Transformers: The Wargame

Tactica: Optimus Prime

2009-05-15T16:23:00.008-04:00

Name: Optimus Prime

Points: 154

Clan Affiliation: Autobot
Clan Subgroup: Autobot
Description: Leader / Semi
Generation: 1

Size: Large
Energon: 40

Move (Land): 9" / 18"
Move (Air): 0"

Attacks: 2/1
Weapon Power: 10
Physical Power: 10
Defensive Capability: +3
Attack Prowess: +4
Armor Shielding: 3
Special Abilities: None

The backbone of any Autobot force is Optimus Prime. One on one he has the ability to match any robot the Decepticons can field...He can even hold his own against some of their Giant Team Robots.

This power comes at a cost, he is so much better than the other Autobots that he is a prime (sorry for the pun) target of the Decepticons on the battlefield. There are two ways around this. First is to make sure he isn't the closest robot to the majority of the enemy. Put a couple of tougher robots (Ironhide, Brawn, Dinobots...) between Prime an the Decepticons to limit the number that are shooting at him. If fighting from the back doesn't seem like Prime get him in to hand to hand. This will limit the number of shots coming at him. The issue with this tactic is that he tends to knock down or destroy his opponent, leaving him standing in the open to be shot at.

His Leadership ability allows him to target any robot on the field, not just the one he is closest too. This will help him to pick off a key enemy, such as a Giant Team Robot member before they can form up into their combined form.

Often overlooked is his "Semi" form which offer a unique Ram attack that can target multiple robots.

He is also one of the a handful of Autobots that can take a couple of shots from Megatron and remain standing. If Megatron is on the field, he should be Prime's main target.

Prime doesn't have any special abilities or attacks. He doesn't need them, he is a warrior equally capable in Hand to Hand or Shooting. Just don't let him get swarmed and you should win more often than not.

Some of the minis I use...

2009-05-08T19:32:00.004-04:00

Little Autobots...Bumblebee, Huffer, Gears, Cliffjumper, Windcharger, Brawn

Dinobots...

Decepticons...

Autobots...

What the?!?!

2009-05-07T21:27:00.002-04:00

Just what have I stumbled on to here, you might be saying to yourself.

These wargame rules, located in the links to the right, are a project I have been working on for the last...oh 20 years. To sum the rules up in a nutshell. They let you play out battles with your favorite robots, the Transformers. No you do not use the actual toys to play the game, although I suppose you could. You can use other minis you may own to represent the transformers you are using. I use everything from Warhammer Epic scale dreadnaughts for the small robots up to Mechwarrior Assaults to represent the big guys like Devastator. Mosty the minis I use are Battletech / Heavy gear size.

The other thing is I based the game on a D30. Yeah I know you probably don't have one of those. No worries though, you can use a D6 and a D10 and get the same results.

The D6 is the 10's digit, meaning roll 1-2 your result will be 1-10, roll a 3-4 the result will be 11-20, 5-6 is 21-30.

I'll be posting the robot stats tomorrow for the First Gen robots. So until then feel free to download the rulebook and take a look at how the game is played.

More to come...

An Introduction...

2009-05-07T20:34:00.001-04:00

“Transformers, more than meets the eye. Transformers robots in disguise.
Autobots wage their battles to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons!”

Long ago in a distant part of the galaxy, there lived an elder race of highly intelligent robots called Quintessons. These five faced beings were self serving inventors, and explorers. They would create other forms of sentient robotic life to do their bidding, fight their wars, and entertain them. Planet after planet the Quintessons would convert to their own Utopia, with robot slaves waiting on their every whim. This was the case on the planet Cybertron. There were two major groups of robots that the Quintessons had created on Cybertron. The Autobots were the workers, scientists and mechanics, their thankless task was to keep on Cybertron running for the Quintessons. The Decepticons were the soldiers in the Quintessons army, their bodyguards, and gladiators used to entertain their masters. One day, for reasons still unknown, the Quintessons left Cyberton, leaving behind the two groups of robots. Without the tyrannical leadership of the Quintessons, the two robot clans quickly were at odds with each other. How the planet would be ruled, or more to the point “who” would rule, was the point of contention between the two sides. The Autobots wanting a democracy where all robots would have an equal say in the affairs of Cybertron. The Decepticons desired a military regime, ruled by the strongest. War between the sides quickly followed and over the years, Cyberton was drained of its resources of energon.

A group of Decepticons, lead by the powerful Megatron, left Cybertron with hopes to find a world rich with energon. Such a world would allow the Decepticons to easily win the war. The Autobots discovered this plan at the last moment and launched an interception force lead by Optimus Prime. There was a great battle between the two warships, with the Autobots striking a crippling blow to the Decepticon vessel. With his craft dead in space, Megatron gave the order for all Decepticons to board and capture the Autobot warship. The firefight onboard the vessel cost many lives on both sides. During the battle the controls to the ship were destroyed sending the spacecraft spinning to a small green world rich with organic life. The horrendous crash upon this planet called Earth, knocked all the robots still battling offline.

The main computer of the downed spacecraft, the Arc, began to repair the robots, as it was programmed to do in the event of a major crash. The Arc computed that is would take lengthy repairs in order to return the warship to space travel capability. The robots would have to blend into this world they were trapped on while they worked on the ship. The numerous vehicles of this planet were roughly the correct sizes for the robots to use as a disguise. During reconstruction, each of the robots would be given an alternate form to use as camouflage, giving the robots the ability to blend in on this new world. The first robot repaired, as luck would have it, was Megatron. He brought forth the other Decepticons to be rebuilt. Once all the Decepticons were functioning, Megatron attempted to destroy the Arc before the Autobots could be repaired. The Arc feigned its own destruction, and the Decepticons left to search this new world for energon and a means of returning to Cyberton. The Arc then repaired all of the Autobots, who use the non-repairable warship as a base of operations.

Earth was found to be the source of energon both sides were looking for and became another battlefield for the robots. What followed were numerous battles with each side creating more devastating robots over the years. Eventually both sides returned to Cybertron, but the battles continue on Earth as well.

This wargame will allow you to recreate some of those battles.