Encounter at Lake Superior

Always good to have more battle reports!

One gun had a 40" range, the others 30" The rules are as follows:
River Gunboats

America’s navigable rivers played as big a role in the Great Martian War as they did during the Civil War. In early 20th Century America if you needed to send something over a long distance you could travel by rail or by riverboat. Roads were few and poor and motor vehicles unreliable.

Railroads were the most commonly used means of transport, but if Martians were nearby they were terribly vulnerable to destruction. Rivers, on the other hand, could not be destroyed by Martian heat rays and many important battles and campaigns were fought along or near rivers.

The Americans transported troops, equipment, and supplies whenever possible by river. Thousands of tugs and barges plied the waterways. And these needed to be protected. So the navy and the army built hundreds of small gunboats to both protect shipping and to use as mobile artillery platforms to support the ground armies. Many of these were hastily converted civilian craft, but as time went by, purpose-built armored gunboats became a common sight on the rivers.

One of the most common types was the Olmsted class of gunboats. These were built in a dozen small shipyards along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio Rivers, as well as on the Great Lakes. They were usually named after the small towns along those waterways.

Olmsted class gunboats were about a hundred feet long, twenty feet wide and only drew eight to ten feet of water, allowing them to move far up some of the rivers. Their upper works were entirely sheathed in metal to render them as fire proof as possible. Vital spots had thicker armor making them comparable to many steam tanks in their protection. They could make 12-15 knots and were very maneuverable. While their low freeboard made them unsuitable for use on the open ocean, they were well adapted to the rivers. Basic armament was one 6” gun in a rotating turret and four 4” guns in the central casement. Additional machine guns could be mounted in several locations. The crew compliment was typically around 50 although additional men were sometimes carried.

Rules for Gunboats

The rules for using gunboats in All Quiet are very simple.

Movement

The standard movement rate is 8” and the ship must move forward. Gunboats can turn up to 90 degrees during each move. They can halt in place if they wish or move up to their limit. That’s it! Use your common sense!

Combat

Treat gunboats like a tank with multiple guns. Each gun which has a clear line to a target may fire.

Weapons Range Power

6” Gun 40” +3

4” Gun 30” +2

Machine Gun 20” +1 (ROF 3)

Defense

Gunboats have an armor factor of 8. Resolve attacks as normal. Any hits which penetrate the armor are then rolled on the damage table. Hit against the ship’s armor factor reduce it by one with each hit. If the armor value reaches zero the ship sinks.
Gunboats are resistant to gas and dust attacks. If hit by gas or dust, the gunboat will only take 1 armor hit, and be temporarily disabled. It will continue to move in it’s current direction and speed, but cannot shoot.

Damage Table (D10)

1-6 - One armor hit. Reduce the ship’s armor value by one.

7 – Gun hit. Randomly select one of the ship’s operational guns. This is knocked out and may not fire again during the game. Reduce Armor by one.

8 – Engine hit. The ship loses engine power. If it is on a river, determine the direction of the current and roll a D5. This is the speed of the flow in inches per turn. The ship moves that far in each subsequent turn. Reduce armor by one.

9 – A serious hit punctures the hull below the waterline. Roll D10 and apply that many armor hits. If the armor value reaches zero or less, the ship sinks.

10 – Kaboom! The enemy fire reaches the gunboat’s magazine and the ship is destroyed in a fiery explosion.

Repairs

Unlike tanks, ships have repair personnel right on board with the tools and skills to effect repairs. At the end of each turn the ship may attempt to repair ONE thing. Roll a D10 and see if you succeed.

Thing to Repair Roll to Succeed

1 Armor Hit 6+

1 Gun 8+

Engine Hit 9+

Full disclosure, the gunboat and rules are from Scott Washburn, and they, and other fine products can be found at www.paperterrain.com/