Why should I play RECON?

[Jefffar]

If you like action oriented games in which you need good tactical skill to succeed, this one is pretty cool.

If you're not interested in spending 30 minutes writing up a character for a 1 shot game, this one is definitely for you.

RECON is fast, fun and challenging.

The only caution I would have is this is not a game for those who get overly attached to their characters. Even if you do everything right, if the other guys get a couple of lucky rolls, the party can get wiped out.

[Jefffar]

There are 3 main settings.

Setting 1 is the Vietnam War, you play the Americans (typically a s some sort of special fores in Vietnam).
Setting 2 is a Mercenary game, intended to be in the modern (read 1980s) world. You play a group put together by the highest bidder on whichever side you're paid to.
Setting 3 (aka Advanced Recon) you play American operatives masquerading as foreign aide works attempting to build an anti-communist force in Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

It is adaptable to other warfare settings.

[Jefffar]

Still in print. Currentl only Deluxe RECON is available from Palladium. It contains RECON, the Advanced RECON setting and the RECON tabletop game. There are other out of print modules out there for use with the tabletop game.

[Jefffar]

It was originally a tabletop game, Palladium bought it and turned it into an RPG. They left the tabletop rules in there for those who wanted to play.

If you like building your own terrain and figures then you should have some fun with it. They do have a sample grid for use with 1/72nd scale models.

Some of the old tabletop modules are out there, but they have been out of print since around when Palladium bought the game.

[Shawn Merrow]

Should know it does not use the standard rule system the other books use.

[scarius]

RECON is a very fun game, as has all ready been stated. i used to run a game that i had set in the very begining of the iraq war, it was quick easy and fun. had about 8 players at the start, which even though it was a little bit big, it made its way down to about 3 players in about 1 hour... deffently worth a look

[Peacebringer]

RECON is a very fun game, as has all ready been stated. i used to run a game that i had set in the very begining of the iraq war, it was quick easy and fun. had about 8 players at the start, which even though it was a little bit big, it made its way down to about 3 players in about 1 hour... deffently worth a look

Wow, them's some high casualties; were the players Iraqis?

[scarius]

they were the players, i told them that it wasnt going to pull any punches, i set up an ambush on a road, and had some IEDs daisy chained down one side of it... everyone survived this, but they were serriously hurting, and after playing a lot of D&D most of them where under the impression that they could "cure light wounds" their way back to full health, as such they then sent off on the next part of the mission, even though i told them not to, they then went into a "bad area" and most of them got hit by AK fire, and then that was that... the next game was a little different though.

we also did a D day landing game one time, i asked them where they wanted the characters to be, most said the front of the landing craft. once they had reached the beach head the .50 cal machine guns opened up, and i took everyone who said that they were at the front of the boats character sheets, but they just came back later from one of the other platoons that made it to shore

[Peacebringer]

they were the players, i told them that it wasnt going to pull any punches, i set up an ambush on a road, and had some IEDs daisy chained down one side of it... everyone survived this, but they were serriously hurting, and after playing a lot of D&D most of them where under the impression that they could "cure light wounds" their way back to full health, as such they then sent off on the next part of the mission, even though i told them not to, they then went into a "bad area" and most of them got hit by AK fire, and then that was that... the next game was a little different though.

we also did a D day landing game one time, i asked them where they wanted the characters to be, most said the front of the landing craft. once they had reached the beach head the .50 cal machine guns opened up, and i took everyone who said that they were at the front of the boats character sheets, but they just came back later from one of the other platoons that made it to shore

That's good; when playing war game, a GM should never pull any punches. Especially if it's through player stupidity.

I've had a few surprises; I had a Stryker Co. fighting AQ in Yemen. They had artillery support, air-support and even UAVs. They (AQ) managed to get a Soviet 122mm artillery and started shelling pro-Western villages with it. One of the players was a capt. with a Styrker Co. Well, they were out in the open and AQ used the 122mm artillery as a direct-fire weapon and took out half the Stryker Co. The capt. refused to retreat despite AQ position, which was a rocky outcropping managed to protected from the air-strikes and artillery-strikes missed. I don't remember but only three or four Strikers were able to leave the battlefield. They were never able to take-out the artillery piece or the AQ position. I was surprised; I didn't think, which all the support the players had, they'd get licked like that. 'Tis fate.

O, was it an actual D-Landing, because the Germans didn't use .50 cal weapons; really only 7.92mm.