OT: Starsiege: Rebellion review (LONG).

Hello All: Well, after months of waiting, it finally came out. Agents of
Gaming
entry into the sci-fi ground combat miniature game market: Starsiege:
Rebellion. For those who don't know, Starsiege is based on the computer game
series produced by Sierra. Most of the action focus on the
mecha-like war machines called Hercs (Short for Hercules), and the wars
between the Human Empire and the computerized Cybrids.

Contents: The boxed set comes with the following:

        --A 96 page, full color rule book.
        --A sheet of command and control counters.
        --Reference sheets and a FAQ.
        --Vehicle Record Sheets
        --Artillery and special weapons templets.
        --4 Terrain Creation hills (Tough plastic covered with flock).
        --18 pewter miniatures (9 Imperial vehicles, 9 Cybrid.)
        --A set of dice.
        --A Starsiege computer game demo disk that also contains more
background info.

Game Mechanics:
        Like most mirco-armor combat games, units in Rebellion are
organized into squads that follow unit coherency rules. The maxim distant that
units can be apart depends on the experience of the unit. Movement is very
free form and can played with or without a hexmap. Initiative is worked out
like this: At the begining of each turn a player puts down a numbered turn
counter in the order they want that unit to activate. Then each roll off to
see which player get to activate first. During the course of a turn, a players
field commander can activate when he or she chooses. The commander can even
use their action to alter the order of activation. Combat is resolved in a
single roll of two dice. One is a
"to-hit
dice" the other is a skill bonus die (anything from a d4 to a d12 depending on
the experience level of the unit.). If the attacker meets or beats the
target's Agility stat (plus or minus a few modifiers), a hit is scored. For
each point over the Agility roll, there is potential to do a point of damage
to the vehicle. (e.g. If the vehicle's agility is 8 and the attacker rolled a
10, then you may have scored 2 hits.) However, just because you hit a target
doesn't mean you damaged it. All
vehicles have a screen and/or armor rating, and each weapon effects
force fields and armor differently. (An autocannon is chews up armor but is
worthless against screens, a laser weapons is just the opposite.) To your die
roll you add the either the weapon's screen or armor damage factor. Again, if
the amount is equal to or greater than
the vehicles screen/armor level drops.  If there is no more protection,
the vehicle itself takes damage. Also, if the amount of damage exceeds a
vehicle's critical level, then internal systems will be destroyed. Moral is
handled in much the same way, roll two dice and if the meets or succeeds a
certain level, the squadron stays. If not, the first failure results in a
"pin." If an attempt to rally fails, the unit is routed and heads off the
board, unless it can regain its composure. The rules also mention infantry and
air vehicles, but they will be covered in the first Starsiege supplement.

Review: This game is fantastic. I tried it at last year's GenCon, and I was
impressed on how fast and easy game play worked out. Once we got things
figured out, a group of 10 could play out a turn in about 10-15
minutes. The aspect I was most impressed with was with combat. Unlike other
mecha combat games I could name (cough... Battletech... cough), if you rolled
right, you could wipe out an enemy vehicle with a single shot. My only gripe
with the rules is that they come up short with other units. I was hoping that
the GROPO and aircraft rules would be included. However, I am more than
willing to schill out more for these rules when they do come out. The
miniatures included in the set are a little larger than DSII
scale:  N-scale the box said.  The Imperial minis (1 Minotaur Herc, 4
Talon Scout Hercs, 4 Obsidian Hover Tanks) were well cast and easy to
assemble. So far, I've got the Minotaur painted in my basic dark brown scheme
with a "shark mouth" painted under the canopy. One of my Obsidian's bears the
image of a Templar's Shield. However, most of the cybrid models (1 Shepherd
Herc, 4 Seeker Scout Hercs, and 4 Vindicator Hover Tanks) were VERY difficult
to put together. The Seekers have tiny fins that must be individually glued to
the hull. The legs are separate parts that put the model in a running stance
with on foot in the air. However, once you got them together you'll find that
they are we'll worth the effort.

Is it worth it?: Starsiege Rebellion is well worth the $60 US. The rules are
great, and you get enough quality (although occasionally frustrating to
assemble) figures to get a basic game going. I give it four out a possible 5
stars.