Wasteland Raiders: Smoke on the Water

This is the fourth battle in the Wasteland Raiders campaign.

The human party currently consists of Steve [Q3+ C3, Champion, sharpshooter, pistol, SMG], Keith [Q3+ C3, Champion, savage, NBC suit, flamethrower], Alex [Q3+ C2, HtH Specialist, frenzy drug, poison antidote, shotgun] and Wanda [Q3+ C2, Savage, laser pistol]. They have 12 food points and 2 energy cells (after consuming last week's upkeep.)

The mutant party this time was: Maniac [Q4+ C3 Danger sense, psychometry, photon grenade], Kobra [Q3+ C3 Leader, slippery, superior touch, electrical gun], Hawk [Q4+ C4 Champion, flying, hero, laser rifle], Kreep [Q4+ C3 Forester, phobia (humans), shotgun], and Backup [Q4+ C3 Doppelganger, steadfast, pistol]

The opposing forces. The mutant combo of a flying hero and a doppleganger made a tough team.

 I rolled for the next scenario on the campaign: Smoke on the Water. This is a meeting engagement where the opposing forces fight for a well or body of clean water. In this case, based on the props I had, it was an old water pumping station. Since one of the mutants had the Forester skill, I used a number of forest patches as obstacles (they slow movement and block line of sight across them.)

The strategy for the humans was to have Steve, Keith and Wanda spread and fire their weapons from a distance. Alex would act as a backup for Wanda, since she would be more exposed. The mutants would move in three groups: Kobra and Maniac advancing on the left, Kreep trying to launch an ambush from the forest on the right and Hawk and Backup (copying Hawk's abilities) would fly around, trying to find targets.

Game setup

In the first few turns both forces maneuvered to find a good spot in cover. The mutants were plagued with bad rolls and yet Kreep managed to get in position and fire at Alex, knocking him down with an aimed shot.


Keith entered the other patch of woods and forced Hawk to hit the ground to avoid getting burned. [I did not want to complicate things but I wonder if there was a risk of Keith setting fire to the entire patch of woods...] Before Alex could get up, Kreep fired again, but this time since Wanda was nearby, she was also hit -- and the shot killed both of them. [This caused a morale check for the rest of the humans.] Keith was horrified by the screams of his companions and ran away, leaving Steve alone.

Kreep takes aim at the knocked down Alex, also hitting Wanda!

Steve managed to flee the battlefield before the other mutants could get him. He and Keith returned to their settlement and reported the dangerous gang of flying and ambushing mutants in the area of the old pump station. There was some gossip on the settlement about how Steve had survived two fights with mutants, while others had died. Still, others saw bravery in his actions, and that is how he got Marcie [Q3+ C2 Slippery, laser pistol, SMG] and Roland [Q3+ C2 Sharpshooter, assault rifle, sonic grenade] to join his group.

Conclusion
This is the fourth game of the campaign, and now the humans have two victories and two defeats. This was a dreadful setup to fight in. I guess I really stacked the odds against me with the forest patches, since most of the mutants could ignore them, thus having an advantage in numbers and mobility.