Okay, I need some help, and yes I am trying to break it again...
Okay, I need some help, and yes I am trying to break it again...
So I started working on my character sheet for Steel Caskets, where I wanted to play a character like the one in G.I. Combat's "Haunted Tank" graphic novel. The main character in it is a tank commander by the name of Jeb Stuart, an ancestor of the Civil War General, General Stuart. General Stuart's ghost comes to Jeb and helps him throughout the war, and since Jeb talks to a ghost, they all think it haunted...
Anyway, while coming up with a character for the tank commander in a World War 2 Stuart tank, I got to thinking... This has been done, and though I really liked reading The Haunted Tank as a kid, I don't want to do the same thing over again. I want something different, so I took the idea of a haunted tank literally, and started running with it...
Basically I want The Tank to be the character and the crew to be Companions! I think it has unlimited possibilities, though I admit I may be wrong, but many of the Assets as written can be envisioned to fit; Shield Bearer passing damage on to it's Companions (crew), any of the actual Companion Assets (ie was thinking the Tank Commander would be the "Raven", the Driver as the "Hawk", and maybe the Gunner as the "Hound"....)
So, for discussion, what am I missing? What issues might arise? How much health do the crew Companions get? I am thinking of cherry picking different benefits from different Assets to define the crew, so which ones best flesh out the meat companions within my character's steel walls? Am I completely bonkers? (The last may or may not be completely rhetorical LOL).
So I started working on my character sheet for Steel Caskets, where I wanted to play a character like the one in G.I. Combat's "Haunted Tank" graphic novel. The main character in it is a tank commander by the name of Jeb Stuart, an ancestor of the Civil War General, General Stuart. General Stuart's ghost comes to Jeb and helps him throughout the war, and since Jeb talks to a ghost, they all think it haunted...
Anyway, while coming up with a character for the tank commander in a World War 2 Stuart tank, I got to thinking... This has been done, and though I really liked reading The Haunted Tank as a kid, I don't want to do the same thing over again. I want something different, so I took the idea of a haunted tank literally, and started running with it...
Basically I want The Tank to be the character and the crew to be Companions! I think it has unlimited possibilities, though I admit I may be wrong, but many of the Assets as written can be envisioned to fit; Shield Bearer passing damage on to it's Companions (crew), any of the actual Companion Assets (ie was thinking the Tank Commander would be the "Raven", the Driver as the "Hawk", and maybe the Gunner as the "Hound"....)
So, for discussion, what am I missing? What issues might arise? How much health do the crew Companions get? I am thinking of cherry picking different benefits from different Assets to define the crew, so which ones best flesh out the meat companions within my character's steel walls? Am I completely bonkers? (The last may or may not be completely rhetorical LOL).
The wiki has the rough Character Sheet done at the link below. Click on "Home Page" or "Steel Caskets" in the upper left of the site to navigate to it.
ReplyDeleteReally need some input if the community wouldn't mind.
irollsolo.tiddlyspot.com - I Roll Solo - Where I Attempt To Play With Myself
My initial and vaguely random thoughts in no particular order.
ReplyDelete-How 'gritty' do you want the game to be? Do you want to have crew members die or have them be fairly resilient? Then set the health low or high (+2 or +4?) respectively. Maybe adjust up or down 1 for tough or weedy characters?
-I think your "mad lib" idea for the assets, grab bonuses as appropriate to character asset and station in the tank.
-Maybe change how Companions take damage. Normally if you roll and 1 and they are used specifically, but I'd say if you roll a 1 at all (or 1 at all in combat) they should be included. Again, this will depend on your desired level of grit and character turn over.
-The tank should have non-crew assets to give it some character?
Anyway, my random example is below:
four assets total w/ three crew and one tank.
Biggs (4 Health): Gunner
-When you Secure Advantage w/ Wits by aiming, add 1 and take 1 momentum on a strong hit.
Wedge (4 health): Commander
-Once per combat, when you Secure Advantage w/ Wits by studying the enemies tactics, you may reroll any dice and take an additional 1 on a strong hit.
Jessie (3 Health): Driver
-When you Face Danger w/ Edge using the Tanks speed or when you Undertake a Journey, add 1.
A15 Crusader "Ironsworn"
-When you face Danger using nothing but the strength of your steel hull, you may suffer -1 momentum and add 2 to the roll. (Decide before rolling.)
Jeremiah Wenneker You hit on some of the things that are in the CS. Namely i did have an Asset directly for the tank and two for crew Assets. I started with three because that is what the RAW had, but it really didn't seem like enough. Maybe starting with four makes more sense? Three Companions also equates well to Bonds. The Driver is a FNG, say, and he brings nothing to the quality of the crew supporting the tank... Hmmm
ReplyDeleteThree sounds like a good health for Companions (+/- 1 as suggested) considering that the "Shield Bearer" asset I gave the tank allows the me to transfer up to 3 harm to the Companions health track at the cost of Momentum. I guess that could be killing a single normal Companion, or wounding a couple?
On every 1 rolled in combat? I roll a LOT of 1s! Maybe on a 1 when their asset is used, or on doubles when a Miss is rolled? I don't know. Maybe I'll just have to play it and tweak it as I go. But you bring up a solid point with this as something to watch out for.
The tank definitely needs 'character'. Maybe I should go with more tank Assets and only maybe one Companion until an Advancement since I am starting at the beginning of the war with Operation Torch...
A Crusader... ? LOL, I was gonna give ya a hard time, but based on other tanks of the period (early war) not sure I wouldn't have preferred that over a Stuart!
Oh, Jeremiah Wenneker, also what do you think of me using my 1s for Stats in Edge (The Stuart had a small gun that was quickly outclassed in the war) and Iron (Was considered a Light tank, so...)? Or at least that's my initial extrapolation. I used the two 2s in Heart (she was a durable tank, except when shot) and Whits (as she also made a fine Recce tank), left the 3 for Shadow, and I'm just calling that because... she is the "Christine" of tanks and the TC has some tactical sense.... IDK though.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, the 'grit' level (crew turn over) is important to conceptualize early. if you want crew to last, go with 1's on the action dice only when they're trait is used. if you want them to die off and be replaced . . . You get the idea.
ReplyDeleteGoing back to assets, maybe 2 for the tank and 1 for the crew? Let the commander (or whomever) have an ability.
If you do go with the 2 tank/1 crew or similar, it might be counter intuitive, but I would name the rest of the crew and give them health tracks. Not only will it let you test how lethal the game is to the crew, it will also provide narrative fodder and a measure of attachment to the red shirts.
And yes, early war tanks are pretty sketchy. Both sides got much better by the end. I honestly chose a Crusader though simply for the vaguely Ironsworn warrior sound of it. That and if I were to run this as a narrative, I would certainly have the North African Campaign be the backdrop. I'm a sucker for Montgomery vs. Rommel though.
Jeremiah Wenneker Really appreciate the feedback!
ReplyDeleteI went back to re-look the Assets and go more tank heavy. Next thing I know I have five! Two tank and three Companions! I gave all crew names and stress tracks, and assumed that they needed a Move to put that in jeopardy. Basically I lost track of the tank as the focal point with all the ideas that popped into my head.
But thanks to you, I think I can have them have health tracks and have the TC's blunder (1s rolled) effect any and all of their health tracks! Good call!
I think I will push back to 2/1 or maybe 3/1 tops on assets and move the other Assets I came up with down to be brought it with experience. I guess I started playing mental story telling as I was doing the character sheet and it kept growing as I thought out additional Assets... if that makes sense? Basically giving advances now for what I thought would be cool to see in play, rather than letting that evolve naturally.
Oh, I am so starting in North Africa! Operation Torch, but Patton, not Montgomery, vs Rommel. Okay, so Patton really didn't make it over to Tunisia, but meh, poetic license! Hehehe.
As I understand it, actually he (Patton) really didn't make it further than Spanish Morocco as a screening force for Spain, if I am not mistaken.
John Risus just now saw your post on stats. The reasoning makes sense, I will mention though that Branwhyn has 1 in both Iron and Edge and combat is rough. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yep, I completely understand getting ahead of yourself narrativley. Potential is powerful and is easy to get drawn into.
Jeremiah Wenneker I was afraid of having Edge and Iron at 1, but having Wits at 1 kills travel. So, I just stuck with what made sense narratively to me to represent capability. But then i got to second guessing myself again...
ReplyDeleteHoping that the Asset boost will help out on those two sometimes and that the crew having individual health will cut down on the lethality as far as the character, the Tank, is concerned.
We'll the Commander or Driver could be a good navigator (Wayfinder) would help with the travel. Also, fuel was a particularly important factor in North African Theater of war. The range on tanks was limited and so Troublesome journeys will be their forte, especially early on.
ReplyDelete(Edit post fired by accident) just wanted to share that I really dig the idea. It's not something you usually see in TTRPGS, but how assets were built and how the game designed from the ground up to support solo play really opens interesting options that standard ruleset would not support so well. Just as for your haunted tank, you could play as an AI controled sentient spaceship with a crew. Or maybe some version of Knight Rider where the main character is the car :)
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I was wondering if you planned on using vows as well? This might differ slightly since your tank would not really communicate with people. Our will he be taking vows through his crew.
Etienne Lefebvre as a "Haunted Tank" I am treating it as a... sentient thing... kind of. So I am making vows from its perspective. Such as; "Survive the War and Get My Crew Home!" and "Take Casablanca!" (One of the first operations of the war)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the support by the way. I guess time will only tell if it is actually feasible, but it feel like it should be on first blush. Like you say, with it being built from the ground up the way it was and being solo focused, a lot should/can be done with it.
John Risus I had another thought, going back to the stats. Conceptually how Iron and Edge are viewed needs to change, though maybe this is only in my head. Iron, for me at least, is a melee stat and also taking punishment. Edge, is agility and ranged attacks. This begs the question, what does melee combat look like for a tank? For the WWI warship, that looked like boarding actions and such. So what does it look like for the tank? For a Clash w/ Iron I have visions of enemy troops swarming over the tank, shooting into view ports and trying to get hatches open to toss in grenades.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, just fodder questions. But what does it look like for a tank to do melee combat? A Strike w/ Iron?
pics.me.me
Jeremiah Wenneker Ramming into other enemy tanks or obstacles would be a great use of Iron. Defending against close assault as you suggested would be good for clash too, even when the crew is using the tank's machine guns. I think it could also be used in the same way for Strike. Let's say there's an enemy squad that's holding a barricade, you could ram the barricade to break cover while your crew is spamming machine gun fire. That could be resolved a single "Strike with Iron" move. You are using that same approach offensively, as you have the initiative, that is, using brute force rather than finesse. Edge would be for mobility and accuracy, so ranged canon shooting, seeking avantage by flanking, etc.
ReplyDeleteJust thinking about this, Heart could be used to resolve engine related moves and assets too. Seeking advantage by boosting your engine, making an intimidating roar with your engine.
So in the end, it should work with Iron and Edge as-is. Honestly, the one I'm having trouble with is more "Shadow" than anything. Stealthy tanks? not sure in which situation this would work. I know Shadow is not just about Stealth, but I'm still not clear on what it would be used for except for ambushes.
Etienne Lefebvre That's really good. I hadn't considered the machine guns, but you are right. They are what gets used at knife fight range. Ramming is also a good call.
ReplyDeleteShadow is actually easier for me. Certainly the tank isn't going to be tip toeing around, but using terrain to be unseen seems like a good Face Danger w/ Shadow. Certain uses of smoke could also work, both using it to hide and or using it to 'feint' by blocking enemy LOS. The obvious one, which you mention, would be setting an ambush, probably tossing up a camo net and hiding in a stand of trees.
Another use of Shadow which occurs to me, in the movie Kelly's Heroes, the tank commander Oddball says that he had welded an extra length of pipe onto the barrel of the main gun of one of their Sherman (I think it was a Sherman?) to make the Germans think it is a bigger gun. Surely that is a Secure Advantage w/ Shadow? In the same movie, they use the cover of a Church Bell Ringing and Tiger Tank engines to sneak their tank into position. Face Danger w/ Shadow? And, I think the closest thing I've seen in a movie to a tip toeing tank?
I don't really envision Clashing as ramming another tank or an 'ants on a hotdog scene' (where enemy are climbing all over it.) I see a Clash with Iron (physical strength, endurance, aggressiveness and prowess in close combat, per the book) as closing in to a range where, effective or not, the MGs are blazing, rounds sizzling past or glance off, and it is all out, down to the wire, who's who. What is 'close' for a tank is different than an individual. "Danger Close", when I was in the Army, was when there was as much a chance of them hitting the enemy as you! (But granted that was an Artillery thing and I wasn't a 'cannon cocker').
ReplyDeleteWhere Edge is striking at 5-800+ meters with the main gun and Clashing is sub 200 meters, probably closer to 100. It's all about getting the momentum and initiative back, driving the enemy TC down into his vehicle, scaring the crap out of their gunnery, etc. Maybe it is as simple as an HE shell to their tracks to set up a Secure An Advantage into a Strike? More tanks were abandoned on the fear of effective fire than receiving it in WW2 based on what I have read. I don't know, but I am keen to find out.
Hey, it might not even work, but I guess I'm going to find out.
I think, based on comments, and gnashing over my own envisioning of it, I am going to move some of the stats around for the Stuart. Shadow does seem more of a Tank Destroyer (TD) kind of stat. I went with 1 in Edge originally because the gun really wasn't up to the task for a Stuart after much of the Northern Africa campaign. But I guess I can replicate that with the amount of Harm it does; 2 Harm vs equivalent tanks, 1 Harm vs Medium tanks and 0 Harm unless you have some serious advantage against heavy tanks! Never heard of a Stuart knocking out a Panther or Tiger, but Betty is special LOL. Guess that is why they relegated Stuarts and other light tanks to Infantry support later in the war.
ReplyDeleteJeremiah Wenneker I was just about to pull the plug and revert back to just having the tank commander be the character, you and Etienne Lefebvre may have saved the day. I mean, what can it hurt? If it doesn't work out, I start over...
ReplyDeleteJohn Risus I'm not sure you even need to adjust the harm. Equivalent tank would be a Dangerous track. Then up the progress tracks from there. Also remember than a win doesn't mean a kill necessarily. A victory against a Panther might look like disabling the other tank's tracks and your Stuart leaving the enemy stranded. Also, as you said, Betty is special. So maybe it is a kill shot that sets off ammo, ignites the tanks, finds the one weak seam in the armor, or whatever.
ReplyDeleteA lot of back to back posting by me, but write as it comes to me for discussion:
ReplyDeleteOriginally I had the following Stats for a Stuart:
Edge 1
Iron 1
Heart 2
Wits 2
Shadow 3
Now I am leaning toward this for the following reasons:
Edge 3 (Maneuver, Fast light tank w/ quick firing 37mm gun)
Iron 1 (Survivability, it didn't take a hit all that well)
Heart 2 (Reliability, it ran like a top mechanically, especially with the diesel motor the Brits added)
Wits 2 (Observation, it was a scout tank after all)
Shadow 1 (Profile, high profile was a commonly referred to issue with this model)
Does that sound better/worse?
I think you might overthinking this by scaling damage this way :) Wouldn't it be simpler to just rank up the challenge when facing a stronger opposition? Your Stuart facing an enemy Light tank could be Troublesome, Medium tank would be Dangerous and Heavy would be Formidable (at least from the Stuart's point of view). This is good because not only it does scale the damage you deal, it also tells you the amount of punishment you receive from these threats.
ReplyDeleteJohn Risus It looks solid to me. I think it will work for the story you want to tell.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think those stats are great for a light tank. The only thing I'm wondering is about the "ghost" stats. Like heart might not just be the mechanical engine being the heart of the tank, but also the Ghost willpower, dedication and ability to inspire his crew. To account for this, you "could" swap Edge and Heart, if that make sense storywise with the character you are envisioning.
ReplyDeleteEtienne Lefebvre I'll have to mull that one over, not sure how much of the "haunted tank" idea I am going to go with currently. But it does make sense...
ReplyDeleteJohn Risus I missed your post early regarding reverting to just tank and commander. I think having the crew as assets is the right direction. But, play test it, see how it works. As you said, worst case scenario, you start over. No big.
ReplyDelete