Star Wars: Chain of Command - Invasion of Ryloth PSC - Episode 1

This is the first scenario in the "Defence of Ryloth" campaign for Star Wars: Chain of Command. 

The Clone War has arrived on Ryloth and the Separatist forces are on the move! Their plan is to rapidly advance through the countryside and strike at the heart of Ryloth: Lessu City. The modest Clone Garrison led by Jedi General Ima-Gun Di has its hands full trying to slow the Separatist advance long enough for the Republic to send reinforcements.

Today a small band of local farmers and tradesmen led by Cham Syndulla and his right-hand man Gobi Glie have assembled at a small farmstead along the Separatist's attack route. Their aim is to conduct a delaying action in order to give their families and the Clone Garrison more time to prepare for the siege of Lessu. 

In order for either side to be victorious they must reduce the opponent's morale to 0 or hold the Twi'lek's center Jump-Off Point at the end of the final countdown. Morale for both sides has begun at 9.

The Twi'lek plan is to hold the outer walls of the village for as long as possible, with a fallback point at the second line of walls within the village itself. With Jump-Off Points in the forest to the north, and at the edge of the village to the south it gives the Twi'leks some flexibility to launch a flanking or counterattack depending on how the Separatists commit their forces.

The Twi'leks begin the game with the initiative but elect to remain hidden and wait for the Separatists to play their hand. The Separatists come out strong with a double phase and deploy their AAT support along the main route, and a B1 and a B2 section in the forest to the north.

The string of 6'es continues into the next phase as the Droids roll a 66663, triggering another Droid phase and a random event! More B1s enter the field to support the AAT. 

It's unclear if the Twi'leks set the fire themselves as a distraction or if an errant blaster shot set the fields ablaze but the crop fields catch fire and begin pouring off thick smoke in a southeasterly direction. 

The quadruple six also triggers the end of the first turn. This puts early pressure on the Droids, as the Twi'leks are able to initiate the final countdown if they hold the Objective at the end of the second turn.

The OOM droid enters the battlefield to supervise the northern offensive.

The phase passes over to the Twi'leks who roll a staggering 55551, giving them enough Chain of Command points to end the second turn. Soon they'll begin the final countdown, the Droid player is feeling the pressure.

While the OOM's squads and the AAT press forward its escort B1s attempt to move at double time but are concerned about what awaits them in the smoke and elect to stay near to the AAT instead.

Smoke continues billowing off the field, creating a massive smokescreen where the Twi'leks had intended to mount their defense.

With Scouts reporting that the Droids will soon be emerging from the woods, the first squad of Twi'leks finally elects to reveal themselves. Setting up an overwatch at the village's inner wall. Cham Syndulla's trusty lieutenant Gobi Glie deploys in support of them.

With the Twi'lek defenders finally spotted, the AAT Commander presses forward to get a good angle of fire around the smoke.

But a Clone Trooper RPS Team lent to Syndulla by Captain Keeli springs a cunning ambush from the southern side of the fields! 

In a stunning coup, they strike a weak point in the AAT's armor and instantly destroy it. Droid morale plummets, Wat Tambor will be most displeased.

The AAT's escort Squad attempts to retaliate but the Clones shrug off the blaster fire and slip away unscathed at the end of the phase.

After this disaster, two more B1 squads deploy at the western side of the southern forest hoping to reinforce the offensive.

The Twi'leks roll a double phase but are content to keep banking Chain of Command points and wait for the Droids to continue their advance into their overwatch.

The B2s are happy to oblige and plow forward, stopping short at the edge of the forest. The Twi'leks pour blaster fire into them, but it isn't enough to penetrate their reinforced armor. They take only a single point of shock. It apparently was enough to spook the B1s however, who decide to halt their advance behind the more heavily armored B2s, much to their OOM commander's chagrin.

After initiating the Final Countdown Gobi Glie and his men continue laying into the B2s but are once again only able to come up with a single shock. The Droid player interrupts and pushes the B2s up towards the outer wall of the village. With 9 phases remaining before sudden death, they know they need to capture the objective soon.

In the next Droid phase the B2s continue their advance up to the outer wall of the village, but only one is in range of the Twi'lek resistance. Foiled by the shorter range of their TAL blasters.

A Twi'lek rifle team sees an opportunity to catch the B2s in the open, and launch an ambush from the northeastern wood line, but that sturdy B2 armor again blunts the incoming fire.

The rest of the squad deploys in the next phase and keep up the fire on the B2s. The Droids hit the dirt this time, sensing their luck may have run out.

Indeed, two B2s are finally felled, and they are also hit with three points of shock.

The B2s hastily reposition putting the thick smoke of the fire between them and their attackers but are unaware they've made a grave mistake.

Foreshadowing.

The Twi'leks roll a double phase with a 66544 and decide to launch their coup de grâce. Gobi Glie opens fire on the OOM-led B1s in the wood line. 

This keeps the pressure on them but only deals a point of shock.

And in the next phase the hammer falls. When the B2s repositioned, they failed to block the Twi'lek southern Jump-Off Point. So the Riders of Ryloth burst onto the field and immediately into a scrap with the B2s!

The B2's enhanced armor plating is no match for the gnashing teeth and ripping claws of the fearsome Blurrgs. They are smashed to pieces while their B1 compatriots look on in horror. A single Blurrg Rider is felled in the fighting, a small price to pay for freedom.

Energized by the charge of the Blurrg Riders, Gobi and his squad continue firing into the wood line hoping to take out the OOM droid but only find a single point of shock once again.

Cham Syndulla himself finally arrives on the battlefield and leads second squad, firing for effect with one team and laying down suppressive fire with the other on the B1s caught out in the open near the wreck of their AAT.

The Droids of the southern offensive double time their way towards the village but may arrive too late to make a difference.

The OOM lays down its own suppressive fire on Cham's team in the woods, intending to take some pressure off his troops making their way towards the objective.

With Cham engaging the enemy, Gobi attempts to lead his squad into the smoke to secure the objective from any last-minute Droid rushes. Only two phases remain until sudden death, and they know the end could come at any moment. Unsurprisingly, the Twi'leks are hesitant to enter the thick smoke and only slowly creep towards it.

Meanwhile the Riders of Ryloth fallback into the woods to lick their wounds and prepare for another strike.

The OOM Commander delivers an inspiring speech to his squad, urging them to sprint towards the objective. It falls on deaf audio receptors however, and his subordinates instead opt to crawl slowly towards it.

His two reserve squads press up to within striking distance however.

Cham continues to lay into the OOM's hesitant squad, this time striking down two of the poor B1s.

Gobi and crew have managed to get on point and lay in wait as the B1s of the southern offensive press up towards the outer perimeter of the village.

Before they can scramble over the walls and through the smoke, the B1s are horrified to hear a rumbling coming from the forest.

The Blurrgs have rallied and managed to charge just far enough to slam into the rear of the advancing B1s.

With the momentum from a ridiculously long charge, the Blurrgs destroy the B1s outright and Separatist morale plummets from 6 to 3.

With the writing on the wall, the vanguard Droid Commander calls a full retreat to regroup for another attempt. Wat Tambor will be very displeased indeed. Having lost 8 B2s and 21 B1s in exchange for a significant delay and only one Blurrg rider.

Cham Syndulla congratulates his brave men on their stunning victory, and they decide to pull back to the next line of defense. Hopefully they've bought enough time.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope you had as much fun reading this battle report as I had making it. I've practiced this scenario a few times, and this was the most one-sided battle by far. I expected the AAT to cause way more trouble for the Twi'leks. Losing it and two turns so quickly really turned the game against the Droids early. Normally they are able to amass their troops for a little while before attempting to move on the objective, but time really felt like an enemy this time.

I'd like to thank Gary Francis, the author of this "Pint Sized Campaign" as well as Jeremy Sadler who created and maintains this Star Wars mod for Chain of Command. If you're interested in learning how to play the game, check out his Facebook Group here!