NATO, Nukes & Nazis Vassal module read me Game Design by Ty Bomba & Joe Miranda Vassal Module by Chris H Hansen As there are several extra things in this module, I decided to create this readme to help explain the layout and functionality. Menu Bar Set-up – Since NATO, Nukes & Nazis (NNN) scenarios don’t start with units in pre-set positions on the map, I created this window with holding boxes for the various set-up areas that are used. When starting a new scenario this is where both players will go to grab their units and start setting them up on the map. The labels below the boxes indicate the set-up areas/countries. Neutrals have their own set-up window. Neutrals – I gave the neutral countries a different set-up area as they will have units that enter into play depending on when they enter the war. Also, it is important to note that neutral country units must have their side affiliation chosen via the units right-click menus in order for them to have full functionality. This can be done quickly on this chart before deployment by selecting all the units and the accessing the right-click menu on one of the selected units and choosing either NATO or Nazi as the controlling side. This will then set all the units to that side. NATO – This button opens up a window to choose between both the NATO Holding Box and the NATO Air Holding Box. NATO Holding Box – This window displays the NATO reinforcement schedule, units held off map until needed, the Replacement area, Nukes and Partisans, as well as optional and variant units depending on scenario and player choice. Notes were given on the D-Day ’94 units as reminders on how to bring those units into play in other scenarios. The End of the Iron Dream Russian units is of course only available if playing David Lamb’s variant Scenario VII. The France/Italy transit box is also located here at the bottom. NATO Air Holding Box – This displays the holding boxes used by the NATO player’s air units. It is divided just as it is in the board game. Note it the upper right of this screen is a counter displaying the turn’s current weather as a reminder. The weather can be changed by right-clicking on the weather counter and selecting the appropriate weather from the menu. Air Raids window – This button brings up a display area where either player can place air holding box raiders, or their defenders. This was done to allow the players to both keep their air holding boxes secret as per the Intelligence rules, and to just have an area to place these units rather than just somewhere on the map board. Nazi – This button works the same as the NATO button above, and opens a choice between both the Nazi Holding Box and the Nazi Air Holding Box. Nazi Holding Box – Same idea here as for NATO, but in addition it also contains the East Holding Box as well as the variant units that were added to the game via Command magazines #9 and 10. There is also a stack here for the New Order markers, and will randomly pull one of the New Order Markers off the top of the deck for placement on the map. Note that New Order Markers are set to Do Not Stack, and you must use shift-click on the marker in order to select it again to move or interact with it once it has been placed. Nazi Air Holding Box – This is identical to the NATO Air Holding Box, only for the Nazi air units. OOS – This displays a window where units are placed that are permanently eliminated due to failing their supply survival check from turn M+9 onward as per rules section 13.11. Politics – This is another button that brings up a window allowing you to choose from several windows dealing with politics in the game, detailed as follows: Political Index – This brings up a small window where the players keep track of the current political index value. Pre-Game Events – This is a window detailing the Pre-Game Events that are rolled for when playing certain scenarios. On the left side there are 20 markers that are numbered and correspond to the events listed to the right. These can be accessed via their right-click menus to allow them to be activated, as well as some other choices depending on the event. This allows the players to roll for the events using the event table and then mark which ones are active as they go along. It also stands as a reminder for the players during play of which events are active. Scenario Political Events – There are selections here for each of the scenarios that use political events. Just choose the one for the scenario being played to bring up its associated event table. Included on the tables are descriptions of the effects of each event. New Order Status – Lastly there is a selection that will bring up a window showing the various New Order markers. This is used in a similar fashion as the Pre-Game Events markers. Simply select via right-click any of the New Order markers and choose whether it is currently active and on the map, or whether it has been destroyed and thus adding -3 political points to the political index. Again, there are descriptions of the effects of each marker for reference. Charts – The charts are organized first via a drop down menu between different types of charts; Information, Combat, Special Actions and Weather, and Replacements. Choosing one of the selections here will bring up tabs for the charts associated with that type. Dice – There is a choice for rolling 1 die, or rolling 2 dice. Turn Marker – A simple counter for showing the current turn. Notes – The standard Vassal note window. Map controls – The standard camera, zoom, overview window, show/hide counters, and a button to mark all units on the map as unmoved. Game Pieces The game pieces all have right-click menus allowing you to do various things. These are listed below: Mask – This allows the players to hide units that are underneath the top most unit in a stack as per the Intelligence rules of the game. Although the player will see a smaller version of the unit that is masked in the middle of the mask, the opponent will only see a NATO or Nazi flag. Mark Moved – Allows the player to mark moved or unmoved on a unit on an individual basis. Note that a unit that is marked as moved has a small orange/red outlined dot that appears in the upper left corner of the unit counter. Supply State – This opens a sub menu allowing you to place the unit either Out of Supply or back into Supply if it currently is out of supply. Out of supply is shown as a red supply symbol with a yellow background in the upper right corner of the unit counter. There is also a choice here to place a unit into Interdicted or Nuked out of supply which lasts until the end of controlling players next turn, and is indicated by a little radiation symbol in the upper right corner of the unit counter. Flip – This shows up on two-step units in order to flip that unit over to its reduced strength side, or to do the reverse for reduced units being built back up to full strength via replacements. Note that a unit on its reduced strength side has a little indicator dot that appears above the units movement value to indicate this. One step units won’t have this action displayed with the exception of the U.S. 6th Air Cavalry unit which can switch modes. Eliminate – This is used to automatically remove the unit from the map and place it in that sides corresponding Replacement Pool. It will appear in the upper left corner of that pool and allows a player to differentiate that the unit was lost on the current turn. This is useful to those players who would like to use Miquel Izquierdo’s house rule where eliminated units can’t be rebuilt until the following turn. OOS Eliminate – This is used to automatically remove the unit from the map and place it into the Destroyed OOS Units window accessed via the OOS button on the menu bar. Remove from Play – This brings up a sub menu that allows a player to permanently remove a unit from the game entirely, to help when extra units are placed on the map accidentally, or to just get rid of certain units or units from a given scenario. This is done as a sub menu to help avoid accidental permanent removal. Range choices – Some units will have a selection allowing you to display visually on the map the effect range of some of its abilities. Click once to display, and again to hide the range overlay. Return to Air Box – This is only on air units, and allows a quick way for the player to return an air unit to its corresponding air box on the Used side of the box. Switch to SS – This only appears on Wehrmacht air units, and allows the unit to be switched over to an SS version of the unit when playing Scenario III. Ally with NATO, Ally with Nazis – These choices only appear on neutral units. It allows you to switch the allegiance of the unit with the indicated side, and must be chosen once that neutral enters the war on one side or the other. You’ll know it has been done as the menu choices for the neutral will then change and look like a normal unit. If you choose the wrong side accidentally, you will know immediately as you will no longer be able to access the unit. Use the undo button to reset the units back to neutral and try again. Markers The first three markers are more Nukes, Nazified city and De-Nazified city and are the standard markers that came with the game. The following are special markers I added: Weather – this marker can be used if you want to place one somewhere else on the map as a reminder of the weather. Note that once placed it cannot be moved, but it can be deleted. Interdicted Supply – This marker by default can be used to put on a city that has received an ‘I’ Interdiction result which knocks out the cities airfield and port functions for a turn. The right-click menu allows you to change to marker for a ‘D’ Interdiction result which also indicates that the city may not be used for supply. There are also three other choices on the right-click menu of this marker for use with units if you prefer to use this type of marker instead of using the unit right-click menu supply state markings. Nuked – This is a non-stacking marker that once placed is moved to the bottom of the stack. It is used to indicate a city that has been nuked and is no longer worth political or victory points. Bio Attack – This marker is for use when playing David Lamb’s variant Scenario VI – Nazi Total War. When placed it also displays the radius of the contaminated area. Gas Attack – This marker is also for the variant Scenario VI, and is used to indicate which hexes are under a chemical attack. The right-click menu on this marker allows you to select the column shift for the attack depending on when it is used. Fortress – This marker is again used for the variant Scenario VI, and is used to indicate the fortified Maginot Line (2.0) hexes. Once placed, this marker also displays a red graphic on the map as another indication that the hex is fortified and acts as a city hex for the defenders. Set up Area – This was mainly created for David Lamb’s variant Scenario VII – The End of the Iron Dream to indicate the set up areas for the Nazis. Of course it can also be used for other user created scenarios or variants. No ZOC – This marker was created for a house rule that my gaming group has used with this game in conjunction with variant Zone of Control rules. In our house rule, if a ‘I’ or ‘D’ result is obtained on the Interdiction / Suppression table via air attack, in addition to the listed effect, the unit or units attacked loses its ZoC and no other adjacent units ZoCs enter into or affect that hex. This marker is placed to indicate that. Note that this removes all the effects of a ZoC; see the variant ZoC rules for further information. Forest – This is a purely optional marker that can be placed in any clear terrain hex to indicate that is part of the area affected by the New Order Hermann Göring Forest. When placed it tints the hex a brown color to show that it is now mixed terrain. The reason for using this is again, another of our house rules, in that despite the destruction of the Hermann Göring Forest marker during play, the forest itself wouldn’t just go away and would still be present. Note that there is also an overlay selection on the Hermann Göring Forest marker that tints a two-hex radius around the marker green as another way to show the unique effects of the marker, but by using the forest marker it only overlays the clear hexes, and allows them to stay even if the marker is destroyed. New Order Markers – Regarding the New Order Markers, when these are placed on the map you will note that a light gray overlay appears in the hex below the marker. The markers were created as Do Not Stack markers and thus they automatically go to the bottom of any stack, so this visual cue lets the players know the location of these markers on the map. They were made Do Not Stack in order to cut down on having them inadvertently dragged around the map with other units and other related stack fiddly things. These overlays are removed if you hide the pieces on the map. Conclusion My apologies for the length of this readme, but I figured if I was describing the new stuff I added I may as well just describe everything else for completeness sake. I do hope that anyone reading this and using this NNN module has as much fun playing it as I had in creating it. And of course, hats off and many thanks to Ty Bomba and Joe Miranda for creating such an enjoyable game. Chris H Hansen June 3, 2015