Recently I ran an Alpha Strike game at Scrum-Con in Silver Spring MD. This was one of several BattleTech and Alpha Strike games being held at the small con, and was also my first time running a convention game on my own since way back in the Operation Green Flag days (I really miss that con).
The scenario was titled Of Legends and Mortal Men, and was based around the face-off between Jaime Wolf and Wayne Waco in Harlech city, October 18, 3067. There were 6 tickets claimed and 5 players showed up. Initially, the company of Waco's Rangers faced off against Jaime and an Epsilon Regiment assault lance. Both sides would receive reinforcements throughout the course of the game.
The players. Brett, the seated gentleman, would be playing the part of Wayne Waco. The guy on the far right is my good gaming buddy from way back, Indy, who would be our Jaime Wolf for the day.
Prior to start, I gave the 2 designated leaders each a short script.
Wayne Waco: "Face me Wolf! Just you and me, mano-a-mano. That's how you Clanners do it, right? You've had this comin' a long time. Today's your reckonin'!"
Jaime Wolf: "All right you old fool, let's finish it."
Wide shot. Only a small corner of the city is visible here. Rangers begin deploying along the north table edge.
Waco forces move south toward the bombed-out hiring hall.
Rangers striker lance moves through a residential and shopping district.
Waco and Wolf face off along the main boulevard. The bombed-out building on the left is the former MRBC hiring hall, with one corner of the Star League stadium visible behind it.
Waco's Battlemaster stalks forward past the burning buildings.
Wolf's Archer strides confidently past the Charlie Mike Sushi & BBQ restaurant, just visible behind Bunnys Merc Bar.
Rangers battle lance takes cover behind some high-priced condos and begins to trade fire with the Epsilon lance while the striker lance looks for a flank to exploit. The Ranger Wasp would get blown apart pretty quickly. The Dragoon Timber Wolf would soon follow, going down to combined fire from several Rangers. The battle would claim several 'Mechs on both sides over the next few turns as they slugged it out using the buildings and the sparse trees for cover.
First casualty.
Dragoon reinforcements arrive! A lance from Beta regiment enters along Herrera Street from the west.
The Rangers fast movers were able to successfully flank the Epsilon lance. They really made pests of themselves through the whole game.
"I claim this building in the name of Urbies everywhere!"
Move it or lose it! The Rangers get some help from a lance of 51st DPJ armor with 2 Ontos and 2 Demolishers. The Demolishers rolled through the rubbled business district while the Ontos enterd along the elevated highway on the left flank of the Beta regiment lance. From here, they had a perfect firing position and did devastating damage to the Dragoon 'Mechs.
Wolf actual is down! In a moment that was eerily accurate to the lore, Wolf's Archer suffered a fatal critical head shot from Waco's Battlemaster. At the same instant, Wolf's missile barrage cored out Waco's 'Mech, which exploded, taking the old man with it. In other words, the two legends killed each other in the same turn, proving that they were both mortal men after all.
With their leader down, the Dragoons enacted "Condition Feral". The fight was now to the death, with no quarter asked and none give, and no forced withdrawal.
The condo complex became the site of a close quarters brawl between Beta and the last of the Rangers, with the Ontos tanks of the 51st unleashing hell from their elevated position.
On the final turn, Dragoon air showed up to strafe the tanks. They managed to cripple one, but the other suffered little damage.
As the smoke cleared, the Dragoons had only 2 'Mechs left standing. The Rangers still had 4, but 3 of those were light 'Mechs from the striker lance and the last was a Griffin that had escaped off the board before condition Feral. I'm sure he didn't make it very far. One of the Ontos tanks was crippled and one Demolisher was destroyed. The Rangers just eeked out a marginal victory, but their remaining time on Outreach would be very short indeed.
It was a really brutal game, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. Special hats off go out to Eamon, the young man in the red shirt, who controlled both the Rangers striker and command lances despite this being his first experience ever playing a tabletop war game! He handled his forces with great skill and somehow managed to keep 3 of his 4 light 'Mechs alive through the entire battle. The table attracted a lot of attention, especially the lights and the battle sounds coming from a Bluetooth speaker hidden in one of the buildings. It seemed like everyone at the con stopped by at some point to snap pics and compliment the terrain. This was my first time attending Scrum-Con and I had a great time. I'm already planning next year's scenario.
