Return to Traitor's Toll

Facing the prospect of a quiet weekend, I set up another Traitor's Toll table and had a go at a solo run of Patrol Duty, the game's 'standard' mission. The main differences from the Training Mission would be a) proper plots, and b) a considerably larger number of guards (10 versus 5 for the solo versions of the respective missions).

The table as set up after deploying and scattering civilians. I need to do some proper market stalls and other such scatter at some stage, as the playing surface is still a bit sparse with what I have currently.

My 10-guard squad. With a budget of 45 points for solo players, that meant a captain and nine other guards, plus 3 points left over for extra kit. My captain had a bow (+2) and I brought in a crossbowman (+1) from a different squad. One third in total, including the captain, would have to be left in reserve, which in my case would include the man with a sheathed sword (second top left) and the man with a spear (bottom middle).

My first Plot turned out to require me to check all my accrued gold coins for counterfeits. Having earned none so far that wasn't a problem, nor did I trigger Secret 001, so that will remain, er, secret.

The second plot proved to be more of a problem, as a cartel-hired sniper appeared on the upper floor of the tavern and took a pot shot at an unready guard, inflicting a light wound.

After an unexpected early conclusion to turn 1, I decided to break for lunch.

The dwarven guard was seemingly in no hurry to enter the building, leaving the sniper potentially free to shoot again.

It was also at this point that the Major Plot entered the equation. It seemed I would have to arrest at least two of three suspects or else face the ire of my superiors.

Pickpocket 1: the Snake Charmer.

Pickpocket 2: the Surveyor

Pickpocket 3: the Cultist

As things stood at the end of turn 2, things were looking a bit tricky. The three pickpockets were dangerously close to their possible exits, and the sniper in the tavern remained a concern. When it came time to deploy my reserves, I brought my captain in on the entrance by the pond, and one guard each by the gibbet and the one-storey house at the back left.

Fortunately I drew this plot card early on Turn 3, and thanks to the strong constitution of the (wounded!) halberdier guard by the crane, she was able to stay on the table and earn an advance card, which by happy coincidence was this spell scroll.

Naturally, the first thing to do was to zap the sniper with it, which inflicted a wound, while the dwarven guard followed up and inflicted a second.

A shot from the captain inflicted wound #3.

And a second shot dealt the killing blow.

Less fortunately, during my arrest attempt the pickpocket by the gibbet managed to get a critical pass on her Dodge roll, giving her a free action.

A free action straight past a presumably rather confused guard, off into the back alleys of the city. I would have to catch the other two or a loss was all but certain.

Oh no, not now...

I now had two suspects requiring my attention over by the crane.

Turn 3 had ended with 3 guard tokens still unused, and worse still, two of the pickpockets had managed to steal from their marks, netting another two Discontent for a total of four.

Turn 4, however, started much more fortuitously, as my guards ganging up on the snake charmer managed to first subdue and then arrest him, earning us a neat little bounty.

It then ended with most of the guards' tokens still undrawn.

Everything would, it seemed, hinge on Turn 5. The good news was that my torch-bearing guard managed to calm down the annoyed merchant, but the bad news was that the halberdier had failed to leap into action as hoped, and my desperate attempt to just shoot the pickpocket with the captain had ended only in a slight injury.

Over on the left, an agitator had emerged at the end of Turn 4, and in my attempt to rush over and deal with her, the demoness guard who had been so decisive against the pickpocket instead bowled over the Legally Distinct Sinister Sorceress of the Occident, netting me another Discontent point.

The good news was that the agitator had decided to move towards my guards rather than away, and I also used a guard action to escort the captured pickpocket off for an extra coin.

The bad news was that the dwarven guard wasn't really any good at his job, and Turn 5 – and thus the game – ended with an overall loss, as I had five Discontent to deal with against four coins earned.

But wait – according to the rules, players can agree to continue past Turn 5 if the Major Plot remains unresolved. So, I agreed with myself to continue, and after three attempts, I finally nabbed the last pickpocket. The arrest netted me one more coin and -1 Discontent, and removing the plot as a whole meant that the only remaining Discontent came from the unresolved Agitator. So, I'd gone from net -1 to net +4 coins, which was a convincing win. Hurrah for optional rules!

Reflections

I think I'm getting the hang of things. I was referring to the QRS less often (and having the QRS to hand meant I barely had to check the actual rules at all), and with the exception of having to make a bit of a judgment about how to handle buildings (as the rules assume you're using buildings with external ledges) it all ran smoothly. One of these days I'll get another player involved, but I've enjoyed playing it solo.

A Short, Sharp Shock – Burma, 1944 (again)

After a couple of weeks of work-related obstructions, Gareth and I were able to resume our usual Tuesday gaming night and did another run of Chain of Command. This time we'd do Mission 4: Delaying Action. The defender (once again, my Indians) has an objective in their half of the table, and whoever holds it at game end wins. Unlike most scenarios where the final countdown can only be triggered if the attacker has taken an objective, in this one the defender can start the clock if two turns have elapsed. In addition, the objective counts as a jump-off point.

Gareth had rolled modestly for support, getting a total of 9 points which he spent on an adjutant, an SMG, a ruse, a tankette, and a sniper. I got half his total rounded down, plus 1 for platoon rating adjustment, and spent my 5 points on a machine gun and an extra mortar.

The Game

Jump-Off Points and Objectives: Gareth had got quite a concentrated position and would be able to converge quite effectively on my left flank. In retrospect I perhaps should have placed my JOP further back and refused that flank more.

For his opening moves, Gareth brought out all his rifle sections and his tankette, clearly choosing a shock and awe approach.

A poor command roll on my part gave Gareth a free hand to rush his forces towards my left, covered by machine gun fire from his tankette.

Fortunately for me, I'd banked up enough CoC points to ambush his incoming forces with my MMG team at the start of a double phase, who started inflicting heavy losses and shock on his left section.

I then brought out my own infantry who immediately unloaded into his middle section to decent though not decisive effect.

Combined with another round of machine gun fire, things were looking shaky for the Japanese main attack. Was the battle over right as it was getting started?

Well, now came the Ruse in the form of a Banzai charge. Before his men set forth on their do-or-die mission, Gareth used all of the orders he had available, rallying most of his Shock with his sergeant and hurling grenades all over the place.

On his right, one of his grenades caught one of my MG crew, but much like my last game with James, his other one was fumbled right at the feet of the man throwing it, to similarly unfortunate effect. This now meant a close combat with him rolling just 4 dice against my 9, after all modifiers were accounted for.

Having scored exactly zero hits to Gareth's one, I lost the combat and the machine gun, and the crew dispersed. Oh dear.

Triumphant Japanese infantry after overrunning the Indian MG post

Still, we had the combat in the centre. Gareth's grenades had cost me another two men and wounded my corporal, but that still left me with 13 dice against his 9... and we drew. With Gareth no longer penalised for attacking cover while I was no longer getting a bonus for defending with an LMG, the numbers reversed, and I scored a single hit against his five.

The remainder of the section fled in terror from the Japanese bayonets.

The one small mercy for the Allies was that the sole casualty I inflicted during the charge happened to be the Japanese sergeant, killed in action during his moment of glory.

The situation after the charge.

After giving it a moment's thought I decided the game was all but unwinnable at this point. Although the loss of his sergeant would slow Gareth up on his right, I could no longer deploy anything there anyway. All the Japanese manoeuvre elements remained in the field, while all I really had left were the objective, which was going to be under fire from up to five sources from two directions, and the forward position on my right, which I'd originally placed for the benefit of my machine gun and which was now not particularly useful. I had lost two of my four sources of small-arms fire, there was nowhere to put my PIAT to threaten the tankette, and I was also down to 6 morale from my starting 10, while the Japanese were still at 8. At this stage it seemed appropriate to sound the retreat.

We'll probably do one more game of CoC before switching over to something else. Perhaps the Allies can score a win next time?

Guards of Traitor's Toll: First (Solo) Run

As an avid player of both Test of Honour and 02 Hundred Hours, the release of Guards of Traitor's Toll intrigued, but did not initially grab me. Then around March I started pondering, and before I knew it I had committed to a new project. Traitor's Toll is my first fantasy wargame although I have in the past done some sci-fi (Aeronef and its derivatives), and I'm actually not that deep into the Discworld series that inspired it either; I really was just drawn to the mechanics and aesthetics. So, I made a few orders, and then after a couple of months of preparation, I felt like I could do a solo run of the Training Mission.

For those unaware, the premise of Traitor's Toll is that players take on the role of the city watch and deal with a series of crimes and crises over the course of the game, all while civilians mill about and offer both help and hindrance. Suspects will also emerge from the civilian population, be they thieves, murderers, arsonists, or the occasional rabid goose. Players have more or less full control of their guards and can have some influence over the civilian population, but suspects have their behaviours fully automated. Thus, the game is a solo/co-operative one for up to four players rather than involving two directly contesting forces; players are trying to be the most successful in solving cases and catching criminals rather than attacking each other (which they cannot do).

The rulebook comes with seven missions: the Training Mission, Patrol Duty (a 'generic' mission whose contours are determined by a Major Plot card shuffled into the deck of possible Plots to resolve), and a five-mission narrative campaign. Naturally, the Training Mission seemed to be the place to start. This takes place in the outlying village of Gallows Halt, where the guards have been called in to inspect some suspicious crates for smuggled goods.

The Setup

Following the suggested layout in the book I ended up with this: a few houses (courtesy of Mad Bob's Folding Terrain), some clumps of trees round the edge, and barrels and crates and other goods scattered about. Four specific crates were considered suspicious.

My five guards, sponsored by the Baron's illegitimate daughter, Lady Eryka. For this mission I was allowed one ranged weapon so I brought the crossbowman along.

The Game

The first plot that comes up in the Training Mission is to search the suspicious crates until someone finds #4. I sent my lantern-bearing guard over to the nearest set of crates, and... oh that was quick.

Unlike the usual rules, a new Plot is played immediately, and a Violent Suspect in the form of an irate actress leapt out and assaulted my crossbowman. This caused him to defend himself, which succeeded at the cost of taking one of his actions for the turn.

My torchbearer, meanwhile, decided that the sensible option was to get as far away as possible.

On the next turn, the crossbowman stepped back, took aim, and his shot went wide. Blast!

However, his dwarven comrade was rushing in as fast as his little legs could carry him!

But meanwhile, things were becoming more complicated, as the priestess on the road turned out to be part of the smuggling ring, and ran off in a mad panic. My goal would be to arrest her before she made her escape.

Fortunately, my lantern-bearing guard rolled well for movement, and, assisted by a local militaman, succeeded in grabbing her... just not in actually making an arrest.

Over by the taverns, though, my two guards were having real trouble against the violent suspect, who inflicted a light wound on the crossbowman.

The militiaman walked off, but my guard was still able to knock the suspect to the ground.

And on the next turn, the violent suspect was still standing, although she had now taken a light wound.

Yet the fleeing suspect remained slippery. 

At long last, a decisive hit on the violent suspect freed up my guards over there.

I managed to forget to take any photos, but the fourth and final plot involved a sneaky suspect who would act incognito until spotted, and then also start legging it and would also need to be arrested. My torch-bearing guard, long stuck at the table edge, now leapt back into action and spotted the man at the crossroads.

On the next turn, Mr. Sneaky Man decided to run in the direction of the gibbet – an inauspicious portent if ever there was one.

My torchbearer, naturally, decided not to catch up. Most actions involve a 4" move, but each die has two 'foot' faces that, depending on the action, grant +1 or +2"; some of these guards rolled nothing but feet, but this one decided at this moment to roll none of them.

Nevertheless, on the next turn her pursuit succeeded and that was another suspect dealt with. 

Over on the other side though, the priestess had managed to get up and was rushing towards the corner of the table. This absolute dud roll was what happened when my crossbowman tried to take a pot shot at her.

The situation when I decided to end the game and grab dinner. The fleeing suspect needs to get off the table at either of the signs, but at this point she's so surrounded that it seemed like success would happen barring some real fluke. Still, even if we don't count that I'd resolved three of four plots, which doesn't seem half bad.

Reflections

I don't think it's sunk cost fallacy speaking when I say I had a pretty good time with this. I won't claim that I had an absolutely mindblowing experience but it wasn't the 'main' game as such, and I don't usually play solo either. Three things stood out to me:

• This really does need to be played with a QRS to hand, at least when starting out – each different action is associated with a different set of skill checks and modifiers and I found myself going back to the rules nearly every time I drew a token. Thankfully there is one.
• I probably need to have a set of post-its telling me which guard's card corresponds to which model, because each has subtly different stat levels across the five ability categories (usually 4 in two of them, and 3 in the rest). The roster sheets (which I got a set of) may be quite useful for this too.
• Ganging up on a target really does seem to be the way to go, from a combination of the Test of Honour-style 'activation economy' where a fight will usually go in favour of which side has more actions to spend on it, and the fact that you get extra dice for having more guards (and even supportive civilians) in the vicinity of the one making the action.

Not sure when I'll get another game in but hopefully soon, and hopefully with another player involved!