From: Thomas Barclay <Thomas.Barclay@s...>
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2000 16:46:11 -0400
Subject: [a bit OT] Apocalypse Troll
I just finished reading an interesting book by David Weber (author of the Harrington books) called The Apocalypse Troll. It's spawn a very interesting DS2 scenario.... <MINOR SPOILER ALERT IN AIDE OF SCENARIO DISCUSSION - If you want to read the book, and I recommend it, perhaps avoid what follows like the plague...> There is a large battle near the end of the book where the humans try to take out the Troll and his minions. The troll (a psychotic cyborg with a bunch of telepathic powers and some limited high tech kit) has a band of psyched up nasties with heavy 2007 issue firepower. The attackers are a specially formed rapid reaction unit of the US Marine Corps. The battle occurs on a mountain. The troll has his fighter dug into the mountain and his followers (900-1000 heavily armed troops) dug in with some advanced energy weapons and scan blockers set up around their campsite. They would (I think) have to be considered HIGH mission motivation due to their mental 'adjustments'. They are well equipped and well armed but they are mostly a mix of green and a few regs - not having seen much real fighting... at least where the odds were at all fair. They are backed up by several light combat mechs (10?) (automata) and at least 1 medium combat mech. And the trolls own combat chassis, a heavy combat mech. The defenders have at least one heavy energy gun (relative to human weapons) dismounted from the ship and installed. They also have a good supply of IAVRs and squad heavy weapons. They have limited night vision. The defenders have mortars too. The attackers, the US Marine Company, are really nearer a battalion. Four rifle platoons, very heavy in heavy weapons like Dragons and Predators (GMS/P, GMS/L)? with two anti-tank platoons with TOWs. They gain surprise and can be considered a mix of regs/veterans/elite and are immune to troll manipulations. They are lead by good officers recruited from special forces. They are backed up by a mechanised force consisting of enough LAVIIIs to carry the force, and also including SPGs, and TOW variants. They also have air support in the form of 23 F18s with strike ordinance (LGBs, Mavericks, etc) and 1 with the Final Option (Nukes). The troll must not be allowed to escape the mountain - must be taken out by a weapon system (take at least a maverick or TOW minimum and more likely multiple concurrent hits...). The nuke will do the job if it can hit the troll before it gets lifted off (but the humans don't want to nuke the area in NC if they can avoid it and they might want to capture the fighter). It'd make for an interesting DS2 scenario... as would the trolls mind-influenced hordes or racists attacking a mid sized NC town and the NG and 82nd airborne trying to hold back the thousands...