We had mostly new players to SWM with a few younger guys who had some experience. A fun group of guys made the trip from Florida and were eager to learn and picked up on things quickly. The Jawas faced off against the squad of species from Jabba's Palace. Maul and Krayt Dragons played Jabba and his court. The Rebels from Episode IV faced the Rebels from Epidode VI. The Tatooine based Jedi from Episode I played the Sandtroopers. A'Sharad and Ki-Adi lead the Tuskens against the Boba, Aurra, and the Bounty Hunters. There were lots of casualties each round, but Darth Maul on Speeder and Luke's Landspeeder were doing well for “Team Krayt”. “Team Rancor” was lead by the bounty hunters and sandtroopers. In the end, four players from Team Rancor survived. They all reset their remaining pieces in the Cantina and we locked the doors. It was a good old fashioned free for all bar brawl which the Bounty Hunters finally won. It was a lot of fun and well-competed by all.
More Tatooine images:
http://www.smithohio.com/origins2010/Tatooine/Tatooine.htmlOn Friday, we had our large 5x5 Hoth battle. It's a trooper squad and character phase based scenario without targetting rules and cover. Massive shoot to kill game. A few repeat players from the night before and a couple other experienced SWM guys brought new strategies to the conflict. In round 1, the Rebels scored big by taking out two of the At-Ats with tow cables. The Imperials countered by taking out the Rebel GONK droids providing extra attacks and recon pieces and thus won initiative for round 2. Two more At-Ats fell the second round and most of the Rebel cannons were destroyed. Although the Rebels had an early lead, the loss of cannons would prove too much to overcome. In the final rounds, the Imperial At-Sts pounded the Rebel forces and eventually took out the Shield Genrator and won the day.
More Hoth images:
http://www.smithohio.com/origins2010/Hoth/Hoth.htmlOn Saturday, we were flagged down by the Origins employees as we were setting up and informed we had a special guest joining us for the Battle of Endor. To celebrate their 35th anniversary, they purchased game tickets for their special convention guests and moved the chosen games to a private room with refreshments and everything. We were later joined by Christian J Simpson, who played Lt. Gavyn Sykes from Episode I (the Naboo pilot who knocked out the shields which allowed Anakin to destroy the droid control ship). He was also a stand in for Hayden in Episode III. Relatively new to the gaming world, Christian was a wonderful guest and made everyone feel very comfortable from the start. It was a treat for all to have a private room with our own hostess and a chance to play alongside one of the SW actors. Kudos to the Origins staff for pulling these special surprise events together.
The battle was closely fought in limited contact in round 1. Vader made 4/5 saves of 16+ to avoid damage and the Rebel Pilots were beating the odds for their own saves. Round 2 was back and forth until a couple Imperial At-Sts went down in battle. The Imperial countered by Gripping and Lightning Chewbacca in At-St until defeated. Mother Nature joined in when the Emperor's lightning attack was declared and a few seconds later our own lightning storm began outside. Round 3 (the final round) was a mad dash to score as many points as possible, before Paploo on Speeder came out of the wood and zipped into the Bunker. The Imperials were unable to destroy him with the few attacks they had remaining and the Rebels won in the end. Christian hung around for some photos and autographs and helped make the event that much better.
More Endor pictures:
http://www.smithohio.com/origins2010/Endor/Endor.htmlThanks to all who attended Origins this year and made our events so much fun to run. It was really a great environment and I'm looking forward to next year and a chance to meet up with some repeat players.