Boarding Action Scenario- Battle Report

Tonight at Matrix Cards and Games Joel and Seth got a chance to playtest the last scenario for Norcon. Every scenario has been tested at least once now, and all of the terrain has been constructed. All that's left is an intense week of nonstop painting to get all the terrain looking pretty for the event.

The battle between Joel and Seth was fantastic, I was worried about this scenario because it takes place on such a small table, but it ended up being one of the best games I've seen in a while. In honor of my recent invitation to be an author on a Light in the Grimdark I've decided to write a battle report about tonight as an introduction for new players.

First, a little background for the uninitiated: The game of Infinity takes place 175 years in the future, during a period of rapid technological development and insterstellar colonization by the human race. The universe that Infinity takes place in is much brighter than that of 40k, and is filled with the hope and ambition of a human race that is just beginning to realize its potential. However, age old disputes between rival human cultures have led to the human race breaking into numerous warring factions. At the same time, humanity has just made contact with the Combined, an immensely powerful alien empire made up of several different species who seek to conquer and subjugate the human race.

Tonight's battle took place between two human factions, the Caledonians of Ariadna and Japanese of the Yu-Jing Empire. These two groups are vastly different from each other culturally, but they are both among the most downtrodden and disrespected peoples of the Human Sphere.

The Caledonians are the descendants of a failed colonization mission that crash landed a century ago on the planet Dawn. Cut off from the rest of humanity, the people of Dawn had to start over from nothing and are now far behind other nations in the race for technology. Stranded on Dawn, the colonists created a new nation called Ariadna, and broke Ariadna down into several states that were made up exclusively of one of the 4 different ethnic groups that made up the original colonization mission. The nation-state of Caledonia was made up entirely of Scottish colonists, as well as a small handful of English and Irish colonists. The Caledonians are considered backwards even by other Ariadnans, and have resorted to a Clan system of government based on semi-nomadic extended families. As the people of Ariadna have been reunited with the rest of humanity, the Caledonians have made their mark as mercenaries working for the newly formed Ariadnan trade missions travelling to other human worlds.

On the other end of the battlefield are the brave warriors of the Japanese Sectorial Army. In the first half of the 21st century the nation of China rapidly expanded, quickly conquering most of Asia and forming a new nation: The Yu-Jing Empire. Japan was one of the last nations to fall, and the Japanese people were forced to the bottom of the Imperial food chain. Even though the Japanese still possess some of the most advanced computer and robotic technology in the Human Sphere, old ethnic rivalries led to the Chinese crushing the proud people of Japan into the dirt. Japanese people were forced to live in ghettos and concentration camps throughout Yu-Jing territory. Within the Yu-Jing military the Japanese are used as cannon fodder or sent to achieve impossible objectives.

The scenario for this battle is Boarding Action, one of the scenarios for the upcoming tournament at Norcon. In this scenario the two opposing armies are on board starships owned by the factions they serve, and are involved in a desperate boarding action trying to capture the enemy's ship. Joel's army is a clan of Caledonian mercenaries working for an Ariadnan trade mission, while Seth's army is a team of Japanese soldiers sent on a suicide mission to try to capture the Ariadnan trade vessel.

In the first rounds of the battle the Japanese deployed aggressively, sneaking a team of Ninja operatives into the airlocks connecting the ships. This team of expert assassins was led by the renegade Ninja Saito Togan, as well as a Ninja with a sniper rifle, and a Ninja Hacker whose goal was to override the security systems on the Ariadnan ship. Ignorant of the help they were getting from the Ninjas, the rest of the Japanese force was made up of low ranking soldiers whose lives were being thrown away by their Yu-Jing commanders. The force consisted of 5 Keisotsu Butai, including a Keisotsu Lieutenant and two heavy weapons specialists with a Missile Launcher and Heavy Machine Gun. A Kempeitai accompanied them into battle; these troops belong to a secret faction within the Japanese army who seek to rebel against Yu-Jing, and also act as valuable seconds in command to Japanese leaders. Finally, Seth's army was rounded out by a Tokusetsu Doctor, his army's combat medic.

Joel responded with an army made up of two seperate combat groups. His first group was made up entirely of Caledonian volunteer militia, the lowest ranking members of the Caledonian army, and the most inexperienced fighters in his Clan. This group was deployed to defend the ship's security systems, while Joel's veteran fighters rushed to meet the Japanese head on. The veteran group was made of 3 'Grey Rifle' Highlanders equipped with a variety of heavy weapons; these expert warriors are among the toughest and most experienced warriors in Joel's Clan. Accompanying them was a Cateran, a Wulver, and a expert inflitrator from Caledonia's SAS military school. Caterans are exiled criminals from Caledonian Clans who either end up as mercenaries working for another Clan, or as bandits in the wilderness. Wulvers are genetic anomallys unique to the Ariadnan homeworld who take on wolf-like features, and are famed for both their ferocity and tenacity. Finally, the SAS are specially trained soldiers who leave Caledonia to serve in the Ariadnan military, but often return later to join Caledonian mercenary companies.

The fight began when Joel's SAS attempted to infiltrate into the Japanese ship, but was ambushed by Saito Togan and another Ninja inside of the central airlock. The Ninja made short work of the poor SAS, but in the process they revealed their presence to Joel.

Joel immediately reacted by sending his Wulver to secure the airlock door, while his Cateran and Grey Rifles set up a defensive perimeter around the door. However, Seth had more Ninja tricks up his sleeve, and he sent his Ninja sniper around to one of the other airlock doors to flank the Wulver and take it out at long range.

Joel tried to stop the sniper with fire from his Grey Rifles' heavy weapons, but the Ninja's camouflage and expertise made it untouchable. One of Joel's Grey Rifles fell to the Ninja sniper as well, and Joel was forced to pull his defensive line back to avoid any more casualties from the flanking fire.

Seizing the advantage, Seth pushed forward with all of his Keisotsu, leaving only his Kempeitai behind to defend his own ship. With the Cateran and the remaining Grey Rifles pushed back, the Keisotsu were free to come pouring through the airlock. Unaware of the help they were receiving from the Ninjas, the Keisotsu were surprised to find that the enemy forces had already been badly bloodied and were in no position to stop them!

Seth pushed forward with his Ninja Hacker, hoping to take control of Joel's security terminal and claim an early victory, but the Caledonians got their first stroke of luck and managed to take the Ninja down before she got to far.

Joel reacted to his good fortune by taking the opportunity to counter attack, sending his Cateran and Grey Rifles against Seth's Keisotsu in a carefully coordinated strike.

What followed was one of the most bloody and tragic slaughters I have ever witnessed in a game of Infinity. The Grey Rifles poured shotgun shells and machinegun rounds into the Keisotsu, while the Keisotsu responded with storm of heavy ordnance from their own machine gun and missile launcher. At the same time Joel's Cateran fired some quick shots into the Keisotsu from a flanking position, while weathering multiple machine gun and rifle shots. In the end almost all of the Keisotsu lay on the deck of the ship bleeding to death, while both Grey Rifles had been blown away by well placed missiles. Only the Cateran and the Keisotsu with the missile launcher remained, miraculously untouched by the hail of hot lead.

With half his force wounded and on the ground, Seth's medic rushed into action, sending his remote-controlled Yaozao to the front of the battle to administer some desperately needed healing. The little robot managed to get the Ninja hacker back on her feet, but before he could rush to the aid of injured Keisotsu Joel launched another counter attack.

In a desperate gamble, Joel rushed all of his volunteer militia away from the terminal they were defending, and finished off the Ninja hacker for good before she could get back into the fight. As an added bonus, Joel managed to knock out the medic's Yaozao, meaning that Seth could not get any more healing unless the Doctor came to front line himself.

Despite the success of Joel's counter attacks, Seth still had the clear advantage. Joel had lost his army's lieutenant, and was also now in retreat condition. Other than his Cateran, all of Joel's remaining troops were green and poorly equipped, while Seth still had Saito Togan and his Ninja sniper.

Hoping to reclaim the numerical advantage, as well as the strategic advantage, Seth sent his Doctor forward to try and recover some of the fallen members of the Keisotsu unit. Joel was waiting for him though, and as soon as the Doctor stuck his head through the airlock Joel's Cateran took it off with a well placed sniper round.

Things were truly in the endgame now. Seth's Ninjas had dominated the game, and even though most of his force was now out of action, he had a clear path to get to Joel's security terminal. All of Joel's volunteers fled from the table, and he was left with just his lone Cateran.

The Cateran managed to take out the one remaining Keisotsu on the next turn, but this appeared to be cold comfort as Saito Togan himself strode towards Joel's security terminal. In one last desperate effort, Joel ran his Cateran towards the terminal in the hopes of stalling Saito until the time ran out on the scenario.

Seth was faced with an interesting choice. If he sent Saito to kill the Cateran he would secure a minor victory: Joel's entire army would be dead, but Seth would have failed to hack into the security system of the Ariadnan ship. On the other hand, Seth could send Saito to hack the terminal and claim a major victory, but if Saito failed and Joel got a lucky shot then Seth would be forced into a draw.

Seth chose the conservative route, killing the Cateran and claiming an easy victory. All Seth had to do was roll an 18 or lower on a 20-sided die and Saito would easily dispatch the Cateran and end the game. However, this was when fate decided to put a stop to Seth's unstoppable Ninja assault force. The close combat attack result came up 19, and Joel followed up with a nearly impossible point-blank sniper rifle shot. Saito Togan fell to the ground, putting Seth into retreat condition with no other models anywhere near Joel's security terminal.

With both forces in retreat, and neither force in any position to attempt to assault the enemy ship, the game ended in a sudden and stunning draw.

For a game with no clear winner this ended up being one of the best games I've ever seen, and it was the perfect final playtest before Norcon! Thank you Joel and Seth for such a great game, I can't wait to see this scenario played out next weekend!