Players: 2 – 6* (*not including Pirate faction player – scenario designed primarily for the facilitator to play as the pirate team)
Turn Limit: 7
Map: Malacca Strait
Level of Difficulty: High
Scenario Developer: Ian Brown (ian.t.brown03@gmail.com)
General Situation:
Once the worst of Taal’s eruption subsided, commercial shipping groups cautiously returned to the straits of Malacca and Singapore to prevent a regional catastrophe from becoming a global economic collapse. These lanes have also been filled with ships from governments, non governmental organizations, and private companies carrying vital supplies for humanitarian relief across the SCS.
However, while most of the world sees a crisis, others see an opportunity. With tsunamis having disrupted coastal communities and government control in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, local criminal gangs and terrorist groups have banded together in an alliance of convenience to raid these shipping lanes. Left unchallenged, this campaign of piracy threatens both the humanitarian relief efforts across the SCS, and an already-fragile world economy.
The American and Chinese governments have both pledged a counter-piracy surge aimed at keeping these fringe groups from making the regional tragedy even worse. American and PRC forces have received permission to conduct operations from the territory of Singapore and Indonesia respectively. Furthermore, Malaysia and Indonesia will allow a small number of additional American and Chinese units to maneuver in their territory to more effectively combat the pirates. Washington and Beijing are also conscious that with the world’s eyes watching them, a successful counter-piracy campaign—or at least the public narrative of one—could do much to increase their future influence in the region, with the contingent military benefits and force positioning that such influence provides.
Order of Battle:
USMC/USN:
Task Force Houston
Task Force Miami
Task Force Chicago
The only units the USMC players may allocate to these task forces are those not assigned to the “Stepping on Scorpions” HADR Luzon scenario. The USMC players may distribute such units across the three task forces as they see fit.
The USMC players may deploy ground units to: O16, P16, P17, or Q16.
The USMC players may deploy naval units to: N17, O16, O17, P17, Q16, R17, or the USN naval deployment zone (see scenario deployment map).
Command Points/JCCs: see “special rules and considerations.”
The USMC team may not select any JCCs with the strategic cyber trait. They may still select tactical cyber JCCs if desired.
The USMC team may select the “Assault Support,” “Host Nation Coast Guard,” “Visit, Board, Search and Seizure,” and/or “SOF Takedown” JCCs for this scenario if desired.
PLANMC:
Task Force Guangzhou
Task Force Tianjin
Task Force Nanjing
The only units the PLANMC players may allocate to these task forces are those not assigned to the “Stepping on Scorpions” HADR Luzon scenario. The PLANMC players may distribute such units across the three task forces as they see fit.
The PLANMC players may deploy ground units to: P18, P19, Q17, Q18, R17, R18, or R19.
The PLANMC players may deploy naval units to: P18, P19, Q17, Q18, R17, R18, or the PLAN deployment zone (see scenario deployment map).
Command Points/JCCs: see “special rules and considerations.”
The PLANMC team may not select any JCCs with the strategic cyber trait. They may still select tactical cyber JCCs if desired.
The PLANMC team may select the “Assault Support,” “Visit, Board, Search and Seizure,” and/or “SOF Takedown” JCC for this scenario if desired.
Pirates:
Mother ship group 1
Mother ship group 2
Mother ship group 3
The Pirate player must place one mother ship each in Pirate deployment zones 1, 2, and 3 (see scenario deployment map). Reavers must initially be deployed within 7 hexes of a mother ship.
The Pirate player may deploy their decoy units in any distribution across Pirate deployment zones as they see fit. Decoys must initially be deployed within 7 hexes of a mother ship.
The Pirate player begins the scenario with 2 Weaponized Narco-Submarines, as described on the associated Violent Non-State Actor Capability Card. The Pirate player may deploy these submarines in any of the Pirate deployment zones.
Violent Non-State Actor Capability Cards (VCCs): for this scenario, the Pirates use these VCCs in addition to the “Weaponized Narco-Submarines:”
Social Media Boosting, Suicide Bomb, Suicide Drones (Maritime), Booby Traps, Cruise Missile, Ballistic Missile
Deployment Sequence: the USMC and PLANMC teams must deploy their forces first. Following their set-up, the Pirate player will deploy their units per the guidance laid out above.
Objectives:
Both the USMC and PLANMC teams seek to maximize their gain of local influence through successful counter-piracy operations. Any net positive gain of local influence carries forward to the final scenario.
Conversely, the Pirate player seeks to detract from the local influence of both the USMC and PLANMC teams by conducting successful piracy actions, as well as using direct violence against units of those players as opportunities present.
In this scenario, “local influence” is represented by black cubes.
Certain pirate actions collectively detract from the influence of both the USMC and PLANMC teams, as such successes make those players appear ineffective in countering the pirate threat. However other actions detract from the influence of only one side, as that negative impact directly results from that side’s individual actions.
As such, the Pirate player should retain 3 separate influence “pools” to effectively track the impacts of negative influence on the USMC, PLANMC, or both.
The chart below denotes how each team can gain local influence, and which actions give the Pirate player general local influence as opposed to local influence against only one player:
The scenario ends immediately if, prior to the end of turn 7, all Pirate reavers, mother ships, and narco-submarines are destroyed. Otherwise, the scenario ends at the end of turn 7.
Unit Losses: as delineated in the “Taal’s Fury” master campaign guide and “Stepping on Scorpions” HADR Luzon scenario, any USMC or PLANMC units destroyed in this scenario are permanently removed from the campaign and may not be redeployed in the final scenario. Both teams must accurately track destroyed units to carry the results forward into proper deployments in the final scenario, “Taal’s Wrath.”
The final Influence outcome is determined thusly:
The facilitator/Pirate faction player will first deduct their tally of local influence black cubes in the general pool from both local influence pools gained by the USMC and PLANMC players.
The Pirate player then further deducts any cubes in their USMC and PLANMC specific influence pools from the USMC and PLANMC player pools respectively.
The USMC and PLANMC players will then annotate their tally of the cubes remaining in their local influence pools (if any). Local influence tallies are carried forward on the maps in which they are earned—players must accurately annotate and separate their tallies from “Black Flags Over Singapore” and “Stepping On Scorpions” to properly set conditions for “Taal’s Wrath.”
Facilitator Notes:
This scenario includes a unique Event Card—“Volcanic Eruption”—which requires a die roll at the start of each turn to determine the environmental conditions and associated constraints. This Event Card remains in effect for the duration of the scenario.
This scenario’s intent is that a facilitator plays the Pirate faction to maximize student learning gained by playing the full spectrum of capabilities for the USMC and PLANMC teams. The facilitator may allow students to play the Pirate team as desired.
The Pirate mechanics are described in a separate section below.
Special Rules and Considerations:
The “Civilian Shipping,” “Mission Kills,” and “Volcanic Eruption” Event Cards are in effect for the duration of the scenario.
Any influence penalties for the USMC or PLANMC player from “Civilian Shipping” go into the Pirate player’s influence pool for that team.
The Pirate player does not need to make any collateral damage rolls under “Civilian Shipping” for any of their LRS actions.
The Influence Meter is not in play for this scenario.
The USMC and PLANMC teams may maneuver up to 3 ground units, outside of their respective starting positions, in the territory of Malaysia and Indonesia. All other ground units must remain on one of their initial deployment hexes.
Rules of Engagement: the USMC and PLANMC teams may not directly target each other’s units (however, the possibility exists for accidental damage—this is described below in “Deconflicting Fires”). The USMC and PLANMC teams may target Pirate units at any time.
The Tactical Network starting JCCs for each side begin the scenario with 2 cubes on their respective cards. This represents the degraded communications conditions caused by physical destruction from the volcano’s eruption and atmospheric interference from airborne debris.
The Pirate player always has initiative in this scenario. At the start of the scenario, the USMC and PLANMC players will each roll one die to see who gets initiative following the Pirate turn—the team with the higher roll wins initiative. In this scenario, turn order will not change following this initial determination of initiative.
Each USMC and PLANMC task force has the standard 3 actions per task force, per turn. However, the Pirate player has 4 actions per mother ship group, per turn.
The USMC and PLANMC players each have 25 Command Points to select JCCs at the start of the scenario. On turns 3 and 5, each get an additional 8 Command Points to select additional JCCs. This scenario also has additional JCC considerations:
Per the “Taal’s Fury” master campaign guide, JCCs assigned to support operations for the “Stepping on Scorpions” HADR Luzon scenario are considered unavailable and out of play for this scenario, and vice versa. Players must carefully consider which JCCs they believe will support their unique objectives in each scenario.
The USMC and PLANMC teams have two unique JCCs available to them in this scenario: “Visit, Board, Search and Seizure,” and “SOF Takedown.” These JCCs have variable Command Point costs as described on each card.
NOTE: as any SOF JCCs allowing the deployment of a “marker” allocated to the “Stepping on Scorpions” HADR Luzon scenario are “out of play,” this limits the maximum capability available for the “SOF Takedown” JCC.
Naval Gunfire: all regular naval units (not naval units deployed via JCC) may target Pirate units with naval gunfire. Naval gunfire has a range of 1 hex, infinite supply (no more than 4 dice/salvo), and causes a hit on 1 – 12. Naval gunfire does not trigger the collateral damage check for the “Civilian Shipping” Event Card.
CIWS Interceptions: if a USN or PLAN ship runs out of its IAMD supply, it may continue to defend itself with organic Close-In Weapons Systems (CIWS) in subsequent LRS attacks directed against it. CIWS interceptions roll a success on 1 – 5 and have infinite supply (maximum of 4 die rolls/interception attempt).
Deconflicting Fires: if a USN or PLAN ship targets a Pirate unit for a LRS (not a naval gunfire attack) in a hex adjacent to a naval unit on the other side, they must ask the other player for permission to fire in close proximity to that unit. If the defending player says “no:” in addition to rolling for civilian collateral damage, that roll for the attacking player also risks hitting the opposing player’s naval unit. A “Civilian Shipping” Event Card roll of 19-20 will also cause a loss of 1 HP to the opposing player’s naval unit.
Protective Fires: to support their own nation’s narrative of providing protection for civilian ships, the USMC and PLANMC players may both attempt to intercept an LRS by the opposing player against a Pirate unit with any eligible IAMD asset within range of the target. Any single successful interception under these conditions gains the intercepting player 1 cube of “local influence.”