Highlights from Last Session
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About the Project
A new modern warfare RPG is being developed for players in the Sitrep and OTT community. The working title is HK Ops (Hunter Killer Operations), a custom-designed, web-friendly, narrative-focused role playing game set in the present day, very recent past, or near future. Players can take the role of high-end operators with a formal military or government service ... or with a privately-run contractor company ... or even survivors in a post-apocalyptic setting.
The focus is two-fold: storytelling and narrative, balanced against realistic tactical situations and consequences to player and NPC actions. There are no healing scrolls, resurrection spells, or health packs in this game. If you're shot, you're shot.
Playtesting is already underway. We're hoping to get a group together and play a few hours on Sundays, depending on everyone's availability. The system is designed to allow play over web conference, so everyone's looking at the same screen, with custom maps, playing pieces, character sheets, experience, and of course character development.
If you're ever interested in giving this a go, or even just checking out one of our sessions, you can watch us on twitch.tv/sitreppodcast/ - or ping me a PM and we'll see about getting you logged into one of our web meetings.
Related Genre: General
This Project is Active
Some Pics From Our Last Two Sessions
Okay, So I Lied ...
Well … I was wrong. Last night’s session was NOT the end of the “Desert Eagles” plot line for HK Ops.
This story is turning out to be more complex and intricate than initially planned, the battles are more visceral, and the enemy is putting up a tougher fight in some places. Long story short (take a shot), at the end of last night’s session were weren’t even close to the end of this campaign.
So it looks like we’re up for a THIRD session – the FINAL CONCLUSION (I promise this time) in what’s turned out to be an epic trilogy!
Part III is currently scheduled for Sunday March 22.
Meanwhile, Part II is up on our YouTube channel. 😀 Check out some of it below!
Episode 05 "Desert Eagles" Live Stream!
Place: Northeastern Syria.
Time: Five minutes in the future.
We are confirmed for HK Ops – Episode 05 on Sunday, March 8, starting at 1PM EST / 5PM UK time (part of the Sitrep Podcast Channel).
In our last stream, we saw the operators of “Escalation Team 619” and two other teams are deployed into the heart of one of today’s worst warzones, the ongoing civil war in Syria.
Despite the American withdrawal from the northeastern Syria, “certain parties” within the DoD, State Department, and CIA are looking to maintain surveillance and leverage influence into Syria, specifically the “Syrian Democratic Forces” (predominantly Kurds) in the Rajova region (northeaster Syria).
This will be done with air power and drones, but SAA (Assad Regime) and even ISIS/ISIL elements threaten the ground facilities that enable such aerial programs, such as air defense, air surveillance, and navigation / control points.
Meanwhile, Assad’s helicopters represent a growing threat in the air, and even ISIS / ISIL remnants in the area are also starting up an ad-hoc drone program of their own.
In short, it’s a battle for the skies over northeastern Syria, and ironically part of that battle must be won on the ground.
Our operations have already received their orders, geared up, been inserted to the forward operating base, found and eliminated the first threat literally beneath their feet, and gone out on their first patrols and strike sorties against elements of the SAA and ISIS.
But all this was just the beginning. The real test for the team comes TODAY.
Tune in for the conclusion of HKOps Episode 05, Desert Eagles!
We hope it will be another great episode in our continuing HK Ops modern warfare storyline.
HK Ops - Ep 05 - Part One Recording
So here is the recording of what turned out to be just PART ONE of our latest HK Ops mission.
Long story short (take a shot), we have the US pulling out of northeastern Syria, but bureaus and agencies in the DoD, CIA, and State Department still want to maintain surveillance and project influence “on the quiet.” That means private military contractors, and that means Phalanx Multinational.
Three teams have been inserted, including our heroes of “Escalation Team 619” (X-Team for short, sixth team established FY 2019).
So we have uncertain Turkish “allies” who are friendly enough to the US, but less so with our Kurdish “allies” in northeastern Syria. Syrian Arab Army of the Assad regime also posses a threat, to say nothing of remnants of ISIS / ISIL, still dangerous even in early 2020.
Oh, and then there are threats WITHIN the operation, everything from leadership that is less than “tactically expert,” to rival teams, overly ambitious “comrades,” psychologically unstable team members, thieves, and even love triangles.
Just another “corporate day at the office” for the operators of X-Team 619.
Episode 05 "Desert Eagles" - ORDERS IN HAND!
Here are the orders our operators have received for their upcoming op in Syria.
Tune in to our live stream to see how they do! 1PM EST, 6PM GMT
Episode 05 "Desert Eagles" Live Stream!
We are confirmed for HK Ops – Episode 05 on Sunday, February 23, starting at 1PM EST / 6PM UK time (part of the Sitrep Podcast Channel).
This is going to be a heavy one, folks, where our operators of “Escalation Team 619” and two other teams are deployed into the heart of one of today’s worst warzones, the ongoing civil war in Syria.
The players have already been sent their orders, preliminary maps, and mission briefings … and “gearing up” correspondence is already shuttling back and forth between our players.
We hope it will be another great episode in our continuing HK Ops modern warfare storyline.
Episode 04 "Failed Paradise" - Mission Report
SITUATION: Guillermo Montejez is a top aide to (real life) Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Montejez is an important figure to the Guaidó opposition movement, filling such roles as Guaidó’s liaison with International Red Cross, the South American “Lima Group”, and the US State Department. Montejez is currently surrounded by in his villa by paramilitary police loyal to the generals of (real life) Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in the city of Carupano. Phalanx Multinational has been contracted “friends” of the Venezuelan opposition movement (possibly Lima Group, possibly even black ops agencies in the US government) to effect a range of executive solutions throughout the Venezuelan crisis zone. Escalation Team (X-Team) 619 has been assigned one of those mission packages.
MISSION: Case Director Marcus Bryant has assigned X-Team 619 the mission to find Guillermo Montejez, safely extract him, and escort out of Venezuela. Options for safe zones include Bogota Colombia, Miami Florida, Trinidad, or even Curaçao. Guillermo Montejez is currently under house arrest at his suburban villa just outside of Carupano. Get him out of there by whatever means is necessary, and exfiltrate to one of the designated safe zones.
EXECUTION: Methods are at the discretion of X-Team 619. However, Operations advises a low-kinetic approach, as opposition forces are predicted to include formal units of the Venezuelan Army, a state with which the United States is not at war. Also, unnecessary collateral impact in the infiltration phases will only result in higher degrees of difficulty during extraction and exfil phases afterwards. Note that Guillermo Montejez is a civilian, with no military experience whatsoever and little or no security personnel of his own on-site.
ADMIN/LOGISTICS: Case Management Officer Scott Delham has arranged staging point in the island nation of Grenada, where you will have diplomatic immunity under the aegis of the US DoD. From there you will have access to a pre-staged twin-engine turboprop (leaded by PMC Ltd., so return the aircraft in good order) for use in a “dark flight” to an abandoned airfield in the jungles outside of Carupano. The airfield is marked on your maps, and hasn’t been used consistently since the Drug War of the late 1980s.
COMMAND / CONTROL: Frederik Ottesen is in tactical command of this mission. Marcus Bryant is case officer, with Scott Delham as operations, intelligence, and administrative lead (note: he’s doing Gabrielle Knight’s job as well – who remains on “administrative review” after certain issues In Episode 03 “Crossroads”).
Episode 04 confirmed for Sunday Jan 12, 3PM EST / 8PM UK
We are confirmed for HK Ops – Episode 04 on January 12, starting at 3PM EST / 8PM UK time (part of the Sitrep Podcast Channel).
We hope you’ll check out our live stream on our Sitrep Podcast Twitch Channel or on Sitrep Podcast YouTube!
Preparations are nearly complete for this session and we hope it will be another great episode in our continuing HK Ops modern warfare storyline.
Episode 04 in development - Live Stream: Sunday January 12
I hope to run a fourth episode (session 06) of HK OPs on Sunday, January 12.
Check out the live stream on our Sitrep Podcast Twitch Channel or on Sitrep Podcast YouTube!
Episode 03: "Crossroads"
SITUATION: Escalation Team (X-Team) 619 has been tasked with a “security protocol” detail. Octocil Energy Development (OED), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, is building a new pipeline on Banggai Island in Indonesia, between recently acquired oil fields and a refinery at the port city of Kota Banggai.
Recent attacks in the hinterlands of these islands brings an unacceptable degree to risk to the development of energy industry infrastructure. The background for the conflict is complex. Some blame the Free Papua Movement (Indonesian: Organisasi Papua Merdeka – OPM) that have spread from western New Guinea. Others blame the Melanesian Spearhead Group, the Free Aceh Movement in eastern Indonesia (despite the fact that this war ended with the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami – but some warlords remain active).
The truth is the government has next to no control out here, and many “insurgents” are simple bandits or warlords connected with heroin production and export or piracy through Indonesian shipping lanes between Persian Gulf and industrialized nations of the Pacific Rim.
MISSION: X-Team 619 is tasked with working with OED security personnel to ensure the safety of corporate property, equipment, and personnel. Note these OED security personnel are civilians, not military-trained.
The mission is to investigate the threat, report possible concerns, and defend / respond if any OED assets, property, or personnel come under direct threat. This is a non-kinetic security protocol … or as some call it, a “nanny mission.”
PERSONNEL: In addition to X-Team 619, this mission also includes Gabrielle Knight and Shin Tae Yeon (the North Korean technician who asked for asylum at the end of Episode 02: Cold Reception)
These are liaison personnel only, tasked with working with OED security.
Mission lasts as long as the island remains under insurgent threat, or the new pipeline is open and Indonesian military expands its local Interior Ministry battalion at Kota Banggai.
Pay is $2000 a week, for the duration, plus a $20,000 bonus upon completion.
This was a rough one, folks. I really wanted to encourage character development by putting the players in a morally impossible position and forcing them to make a horrible choice. The players basically got to choose the adversity they would have to overcome, and thus the development that would lead to the characters they wanted to become. Friends were lost, as well as hundreds of blameless civilians, and yes, partly these events are the characters’ fault.
But would the alternative have been even worse?
All characters got to choose their “punishment” – ratings stripped off sanity or conscience. They also got to choose their “reward” -ratings added to rank or grit. With one exception, they chose the tough, hard, pragmatic, mission-oriented path. Badass mercenary was their choice, and at least for now, that’s the path most of them are on.
Per our wound tables, Ajax spent thirteen weeks in surgery, recovery, and physical rehabilitation. Tae Yeon didn’t make it all. Gabrielle has some very hard choices to make, having won the respect of Phalanx Multinational’s operators but lost huge standing with the “suits” upstairs, which is especially tough because that’s the career path she’s on (she’s an operations / intelligence analyst, not a field operator). She took this job to win the respect, especially of a certain Michael Easton, an operator on another team with whom she’s in a relationship. But now that relationship is also in question … (???)
There’s a lot going on here, folks. I’m really pleased to see the players really sink into their characters. Already we have close to 20,000 words in writing submitted by the players (not me), as players really work through what their characters are doing in the aftermath of this last one. This is storytelling game built around characters and narrative, much more than a skirmish wargame.
We’ve been on a short break over the holidays, but we hope to get our HK Ops sessions going again soon!
Congrats to community members @rasmus , @brunhudson, and @gladesrunner for a great game!
Ep 02 "Cold Reception" Summary
Mission 02 is in the books folks, after a great live stream yesterday.
The summary of the mission is below:
A North Korean electronic warfare / surveillance aircraft is reported to have gone down somewhere in the Sea of Okhotsk.
The aircraft is believed to have crashed at Kimura Shima Island (Katyeva Island – marked on map below).
This island lies between the Kuril Islands and the Sakhalin Islands, disputed between Japan and Soviet Union since 1945. Thus, the territorial status of Kimura Shima Island remains unclear. Officially, “Katyeva” Island is part of the Russian Federation, although again, status is debated. The primary reason this matter has never been cleared up is frankly, the islands are tiny (10 square miles / 6000 acres at most ) and desolate. Honestly, no one cares.
The Japanese Self-Defense Force has contacted Phalanx International regarding a mission to recover the North Korean aircraft (codename Cheonji, Korean God of the Sky). Objectives are to recover the plane’s black box, comnav recordings (so intelligence can surmise where this place was flying and who/what it was spying on).
Most importantly, recover any uplink between Cheonji’s doppler look-down shoot-down radar and whatever satellite (if any). This is because North Korea has no satellites of their own, so if they’re using a satellite uplink for electronic warfare, navigation, or aerial surveillance, another nation is helping them expand maritime surveillance and control through North Pacific.
JSDF has provided a staging point and a small boat. But they cannot be connected further with this mission. If they are connected with a paramilitary mission onto Katyeva Island, that could constitute and act of war with the Russian Federation.
Complete Video Replay:
Episode Two: "A Cold Reception"
Episode 02 of HK Ops is on!
Fresh from their successful mission in Mexico, the newly-minted “X-Team 619” is being re-deployed for a second mission in a decidedly different environment!
We’re live later today (7PM UK, 2PM EastUS) with members of our community, including @Templar007, @ashcadelanne, @rasmus, @gladesrunner, and Brun!
HK Ops is a new modern military RPG being developed specifically by the Sitrep Podcast for web play by members of the Sitrep community. We hope you’ll swing by the Sitrep Podcast Channel and at see how we’re doing!
LIVE: HK OPS ASSAULT ON CARTEL STRONGHOLD - 2PM US East / 7PM UK
We are live later today with members of our OTT community, including @Templar007, @ashcadelanne, @rasmus, @gladesrunner, and Brun! Characters are already made up and this new team of elite private military contractors are ready to sortie out on their first mission!
HK Ops is a new modern military RPG being developed specifically by the SItrep Podcast for web play by members of the OTT community. It’s our second try with this brand new system, so we hope you’ll swing by the Sitrep Podcast Channel and at see how we’re doing!
HK Ops - Assault on Cartel Stronghold >> Cancelled
EDIT – Two people have now dropped out of today’s session and I don’t really feel comfortable running this session with half a crew. HK Ops is regrettably cancelled.
>>>>
So today our RPG group hits the cartel stronghold we didn’t quite reach in our last session.
The objective is an encrypted laptop that was lost in a previous ambush. The laptop is vital not only because it has sensitive information that could damage our characters’ parent company (Phalanx Multinational), but also contains recorded evidence gathered by a previous PMC team that Phalanx Multinational is contracted to provided the United States DEA.
Loss of these files could not only result in Phalanx not being paid for 18 months’ of work, but also loss of contracts with the DEA and other branches of the government that could impact the company’s bottom line for years. So failure here means a trip to the hospital, the morgue, or the unemployment line!
We’ll be live on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook at 7PM UK / 2PM US East time.
HK Ops - Community Participation RPG Live Stream @6:00 PM UK Time
We are live later today with members of our OTT community, including @Templar007, @ashcadelanne, @rasmus, @gladesrunner, and Brun! Characters are already made up and this new team of elite private military contractors are ready to sortie out on their first mission!
HK Ops is a new modern military RPG being developed specifically by the SItrep Podcast for web play by members of the OTT community. It’s our second try with this brand new system, so we hope you’ll swing by the Sitrep Podcast Channel and at see how we’re doing!
HK OPS – NEW MODERNS RPG BEING DEVELOPED FOR COMMUNITY
A few images from the development of HK Ops – a new modern warfare RPG is being developed for players in the Sitrep and OTT community. Players can take the role of high-end operators with a formal military or government service … or with a privately-run contractor company … or even survivors in a post-apocalyptic setting.
I’ve also added a link to a YouTube / Twitch live recording of our first playtest. There’s a lot of discussion and character work at the beginning, about two hours in the test game (just one player – @elessar2590) actually gets underway. Just testing out the system’s bones, identifying a few “wobbly” parts that are addressed in a tweak of the rules and character sheets.
Influences include the old White Wolf Storyteller systems (1st Edition) from the early 1990s, Millennium’s End, and Renegade Legion, as well as others.