Capitol Alpha Force
by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock
03 Jul 1996

The Mutant Chronicles RPG sourcebooks are full of all sorts of character archetypes that I think would be useful in a number of Warzone scenarios. Thankfully, the "custom units" rules and a number of Heroic Abilities with given points costs make it possible to simulate a number of them easily enough.

However, I thought that one particular force -- Alpha Force -- would be particularly interesting in an urban setting, perhaps in a scenario against a Secret Kohort of Heretics of Algeroth. I wouldn't know where to start with the Heretics for now, but here's my attempt at coming up with rules for Alpha Force, sticking as close to the existing rules as I can manage.

Alpha Force

Alpha Force is Capitol's elite anti-terrorist special forces unit. There is a great deal of secrecy around the members of this unit, who conceal their identities with gas masks with rebreathers which give them a somewhat insectoid look. They wear a streamlined, pitch-black version of Tortoise armor which allows them the mobility they need for their work. Around their utility belts are a number of gadgets and grapples useful for scaling sheer surfaces and otherwise navigating the urban jungle. They tend toward short-range weapons such as the Punisher. Aside from their masks and black armor, they can also be identified by their tendency to wear large, thick gauntlets (for grasping climbing ropes) and for a black letter "A" on a white or grey background on the right shoulderpad.

Alpha Force uses the normal Special Forces profile.

Increase the cost of all Alpha Force soldiers by 8 points.

Special Rules: They have Commando Training, Stealth and Scaling special abilities.

Alpha Force is trained to be able to find new ways to enter buildings, often involving scaling the sides of walls by means of grappling guns, suction cups, magnetic pads or climbing claws. Their Scaling ability (combined with their many gadgets) allows them to move up any vertical surface at their normal MV rate. They may not, however, end their turn in mid-air -- the model must end the turn on solid footing. A wall surface is not necessarily required to climb -- It is possible to climb from one level to another so long as the model is directly below the edge of the surface it is climbing to. It can't just throw a grappling hook into the open air!
This ability also allows Alpha Forces to travel horizontally across gaps, usually from building to building. They may move their normal MV rate across any gap or chasm or pit, so long as they end their turn on solid footing.

Equpment: Alpha Force soldiers are typically armed with Punisher Combos. One Alpha Force soldier may replace his Punisher Combo with a Gehenna Puker. Alpha Force soldiers always wear Gas Masks (cost: 2 points) not only as protection against biological and chemical agents, but as a means of protecting their identities.

Structure: Alpha Force is organized into squads of 3 to 5 Troopers with 1 Sergeant.

Alpha Force Captains are individual models. They may use any weapons from the Capitol or General Armory lists.

Representing these models shouldn't be TOO hard of a kitbash job. You might just use the Capitol Sergeant with the baseball cap and Chainripper-and-Bolter combo, and decide to arm your troopers a bit differently, and add a bit of putty to the face to give the figure something resembling a gas mask with goggles. (I sort of cheated. I made a "generic" Capitol trooper body with some alternate arms and heads, and sculpted a head with a gas mask on it and the baseball cap to use for Alpha Force. I sort of doubt that HHG will get around to an official Alpha Force miniature soon. Duro epoxy putty and a bit of wire can do wonders!)

I'm not sure what to do about the Gehenna Puker -- I made my own. It's not all THAT complex of a shape to make out of putty. To make those cables on the side, I got some wire and then wrapped some thinner hobby wire around it in tight spirals. The result looks much like the tubing on so many devices and creatures in the Mutant Chronicles universe, and is easy enough to fix in place with a little bit of putty. While Gehenna Pukers just don't seem the same unless you paint them red, I figured that given Alpha Force's nature, their version would probably be done in pitch black (easy to paint) or at the very LEAST a gunmetal or urban camo scheme finish.

By way of explaining my choices for special abilities, I should note that Commando Training has no points cost given under Heroic Abilities. Neither does Stealth, but at least "Scout" is equivalent. I arbitrarily picked 3 points for Commando Training -- Perhaps this ability is worth more than that, but close combat troops take such a pounding in our battles that I figured that it's safe enough. For the price of the "Scaling" ability, I reasoned that this is remotely akin to "Jungle Training", in a sense, allowing for better maneuvering in urban areas, though it still doesn't hold a match to having flight ability or the Shadow Walker/Callistonian Intruder/Deathbringer ability to simply ignore terrain penalties altogether!

As for my choice of heavy weapon -- Well, since I've made my own Gehenna Puker, I've naturally been more inclined to kitbash more models wielding one. =) But also I figure that the Gehenna Puker would be ideal for a heavy weapon to be used in close combat situations. After all, it does have a relatively short range, but it is especially valuable for its ability to bypass a lot of cover that might be found in ruined buildings. (Granted, my heavy weapons guys usually get picked off before I can get close enough to prove this notion. =P )

I do think that this unit would have uses in non-urban settings as well, since Capitol is noticeably deficient in competent close-combat troops. (Sunset Strikers don't quite count, in my book, given that they don't have Commando Training or Stealth, and they cripple themselves by using Ceremonial Blades rather than Punisher SSs or Violators.)

Anyway, this is all home-made and certainly not official, so it's of questionable value, but I thought I'd post it anyway in case it might be of interest to any Warzoners out there. =)

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