Solaris VII. The Game World. Where novice and veteran MechWarriors come to try their hand at fame and fortune—or go down in flames, forgotten and penniless. This tournament attempts to immerse participants in the glitz, glamour, danger, and risk of arena combat and the ever-fickle attention of the audience. The brutality of ’Mech combat takes second seat to the all-important make-or-break attitude of the audience. Players in this tournament participate as a pilot, gaining Fame and Wealth based on showmanship, battlefield savvy, and experience while participating in combat, sponsorship, and stable membership.

Note: These rules are not meant to be comprehensive but to generally represent the ferocity that is the Solaris experience. If you are looking for in-depth realism, we suggest you start a home campaign using the Solaris Map Pack and the MechWarrior’s Guide to Solaris VII.

Initial Setup

Players

When a player enters the tournament, they are given a blank record sheet that contains their pilot information and C-bill ledger. They will need to create a MechWarrior pilot and purchase a ’Mech before they can enter the Melee Board. See Pilot Characters, below. Players may also download the record sheet from ClassicBattleTech.com and pre-generate a PC for the tournament, provided it is approved by the on-site Judges.

Players will also need to keep in mind that they will need to keep their pilot and ’Mech record sheets neat and clean, as they will be reusing them after repairs. Players will need to use a pencil at all times. Once a player has been authenticated by a judge, they receive an Edge card (see Edge Cards, below) and a numbered player card for initiative. The GM randomly determines which starting portal where they will enter the battlefield.

Play Area

Qualifier Rounds:

It recommended that an area 4″ x 6″ is set up. Do not use water or allow players to start fires on the board. Use terrain to block initial Line of Sight when placing starting areas on the playing area. Clearly mark the Exit points on the playing area (see Exiting the Battlefield, below).

Finals or Championship Round:

It is recommended that an area 4″ x 6″ is used. Place all starting areas equal distance from each other on the Edge of the playing field. Use terrain to block or limit Line of Sight to each starting area. Do not use water or allow players to start fires. Exit points will not be needed since players will not be allowed to leave the playing field. Each player will have 1 minute to complete their portion of the Movement phase. If the player is unable to complete their movement in the allotted time, the Mech will receive a +0 movement modifier.

Battlefield Surprises:

The Melee board may contain additional obstacles during the course of the Tournament.

Edge Cards

Each player is issued one Edge card when creating a character, at the start of a Catalyst Event or the start of a Tournament Day. Players may use the Edge card to force a re-roll of any dice roll that affects the player, including the drawing or rolling for Initiative. Once re-rolled the player may not choose to take the original roll. However, a second Edge may be used. When the Edge card is used it is turned in to the Melee Judge and may not be used again, though players may purchase additional Edge cards (see Pilot Abilities Table, below). Players may only have a maximum of three Edge cards at any time and may be purchased only when the Mechwarrior is off the board (See Off Board Time, below). Unused Edge cards are forfeit at the end of a Catalyst Event or Tournament Day and cannot be transferred to another Catalyst Event or Tournament Day.

Pilot Characters (PCs)

• All PCs begin with 10 initial Character Points (CP’s), 0 Fame points, 3 million C-bills, a Gunnery skill of 3 and a Piloting skill of 4.
• Most Pilot Abilities may be purchased only once (except Tier 4 abilities). All bonuses / penalties are cumulative unless otherwise noted. All PC’s are allowed three Pilot Abilities at the regular cost. Any additional abilities incur additional CP cost given in the Pilot Abilities table.
• Players may only acquire 1 Tier 1 ability and 2 Tier 2 abilities in their Pilots career in the Solaris Arenas. Tier 1 and 2 abilities may only be purchased when they meet the Fame Total required for those abilities.
• Weapon Specialist: The player must pick one specific weapon to be a specialist with (i.e., Medium Laser, Medium Pulse Laser, PPC, ER PPC, etc). Players must specify which Ammo they are specializing with when choosing ATMs or MMLs
• Some abilities are not affected by a MechWarrior’s wound and are never lost due to wounds. These abilities are designated with a “*” after the title or Tier.
• Some abilities can only be used once per Catalyst event or Tournament Day and are designated with a “**” after the title. The person running the game must use a token to track a player’s use of these abilities during a Catalyst Event or Tournament Day. When the ability has been used successfully, the player must forfeit the token to the person running the game until the next Catalyst event or Tournament Day. A player may only have one token per specific ability.
• Players must purchase a ’Mech before entering the arena from the listing of available ’Mechs (judges will provide). OmniMechs are fixed in the variant you purchase and cannot switch variants between matches. Pre-generated custom Mechs are available to players only through Sponsors and Stables.
• PC’s may purchase additional abilities / sponsors / stable memberships and/or trade-in and purchase ’Mechs during their Off Board Time (OBT).
• If a PC is killed, that PC gains a final reward of 8 Fame and that PC’s final statistics are used in the rankings. If there is sufficient time remaining to the end of the full tournament, a player may re-enter the tournament as a new pilot.
• Players must turn in record sheets (PC and ’Mech) to a Melee Judge before leaving the gaming area. Any player that leaves without turning in their sheets risks forfeiting the tournament.

A Note on Costs and Accounting: Prices for Clan ’Mechs have been increased by 50% of the standard price to reflect their scarcity in the Inner Sphere and to adjust game balance. All cost should be rounded down to the nearest 10,000 C-bills to simplify accounting. A modified costs list will be provided with pre-calculated base costs for purchasing, selling, and repairs.

Loans

A player may purchase the Loan ability for 5 CP. This allows the player to borrow funds from Solaris’ underworld. How much a player can borrow is tied to a player’s fame (see table to right). The Loan is represented on the PC sheet by a negative number in the C-bills ledger.

A player may only have one Loan out at a time; when the player’s cash is back in the positive range, the Loan is erased from the PC’s sheet and may then be purchased again, if desired. A player may not purchase another ’Mech or ability until the loan is fully repaid. A Loan cannot be used to purchase a new ’Mech for the Final Round.

The Loan ability is not affected by pilot injury. To simplify play, consider a Loan’s interest already calculated into the Loan amount. The maximum loan amount may never exceed 8 million C-bills.

Godfather Insurance

The Solaris Underworld also provides a very expensive Insurance for ’Mechs. The Insurance costs 10% of the Book value of Current ’Mech plus an Insurance Modifier annotated on a player’s record sheet. All players start a tournament with an Insurance Modifier of 0%. Every time a player uses the insurance, they will check off the next box for the Insurance Modifier on the Record sheet. The ability can be purchased only when off board and when the current ’Mech is fully functional (no damage). Previously purchased Insurance is forfeit when purchasing a new ’Mech unless the GM/Agent allows players to own multiple ’Mechs.

The Insurance pays for 75% to the final repair cost of a ’Mech and can only be used once per purchase.

Off-Board Time (OBT)

Off-Board Time is defined as the time that a player is not active on the Melee board but still present in the Tournament area. Players who plan to re-enter the Melee board in a short period of time must remain Off-Board for a minimum of 2 turns. During this time, players may:

1. Buy / Sell Mechs
2. Repair ’Mech and/or Heal Pilot
3. Purchase abilities / Recruit corporate sponsors / Join a stable

Buying and Selling Mechs

Players may choose to sell their current ’Mech and purchase a new one using the following guidelines:

1. A player is only allowed to own one ’Mech at a time. (OPTIONAL)
2. ’Mechs must be fully repaired before sale, even if this causes a player to go into debt.
3. The sale price of a ’Mech is 75% of its Book Purchase Price.
4. Only Mechs allowed under Total War rules and from any officially printed Record Sheet book may be purchased, except those available to Sponsor/Stable members (Judges will provide).
5. OmniMechs are available for purchase with fixed configurations.
6. Clan ’Mechs are only available for purchase if the player is a member of a stable that makes them available, and as allowed by the judges. Certain Clan ’Mechs may be disallowed entirely.
7. Judges may exclude certain ’Mechs from play. Players may purchase stock units at the judge’s table.

Repair ’Mech

Use the Repair Table for general repair costs and adjust for abilities/sponsor/stable modifiers. Repairs must be approved by a Melee Judge before a player can re-enter the Arena board. Players may not modify or customize their ’Mech beyond its original variant design.

A player may choose to forgo Full Repairs and choose Spot Repairs instead. If a ’Mech is destroyed, Spot Repairs are not possible. When using spot repairs, a completely destroyed section has to have the Internal Structure and all critical hit locations in the destroyed location repaired before the location is fully functioning.

Purchase Abilities / Recruit Corporate Sponsors / Enter a Stable

Players use a combination of CPs and C-bills to buy PC abilities, sponsorships, and/or stable membership. See the Pilot Abilities Table and the Stable and Sponsor Table for ways to ‘customize’ your pilot. Players make adjustments on their pilot record sheet. A Melee Judge must approve all purchasing before a player can re-enter the Melee Board. Players may not purchase ability more than once (with the exception of the Affiliation Change/Declare, Edge, and Fame). The Loan ability is a special exception (see Loans).

Spending Limits

To maintain play balance in early stages of the contest, judges may impose a maximum value of ’Mechs allowed in a session. Players should consult with the judge to determine the current limit. At the Judge’s discretion, players who may have already purchased ’Mechs over the Spending Limit will be allowed to sell these at the price they paid for purchase, and may choose another ’Mech.

Stables and Sponsors

As players advance they may elect to join a Stable or add a Corporate Sponsor. Players may only have a maximum of one Stable and two Sponsors at any time. Some Sponsors and Stables require that the player first declare a House Affiliation before joining. Players switching Sponsors or Stables must first pay the ‘penalty’ for switching (on the Stable/Sponsor Tables) before they can sign with a new Stable or Sponsor. Some Sponsors may only be used in conjunction with certain House-affiliated Stables. Any (U) entries may be combined with other Sponsors / Stables, as long as the player meets the listed criteria. There may be a limit to how many players may be affiliated with each Stable / Sponsor.

Stables marked with a *C* allow a player to purchase Clan ’Mechs. PCs must meet the Fame minimum before they can sign up for a Sponsor or Stable; however, that minimum is at the time of initial membership only and does not have to be maintained once a Sponsor / Stable has been selected.

If a pilot leaves a stable or sponsor that was used to build a Custom ’Mech, that pilot must sell the Custom ’Mech back to the Sponsor or Stable at 50% of the book cost.

A player cannot rejoin a sponsor they have withdrawn from.

Custom ’Mechs:

Sponsors and Stables give players access to additional components to customize a ’Mech for arena combat. Players have three choices when customizing their ’Mechs: Basic, Medium and Advanced Customization. The player may customize the current ’Mech they are piloting. A ’Mech may only be customized once, but a MechWarrior may customize every ’Mech they purchase. A ’Mech may only be customized with 1 Tier 1 customization, 2 Tier 2 and 3 Tier 3 customizations. OmniMechs may never be customized.

If a pilot leaves a stable or sponsor that was used to build a Custom ’Mech, that pilot must sell the Custom ’Mech back to the Sponsor or Stable at 50% of the book cost.

’Mechs can only be customized at the beginning or end of a Catalyst Event or Tournament Day. All Custom ’Mechs must be approved by and built in the presence of a Catalyst Agent or GM.

Special Rules for Stables:

All players that are members of a Stable must follow these additional rules during Challenge Board play, or be expelled from their Stable (See Withdrawing from a Stable).

• Players may not fire on a fellow stable member if there is another target of equal or greater weight class in the arena.
• Only players from the same stable may discuss Battlefield tactics in the Tournament Area
• Players from the same Stable may loan C-Bills to each other instead of taking out a loan from the Solaris underworld.
  • The Lendee must pay the loan off in full and must pay an additional 20% of the loan amount to the Stable in order for the loan to be repaid. When the loan is repaid, it may be erased from the front of the Pilot Log Sheet.
  • A player may not purchase another ’Mech or ability until the loan is repaid.

Challenge Board Play

As per CBT Total War game rules with the following changes:

1. Fire declaration is done in reverse initiative order.
2. Unless otherwise noted, structures are considered indestructible and buildings cannot be entered, Woods may not be cleared, and Fire/Smoke rules are not in play.
3. For each pilot hit, the player loses one pilot ability (player’s choice). This loss is temporary until the pilot is healed (see Pilot Characters).
4. The following equipment is considered non-functional: C3 slave, C3 Master, C3i, TAG.
5. The following special ammunition loads are disallowed: Thunder, Arrow IV and FASCAM munitions, all Level 3 special ammunition. Narc homing missiles are only compatible with Narc and iNarc pods launched from the player’s ’Mech.
6. Any ammo bins containing special ammunition must be clearly marked and authorized by a Melee Judge. Partial loads of ammo are NOT allowed.
7. Use Total Warfare, page 258- Forced Withdrawal to determine when a ’Mech is Crippled and Total Warfare, page 128 — Destroying a Unit to determine when a ’Mech is destroyed.

Exiting the Battlefield

A player can leave the Battlefield a number of ways. The most common is going through an exit portal, but can include ejecting from a ’Mech or the pilot being knocked unconscious. Any player that leaves the Battlefield during the Championship Round cannot reenter the battlefield at all.

Exit Portals:

Arenas may be equipped with two types of Exit Portals, Gates and Elevators. Both can be used only after a ’Mech has been on the battlefield the minimum number of turns. Solaris Regulations has this minimum number at 6 turns but can be changed as long as all parties are in agreement. A ’Mech may occupy an Exit Portal hex even if it has no intention of leaving the board.

A ’Mech that has its walking Movement Points reduced to 1 due to damage done to leg actuators or a leg being blown off can still use an Exit Portal the same turn they have moved into the Exit Portal hex.

Knocked Unconscious (OPTIONAL):

A ’Mech with an Unconscious pilot will be pulled off the Battlefield during the End Phase of the turn the Pilot was knocked unconscious. This rule does not apply during the Finals or Championship Round.

Ejecting:

Use rules for Ejecting from Strategic Operations, Page 314. Players must declare on their ’Mech Record Sheet whether Auto-Eject is On or Off. Failure to do so will set Auto-Eject to On.

If a player ejects from their ’Mech, they must repair the Cockpit Critical Location before coming back into play. A ’Mech that is crippled will retain a crippled status when its pilot manually ejected the cockpit; it will not be considered destroyed.

Destroying a ’Mech:

A Unit is considered destroyed when it meets requirements listed in Total Warfare, page 128. A destroyed unit will leave the Arena at the end of the phase it was destroyed.

Prize Money and Character Development

As play progresses, players can gain fame, fortune, and increased Pilot abilities. Certain acts, feats, kills, and moves can add CPs, Fame, and/or C-bills to your Pilot Character. See the On-board Event Table for a list of what you could earn or be penalized for. All Awards will be given during the End Phase of a turn.

All players who meet the following criteria can claim credit for Killing or Crippling a unit, or Knocking a Pilot unconscious during the Fire Phase or Physical Phase. To have legitimate claim for Killing or Crippling a unit or Knocking a Pilot unconscious, the player must have:

1. Declared an attack against that unit the phase it was destroyed, crippled, or knocked out
2. Successfully hit and damaged that unit.

If a unit is destroyed before a player gets to roll, the Attacking player still rolls as normal to see if the hit succeeds since all combat is considered simultaneous. If there are multiple claimants to a ’Mech Kill, the players may claim the appropriate Assisted Award. If there is a Single Claimant to a ’Mech Kill, that player may claim the appropriate Solo Award.

If a Player inflicts heat during the Fire Phase, and the target is subsequently destroyed or crippled in the End Phase by heat effects, score this as an Assist for the player that inflicted heat on destroyed unit.

If a unit is considered crippled by the end of a phase and is destroyed by the end of another phase in the same turn, it is considered destroyed when awarding events during the Turn’s End Phase. Players cannot claim awards for crippling and/or destroying the same unit in the same turn.

A player will not earn Crippling a Unit awards for further damaging a Unit that started the turn Crippled.

Betting (OPTIONAL)

As with any sporting event, Solaris is no stranger to Gambling. Gambling can make or break a player when it comes to their fame and fortune. It is recommended that poker chips are used for the betting process. The value of the chips and how chips are earned is up to the person running the tournament. One possible way is to get different color chips to represent every category of rewards (Black for Kills, Blue for Flashy Moves, White for Special Attack, and Red for Crippling), label the chips for the different types of events in each category, and hand out chips as players receive rewards. A player then can use the chips they have earned on events occurring on the board. A player then must cash in their chips and document on their Character sheet the rewards they gained in order to improve the pilot or repair/buy a ’Mech. This method is a little more costly to the player because they are betting the entire value of the chip (Fame, Character Points and C-bills).

When placing a bet:

• A Bet can only be made with another player or the house. No Pools are allowed
• Events for Bets must be specific. Example: All weapons fired will hit, the pilot will make his consciousness roll, the AC-20 attack will fail, etc
• Bets must be made with the same chip color but not of the same category. The Category of the chip can be hidden but the color of the chip cannot. Example: Player A places a bet with Player B. Player A picks a white chip and so must Player B. Player A chooses Head Hit while Player B chooses Melee (non-weapon).
• Players cannot place bets on events that directly affect themselves.
• If an Edge is used to force a re-roll, all bets on that roll are void. Any new bets must be placed before a new roll is made.

Teams (OPTIONAL)

Note: Use Teams only if you have players that can participate for the entire tournament.

An Agent can allow players to form teams to compete against individual players or other teams. Teams will have at least 3 pilot logs: 1 for each individual pilot and one for the Team. The Team log will only be used to track the amount of Fame, Character Points (CPs), C-Bills, and the Sponsors the Team has. Players can deposit whatever amount of Fame, CP, and C-bills they want from their log into the Team Log. The Team’s Fame, CP, and C-Bills can be used to gain a new Sponsor or Purchase / Repair a Mech for the Team. If a Sponsor has a requirement for a Certain Stable, all members of the Team must belong to the required Stable. The Team’s Fame, CP, and C-Bills cannot be used to purchase Stables or Pilot Abilities for the Team.

If a Team breaks up, the shared resources of the Team (Fame, C-Bills, and CP) are split equally between its members. Any Mechs owned by the team must be sold back at 75% of the Book cost.

If one member of a team wants to join a Stable, all team members must join the same Stable at the same time. Team Mates cannot be members of different Stables. Team mates are allowed to discuss Arena tactics in the Tournament area without being members of a Stable.

Team Members can have different Sponsors. Sponsor abilities apply only to the pilot that has the sponsor. A sponsor will only support a team or an individual pilot but not both (The same sponsor cannot be on an individual pilot log and the Team’s log.) Teams can only have one sponsor.

GM/Agents can have the team enter the arena at the same location or in different areas of the Arena. Teams can use C3, NARC, ECM, and TAG equipment or any variant thereof. Pilots are not allowed to attack their teammates but are allowed to move through a hex occupied by a teammates Mech.

Fame! Fortune! Flair! (Or, How to Win the Tournament)

Qualifiers

There will be a winner declared after each day or partial day of Qualifiers. The winner of that day of Qualifiers will be determined based on their total C-bill net worth. The Net worth is calculated on the total C-bills on hand plus the value of the ’Mech(s) owned minus any loans. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker will be

1. Fame
2. Kills (total)
3. Kills (solo)

Finals or Championship

The winner of the Finals / Championship will be the last man standing. In case there is not a clear winner (ie, all ’Mechs are destroyed or crippled in the last round), the winner will be determined by the Pilot with the highest:

1. Fame
2. Kills (Total)
3. Kills (Solo)
4. C-bills Net worth (Total C-bills on hand + value of ’Mech(s) owned – Loans)

Second and Third place will be determined by the total total C-bill net worth. The Net worth is calculated on the total C-bills on hand plus the value of the ’Mech(s) owned minus any loans. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker will be

1. Fame
2. Kills (total)
3. Kills (solo)

Credits

• Original Rules by Ben Rome (2005)
• Revised for version 2.0 by Dan Eastwood (2007)
• Additional contributions:
• Rick Remer created the adjusted costs listing and abbreviated ’Mech listing
• Playtesting by the Singapore Longshoremen
• Scott Hopkins (helped run this event in 2007-08, and made numerous suggestions)
• Stephen Watts (2007, 2008, 2009 Gencon SMC champion)
• Brian Bunch (contributed to 2009 revisions)
• Dan Eastwood (final 2009 edits)
• Jim Topa (Edited for Tournament Version)
• Playtesting by: Jeremy Weyand, John Muncy, Tyler Muncy, John Carroll, James O’Laughlin, Blake Cetnar, Josh Metzger, Ross Eaton, Michael “Southpaw13” Miller, Mike “X-Sythe” Demaline, Andrew “Boyscout” Schwenzer, Craig “azhael” Tome, Jason “DarkMessiah” Rhodes, Zach Lattimer

Abbreviations and Definitions

On the Board

This is the time a ’Mech spends in an Arena

GSR

Gunnery Skill Roll, +1 GSR indicates a bonus to hit.

PSR

Piloting Skill Roll, +1 PSR indicates a bonus to hit.

TH*

“To Hit”, -1 TH indicates a bonus to the target number for the “To Hit” roll.
* -1 TH and +1 GSR both mean the same thing, but usage is not consistent

• Download Solaris rules
• Download Solaris rules tables
• Download Pilot Record Sheet