DANGER CLOSE started out as a game that didn’t exist but that I wanted to play. Now that it’s almost feature complete, I’m in this weird stage of “Oh wow, I can finally play the campaigns and stories that I wanted to play with it in the first place.” I find that this is also a good way to test both the core game system and all the campaign framework I’ve built around it. Can I actually play the ideas that I have in my head? Does the system allow for them, encourage them, and support them mechanically?
Cover image by HodagRPG, commissioned for DANGER CLOSE
Star Wars: Zero Company is a fun game and ties into my eternal love for XCOM 2, which was also a major inspiration for DANGER CLOSE. I have some vague qualms about the way it handles scale and the granularity of its combat decisions, but those are inherent to the type of game it is. They are more on ‘me’ than on the game itself.
It does have me in a Star Wars mood again, so I started thinking: what kind of solo campaign would I like to play in a Star Wars setting?
An inherent challenge in sci-fi settings is the scope of it all. How can you make a planet feel like more than just the location of the week, while also keeping it at a scale where a player character or a party of characters can meaningfully affect something at that scope?
The first thing I was thinking about is making a planet a notable backdrop, but limiting the sheer size of its civilization. Make it more of a frontier world rather than a world with, say, 10 nations and hundreds, if not thousands, of large cities. My campaign idea has to take place on a frontier planet with an interesting biome or natural landscape, and is mostly focused around a relatively small settled region. Let’s say that this settlement exists for the purposes of extraction of natural resources.
Setting the Scene
So, our planet will be Ophus III, somewhere in the Outer Rim. It’s a frigid planet with wind-scoured mesas and deep ravines. Civilization mostly exists in a cluster of large impact craters, which somewhat shelter from the frigid winds. The only real reason this planet has people living on it in the first place, is because of the deposits of adamesium, a metal with heat-conducting properties. Adamesium isn’t particularly rare, but the Empire needs a LOT of it, so here we are, at 5 BBY, with the mining settlements under Imperial occupation.
For our campaign setup, I’m thinking that a lone rebellion operative is dispatched with the goal of disrupting the Imperial presence on this planet. This will be our main player character. Gil Tharik, smuggler, scoundrel, but remarkably good at small-unit tactics, ambushes and sabotage.
Campaign Framework
DANGER CLOSE contains rules for solo squad-based military skirmish combat, yes, but I also set out to create what is, in my opinion, a very genuine attempt at being a complete system-agnostic resource for any type of military TTRPG campaign, in the vein of Kevin Crawford’s Starvation Cheap or the Five Parsecs from Home books.
So, we’re first starting with the fiction, the feeling and vibe of what we want to play:
- I want to slowly build a resistance against the Empire
- Instead of tracking our progress in an abstract manner, I think it’d be cool if there’s a list of tangible targets that need to be taken down.
- Let’s say that Tharik’s mission is the destruction of the Empire’s main adamesium refinery.
- I’m going to take inspiration from an unlikely place: Ghost Recon Wildlands.
- In this game, you are to take down head honcho El Sueño, but he cannot be taken down until at least 2 of his main bosses are taken out, and those each require their Underbosses to be taken out, and those require the elimination of each lieutenant.
- We can take that idea (and shrink it down a bit). We map this out at the onset of the campaign. This also captures the idea that our main character is strategically capable. He knows exactly what he needs to do to bring down the Empire. The trick is how to do it.
DANGER CLOSE already contains a lot of campaign hooks that can be simply combined to create interesting campaigns. Right now, we’re basically combining these:
Campaign Goal: The Adamesium Refinery
Adamesium Refinery. The main Imperial processing complex. Destroy it to cripple adamesium extraction on Ophus III.
- Security
- Sensor Relay Khepri. Destroy the relay to blind Imperial surveillance over the refinery approaches.
- Walker Motor Pool. Destroy the walkers and maintenance facilities to strip the refinery of its mobile heavy response force.
- Security Command Bunker. Breach and destroy the bunker to disrupt coordinated Imperial defense around the refinery.
- Logistics
- Rail Switching Yard. Destroy the switching controls and key rail infrastructure to cut the refinery off from incoming ore and heavy supplies.
- Thermal Exchange Station. Sabotage or demolish the station to shut down the cooling and power systems needed for adamesium processing.
- Automated Repair Depot. Destroy the repair droids, machine tools and spare-part stores to prevent the Empire from quickly restoring damaged infrastructure.
- Control
- Imperial Data Center. Destroy the data center to throw labor records, permits, rationing, arrests and local administration into disarray.
- Detention Facility Aurek. Break into the prison and free detainees to remove a major tool of repression and potentially gain new supporters and fighters.
- Holonet Broadcast Station. Destroy the station to cut Imperial alerts, propaganda and emergency coordination across the settled region.
You get the idea; 3 ways to tackle each of the 3 main supports of the main refinery. Each of these can easily be made into a mission.
The idea here would be that at the start, attacking the Adamesium Refinery directly is impossible. After taking down 1 branch, it becomes suicidal (but perhaps achievable), after taking down 2 branches it becomes feasible, and taking down 3 branches would basically solve the whole problem, except for the next campaign elements we’re adding.
Campaign Variables
We have our main goal (take down the refinery). However, it’d be cool if the Empire reacts to our efforts (attention, heat, pressure?) and if we measure the support we have among the people. Let’s look at the DANGER CLOSE text for this:
I’m thinking of using 3 additional variables:
- Support (Pool). Measures how much of the local population is willing to shelter, inform, assist and generally back the rebellion. Missions can gain Support, while Imperial crackdowns can drain it. High Support also makes recruitment and other rebel activity easier.
- Reserves (Pool). A literal count of armed fighters available beyond Tharik’s active squad. Reserves replace dead Troopers, can form secondary squads, or be committed to reaction missions that Tharik does not personally lead. Delegating is safer for Tharik but requires more bodies and risks heavier casualties.
- Imperial Attention (Clock). Tracks how seriously the Empire understands and responds to the rebellion. Loud missions and major attacks increase Attention. As it rises, crackdowns become more frequent and severe, threatening Support, safehouses and eventually Tharik himself. This creates the central pressure: grow Support and Reserves, dismantle the refinery’s support network, and strike the final target before the Empire closes the net.
We can now think of the campaign of consisting of a few mission types:
Main missions. These are proactive operations against the refinery’s target network: destroy a relay, hit a garrison, blow a data center, free prisoners, sabotage a rail hub. They directly weaken the refinery’s support structure, and they always increase Imperial Attention because the pattern of attacks becomes harder to dismiss as isolated trouble.
Growth missions. These are proactive missions aimed at the rebellion itself rather than the refinery. Protect a settlement, steal medicine, raid a prison, seize weapons, recruit from a sympathetic group. They mainly increase Support or Reserves, but some of the louder versions can also increase Attention.
Reactionary missions. These are generated by Imperial crackdowns: a village raid, arrests, a compromised safehouse, an intercepted courier, a retaliatory sweep. Ignoring them usually costs Support, Reserves, or some other concrete campaign asset. Tharik can intervene personally, or delegate the problem.
For instance, after each main mission we increase Attention by 1, and we roll 1d10. If it’s equal or under Attention, the Empire retaliates, using the same dice roll outcome:
| d10 | Imperial Retaliation |
|---|---|
| 1 | Harassment. Imperial patrols increase searches, checkpoints and intimidation. No immediate loss, but the next Growth Mission is one step less favorable. |
| 2 | Crackdown. The Empire harasses the local population. 2-in-6 chance of losing 1 Support. |
| 3 | Arrests. Suspected sympathizers are rounded up. Lose 1 Support, or undertake a reaction mission to free or protect them. |
| 4 | Seizure. Imperial forces confiscate weapons, food or transport from a sympathetic community. Lose 1 Support or 1d3 Reserves unless you intervene. |
| 5 | Sweep. Stormtroopers conduct a broad security sweep through rebel-friendly territory. Lose 1d3 Support unless Tharik intervenes or Reserves are committed. |
| 6 | Rebel Cell Hit. The Empire identifies part of the growing resistance. Lose 1d3 Reserves, or send enough Reserves to fight back and roll the Oracle. Tharik can intervene personally instead. |
| 7 | Raid. The Empire targets a supportive community. Intervene personally, send Reserves, or do nothing and lose 3 Support. |
| 8 | Safehouse Compromised. One of Tharik’s safe locations is discovered. Fight a sudden Defense/Extraction mission with whatever condition the Squad is currently in, or abandon it and lose 2 Support plus 1d3 Reserves. |
| 9 | Intercepted. Imperial forces catch Tharik or his Squad at a bad moment, between missions, while wounded, travelling, or meeting a contact. Immediately play a Hazardous reaction mission. Failure also costs Support or Reserves depending on the situation. |
| 10 | The Net Closes. The Empire has identified the rebellion as a major threat. Launch a major operation against Tharik and the resistance: simultaneous raids, roadblocks and arrests. Tharik can personally answer one crisis, while others must be delegated to Reserves or suffered automatically. |
Resolving with Reserves. A reaction mission does not always need to be played out. Tharik can commit a minimum number of Reserves, probably something substantial like 10 fighters, and resolve the operation with the Oracle instead. This saves time and lets him keep pursuing the strategic plan, but delegated forces are less effective than a squad led by Tharik and always risk casualties. We can simply use the Oracle Dice for this: Determine whether the intervention is Unlikely, 50-50 or Likely to succeed, and roll:
| Oracle | Outcome | Casualties |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disaster | All assigned Reserves lost |
| 2 | Failure | Half assigned Reserves lost |
| 3 | Failure, but… | 1 Reserve lost |
| 4 | Success, but… | Half assigned Reserves lost |
| 5 | Success | 1 Reserve lost |
| 6 | Success, and… | No casualties, plus a small advantage |
The campaign pressure comes from how these interact. Main missions push the campaign forward but raise Attention. Higher Attention creates more reactionary problems, which drain Support and Reserves if left unanswered. Support helps grow and sustain the rebellion, while Reserves let Tharik absorb losses or delegate emergencies. So before escalating against another major target, it can be smart to spend a mission or two building enough Support and Reserves to survive the Imperial response.
Putting It All Together
DANGER CLOSE has the following system for Campaign Turns:
Support is still our least-used value so far, and we can utilize it here. We could make something like a Support Roll; roll 1d10 under or equal current Support for a favorable outcome. This is then easily linked to:
- Recover (safehouses for wounded Troopers to recover),
- Reinforce (make a Support Roll to successfully recruit 1d3 new Reserve, and max Reserve is capped at Support x5, for instance),
- Resupply (getting a steady supply of ammo, weapons)
- and even Events (perhaps a Support Roll can counteract the gaining of Attention).
Conclusion
You may have noticed that in the above section, I don’t actually mention the core DANGER CLOSE firefight mechanics at all. This is by design; just as how Block, Dodge, Parry was designed as a toolkit, DANGER CLOSE is meant to also be an ode to military fiction in general, and just provide a WHOLE BUNCH of tools to capture those vibes at the table.
I 100% feel that DANGER CLOSE is also a valuable addition to any wargaming campaign, or as a toolkit to pick from when playing, say, Traveller or Stars Without Number.
As for the core question, Can DANGER CLOSE be used for this vague campaign idea I had, I think that yes, it succeeds quite well, with a sprinkling of improvisation and creativity (but I mean, that’s the whole fun part!)