Would I be a jerk?

[Kit deSummersville]

And? Why not start fires, it'll slow him down and provide some avenues he won't go...

TT

I'm not sure how fire will slow him down and he's got more than enough HS to brush off some fire-added heat. The best part about the fire is the smoke, limiting LOS.

[truetanker]

Fire, FASCAM rounds and Smoke should slow him down, especially if they are grouped together.  Given a choice, less firepower or a motive hit... fire = heat -> slows either weapon fire or overheats vs. Minefield = motive -> slows due to damage...

TT

[Kit deSummersville]

Motive damage? He's bringing assault 'Mechs, not wheeled tanks. Ones that will hardly notice half a dozen heat points on the way to the enemy.

[grimlock1]

Motive damage? He's bringing assault 'Mechs, not wheeled tanks. Ones that will hardly notice half a dozen heat points on the way to the enemy.

Mines can still cause leg crits.

[Kit deSummersville]

Mines can still cause leg crits.

Again, these are assault 'Mechs, not lights.

[truetanker]

Look, if half of those units carrying mines and spread them out fast, how many hexes again will he cover?

And the other half with standard / fire...

It'll still cause him a PSR...

TT

[Syzyx]

In the interest of cooling heads, I would like to make it clear that I simply don't have access to alternate munitions. Standard LRMs are all I've got in this fight.

[truetanker]

Not a problem for me...

Only standard, eh? Well isn't much but in a paradox " Let it rain... ".

TT

[mbear]

Maybe you should go for a completely different solution. Tell your buddy "I've got this scenario idea, but I think it could be a disaster for one of us. How about we play it as if our merc commanders are simulating the conflict? Then if things go horribly wrong there's no long-term effects on either of us."

You still get to play your scenario but you both have the knowledge that your units won't be destroyed if things drop in the toilet for one of you. It's all a simulation.

[Asgo]

personally, If I play a campaign of some sort, I do so for game sessions having consequences - independent of the actual used game system.
Because of that I wouldn't want the game strategy to be adapted just to mitigate the consequences even if I am on the losing side.
Play how the cards are dealt and the dice roll. :)

( disclaimer: I usually only play in non-competetive settings with people I know and I don't play games I can't enjoy while losing. ;) )

[Syzyx]

So the day has finally come and the game was played. I decided to keep with my original plan but didn't use hidden units. My Arbalests were tucked neatly behind cover on the mountain maps with the cliff facing his end of things. This is where I learned that terrain factor is a thing and Clan ERPPCs can be used to make stairs. And drop mountains on Arbalests.

My LAMs did wonderfully, because my foe ignored them, and his Annihilator fell to a lucky TAC to a Gauss Rifle. In the end I did actually win, but it was a way closer battle than I had imagined. I will henceforth be much more leery of terrain above me that might fall on me.

[Greatclub]

Wow. You really do use all of TacOps

[StoneRhino]

Lets flip this around....

Does this guy care if you find it fun to have someone that uses nothing but assaults and long range weapons try to steam roll him, all while you tie yourself up to act like a punching bag for him?

Nice or not, why are you so concerned about his feelings? What I find "fun" is a fair game. A fair game being defined as a game where we have an equal amount of points to create our force. A game that is not being manufactured for someone to win by modifying the rules, which includes throwing in insane house rules and or TacOps rules that are stacked to favor the other player; an example would be the piloting skill roll modifier that puts lights at a disadvantage, the rule about missile spread at long ranges while ignoring damage reduction for energy weapons.

Personally, all of this RPG-tech seems to breed squishy feeling syndrome where people shy away, if not outright protest against a competitive game. Its a war game, if its not competitive then you might be doing it wrong. This guy needs to get hammered by indirect fire, hes begging for it. Make him see reason, and let him begin to understand that the simplistic assault mech lance can be ripped apart with ease. I believe that you are actually doing him a disservice by playing in a manner that gives him a greater chance of winning then he should have. If I were to play against that same person I'm not going to give any cares about feelz. If he loses, which I have played against such simple styles for a long time now, then the loss is going to shatter him into grape jelly. His whole world is going to make zero sense because he should have been given a win. Hes probably going to go home and cry, and lets be honest some people have, once he realizes that hes nowhere as good as he was made to believe.

Do him the favor and shatter his little assault lance so that he is able to grow as a player. If something he is doing does not work well then he should be shown enough respect by assuming that he will not:
1) Refuse to learn
2) Will cry foul because he didn't get his way

Some people will do both of those things, they have and created a big mess for the sake of their tiny little egos and illogical nonsense. Its not fun trying to cater to such fragile people pumped up by years of coddling and pats on the head. I've been there, done that, pulled the plug on that garbage.

In the end it comes down to one thing...

Lose and learn, or learn to lose.

[Simon Landmine]

So the day has finally come and the game was played. I decided to keep with my original plan but didn't use hidden units. My Arbalests were tucked neatly behind cover on the mountain maps with the cliff facing his end of things. This is where I learned that terrain factor is a thing and Clan ERPPCs can be used to make stairs. And drop mountains on Arbalests.

My LAMs did wonderfully, because my foe ignored them, and his Annihilator fell to a lucky TAC to a Gauss Rifle. In the end I did actually win, but it was a way closer battle than I had imagined. I will henceforth be much more leery of terrain above me that might fall on me.

Thanks for the outcome update! I'd been curious! Also, nice visual image of those CERPPCs carving chunks out of the cliff so the mechs can stomp up them.