GI Joe: Mission of Mercy

 I got the table cleared off today and set off for another solo game of Fistful of Lead; my first solo game since January, actually - and my first since we'd adopted Poppy, a young, energetic and curious cat. How was this going to go? 

I decided to get my GI Joes out for a game, and pulled together a scenario that would let me use some of the generic military terrain that my friend Dave gifted me. 

***

A French colony prior to WWII, Kalingaland was wracked by civil war between Soviet-backed rebels and the US-backed federal government until the fall of the USSR. Since then, the anti-democratic Kalinga Rouge rebels have received funding and armaments from the international terrorist organization known as COBRA. The garrison at a remote National Army base has been struck by a virulent new strain of sleeping sickness; the special missions force code-named GI Joe has been dispatched to deliver a cure. 

With the future of Kalingaland hanging in the balance, Cobra plots to prevent GI Joe from delivering the vital medication. Can they make it through Cobra's ambush in time?

***

The GI Joe team has to cross the table diagonally to reach the Kalingaland base. The character Lifeline is carrying the medications in his case; if he is put Out of Action before reaching the base, the game immediately ends in failure for the GI Joes. At each barracks (the quonset-style huts), Lifeline can attempt a 5+ Task roll to deliver the medication; success results in a Grunt Group of Kalingaland soldiers being deployed and an activation card for them added to the Joes' hand. 

GI Joe Team:

• Stalker (Leader; Ranger, Impervious, Camouflage) armed with a submachine gun
• Beachhead (Specialist; Indomitable, Infiltrator) armed with a submachine gun
• Lady Jaye (Regular; Dodge) armed with a pistol and explosive javelins
• Lifeline (Regular; Medic) armed with a pistol
• Airborne (Regular; Nerves of Steel) armed with an automatic rifle.

Cobra Team:

• Major Bludd (Leader; Deadeye, 9 Lives Tactician) armed with a pistol
• Storm Shadow (Specialist; Swordsman, Street Fighter) armed with a katana
• Copperhead (Regular; Brawler) armed with a submachine gun and a knife
• Cobra Officer (Regular; Slippery) armed with a pistol
• Cobra Troopers (Grunt Group; Tough as Nails) armed with automatic rifles

Using his "Infiltrator" trait, Beachhead took point, sticking close to a clump of trees and observing Cobra as the Troopers fanned out ahead of the named characters. Airborne moved up along the western river, sticking to the clusters of dense jungle, and took a quick shot at the Cobra Officer, startling him.

Beachhead got the Cobra Troopers in his sights and squeezed the trigger on his submachine gun, intending to catch them all in a hail of burst-fire. Except...click! Rolling a 1, he went Out of Ammo without effect. As the rest of the Joe team moved forward, Lady Jaye hurled an explosive javelin at the clustered Cobra troopers, putting one Out of Action and sending the rest scattering for cover. 

Meanwhile, Major Bludd swept forward, shooting Beachhead even as he was clearing the jammed mechanism. Beachhead went down with a Wound. Shrugging off his Shock token, the Cobra Officer charged Lifeline, intent on stopping him from delivering the medicine. 

"You can't stop me!" Lifeline yelled, aikido-flipping the Cobra Officer into the jungle mud and sending him Out of Action! 

Bypassing the wounded Beachhead, Storm Shadow charged Lady Jaye, putting a Wound on her and sending her to the ground. Airborne opened up with burst fire on Copperhead and a pair of Cobra Troopers, only managing to startle Copperhead; Cobra's Florida Man responded by moving up into range and shooting Airborne in the belly, putting him Out of Action. 

Lifeline made it past the fence into the army base, pursued by a pair of Cobra Troopers who opened fire on him; he took a Shock token but managed to dart into the first barracks. Stalker fired on the Troopers, sending them diving for cover, before getting attacked by Storm Shadow.

Unfortunately, that first round of fighting didn't go the way Storm Shadow expected - Stalker won the combat, dealing a Shock token to the ninja. Meanwhile, Beachhead managed to stand up, just in time for Major Bludd to charge him through the woods. Even injured, the Joe was more than a match for Cobra, knocking the Australian mercenary Out of Action! (I had forgotten about Major Bludd's "9 Lives" trait, which would have made a big difference here by converting this Out of Action result into a simple Wound.)

Lady Jaye struggled to her feet and hurled a javelin at Copperhead and some nearby Troopers, only managing to distribute some Shock tokens. Lifeline managed to wake up the first Grunt Group of Kalingaland soldiers, while Storm Shadow managed to get up and Wound Stalker. 

Beachhead used burst fire to try and take out Copperhead and one of the remaining Cobra troopers, only succeeding on eliminating the Trooper; Copperhead responded by charging and putting Beachhead Out of Action.

Switching to her pistol, Lady Jaye tried shooting Storm Shadow but rolled a 1, going Out of Ammo. Despite being Wounded, Stalker got back up and Wounded the Cobra ninja. Copperhead shot Lady Jaye in the back, putting her Out of Action, while Storm Shadow used a Ninja technique to feign death (he rolled a "1" on his Wound Recovery roll, going Out of Action).

With the first group of Kalingaland soldiers on their feet and fanning out of the camp, and Lifeline administering medication to the next group, Copperhead and the remaining Cobra trooper decided it was time to withdraw from the battlefield. Until next time...COBRAAAAA!

That was a really good game. I got some figures I hadn't played with before on the table (Stalker, Airborne, Copperhead, the Kalingaland soldiers) and it was a nice first outing for the terrain Dave had gifted me. Plus it was a nice refresher on Fistful of Lead before I go into Wargames Among the Warplanes in two weeks; I haven't had the free time to schedule a game with anyone lately, so I'll probably try to keep the table clear and set up again next week with some of the figures I'm using for that. 

And Poppy behaved himself and didn't insert himself into the middle of things, batting figures and terrain around! He jumped up on the table once, went "Nope, don't like this" and jumped right back down. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 66

Figures Painted in 2025: 85