"Ogre: 2300"

"Ogre: 2300", © 1988, 1998-2005 by Lester W. Smith and Frank Chadwick, originally appeared in _Challenge_ #34 (pages 39-40, 63), and is reproduced here with the authors' permission.
Text-entry & HTML: Steve C.

• Introduction
• Using Ogre/GEV Rules in 2300 AD
  • Weapons
  • Movement
  • Unit Types
    • 2300 AD Vehicle Ratings Table
  • The Conversion System
    • Defense
    • Movement
    • Attack
    • Range
  • Rules Modifications
• 2300 AD Units in Ogre

The Kafer hovertank commander, "Maker of Orphans," kicked the back of the driver's head visciously to signal for more speed. The commander's Deathsled was leading an entire armor battalion in a drive on the last human defenders on the planet. Once it crossed this ridge, the green valley beyond would become a scene of nightmare as missiles and explosive rounds tore into the handful of human tanks remaining. The commander could feel its pulse quickening at the thought of the slaughter to come. It would be so enjoyable to watch enemy bodies burning as Kafer weapons destroyrd human vehicles.

There were just a few more meters to go. As the hovertank approached the ridge line, the commander's beamer pointed toward a peaceful summer sky. A scattering of clouds hung high overhead. The hovertank's nose crested the ridge and the vehicle began its downward swing. Suddenly it veered to the left and slid to a stop. "Maker of Orphans" started to kick the driver again, but forgot that impulse as something more important caught its attention.

Coming up the slope toward it was the largest ground vehicle it had ever seen. The thing was at least 25 meters long and nearly 15 meters wide, all heavily plated with armor. Out of the front, a sensor tower rose fully 15 meters, and the whole vehicle was bristling with guns and missiles. It was a tank, but what a tank! Its four sets of tracks crushed trees as it advanced.

"Maker of Orphans" was jolted out of its reverie as two of the missile launchers began to swing toward the Deathsled. It kicked the driver and cursed it, trying to get the hovertank moving again, but the driver responded too slowly. The missiles screamed through the air, and the Deathsled disappeared in an eruption of metal, dirt, and flame. Greasy black smoke rose toward the summer sky, like an omen as the monster tank continued up the slope toward the remaining Kafer forces.

Has your player character ever been assigned to fight what seemed to be a hopeless battle against hordes of Kafers? At such a time, have you ever wished that you had an Ogre to send against those bloodthirsty aliens? Well here is your chance to discover just how Crawlers, Bugbusses, and Deathsleds would compare to one fully armed Ogre.

As a referee, have you ever wished for a way to handle major battles in 2300 AD? This article also gives ratings for human vehicles and infantry, so that you can use the Ogre and GEV rules to run such battles. The system we used for such conversions is also included so that you can rate new vehicles as they are published. We have included a set of counters in this magazine as well, to represent vehicles and infantry from 2300 AD. You will find these counters on the other end of the response card insert. (Vehicles in this article come from the 2300 AD role-playing game and Aurore Sourcebook.)

The main thing needed to run 2300 AD battles using Ogre/GEV rules is converted statistics for 2300 AD vehicles and infantry. The table below lists each such unit with its defense strength, its movement rating, its main weapon's combat factor and range, in some cases the statistics for a secondary weapon or bank of missiles, and a unit type designation.

Some of the weapons are listed with a multiplier. If the multiplier precedes the weapon's damage and range ratings, it means that there are that many weapons on the vehicle. For example, the CC-21 has a secondary weapon listing of 3 X 3/2, meaning that it has three secondary guns with a damage rating of 3 and a range of 2. Each of these guns can fire once per turn.

In the case of missiles, the multiplier follows the missile's damage and range ratings. The multiplier indicates how many missiles a vehicle has. For example, the Kafer Deathsled has two missiles with a combat factor of eight and a range of five hexes. (A vehicle can fire any or all of its missiles in one Ogre/GEV turn.)

Also, some weapons are listed with an attack factor of 0. Singly, these weapons can only be used against infantry, and are then considered to have an attack factor of 1. Weapons with an attack factor of 0 can also combine their attacks, just as other weapons. When combining such attacks, consider each weapon with an attack factor of 0 to have an attack value of 0.5, rounding the final total down. For example, three KZ-7 combat walkers firing all of their weapons together at one target would have a total attack factor of 4 (three main weapons with an attack factor of 1, plus three secondary weapons with an attack factor of 0, equals a total attack factor of 4.5, rounded down to 4).

There are also a couple of special notations for movement ratings. The first is that hovercraft have their total movement rating listed as two separate numbers. The first number is their movement during the normal movement phase; the second number is their movement during the GEV bonus movement phase. The other special notation for movement ratings is a number enclosed in parentheses. This indicates that the unit moves that distance every other turn.

The unit type designation listed at the right of the table below is not intended to be a definition of what capabilities a unit has. Instead, it is an artificial designation that indicates how Ogre/GEV terrain rules affect the unit and how many infantry or armor points the unit shoul cost when setting up scenarios.

* Although Kafer infantry moves only one hex every other turn, it may always move one hex to overrun an enemy unit.
** Terrain affects combat walkers as if they were light tanks, but they are purchased as if they were one squad of infantry.

As future vehicles are published in the 2300 AD line, you may wish to convert them to Ogre/GEV statistics as well. To do so, you will need the following information.

Defense: A unit's defense rating equals its frontal armor divided by 20, rounded up. But results of 0 to 0.3 become a 1; results of 0.31 to to 2 become a 2; and infantry and combat walkers gain a bonus of 1 to their ratings, due to the fact that their smaller size makes them more difficult to target (especially as they can use available cover more easily than vehicles).

Movement: A vehicle's movement rate equals its cruising speed times 0.044. A combat walker's movement equals its top movement divided by 40, with fractions rounded to the nearest whole number. An infantry unit's movement rate equals its top combat movement divided by 150, rounded to the nearest one-half (but we gave the Kafers a bonus when overrunning an enemy).

Movement rating was calculated from these values rather simply, dividing four minutes worth of combat movement by 1500 meters (the size of an Ogre hex), because the four-minute Ogre/GEV combat turns can be expected to represent a higher movement to combat ratio than the 30-second turns of 2300 AD. Combat walkers were calculated differently from infantry to represent the fact that they do not suffer from fatigue as infantry does.

Attack: A unit's attack value is equal to its weapon's DP value divided by 20. All values are rounded to the nearest whole number. Remember that an explosive has a DPV equal to its EP, and a tamped explosive has a DPV equal to four times its EP. Infantry attack values are calculated from the most effective single-person weapons available - in the case of human infantry, this was judged to be the Quinn-Darlan Mk 2-A2 PGMP; in the case of Kafer infantry, the "flashlight" laser was used.

Range: Gun ranges are calculated from long range divided by 1500. Missile ranges are equal to a missile's maximum range divided by 1500. All results are rounded off to the nearest whole number.

When using the Ogre/GEV rules to run mass combat in 2300 AD, there are two modifications to be made. The first has been mentioned above, concerning weapons with an attack factor of 0. The second is that many armor units have secondary weapons and/or missiles, as wellas their main weapons. Only the statistics for the primary weapons are printed on a unit's counter. If the unit has a secondary weapon, it is indicated by an "s" in the counter's lower right hand corner. If the unit carries missiles, this is indicated by an "m" in the lower left hand corner of the counter. Statistics for these weapons will have to be read off of the table above when the weapons are being used, and a record should be kept of missiles fired by each unit, much as such records would be kept for an Ogre. To facilitate the identification of which units have used missiles, the counters are numbered next to the unit name.

With the unit ratings in the table above, just as Ogre/GEV rules can be used to run 2300 AD battles, 2300 AD units can also be used in Ogre/GEV battles. There are a few recommendations to be followed, however.

The first is not to use 2300 AD infantry in Ogre/GEV battles. Ogre/GEV infantry can run a mile every two minutes in shrapnel and radiation-protective suits while firing weapons. Infantry in 2300 AD wear lighter armor, are more dependent upon available cover, and are slower. Firepower is equivalent, but 2300 AD infantry cannot run two-minute miles.

Second, when designing scenarios, count 2300 AD vehicles as double to determine unit costs. 2300 AD vehicles are tougher than their counterparts in Ogre/GEV, and 2300 AD missiles have longer ranges and do more damage.

Finally, do not keep track of missiles used by 2300 AD armor units during such battles. Treat them as Ogre/GEV missile tanks, having effectively unlimited missiles available.

Lester W. Smith and Frank Chadwick