Refugees

Looking over the Nightfall counter sheet, I saw a counter with a picture of a Truck on it labeled "Refugee" and I started thinking, "How can I use that in a game?" After some thought, I developed the following rules to act as a scenario within a scenario, or a "sub-scenario." The concept is that this sub-scenario could be overlaid on any other scenario that uses a map with town hexes. Ideally, this should be played by a third person with the other two players using the designated forces in the chosen primary scenario.

Overview and necessary materials. The goal is to get as many refugees as possible out of the conflict zone and into the refugee camp using three 5-ton trucks.

This sub-scenario requires the following counters:

• One refugee camp marker (I printed out a caduceus as a marker) (Ed. Note: or use a 3-D structure!)

• Three truck counters

• One note pad to track refugees, civilian rescue workers, and evacuated town hexes

• Many radiation markers, if the optional radiation rule is used (bingo chips should work well)

Additionally, whatever materials are required for the chosen parent scenario.

Setup

The refugee camp cannot be placed on or near any CP hex or any other military target. Ideally, it should be placed on an edge of the map farthest from the conflict zone. Placing it on or next to a road would work best. The camp should be placed after the other players have set up as per their scenario rules.

A record sheet should be made for each Truck with four checkboxes to represent the civilian rescue workers (see below).

The refugee player always moves last per turn (i.e., after the primary scenario players move.)

Special Rules

Refugees in Towns. Each town hex has 0-50 refugees; roll one die and subtract 1, then multiply by 10 to determine the number within the hex when a Truck first enters the town hex. Note: the nearest town hex (or hexes, if a multi-hex town) to the camp contains no refugees; they have all evacuated to the camp already. Once a town hex has been evacuated, no more refugees are present in that hex.

Refugee Trucks. Refugee Trucks normally have a four-person civilian rescue team: one driver, one navigator, and two EMTs. All are capable of driving the vehicle. Each Truck can hold 20 refugees for a total of 24 souls. If the Truck does not have a full complement of rescue workers, it may carry additional refugees, up to a capacity of 24 total occupants. Trucks start out at the camp with only the crew on board.

A Truck may not move on the turn it loads or unloads refugees. It will take one full turn to load refugees onto a truck and one full turn to unload.

With refugees on board, subtract one hex from the Truck's movement allowance. It may only move into a clear hex by rolling a 1-3 on a single die prior to moving. If it fails that roll, it may not move that turn. Trucks with refugees transitioning on to, or off of, a road must stop before transitioning in the same manner as GEVs and Light Tracked units at a stream. Empty Trucks move as normal for a Truck. Trucks cannot drive in woods, swamp, or rubble.

A Truck is automatically destroyed (loss of all life) if it is targeted. It suffers spillover fire if it is in the same hex of another targeted unit (see Section 7.12 in the rulebook) and automatically loses lives. Roll a die and multiple the result by four to determine the number of lives lost; 1 = four lives lost, 2 = eight lives lost, etc. Additionally, one civilian rescue worker is part of the total lives lost per multiple above a roll of 2; mark them off the Truck's record sheet. If the number of lives lost as per the roll are more than those in the Truck, all are killed. If a Truck is in a hex adjacent to an attack (regardless of whether the attack was successful or not), a roll of 1, 2, or 3 on a single die results in lives lost; a 4 or higher delivers no damage.

A Truck with no civilian rescue workers may not move. A second Truck may transfer one or more civilian rescue workers to an unmanned Truck if they both start the turn in the same hex. Both Trucks may move that turn. If A Truck returns to camp without a full complement of rescue workers, additional workers join the crew bringing it up to the full complement of four when it leaves.

Example: A full Refugee Truck is next to a hex that had an attacked unit in it. This Truck has been subject to damage previously and only has two civilian rescue workers within it (in addition to 22 refugees). The refugee player initially rolls a 2, resulting in damage to the refugees. The second roll is a 4, meaning that 16 lives are lost, including the two remaining civilian rescue workers, leaving eight living refugees in the Truck. The Truck may not move that turn. However, during the turn a second Truck with four civilian rescue workers moves into the hex and stops. On the following turn, two of the second Truck's civilian rescue workers transfer to the first Truck, and then both Trucks are capable of moving that turn.

If Cruise Missiles are used in the scenario, roll as normal on the Cruise Missile Effect of Explosion Table (see Section 10.04 in the rulebook) for a D0 unit, and add the above damage rules to any "D" result. Once a crater is formed by a Cruise Missile, Trucks may not drive through any adjacent hexes; there is too much radiation for an unshielded vehicle.

Radiation Variant: Once a hex is attacked by any weapon other than antipersonnel weapons, a Truck can no longer drive through that specific hex because of radiation; place a radiation marker on that hex. (Note: the board may get cluttered quickly!)

Trucks can be detained or commandeered by either belligerent via moving into the hex as an overrun. Trucks may not move if there is a combat unit in the hex. Intentionally firing upon a Refugee Truck is a war crime. Ogres will not fire upon Trucks.

Endgame

The refugee player's sub-scenario ends whenever the primary scenario ends or the refugee player cannot rescue any more refugees.

Victory Points and Levels. The refugee player gets one point (VP) per refugee that reaches the refugee camp. Refugees in Trucks that have not reached the camp do not count towards the player's point total.

To determine the victory level, first calculate the total number of victory point. Count the number of Town hexes that could contain refugees. Multiples of this number determines the victory levels:

• Total VP equal or greater than 20x the number of Town hexes: Complete success.

• VP equal or greater than 10x the number of Town hexes, up to 20x the hexes: Limited success.

• Fewer VP than 10x the number of Town hexes: Failure.

If the Radiation Variant is used, award two VP per refugee rescued.

Variants

In addition to the Radiation Variant described above, feel free to try these alternatives:

Multiple Camps. On large maps, consider one or more additional refugee camps. Trucks can bring refugees to any camp. Reduce the VP awarded per refugee rescued to 0.5.

Limited Civilian Rescue Workers. The camps do not have additional workers. The four rescue workers per Truck are all that are available during the game. This makes the subscenario harder.

Hovertruck Variant. Replace one or more Trucks with a Hovertruck. Hovertrucks carry only two rescue workers and have a total capacity of 18 (so, 16 refugees with the two workers when full). Multiply the damage roll by three instead of four to determine lives lost, and one or both workers are lost on a roll of 3 or 5, respectively.

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The Ogrezine II PDF, combining all of these articles with additional new material, will be available on Warehouse 23.