Let's get this party started.

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This message was last updated by the GM at 21:56, Thu 26 Sept 2019.

Lauren is never going to suggest this in a hundred years but it might a good move to try and formally recruit the Chinese into the ASDF. They are (presumably) trained soldiers after all.

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 2):

Very nice idea but probably several months down the line I would think.

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 3):

We were planning on swearing in some bikers. I don’t see any difference.

No snark or frustration here.
I didn't misunderstand, I did a poor job of explaining.  Not to tie up the IC thread, Saul's point is that soldiers from places outside of Little Rock could easily have gone home and since the camp is still officially being reported as "operating" no one would even know they were gone.  Especially since the central authority is kind of distant around here.



This is where I'm at as well.  Saul would argue that quick official recognition of what they citizens have done down here would only tighten the relationship with Little Rock.  Provided it all turns out to be on the up and up.  In return for "enlistment" as ASDF auxiliaries, the former POWs would be sworn in as US citizens.

I am in full agreement with all of that. Lauren would be resistant but I'm fairly sure that Scott and Saul would be able to talk her round.

In reply to Saul Noble (msg # 5):

Ah ok.

I still think that if a dozen or so members of the ASDF just went home that someone would have asked some questions and something would have been reported to Little Rock.

The key thing though, as you mentioned, is that we check what's going on and whether the story from the farmer is true.

Farmer John is willing to head into Jerome to arrange a meeting between Sierra and the town leadership. It's an option.

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In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 8):

Let’s go with that as a next step.

I plan to put the next turn up tomorrow afternoon. Unless someone objects soon, Farmer John will accept the role as liaison between Sierra and Jerome and arrange a face-to-face.

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https://www.yahoo.com/sports/c...ansas-125436725.html

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How on earth did that get filed under sports?

(On a semi related note, I’m watching the Man U - Arsenal game right now)

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 12):

I'm at work, but my DVR is recording it, plan to watch when I get home. Most seasons, I'd be quite happy with a point from Old Trafford, but this year I feel like not getting all 3 is a missed opportunity.

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In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 13):

You seen the Spurs score?

Sorry for my lack of posting - a combination of in-laws visiting and work. I'll hopefully catch up and post IC tomorrow (Wednesday).

Ta,

Andy

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 14):

Oof. That was a thrashing.

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What should we have been doing during the 2 hours before the community leaders arrive?

Just resting up and recharging the drones?

I'd say a few discreet preparations for treachery would not be out of order.  Beyond that, preventive maintenance checks on the vehicles.

Xandra will have a drone up to keep an eye out for anyone else joining the festivities without an invitation.  She's learning to be more paranoid.

For the plan outlined IC by Saul and Lauren, which vehicles are you sending where? Is the recon patrol going in on foot or in a vehicle. If the latter, which one. For the recon patrol, do you want drone coverage? Also timing. I think it's about 1100 IG, at the moment.

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I think we need to try and get a little bit more info from the locals before we can decide a lot of that, primarily whether they can give an approximate location for these marauders on a map (Guillory has already alluded to that in msg 125). The 'other side of the bayou' is a bit vague.

Also, @all, just a heads up, I'll be AFK all day tomorrow, so I won't be able to pick up again until Thursday night after work.

Provisionally, I'd plan on Razorback for the marauder recon patrol, but that won't be launching until after sundown.  Darkness is our friend and all of that.  That's a yes on the drone coverage for the recon team also.  If that plan changes due to the other teams coming up with new information, we can be flexible.  Saul and whoever goes on the "legal affairs/interrogation/ask nice-nice" mission can use Bourbon Street.  Doc and his party can use Pony Express minus the trailer.  That leaves us the ability to keep Razorback and Ace Hardware at our "base camp" for security/rapid reaction.

That give us:
Legal affairs: Saul + whoever is interested (Scott?).  This would be the interview Grant, interview the deserter, talk to folks who are near the marauder zone.

Heart and Minds: Doc and Xandra + whoever else (maybe Kabua for extra security).  Check out the medical situation, take a good look at the infrastructure issues we might be able to do something about. Make note of any other mechanical issues, etc...

Basecamp:  The recon team, Lauren, and most of the NPCs.  The recon team can rest up for the night ops, recharge the drones, etc..  Everyone else holds tight in the event of the unexpected.

I'm open to revisions.

I'm in agreement with all items proposed, with the caveat that Xandra is more civil engineer than mechanic.  She can assess a broken-down tractor but you don't want her fixing it if Skillins is available.  I'd say send Skillins with Doc and Xandra, and keep Kabua and his bum leg back at camp.

Sorry, guys. My back's flaring up and I shouldn't sit long. When I can, I'll write up the next few hours, let you know what you've learned.

Basecamp is current Farmer John's front lawn?

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In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 23):

Oof.  Good luck with the back!

Front lawn is basecamp.

I think that the legal affairs and hearts and minds groups will resolve this but one complication that occurs to me is that the ASDF deserters are described as "across the bayou" and, from looking at the map, I think that that means that they are west of Jerome. Therefore  the logical route is to head west through the town so we need to establish good relations with the town before we launch the recon mission.

It turns out that there has been an update to the portrait gallery.

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 26):

No sign of mine.

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 27):

They're still working on the upload of the latest portraits so hopefully yours will get added eventually.

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 28):

As I think I said before, I won't hold my breath...

Turn is posted. I didn't want to advance things too far, in case there's anything IC that you'd like to attempt before the sun goes down, or if you'd like to change your plans now that you know a bit more about the situation with Lt. Reeves.

If a question seems like it wouldn't "fit" IC, feel free to ask it here.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 04:26, Fri 11 Oct 2019.

Were either Grant or Massey able to give a headcount for the marauders, whether approximate or specific?

From Saul's post I'm presuming that we've all regrouped back at the vehicles at the farm. Is that correct?

Yeah, that's kind of important, isn't it? Grant says that there were 16 guards prior to the mass desertion, himself included. They have one M60 machine gun, in addition to their other small arms.  Massey says 10, but he seems a bit slow.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 14:49, Fri 11 Oct 2019.

I was going to post, but then my kids said they wanted to watch Big Trouble in Little China.  Who am I to stand between them and Jack Burton?  I’ll get a post up tomorrow.

Glad to see you facilitating a well-rounded classical education.

In reply to Saul Noble (msg # 34):

That’s the best possible reason to delay a post.

Okay, so it sounds like y'all want to run a recon mission v. Reeves' alleged marauders and employ the CVMC and maybe the Chinese as hammer and anvil for a planned assault on same.

IN order to post a turn, I'd like an idea of how you'd like to run the recon with the assets assigned, and who is heading back to Lake Village to talk to the CVMC.

I think we've lost this_website_sucks (Armand Campbell). He hasn't logged on since 9/24. I hope he's OK, but if he shows up again, and doesn't have a really good reason for going AWOL, he shan't be rejoining our team. Feel free to assign Campbell as you see fit. I will NPC him until the opportunity arises to dispose of him (or TWS comes back).

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Looking at the map there are two wooded areas close to the marauder camp, one to the north and one to the south east.

I think it was suggested that the recon team take Razorback but it's got limited passenger space, particularly if some people are going to continue to man it so it can be used to back up the patrol if they encounter difficulties.

Therefore, for the recon I suggest

1. We use two vehicles, the JLTV and one other (The new Ford?). We leave just before dusk and drive to a point as close to the marauder camp as we can get without being heard With regards where that point is, I think we either need an informed decision from someone that knows how far the sound is likely to travel and / or a ruling from Rae as to what constitutes a point where we can reasonably expect not to be heard - I'd be hazarding a guess.

2. Both vehicles park up. Cao, Skillins, and Kabul stay with the JLTV ready to act as a QRF if needed.  The recon team deploy on foot. I'd favour using the woods to the north to provide cover but final decision should probably lie with those whose PC's are in the recon patrol (Can had earlier 'voluntold' Carissa, Campbell, Clark, and Carterby (might as well keep the alliteration thing going). Can we reconfirm who (if anyone) in that group has NVG's? (Rae, can you advise for Campbell?)

3. Non pyro drone is launched. Launch is synchronised to give maximum loiter time over the patrol.

Logically I'd imagine Scott and Saul are the best people to handle discussions with the bikers Presumably they can take the Explorer and maybe Watkins for security. I presume that will be done during daylight, i.e. before the recon team departs. Alternatively we can leave that until after the recon has been completed. I don't mind either way.

We should probably relocate 'base camp' to Jerome. Leaving Ace Hardware in a field with minimal security doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

If we could scrounge another horse or two from the locals in Jerome it might make the recon a little easier (depending on how many people can handle riding, that is) - less need to worry about noise if we're travelling horseback. It would also reduce our need to travel on the obvious routes when we start getting close to the expected bandit camp. Just a thought.

I'm on board with Dave's suggested COA; no refinements occur to me immediately.

If a drone's going to be used during the recon, the recon team will need to take either Xandra or Watkins to operate it.

You can probably borrow some horses if you want, but you'll need some collateral in case they are wounded or killed during the op.

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Xandra will not provide much reconnaissance value other than operating the drone, but she'll be willing to go if asked.

I'm cool with the plan.  Saul and Scott can handle CVMC liaison duties.  Carissa has NVGs, at this point she's basically appropriated Saul's.

Speaking of appropriation, @Teg, should we just transfer the suppressed sniper rifle over to Carissa, or would Scott like to continue to hold on to it?  She's been using it the most and this recon mission looks like the potential for more of the same.  I'm cool if would prefer not to let it go.  I just should have given her a suppressor for her M4 when I made the character.

My vote is for a foot mission over horses, although Carissa would probably argue it the other way.  I don't want to have to leave them tied up somewhere while we end up covering the last bit of distance on foot then have to get back to them.  If we end up in contact that could get complicated.

Do we want to try and use the Chinese, or would y'all prefer not to?  Again, no worries either way.

Some comments/thoughts/questions from me:

 - I agree that we need to move into Jerome and base ourselves there first before launching any recon mission.

 - Someone going to talk to the bikers makes sense.

 - Nash has NVGs.

 - It looks to be a 5 to 6 hr walk to the suspected marauder base according to the map. I therefore don't think that it's worth taking a vehicle and that the patrol should go on foot.

 - Regardless of how the patrol travels at some point they are going to be on foot and I'm concerned that we might be out of radio range. Nash has a AN/PRC-148 radio and based on my Google searches I think that that has a range of up to 12 miles. That seems like a hell of a long way so, Rae, please can you clarify what range Nash's radio has? Also do Clarissa, Mike or Xandra have radios and what range do they have? We've already established that Abbie and Armand don't have radios.

 - Alternatively do we have a manpack/backpack radio at all? I've looked through the unit stores and I don't think that we do but I wasn't certain.

 - FYI it's about 17km as the crow flies between the suspected marauder base and Jerome so it may well be that Nash's radio is sufficient to stay in contact with everyone.

 - If the patrol goes on foot then I think that Razorback should trail along behind as backup, ready to move forward and engage while the patrol withdraws if we get into a contact.

 - I therefore think that we should head south down the 165 through Boydell and Montrose and then turn west along the 82. That has the advantage of making it easy for Razorback to follow us and I think that it means that we just have to cross one bridge, though I think that the patrol would we wading across if it's shallow enough.

 - That raises some questions for Rae: What do the locals know about Boydell and Montrose and the bridge along the 82 between Montrose and the suspected marauder base?

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Lastly my suggestion for assignments would be as follows:

Recon Patrol: Clark, Campbell, C Noble, Carswell, Carterby and Murray (if she has a lightweight drone that can be carried)

Razorback: Skillins, Kabua, Cao and Murray (if she needs support from a vehicle to launch drones)

Biker visit: S Noble & Guillory

Watkins can then either stay with the vehicles (and horse) left behind in Jerome or go with Saul and Scott.

Assuming that Murray is able to join the patrol on foot then, I believe, that should give every player a character in the recon patrol.

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 44):

My sources also give 12 miles as the LOS range for AN/PRC-148. I'm assuming LOS means that hills, ridges, etc. aren't between transmitter and receiver. The vehicle radios should have similar range. The handheld police radios that several team members use don't have that kind of range, though.

According to Massey, the bridges are up. The folks in Jerome don't have much current knowledge of neighboring settlements due to the hamlet's self-imposed isolation.

I think I have enough now to write a turn so stay tuned.

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In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 45):

Thanks for the info.

Road distance to the target looks to be about 21.5km, as opposed to the 17km as the crow flies. Those are both distances from Jerome itself. From our current location, it would be about 26km and 20km respectively.

I’m fine with Mike not going on the recon patrol. I alluded to this in an IC post when he was drafted into the last patrol but I really don’t see sneaking around in the woods as his skill set / area of expertise. If you want him to go somewhere the best spot is probably aboard the JLTV so he can provide rapid response if someone gets shot.

I also really don’t see the point of walking for five hours when we have vehicles (particularly if we’re taking another vehicle, which negates any stealth benefits).
This message was last edited by the player at 17:10, Tue 15 Oct 2019.

In reply to Mike Carswell (msg # 48):

My thought was that the foot patrol would be a couple of kilometres ahead of Razorback. In fact Razorback could well stop in or near Montrose.

My thought re Mike being on the recon patrol was based around everyone being involved but if you'd rather he didn't go then that's fine with me. The same logic applies to Xandra.

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 49):

I still don’t see the point in walking the whole way there. Why not drive part of the way? (I did ask Rae to confirm how close we could reasonably expect to get before engine noise became a concern).

And to confirm, Mike will stay with the JLTV.

Assuming our in game maps cover this - Bearhouse Creek appears to get pretty close to the suspected bandit area. I'm not sure we want to try to be wading through a creek on our final approach, so I might recommend we attempt an approach from the southeast?

In reply to Abernathy 'Abbie' Clark (msg # 51):

I ended up having the recon team approach from the southeast so that they wouldn't have to cross any open fields or streams on the way in. Take a look at the campaign map to get a better idea of where everyone is at present.

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I'm good with that. I think it makes sense to co-opt what we hope will be the core of Jerome's defence force going forward (that's an OOC perspective, obviously - IC views may differ)

OOC, I'm fine with a trade.  Do note that the suppressed Remington (a Model 700 Ti, should minutiae matter) is chambered for 7mm-08, so it has ammo compatibility with exactly no other weapons in the team.  Current ammo supply is 225 rounds.

IC, all of Scott's guns and most of his other gear are prewar personal purchases.  He won't be happy about turning over the rifle but he does recognize the operational necessity (and doesn't have a problem conceding that Car is a better shot than he is).  He will, however, be somewhat put out if he doesn't get it back at the end of this deployment.



Xandra has no radio, as she was not expected to operate independently.  Likewise, she has no NVGs.  She is a combatant only in the sense that everyone on the team has been issued firearms.  Her role is civil engineering with some combat engineering capability (limited by a general lack of demo) and a secondary focus in aquatic mobility.

Sounds good to me.

I've updated Carissa's character sheet with the 700ti and the extra ammo.  That frees up a plain-jane M700 with scope and 100 rounds of .30-06 from Carissa's inventory that can be put into either the company stores or Scott's inventory if he wants still bolt action capability.

Edit:  Also, I'll touch on the trade in Carissa's post.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:55, Wed 16 Oct 2019.

I’ll post when I can but I am completely swamped with work right now so it may not be today.

As I don't think there's a spare seat in the JLTV I went with Mike staying with the Ford that the recon team rode in (which puts him with the JLTV crew). It's easily big enough to carry everyone and it means he can drive the thing if the recon team need a quick exfil.

 We should probably start thinking about phase 2 here.  Do we want to leave the recon element forward deployed or pull them back into deeper cover before the sun comes up?  Recall them entirely?

With limited night vision, we’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of hitting the marauders during daylight hours or in the dark.

Apologies for my lack of posting - will catch up tomorrow (Sunday).

Andy

Back is torqued again. Can't sit long enough to write a turn.

CVMC will agree to the arrangement, and to assist in taking down Reeves' marauders, so this might be a good time to discuss what that will look like tactically.

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Sorry Rae!

My initial plan thoughts are to have the scouts stay put (or back off a bit) and try to get a hard count of how many marauders are operating out of the target house during daylight hours.  We can coordinate our mounted folks to come in from the east down Hwy 82 when it's time to hit the target with the scouts coming from the south (Carissa can provide sniper support and try to keep anyone off the M60, plus try to take out the sentry when needed).  Maybe the MVCC can use their knowledge of the local area and stage south on the 160 as a ready reserve/blocking force.  The Chinese could be used as dismounts to create a blocking position west on Hwy 82 by hiking through the woods under cover of darkness.  That puts them in play, but not necessarily directly in harms way.  We should probably also consider trying to put a blocking force north of the target area in place also, maybe along what looks like the power line path that traverses East to West on the map.

Our scouts can get a sense of when the marauders sentry changes and we can plan to hit them in the early hours of the morning, about 3/4 of the way through a sentry shift when they're hopefully the most fatigued.

I’m in favour of using the bikers and the Chinese in such a way that they get the kudos associated with being involved without being actively in the line of fire. Politically we don’t want to get any of them killed on their first op under State auspices if er can help it.

I’m not sure about proposed timings though. It’s just gone 11pm now I think so if we plan to have the Chinese move through the woods under cover of darkness we’re going to have to do this fairly quickly or wait 24 hours, which is a long time to leave the scouts in the field.

I’m inclined to think that we try to get as many assets into whatever position we want them before dawn (while leaving the scouts in situ to observe the marauder camp) and then move in just before dawn, preferably from the east if we can so that the Sun is behind us. To that end maybe we can use Ace Hardware to get a rifle squad of Chinese to where we want them under cover of darkness?

Razorback can then move in from the east at sunrise. Presumably that will prompt some sort of reaction, at which point the scouts start shooting people and once Razorback is on station it engages with the fifty cal?

Do we have an option for the scouts to put CS gas into the marauder house at the start of ny attack? Anyone have a grenade launcher? Or is that a bad idea because it might spread to our own positions?

Any attack from the south or east by the scouts is going to require them to push forward over at least 100m of open ground, possibly while under fire from cover. That just doesn't strike me as a fun time.

I think having a sniper or small fireteam cover from the south is a great idea, with Razorback coming in from the East. That would keep the marauders heads down and lock them up against the creek. If during preparation we could get some folks into the trees west and north of the marauders we'll have them surrounded quite handily, and may be able to force a surrender.

Maybe something along these lines?


This message was last edited by the player at 20:54, Mon 21 Oct 2019.

In reply to Abernathy 'Abbie' Clark (msg # 63):

Yeah, I was imagining the scouts sniping from concealment picking off enemy machine gunners / sentries / runners rather than taking part in a full on assault.

The frontal assault would be on the JLTV but it's light on dismounts - I think most of the front line combat types are with the scouts, so we might need to try and get some Chinese volunteers.

Just saw the map you edited in. My immediate question is whether there's a risk of blue on blue if Razorback opens up with the fifty cal Would the scout team or (especially) the western blocking force be in the potential line of fire?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 21:02, Mon 21 Oct 2019.

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 65):

That's... a super valid concern - I don't know why it escaped me. Perhaps we could park Razorback closer to the scouts/fireteam? Alternatively, have the scout team try to get into position to the north of the camp while leaving it parked to the east? Both of those options should reduce the chance of friendly fire.

In reply to Abernathy 'Abbie' Clark (msg # 66):


That might work. What about this?

1. Take the scout team off the map (or put the scout team with the western blocking force)

2. Razorback comes in from the north, through (what looks like) the plowed field and close to the trees so that they (the trees) hide it from view

3. It stops just below that little spur of forest that's sticking down, at around 2 o'clock relative to the house.

4. Provided it doesn't fire north of the house there shouldn't be any friendlies in its field of fire.Anyone making a break to the south is caught between HMG fire and sniper fire. The blocking force cover north and west.

It leaves a bit of a weak link to the west but any 360 degree coverage is going to run the risk of shooting at each other.

I think the only way we are going to utilize the Chinese and to a lesser extent the bikers is to wait 24 hours until the following day.  That has the risk of scout detection/information leakage.  The upside is we have a better idea of how many marauders we’re dealing with.  Not that info necessarily outweighs the risk.   My initial pitch was to wait until the following night, but if the consensus it to go now, that’s fine too.  Carissa is fine with staying behind on her own as a sniper if the rest of the team is needed in a more direct action role.

In reply to Saul Noble (msg # 68):

I'm good waiting, I just think it's an awful long time for the scouts to be out in the field. We'd probably also have to withdraw the vehicles as well, otherwise we run the risk of them being spotted when it's light.

I don't know about the Chinese and the bikers. Remember the two groups aren't synched time wise - Scott and Saul met the bikers in the afternoon and the patrol is taking place at night so in theory there could already be a biker contingent in Jerome. The Chinese are also in situ so it may be possible to have them ready to go by dawn. If we want to do that - I'm happy to wait if we reckon the scouts aren't being left out on a limb.

Apologies - struggling with some RL stuff - am trying to catch up and am hoping to post this evening. Please NPC if necessary though.

Sorry about this.

Andy

Okay, so...

Several ideas have been presented but I can't proceed until consensus is reached.

You are correct in that Scott and Saul got the bikers on board during daylight hours. The diplomatic team and recon team are on staggered timelines.

Do you want to move the bikers into position before dark? How about the Chinese? In either case/both cases, to where (on the map)? Employing both is possible, but there may be some C&C issues trying to coordinate three separate entities (Sierra, CVMC, & Jerome militia).

So, before I can roll the dice and post the results, I need to know who's on the job and routes to kick-off positions.

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Would it be worthwhile embedding liaison officers within any of these groups?

In reply to Scott Guillory (msg # 72):

IRL, definitely. PbP, is probably doable too, but it's going to mean y'all would largely be playing two-man games with me (your PC + my NPCs). That could work, but it might not be all that fun for you guys, and it would be a lot of work for me.

I'd rather keep the parties separate. That'll give you more opportunities to RP with people other than me, and simplify things on my end. The CVMV and Chinese are competent and don't need close supervision, but they do need roles and or steps to follow. And, you can keep in contact with both groups via radio to coordinate the op during all phases. So, really, what I think would be best for all involved is an outline of a plan.

Something like:

Group A moves stealthily to Point X, while Group B sets up blocking positions along Y axis, etc.

At Z-hours, Group C attacks the target...

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I don’t know how to cover all angles without exposing ourselves to the risk of friendly fire.

Beyond that I’m in favour of the JLTV coming down the 82 and engaging the marauder house with the fifty cal and possibly the M79 and SAW as well (if we still have a SAW - it was Anderson’s personal weapon and I can’t remember if it was left behind or he took it with him?).

The scouts can stay in place and engage targets of opportunity (sentries, runners) with precision fire at the same time as the JLTV commences its assault.

Maybe we can put a squad of Chinese in the roods north of the marauder house to act as a blocking force to cut off any runners going that way? There’s two structures at the north end of the field, one with a brown roof one with a white roof. We tell the Chinese NOT to come south OR west of them. That way we know where the Chinese should be and do NOT fire in that area.

The bikers are effectively a form of horse cavalry. I refer to my comment about now knowing how to cover all the angles without the possibility of friendly fire and suggest that the bikers form a mobile reserve / reaction force that holds position at the JLTV’s current position when the attack begins. If we need them (for example to chase down runners) we’ll call them in.

The way I see that the only direction the marauders can run is northwest, into the forest, and even then hopefully the Chinese might get them (they'll also have to cross the creek which may or may not be a challenge. I don't know). Once the house is secure the scouts and Chinese can launch a joint pursuit while the bikers head up the 82 until they reach the turn off for the 911 and set up a screen that any runners might run into.

In terms of timing I’d really prefer not to keep the scouts out for 24 - 36 hours so maybe the bikers and Chinese could start to move into position now (it’s nearly midnight local time) with a view to being in position half an hour before sunrise. That presumes that the Chinese have access to local transport (i.e. a couple of pick ups).

The JLTV initiates the assault just as the Sun starts to come up (giving it the benefit of coming in from the east with the Sun behind it). When the JLTV opens fire that’s the signal for others to do likewise. You’ve presumably all noted that there is no proviso in this plan to give them a chance to surrender first (if they want to surrender after the attack is launched that’s fine).

Thoughts? I’m more than happy to do it another way if anyone else has an alternative plan
This message was last edited by the player at 18:43, Sat 26 Oct 2019.

Chocked full of Halloween parties today.  Will post tomorrow

I think overall it's a solid plan.  The SAW remained with Sierra team, I think Kabua ended up with the honors.  We've also mentioned that the time lines aren't exactly congruent at the moment.  Saul and Scott met with the bikers during daylight hours and presumably could have done the same with the Chinese.  So with a little bit of narrative work, they could already be moving into position.

The only drawback I see is that we don't know the disposition of everyone in the house.  Are there hostages?  Civilians?  Forced allies?  We need a bit more intel, but I don't think that it's so critical that we hold off on the assault.  Presumably if there were people in the house against their own will, the locals would have heard about it and passed it on.  It's still worth asking the question of our Jerome contacts.  War is hell, etc...

Hit'em at sunrise and pick up the pieces.

Correct, on all counts.

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Kabua's on the fifty cal and Lauren will likely be using the M79 so the JLTV will need another warm body if we're going to use the SAW (I'm presuming SAW operation isn't one of Xandra's areas of expertise and it's not really Mike's either).

We could have two of the scouts displace and move back to the JLTV to bolster the mounted attack.  Or Saul could man the SAW, but he’s 0:6 in autogun.  Which is not amazing.

In reply to Saul Noble (msg # 79):

I could have Mike do it. I just have difficulty visualising him in that role.

Either that or we keep the SAW in reserve. We can do a fair amount of damage without it.

Or we retcon Campbell into the JLTV team. As far as I know there's no post from him establishing that he was with the recon team so it wouldn't overly disturb continuity.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:00, Mon 28 Oct 2019.

I vote retcon if Rae is cool with it.  Otherwise Mike/reserve

In reply to Saul Noble (msg # 81):

I'm fine with that retcon.

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Xandra is almost certainly the least combat-capable PC on the team.

(For that matter, Scott has neither Autogun nor Grenade Launcher.)

I am hopeful that my back will be able to handle the prolonged sitting required to roll up and write a full turn post. Hopefully, I'll be able to get something up some time this weekend.

That being the case, it may be the last turn for at least a couple of weeks. Dave will be AFK soon. We'll squeeze in what we can before his departure, and then hit pause again until he returns.

-
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:40, Fri 01 Nov 2019.

I'm away 09th - 23rd November. I'll try and post when I can but I can't make any promises as I'll be subject to factors that are outwith my control.

Turn is up. Campbell doesn't have autogun. Since no one else feels qualified to use it, y'all are better off with Kabua holding onto the M249 should he need to dismount. With the .50, you'll still have a marked edge in firepower.

There's some flexibility with where/how Guillory and Saul are deployed. I'll leave that up to you.

-

Apologies for my absence - catching up at present and planning to post IC later today.

Andy

Apologies if I missed this in the planning.  Is the intent for Xandra to have a drone up, or is she acting as a supplemental shooter this time out?

I mentioned previously that Nash could use the M249 if that would make sense. Do you want to say that's happened or would you rather he stuck to his rifle?

Ta,

Andy

In reply to Xandra Murray (msg # 88):

Mike is equally untasked so maybe Mike and Xandra are standing by in reserve in the new Ford? (I presume we'd want a drone up and I am under the impression the drone control station is portable?) That's just a suggestion though.

Also, I don't know where Bourbon Street is (I think it's location on the map is out of date).

I wasn't able to get the next turn post up before Dave departed so we'll pause here until he's back.

-

Please can we resolve this question?

Once I know whether Nash has changed his primary weapon for this op I'll be able to post IC.

Ta,

Andy

Yeah, if you want to use it, that's cool, but Nash will need to swap longarms with Kabua for the op.

-

Thanks. Is the M249 SAW Kabua's personal weapon then? I thought that it was a unit weapon?

Also is Kabua manning the .50 Cal at present? If he is then would it be better to lend him a pump action shotgun and bandoleer of ammo than a rifle? Nash has a couple of options for Kabua.

Ta,

Andy

The SAW is Kabua's personal weapon now. Anderson swapped with him before he left the party so that the unit would still have a SAW gunner. Kabua's currently on the .50; a temporary swap of M249 for shotgun for this op is cool.

-

I'm a bit confused about the role of the Recon team and the Jerome militia in the assault plan. Are we cut of forces while the JLTV blasts the building to pieces with .50cal rounds? Or are we supposed to be engaging?

I also note that, according to the map, the Recon team and the Jerome militia are directly opposite each other on either side of the building, maybe about 250m apart. If we open up fully then we're running a significant risk of stray rounds hitting the group opposite. Therefore I'm inclined to re-position prior to engaging. Does that make sense?

Sorry to be a pain with my confusion.

Andy

I had a similar crossfire concern, which I alluded to in my last IC post with Scott.

In reply to Scott Guillory (msg # 97):

Yea. I'll just work off that.

Thanks,

Andy

Roll call. Who's ready to resume play?

-

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 99):

I'm on holiday for three weeks so you can take that as a yes.

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 99):

Here and ready.

Fnord.

Good to hook!

Ditto.

Great. Turn is up. It's a bit brief, as a lot is happening more or less all at once.

@Scout team: Saul's biker unit is to your south, so there's no great need to watch your backs. If you call him up, he can watch your left flank as well. It's your call.

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

-
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:03, Thu 28 Nov 2019.

Rae, from their position can Carissa and Nash see the two men climbing into the technical?

Ta,

Andy

Probably. The marker on the map shows the axis of the scout unit. As long as a PC is even with or to the right of the marker, then yes. If a PC is to the left of the marker, then the SE corner of the house is blocking LOS. IIRC, no one in the scout team has yet mentioned an exact position for his PC, so it's up to player discretion.

-

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 107):

Thanks.

Keys - what do you think? Do you want to say that Carissa and Nash can see the technical? I'm happy either way.

Ta,

Andy

I'm completely lost as to where Mike's supposed to be.

I posted in OOC Msg 50 that he'd take a slot in the JLTV in case rapid medical assistance was needed but I think that got missed and all of the seats in the JLTV were taken so in OOC Msg 57 I said he'd stay with the Explorer but on the map he's with Ace Hardware miles back.

It's not a big deal at the moment because I don't have any sort of post for him but can I confirm where he is? (If it's up to me I'll put him in Bourbon Street - third time lucky).

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 109):

He's only marked as being in Ace because I wasn't clear on where he was either, so I left him in his last posting. I'm fine with him being in the SUV. IMHO, that makes the most sense, tactically.

P.S. Where do y'all want Watkins? RB, BS, PE, or AH?

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This message was last edited by the GM at 23:04, Thu 28 Nov 2019.

I posted somewhere up chain about Carissa sighting the technical and prepping a shot on anyone who goes for it.  That’s a critical piece we need to be able to neutralize so I figure we would have positioned to cover it.

In reply to Carissa Noble (msg # 111):

I wasn't sure whether Car would go for the gunner or the driver, so I left it open in the turn so that you can pick before I roll.

-

Can I get a final location for Carswell and Watkins before the next turn, please? Thx.

-

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 113):

Carswell will be in Bourbon Street (driving, presumably?)

In reply to Mike Carswell (msg # 114):

We'll put Watkins in the back of Bourbon Street, Saul in the passenger seat.

I have no idea how I managed to do this but my campaign map is now in Czech.

Lauren's intent would be to enter the field and stop more or less due east of the house, where we can fire on it without having to worry about what's behind it.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:57, Tue 03 Dec 2019.

Et aujourd hui c'est francais...

I've got to attend my son's high school band concert tonight, so the new turn will have to wait until tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

-

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 119):

No worries Rae, we'll be here!

---

Dave - have you been logging onto different versions of Google or changing your default language settings or something?

Ta,

Andy

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 120):

Not that I know of, and it happened in Fuse's game as well - so far I've had Czech, French, and German. To be fair, I don't normally log in to google anyway while viewing game maps. I have today and it's in English so maybe that's the answer (not that it was ever a problem)

Only had time to post in one game this evening. Tomorrow, gents, priority #1. Thanks for your patience.

-

I'll be away from a keyboard from now until some time on Saturday.

Rae, can you move Razorback about 30 - 40 metres north?


The intent was to stop when we're due east of the pick (i.e. up in a straight line from it). Our current position means there's a much higher risk of firing on Scott's team if we open fire and miss.

Thanks

Or if you open fire and hit, given the external and terminal ballistics of .50 BMG...

Yes, I got that. I just forgot to move the marker. It is done.

-

Can Scott hear Saul giving the surrender order?

In reply to Scott Guillory (msg # 127):

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you on this. I somehow totally missed this post and just saw it now. I wondered why you hadn't posted IC yet this turn but this explains it. My bad.

Scott can hear a muffled voice, but he can't make out the words over all of the gunfire and screaming.

@Dave: I read Cao's command post from last turn but didn't reread it before posting the GM narrative for the turn, so I flubbed up and made Kabua shoot up the truck. I misremembered Cao's order; I wasn't trying to play Kabua as insubordinate. Since this was a mistake on my part, I'll be happy to retcon it so that he doesn't shoot. If you'd like me to do that, it's cool but you'll need to edit out the bit about Kabua shooting without orders from Cao's current turn. Let me know, please, and sorry for the oversight.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 17:04, Sat 21 Dec 2019.

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 128):

Nah, it's fine, it works Ok as it is. She was just trying to give him an out in case he had misgivings about shooting a wounded man. The way it's gone down she won't bring it up unless he does.

Mike may touch on it after the fact but that's more because in the absence of a better qualified individual he (Mike) also sees himself as responsible for the unit's mental health as well as their physical wellbeing.

Note to self - a shrink would have been an interesting PC concept for this game.

Sorry for my lack of posting - manic amount of Christmas stuff to organise and I'm out face to face gaming tonight. Should hopefully be able to post tomorrow (Tuesday) but please NPC if necessary. Apologies for the delay.

Andy

That bandit is so screwed if he has a snow globe on him...

A very merry Christmas to you all.

I'm hoping to post IC today.

Merry Christmas my gaming dudes!

Merry Christmas, fellas!

-

Sorry, away visiting family at present so only have a phone and limited time.

Will be home tomorrow night so will catch up and post IC then

My apologies.

Andy

I presume Lauren's attempt to call for surrender was also unsuccessful?

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 136):

Yes. No reply from the house. I'll add that to the narrative.

-

Now my frigging map is in Arabic. It even puts the bit with all of the icons on the right hand side...

@Rae:

Does the ground look sound enough to make an approach to the house to provide cover for our dismounts?

@Dave:  you have a poltergeist in your account.  Sorry, but it’s the only thing that makes sense

Happy New Years everyone!

Happy New Year!!

Happy new year everyone.

Ta,

Andy

Rae, is the map up to date?

Ta,

Andy

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 143):

It is now.

-

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 144):

Thanks.

Next turn's going up tomorrow afternoon.

-

Turn is up. I don't mind you discussing your options OOC, if you like, as long as said discussion doesn't involve metagame knowledge. Let me know if you have any questions.

-

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 147):

Lauren's last IC post referenced intent to fire a short burst at the window the incoming fire originated from. Did that happen with associated ammo expenditure? (I presume if it did there were no noticeable results)
This message was lightly edited by the player at 20:30, Fri 10 Jan 2020.

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 148):

No, it did not. RB doesn't have an angle to shoot at said window (see IC #232). There have been no confirmed sightings (i.e. seen by more than one person, or seen by that person more than once) of shooters currently operating from inside the residence

-

Am I correct that Watkins is carrying a shotgun as well as Carissa?

If that's the case then I suggest that the entry team pairs as follows:

 - Carissa (shotgun) with Abbie (assault rifle)
 - Nash (SAW) with Watkins (shotgun)

Are Carissa and Abbie happy with that?

Thanks,

Andy

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 150):

Works for me.

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 150):

You are correct re Watkin's armament.

-

I’m good

Before I post the next turn, I'd like to know how long y'all would like to continue the pursuit of the four fleeing bandits. You've already killed four, confirmed, destroyed their truck and their machine gun.

Also, do you plan to search for Raven 1? If so, for how long and with what kind of manpower?

A bit of overlap between bandit pursuit and drone SAR is possible.

-

It's a military legal matter and therefore Cao's call in the end, but Scott would strongly advocate pressing the pursuit.  If not stopped now, these guys are likely to go on as they started.

Also, yeah, searching for the UAV would be a very good thing to do.  First point, even if it's irreparable, it may be worth stripping for parts.  Second point, damaged batteries are highly flammable; we don't want to leave a forest fire behind us.

Lauren would be fully on board with continuing the pursuit to try and apprehend as many of the runners as possible. To that end she'll be fully supportive of any efforts Scott takes, including if he wants to use all the manpower he has at his disposal.

She would also be supportive of efforts to retrieve the drone for reasons stated but I thinkthe question of how much  manpower to commit is somewhat dependent on what - if anything - develops as the house is cleared. If it's empty Lauren's decision making is likely to go in one direction, if it's occupied (and prisoners need to be secured) it's likely to go in another direction.

On a related note, we also need to make efforts to try and locate Campbell, but again that's not something that Lauren is likely to consider until the house has been declared clear.

I completely agree with perusing the fleeing bandits for the reasons outlined above.

Ta,

Andy

Rolls did not turn out in your favor. The pursuit is not going well. You can continue the search/chase, if you wish, but subsequent rolls will be at progressively higher difficulty rolls. A catastrophic failure could potentially result in blue-on-blue. I'm not trying to discourage you, though.

I have not rolled yet for the drone search. Those rolls won't be more difficult, unless circumstances change (like it starts getting dark or something like that). If/when you do start actively looking for Raven 1, I'll need to know what human resources you're devoting to the search.

-

How big is the mound? Adult human grave sized? Or larger / smaller?

In reply to Mike Carswell (msg # 159):

It looks to be about 8' by 6'. I was going to specify but got distracted. There's also a disassembled AR-15 on the breakfast table inside.

-

Rae, before Mike replies to Saul are there any wounded marauders still visible in the vicinity or are they all now dead?

In reply to Mike Carswell (msg # 161):

They all appear dead.

-

 Is it worth using the bikers as a continuing perusing force?  The risk of a blue on blue seems higher than the advantage of detecting an ambush.  Maybe we can re-deploy to the northwest somewhere in hopes of cutting them off.

I'm thinking the same thing.  Faster-than-foot movement is one reason we brought our bikers.

Lauren's thinking is to pack the SUV and the JLTV with the active 'combat' PC's (Carissa, Clark, Carterby) plus Scott (if Teg wants to), Mike (if he's not needed at the house) and some of the Jerome Militia / PLA NPC's and send them to beef up the bikers while the rest of the Jerome Militia / PLA NPC's secure the house.

I'm primarily trying to make sure that no active PC's end up hanging around at the house unnecessarily.

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 165):

Just as a thought, Clark is a highly capable tracker (a lot better at that than shooting). It may be more worthwhile to keep him on the ground either leading a chase team, or going after Campbell.

In reply to Abernathy 'Abbie' Clark (msg # 166):

Yeah, go for it, if you want to suggest that IC Lauren will gladly sign off on it.

Will do when the turn advances and Cao is in the building (assuming we've cleared it of hostiles that is :)).

Tried to set y'all up to take next steps. Didn't include Guillory as he hasn't had a chance to acknowledge Cao's instructions, or offer his two cents regarding.

-

Thanks Rae!

Sorry for my lack of posting - be snowed with work this week but we catch up over the weekend hopefully. Please NPC as necessary.

Apologies for this.

Andy

I advanced things a bit so y'all can coordinate your next moves IC and/or OOC. Abbie hasn't left yet, since he hasn't had a chance to reply to Cao.

Since dialogue can slow things down, if y'all want to post a list of questions you'd like your PCs to ask Brienne, I can post the results as an IC conversation. Some puppeting of your PC will probably be necessary, so I'll hold off until I get your OK.

You've killed 5/9 bandits, including their leader.

Any questions for me, as always, feel free to ask.

-
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:12, Sun 26 Jan 2020.

I'll get some ideas up tomorrow since we're having guests over in about fifteen minutes.  To set the stage though, Saul will probably run lead on the "interrogation" of Brienne.  His BS detector is tingling although years of police work will allow him to be compassionate all the same.

Saul will attempt to set the stage for interviewing Brienne.  He'll place Xandra in the room with him, Car too if she's not already moving out on the chase.  Brienne will first be offered food and water and a blanket for cover or other clothes if she has any. He'll introduce himself and the law enforcement mission of Sierra team.  He'll be soft and compassionate, running on the theory that Brienne has been raped, but not project that on to her.  He'll let her talk about that. Then he'll start with the easy stuff:

1)  What is your full name? Age, etc...

2)  Where are you from around here, what happened to your family?

3)  How did you come to be "captured" from Reeves?

4)  How long have you been with Reeves?  How many other houses/families/folks do you know about that their party has hit?

5)  Do you know about anywhere they could be running?

6)  Do you have any charges you would like to file against any possible survivors of Reeves crew?

Saul would be watching for any sign that Brienne is not who she is presenting herself as.  For instance, if she might have locked herself to the bed to avoid being shot by Sierra.  When he finishes the line of questioning, he'll go through it again, slowly, looking for inconsistencies in the story.  Cop stuff.

I can set the scene in a post tomorrow if you wish.

Is Saul going to tell Xandra what the plan is?  She's not real savvy in the ways of cops... from this side of the interrogation table, anyway.

In reply to Xandra Murray (msg # 175):

For sure.  She just has to sit there and look supportive anyway.

Okay, just checking.  She'll play along and make sure her weapons aren't easily grabbable.

Working on turn. Realize Teg is going to be AFK for a bit, so once it's up, there's no big rush. Just want to keep things moving as much as possible.

Do y'all want to issue orders to CVMC Squad 1. They've been waiting with the truck/trailer well east of the battlefield throughout the fight. It's totally fine if you want them to stay put- I just figure that you might have forgotten about them.

https://drive.google.com/open?...ZAW3&usp=sharing

Also, Watkins hasn't been tasked.

-
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:35, Sat 01 Feb 2020.

Let’s have Watkins stay at the farmhouse for security/law enforcement support.

At this point I feel like Squad 1 are adding more value staying put and providing security for the truck.

I’m going on my third day stuck in bed with the yuck.  If I’m not posting, this is why.  Please feel free to advance/puppet as necessary.

Viruses = BS

In reply to Saul Noble (msg # 181):

Dude, that sucks. Feel better soon.

@All: I'll be posting a turn this weekend. Thanks for your active participation and patience.

-

Andy said he'd be posting IC soon, so I'm going to hold off until tomorrow post the next turn. FYI, Jeffe's availability is probably going to be somewhat reduced for the foreseeable future.

I want to keep things moving forward, but RL is kicking a lot of our asses right now, and I want to be sensitive and accommodating to that.

-

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 183):

Apologies for my absence.

From looking on the map is the note on Pony Express correct? It has Watkins listed as being with the vehicle (with a question mark against her name) but I think that it's unoccupied.

Ta,

Andy

---

There's a Militia squad with the truck. It was discussed a couple of posts ago.

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 185):

Thanks. I don't believe that Nash knows that IC. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Ta,

Andy

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 186):

Lauren’s briefings tend to be fairly thorough. Admittedly it happened off camera but I don’t think she would have overlooked briefing the disposition of the various elements.

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 187):

Ok, I'll amend my IC post accordingly.

Ta,

Andy

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 188):

I've already posted.

@Rae, I'm taking your question here to be confirmation that there's a way of communicating directly with Squad 1 (and issuing orders accordingly).

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 189):

OK - no worries.

Correct.

-

I’m a little unclear as to who knows what about the situation with Brienne. Based on ic interactions, as far as I’m aware the only two people that know that something might be amiss are Saul and Xandra but I don’t know if there’s been an assumption that more was discussed off camera before the interrogation started? (Watkins reaction would imply that’s the case)

Also, is Watkins assumed to have returned from the garage (where Cao sent her) and reported on what she found in the garage before securing the prisoner? (In the absence of anything to the contrary in the turn post I presumed she was still in the garage).

Sorry, but I really am pretty confused at the moment as to who knows what (and where Watkins is) and I don’t think Cao knows that Brienne is anything but a victim.

Sorry if I added confusion there.  I assumed Watkins had returned from the garage and reported what she had found there. I also assumed that word was leaking out among the folks that Brienne wasn’t all she claimed to be.  I can work on ret-conning that post if need be.

In reply to Saul Noble (msg # 194):

I don't think there's any need to retcon anything (I thought Saul's post was a really good one), I just really wasn't sure what was going on (maybe I missed the clues but I didn't even really get what set the alarm bells ringing about Brienne in the first place) and didn't want to make assumptions without some clarification in case they turned out to be wrong assumptions.

I can riff off where we're at.

Rae,

Who has keys for Pony Express please?

Thanks,

Andy

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 196):

They were left in the ignition so that the bikers could move the truck, if need be.

@Dave: I think Watkins was present for part of the interrogation, so she knows Brienne's initial ruse was B.S.

I don't know how Keys sussed it, but Saul nailed his Interrogation check and his suspicions were confirmed. If he'd failed the check, y'all might still think Brienne was an innocent victim.

-

This paragraph raised my suspicions:



And then a lucky roll.

I'm glad the clue was not too obvious, not too subtle. Well played, regardless.

@All: I'm not impatient, but I need a couple of decisions/posts to be made before I can roll/write up the next turn.

@Nash & Abbie: Are you going to call Cao to ask her to order CVMC to bring Pony Express to the farmhouse, or tell them to yourselves? Are you going to continue to track Clark through the brush, or move to the road to make time?

@Scott, Carissa, & Carswell: Are you going to try to track/pursue the bandits on foot? If not, what's your play? FYI, y'all spotted two crossing the right-of-way, but that doesn't necessarily mean the survivors have split up.

Thanks, guys.

-

Abbie would prefer to have the truck brought up to the house and track Campbell through the brush. At the same time, Nash has rank and I'm honestly fine with either.

I'm happy to defer to Teg / Keys but personally I don't think a foot pursuit is practical at the moment given the distance involved.


I don't see much option other than to continue a vehicular pursuit until we're closer. Maybe Scott can get on the PA and tell them if they give up they won't be killed. If they stop we can grab them, if they don't we can close the range and open fire from the SUV? (Or at least those on one side can)

At this point I figure we close distance with our two rigs (without waiting for Razorback to catch up) and see what we can see.  Ask for surrender and shoot targets we can make out.  Trees look pretty thick though...

We keep the pressure on and maybe we flush to the CVMC boys.

Yeah, Dave and Keys and I are all on the same page here.  I'd like to be able to go after them but Scott is experienced enough to perceive most of the liabilities with bailing out.

@Rae - is this access road wide and stable enough to support Razorback, and is there a place at which it can turn around so it won't have to reverse the whole way to get back out to the paved road?  I intend to take my cohorts' advice to close the distance with Bourbon Street but I don't want to order Razorback to come in closer if it's likely to roll over, bog down, or otherwise cork us in.

In reply to Scott Guillory (msg # 203):

It'd take a CE or GEO check to tell with any certainty, but it looks to Scott et al like RB can handle it. Skillins WVD might also come into play, depending. As with everything, it's a calculated risk, but one that, at present, doesn't seem too dicey.

-

Decision?

-

Sorry, was waiting for IC input.

I'm still not real keen on taking Bourbon Street offroad down the power line cut.  Is there a maintenance access track, and how wet is the ground?  I'm trying to assess risks via text that Scott would be able to eyeball.  :/

Sorry, I thought the decision making process had switched to OOC and we were in broad agreement to use Bourbon Street to try and close the distance. If there's doubt about having Razorback follow in case it gets bogged down then I say err on the side of caution (ETA - Rae does seem to be suggesting that it would take a particularly unfortunate set of circumstances to encounter problems, but the possibility obviously exists)

I can't really add anything IC. I can't think of anything for Mike to say that's even remotely useful.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:32, Sun 16 Feb 2020.

No prob. I can post this IC also but, in my experience, power line ROWs are vehicle-accessible, esp trucks. This one hasn't been used in about 4 years, so it's a bit overgrown, and the ground is still a bit soft due to the rains but, again, it's probably passable.

-

Okay.  In that case, let's move Bourbon Street up the power line cut to the last place we saw the assholes in question.  Razorback will advance carefully to the end of the access road (Bourbon Street's current position) and provide overwatch.  If the cut looks like it's navigable for the heavier vehicle, we may bring Razorback in closer, too, but I want to assess that with the SUV first.  Cool?

@Abbie & Nash: Are you going to leave the overgrown area to continue the pursuit, or stay in the vegetation but pick up the pace? Both are possible, but each will have respective effects on rolls. Thanks.

-

I’ll get a post up tomorrow,  but for planning purposes, Carissa will throw a couple of slugs down range and the muzzle flash she saw.

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 210):

I think it depends on whether we want to call out to Campbell or not. If we plan to call out to him, then moving away from the vegetation makes more sense to me, even if it puts us more at risk. If we're intentionally trying to sneak up on him though, it may be slower, but the vegetation would probably be the better way to go.

Is Cao still coming in a vehicle? I was half expecting us to be recalled as we're needed elsewhere where there is active fighting, resulting in Campbell escaping.

In reply to Nashoba 'Nash' Carterby (msg # 213):

Cao's still en route in a vehicle. I haven't posted because I didn't really have anything to post beyond "Lauren sits in the vehicle looking for Campbell.'

I'm not reading the situation the same way as you are in terms of being needed elsewhere and even if you (player) do want to move I'm not sure how we could achieve it in less than two or three turns given your group is currently on foot so you'd need to wait for Cao to get to you and then do some sort of changeover (Lauren doesn't want to let Campbell just vanish for reasons elaborated on in IC post 317).

In reply to Lauren Cao (msg # 214):

OK - that's fine. I'll respond to Abbie in a little while.

Turn is up. Mike and Meadows* can turn the NE corner of the clearing without being detected, after that, I'll have to roll opposed Stealth checks again but the good guys will be rolling theirs with lower difficultly level.

*This sounds like a 1970's yacht rock duo to me.

I can't remember what we decided for the origin of Pony Express. Was it ARDOT or fire and rescue? Personally, I think the latter would still be used as such, but if y'all disagree, I'm cool with it.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 21:58, Sat 29 Feb 2020.

I think it was ARDOT.

I’ve never heard the expression ‘yacht rock’ before. Upon googling it it sounds like I am a fan.

In reply to Mike Carswell (msg # 218):

Yeah, my used of said was not pejorative. I like a lot of what is classified as yacht rock, although, admittedly, some of it is shit.

-

Hey y'all, check out Razorback's new portrait. (The old one disappeared.)

-

Rad!

In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 220):


I googled it and I saw Christoper Cross, Toto, and Hall and Oates mentioned. I kind of stopped there to be honest, but I thought if that's indicative it works for me.

---

Good find (I find it challenging to get pictures of military vehicles not painted sand).

The first episode of the new series of Strike Back featured something that looked very JLTV like (may have been one of the unsuccessful entrants put forward by other manufacturers, I'm not sure - it seemed to me unlikely that TV people would have an actual JLTV to play with).

Just for Teg here's a pic that shows the front end of the thing. Actually looking at that, I can see the Oshkosh logo so maybe it was a JLTV - I need to rewatch it. It did do a grand job of conveying the sense of being in a heavily armoured vehicle, not just a Humvee type if you know what I mean.

In reply to Mike Carswell (msg # 222):

From the grille configuration, it's probably a M-ATV, a slightly heavier predecessor to the L-ATV.

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... I need a minute.

I won’t be around until either Friday night / Saturday - got major work issues to deal with.

Jeffe is dealing with some serious health issues right now so Abbie is an NPC until further notice. Jeffe will continue to lurk in the campaign and is welcome to rejoin as a full player as soon as he is again able. In the meantime, please send him good vibes.

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In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 226):

Have done.

I haven't lost interest in the game; I hope y'all haven't either. I understand that there are much more pressing RL concerns right now. I'll post a turn tomorrow, but don't worry if you don't have the time or energy to contribute. It'll still be here when you do.

The most important thing is that we all stay safe and sane.

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In reply to Good Ol' Rae (msg # 228):

Agreed on that. Hope everyone is ok.

Rae - I'm happy to continue when you're able to.

Ta,

Andy

Hey, y'all,

I hope everyone is well and staying sane. After much consideration, I've decided to retire from running PbP campaigns.

I think I might like to co-GM something, or run a one-shot somewhere along the line, and I'm always down to collaborate on a project or be a player if/when any of you decide to run something. I'm not quitting RPoL, so y'all know where you can find me.

Please pull any info you need from Natural State in case I must delete it permanently.

Peace,

Rae

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRReg08kRrI

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