Lfseeney | 13 Nov 2012 12:57 p.m. PST |
Is there a good place that covers this. Looking for general stuff, and things related to near SciFi, and such. Figure it is lurking some where but google fu has been all over the place. Thanks Lee |
Rudysnelson | 13 Nov 2012 1:02 p.m. PST |
Get a set of scenarios that you like and use that format. Historical scenarios can be eaasier because there is plenty of data to use for researching the parameters. Fantasy is harder and more flexiable. Harder in that you may have to spend more inches describing a background for the battle. More flexiable because it is easier to compose more balanced and competitive scenarios. My most difficult problem is that I do not have a map program to do a setup board and deployment on. I am in the middle of that problem now with some scenarios that I am writing for a designer. |
TMPWargamerabbit | 13 Nov 2012 1:36 p.m. PST |
I hear you RN and second those thoughts on map making software. I use a iMac and almost all the map software uses Windows. I hate to have to flip back and forth from a partitioned disk set up. If you find one for iMac
post on TMP please or contact me directly. wR |
Rich Bliss | 13 Nov 2012 2:04 p.m. PST |
For my last game, I set up the terrain first, took a picture of it with my iPad and then used a drawing program to annotate it with deployment zones. I then used the same image to track hidden deployment and moment while the game progressed. |
boy wundyr x | 13 Nov 2012 2:44 p.m. PST |
I know Richard Clarke from TooFatLardies just uses Powerpoint for his scenario maps. It's not Campaign Cartographer, but with some simple terrain images he gets the point across. |
RTJEBADIA | 13 Nov 2012 3:59 p.m. PST |
I think this is the most complicated in gaming. What even makes a great scenario? Is it the background or the tactical set up? |
javelin98 | 13 Nov 2012 4:27 p.m. PST |
Honestly, mapmaking for me has always been easiest using PowerPoint and Office Picture Manager (or another graphics utility such as GIMP). |
Lfseeney | 13 Nov 2012 10:16 p.m. PST |
Thanks all, If anyone else has some ideas jump in. Was thinking of adding some preprogrammed extras, like young child runs out of a location, keeping the wee one safe helps morale. Some stuff like that, making scenario random event charts. I like the idea of giving both sides an info folder as well, on what Intel expects will be there and some maps. Need some good guidelines on scouting and Intel, to keep it constant. Lee |
Rudysnelson | 14 Nov 2012 5:30 a.m. PST |
Back in the 1980s, I wrote a scenario generation system for WW2. By the time all of the years, fronts, missions, terrain, force odds atc charts had been formatted, over 3,000 scenarios could be generated. So a linked (influenced the next roll) generation charts concept can produce countless scenarios possibilities. |
Zagloba | 14 Nov 2012 8:15 a.m. PST |
The Colonial Angle's 'How to Run a Convention Game' has some good guidance on scenarios, in the context of making sure everyone has a fun game: link Rich |
Insomniac | 14 Nov 2012 8:16 a.m. PST |
How hard does it have to be? Fight battle 1 – Win = fight battle 2 Lose = fight battle 2 with less troops Add infinitum. Add in a few rescue missions, recon missions and resupply activities and you have a scenario building up. Make it so that sometimes when you win you get bonuses (extra troops/vehicles or logistics) and when you lose you lose certain assets or access to certain objectives. Tie it all into a story and you are set. If you can't think of a story, watch Star Wars or any other sci-fi films and you will soon get some ideas. Imagination is the key and if you haven't got any, why do you need scenarios at all ;) ? Making things up rather than relying on charts and stuff will vastly improve enjoyment. |
The G Dog | 14 Nov 2012 12:20 p.m. PST |
I agree with Rudy – find a style you like from another source and steal it. I'm partial to the formats used in the old Command Post Quarterly, but Tomorrow's War / Force on Force have good current examples of formating a scenario. Maps are a pain
and I minored in cartopgrahy in college! I do mine using a combination of old school cartography skills and digital art. I'd generally start by enlarging/reducing a copy of the source map/image to get to the right scale (if that's not an option, you get the fun of doing the scale conversion and transfering it yourself). 1. I'd create the 'map box' using a grid. 2. Print this out and overlay it on top of the map. 3. Lay both on a light box and trace the desired features onto the grid. 4. Scan the updated paper and create a digital image. 5. Modify the digital image by adding labels (a SCALE please!) and shading as desired. I did most of the maps for Anaconda and Capital Navies using either this process or a lot of work in Pagemaker and/or Publisher. A good gaming quality map takes a couple of hours. I'm talking a basic black and white image suitable for copying and marking up with deployments by the players. |
Moqawama | 14 Nov 2012 3:52 p.m. PST |
1) Keep it Simple 2) Don't overcrowd the board with forces 3) Give both sides a chance to win 4) Remember: most real-life engagements don't end with the total annihlation of the vanquished |
RobBrennan | 16 Nov 2012 2:31 p.m. PST |
I thought this was good advice from Bob MacKenzie: link |
Valmy92 | 16 Nov 2012 3:58 p.m. PST |
Really an interesting piece. Where is Doug with the beer, eh? |
Lion in the Stars | 16 Nov 2012 8:58 p.m. PST |
Objectives and victory conditions. The biggest flaw with Infinity used to be the lack of scenarios. There were TWO official (and therefore theoretically balanced) scenarios that were not kill-em-all. That's been completely changed with the new book, with 16 missions, not one of them a kill-em-all. If you have forces with great disparity in strengths, both sides need to have achievable objectives/victory conditions. To borrow an example from the Northwest Frontier: The British player is planning on burning a couple villages (destroying military forts, if Parliament asks the Minister). The Pathan player needs to either cause enough casualties to the Sappers&Miners to make them withdraw, for a minor victory, or to cause enough casualties to make the entire force to withdraw for a major victory. Simple enough, when it's a couple companies of Raj troops versus maybe 50 Pathans. Quite a different tale when it's a couple battalions of Raj troops against maybe 150 Pathans. In this second case, there's really no way to prevent the Raj troops from torching the village, so the Pathan's objectives need to be causing as many casualties as possible to the attacking force. |
RenegadeOfficer | 19 Nov 2012 9:34 a.m. PST |
Take your inspiration from any history you've enjoyed reading about, and then twist to fit what you're working with eg Old GW folks will remember Big Toof River – just taking Rorkes drift and making it fit the models to hand. Just because an exciting scenario occurred in WW2/AWI/period of your choice doesn't mean you can't use it as template for another era/fantasy/sci-fi. Other fun thing is sub-objectives. Whether you make them meaningful/have any effect or are just extras with no ongoing effect is entirely up to you, and how "gotta do everything!" your gaming buddies are. eg To use a GW example again, the sub objectives from BFG * Apologies for all the GW referencing! |
Maxshadow | 19 Nov 2012 5:27 p.m. PST |
We had a all on one side system for Colonial games that worked better than we had hoped. It worked on terrain randomly generating enemy units. First you selected your Army and picked a mission. That told you how many terrain pieces to put down. The results were interesting it made you use scouting troops to scout and often felt like we were being maneuvered against. We were sometimes ambushed, regularly beaten and some times wiped out. Great fun. Yesterday I started putting together a Modern version. |
UshCha | 26 Nov 2012 12:22 a.m. PST |
Map generation; you have the best available free Google Maps. Pick a flatish area (Norfolk in the UK is a good one). This will give you roads, waterways, forrests and major sight lines. Pot a hill on the sight lnes and map the appropriate roads with hedges, ditches etc. Even for a wargame covering 0.5km by 2km you will be ammazed at the variety you can get. Actual scenario's. Try a small platoon low on RPG's (say 6) not willing to lose many men so are ablle to escape off board. They are tasked with delaying the enemy as much as possible. The coloum must get off board as fast as possible with limited casualties. Players take it in turns to play both sides. It will be easy to see who was the best. With real terrain you can have real battles. Hasty defence, prepared defence, reconnisance, river crossings, actions entirely in forrest, open terrain, Urban the lot. |
Uesugi Kenshin | 29 Nov 2012 4:42 p.m. PST |
For me its all about the background story. If you come up with a good campaign story you like you can design scenarios from it fairly easily. |
(Phil Dutre) | 03 Dec 2012 4:45 a.m. PST |
For skirmish games in the modern era, I got a lot of inspiration from a book describing Commando actions in WW2. As for formatting the scenario-text, I'm a big fan of the Charles Grant's 'Table Top Teaser' style. It makes a clear distinction between Ground / Forces / Mission / Execution /
|
Sigman | 29 Dec 2012 10:38 a.m. PST |
While cleaning up my man cave, I found this article in an old All Hands magazine and thought it might be suitable for a very small scale scenario. Moderns are not my thing, but thought the article should see some light. Note: this is a large file (50 MB) so you can read the map. dropbox.com/s/04ch59q65ocadp9/Dong%20Xoai.pdf |
TheBeast | 01 Jan 2013 10:07 a.m. PST |
I tend to be the one who plays someone else's scenario, and I really think it's not as simple as many of you are stating. Every rule set is different, and scenarios firstly have to have clues about where sticking points might be. Also, I wish I could tell you what, or I'd be writing my own guide, but there are also blindspots that people who shake-and-bake their own scenarios miss when trying to share with others. If you're running a game, it's easy enough to say 'well, of course I meant
', but it can be discouraging to someone trying to follow along, and just not happening for a written work. The above is not exhaustive, and happens less with folk that run game groups on a regular basis, but I hope it suggests a guide could be a GOOD THING. Doug |
UshCha | 16 Feb 2013 7:08 a.m. PST |
If you are looking for a very playable scenario you do need to be very tight on the forces and organisation allowed. Giving a points value will kill any real game unless the players knows what terrain they are facing. Turning up with tanks to a near impassible forrest scenario. It needs to be taylored to the players abilities. We would not consider giving an attack on a motorway juntion to a begginer it would be a negative ganme. It took us 8 hrs with fast play rules to engineer an advance a few yards at a time, re-deployeing again for the next few yards. The guys at EL Alemain said that way how their battle went. However subtle scanarios are no good for the "Just want to Give en hell" crowd how tend to ignore the scenario and then get upset that they lost badly as they did not follow the scenario. |