Introduction:
The year is 3061 . . . the name of the place is Hood IV. (Your favorite Bablyon5 intro theme goes here)
Welcome to the tale of of our campaign!
This campaign is being run on a rules set we started working on many years ago (i.e. the late FASA days), set aside for a long time, and have recently revisited and refined. It is (mostly) based on the “Supply Point” system from Battleforce2 and the FedCom Civil War books. Given its age, it should come as no surprise that our rules set is heavily “hybridized” between the old BF2/BMR rules and the current TW/Warchest rules, picking and choosing what we liked of the old and the new. I’m not going to infodump right off the bat, but there is some basic campaign structure to know about before we begin:
We are doing a linked-scenario style of campaign rather than a map-based campaign.
Each player starts with a maximum of 40 elements and a fixed BV budget to buy forces (with roughly 1/2 of them generated via random rolls vs. the appropriate RAT) and will fight in scenarios ranging in size from lance-sized Battletech fights all the way to everything-you-have-left Battleforce engagements.
Scenarios and terrain are randomly generated. Stand-up Fight is in there, of course, but most scenarios will feature some twist on it by having some change to the typical scenario sizes or objectives (i.e. Extraction, Hide and Seek, etc.) or by focusing heavily on one set of optional rules (Concealed Units, urban terrain, aerospace/artillery support, and so on).
Repairs, replacements, omnimech reconfiguration and a few other things are done between each scenario, with rolls for success determined after all of the Supply Points (representing abstracted logistics) are allocated to each task. The pool starts out on the generous side and does get incremental ‘resupply’ boosts, but repeated heavy losses could drain it, especially for Clan forces starting with a smaller starting pool than Inner Sphere forces.
First one to 3 wins claims victory in the campaign
The Combatants:
The 4th Falcon Striker Cluster has been looking for worthy foes since their arrival in the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone in 3059. The Black Falcons are looking to take the measure of the Inner Sphere forces they have been brought in to fight, and have chosen the remote world of Hood IV as a testing ground to do just that.
Opposing them will be the 15th Lyran Regulars. Disappointed by their limited participation in (and limited salvage and glory opportunities from) Operation Bulldog, the Bully Boys will be eager, if somewhat inexperienced, opponents for the Falcons. Their tendancy toward heavier elements and slow advances did not help them pin down Smoke Jaguars on the run . . . but Falcons coming to them where they stand? Bring it on!
Force selection:
Each side generated 1/2 of their vehicle and Mech forces via their faction RATs, and were encouraged to make *most* of their other choices in the spirit of their faction, and then arrange them by Star and Lance after that. Each player was allowed to “short” one of these lances/stars at the start of play if they wished, but we were aiming to keep standard lance/star structures as intact as we could for the starting campaign forces.
Given that many of the scenarios will use Battleforce rules, most elements ended up grouped with teammates that had similar movement and weapon range profiles.
The RAT mechs are in italics.
Jade Falcons:
- Turkina Prime, Warhawk B, Hellbringer A, Cougar Prime (shorted to 4 elements)
- Ice Ferret A, Black Lanner A, Fire Moth C, Fire Falcon Prime, Myst Lynx Prime
- Stormcrow B, Kit Fox B, Kit Fox D, Linebacker Prime, Fire Falcon B
- Summoner D, Night Gyr A, Viper C, Summoner C, Nova B
- 5 Elemental BA points (MG/Flamer)
- 5 Elemental BA points (MG/Flamer)
- 5 Elemental BA points (MG/Flamer)
- 3 Elemental BA points (MG) and 2 Salamander BA points
This is the Jade Falcon 4th Striker Cluster, a proud frontline outfit, so this was going to be Omnimechs all the way! Those machines chew up a lot of points against the BV limit, though, and a supernova-type force structure was going to be the only way to pull it off. Rather than “shorting” one star all the way down to 0-1 elements, the Falcons elected to keep their numbers as high as they could by going a bit lighter and cheaper on many of the non-RAT Mechs. A few selections (Viper C, Fire Moth C, Nova B) were clearly added in with very cheap configurations just to cram the chassis into the list, with the option to upgrade them later.
As a note: The campaign rules do require some resource use to reconfigure Omnis (though at a much lower average consumption rate than typical repair and replacement actions, assuming average dice rolls) and don’t allow the force to ever exceed the total BV cap at any time, so most Omni reconfiguration will have to wait till some casualties “free up” space in the list (unless the Falcons want to “downgrade” a different Mech for every upgrade) and it won’t be something being over-utilized without risking a drain on the small Clan resource pool.
The only reconfiguration the Black Falcons were planning on doing right out of the gate was to convert the Stormcrow over to the Prime configuration. There’s nothing wrong with the B (and its high value made the reconfiguration easy to fit in sans casualties), but its starmates (especially the Kit Foxes) really want to keep the fight at range if they can, and the Prime is a much better fit for that style.
Lyran Alliance:
- AS7-S Atlas, HA1-O Hauptmann Prime, HA1-O Hauptmann A, ZEU-9S Zues
- CES-3R Caesar, BSW-X1 Bushwacker, BNC-5S Banshee, MAD-5S Marauder
- PPR-5S Salamander, CLPT-C1 Catapult, CLPT-C1 Catapult, ARC-5S Archer
- VTR-9K Victor, GHR-5J Grasshopper, MAD-5D Marauder, AXM-1N Axman
- CLNT-2-3U Clint, ENF-5D Enforcer, FS9-OD Firestarter D, FLC-8R Falconer
- JR7-D Jenner, COM-5S Commando, JVN-10P Javelin, BTZ-3F Blitzkrieg
- STH-1D Stealth, SDR-5V Spider, SPR-5F Spector, STH-1D Stealth
- Sturmfeur Hvy Tank, Ontos Hvy Tank, Striker Lt. Tank, Sturmfeur Hvy Tank
- Centipede Scout Car, Centipede Scout Car, Condor Hovertank x 2
- 2x SRM-4 Fenrir BA, 2x MPulse Fenrir BA
Thanks to their lower skill stats (which gives them more points to spend on forces at the beginning and in each scenario) and the lower cost of Inner Sphere technology, the 15th Lyran Regulars could afford to be quite lavish with some of their Mech selections compared to the penny pinching of the Falcons. Beefing up mid and light weight lances with Mechs like the Falconer and Blitzkrieg and grabbing a pair of Hauptmann Omnis to flank the Atlas are good examples of that. Its a force that skews a bit heavy and slow, but you need some good armor when going up against Clan weaponry in the hands of better pilots than your own . . . and hey, its the Steiner way.
More to come soon!