Black Ops: Tactical Espionage Wargaming (Osprey Wargames)

Black Ops is a skirmish wargame of tactical espionage combat that recreates the tension and excitement of modern action-thrillers such as the Bond and Bourne films. The fast-play rules keep all the players in the thick of the action, while the mission generator provides a wide range of options for scenarios - from stealthy extraction or surveillance missions to more overt raids and assaults. Stealth, combat, and technical expertise all have a role to play, and players may recruit a number of different operative types - spies, mercenaries, criminals, hackers, special forces, and many more - to recruit the best possible team for the job. Players may also choose to join a faction - powerful organizations, intelligence agencies, criminal syndicates, militaries, or rebel groups, each with a stake in international affairs. By doing so, their team may receive certain benefits, but may also find itself limited at a crucial time. With the variety offered by the characters, factions, and scenarios, no two games of Black Ops should ever be the same! Black Ops is a skirmish wargame of tactical espionage combat for two or more players. It recreates on the tabletop the tension and excitement of modern action-thrillers such as the Bond and Bourne films, The Unit or Burn Notice TV shows, and the Splinter Cell and Modern Warfare series of video games. The fast-play rules use regular 6-sided dice and a card-driven activation system to keep all players in the thick of the action, while the mission generator provides a wide range of options for scenarios, from stealthy extraction or surveillance missions to more overt raids or assassinations. Stealth, combat and technical expertise all have a role to play, and players may select from a number of different character types - spies, mercenaries, criminals, hackers, special forces and many more - to recruit the best possible team for the job. Players may also choose to join a faction - powerful organizations, intelligence agencies, criminal syndicates, militaries or rebel groups, each with a stake in international affairs. By doing so, their team may receive certain benefits, but may also find itself limited at a crucial time. With the variety offered by the characters, factions and scenarios, no two games of Black Ops should ever be the same! Although the standard Black Ops setting is an ultra-modern world just a hair removed from our own, the rules are versatile and adaptable enough to suit OSS operations behind Nazi lines, Cold War-era infiltration missions in Moscow or Berlin, or sabotage runs against a rival corporation's interests in a cyberpunk dystopia, and the rulebook will include a guide to running games in such settings. Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 FOREWORD......Page 6 INTRODUCTION......Page 7 Basic Principles......Page 8 The Game Turn......Page 11 Reserve......Page 12 Dividing Fire......Page 13 Taking the Shot......Page 14 Aiming, Reserve and Suppression......Page 15 Grenade Launchers and Explosives......Page 16 CLOSE QUARTER COMBAT......Page 18 SAVES......Page 20 Cover......Page 21 Melee Weapons......Page 22 Military Weapons......Page 23 Heavy Weapons......Page 24 Blinds......Page 25 Observation Tests......Page 26 Break Tests......Page 27 Walls......Page 28 Darkness......Page 29 The Stealth Mission......Page 30 Noise......Page 31 Guards......Page 32 Reinforcements......Page 34 Setting Up a Scenario......Page 35 Standard Missions......Page 36 Stealth Missions......Page 37 The Boards......Page 40 Campaign Missions......Page 44 Civilians......Page 46 Neutrals......Page 47 Vehicles......Page 48 FACTIONS......Page 51 Militia......Page 52 Conscripts......Page 54 Professionals......Page 55 Special Forces......Page 57 Mercenaries......Page 58 Ninja......Page 59 Fanatics......Page 60 Intelligence Agencies......Page 61 Specialists......Page 62 POINTS COSTS......Page 63 Five Minutes From Now......Page 65 Featuring stealthy extraction and surveillance missions to overt raids and assaults, this volume offers a wargame of tactical espionage combat that recreates the tension and excitement.