15mm Wargaming for Fun and Sanity: Flying Lead Vampire nest, one careful owner

So, oh my paltroonish ones, we return to Flying lead as one does to an old pair of comfy chairs.

Indeed, these Japanese special forces figures were the first I bought from local company Peter Pig whence I embarked on 15mm SF. So I'm guessing about 25 years or so (shit-). This was an innovative range, larger and fuller than his other ventures, way, way ahead of the market. I mixed them with the then GZG's new-and-growing ranges to produce a large paramilitary force for Hammers Slammers, either as low tech mercs or an indigenous force. Note the early GZG Japanese officer. Vamps are all from RAFM, getting well used.

Why have I called this VSF? Well, that's how I see it, it could be “interwar”. Any later and there would be more effective firearms, hand grenades, smoke bombs.

SF Commander
Points 100	Quality 3+	Combat 2
Special Rules	Body Armor, Elite, Handcuffs, Hero, Leader

SF Bushi
Points 40	Quality 3+	Combat 2
Special Rules	Body Armor, Elite, Handcuffs

Net gun R & Y
Points:1
Max Range 3 Medium, Slow Reload, Spread

Capture Gun
Points:1
Max Range 3 Medium, Stun Only

Support Capture Gun
Points:1
Max Range 3 Medium, Slow Reload, Spread, Stun Only

Red Cloak
Points 39	Quality 4+	Combat 3
Special Rules	Acrobat, Running Blow

2 Daggers
Points 33	Quality 4+	Combat 3
Special Rules	-Shuriken/Small Thrown Knives, Acrobat, Chucker

Sword & pistol boys
Points 66	Quality 4+	Combat 3
Special Rules	-Pistol, Acrobat, Combat Fiend

Pistol
Points 41	Quality 4+	Combat 3
Special Rules	-Pistol, Acrobat, Crack Shot/Marksman

Swordsmen
Points 54	Quality 4+	Combat 2
Special Rules	Acrobat, Combat Fiend, Strong

The Game. Remember the second Predator film? A special forces unit tasked with taking a prisoner using /freezing weapons.

OK, I made huge mistake using left-over pieces of funky/hobby foam for the corridors. Didn't work photographicaly. On hindsight we could have gone greyscale-.

The tiled area is the hive, the rest brick corridors without cover. However, I've added rubble to break things up.

Tony took the Vampires and decided to use a diced set-up as I was conducting a suprise raid. If you look at the pic, from my entry point there was a long blank corriror, an L shaped one with a small side room over the open sewer followed by the nest proper. This he divided into 4 and diced. To prove that he to can roll 1's, 5 ended up there and 2 in the nest. Nice spread-.

Note strategic use of Jaffa cake packet, recommended.

The difference with the groups, Tony had to dice for each activation, which gave me more reactions. He didn't get to activate all during any phase. I, on the other hand, was able to push troops forward in group activations. You can think of my movement as “flowing” and his as “jerky”. Tony used reactions to move up the rearmost while I used mine for potshots & positioning.

I came in nice n easy, set up a solid block to the blank corridor in front of me of 1 net gun & the support, with a linkman behind while thre main party headed towards the nest.

This meant that I was stretched to breaking point (i.e. my leader was out of range of the rear party), one chap was checking out the side room when everything started.

2 Daggers came in quick and hard, a range of shots pushed him back and down, then netted. This allow a sword n gun boy to come up and he proved a much more dangerous opponent, avoiding shots and laying down effective fire, pushing my chaps into cover.

On the other side the shooter's moved up and is doing the same. I do a bit better hare, I keep knocking him down, but not out. I wasn't able to get close enough to handcuff!

There comes a point in a game where you need a decent roll to get people moving, success or failure can lose you people and the game-. So my leader gets a really crap roll-. Tony has still one to bring on, the other 4 dice represent entrance points. I planned to pull back, regroup.

This gave Tony a boost and the young lady came zooming down the corridor, over the rubble in a flourish of leather clad thighs, blades flashing – but to no avail, I get a shot and she's down. Takes 2 guys and the application of force but she gets cuffed. My officer comes on like the hero he is, takes on the sword & gun in a ding dong battle that sees each pushed back. The vamp decides to go over the rubble and gets netted while my hero makes a dash for the netted 2 knife and cuffs him. Three down and I have a good self supporting position in the blank corridor. That doesn't stop the other sword & gun dashing down, right in the middle!

A stalemate has developed on the other flank, I have a good defensive position and the shooter cannot get a good shot without being shot at twice.

You guessed it, he goes down again, so that's 3 down and 2 in serious danger without me taking a casualty! Which was surprising, I was expecting a high loss.

We stopped it there, taking the uncuffed vamps as capable of disappearing. More to follow!