Roight, your in for a treat and im sober enough to type so thats a bonus.
This is a little scenario I cooked up for halloween and seeing as there be a bunch of you here that are active im sharing it to see how different groups play it out.
Generic intro music
The year is 3042, and the players represent a mercenary group(s) down on its luck. At this point there seems little left but to sell the mechs and dropship to pay off debts and liquidate the group(s) when along comes a businessman. The man offers a contract, take it and all there debts will be payed off and in addition each pilot will receive 500K Cbills plus expenses and repairs. Its a dream come true right? The man, claiming to be from a small research company called 'Oktoberist', explains that his company recently dug up an old Starleague era project, a hyper advanced cutting edge Mech that could revolutionise battlemech technology, a unit capable of operating without a pilot. Unfortunately the Mech activated before preparations were finished and has gone rogue, taking over the facility, its systems and its staff. The company sent in its private security detail including a number of Battlemechs but these failed to overcome the target before being destroyed.
The job is simple, go in there and deactivate the Mech, preferably without destroying it although they will understand if needs must, and destroy any other hostile contacts. Flame based weapons were noticed to be very effective. The man gives one last warning "Do not get too close to it, its close in weapons are... Not what you think. And if you see anything else moving in there... Our last unit went dark 32 hours ago. Anything in there is to be presumed hostile.
What the players do ot know is that the Oktoberist group is actually part of Comstar, more on that later.
You will need at least 4 maps for this, one with a complex or fort on it and the rest as countryside.
Let the players pick there force, and let them bring tanks and infantry too. No artillery though, that was banned in the contract.
The basic opfor consists of the Frankenmech (to be renamed), 4 zombie Mechs, 6 platoons of 'Zombies', 2 points of 'Scarecrows' and 2 points of 'Hulks'. Increase this in line with the players and there forces.
Deployment:
The players start on the mapsheet furthest from the complex, let them choose if multiple are an option.The opfor should have set up first. Opfor Mechs set up anywhere within the complex or on any mapsheet adjacent to it provided the mapsheet is not adjacent to an edge. The Frankenmech starts inside the complex. The infantry and BA can deploy anywhere in the complex or on an adjacent mapsheet including one that is on an edge. All the Infantry and BA ma choose to start the game hidden.
Special rules/notes:
>Any flamethrower weapon carried by an opfor unit has actually been replaced by a nano-sprayer, spraying plumes of micromachines that take over and infest the host. These function as they normally would except all damage against a vehicle is normal not heat. If they hit the internal structure of a Mech or cause a TAC then the pilot takes a point of damage. If they hit the head of a mech the pilot takes an additional point of damage and a TAC or hit to a heads internal structure kills the pilot outright. A mech killed in this way will reanimate in three rounds as a zombie mech unless its engine or cockpit have been destroyed. Note that the nano-sprayers will never destroy a cockpit if they cause a critical hit on it. a zombie mech created this way retains all pre-existing damage.
If a nano-sprayer hits an infantry unit roll for damage as normal. If the damage results in the loss of 50% or more of the surviving soldiers then the unit is replaced by a 'Zombie'.
In both cases the newly revived unit will fall under the opfor players control at the start of the next turn. Flamethrowers on Mechs converted during the game do not become nano-sprayers but those on BA that "form" during the game do.
>If a Infantry or BA unit under the opfor players control destroys a Mech through a swarm attack or a TAC to the head (all TAC's to the head and hits to the heads internal structure will auto-kill the pilot) and the Mech is still viable for becoming a zombie the unit may sacrifice 10 infantry or one BA trooper to reanimate the mech as a zombie.
>If a Mech is downed but still viable for zombification it may be converted to a zombie by being successfully attacked by a nano-sprayer or by having a 'Zombie', 'Scarecrow' or 'Hulk' unit in the same Hex sacrifice the required number of troops as above.
>'Zombie' units may choose to upgrade. Instead of moving or attacking the unit may make an anti-Mech check. On a successful roll the unit becomes a 'Scarecrow' unit. For every 7 troops in the 'Zombie' unit gain one 'Scarecrow'.
>2 'Scarecrow' points may try to upgrade. Both units must be in the same hex and not move or attack. Roll an anti-Mech attack and if successful replace the two points with one point of 'Hulk' Battle armour with one BA for every 2 (rounded down) 'Scarecrow' troopers.
>'Zombie' platoons are incredibly fast. They have an MP of 2 and ignore all terrain modifiers with the exception of water. Water costs them an extra 1 MP to enter.
>Attacks from fire based weapons (Flamethrowers, Inferno ammo, etc) and effects cause double damage to opfor Infantry and BA, Infernos need only 2 missiles to kill a BA trooper instead of 3. A zombie Mech that takes a hit to its internal structure from such a weapon, or a TAC, will automatically lose every system in that location as though it had been flooded. Frankenmech is immune.
>Frankenmech can repair itself! Keep track of each critslot destroyed Each turn it may repair one critslot OR one point of structure or armour. A weapon may not be used until all its critslots have been un-damaged. If it does not move or shoot it may repair one slot/point in each location. If it spends the turn i the same hex as a wrecked vehicle or Mech and does not move or shoot it may repair 1d6 critslots/points in a single location.
>Destroying Frankenmechs engine will not kill it but it cannot move or shoot whilst its engine is destroyed and will count as immobile (-4 to hit it). The only way to kill it is to destroy its cockpit.
Units:
>Zombie mechs are the same as the standard Mech with skills set at 5/6
>'Zombie' Infantry
Because MM is being screwy today just stat out 3 squads of 10 all carrying vibro axes. You get the idea. They have a anti-Mech attack of 4
>'Scarecrow' BA
Scarecrow Scarecrow
Type: Scarecrow
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Tech Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Chassis Type: Biped
Weight Class: Medium
Maximum Weight: 1,000 kg
Battle Value: 187
Swarm/Leg Attack/Mechanized/AP: No/No/No/No
</p>
Equipment Slots Mass
Chassis: 175 kg
Motive System:
Ground MP: 2 40 kg
Jump MP: 0 0 kg
Manipulators:
Left Arm: None 0 kg
Right Arm: None 0 kg
Armor: Standard (Basic) 0 350 kg
Armor Value: 8 (Trooper)
Slots
Weapons and Equipment Location (Capacity) Mass
Support PPC Right Arm 2 250 kg
Recoilless Rifle Left Arm 2 175 kg
Shooting of 4 base to hit. And ignore penalties for night.
>'Hulk'
Hulk Hulk
Type: Hulk
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Tech Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Chassis Type: Biped
Weight Class: Heavy
Maximum Weight: 1,500 kg
Battle Value: 251
Swarm/Leg Attack/Mechanized/AP: No/No/Yes/No
</p>
Equipment Slots Mass
Chassis: 300 kg
Motive System:
Ground MP: 2 80 kg
Jump MP: 0 0 kg
Manipulators:
Left Arm: Vibro-Claw 50 kg
Right Arm: Vibro-Claw 50 kg
Armor: Standard (Basic) 0 550 kg
Armor Value: 12 (Trooper)
Slots
Weapons and Equipment Location (Capacity) Mass
Flamer Right Arm 1 150 kg
Needler Left Arm 1 50 kg
Recoilless Rifle Body 2 250 kg
aka: rape your infantry. Has a base shoot and anti-mech attack of 4
>'Frankenmech'
Frankenmech FRK-X
Mass: 85 tons
Chassis: Standard Biped
Power Plant: 340 Fusion
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph
Maximum Speed: 64.8 kph
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
2 Medium Laser
1 Gauss Rifle
2 Flamer
1 LRM 10
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communication System: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking System: Unknown
Introduction Year: 3042
Tech Rating/Availability: E/X-F-D-D
Cost: 8,986,313 C-bills
Type: Frankenmech
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Tonnage: 85
Battle Value: 1,835
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure 8.5
Engine 340 Fusion 27
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 0
Double Heat Sink 10 [20] 0
Gyro 4
Cockpit 3
Armor Factor (Ferro) 259 14.5
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 3 9
Center Torso 27 41
Center Torso (rear) 13
R/L Torso 18 28
R/L Torso (rear) 8
R/L Arm 14 27
R/L Leg 18 35
Right Arm Actuators: Shoulder, Upper Arm, Lower Arm
Left Arm Actuators: Shoulder, Upper Arm, Lower Arm, Hand
Weapons
and Ammo Location Critical Heat Tonnage
Medium Laser RT 1 3 1.0
Gauss Rifle Ammo (16) RT 2 - 2.0
CASE RT 1 - 0.5
Flamer RT 1 3 1.0
Medium Laser LT 1 3 1.0
CASE LT 1 - 0.5
LRM 10 Ammo (12) LT 1 - 1.0
Flamer LT 1 3 1.0
LRM 10 LT 2 4 5.0
Gauss Rifle RA 7 1 15.0
Its a 3/3. Need I say any more? Feel free to mod it a bit, I might. For reference it looks like a cross between a Highlander and a Warhammer.
Victory conditions:
The players must defeat the Frankenmech and then round up and destroy the infected units. As a hidden secondary objective they must torch the research facility.
Optionally make this a grinder. As soon as a Mech/unit is destroyed the player gets another one! But at the same time the enemy numbers grow with every casualty.....
Anyway, thats all for now. Ill add more as time goes on.