Strategic Battleforce: Generic Units

[Alexander Knight]

So, I hear you like generic forces to play with.

Well okay then.

In the attached file are 18 lances for each of the five Houses circa 3014-3025.  Each of these lances qualifies for an Alpha Strike special Lance type.  Want a Direct Fire Lance for House Steiner?  Sure thing!  How about a Heavy Recon lance for House Kurita?  Absolutely!  All of them are also ready for SBF play.

[Liam's Ghost]

Sweet! *yoink!*

[truetanker]

Marian Hegemony please...

 O:-)

TT

[Liam's Ghost]

My version of the Marians might be a bit. In the 3025 era they're not really different from any other minor periphery state (though they might have greater access to equipment due to all that germanium). Their unique org scheme doesn't turn up until the reign of Sean Oreilly.

Given current obligations, maybe three weeks before I get to them?

[Alexander Knight]

So.

Updated with Aerospace, Tank, and Infantry units as well!

[victor_shaw]

So.

Updated with Aerospace, Tank, and Infantry units as well!

So these seem to be the breakdowns used in the the 4th Successor War 1 and 2 books with some updates, Cool.

[idea weenie]

Very useful list there, thank you for creating it.

I'll eventually add other details to it for pirate/merc forces that are used for a raiding op.

[VictorMorson]

I think I'm overlooking something in the PDF.  How are you coming up with those numbers?

Recently our BattleTech campaign did some crazy things (CBT) and we have 10 regiments worth of troops.  I'd like to convert those battalions to Strategic Battleforce; I can only seem to find vague references to Alpha Strike and not much else.  Is there a good way to do this?

[Alexander Knight]

Okay, let's walk through an example.  We'll do the 4th Drakons battalion assigned to Task Force Serpent (Twilight of the Clans) and take this in stages.  The first stage is to work up the lances.  We'll use the Battalion Command Lance as an example.  First thing to do is to determine the Lance Type.  Easy enough, they're all BattleMechs.

Second Step is to determine the Lance size.  We do that by averaging the components together.  In this case 4+3+2+4 = 13 / 4 = 3.25, or a Size 3 Lance.

Next is Movement.  First we average all their ground movements together (in hexes, not inches).  That's a total of 17 / 4 = 4.25 for a Move of 4.  Nobody's got jump jetss so we can skip that part.  Movement Mode is type "L" for being BattleMechs.

Next we determine the lance's TMM.  Well, a move of 4 is a +1 mod so there we have it.

Next step is Lance Armor.  Total the Armor and Structure values of everyone in the Lance.  In this case it's 45.  Now add 0.5 for every unit with a Structure of 3+ (all four of them), 0.5 for each unit with CASE (The Grim Reaper), and 0.5 for each AMS in the Lance (three more).  That's a total of 49.  Divide that by 3 and you get 16.33, rounding to 16 Armor.  Not bad.

Now damage.  For each range bracket add up the damage values and HALF the overheat values before dividing by three.  For this lance we get 17/17/11 divided by 3 for damage values of 6/6/4.

Next is Lance PV.  Add up the PVs of all units in the Lance.  In this case we get 158 / 3 = 52.66 rounding to 53.  But that's only for average Skill 4 pilots.  The Command Lance is Skill 2.  So we multiply 53 by 1.4 to get 74.2 rounding down to 74.

Almost done!  Now we just have to check for Specials.
Looking at our 4 'mechs, we can ignore the REAR and LRM specials.  They don't translate up.  The Grim Reaper's CASE special has been accounted for so we ignore it.  Adding together the IF values we get IF3.  Dividing by 3 gives our lance the IF1 special.  Since one unit in the lance has ECM (the War Dog), the lance has the ECM special.  And since at least half the units in the Lance have AMS, the Lance has the AMS special.  So all told, the battalion command lance looks like this:

Type:        BM
Size:          3
Move:         4
Jump:         0
TMM:         +1
Move Type:  L
Armor:       16
Short:         6
Medium:      6
Long:          4
Skill:           2
PV:             74
Specials:
AMS,ECM,IF1

tune in later for Company and Battalion construction.

[Alexander Knight]

Okay, so I showed people how to make a Lance in the SBF construction system last time.

"But Alex!"  I hear people cry, "SBF has formations, and ACS has combat units.  How do we figure those out?"

That's what I'm here to show you today.  Continuing the saga of the 4th Drakons on Huntress, we'll take the 1st company.  Using the same process I outlined with the battalion command lance, the three lances of the company look like so:

Code: [Select]

Lances Size MP Jump TMM Armor S M L Skill PV Specials
Alpha 4 4 0 1 17 5 5 3 3 60
Bravo 3 6 0 2 13 4 5 1 3 49
Charlie 1 8 2 3 8 3 3 0 3 30 PRB,RCN

Now, a Formation has the following values:  Size, MP, TMM, Skill, Tactics, Morale, and PV.  The astute will notice the lack of Armor, attack values, and Specials in that list.  That's because in SBF the formation is sort of a "holding box" for lances, and not an actual unit.

Size is the average size of the lances in the Formation.  In this case (4+3+1)=8/3=2.66 rounds to Size 3.
MP is likewise the average of the lances so it's (4+6+8)=18/3=6
Importantly, TMM is detached from MP at this stage.  A Formation's TMM is equal to the average TMM of the lances in it PLUS 1/3 of the total jump movement.  In this case it's (1+2+3) = 6 / 3 = 2 + (2/3) = 2.66 rounds to a TMM of +3
Skill is the Average skill for the lances.  Simple enough here, with all three Lances having a 3, the Formation does as well.
Tactics....Tactics is 10, minus the Formation's MP, and then plus/minus whatever the Skill value is off from 4.  So a Skill of 5 is +1, while a Skill of 3 is -1.  In this case it's 10-6-1 = 3.
Morale is simply 3 + skill value, so a 6 in this case.
And PV is the total PV of the lances, or 139 here.

To turn this into a Combat Team for ACS, we total the Armor and attack values and divide them by 3, along with the PV.  In this case, the ACS value for this company looks like so:

Code: [Select]

      Size MP TMM Armor S M L Skill Tactics Morale PV Specials
1st Company 3 6 3 13 4 4 1 3 3 6 46

To make a battalion, you would combine this with two other companies.  Average the Size, MP, and TMM, but add up the other values.  Any questions?

[Mostro Joe]

Great work!

[IronmanV2]

I have a spreadsheet that I found somewhere on this forum that did some of the calculations for you to go from AS/BF elements to SBF elements/formations. I have modified the spreadsheet to do more of the calculations for you so you just have to put in the individual elements in the BF lances to have it calculate your SBF values. It will recognize specials so things like CASE, AMS and ENE that modify armor is done automagically for you. I need to go back in there and clean up some of the notes around the calculations but if you see any errors, just let me know and I will get them fixed.

[Mostro Joe]

I have a spreadsheet that I found somewhere on this forum that did some of the calculations for you to go from AS/BF elements to SBF elements/formations. I have modified the spreadsheet to do more of the calculations for you so you just have to put in the individual elements in the BF lances to have it calculate your SBF values. It will recognize specials so things like CASE, AMS and ENE that modify armor is done automagically for you. I need to go back in there and clean up some of the notes around the calculations but if you see any errors, just let me know and I will get them fixed.

Thank you so much!

[IronmanV2]

I should add that this spreadsheet goes through the exact process that Alexander Knight describes above.

There is a sheet with AS elements that ties into a dropdown box on the Unit sheet. Those elements were all pulled from the Wolf's Dragoons sourcebook and the Clan-era lances described in Combat Manual Kurita. That is a tedious process but makes building forces so much easier.

[Mostro Joe]

When I read the three bottom lines dedicated to Infantry, I cannot catch what are the units considered to obtain those statistics.

I, for an exemple, tried to begin with the AS stats about the Foot Platoon (Rifle, Ballistic), found at this link http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1147/foot-platoon-rifle-ballistic. The most common unit type, I suppose.

The statistics say it has Armor 2, Structure 1, and a damage rating of 1/0/0 and the Special AM ability..

Now, every platoon is the single element of every unit of a formation, because squads are not taken in considerations. So 3 platoons are the building blocks of a formation. How to translate the single AS platoon in a SBF unit?

I’ll leave aside the other obvious statistics (like movement and TMM for an exemple) and go for what I find the odd ones. If my math is not wrong,  the AS datas translate in SBF like an armor 1 unit (1+2 then /3) with a damage rating of 1 (the 1 short range damage has the +1 bonus due the AM special: 1+1 then /3 is 0.66, rounded to 1).

A Foot Infantry Company is listed as having Armor 3 and a damage rating of 2/1/0. Why?

I even tried to compose the foot rifle ballistic company with two rifle ballistic platoons and one MG platoon (to give a somewhat support weapon platoon to the formation) but my results do not change, having the MG Platoon I found at this link the same statistics http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1146/foot-platoon-mg.

So, where I am wrong?

[Zematus737]

A Foot Infantry Company is listed as having Armor 3 and a damage rating of 2/1/0. Why?

I even tried to compose the foot rifle ballistic company with two rifle ballistic platoons and one MG platoon (to give a somewhat support weapon platoon to the formation) but my results do not change, having the MG Platoon I found at this link the same statistics http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1146/foot-platoon-mg.

So, where I am wrong?

You're taking the AS values rather than the Battleforce values.  AS cards are single units, while a Unit, capitalized, in Battleforce is an entire Company for Infantry.  The Mech Unit would be a Lance or equivalent Lvl II/Star.  The damage is divided by 10, usually, in conversions to the Unit in BF.  You divide by 3 at the Formation level conversion.

So, let's say it is a Rifle platoon with support weaponry at 8 dmg.  Divided by 10 would be .8 with the AM ability added if it had this.  2.4 (standard organization) divided by 3 would bring it back down the the original .8 + 1 for the AM special ability that is no longer rolled for in SBF= 1.8.  Rounds to 2 for Short Range.  The numbers below may include SRM or other longer range support weaponry included or whatever it is that was used as the root Platoon for C.O. Combat Command conversions tables.  With Infantry, it may be best to begin with the creation of the Platoon itself from TW and begin the conversions going up from there.

[Mostro Joe]

You're taking the AS values rather than the Battleforce values.

I'm talking about Strategic Battleforce here, not Battleforce.
And the Strategic Battleforce Units are created using the AS cards.

[GoGo Yubari]

Great thread guys, kinda replying so I can keep tabs on it, but this also reminds me that a while ago I did a spreadsheet which might be helpful for this which can be found at https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=76757.msg1811591#msg1811591.

[Zematus737]

I'm talking about Strategic Battleforce here, not Battleforce.
And the Strategic Battleforce Units are created using the AS cards.

You are using Elements to form Units.  Units are Battleforce scale pieces, comprised of 4-6 Elements.  Units are the building blocks for SBF Formations.  That is why you need a group of four to six Elements (Alpha Strike cards) to form the Units you require for SBF play.  Alpha Strike IS Battleforce, but on a tactical scale the same as TW, but with the simplification used to enable the higher scales preserved on the tactical level of play.

[Mostro Joe]

You are using Elements to form Units.  Units are Battleforce scale pieces, comprised of 4-6 Elements.  Units are the building blocks for SBF Formations.  That is why you need a group of four to six Elements (Alpha Strike cards) to form the Units you require for SBF play.  Alpha Strike IS Battleforce, but on a tactical scale the same as TW, but with the simplification used to enable the higher scales preserved on the tactical level of play.

Ok, but the SBF is based on AS stats. And the stats about infantries are the ones I linked. So I'm trying to understand how Alexander Knight calculated his generic Infantry units.

[WarHammer Willy]

Ok, but the SBF is based on AS stats. And the stats about infantries are the ones I linked. So I'm trying to understand how Alexander Knight calculated his generic Infantry units.

My view is that the AS Infantry platoon is a lance equivalent so it is already an SBF unit. Then I work it up from there and I get my infantry company to be a SBF formation rather than an infantry company being an SBF unit.

[nckestrel]

When I read the three bottom lines dedicated to Infantry, I cannot catch what are the units considered to obtain those statistics.

I, for an exemple, tried to begin with the AS stats about the Foot Platoon (Rifle, Ballistic), found at this link http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1147/foot-platoon-rifle-ballistic. The most common unit type, I suppose.

The statistics say it has Armor 2, Structure 1, and a damage rating of 1/0/0 and the Special AM ability..

Now, every platoon is the single element of every unit of a formation, because squads are not taken in considerations. So 3 platoons are the building blocks of a formation. How to translate the single AS platoon in a SBF unit?

I’ll leave aside the other obvious statistics (like movement and TMM for an exemple) and go for what I find the odd ones. If my math is not wrong,  the AS datas translate in SBF like an armor 1 unit (1+2 then /3) with a damage rating of 1 (the 1 short range damage has the +1 bonus due the AM special: 1+1 then /3 is 0.66, rounded to 1).

A Foot Infantry Company is listed as having Armor 3 and a damage rating of 2/1/0. Why?

I even tried to compose the foot rifle ballistic company with two rifle ballistic platoons and one MG platoon (to give a somewhat support weapon platoon to the formation) but my results do not change, having the MG Platoon I found at this link the same statistics http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/1146/foot-platoon-mg.

So, where I am wrong?

AS: A unit is a single infantry platoon.
BF: An element is a single infantry platoon, a unit is an infantry company.
SBF: An element is an infantry company, a unit is an infantry battalion.

Foot Infantry Company is three infantry platoons.  2 armor + 1 structure per platoon is a total of 9.  Divide by 3 and you get 3 as the SBF armor.

[Mostro Joe]

AS: A unit is a single infantry platoon.
BF: An element is a single infantry platoon, a unit is an infantry company.
SBF: An element is an infantry company, a unit is an infantry battalion.

Foot Infantry Company is three infantry platoons.  2 armor + 1 structure per platoon is a total of 9.  Divide by 3 and you get 3 as the SBF armor.

Thanks, I did not realized infantry was considered in battalions in SBF. Ok anyway for the armor part, but the medium range damage?

[Ufnal]

I have a spreadsheet that I found somewhere on this forum that did some of the calculations for you to go from AS/BF elements to SBF elements/formations. I have modified the spreadsheet to do more of the calculations for you so you just have to put in the individual elements in the BF lances to have it calculate your SBF values. It will recognize specials so things like CASE, AMS and ENE that modify armor is done automagically for you. I need to go back in there and clean up some of the notes around the calculations but if you see any errors, just let me know and I will get them fixed.

The spreadsheet is great! The only problem I see is that it automatically adds half of the OV value to the L and M value - the new Interstellar Operations: Battleforce book states that half the OV value is added only if the base value of M/L is already 1 or more. So in cases of Mechs with no M or L damage but high OV, you can end up with the units getting a damage score where they should not.

EDIT: Found a second problem - the "Str Armor" column checks wrong column for CASE/AMS (it checks column L instead of M) - and also I'm not sure the bonus from "Str Armor" and "Specials Armor" should be stackable...