Total Chaos

[Xotl]

This thread is for all issues and problems with Total Chaos.

Product Link: http://bg.battletech.com/?wpsc-product=total-chaos

There is no compiled errata for this product at this time.

Please remember to follow the errata report template when reporting issues.  Thanks.

[Charlie Tango]

Errata found!

PDF
Page 102, second column, under "Journal Entry #1531", second paragraph:

"We’d been contracted by Zelazni tables to act as the core of an assault on the
International Zone while the Blakies were “improving” Montenegro."

Error:  Should be "Zelazni Stables"

[Neufeld]

BattleTech: Total Chaos, page 49, first pdf version:

Payback, Next Track:
According to page 52, Gannon's Cannon took the 'The Skye is Falling!' track after Payback. However, said track is missing from the Next Track list.

Suggested Solution:
Add 'The Skye is Falling!' to the Next Track list for Payback.
 

[GhostBear]

BattleTech: Total Chaos, page 49, first pdf version:

Payback, Next Track:
According to page 52, Gannon's Cannon took the 'The Skye is Falling!' track after Payback. However, said track is missing from the Next Track list.

Suggested Solution:
Add 'The Skye is Falling!' to the Next Track list for Payback.

Technically not errata, since fluff doesn't always equate to game rules.

[joechummer]

Pg. 77, "Denial of Service" Situation brief:

"Sixth months" should be "Six months"

[Mendrugo]

P. 33 - In Mission: Pursuit, there doesn't appear to be a way to get a result of 0 on the table.  If you did a Probe or Pushback mission immediately prior, you would get a -1 modifier.  However, it also says that if you did not do a Recon or Flank mission immediately prior, you get a +1 modifier.  So the +1 would cancel out the -1, making 0 unattainable.  The -1 modifier for Probe/Pushback could be changed to a -2 modifier to achieve the desired result on the table (as long as you remember to add the +1 for not having done a Recon/Flank immediately prior).  The same applies to Mission: Retreat on pp. 35 -36.  Mission: Strike on p. 37 has the correct modifiers.

P. 103 - In the 'Warehouses' section, 'BAP' should be 'probe'  (since the scanning bonus applies to all probes, not just the Beagle)

P. 104 - In the Free-Fire Zone section, the line 'Units from the player’s force that turn
traitor are no longer available to the player’s total force.' should be removed, since only the Lowbrau, Lyran Guards and Royal Guards are affected by traitor rolls.

P. 137 - Unless St. Katherinesburg is the nickname for Tikograd's industrial district (where the Earthwerks facilities are located, according to the NAIS Atlas of the 4th Succession War), it should be removed from the title bar.  Or it should be made clear that the unit is hitting Earthwerks facilities at both Tikograd and St. Katherinesburg, if that's a separate city.

P. 235 - 'Kallentown' should be 'Kallontown'

P. 237 - The text referring to 'APCs' should say 'Partisans'. 

[Demos]

p. 13, Example opposing forces:

the player determines their total force comprises 12 ’Mechs totaling 20,000 BV2 (not counting Gunnery/Piloting skills) and worth 10 million C-bills.

It's very hard to get a company for just 10 million. For reasons of consistency I'd suggest to increase this figure to 100 million.
Then the following sentence

If the group instead used C-bills as the standard, then the total value of the player’s deployed force cannot exceed 2.5 million C-bills

have to be adjusted to 25 million.

[Demos]

p. 17, SP Activity Cost Table 2

Table is missing the cost of puchasing a mechanized infantry platoon

Suggestion:
either expand table, e.g. 400 SP for mechanized infantry platoon or use the line of Jump platoon.
E.g. 'Hire new Mechanized/Jump infantry platoon --- 300'.

[Demos]

p. 17, Skill Advcancement Table

Table is missing the Anti-Mech Skill (Advcancement) for BA and infantry.

Suggested solution: either expand table or (as IMHO AM advancement is as important as gunnery) simply expand 'Gunnery Skill' with 'Gunnery/Anti-Mech Skill'.

[Demos]

p. 242, Track Wild Weasel, Objectives:

Scout out. The Attacker fails to scan (see Scanning, p. 14) all three buildings before the end of Turn 8. [800]

IMHO this makes no sense. Should more like
"The Attacker scans (see Scanning, p. 14)  all three building hexes before Turn 8. [800]".

[Demos]

p. 23, Special Combat Abilities (of Cumberland's Missiliers):

When a Missilier Anti-Missile System fires, double the amount of missiles shot down.

This seems to be related to the old rule of AMS. As the AMS is a modifier on the cluster hit table, the sentence should me modified to something like this:
"When a Missilier Anti-Missile System fires, apply a –6 to the die roll result when rolling on the Cluster Hits Table instead of a -4."

[97jedi]

If someone fires an LRM-20, hits, and rolls a 12 for the number of missiles that hit, meaning that all 20 missiles would normally hit. However, an AMS reduces that to an 8 on the Cluster Hits Table, which gives 12 missiles hit, or 8 missiles shot down. Using your suggestion would change the roll result to a 6, which means 12 missiles still hit and the special ability is nullified. The method, as written, would instead double the number of missiles shot down to 16, meaning only 4 missiles hit.

[Neufeld]

Battletech: Total Chaos, initial pdf release, pages 125-126:

The history of Sheratan on those pages clashes strongly with the history of Cumberland's Missilier's as detailed throughout the product.

Suggested solution:

Rewrite the Sheratan sidebar to the consistent with the Grim Death track on page 95.

[GhostBear]

Battletech: Total Chaos, initial pdf release, pages 125-126:

The history of Sheratan on those pages clashes strongly with the history of Cumberland's Missilier's as detailed throughout the product.

Suggested solution:

Rewrite the Sheratan sidebar to the consistent with the Grim Death track on page 95.

Not really a conflict.

Sheratan was never a Protectorate world until after Latronis took over. He manipulated a FedSuns broker to bring in mercs to hit the world, trying to swing things to his own personal favor. His plan was to take the world over himself, in the name of the WOB but ultimately answering to him. The mercs were hired to hit the Fifth and the GD.

The Stalking Horse and the Wild Geese did engage the Fifth and GD, though they subcontracted the GD strike to the Missiliers. The ROTS textbook (p. 125-26) glosses over the follow-up strike by the Missiliers and subsequent absorption of the unit. Because the ROTS is predisposed against mercs, its no surprise they tend to not really pay much attention to details regarding their exploits. The fact that the GD were destroyed and replaced by Precentor Latronis' personal unit remains undisputed, and that's the crux of the textbook's material. That Latronis' personal bid for power outstripped his own loyalty to the Word, and that made him a target for not only the Opacus, but also the Coalition.

[SilverSword]

Various Pages: Mini Campaigns - references are made to a "Supply Run" mission, should be "Supply" (see pg. 38)

[Xotl]

PDF, p. 252

On both Vehicle RATs on this page the Galleon's record sheet reference is listed as "3058U-C".  This is incorrect; change the reference for all four Galleon instances to "3058U-I"


Mercenary/Protectorate Militia Vehicle RAT, Heavy column, #11
Change record sheet reference from "3058U-I" to "3039"


WoB Militia/Shadow Division Vehicle RAT, Heavy column, #9
Change record sheet reference from "3039" to "3058U-I"

[Demos]

PDF, p. 139
GAME SETUP / Defender

The Defender is elements from the Dark Shadows; they are 75% of the Attacker’s deployed force, have Veteran skills, and use any Free Worlds League RAT. The Defender enters from their home edge. Designate one unit as Force Commander. This unit is considered Veteran when randomly rolling forces.

As the Defender have already a veteran force, the commander should be an elite unit.

Suggested change:
This unit is considered Elite when randomly rolling forces.

[SilverSword]

pg. 112 No Man Left Behind - The setup references the "main barracks," but neither objectives nor fluff mention it at all...

[Hussar2]

According to this reply in "ask the writers" by Oystein:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,20346.0.html
Add the following Divisions to the WoB division list in the sidebars:
6th to page 221 and 189
25th to page 225
According to this thread:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,20366.0.html
Add the 2nd Davion Guards and the 7th FW Legionnaires to the Allies list
on page 195.

[John_Hawk]

I'm not sure this is really errata, but it is a bit confusing. This version of the Warchest System is a little different than what we've gotten before, and the SP costs are also a little different.

In the SP Activity Cost Table 1 on Page 17, it lists the costs to repair armor on a mech or aerospace fighter as the tonnage of the unit, and the cost to repair internal structure on a mech or aerospace fighter as tonnage x2.

I have three questions that could probably be clarified:

1st, is my assumption that if you just have armor damage you use tonnage x1 figure, but that if there is any internal damage you use the tonnage x2 figure?

Second, Does the tonnage x2 figure include repairs to equipment in the 'mech?  Engine, weapons, sensors, etc.  I am assuming that this is the reason or the tonnage x2 costs.

Third, if you pay the tonnage x2 figure, does that fix the armor as well, or is the actual total cost to repair a unit with internal damage effectively tonnage x3?

Hopefully we can answer this here, and add an explanation to future printing.

Or do you guys think I should put it in "ask the writers?"

[Xotl]

I have a little section explaining this in the Errata Rules post.  Basically, if it's a rules question rather than "this is a contradiction / typo / math error", then it should go in Rules Questions or Ask The Writers.  As such, please repost your question in Ask The Writers.  Thanks.

[Demos]

PDF, p. 30-38

In the Missions, GAME SETUP, there is often a reference to Probes (besides Recon-in-Force), e.g. p. 30 (Beachhead), 31 (Defend), p. 32 (Flank), 33 (Pursuit), p. 35 (Retreat).

But, there is no Probe mission. Only Recon and Recon-in-Force.

Suggested solution:
Rename Mission: Recon to Mission: Probe.
Change in the Game set-up all Recon (whenever mentioned alongside Probe) with Recon-in-Force.

[GhostBear]

PDF, p. 30-38

In the Missions, GAME SETUP, there is often a reference to Probes (besides Recon-in-Force), e.g. p. 30 (Beachhead), 31 (Defend), p. 32 (Flank), 33 (Pursuit), p. 35 (Retreat).

But, there is no Probe mission. Only Recon and Recon-in-Force.

Suggested solution:
Rename Mission: Recon to Mission: Probe.
Change in the Game set-up all Recon (whenever mentioned alongside Probe) with Recon-in-Force.

Not errata.

While Probe isn't a Mission in the book (ultimately got pulled), it can be considered to reference the Starterbook Mission, in which case the reference fits.

[Xotl]

PDF, <page number to come when I'm back with my books>

"The Cannons favor a tiger-style paint scheme, using black striping over a reddish background."
This is incorrect.  The correct description:
"The Cannons favor a bright red paint scheme with gold highlights, and individualized black 'camo' stripes."

[Xotl]

PDF, p. 16, first paragraph:

Replace all but the last sentence with the following:

To calculate a force’s TR, determine the percentage of the force’s total number of combat units (excluding conventional infantry) that use advanced technologies. Units that use Clan technology are worth double their TR percentage value, so after computing the percentage of units that carry Clan-made advanced technologies, double that result, and add it to the percentage of non-Clan advanced technologies units to find the force’s overall Technology Rating.

[krazzyharry]

(PDF version)
In the The Skye is Falling (starting on page 52) there are 3 objectives listed, Salt in the Wound, "Frugal is the Word of the Day, and Just Plain Mean. Under Special Rules Gift-says you must meet 4 objectives and salvage states that you must meet three objectives. 

Recommended Change: Adjust Gift to 3 and Salvage to 2

[Wrangler]

Total Chaos -  PG. 68 (Printed & PDF) - Under Heel

Problem with Decision Heel after succeeding the mission.  Only Flash Point is available, which is set in year 3078, while Under Heel is 3068.

Confirmed with Ask the Writers Thread.

[Kommando]

(PDF version)
In the The Skye is Falling (starting on page 52) there are 3 objectives listed, Salt in the Wound, "Frugal is the Word of the Day, and Just Plain Mean. Under Special Rules Gift-says you must meet 4 objectives and salvage states that you must meet three objectives. 

Recommended Change: Adjust Gift to 3 and Salvage to 2

In Blake Ascending where this track was sourced from the fouth objective is Destroy all base buildings.
This makes more sense

Reccomended Change: Re-add fourth objective.

[Kommando]

First Printing: pg 17, SP Activity Cost Table 2

The table references Commander Hit and Crew Stunned results under Heal Vehicle Crew for 500SP

Considering a Crew Stunned result is temporary for one turn, it is unlikely to have a lingering effect that would cost 500SP to fix. The table does not address 'Driver hit' criticals however.
500SP is a huge amount considering hiring a whole new vehicle crew costs 60SP, 120SP for veteran and 180SP for Elite.

Suggested Change
Change "Heal vehicle crew (commander hit, Crew Stunned critical hits only)" TO "Heal Vehicle Crew (Commander hit or Driver hit results)"
Reduce costs of healing Mechwarriors, pilots, and crews to below hiring cost.
Increase hiring cost of Mechwarriors, pilots and crews to above healing cost.

    Hire new MechWarrior:  100SP
    Hire new Aerospace pilot: 50SP
    Hire new Vehicle crew: 200SP
    Acquire new ProtoMech pilot (Clan force only): 500SP
    Hire new Battle Armor squad/Point: 25SP
        Cost doubled for Regular, tripled for Veteran.
        Clan pilots are no different, you can hire green clan sibko dropouts.

    Heal MechWarrior: 30SP per wound box. 1 per month.
    Heal Vehicle crew: 60SP. (fixes Commander hit and Driver hit criticals, Crew stunned shake it off in the rec room after the fight.)
    Heal Aerospace pilot: 30SP per wound box. 1 per month.

[Kojak]

Per page 35 of Dawn of the Jihad, and pages 90 and 93 of the Blake Documents, Sixth Division (True Believers IV-theta) and Tenth Division (Shooting Stars IV-beta) led the Blakist counterattack on Outreach in the wake of the AMC assault on Mars. However, per pages 39 and 41 of Total Chaos, that counterattack was led by First Division (True Devotion IV-beta) and Fourth Division (Blake's Boldest IV-iota), and page 41 specifically mentions 1st Division's CO, Precentor Shin-Ichi Yoshizumi.

Suggested Change: Herb has confirmed that Total Chaos is in error. The references to the First and Fourth Divisions on pages 39 and 41 should be scrubbed and replaced with the Sixth and Tenth Divisions, respectively. The reference to Precentor Shin-Ichi Yoshizumi should probably be replaced with Precentor Lane Brandenburg-Curi, CO of the Sixth Division and the senior Precentor of the two Division commanders.