Author Topic: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ  (Read 28561 times)

Joel47

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Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« on: 03 December 2019, 12:52:54 »
I'm starting the new year with a new campaign, using the Battletech Missions campaign by Jamez “Bootcamp” Kirtley.

First game will be Jan 4 at Game Depot AZ, starting at 1pm.

Campaign Synopsis:  Similar to Shadowrun Missions, this campaign will be a series of shorter battles that string together to form a story arc. Players need not play in every game! Each battle will give participating players C-bills and XP, the amounts depending on mission success and damage taken. Spend XP and C-bills to upgrade your pilot and mech.

Mission 01-01: Pirate Defense
Shelby Drop Port, Memphis, Crucis March, Federated Suns
June 27, 3025
"Okay mechwarriors, listen up. Welcome to Memphis, a nowhere world at the far end of the Federated Suns. This part of the ‘suns is always having trouble with periphery pirates, but this time some local noble or another managed to dig up enough funds to hire us to come handle their problem for them. Fortunately for us, Memphis has a regular food shipment delivered around the end of every month, and it looks like the pirates have taken the bait. Last night at about 02:00 we got jump signature at a nearby pirate point.We expect them at the Lake Aswan drop port any minute now.Your job is simple: stop their attack, and make them regret coming here to Memphis. If you can capture one, great -- we’d love to know more about their operation. The good news? You’ve got the drop on them and have plenty of time to get into position. The bad news? These psychos look like a bunch of weirdos out of an early information age flatvid. Watch yourselves out there!"

Date & Time:  Saturday, January 4th. We are scheduled to start at 1:00pm; last round will be called at about 6:00pm.
Campaign Rules: https://bit.ly/35WSBYB

    Pre-generated pilots+mechs will be available.
    Unit selection summary: Purchase a light mech from the list in the rules.
    Pilot skills: G4/P5. Special abilities can be purchased at the start (or you can save the XP so you can improve skills sooner).
    If we end up with too many players for a single game (7+) we'll split into two, with a player tapped to be GM. Being a GM earns C-bills and XP! (More than a losing player, less than a winning player.)

Terrain and setup description: The battle will be held on four mapsheets depicting a coastal drop port.
 
Special Rules: With a few exceptions, only Total Warfare rules will be used.

    There is no “edge of the world.” If a mech is up against a map edge, the three hexes that would be surrounding the mech off the board are now legal hexes for movement; occupying any of those hexes opens up more hexes, etc.
    The following rules from Tactical Operations will be used: Floating Crits, Sprinting, Evading, Crawling, Careful Stand, Firing When Down, ECCM, Expanded Backward Movement, Expanded Stacking, Gauss Shut Off, Active Probe Targeting, Retractable Blades.


Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #1 on: 07 December 2019, 22:26:03 »
This sounds interesting but I have questions.


1.  Where is the Spider-5V?
   Its IS Gen but its not on the list, meanwhile the FWL Faction roster has the Davion model Spider-5D as an option.
  That seems very odd to me.


2.  So do you only ever control a single mech in the fight?    No added mechs,  no tanks/infantry?


3.  How do you buy a bigger mech?
   Is it only from whatever you salvage on missions and the 2 factional choices?


4.  Speaking of Factional Choices.
    HOW were those mechs chosen?
   Why are some of them Standard Tech v/s Intro Tech.
   Why are some of them extinct in the timeline or completely don't match the fluff.  (Exterminator-4A,  or Mercs getting Wyverns)
   Why are the choices really broken & unbalanced?   (Kurita gets a Stalker & their improved Crusader-K but Davion has the Crappy Longbow instead of the GOOD one that they actually produced & the standard Rifleman/Warhammer instead of their 3 House variants?)
   Liao has some totally sick choices btw in terms of balance.


Anyway, that's just a few things I've seeing that seem unbalanced.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Joel47

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #2 on: 08 December 2019, 09:41:50 »
Note that since I didn't write these rules, questions as to "why" are just my guesses.

  • The list of starting mechs only includes affordable ones. The Spider-5V costs 2.9M C-bills. The -5D is likely an error; I'll let the author know. (Also, the faction choices in the "starting" mech list include several costing over 2.5M C-bills, which is also likely an error.)
  • Usually, yes. Some scenarios allow players to optionally play a tank or some infantry alongside their mech. It does make for simplistic games, but it allows for player-vs-GM without having the GM swamped with units.
  • Correct. I'm not sure how that will work out, but since others have run this campaign I'm willing to see how it plays out before I start tweaking it.
  • If I had to guess, they were listed variants in TRO3039. Unless I'm missing something, other than the Experimental-tech Ravens the only Standard Tech is on the Comstar list; I'm guessing that's their faction ability. (That said, it may be an error; I'll ask.) As for the Exterminator, it's available. Of course, MUL says it's a FWL mech in that era. But that Wyvern is very much a merc mech in that era: http://masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/3599/wyvern-wve-6n
« Last Edit: 08 December 2019, 09:51:09 by Joel47 »

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #3 on: 09 December 2019, 02:33:42 »
I feel like the MUL is wrong.

That Exterminator last I checked was produced by Davion & it was only a short production run that was phased out in favor of the Wolverine.

I thought it & the Mercury were 2 of the mechs not included in one of the TRO editions because they were extinct even though the rest of the 2750 mechs were included.

Maybe I'm mis-remembering the fluff.  I'll have to go pull out a TRO.


Seems like since you have a C-Bill limit at Start & we have factions on the MUL that it would just be easier to say,  you have IS Gen access & if you choose a faction then you have Faction access.

The C-Bills & the Faction make sense as to what you can choose.   Not a fan of the only 2 mechs choice since from what I'm seeing, they are not even close to balanced in capability.

« Last Edit: 09 December 2019, 02:43:43 by Hellraiser »
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Insaniac99

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #4 on: 09 December 2019, 12:17:07 »
I feel like the MUL is wrong.

That Exterminator last I checked was produced by Davion & it was only a short production run that was phased out in favor of the Wolverine.

I thought it & the Mercury were 2 of the mechs not included in one of the TRO editions because they were extinct even though the rest of the 2750 mechs were included.

Maybe I'm mis-remembering the fluff.  I'll have to go pull out a TRO.


There was some mild Retconning back when 3039 was published, to make a lot more star league only mechs more accessible.

The Exterminator 4A is a downtech mech first published in 3039, mech created in 3007.

Mercury also received a downtech version, first done in 2810, I think that was also first published  in  RS:3039.

Seems like since you have a C-Bill limit at Start & we have factions on the MUL that it would just be easier to say,  you have IS Gen access & if you choose a faction then you have Faction access.

The C-Bills & the Faction make sense as to what you can choose.   Not a fan of the only 2 mechs choice since from what I'm seeing, they are not even close to balanced in capability.

By my understanding of the rules, you get access to the general list at the start (only lights), and whatever faction mechs you have.  You are authorized to buy any mechs you have on that combined list at any time without salvaging additional ones as long as you have the c-bills and the ability to pilot the weight class.

  My take was that the faction balance, such as it is, came in the combined set of the faction ability and all the mechs available -- Comstar has some amazing mechs but no ability for example.  I also feel that some of the factions have great early mechs but meh late mechs or vice versa.

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #5 on: 09 December 2019, 22:47:15 »
The Exterminator 4A is a downtech mech first published in 3039, mech created in 3007.

Mercury also received a downtech version, first done in 2810, I think that was also first published  in  RS:3039.

Actually, the Exterminator, Mercury, & Crockett are not in TRO3039 at all.

They are specifically mentioned as being completely extinct by the 4th SW.

The downgrade versions were first published in TRO3025r IIRC.


Quote
By my understanding of the rules, you get access to the general list at the start (only lights), and whatever faction mechs you have.  You are authorized to buy any mechs you have on that combined list at any time without salvaging additional ones as long as you have the c-bills and the ability to pilot the weight class.

  My take was that the faction balance, such as it is, came in the combined set of the faction ability and all the mechs available -- Comstar has some amazing mechs but no ability for example.  I also feel that some of the factions have great early mechs but meh late mechs or vice versa.

Yeah the "Starter List" that is attached to the rules is not actually IS-General from the MUL.

For instance All Flavors of Locust & Wasp are listed in the Starter list, but not the Spider-5V which is an actual "IS-General" mech.

Some of the factions get very few "decent" mech variants on the house list,  others get nearly a full sheet of them.  That is one of the issues I'm seeing.

I'd like to just see the mechs not on some rules page but purely go by Faction List & C-Bills.  I think that would be far more fair than restricting each house to 2 Heavy Mechs which near as I can tell have ZERO balance in their choices from house to house.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

jzkirtley

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #6 on: 24 December 2019, 14:01:10 »
The Unit list I'm afraid actually has developed a bit over the years as the rules have. Originally the starting C-Bill allotment was 2 million, not 2.5, so a number of 'mechs whose cost is over that aren't included even if they probably should be. I'll take a look and revamp that at some point.

The Faction specific 'mechs for Medium weight and up are actually more flavor than anything else. My expectation is that most 'mechs will be purchased from salvage. But to be honest, few campaigns (other than the one in Boston) have really gotten that far - I'm running second season in Philly now, where Boston (where I started the whole thing) is up to 4 - and that's slowed due to my moving and our original venue closing.

I'm definitely all ears when it comes to feedback on the initial 'mechs. The original list was simply me doing a filtered search against MUL for IS general 'mechs under 2 million. The faction specific ones were partly from memory and partly from a 3025 random unit list I found online (so it may be somewhat inaccurate). I know my initial list was missing the fire javelin, so it might need some tweaking.

Most of the players I've had are newbies who don't know a Marauder from a Wasp, so I haven't gotten a lot of complaints about initial 'mechs. Heck, 95% of my players these days are using pregens until they upgrade anyway.

So yes, please feel free to give me feedback on 'mech selections! I'll take some time soon and revamp them. I'll do another revision of the rules before con season this coming summer, but I'll likely try to get a pass in before then.

Insaniac99

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #7 on: 24 December 2019, 14:19:54 »
I'll do another revision of the rules before con season this coming summer, but I'll likely try to get a pass in before then.

If you want a second set of eyes before you publish, please let me know.

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #8 on: 24 December 2019, 21:02:20 »
Let me just say, nitpics on faction balance aside,  I really like what you've done here.

I look forward to checking it out next month.




My initial thoughts, now that we have the MUL, would be to just open it all up to anything that is IS-GEN + Your Faction w/ C-Bills being the major limiting factor.

Save's on printed space in the rules & its a free online public source for easy double checking by GMs.




I was unsure about only having single mechs as a long term option for players who eventually want to play with more toys & run a full force.

But I think this "single mech" campaign would make for great Month-2-Month option broken up by some "Historical" or WW-Events each year that allow for larger forces to be fielded.


3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

BirdofPrey

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #9 on: 04 January 2020, 22:55:36 »
That was a fun romp, really enjoyed it.  Poor Ian, though, he failed so many of his PSRs.
It's been so long since I made it to a game, a bunch of people I didn't recognize even if I knew most of the ones at my table.

I went though some of the SPAs after the game thinking of how best to maximize my already excellent maneuverability.  Speed Demon is a bit disappointing, can't attack so might as well sprint, and 2 additional MP isn't that much when I can sprint 16 already.  On the other hand, Maneuvering Ace Seems useful, there's been several occasions a single hex shift when running would have been useful, especially for this game where turning can be dangerous, and the SPA also helps avoid skids.  Combine that with Natural grace and I can run anywhere and point my weapons at anything.

So for the game itself, we managed to turn the firestarter into metal confetti after touching off the ammo, the Panther got its gyro blown out after being knocked over a couple times and getting a side kicked off and the Assassin found itself surrounded by locusts unable to escape due to hip damage.  The Wasp did manage to escape. 3 of the infantry got turned into a fine mist thanks to the claymores taped to the locusts' legs, and one of the APCs got disabled trying to escape while the other made it out with a flat tire, and the last infantry platoon escaped with 2/3rds of its men.

On our side I think the only major damage I can remember was one of the locusts getting its armor peeled off, but it only took a point or two of internal damage.

Like I said, poor Ian with those PSRs.  First his mechs get knocked down and the Assassin takes a nap due to a failed seatbelt check, then the undamaged APC skids out and loses a couple tires.  The Panther had to try to stand up twice (and I think the Assassin might have also had that issue, but can't 100% remember), and a later small laser to the face put the panther pilot asleep, though that didn't matter so much when it lost its gyro afterwards.  That's on top of the fact those mechs got beat on quite hard having to do PSRs in the first place due to taking so much damage.

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #10 on: 05 January 2020, 00:42:31 »
Yes much fun was had.

Turn by Turn as I recall it for our (West) table.

Enemy Pirates enter from the South on Turn-1 with Objective Building being on the SW Map but close to the overall middle area.
  (4 Mechs [Assassin-21, Panther-8Z, Firestarter-9H, Wasp-1D], 2 Wheeled APC 10 ton model, 4 Mechanized-Wheeled MG Platoons, 10 men each)

Merc force of 5 mechs (Mercs/Davion) on defense scattered over a 4 map area.    (Javelin-10F,  Firefly,  Locust-3V,  2x Locust-1E)
  (Actually more like just N &/or E of the target building in some cover.  I don't think the anyone ever used the NE map all day short of the 1/2 row hexes that joined the 4 maps.)


Turn-1  Minimal Fire.  I think 4 Infantry died in the open to a single LRM-5 rocket.

Turn-2  Firestarter, APCs, Assassin all move towards the Storage Depot.  Both mechs get knocked over.  (Locust-3V headshots the Assassin for a nappy check, Firestarter failed PSR.)

Turn-3  Javelin uses special ability to attack Firestarter while down, rips leg off.  Then Firefly blows up MG ammo & FS is roasted.  Locust-1E tanks all fire from Wasp, Panther, & Platoons as both Locust-1Es detonate A-Pods on top of the infantry & 3 full platoons disappear in a fine pink mist.  Locust-3V attempts to aimed shot the Assassin but fails to rip the leg off.  Panther falls from Locust combined fire.
1 APC manages to skid itself into 1/2 MP.

Turn-4  Pirates start to retreat & are pursued by merc mechs.  Ranged fire all around.  The "tank"-1E retreats to avoid more fire.

Turn-5  Panther is dropped again & Javelin blows out Gyro to ensure it doesn't get back.  Locusts move to block APCs from escaping the board & immobilize the more mobile one.

Turn-6  Wasp, 1/2 MP APC, & Last 6 infantry troopers of 1 platoon escape off the board.  Assassin is surrounded & 1/2 MP & surrenders.


Final Tally.

All 5 merc mechs are damaged but none "Heavy" so full pay.
Panther & Assassin are Salvaged
3 Pirate MW are captured.



I was really concerned the 3 larger GM mechs were going to smash us with Speed, Armor, & Firepower, but as noted, the GM dice were horrible when it came to Sleepy Time & Piloting rolls.



For the East Table I don't know much.   (Player force was 2 Panther-9R's & 3 mixed Commandos?)

2+ Commandos destroyed by the "Panther-8Z of DOOM" to ammo hits.

Firestarter & Wasp salvaged.

Beyond that I'm not sure how it all finished up other than MANY infernos were launched by the mercs (Kurita/Liao)
« Last Edit: 05 January 2020, 00:46:27 by Hellraiser »
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #11 on: 05 January 2020, 01:48:37 »
Rules Question for Davion Special Ability. (Tactical Genius)

How is 2nd half of that supposed to work?

1:  We don't ever use Forced Initiative.

2:  Even if we did, I really don't see how it works.  Forced Initiative is a bonus to next turns Initiative Roll based on # of mechs killed this turn.  I think that rule might be designed for teams using Individual Initiative Rolls?  That would allow the TG hero move before/after they normally would.  But since we do Team Initiative I'm not seeing how it works.

I would propose a change to it.

Option-A.  1/Scenario the TG char can seize initiative like in Banking Initiative & just auto-win for the team.

Option-B.  The TG char alone can move outside initiative order 1/game, so if the ratio would be 10-5 like it was today, for 1 turn, its done as 10-4 & then the TG char moves last after everyone.


Thoughts?
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Joel47

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #12 on: 05 January 2020, 16:55:16 »
By "forced" initiative, the rules mean this (from the GM packet, which you don't have access to, causing the confusion):
Quote
Because of the time limit, it is suggested that initiative be handled randomly. This means that when it is a team’s turn to move, the unit that actually has to move should be determined randomly. One very efficient way to handle this is to have a set of playing cards assigned to each player or NPC unit. You then use a different set of cards for the players and for the OPFOR. For example, Dave’s Locust could be the Ace of Spades, while the bad guy Hunchback is the King of Diamonds. Keep a separate stack for the players and for the bad guys, and when it’s one side’s turn to go, select a card (or more) from the respective stack.
I'll use that if initiative becomes a problem (either by the "who moves" decision taking too long, or it becoming acrimonious). Even without it, I think winning ties is useful; however, I could see replacing the second part with something like the following: "Once per scenario you may add +2 to your team's initiative roll. This bonus must be declared before the roll is made."

As for my table, four of the five PC mechs carried infernos. This made very short work of the infantry, because while there was more cover on my table's maps, all it took was one turn not in it for a stand of infantry to die horribly. On the other hand, the pirates had the Panther of Doom: Round 1, it ripped the large laser off a Commando. Round 2, it walked a floating crit into the left torso of a different Commando, detonating the ammo. Round 3, it detonated the third Commando. Round 4, it damaged the hip of the first Commando. Fortunately for the PCs, it couldn't hit anything that wasn't a Commando, because much more of that and it would have been game over.

BirdofPrey

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #13 on: 05 January 2020, 18:45:27 »
Combat intuition seems much more useful for the same price and no faction restriction.

Joel47

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #14 on: 05 January 2020, 18:58:59 »
Remember, though, that the faction ability comes with an extra boost -- it doesn't count against the number of SAs  you can have.

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #15 on: 05 January 2020, 19:33:23 »
By "forced" initiative, the rules mean this (from the GM packet, which you don't have access to, causing the confusion):I'll use that if initiative becomes a problem (either by the "who moves" decision taking too long, or it becoming acrimonious). Even without it, I think winning ties is useful; however, I could see replacing the second part with something like the following: "Once per scenario you may add +2 to your team's initiative roll. This bonus must be declared before the roll is made."

I totally agree ties is useful.
The problem is its unlikely to happen even once a game.
Sure we get them, but how often?  Every 2 games?
And then you still have a 50/50 chance of winning the 2nd roll off.
So how often does it happen that it actually effects the results?   Every 4th game?
And how often when that initiative turn was a critical one?  (Ties on first 2 & maybe final round of play tend to be insignificant compared to say Rounds 3-5+)
When you look at the other faction abilities they have something that is useful at Every Single Game,  that Merc one is awesome & was hard not to go with.


My only suggestion would be to remove the "Before" part so it still leaves some "take the initiative" effect in there like the first rule has, it allows you to take an action that you know is having an effect.
When its "before" its just a random gamble still that may or may not have even mattered since you might have rolled a 9 to their 4.  Yeah your weighting the random role but you still might not have needed to & its wasted then.

3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

BirdofPrey

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #16 on: 05 January 2020, 20:38:23 »
The Tactical Genius from Campaign Ops is s straight up reroll

Joel47

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #17 on: 05 January 2020, 23:04:28 »
Next game will be Saturday, Feb 1 at Game Depot AZ.

GM pay will increase (retroactively).
No non-standard ammo. I hadn't read future scenarios and didn't realize even infernos are supposed to be mission rewards. (But the good news is everyone will get some for the next battle.)

BirdofPrey

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #18 on: 05 January 2020, 23:16:05 »
Uh Joel, your email says January 4.  Might want to send a correction

Joel47

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #19 on: 05 January 2020, 23:34:28 »
(sigh) I post these things in four places, increasing the odds a mistake slips through.

BirdofPrey

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #20 on: 06 January 2020, 00:00:12 »
The subject line says February 1, It's in the description is has January

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #21 on: 06 January 2020, 12:31:15 »
The Tactical Genius from Campaign Ops is s straight up reroll

That works too.

Its less about the bonus than it is about using it when you know you really need it.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #22 on: 06 January 2020, 12:37:48 »
Next game will be Saturday, Feb 1 at Game Depot AZ.

GM pay will increase (retroactively).
No non-standard ammo. I hadn't read future scenarios and didn't realize even infernos are supposed to be mission rewards. (But the good news is everyone will get some for the next battle.)

I also gave the rules for those Improvised A-Pods a more thorough read.

Apparently you only got to have ONE of them in the battle, not all 3.

So the move where we used 2 in the same turn shouldn't have been possible.  That said of the 2 die rolls (4&5), 1 of them was enough to kill the entire platoon (5), so we have a 50/50 chance of pulling off the same results with the other leaving only 2 troops alive.

The way I'm reading it is we can use a total of 3 of them over the course of the campaign & after each 1 is detonated or destroyed on the leg from damage, then we check of 1 box.

So we can use them in the future till they are all gone, but only 1 special item per game per mech.

3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Joel47

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #23 on: 06 January 2020, 12:39:43 »
That's correct. I wasn't running at your table, so I didn't catch that. No one at my table used them, as they were relying on the (magically appearing) inferno rounds.

I do think you can take A-pods and infernos at the same time, though.

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #24 on: 06 January 2020, 12:50:32 »
IDK, I'm just going by the special tech rules that say 1/game.  Not sure if ammo counts or not.  And not that my mech can use SRM's anyway.  I'll have to think about having an SRM rack in 2021 when I can afford to upgrade :)
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

Joel47

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #25 on: 06 January 2020, 13:23:05 »
Ah, there it is:
Quote
you can only bring at most one piece of optional gear along on any given mission.
Right. A-pod or infernos, then.
« Last Edit: 06 January 2020, 15:30:00 by Joel47 »

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #26 on: 07 January 2020, 20:40:39 »
The Tactical Genius from Campaign Ops is s straight up reroll

Oh wow, I also just noticed that is at will.  Not 1x/game, but every turn.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

BirdofPrey

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #27 on: 07 January 2020, 20:48:37 »
Yeah that part does seem a bit much

Hellraiser

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #28 on: 07 January 2020, 20:50:23 »
It matches most the other abilities.

The 1/game ones seem to be just our factional choices.

I was just thinking of it initially in terms of 1/game because of how the FS version works.
3041: General Lance Hawkins: The Equalizers
3053: Star Colonel Rexor Kerensky: The Silver Wolves

"I don't shoot Urbanmechs, I walk up, stomp on their foot, wait for the head to pop open & drop in a hand grenade (or Elemental)" - Joel47
Against mechs, infantry have two options: Run screaming from Godzilla, or giggle under your breath as the arrogant fools blunder into your trap. - Weirdo

BirdofPrey

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Re: Battletech "Missions" Campaign, Tempe AZ
« Reply #29 on: 07 January 2020, 20:55:16 »
It kinda feels like it trivializes initiative a bit if you can always reroll, but I don't know what the odds are of rerolling losses turning them into wins., though the way we each took turns last game rather than having a "force commander" it wouldn't have had as much impact.