Author Topic: Artilleriegruppe Kataja (Read 7619 times)

DOC_Agren · « **Reply #30 on:** 20 July 2023, 18:16:23 »

2 Eisensturms (good Lryan birds)
2 Huscarls (open market but would love to have access to Morgensterns)
2 Daggers (picked up used on open markets)
All Omni, so they can be reconfig for the mission requirements

If you want none Omni options
2 Sabre SB-28 (see Ngo Industries, or anywhere there are Merc these should be sold)
2 Slayer SL-15K (convert to Eric model ASAP)
2 Thunderbird TRB-D56

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #31 on:** 20 July 2023, 18:56:26 »

You weren't kidding about the R20 being a brick, that's for sure. Tough mother, though it feels a little undergunned - I took a swing at an upgraded version. I wonder if I can get away with six of the baseline R20s for a 3025 version of the Artilleriegruppe.

Hm...Morgensterns are available to the Tamar Pact, but not mercenaries unfortunately. Shame, it looks like one serious customer...I'd love to buy a couple off them, but I think I'll roll with your Omnifighters. I'm already dealing with 11 of 18 custom 'Mechs (the artillery 'Mechs and the Riflemans) and a modified DropShip; I might as well go whole cheese.

This is quickly expanding out of the simple Artilleriegruppe and getting back into a general mercenary force...hm, maybe I should bite the bullet, repaint my minis, and go back to a single Union carrying a company-sized force. Things to think about.

Daryk · « **Reply #32 on:** 20 July 2023, 19:14:35 »

R20s should be easy to acquire late in the SW era... I await your next iteration! :)

And have a SW era version of a classic track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Ao-iNPPUc

DOC_Agren · « **Reply #33 on:** 20 July 2023, 20:33:17 »

Quote from: ANS Kamas P81 on 20 July 2023, 18:56:26

You weren't kidding about the R20 being a brick, that's for sure. Tough mother, though it feels a little undergunned - I took a swing at an upgraded version. I wonder if I can get away with six of the baseline R20s for a 3025 version of the Artilleriegruppe.

Hm...Morgensterns are available to the Tamar Pact, but not mercenaries unfortunately. Shame, it looks like one serious customer...I'd love to buy a couple off them, but I think I'll roll with your Omnifighters. I'm already dealing with 11 of 18 custom 'Mechs (the artillery 'Mechs and the Riflemans) and a modified DropShip; I might as well go whole cheese.

This is quickly expanding out of the simple Artilleriegruppe and getting back into a general mercenary force...hm, maybe I should bite the bullet, repaint my minis, and go back to a single Union carrying a company-sized force. Things to think about.

Glad you like my Omni fighters..
But to be fair, I love this unit as "specialist" Merc Contract Unit.. Union size

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #34 on:** 21 July 2023, 03:24:04 »

Yeah, I'm bending back to that myself. Union size it is, with the aforementioned 12 'Mech and pilot roster. No fighters, since the Combined Arms Union doesn't have any cubicles for them, and I will keep the cargo-carried Ferrets and extra infantry platoon for deploying artillery spotters.

That gives me five platoons of "infantry" - one of actual combat troops (my spotters), three platoons of technicians, and one platoon of administrators under Campaign Operations.

Daryk · « **Reply #35 on:** 21 July 2023, 03:30:50 »

One other add that just occurred to me: one extra ton of Communications Equipment for the Union. DropShips come with three tons equivalent. The fourth adds satellite uplink capability. It does add a crewman, but that shouldn't be too bad.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #36 on:** 21 July 2023, 04:13:43 »

Quote from: Daryk on 21 July 2023, 03:30:50

One other add that just occurred to me: one extra ton of Communications Equipment for the Union. DropShips come with three tons equivalent. The fourth adds satellite uplink capability. It does add a crewman, but that shouldn't be too bad.

Ooh, that's a brilliant idea. Once I get some clan tech for the MAD-6C I was going to add three tons of communications equipment for the same thing, giving it a satellite uplink.

As far as other spotters, I've changed the "recon in force" company being assembled from the 1st Tamar Jaegers. The Jaegers are stated as being a heavy/assault force, so I scrapped the light 'Mechs that I originally had placed in the company and replaced them with more Warhammers. That turns it into a proper heavy 'Mech company, in line with the fluff for the 1st Jaegers.

Battlemaster BLR-6G
Warhammer WHM-8R
Warhammer WHM-8R
Rifleman RFL-7N

Banshee BNC-12S
Warhammer WHM-8R
Warhammer WHM-8R
Rifleman RFL-7N

Banshee BNC-12S
Warhammer WHM-8R
Warhammer WHM-8R
Rifleman RFL-7N

I know it's not a recon formation, but it's just as likely to be a spotter force as a recon unit, and it's a lot more survivable in the face of an enemy concentration - which is what it's supposed to do. That leaves the PXH-9, MON-86, and four WLF-6Ss to form the core of a light company; I'll have to see what kind of other light 'Mechs I can get to fill it out. Depends on what's available at the mini store...

Daryk · « **Reply #37 on:** 21 July 2023, 17:27:31 »

That looks like a Lyran recon force to me...

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #38 on:** 22 July 2023, 12:49:42 »

Hah, the real recon company is as Lyran as it gets; one Pixie, one Mongoose, four Wolfhounds, and six Commandos. Not 1st Tamar Jaegers, I have to decide what unit they're with, but that's a big digression from the point of the thread.

After reading the writeup for the Broken Hand, I got to wondering. Just how does a simple company commander in the LCAF acquire depart the service, acquire eleven customized BattleMechs, and set up shop as a mercenary in the service of the Tamar Pact? What if Mirage Kataja is actually a Norn, working for the LIC as an asset to find out what General Regis is up to in the Tamar Pact, and the artillery batteries she brings to the battlefield are actually a front to set up shop and monitor the Tamar Pact's actions and intentions?

It feels a lot more believable - and more interesting - than simply a Lyran who gets disaffected with the state of affairs and goes off to form their own merc company, rejoining their old commanding officer with money from nowhere to afford rebuilding a bunch of Archers and Longbows. That can be her cover story, using old family money to buy up the modified 'Mechs, and following her old CO and bringing a combat force that's at once both unique and highly desired on the battlefield - an entire battalion of artillery, transportable by a single DropShip.

So Mirage would be an agent, probably also the rest of her 'Mech pilots she's "hired" - everyone else would be fed the cover story. It'd mean redoing Mirage's character sheet, and giving her the Dark Secret origin and...yeah, I doubt there's enough character points to make that doable on paper. Not without some compromises...

Daryk · « **Reply #39 on:** 22 July 2023, 13:19:08 »

It's totally doable... all that Intelligence Training and Covert Ops add years to one's age, which yields hundreds of extra XP.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #40 on:** 22 July 2023, 13:53:36 »

Hm, I'll look into it. What traits would you say would count for having that background, since I don't see anything like Secret Identity - maybe a couple points in Dark Secret and In For Life, to represent her intelligence background. Didn't MW3E have a secret identity thing for its traits?

Fortunately, it's all a point-buy system by the standard rules, so it'd be easy to chop and rearrange points to what matters...I'm probably going to have to cut back on the Vehicle trait and take the piloting/gunnery penalty for an oversized 'Mech, but she's a backseater in the Marauder II anyway.

Daryk · « **Reply #41 on:** 22 July 2023, 13:59:52 »

In For Life comes "free" with Intelligence training (this is why I'm such a strong proponent of Life Modules... you get the commonsense negative traits without impacting the limit of 10% of starting XP). And "Alternate ID" is the AToW name of the trait you're looking for (and again, Intelligence training gives you 50 XP towards it)... ;)

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #42 on:** 22 July 2023, 14:40:07 »

I just wish Life Modules didn't cost more than the XP you get for the years taking them. I'm all for them, but sometimes you end up with things like 300 points in Protocol: Lyran Commonwealth and there's just...yeah, a lot more things I can do better with most of that. Build with life modules, then take a woodchipper to the results and reorganize what fits best.

Okay, so Alternate ID specifies certain traits only apply to each identity. Instead of making two character sheets, it just works off one character sheet and attaches certain traits to each ID - but only one character sheet, with everything on it. I think I have an idea of how it works, so now...damn, I just need one year of doing something to make her an even 30 years old and get the bonus aging XP.

Daryk · « **Reply #43 on:** 22 July 2023, 15:03:44 »

Did you already factor in OCS? :)

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #44 on:** 22 July 2023, 15:52:17 »

Yeah, I had that, but I found the way to get there - the Covert Operative replaced the Tour of Duty and that put me to age 33.

I broke your spreadsheet, can I ask for your help in doing another with the following modules? I'll go through it and cut and reallocate where I need to to get final points together.

Stage 0: Affiliation: Lyran/Alarion
Stage 1: Early Childhood: White Collar
Stage 2: Late Childhood: Military School
Stage 3: Higher Education: Military Academy (Nagelring)
Stage 3: Higher Education: Basic Training
Stage 3: Higher Education: Infantry Training
Stage 3: Higher Education: Mechwarrior Training
Stage 3: Higher Education: Officer Candidate School
Stage 3: Higher Education: Intelligence Operative Training
Stage 3: Higher Education: Basic Training
Stage 3: Higher Education: Intelligence
Stage 3: Higher Education: Covert Operations Training
Stage 3: Higher Education: Command & Staff College
Stage 4: Staff Tour
Stage 4: Covert Operations

And yes, that's your modules you came up with for the Staff College and Staff Tour, I figure that's how she started building her 'career' as an officer in the 26th Arcturan Guards - the Covert Operations in Stage 4 covers her time as a disaffected mercenary and the infiltration of the Tamar Pact - though that track starts in 3145, so her cover story as a mercenary has some background to it.

Also, since the Revenants of the Star League used the waifu generator, I figured I'd take a swing at it too. Here's Mirage.

Daryk · « **Reply #45 on:** 22 July 2023, 15:59:02 »

I'll see what I can do this weekend... I owe Cannonshop and company some editing too. ;)

Daryk · « **Reply #46 on:** 22 July 2023, 16:16:28 »

Google is being it's usual uncooperative self, so you get my time for the next bit... I'm inclined to throw a Tour of Duty back in there, making her 36 and lying about her age... ;)

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #47 on:** 22 July 2023, 16:55:47 »

Quote from: Daryk on 22 July 2023, 16:16:28

Google is being it's usual uncooperative self, so you get my time for the next bit... I'm inclined to throw a Tour of Duty back in there, making her 36 and lying about her age... ;)

LOL, hm...yeah, do the Tour of Duty before her Covert Operations track. I don't mind her pretending to be younger.

Daryk · « **Reply #48 on:** 22 July 2023, 17:16:19 »

I'm about halfway through and looking at this order right now:

Stage 0: Affiliation: Lyran/Alarion
Stage 1: Early Childhood: White Collar (10)
Stage 2: Late Childhood: Military School (16)
Stage 3: Higher Education: Military Academy (Nagelring: Basic, Infantry and MechWarrior) (19)
Stage 3: OCS (20)
Stage 4: Tour of Duty (23)
Stage 3: Command and Staff College (24)
Stage 4: Staff Tour (27)
Stage 3: Intelligence Operative Training (Basic, Covert Ops, Special Forces) (31)
Stage 4: Covert Operations (Lyran, of course) (37)

That gets her to 37 in real years. Evasiveness is totally normal! ;D

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #49 on:** 22 July 2023, 18:09:42 »

Looks perfect to me. Also marks her as a mustang, since she didn't go to OCS until after she'd done a tour as an enlisted Mechwarrior. Someone who's definitely competitive and hardheaded, determined to blaze her own trail - and maybe be a bit vain about it, hm...if she's fibbing about her age, and looks like that, well...she's been blessed with genetics.

Daryk · « **Reply #50 on:** 22 July 2023, 18:37:03 »

I had to use the whole 10% of negative traits (used to shave her Reputation and increase Enemy), but got her to balance... :)

Feel free to move her Tour of Duty around to before OCS if you like. :)

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #51 on:** 22 July 2023, 19:47:57 »

Ooh, that was quick. Many thanks, good sir!

Hm...going to have to cheat a bit and sell off some attribute points to buy that Alternate ID, but I can deal with a WIL of 5 - that should be enough and meets the minimum requirements. I'd like to take Fast Learner; with 3000 points of skills that really comes in handy...but I'd have to cut some of them back to make the points balance out.

Well, it's a point-buy game anyway, so I don't feel too bad about axing some unnecessary skills - I don't need 240 points in Lyran Protocol, for example! I bumped the Language skills a bit too to make her a good speaker in both English and German, at level 4 for each, and added some points to Art/Drawing, Forgery, Appraisal, and Artillery. Reductions came from Protocol/Lyran, Small Arms, Career/Soldier, and Administration; she's still pretty skilled in those and is still a crack shot with a rifle.

Once again, thank you for the work; it is a fantastic tool and I wish this character sheet was standard!

Daryk · « **Reply #52 on:** 22 July 2023, 20:19:25 »

You're very welcome! If you have any suggestions for better usability, I'm all ears, but have middling skills at best... :)

DOC_Agren · « **Reply #53 on:** 23 July 2023, 16:40:50 »

Quote from: ANS Kamas P81 on 21 July 2023, 04:13:43

Ooh, that's a brilliant idea. Once I get some clan tech for the MAD-6C I was going to add three tons of communications equipment for the same thing, giving it a satellite uplink.

As far as other spotters, I've changed the "recon in force" company being assembled from the 1st Tamar Jaegers.

Battlemaster BLR-6G
Warhammer WHM-8R
Warhammer WHM-8R
Rifleman RFL-7N

Banshee BNC-12S
Warhammer WHM-8R
Warhammer WHM-8R
Rifleman RFL-7N

Banshee BNC-12S
Warhammer WHM-8R
Warhammer WHM-8R
Rifleman RFL-7N

I know it's not a recon formation,

Are u sure... I once ran a Lryan Scout Lance.. 2 Warhammers, 1 Victor, 1 Archer. Trust me it was a great Surprise when they ran into the Drac Scout Lance

DOC_Agren · « **Reply #54 on:** 23 July 2023, 16:51:19 »

I have to throw this out there, as a Lryan "Noble" should you have a decent level of Lyran Protocol? After all you need to know how to access the right level of the Social General's Party.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #55 on:** 24 July 2023, 00:59:04 »

Oh I still have 136 points in Protocol/Lyran, I just didn't see a need for 240 points - Mirage isn't a high-society/noble type so she wouldn't have developed that skill that high.

I did make one change that seemed to strike me better after reading through the prerequisites - White Collar requires 300 points in Wealth or Property, and I didn't have any way to finagle getting that. So I switched her over to War Orphan for her childhood, which cost the same number of points and makes sense because the LIC gathers orphaned kids and trains them from an early age. So she's been indoctrinated since being a kid, and is definitely a Lyran patriot.

What's she an orphan from? Good question - Sarna didn't list any major events from 3114 to 3124, during her childhood, so I'll say a pirate attack left her family dead and Mirage alone in the world. Naturally this trades 100 points in Enemy for 100 points in Compulsion/Hatred of Pirates, and I figure she's one to give pirates no quarter - and happily turn FAE munitions on them, without bothering to offer surrender. The only good pirate is a dead pirate.

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #56 on:** 26 July 2023, 07:10:24 »

Made some minor changes to the organization; it requires converting the two ASF bays on a standard Union class to BattleMech bays but it gives me a proper command element and lets the unit commander focus on leading the whole company instead of the company and their own lance. Fourteen 'Mechs in total, twelve of which are custom jobs...expensive, but the miniatures look cool and that's my justification.

Command 0: Captain Mirage Kataja
Command 1: 1st Lieutenant Sharon Apfel (3/4) (MAD-6C Marauder II)
Command 2: 1st Lieutenant Robert Plant (4/5) (WHM-7S Warhammer)
Command BV: 4574

Alpha 1: 1st Lieutenant Richard Tanaka (3/4) (RFL-10X Rifleman)
Alpha 2: 2nd Lieutenant Gerhardt Elster (4/5) (LGB-0W-AIV Longbow)
Alpha 3: Warrant Officer Aisling Chen (4/5) (LGB-0W-AIV Longbow)
Alpha 4: Warrant Officer Jakub Schmidt (4/5) (LGB-0W-AIV Longbow)
Alpha BV: 7430

Bravo 1: 1st Lieutenant Elizabeta Hawking (3/4) (RFL-10X Rifleman)
Bravo 2: 2nd Lieutenant Eva Rodriguez (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Bravo 3: Warrant Officer Samantha Milliome (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Bravo 4: Warrant Officer Guy Le France (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Bravo BV: 4580

Charlie 1: 1st Lieutenant Mikolaj de Klerk (3/4) (RFL-10X Rifleman)
Charlie 2: 2nd Lieutenant Sven Murasame (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Charlie 3: Warrant Officer Lotti Laurier (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Charlie 4: Warrant Officer Duncan Roord (4/5) (ARC-4M2-THUMPER-DOUBLE)
Charlie BV: 4580

Total BV for the company is 21164, so I'm averaging about 1512 BV per 'Mech. The lance leaders are in dedicated anti-aircraft platforms, so they can protect against the main threat of ASFs dashing past the front line to hit artillery positions in the rear. The Warhammer pilot is the unit XO, often following Alpha Lance to give it additional protection while Sharon bodyguards Bravo and Charlie lances together.

I figured I was worrying too much about carrying supplies and technical personnel; the unit's not an independent, standalone force and is always going to deploy alongside the 1st Tamar Jaegers - so whatever supply and transport DropShips will be hauling the 1TJ tech and admin staff will simply have to carry the extra Artilleriegruppe techs that aren't riding aboard the Dare Eternity. As it is, I have bay space for 14 technicians, so that's two full tech teams that ride along and handle maintenance for the whole unit in transit - and while docked to a JumpShip, they'd have access to the rest of the unit's tech and admin teams in the transport DropShip. Same goes for supplies and foodstuffs; top off the Union's cargo when you detach from the JumpShip and you should have enough to supply the crew and bay personnel on the way to your planetary destination.

I suppose I'll take the standard 2708 Union, since that's still on the Mercenary list in the IlClan era - unlike the 3055 version, which is IS General only. That's 74.5 tons of cargo space...28 tons of which buys bay personnel 20 days of food and water, while 1.4 tons go to the crew. That leaves 45.1 tons for spare parts for maintenance, of which I'm using 9.8 tons a month. 30 days of food and water comes to 44.1 tons for all aboard, that plus 9.8 tons of maintenance parts is 53.8 tons aboard ship. Maybe those cargo fractions aboard DropShips aren't so bad after all...though that does mean no spare ammunition beyond the combat load already onboard each 'Mech.

It's a landing boat with repair bays. AccountTech is a dangerous rabbit hole to fall down...

Daryk · « **Reply #57 on:** 26 July 2023, 17:34:54 »

And the Ferrets and Scout Infantry can fit into three (10 ton) cargo containers... ;)

ANS Kamas P81 · « **Reply #58 on:** 27 July 2023, 04:13:50 »

I don't have the tonnage to cover much in the way of life support for the infantry, though; they'll have to be attached from the 1st Jaegers transports. I'd need to cut back to 14 days of life support for 60 personnel, that's 42 tons of my 74.5 tons in total. Maintenance needs for the 'Mechs is another 10.25 tons, leaving me 22.25 tons - just enough to cargo store four Ferrets. I would have no maintenance bays for working on the Ferrets, though, and I'd have no storage for ammunition and fairly limited supplies aboard ship.

I'm leaning towards just having the 'Mechs in the company, and foregoing the Ferrets and infantry. I've got a scout company of 'Mechs in the works, plus another heavy company; I'll use those as my spotters instead. I just don't have the room onboard to take on the Ferrets unless I go back down to a twelve-'Mech company, and I rather prefer my fourteen unit one. They'd be my force multiplier, instead of an easily taken out helicopter or infantry squad.

As far as those companies go, I've got a heavy company with a Battlemaster, two Banshees, and three Archers, Warhammers, and Riflemans. The light company is a Phoenix Hawk, Mongoose, four Wolfhounds, and (hopefully) six Commandos. The latter may change depending on how many miniatures are available at my reseller...swap in Wasps for any I'm short. That's all 1st Tamar Jaegers, who I'm relying on for resupply and logistics as well as spotting and protection. I should fill out an assault company and call it the BattleMech assets of the 1st Tamar Jaegers RCT.

DOC_Agren · « **Reply #59 on:** 27 July 2023, 11:36:05 »

Can I be honest if you are just looking for a Landing Craft with repair bays.

Convert that Union, to just 4 Mech Bays and the rest to Cargo. In a pinch you can Drop 4 Mech, and the rest need to march off the ship. It is not much - and as this is a Artillery Support Group it would not be bad idea.

This could include extra cargo for ammo supply & personal so you aren't drawing on 1st Tamar Jaegers RCT, to transport your supply system and support teams with their hardware. (Because guess who would get the shaft if someone has to in that system... here a hint it's you)