Vidla Crucible - a space-race scenario

[DagobahDave 1,621]

So here's my first draft of a race scenario, totally untested. I could use a few more pairs of eyes looking at these to catch things I might have missed or goofed up before I give it a spin. I'm pretty happy with it so far, since it has everything I want in a Star Wars race: a tough objective, deep strategizing, fancy maneuvering, combat, the potential for teammates, and replay value.

 

Take a look and let me know what you think:

http://www.outworld-studio.com/xwing/pdf/Vidla-Crucible.pdf

[che 12]

I will definitively try it and give you my impressions, it seems to be very fun thpugh

[Mikael Hasselstein 6,896]

FUN!

 

Another permutation would be to have the three non-assigned asteroid move a random distance in a random direction before (or after!) the movement dials are set.

[DagobahDave 1,621]

Updated with lots of variant rules:

http://www.outworld-studio.com/xwing/pdf/Vidla-Crucible.pdf

[Mikael Hasselstein 6,896]

We played this one today with three participants (and six ships).

 

It was a lot of fun!

[MP7VRN 2]

very interesting! 

what about your campaign system? can you describe it in few words?

[DagobahDave 1,621]

If you're asking about the Unofficial X-Wing Galactic Campaign...

 

There's a big map of the galaxy. Looks like this:

 

 

It's an ongoing campaign that gathers up battle reports from players around the world. Any time you play, write down the squad lists and note who won the battle. Then choose one of the unconquered sectors on the map (the sectors with a ship marker on them are "conquered") and the winner of the match chooses which faction (Black Sun, Rebels or Imperials) gets a "win" in that sector. Then send that battle report to me by any means (email, post in the UXGC thread, etc.). At the end of each "phase" I compile the results and update the maps and the faction scores. This season, the Empire is pretty far ahead and the first faction to reach 50 points wins the season. When the season is complete, I'll reset the map and start fresh.

 

There are also certain "achievements" that can be unlocked and give special rewards to a faction, but that's all described on the UXGC page. Anyone can join the campaign, and every time you play you can contribute a battle report.

 

If you're interested in the full rules (which you don't really need to know in order to play -- just send in battle reports), click the link in my signature. You'll also find the full-size map and a record of all the battle reports submitted so far. Some players like to write up cool stories along with their reports.

[DagobahDave 1,621]

Updated with some new courses:

http://www.outworld-studio.com/xwing/pdf/Vidla-Crucible.pdf

[Blail Blerg 7,335]

Racers of the Vidla Crucible:  How was the scenario?  Did it work?  Was it fun?  Was it balanced?  

[DagobahDave 1,621]

We played this scenario the other day using the standard setup, no house rules, three players. We all had different ideas about what sorts of squads to run. I ran 3 cheap TIEs, Mike ran a cheap TIE and an Interceptor, and Kelley ran an E-Wing with extra cheese.

 

Both Kelley and I found it a lot of fun. I think Mike did, too, but the middle of the race was wobbly for him as his Interceptor was one-shotted. Ultimately I won with my last remaining TIE, Mike would've crossed the finish line the next turn, and Kelley's E-Wing would have come in third. Every ship had taken some damage and a lucky roll here or there might have taken both me and Mike out of the race.

 

Overall I think it's balanced enough that house rules aren't needed, but they're there if you want them. On the BGG thread about this scenario, one poster is concerned that Bounty Hunter + Engine Upgrade will run away with it. After playing it, my impression is that focus-firing from the rest of the field, or blocking with an interference-runner or lower PS ship, might prevent that from being a sure bet. But I'd love to see it!

 

Play time was just about right -- maybe 60 minutes including squad-building.

[Blail Blerg 7,335]

Actually the bounty hunter engine upgrade and maybe recon spec is exactly what I think would totally win it. As it removes the inherent disadvantage being in front. You can shoot backwards!

[DagobahDave 1,621]

Try it, it might work!

 

Some problems it might run into: It's going to have a huge target painted on it, and it won't necessarily have a clear path ahead because of the possibility of running "interference" ships. It's putting all of your eggs in one basket, which seems pretty risky. Also, navigating around/through a corner with just Range 1 to spare could cost it time while it wiggles back onto a sane trajectory.

 

Bomb, ion weapons, turrets all offer interesting advantages in this format, but have inherent risks as well.

 

If you do run this scenario, let me know how it went.

[Blail Blerg 7,335]

I would!  but I'm having trouble finding people to play with.  Especially, any who are good at the game.  

[Mikael Hasselstein 6,896]

Both Kelley and I found it a lot of fun. I think Mike did, too, but the middle of the race was wobbly for him as his Interceptor was one-shotted.

 

Yeah, that one-shot was disappointing. I was so going for the first finish had that not happened.

 

But that's the game, and if there isn't the danger of that happening, the game isn't exciting.

 

So, it was all great fun!

[DagobahDave 1,621]

Another update, adding two new courses (using 3x6 play areas) and a sort of "black hole" optional rule called the Densis Rift. Thanks to the gang on the BGG forums for suggesting some great options.

 

Vidla Crucible:

http://www.outworld-studio.com/xwing/pdf/Vidla-Crucible.pdf

 

This is probably the last update to this PDF for a while.

[Zephaus 150]

Do you require ships to go around the corners counter-clockwise? Or can a ship "swim upstream" guns blazing and round the corner clockwise? (I guess direction changes depending on how you layout the corner order, but I think you can get my meaning.)

Edited March 19, 2015 by Zephaus

[DagobahDave 1,621]

Unless the map specifies the direction of travel, a ship can round the corner asteroids in either direction, as long as it's to the "outside".

Incidentally, my store league's current (non-racing) league season is wrapping up soon, and I'm thinking about running a series of three or four races for our next season.

Edited March 19, 2015 by DagobahDave