Red Dawn by Jason 'Foolybear' Lineberger

Jason “foolybear” Lineberger has been a member of the Planet Eclipse Emortal army for a few years now. He travels around the USA kicking ass, taking names and then writing about his adventures in the Scenario World. With the spiraling decline in print magazines ‘foolybear’ needed an outlet and what better place to get his word out but on the Planet Eclipse blog… This is the first in what we hope will be many ‘front line’ reports from ‘foolybear’ as he takes his trusty pen and camera along with him to tell the stories of the fallen, beaten and victories alike….

We hope you enjoy.





Paintball Dawning

by Jason “foolybear” Lineberger

Red Dawn: The Patriots by Full Moon Productions

It's 11:59 on Radio Free America; this is Uncle Sam, with music, and the truth until dawn. Right now I've got a few words for some of our brothers and sisters in the occupied zone: “The chair is against the wall; The chair is against the wall. John has a long mustache; John has a long mustache." It's twelve o'clock, American, another day closer to victory. And for all of you out there, on, or behind the line, this is your song. – Red Dawn

Pull on your leg warmers and buckle on an extra Swatch, because the 80s have never left scenario paintball. Eager for a new idea to pit one side against another in the woods, scenario producers jump on the latest trend to rope some new blood into our sport, but for die-hard woodsball veterans, the 1980s have been mined for gem after paintball gem. Barren field with little cover? It’s perfect for The Road Warrior. Good urban terrain? Escape from New York. And no matter what the set-up, that patriotic post Cold War standby, Red Dawn, makes for a sweet backdrop against which missions, role-playing, and a paintball slugfest can be set. Enter Full Moon Productions and Chris “Werewolf” Molles, partnering with Xtreme Kombat to pit those scrappy Wolverines against the Soviet oppressor in a twist on a classic confrontation.

The Russians need to take us in one piece, and that's why they're here. That's why they won't use nukes anymore; and we won't either, not on our own soil. The whole damn thing's pretty conventional now. Who knows? Maybe next week will be swords. – Colonel Andy Tanner, Red Dawn

While this game did feature conventional scenario warfare, Molles took the game in a few new directions. The underdogs for the event, The Wolverines, started in the woods, while the obvious advantage went to the Soviet side, who staged their operation in the midst of Xtreme Kombat’s urban field, an impressive and solidly-constructed paintball village. With thick walls, towers, and high shooting platforms, the Soviets kicked off the scenario in sub-freezing temperatures on the outside contrasting with the warm-fuzzies on the inside as they imagined their foes trying to break their nigh-impregnable fortification.

Additionally, each side enjoyed a sniper-class player capable of making eight single-shot eliminations over the duration of the event. To activate one of these special sniper shots, the player simply needed to point out his target to a referee who would stop that player and ask him to hold up a number of fingers over his head. A matching number from the sniper indicated a hit; giving the snipers the ability to take out key targets at the precise moment when that elimination would do the most damage.

Morale is crucial right now. Keep the men in the secured areas. You'll see how they forget about these "Wolverines." –General Bratchenko, Red Dawn

Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the Soviet forces didn’t play out this paintball scenario to fit that typically American story arc of the rag-tag underdogs who rise up to humiliate then defeat a superior force, nor did they keep to the secured areas. Hardly had an hour of the game elapsed before the Russians released their wickedest weapon, the attack chopper. Rather than your standard scenario helicopter with the ability to insert or extract troops, this one allowed for strafing runs, and since only RPGs could take out the chopper, Wolverines scurried clear like roaches at the flip of a light switch.

The first few runs of the chopper taught the Americans to retreat from an unwinnable battle, and the Soviets began to use it more strategically by rolling in their ground forces behind the chopper’s invulnerable onslaught. Using this tactic, they took the fuel depot, which held tactical significance. The fuel contained there allowed for longer flights, and once the Wolverines figured this out, they came back with a vengeance – and a rocket launcher. Then, once they had effectively grounded their main opposition, the Americans pushed that advantage to overrun one of two fortified areas on the field. First they shot out the Soviets in the guard towers, including one stubbornly entrenched medic who single-handedly kept the defenses running, then they stacked at the entrance before charging through and laying waste to the remaining defenders. With that turn, the game swung from a rout to a closely-contested fight, and with points allocated for both missions and holding key real-estate, both teams began running up the scoreboard.

The game played out much like the movie might-have, had Hollywood writers not scripted the outcome. While it’s uplifting and to have the underdog team rise from certain defeat to triumphantly kick out the oppressor, at this game at least, the Soviet team retained their lead and brought home a red victory. The event also introduced many of the local scenario teams to the Xtreme Kombat field, and it brought out other players for a first-time scenario experience. While it wasn’t a flawless event (what scenario game ever is?), Molles had already started talking about changes he would make to the format before the event ended. With that kind of drive to produce a quality event, look for even better offerings from Full Moon Productions in the future.

Cue music.

Roll credits.



Check out more pictures on the Flickr Account.... CLICK ME !!!



BREAKING NEWS......

Jason 'Foolybear' Lineberger next call to action will be:

February 26-27 at Adventure Beach Paintball - http://www.adventurebeachscenariopaintball.com/

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