MEST :: Sacrificing Mary II

Overview

My opponent for this session is my nephew. =)

This was a larger version of the MEST Tactics :: Mythos scenario I presented at https://matter-energy-space-time.blogspot.com/2019/12/mest-sacrificing-mary.html

That first scenario was just 4 models per player (total 8 models) and was resolved using a 2x2-foot board. This version was much larger involving 17 models (8 vs. 9) and took about 3 hours from start to finish which is including two breaks (~30 minutes and ~45 minutes).

The overall time for game-play was therefore about ~100 minutes. Predicted time was 17 models x 5 minutes = 85 minutes.

I'll provide scenario details after all of the pictures below.

Pictures

These are the pictures in order according to the timestamp for the EXIF data on each file. My hands are shaky and so I needed to deblur many of the pictures.

Start of game. Cultists from the Cult of Charazon start at the far left corner. The Church of Inner Divinity ("nuns") starts at the bottom right. There are several Objective Markers (OMs) distributed across the battlefield, some of which are within buildings. Those need to be collected. We are also using the Resource Cards with their event triggers upon them. The building in the center has the Altar and one of the OMs.

Sister Maria, Sister Susan, and Abbot Price. The Abbot in this version of the scenario is aiding the nuns.

The Clancy Gang. Helps with the Nunnery faction. Big Boi is the warhound (Dog, War) here. In the distance is Sister Primin Proctor with her lantern. It is "Night, Full-moon" and so Visibility OR 4". Lanterns provide Light OR 6".

A view of the starting position from the Cultists' side of the battlefield.

The Cultists have access to a Clockwork Automaton. It requires that an Attentive Ordered Friendly model begins in base-contact with it to issue orders. It may only act upon elements it has seen prior, and any new elements within LOS.

The Clancy gang with their submachine-guns (SMGs) move up into position. The Cultists are beyond the building at the top left. Big Boi the warhound has moved up to the building. Sister Mary is within LOS of Sister Susan.

A view from the Cultists' side. Everybody is in position. The dark tokens indicate that they are in Hidden status. The guy with the stogie at the middle is also Distracted because the character was pushed to get into place from much further away.

Hmm. Sneaking up against one of the buildings. This is Turn #1.

Around Turn #2 or #3. One of the Clancy Gang ("Blarmie Gaggers") is nearby to assist. There's an OM within that building, and also the Altar. The porch entrance shown is blocked from access; I went to cover the wrong entrance! The other side is now being scoped by the Cultists. ... oops!

This is the other side of that particular building. The Clockwork Automaton is aiding another Cultist. My opponent didn't quite understand how to use that character just yet and so this was a sub-optimal choice.

Another view of the position of the Cultists.

Around Turn #3 or #4. All of the models are moving cautiously around that central building. At the left it can be seen that the Clancy Gang members are establishing fields-of-fire with their SMGs.

A few rounds into Turn #4. I didn't capture any pictures during the period up to this point. It can be seen with all of the red Wound markers that there has been lots of exchange fire and also close-quarters combat ("melee"). The Clockwork Automaton has FOR 5, Armor 6 Deflect 2 but has acquired 3 Wound markers as a result of SMG attacks against it.

A ground-view of the above. Spotty McGee is the Cultist with the torch and has been in Close Combat with Sister Primin Proctor. He acquired a Wound marker.

A closer look at the Clockwork Automaton and the gang leader Mac Ausvald and his SMG.

Top View. You can clearly see how volatile the situation can become. Sister Mary needs to be within Cohesion of a Friendly Attentive Ordered model in order to use her psionic blast ("Psychic Bolt Action Rifle").

[blurry] close-up of the Clockwork Automaton.

This is near the end of Turn #5. I didn't have the rest of the pictures on the camera since I become too involved with resolving the game-play. Essentially the Cultists won by 1 VP having established control of the Altar within the building at the right, but lost their Clockwork Automaton. It was a good and very tense game!

Scenario Configuration

Here's how the battle is set up for play.

Setting

The year is 1929 CE. Young Sister Mary Burns has been selected by the Abbot of the Church of Divinity yet again to be a vessel for the Outer God Yog-sothoth and needs to bring her to the Altar of Imdwelling. Mary's brother Stephen is leader of the Cult of Charazon and does not think that the time is right and therefore must rescue her from what he thinks may be a botched ritual incarnation. As a result, the Cultists must prevent Mary from being sacrificed and have initiated a rescue mission.

However, this information as to when and how to prevent such an occurrence is scattered across the Eastwick Village at five different locations. The Abbot and Brother Stephen each need to collect that information and either use it to summon Yog-sothoth or to defeat its arrival.

The Cultists can also win if they can escort Sister Mary off of their edge of the battlefield.

Play-aides

Provide 9 Objective markers [ OM ].
Optionally use the Resource cards, and allow End Game Triggers [ EGT ] to affect game duration.

Layout

Arrange the small buildings and terrain into the four corners of the battlefield. Arrange the two medium buildings at the center and place walls and trees on each side of them. The idea is to make access to the central are of the battlefield cluttered and hard to traverse.

Place one OM at the center of the battlefield adjacent to a terrain element. Place one OM within each of the buildings. Doors are unlocked, windows are locked. Opening a door, locking, or unlocking it is 1 AP each. Place the remaining OMs at the center of each quadrant of the battlefield in base-contact with a terrain element, with one OM in base-contact with the entrance to the central building.

4' x 4' battle area

4 x small buildings
2 x medium buildings
8 x groves of trees
8 x stands of trees
6 x walls and other terrain

Environ

Visibility OR 4; it is "Night, Full-moon".

The Forces

There are two sides each controlled by a single player; the Cult of Charazon (the "cultists") and the Church of Inner Divinity (a "nunnery"). Abbot Price is in charge of the church and wants to take psychic vessel Sister Mary and sacrifice her at the altar of Yog-Sothoth (the "Altar of Imdwelling"). The Cultists' leader, Stephen Burns, actually is the brother of Sister Mary. He wants to get any of the cult members into base-contact with Sister Mary and escort her back to their starting side of the battlefield.

Cult of Charazon — 596 BP

Most of the models are Average Variant Commons character archetypes.

The leader model is Stephen Burns. He is psychic with a "Psychic Medium Auto Pistol" as a weapon. 

The Cultists also have a Clockwork Automaton which has a new [Tethered] trait (see below). At the start of its Initiative, if it is in base-contact with an Attentive Ordered Friendly model; it may perform actions against any target within Line-of-Sight (LOS) of both itself and its handler, or to continue a prior action against a target it had already encountered. It may not otherwise begin new actions on its own. For example, if it is attacked by another model it may continue to fight that model. Or, if is tasked to make base-contact with another model or terrain element originally within LOS; it may continue to pursue that task until completed.

• Spotty McGee 222|222|223
  Average Cultist 222|222|223
  Insane.
  49 BP. 63 BP with Large Basic Torch.
• Dunnigan Crux
  Average Cultist 222|222|223
  Insane.
  49 BP. 79 BP with Light Revolver.
• Foster Frieds
  Average Grizzled 222|222|223
  Grit.
  40 BP. 70 BP with Light Revolver.
• Lem Stanley
  Average Outsider 222|222|223
  [Solitary].
  27 BP. 57 BP with Light Revolver.
• Maury Kellers
  Average Outsider 222|222|223
  [Solitary].
  27 BP. 57 BP with Light Revolver.
• Opie Nilson
  Average Shooter 222|222|223
  Shoot.
  35 BP. 65 BP with Light Revolver.
• Stephen Burns
  Leader 222|322|223
  Tactics 2. Leadership.
  94 BP. 154 BP with Psychic Medium Auto-pistol.
• Clockwork AutomatonClever Armored  300|024|416
  [Tethered][Beast+]. Armor 5. Brawn 2. Expendable.
  15 BP. 51 BP with Long Sword and Heavy Chainsaw Claw.

Church of Inner Divinity — 603 BP

All of the models are Average Variant Commons character archetypes.

The leader model is Abbot Price who also has been assigned the Fight trait.

Sister Mary is psychic with a "Psychic Bolt Action Rifle" as a weapon. However, Sister Mary needs to be within Cohesion of a Attentive Ordered Friendly model in order to use her weapon for an attack.

• Abbot Price 222|222|223
  Average Tactican
  Tactics.
  44 BP.
• Sister Susan 222|222|223
  Average LeaderLeadership.
  39 BP.
• Sister Maria 222|222|223
  Average Shooter
  Shoot. Brawn.
  35 BP. 65 BP with Light Revolver.
• Sister Primin Proctor 222|222|223
  Average BrawnyBrawn.
  42 BP. 61 BP with Basic Lantern.
• Sister Mary the Innocent 222|222|223
  Average Coward 222|222|223
  [Coward].
  21 BP. 49 BP with Psychic Bolt Action Rifle.
• Big Boi
  War Dog 2-3|-32|122
  [Beast!]. Sprint. Surefooted. Stealthy. Detect 2. Bite. Chase. Pack-mentality.
  51 BP.
• Mac Asvalt
  Average Outsider 222|222|223
  [Solitary].
  27 BP. 98 BP with Light Submachine-gun.
• Blarmie Gaggers
  Average Outsider 222|222|223
  [Solitary].
  27 BP. 98 BP with Light Submachine-gun.
• Sheffield Stern
  Average Outsider 222|222|223
  [Solitary].
  27 BP. 98 BP with Light Submachine-gun.

Deployment

Forces start within 8 MU of opposite corners of the battlefield, with the Cultists setting up first.

Victory Conditions

The game-length is 6 Turns. 

• Collection (+1 VP to most OMs collected)
• Elimination (+1 VP if have fewest KO'd or Eliminated models)
• Escort (+1 VP to Mission Defender if an Objective Marker identified as the “Coveted Asset” has exited the battlefield with a Friendly character.)
• Aggression (+1 VP to the Side with the most models crossing mid-line of battlefield during the course of the game.  If there is a tie in the count; award each count +3 Resource Points. Award the Side which had a character cross first an additional +1 Resource Points.)
• POI (+1 VP to the Side “In Control” of the Point-of-Interest.  A Friendly character within Cohesion of the center of the POI but with no Opposing models within Cohesion of that character is considered to be “In Control”.)

Special Rules

Here are some clarifications;

• The Cultists are the Mission Defenders.
• At the center of the battlefield is a building which contains the Altar of Imdwelling; it is the POI and awards +1 VP.
• The character "Sister Mary the Innocent" is a Coveted Asset for the Cultists and is worth +1 P.

These are newly introduced traits.

• [Tethered] — On its Initiative, it may not start new actions not already assigned to it. At the start of its Initiative, if it is in base-contact with an Attentive Ordered Friendly model; it may be assigned a new set of action and perform them against any target within Line-of-Sight (LOS) of both itself and its handler, or to continue a prior action against a target it had already encountered. It may not otherwise begin new actions on its own.
• Psychic — See Psionic. Any Armor, Equipment, or Tool may be prefixed with this classifier as part of its name and will function as though the character has that item.