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Advanced Game
Setup
Setup Sequence
- Decide upon the battlefield type, its
layout and which side is attacker.
- Decide upon or roll for condition of attacking and
defending infrastructures (level of damage, jamming ability,
etc.)
- Each side rolls for vector
superiority.
- Roll for network dice and Network status
for each side. (Most common status for start of game is 100%).
- Roll for Type 2 Barrages.
- Unit Placement. Players alternate setting formations on
the board, with the loser of the vector supremacy roll setting two units for
each unit placed by the winner.
- Each player records their support fire target mix:
counterfire, suppression, command or kill.
- Roll for damage assignment order: which side placed
damage markers first each turn (each player assigns half of damage hits
inflicted).
Battlefield
Types – Amongst the various battlefields that MEKs might be found in
combat, there are a few common factors to remember: (1) Most MGV delivery pods
are destroyed before they deploy their payloads. (2) Most MEK units actually
deployed onto a target are immediately destroyed by the target's defense
systems or by those of nearby supporting units. (3) The combat that takes place
in Invisible Enemy is the result of deployments that actually survive to
become a threat. As such, the very presence of the intact and obviously
aggressive MEKs represents a sudden and probably serious threat to defender.
There are several reasons that attacking MEKs might survive their
deployments: In the case of deployment on a larger vehicle or vessel, the most
common reason is that the target is already damaged and the MEK deployment pods
have been thrown in to distract it, finish it off or collect intelligence on
the hopefully defenseless hulk. In the case of deployment on a building, the
most common reason for successful deployment is surprise attack, a covert
penetration attempt or the attempted infiltration of a damaged building. Most
MEK combat takes place as part of a larger tactical battle which may or may not
affect the immediate vicinity of the miniature battle at hand. As with all
combat, it is part of a much larger picture but still important.
- Battlefield Suggestions and
Conditions:
- Battlefield Location
- Vehicle or vessel - Exterior or Interior
- Building - Exterior or Interior
- Person - Usually on their equipment
- Open Ground - Uncommon due to treacherously uneven nature
of most macro-terrain.
- Battlefield Aspects
- Flat or Uneven
- Smooth or Coarse
- Unbroken or Pitted/Cracked
- Clear, Littered or Cluttered
- Clean or Dirty (fungus, mold, slim, mildew, dust,
grit)
- Wet or Dry (fine oil or water mist, condensation)
- Random structure or Planned structures (anti-MEK
obstacles, etc.)
- Damaged or Undamaged (Infrastructure status)
- Coatings or Plating (explosive films (minefields),
encrypted surfaces, etc)
- Proximity of deployed support equipment that can offer
supporting (off-board) fire, jamming, etc.
- Attack Mission Aspects
- Achieve entry to target interior (deployment must be
comparatively near an identified entry point: a crack, broken hardware,
etc.)
- Neutralize enemy defenses (usually MGVs)
- Move into a specific position and deploy compounds or
delivery systems.
- Mapping, Intelligence
- Distraction (make trouble, don't worry about
surviving)
- Attacker / Defender Status
- Level of overall damage
- Level of local network jamming
- Time before destruction or self-destruct (if any)
Note that for many battles, it may be implicit that
the attacking MGVs have already penetrated to the interior of their target and
are being engaged deep inside. In some instances, the attacker's mission may be
to commence chemical or biological warfare in the target interior, in which
case the battle may be to gain a certain position on the "battlefield" in order
to release the required compounds (usually done by engineering units with
Strike assignments). Remember that MGVs can travel quickly over relatively long
distances (hundreds of meters) in order to fulfill their missions. Once they
get through, they could be anywhere!
Infrastructure (Optional) –
Each side rolls 1D6, with the attacker applying the die roll modifiers shown on
the Table 1 below. The winner of the die roll gains one Network Die in addition
to those allotted according to Table 3. If the modified results are a tie, no
bonus is gained by either side.
This does require that players have
already set infrastructure status levels for both sides as part of the scenario
design. If players cannot agree on this detail, consider using Table 2 for
establishing the status levels by rolling 2D6 for each side and consulting the
table results. Note that Infrastructure Status is different from Network
Status, which is a battlefield network condition. Battlefield infrastructure is
the overall condition of the physical battle area and local support forces and
how much damage they have suffered.
| Table 1. - Infrastructure Die
Roll Modifiers |
Defender
Infrastructure Status |
Attacker Infrastructure Status |
| 25% |
50% |
75% |
100% |
| 25% |
0 |
+1 |
+2 |
+3 |
| 50% |
-1 |
0 |
+1 |
+2 |
| 75% |
-2 |
-1 |
0 |
+1 |
| 100% |
-3 |
-2 |
-1 |
0 |
| Table 2. - Infrastructure
Status Levels (2D6) |
| Die
Roll |
Attacker Infrastructure Status |
Defender Infrastructure Status |
| 2 |
25% |
25% |
| 3,4 |
50% |
50% |
| 5,6 |
75% |
50% |
| 7,8 |
75% |
75% |
| 9,10 |
100% |
75% |
| 11,12 |
100% |
100% |
Vector Superiority
(Optional) – Each side rolls two six sided die (2D6). If one party
rolls a modified result which is double the value rolled by the other, that
side receives a barrage acquisition bonus during game play (see section 2.0 -
Network Command).
- Vector Superiority Die Roll Modifiers
- Infrastructure status 75% = -1
- Infrastructure status 50% = -2
- Infrastructure status 25% = -3
Network Dice – Consult the table below to
establish the number of network dice to be used by each side. Divide the
highest tech rating by the lowest tech rating and match the result with the
corresponding ratio column. The numbers shown below each ratio range indicate
the number of Network Dice that the highest and lowest players begin the game
with.
| Table 3. - Tech Level Ratio (Highest Value ÷
Lowest Value) |
| 1.0+ |
1.25+ |
1.50+ |
1.75+ |
2.0+ |
| 11:11 |
11:10 |
11:9 |
11:8 |
11:7 |
Fire Support Markers (Barrages)-
Use the table below to establish the total number of Type 2 barrage markers
that each side begins the game with. Type 2 barrages can be saved and used on
any turn during the game. This is unlike Type 1 barrages purchased as a result
of network actions, which must be used on the turn they are purchased.
At this point during game setup, both sides must jointly decide which
conditions will apply to the scenario: Combat Assault: Fully Opposed, Combat
Assault: Partially Opposed or Noncombat Zone Strike. Each presumes a decreasing
level of defender preparation. Once the scenario type is decided, each side
then rolls one six sided die (1D6) and consults Table 5 below. The decimal
values indicate the number of these support fire points that side receives per
base present on the battlefield (totalled for both sides).
Example: A game which sets 20 Australian MGV bases against 35
Selangor bases, will have a battlefield total of 55 bases present. A barrage
result of .05 on the chart will allow the player who roles that value to
multiply .05 by 55 (.05 x 55) giving that player 3 barrages (2.75 rounded up to
3.0, standard rounding rules apply to final values).
| Table 5. - Support
Fire |
| Die Roll |
Combat Assault: Fully Opposed |
Combat Assault: Partially Opposed |
Noncombat Zone Strike |
| Attacker |
Defender |
Attacker |
Defender |
Attacker |
Defender |
| 1 |
.05 |
.04 |
.04 |
.03 |
.02 |
.01 |
| 2 |
.06 |
.04 |
.05 |
.04 |
.03 |
.02 |
| 3 |
.06 |
.05 |
.05 |
.05 |
.03 |
.03 |
| 4 |
.07 |
.06 |
.06 |
.05 |
.04 |
.03 |
| 5 |
.07 |
.06 |
.07 |
.06 |
.05 |
.04 |
| 6 |
.08 |
.07 |
.07 |
.06 |
.06 |
.04 |
Fungus Tower Defense (Optional)
– If the game scenario has fungus towers present on the board, use the
following table to establish the defense value of each tower. Mark the defense
values in the "Hull" section on the hit point log. All fungus towers have
defense code of 4. To depict a dead fungus tower, simply mark off one-third of
its hit points.
| Table 3. - Tech Level Ratio (Highest Value ÷
Lowest Value) |
| Die Roll |
1 - 4 |
5,6 |
| Tower Defense Rating |
6 |
9 |
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