From: Glenn M Wilson <triphibious@j...>
Date: Tue, 02 Jan 2001 18:55:59 EST
Subject: [OT] Starguard web game starting up
For, those of us West Coast USA dinosaurs (born circa 1950) who have 'kept the faith' there is good news - some Starguard 5th edition meisters are gathering for a (that I know of) third web game. I played in the infamous "Purple Alien" disaster and sat out the attempt to rob the 'helpless' old Amcrys miner but now I am a Fabian Merc in the latest web game. For those who don't know, Starguard is alive and well in edition 5 (first published in circa 1974 IIRC) and even has an eGroup list. For those who are interested and/or want to relive the early days of SF skirmish war games I suggest you contact Ralnai@aol.com (the GM) to get added to (my words) 'lurker list' of non-active observers. The India background of the scenario setting appeals to one with two kids from India (Delhi +/- and Madras respectively.) You will be able to follow that icon of a 'worker warrior' (SGT MAJ Pyotr Glennovich Bromkovskiy Call Sign Red Star-1) as I (then a Starguard NCO type) try not to get sidetracked like last time... When my Rep Com (Republic of Commerce) element with the First Contact 'Space Swabbie' attached managed too be on the complete opposite side of the map from the Alien, killed none of the (already dead) Eli pirate Scumsuckers (which the Purple Alien did solo before we got there,) and failed to keep the valiant Rep Com troopers from killing the Alien as they tried to 'rescue' the child survivors of the Eli massacre. And killed two crummy reprogrammed 'bucket head' worker robots while assaulting an essentially empty Space Port control tower and chasing decoys looking for all the civilians to keep them from being enslaved by the Eli (they were already killed accidentally by Purple Alien in self-defense destruction of Eli warship (where the humans were chained) that was on space port field.) We could have won the game without a shot being fired (well, the Purple Alien *was* a master at reprogramming the worker bots and took over our Magrab Jungle Patrol 'bot about turn two, IIRC, and they were shooting at us) if I had followed my guts instead of my orders and moved the first contact guy *now* to the alien vicinity as soon as I was aware of it. But I was supporting a 'drop' of Power Armor on a unsecured control tower with a defensive Laser that had chopped down the drop ship (I was unsure if the laser was still working after the Dropship shot back in self defense.) My lone honor was rescuing the solo surviving Dropship crew member from the wreck by letting my lone Power Armor guy take apart the wreckage instead of taking the XTee guy to the Alien's hidey hole soon enough... Did I mention we lost our space navy bus when they died stooping a 'rescue' attempt from the Purple Alien's friends - well, it *looked* like one of 'our' assault profiles... Two/Three weeks later the Rep Com Cavalry showed up to 'rescue' us... Wonder what they did with us after debriefing... Shooting might have been merited, IMO...