This game was played at Historicon 2011 and uses the A Time of War combat system.  Several modifications are in effect as well as redesigned record sheets more suitable for skirmish level infantry combat.

Miniatures are a mix from MERCS and Iron Wind Metals.  Terrain used is from World Works Games and was painfully constructed by Saxywolf and myself.  We used their TerrainLinx system to build the two level SDS.  I plan on having a full post describing the construction of the terrain later on.

Delvin Stone Loyalists

• Heavy Weapons, MG
• Heavy Weapons, Dual SMGs
• Heavy Weapons, Man Pack Flamer
• Assault Leader, Rifle
• Assault Leader, SMG, Vibroblade
• Soldier, Rifle
• Soldier, SMG
• Assassin, SMG, Vibrodaggar

Word of Blake Security Detail

• Manei Domini Leader, Rifle and Vibroblade, Full Body Myomer
• Manei Domini Assassin, Pistol, Vibrodaggar
• Security Guard Captains, Rifles
• Lots and lots of Redshirts, Pistol, Rifle

Prototype Record Sheets

We used a new record sheet for this game and I’m glad to share a few examples with you.  I’m not 100% happy with the result thus far but it showed a lot of promise during the game.  A few more adjustments and it will be ready for prime time.

• Dual Heavy Weapons (PDF, 188KB)
• MG Heavy Weapons (PDF, 156KB)
• Assault Leader (PDF, 86KB)

Breaking In

Our adventure begins with the group of loyalists already inside the SDS.  A compromised set of security codes helped them gain access.  Standing in the opening hallway they are undetected… for now.

The main door towards the elevators to the lower level is blocked by a hardened security door.  The security code they have doesn’t work.  The team has to find another way through.

Instead of splitting up, the team decided to stick together and makes a right turn into what appears to be a barracks or living area.

The Barracks

The team fans out and attempts to sneak into position.  As luck would have it, the Assassin is the first to fail a stealth skill check and alerts a nearby guard of their presence.  The hapless guard peeks out his door and gets a bullet through the eyes for his trouble from one of the Soldiers in the back of the room.

The Soldier did not have a silenced weapon though and all the rest of the guards in the room go on alert and draw weapons.

As the guards pile out of their comfortable quarters, they are gunned down by numerous concentrated volleys from the Loyalists.  The team fans out and secures each room in sequence leaving no witnesses.  The team recovers fatigue, reloads and positions themselves to advance through an adjoining long hallway.

Corridor A

Two guards are chatting about halfway down the hall.  The assassin takes a quick peek to setup a shot but again fumbles his Stealth check and the two guards turn to attack.  One fires away while the other runs backwards and around a corner for better cover.  The guard that stands and shoots is quickly gunned down and the team moves up to take positions at the open door.

A strong perception check alerts even more guards in the room on the opposite side of the hallway.  Five more guards rush into the fight and take cover in the small L section of the hallway out of sight for now.

The assault team moves into the hallway, forsaking cover to lay down a wall of suppression fire at the corner of the hallway.  Two guards test their luck and move for a shot but win the bullet catching contest.

The Loyalist assault leader readies a grenade and rushes up to the corner after suppression fire dies down.  A quick reflexed guard at the corner sneaks off a double shot and hits twice.  The point blank shots rip through the Assault Leader’s armor and kills him.  And then there were seven.

The Loyalists take no chances now and spray the area with suppression fire again.  As one of the guards readies a grenade of his own the team seizes the initiative and overtakes their position gunning down everyone in their way.

Corridor B

Meanwhile in the other attached hallway a set of guards lie in wait alerted by the noise of gunfire close by.  As the team attempts to move in, they are greeted by several volleys of suppression fire.  As one guard lays down cover the other edges closer for a potential kill shot next turn.

Sensing the danger, the Heavy Weapons wades into the suppression fire, taking a hit in the process, but manages to stay on his feet (thank you pain resistance…) long enough to shoot up the near guard.  The assassin and dual wielding Heavy Weapons back him up and pummels the other guard with longer ranged gun fire.

Searching the Area

With the hallways clear, the team once again reloads and restores fatigue.  The room at the end of Corridor A appears to be an armory of sorts.  There are plenty of HE and AP mini grenades, TK Assault Rifles and plenty of associated ammo that won’t fit most of the team’s weapons.

The other hallway is a security room.  The assassin goes to work and unlocks the video feed to all of the security cameras.  Green markers are placed on the map to represent guards that are not yet alerted.  The next task is to disable the lock on the hardened door blocking their way to the elevators.  The Assassin fumbles his skill check and the door remains stubbornly locked.

Moving Back

The security and armory are dead ends so the team moves back to the main entrance.  As they make it to the door a frustrated guard opens the security door to take a pot shot at the incoming team.  His shots miss and the Assault Leader lays down suppression fire wounding the closest guard but failing to hit a guard further behind.

More guards from an adjacent room begin to threaten as they take up positions behind their closed door.  The team is caught in a tricky balancing act trying to cover two directions at once!  Overlapping suppression fire and overwatch actions do the work and prevent the guards from overwhelming them.  As the rest of the team moves into position the pressure subsides as more guns in the area make it easier to divide up tasks.  With the security door unexpectedly open, the team can push towards their objective but not without coving their flank from potential attacks from alerted guards in unexplored rooms.

Moving On

With their teammates covering the rear the two Heavy Weapons shuffle down the main corridor spewing lead.  The guards manage to sneak a shot onto the MG Heavy who shrugs off the damage and mows them down to the last man.

With the way clear the team peels off the rear guard one by one and moves into the large center room which happens to be an infirmary.  After numerous perception checks by almost all members of the team they end up finding less than useful supplies.

The Assassin takes the lead now and makes his stealth check turning the corner on a pair of guards.  With the drop on them both he primes a grenade and gently rolls it between their feet.  BOOM!!!  No more guards.  The team gains access to the elevators and pushes the button to go down.

Second Level

As the elevator door opens the MG Heavy Weapons unloads a fierce volley into two unwitting guards who dodge most of the long range shots and trade bullets with the team for a turn before being done in.

The team moves aggressively down the long hallways and use copious amounts of suppression fire to clear the way.  There are two doors to the SDS control room.  The team splits up to cover both doors while the guards inside scurry around to take positions to ambush.  The players then notice a curious looking barrel of potentially volitile contents.  With two teammates on overwatch covering the door they roll the barrel into place in front of the left door.

After taking cover, they pull the pin on a grenade and toss it on the barrel.  The resulting explosion kills two guards outright and blasts the door into bits.  On cue, the team at the other door burst through and lay down cover fire.  The hapless guards can do nothing but flail about and get shot up.

Easy Street

As the team makes entry the door to the center of the SDS flashes open and a Security Guard Captain pumps a burst into the chest of the Dual SMG Heavy Weapons.  Another Captain peeks out the other door and sprays a suppression fire action into the tightly grouped Loyalist squad approaching from the right door.

The Flamer and MG Heavy Weapons both take hits as well as the Soldier.  The Soldier is KO’d, the Flamer starts to bleed from a wound and the MG can’t keep his footing and falls to the floor.

Return fire from the Dual Wielding Heavy knocks down and bleeds one of the Captains.  The Manei Domini Assassin moves into the fray from the doorway but misses both of his shots.  The Loyalist Assassin returns the favor and hits solidly, causing a fortunate KO.

The Manei Domini leader now moves into view and lays down another pattern of suppression fire covering the team coming from the left door.  Every one of the Loyalist Assault Squad is now inside a suppression fire area of effect and cannot act without first potentially getting shot up!

The Dual Heavy Weapons tries to break the suppression fire but takes more wounds in the process and now takes a stun as his Pain Resistance has reached it’s limit.

In a desperate act the Soldier near the left door primes a grenade and chucks it wildly at the Manei Domini Leader.  The throw is awful and manages to bounce off a wall and BACK into the Loyalist squad.  The explosion kills the Assassin, mortally wounds the Heavy Weapons and mildly damages the Soldier who threw it.  Lesson learned, try to throw grenades from the FRONT of a group of friendlies and never from BEHIND them.

Redemption

Things are looking grim when the Man-Pack Flamer Heavy Weapons avoids the numerous suppression fire rounds and pours plasma onto the Manei Domini and the Security Captain.    The Captain is put out of commission while the MD Leader is stunned and bleeding.  The suppression fire trap is broken and the remaining Soldier, Assault Leader, and Flamer Heavy Weapons move in to finish off the wounded Word of Blake troops.

With the Word of Blake forces defeated, the remaining Loyalist force takes control of the SDS and makes contact with the anxious leadership topside.  The SDS is down and the invasion can proceed!

Jim debuted a new record sheet creation that proved very useful and helped to keep the game moving.

Hold the Line

The Initial Word of Blake operations on Terra were carried out by Blake agents already on planet – most notable the so-called Shadow Lancers. ComStar headquarters on Hilton Head Island was perhaps the most important target assigned to the Lancers. While Lancer BattleMech forces dealt with the two battalions of the Com Guard 201st Division at Salina, the Lancer’s armor forces struck Hilton Head. Advancing under the cover provided by bad weather that covered much of North America, the unit had traveled to within 50 kilometers of the Hilton Head HQ before the defending Com Guard forces detected it.

With their computer and communications sabotaged by the Word of Blake, the Com Guard forces were unable to prevent the Lancers from crossing to the island and seizing control of the city of Hilton Head. At the first Circuit compound, however, the Com Guard forces rallied and made their desperate stand.

You can read more about this battle and the rest of the war for control of Terra in 3058 in the Fasa scenario book, The Fall of Terra.

Comstar

Flight of Arrows II – Lambda

• Mantis Light Attack VTOL
• Mantis Light Attack VTOL
• Hunter Light Support Tank
• Hunter Light Support Tank
• Striker Light Tank
• Striker Light Tank

Great Resistance II -Iota

• Scimitar Medium Hover Tank
• Scimitar Medium Hover Tank
• Maxim Heavy Hover Transport
• Jump Laser Platoon
• Maxim Heavy Hover Transport
• Jump Rifle Platoon

Word of Blake

Assault Lance

• Scimitar Medium Hover Tank
• Scimitar Medium Hover Tank
• Patton Tank
• Patton Tank

Support Lance

• Blizzard Hover Transport
• Blizzard Hover Transport
• Myrmidon Medium Tank
• Myrmidon Medium Tank

Recon Lance

• Pegasus Scout Hover Tank
• Pegasus Scout Hover Tank
• Galleon Light Tank
• Galleon Light Tank

Objectives

The Word of Blake units must exit off the opposite side of the battlefield with at least 50% of their units surviving.  The ComStar force must stop the Word of Blake forces at all costs.

Turn 1 – Comstar wins Initiative

Comstar begins the game deployed as far into the map as allowed but remain concentrated in the center.  The Word of Blake begins more spread out with the Patton tanks to the far North to evade attention.

The battle begins with each force advancing predictably across the map.  Only medium range shots are available to either side.

Comstar forces concentrate all fire on the lead Galleon Tank but only manage to hit once.  The Word of Blake return fire and astonishingly manage to destroy a Scimitar.  First blood goes to the Word of Blake!

Turn 2 – Comstar wins Initiative

The middle of the battle becomes a mess as the forward Comstar elements and Word of Blake hovercraft converge.  Comstar VTOLs flank behind the hovercraft for rear attacks.

The damaged Galleon from last turn and a Blizzard Hover are destroyed by Comstar.  The second Galleon is lightly damaged as well.  The Word of Blake concentrates on both Striker Tanks, killing one while the other survives due to bad rolls.

To the North, the Word of Blake Patton tanks move at flank speed safe from harm for now.

Turn 3 – Word of Blake wins Initiative

The injured Word of Blake Galleon seeks refuge in nearby woods while the faster hover units sprint past Comstar defenses.  The slower Word of Blake tanks creep up as fast as their treads will carry them.

Comstar forces hold the line in the center while breaking off select forces to hunt the Galleon and Myrmidon tanks.  The Comstar VTOLs keep their speed up and move behind the out-maneuvered Blizzard hover tank which is destroyed in short order.

Comstar forces make good use of the turn and strip the armor from one Myrmidon and slightly damage the other.  No shots against the Galleon Tank find their target.

Return fire is concentrated on the Hunter tanks which each take strong damage.  The lead Hunter Tank has a crew hit criticals inflicted but lives to fight another turn.

Turn 4 – Word of Blake wins Initiative

The Word of Blake tanks in the center of the battlefield dodge into woods for cover.  Hover forces remain on the field but at long range.  The Patton tanks continue at flank speed across the North edge of the battle.

Comstar forces surround and attempt to trap enemy tanks where possible.  Several short range and rear shots are made possible.

Comstar does a lot of missing this turn and only manages to scrape armor off the healthier Myrmidon.  All other shots miss.

The Word of Blake strikes back and destroys a Hunter Tank.  Both VTOLs are hit this turn, one of which is killed outright.  One of the shots was made at long range from the Word of Blake hover tanks far across the battle.

Turn 5 – Comstar wins Initiative

The Word of Blake is taking no chances and exits one hover tank off the map while three more lurk close to the objective edge.  The remaining tanks make best speed and dance between cover hoping to spread out the defending Comstar forces.  The Patton tanks are perilously slow as they weave around terrain to the North.

Comstar ends up giving chase to the Galleon tank with the one remaining VTOL and two supporting tanks.  Remaining forces try to anticipate Word of Blake movement and end up with poor shots.

Luck begins to shine again on Comstar who manage to destroy the Galleon Tank and one of the injured Myrmidons.  Return fire from the Blakists is ineffective.

Turn 6 – Word of Blake wins Initiative

The Word of Blake moves three more hover tanks off the objective edge while remaining tanks move as quickly as possible.  The last Myrmidon attempts to stay covered by woods as the Patton tanks continue their slow march.

Comstar is running out of available targets and swarms on the Myrmidon tank which is destroyed under a massive barrage.  The Word of Blake does not manage to deal any damage in return.

Turn 7 – Comstar wins Initiative

The last two Word of Blake tanks throw caution to the wind and give up rear shots as they frantically rush towards the edge of the battle.  Comstar forces converge with all forces and fire with everything in range.

Word of Blake shots miss badly.  Comstar forces combine fire and whittle away armor until a lucky strike finds the ammo bins sending the first Patton tank up in smoke.

Turn 8 to the End

The last Word of Blake Patton tank pushes towards the objective edge but is surrounded by adversaries which pummel the vehicle until it is reduced to scrap.

• Word of Blake: Exited the battle with 4 live units (33%)
• Comstar: Destroyed 8 units (66%)

Victory to Comstar!

Stirring the Hornet’s Nest

Rumor has it that some backwater bumpkins have developed the best whiskey in the galaxy and it’s worth more than can be imagined on the black market.  This is the raid for you and your pirate brothers.  Get in, take out the local defenders, and take the reported shipment of booze that is being prepped for shipment off-world.

In and out, easy job.  No problem. These hicks won’t know what hit them.  Heck, the only two things that these rednecks can do is make whiskey and race on the weekends.

Pirate Raiders

• WTH-2 Whitworth
• VND-5L Vindicator
• PXH-3D Phoenix Hawk
• JR7-D Jenner
• CLNT-6S Clint
• BJ-1 Blackjack
• PNT-10K Panther
• TR1 Wraith
• WVR-7M Wolverine
• END-6J Enfield
• COM-1B Commando
• WLF-1 Wolfhound

Planetary Militia

• HNT-151 Hornet (Red)
• HNT-151 Hornet (Blue)
• HNT-151 Hornet (Green)
• HNT-151 Hornet (White)

Objectives

The Pirate forces are searching for a cache of Whiskey.  The Whiskey is hidden in one of the warehouses inside the city gates.  The Militia player secretly selected a building to hold the booze.  The Pirate player must find the Whiskey, load it onto a ‘Mech and escape off the map.  The Militia must stop the Pirates at all costs.

Turn 1 - Pirates win Initiative

The start of the game is a bit boring.  The Militia Hornets are spread out and hiding behind buildings.  The Pirate horde marches ominously forward, no doubt counting their lucky stars that the planet is so lightly defended.

Easy money!

Turn 2 – Militia win Initiative

The Pirates continue to move forward in two main groups.  The Hornets continue to hide but manage to let loose a few volleys of LRMs all of which miss.

Turn 3 – Pirates win Initiative

The Pirates are now at the gates of the city.  The lead units, a Phoenix Hawk and a Commando are shot at with LRMs but only the Commando takes any damage.  Return fire from the Pirates is ineffective.

Turn 4 – Pirates win Initiative

As the Pirates push into the city the Militia back off and find better cover further away from the attackers.  The first warehouse building is scanned by the Pirates.  Nothing yet.

Then suddenly, a lance of Savannah Masters burst out of one of the warehouses to the North!

One of the fearless hovercraft pilots charges the Pirate Commando while the others pour in laser fire.  A Pirate Wraith blasts the charging hovercraft before it can do any damage.  The medium laser barrage manages to critically hit one of the Commando’s engine slots.

Turn 5 – Pirates win Initiative

The Pirates fan out at best speed to cover as many warehouses as possible.

Suddenly a buzz is heard across the battlefield as a horde of hover fans turn on.  Three Gabriels and 17 Savannah Masters burst from their hiding spots to envelop the attacking Pirates!

The mass of hover tanks concentrate fire on the Wolfhound, Commando, and Clint while the Pirates lash out at targets of opportunity.

The Wolfhound is crushed from behind.  After a gyro hit the Wolfhound is almost brought down when its rear armor fails.  The Commando loses a few heatsinks and takes an engine critical but is alive for now.  The Clint sees a whole lot of armor peeled off but stands through the punishment.

In return fire a lucky strike from the Wolverine critical hits one of the Hornet’s ammo slots sending the ‘Mech to the scrapyard.

In a stunning turn the whiskey is located by the Wolfhound!

Turn 6 – Pirates win Initiative

The Pirate force is stunned by the sudden influx of hovers and moves three ‘Mechs to surround the whiskey stores.  The hovers scatter to maintain top speed while the Pirate Wraith stalks them with it’s pulse lasers.  A Hornet manages to get behind the Pirate Phoenix Hawk.

The hovers concentrate fire on the Wraith, Whitworth, and Clint.  The Pirates again fire at whatever hover craft are in range.

All told four hovers were cored, kicked or otherwise dispatched by the Pirates.  Return fire slags some armor but the Pirates keep their backs to the buildings to maximize protection.

One of the Hornets together with a couple hovercraft attempt to blow up the Whiskey! Their concentrated fire power is enough to take the building down a notch but is not enough to punch through to ignite the booze.  The Pirates successfully load up their precious cargo at the end of the turn.

Turn 7 – Pirates win Initiative

The Pirates use their initiative advantage to pick their lanes and begin moving units towards their home edge.  The Pirate Enfield, who is carrying the booze, moves last and dekes his way behind a building away from most of the danger.

The Pirate Commando is ganged up on and is cored through by a Hornet and a trio of hovers.  The Wolfhound is destroyed by engine criticals.  Both the Whitworth and Phoenix Hawk fall due to damage.

In return, three hovers die a sudden death by a combination of lucky weapon hits and kicks.

Turn 8 – Militia win Initiative

The Pirate force consolidates their force and seeks cover from a nearby building.  They strategically place their backs to the wall to avoid rear shots.  The hovers envelope the Pirates while keeping their speed up.

The Green Hornet is cored while two hovers are destroyed.  Another hover is immobilized and then killed by a sword attack from the Pirate Vindicator.  The hovers damage armor on the Wraith, Enfield and Jenner but do no major damage.  The Jenner misses a kick and falls flat on his face.

Turn 9 – Militia win Initiative

Time is running out and the Pirates can’t afford to make a run for it!  Its a final stand.

(our time slot at the convention was running out)

The Pirates put their backs to the wall again as the hovers swarm around them.  The Pirates scatter their fire at available targets while the hovers concentrate all fire on the Enfield!

Pirate weapons fire brings down no less than four hovercraft.  The hovers brutalize the Enfield, stripping armor in several locations.  The Enfield loses two engine criticals, a gyro hit and loses a number of weapon systems but manages to stay alive and upright.

End Game

Unfortunately, our time slot ran out and we were not able to completely finish this game.

So, who do you think would have been able to pull off the victory?  Do the Pirates have enough gusto to put the Militia in their place or will the stalwart defenders of the greatest vice in the Inner Sphere have the last word?

Regardless, this was a fun and spirited game.  My hat goes off to Scott for having the twisted mind to put it all together.

The Fall of Terra: When the Bough Breaks

Salina, Kansas, North American Continent 1400 Hours, 28 February 3058 The two Comstar Com Guard Battalions stationed at Salina were designated by the Word of Blake as the main security force for the North American continent.  Neutralizing the Salina facility and its troops became imperative for the Word of Blake forces once they had attacked and taken the Hilton Head compound.  Although they enjoyed numerical superiority, the WoB Lancers would take horrendous casualties in a direct assault, and so they settled on a less direct course of action.

As the Lancer ‘Mech regiment encircled the base, a pair of Lancer fighters approached the base and requested emergency landing clearance from the unsuspecting defenders.  After receiving permission to land, the fighters began standard landing approaches, then suddenly pulled up and dropped a pair of J91 Fuel-Air devices on the base.

The resulting blast destroyed the Salina command structure and killed or injured almost half of the facility’s combat ready troops.  Realizing they would be crushed by the surrounding WoB forces, a number of junior officers rallied together and ad-hoc command to lead lead their troops through the Lancer regiment.

Word of Blake: Shadow Lancer, 2nd Battlemech Battalion

Assault Lance (65 pts)

• Phoenix Hawk PXH-4L(19 pts)
• Warhammer WHM-7M (15 pts)
• Goliath GOL-3M (15 pts)
• Thunderbolt TDR-9M (16 pts)

Pursuit Lance (44 pts)

• Panther PNT-9R (8 pts)
• Crab CRB-27 (12 pts)
• Raijin RJN101-A (14 pts)
• Wolfhound WLF-3S (10 pts)

ComStar: Com Guard 201st Division, Alpha and Beta Battalions

1st Provisional Lance (70 pts)

• Grasshopper GHR-5J (19 pts)
• Marauder MAD-5M (15 pts)
• Awesome AWS-9Q (19 pts)
• Black Knight BL-9-KNT (17 pts)

2nd Provisional Lance (44 pts)

• Raijin RJN101-A (14 pts)
• Mercury MCY-99 (6 pts)
• Bombardier BMB-12d (15 pts)
• Owens OW-1C (9 pts)

Objectives The Com Guard forces are attempting to escape from the encircling WoB forces.  The ComStar force must exit as many units as possible off the other side.  The Word of Blake forces are the last line that can put an end to the Com Guards before they can regroup and refit.

Special Conditions

Blizzard conditions made weapons fire a more difficult, but allowed ‘Mechs to overheat to do more damage without penalty.

Unit Cohesion practiced by the WoB Shadow Lancers prevents units from straying too far from their closest lance mate.

The Com Guard 2nd Provisional lance was late to the party, entering combat on turn 2.

Turn 1 - WoB wins Initiative

The Lancers lie in wait having lined up across the hilltops with the pursuit lance to the right and assault lance to the left. Com Guard’s 1st Provisional Lance enters the combat zone generally headed towards the Lancers’s pursuit lance keeping some woods between the two forces.  The Mercury of the 2nd Provisional Lance moves quickly ahead.

A few pot shots are taken by both forces over the trees to and from the hill top, but at such a long range nothing connects.

WoB: 0; ComStar: 0

Turn 2 - WoB wins Initiative

The Com Guard Grasshopper enters the combat zone with the remaining 2nd Provisional Lance, but breaks away from the main force to hide in the far woods to the WoB’s left to draw WoB units.  The Raijin and mercury take cover in the woods as the Owens moves to catch up to the Mercury while the heavier units slowly advance together.

The WoB Assault Lance advances toward the main ComStar group.  While the Crab advances to bring its weapons into range the Wolfhound advances to add pressure.

The Raijin and Panther aim carefully from their perch on the hill, but still their long range shots go wide.  Return fire does the same.

WoB: 0; ComStar: 0

Turn 3 – WoB wins Initiative

The Com Guard’s heavy units continue to advance while their lighter units take cover in or behind trees. The Grasshopper slowly advances through its own tree cover.

The WoB Pursuit Lance lunges forward as the slower Assault Lance takes cover in the woods to fire on the oncoming assailants managing to slough off much of the Black Knight’s armor.   Combined Com Gaurd fire begins to whittle down the Warhammer’s Armor.

WoB: 0; ComStar: 0

Turn 4 – WoB wins Initiative

The Com Guard’s heavy units are separated as some take cover in the woods and others stay out of close range to provide fire support with a greater firing sweep.  The Grasshopper advances to flank the WoB from the far side and although the Mercury is already far behind the WoB line, it does not leave the combat zone just yet.

The WoB Phoenix leaps forward into the fray as the Thunderbolt advances.

The pursuit lance lines up on the Marauder and Black Knight, but their shots are wasted on the Black Knight destroyed by their heavier counterparts and fail to find the Marauder through the trees.

Out in the open, the Thunderbolt loses most of its armor while the Raijin has all its external armor stripped away in one shot. Meanwhile, the Warhammer and Goliath put a hurtin’ on the Awesome, but in return, the Warhammer’s structure is critically hit nearly immobilizing it.  The Owens damages the Wolfhound from the rear.

Engaged in point blank combat, the WoB Phoenix Hawk and Com Guard Raijin kick at each other.

WoB: 5; ComStar: 0

Turn 5 - Com Guard Wins Initiative

With it’s faster units having moved around the advancing WoB defense line they now take up positions on the hills where the WoB originally awaited the Com Guard.  Some of the heavier units even fall back to take up firing positions to completely surround the WoB.

The WoB is forced to take cover where ever they can.  Retreating to the woods it just left, the armorless Thunderbolt has it’s head excised anyway, but not before it can concentrate fire with lance mates to deal heavy damage to the Awesome.

Caught in the open the Mercury damages the WoB Raijin’s weapon and leaves very little of the structure.

The skilled Marauder pilot fires on the Panther crippling it’s movement while doing the same to the Wolfhound with a swift kick, single handedly handicapping the Pursuit Lance’s pursuit capability and leaving their structure hanging by threads as well.

WoB: 5; ComStar: 2

Turn 6 – Com Guard wins Initiative

The WoB’s near armorless Warhammer remains in position with nowhere to hide hoping to project its fury one last time while the Goliath advances to pressure the Com Guard force.  Getting the drop on the WoB, the Marauder and Raijin take up positions behind the Goliath and Warhammer respectively. The WoB Phoenix manages to maneuver into position behind the Bombardier and Awesome.

After damaging the Marauder, the Warhammer succumbs to solid blows from the Raijin’s weapons and a kick.  The furious Goliath pilot mule-kicks the Marauder who returns the favor.

WoB: 10; ComStar: 4

Turn 7 – Com Guard wins Initiative

Taking cover on the edge the nearby woods to maximize its fire arc in the direction of the ComStar’s objective, the Bombardier instead moves behind the WoB Phoenix hawk.  The WoB Goliath moves to nearby cover where the majority of the decimated Pursuit Lance remains.   The Com Guard Raijin and Marauder take the opportunity to advance toward freedom while moving away from the remaining WoB forces.

The Mercury and Owens, playing it safe, leave the combat zone.  Concentrated fire from both the Marauder and Bombardier is enough to fell the Goliath.

WoB: 10; ComStar: 13

Turn 8 – WoB wins Initiative

The fresh Crab decides to pursue the heavily damaged Marauder while the Phoenix Hawk hops to another firing position as the Bombardier takes its place.  The lighter ‘Mechs remain in cover or avoid damage by staying out of range.

As the slower Grasshopper nears its objective, the Com Guard Raijin takes the opportunity to stick its head out to dent the Crab’s fresh armor.   Weapons fire damages the Bombardier, but return fire completely misses.

WoB: 15; ComStar: 18

Turn 9 – WoB wins Initiative

The Phoenix Hawk joins the Crab in pursuit of the Marauder as the Bombardier moves backward.  The WoB Raijin moves into a safe position to follow the Crab.   The Com Guard units take up defensive positions as they move around the WoB’s defensive line.  All shots miss.

WoB: 15; ComStar: 18

Turn 10 – WoB wins Initiative

The Phoenix Hawk and Crab come out of cover to continue their pursuit of the Marauder as their Raijin comrade follows carefully.

The armorless WoB Raijin gets a lucky shot on the Bombardier while avoiding incoming fire.  The Grasshopper and Rajin combine fire to turn the Crabs armor to molten slag.  The Marauder and Crab then assure each others destruction.

WoB: 15; ComStar: 18

Turn 11 - WoB wins Initiative

As the WoB Phoenix Hawk takes a forward firing position the Raijin moves away to cover.   Nobody finds their target.

WoB: 15; ComStar: 18

Turn 12 - WoB wins Initiative

The Phoenix continues to nag at the Bombardier’s armor while the Raijin once again cautiously advances.  The Panther slowly moves toward it’s lance mate while remaining far away from the enemy threat.

WoB: 15; ComStar: 18

Turn 13 - WoB wins Initiative

The WoB Phoenix screams toward the retreating Bombardier as the armorless Raijin risks leaving cover to strike at the Bombardier.

The Phoenix lands a hit on the Bombardier, but a solid blow comes from the Raijin which is more than enough to crumple the Bombardier’s structure.

The ComGuard isn’t so lucky not finding a single hit of their own.

WoB: 20; ComStar: 18

Turn 14 - WoB wins Initiative

The Com Guard Grasshopper and Raijin begin to withdraw taking cover from the advancing WoB.

WoB: 20; ComStar: 18

Turn 15 - Com Guard wins Initiative

The Com Guard Grasshopper and Raijin escape WoB’s grasp… for now.

WoB: 20; ComStar: 28

Aftermath:

A marginal victory for the Com Guard 201st.

Of the 40 ‘Mechs and vehicles in the Com Guard force at Salina, only 22 ‘Mechs made it through the encircling WoB Shado Lancer’s line.  These survivors fled west, hoping to reach one of several Com Guard supply depots in the Rocky Mountains.  However, a number of Lancer units moved to pursue them, and the chase was on!

The battle proved extraordinarily fast as the players wasted no time getting right to the business of shooting each other to bits.  Read on to see how it all went down!  Please keep in mind while reading that this game featured modifications to the core rules that are documented in an earlier post.  Miniatures for the game are from the MERCS line of dynamic gaming miniatures.

Bad Intel

The company spooks have dug up verifiable information on a potential Star League era weapons depot.  The location is too fragile to risk sending in ‘Mechs to clear it so it is up to the infantry to sniff out the prize and secure it for evac.  Bad news is, the enemy knows as much as we do and are sending in their own forces.  Lock and Load in this ‘A Time of War’ Infantry Combat Scenario to claim the objective before your opponent!

Objectives

In the middle of the battlefield is a downed BSW-X1 Bushwacker.  A data package has been left behind that holds the coordinates to a potential weapons depot.  That data must not fall into the hands of the enemy.

Downloading the data package is accomplished by moving a character into base contact with the side of the downed ‘Mech near the cockpit.  The download occurs automatically at the end of the turn.  After downloading, the data must be exited off your own team’s map edge.

Liao Assault Squad

• Squad Leader, Auto Rifle and Vibro-blade
• Sniper, Minolta 9000
• Soldier, Imperator SMG x2
• Heavy Weapons, Dual wielding SMGs

Davion Assault Squad

• Squad Leader, Auto Rifle
• Sniper, Minolta 9000
• Soldier, Imperator SMG
• Heavy Weapons, Federated Barrett
• Heavy Weapons, Man-pack Flamer

Turn 1

The first turn sees all characters sprint their full distance towards the middle of the battle.  Opposing snipers take up positions on opposite corners.  Each has a good vantage point of the hill and cover.

The Davions send their MG Heavy Weapons to the south and load the north end with their remaining characters.

The Capellans stay tightly grouped in the middle with the hill in easy reach.

Turn 2

The Davions roll high initiative and elect to put their MG Heavy Weapons on overwatch while prepping grenades with all other characters besides the Sniper.

The Liao player rushes the hill with everything he has.  There is no cover.  The rolls are quite low and the effects are devastating.

A Liao Soldier is first up the hill but gets interrupted by the Davion Heavy Weapons.  However the Capellan rolls a higher reflex check and acts first anyways.  He shoots at the Davion Flamer and misses.  Return fire from the MG Heavy Weapons hits hard knocking the Capellan down and causing a bleeding wound.

The Liao Heavy Weapons is next and fires on the Davion Flamer hitting twice.  The Flamer takes big damage but shakes it off with his Pain Resistance trait and ignores the stun effect.

The Squad Leader moves up and shoots at the Davion Soldier and hits solidly causing a stun and bleed.

The Davion Sniper is next to act and puts a bead on the Liao Squad Leader and hits causing a stun.  He then turns his scope to the Heavy Weapons beside the Leader and fires off another round causing damage but no stun due to Pain Resistance.

The Liao Sniper forgoes the relative safety of long range and sprints towards the objective arriving just out of reach.

The Liao Soldier is last to act and he rushes the hill along with his comrades firing on the Davion Soldier for a hit.  The Soldier is knocked down but avoids a bleed effect.

There are several downed characters who are stunned, bleeding or both!  A violent and fast round of combat.

Turn 3

Both Squad Leaders are first to act.  The Liao Leader fires on and hits the Davion Flamer after shaking a stun.  The Davion Leader walks forward and throws his prepared grenade.  The blast kills one of the Capellan Soldiers and causes both a stun and bleed effect on the other.  The Liao Heavy Weapons takes further damage but is ok so far.

The Liao Soldier shakes a stun and fires on the Davion Soldier, hitting for modest damage.

The Davion soldier shakes his own stun and tosses an unprepared grenade into the pile of Capellans atop the hill. (This grenade will detonate later at the end of the turn!)

The Liao Heavy Weapons walks forward and shoots off a burst at the Davion Flamer hitting once and missing once.

The Davion Flamer (still avoiding stun effects via Pain Resistance) walks forward and spews a line of fire that catches two Liao in the area of effect.  The Squad Leader begins to bleed and both are stunned.

The Davion Heavy Weapons attacks his counterpart causing a stun.  The Davion drops prone after his action to remain hidden behind cover.

The Liao Sniper walks into base contact with the objective and fires twice on the Davion Squad Leader for the kill.

The Davion Sniper remains behind cover and puts one bullet into the Liao Heavy Weapons for a kill and another at the Soldier who makes a difficult KO roll.

The previously thrown grenade now detonates and kills two Capellans.  The Liao Sniper successfully downloads the data package and has at least a chance to make a run for it if he can roll a high enough initiative!

Turn 4

The Liao Sniper rolls a 4…

The entire Davion team will get to act before the Liao Sniper and they make short work of the matter.

The Davion Heavy Weapons moves up and fires full auto at the lone Sniper causing a stun, bleed, and knockdown.  A second volley from the Federated Barrett finishes the game.

More Time on the Learning Curve

To be honest I did not anticipate the “run up the hill with guns blazing” strategy when I came up with this game.  Even with dealing with new players and teaching them the system, the four turns it took to decide the game seemed short.  I have a few ideas that would make the game better and they boil down to two key concepts.

Movement is Too Fast

I’ve had a hunch about this for a while and this game helped to prove it.  When you can run so far in game, the risk of long range (or medium range!) fire is too low.  I’ve come up with some calculations which I may share in a later post on the matter.  Bringing down movement rates will do a lot to re-balance in favor of more shooty game play (by shooty, I mean overt use of suppression fire and overwatch to contain opponents).

Rolls are Too Low

Ok, I get it, one force ran over the hill and charged into darn near short range with everything.  With no cover and modest range, they should have been low rolls, but I still think they are too low.  Even if I added in medium range and medium cover, the rolls would have been more than manageable for each player given the skill levels involved.  This works in an RPG setting where every character is indeed a hero.  I believe the translation into a BattleTroops style skirmish game deserves a tougher difficulty curve to reward good strategy and tactics.

All told, each player still had a good time and the setting and feel is second to none.  A Time of War is not without it’s flaws but at the end of the day it is the setting of choice for man-to-man combat in the 31st century.  No Mech?  No problem.  Get out your man portable machine guns, blazers and needlers and get your game on!

The Great Refusal was a collection of eight battles pitting the best of the Inner Sphere against the might of the Clans.  The side with the most victories would win the Refusal.

At the convention, we had five of our oversized 3D maps for players to battle on.  Players could come and go as they pleased and participate in as many battles as they wanted.  All told, we have five full battles completed, each one was a fast paced battle to the bitter end.  Did the Inner Sphere prevail or were the Clans able to defy history?

Draconis Combine vs Clan Blood Spirit

The Combine started well and managed to gain a slight advantage by delivering damage early.  The No-Dachi faced off against the Blood Kite while the Daishi (DC) took on the Battle Cobra.  As the fight dragged on the Combine continued to push and managed to knock out the Blood Kite’s arms.  Without weapons, the Blood Kite was forced to withdraw in shame.  Meanwhile the Combine Daishi was having a turn for the worse in luck and was waning as the Battle Cobra began making solid hits with it’s ER PPCs.  Once inside the internal structure of the Daishi the Clan player rolled a miraculous string of critical hits.  The Daishi ended the turn with 9 points of internal damage but 5 center torso critical hits, taking out the engine and gyro in one fell swoop.

The Battle Cobra turned to the No-Daichi.  The Battle Cobra was showing the wear of battle.  It had lost it’s entire left side while the No-Daichi damage was more spread around.  First turn into the new duel the Battle Cobra head caps his opponent with it’s one remaining ER PPC.

The Clans claim first blood.

Free Rasalhague Republic vs Clan Hells Horses

The FRR attempted to keep their distance from the potent Gnome Battle Armor and  the close-in specialist Gargoyle C.  This allowed the Clan force to take up superior positions in the middle of the battle, taking advantage of the only available cover.  The Spartan and Flashman fought the good fight and killed two of the gnomes and severely damaged the rest.

Unfortunately it was only a matter of time before the Clans could close in and bring their superior knife fighting weapons to bear.  The Flashman was brutalized before succumbing to side torso destruction.  Now two on one, the Spartan could not last against the heavier Clan weapons.  In the end, a through armor critical hit took out three engine locations spelling the end for the Spartan and the Inner Sphere’s chances in this match.

St. Ives Compact vs Clan Wolf

This was the longest battle of the bunch and went back and forth as the two players fought skillfully and energetically for their side.

The match starts and the St. Ives Ryoken faces off against the Gargoyle while the Pillager takes on the Timber Wolf.  The St.Ives Ryoken piloted by none other than Kai Allard-Liao wastes no time to close the distance to bring his UAC20 into the action.  The Pillager attempts to keep some distance from the Timber Wolf to take advantage of his Gauss Rifle.

Kai Allard-Liao trades point blank shots with the Gargoyle and in a fast sequence of turns finds his opponent legged but suffered the loss of his UAC20 in the process.  The two MechWarriors would not yield to each other and continued to pour weapons fire into each other.  The Gargoyle is forced to prop to fire but finds luck on his side.  A stream of laser and PPC bursts find soft armor and blast through Kai’s center torso destroying the ‘Mech.

Meanwhile, the Pillager and Timber Wolf are stalking each other at medium to long range.  The Pillager had a horrible time hitting anything with it’s Gauss rifle despite decent to-hit numbers.  The Timber Wolf savaged the Pillager’s armor, pot marking it with gaping holes.  A few heat sinks, an arm actuator, and a single engine hit begin to whittle away at the St. Ive assault Mech.

And then the Gauss rifle found home and crushed the Timber Wolf’s cockpit into scrap.

The Pillager is now at long range against the crippled but still dangerous Gargoyle.  Over a series of turns, the two traded long range weapons fire eating away at each others battered and broken frames.  The Pillager has one leg ripped apart and the last few turns are spent with each ‘Mech propping up to shoot.  In the bitter end the last round of weapons fire from the Pillager cored out the Gargoyle giving the win to the Inner Sphere.  The Pillager had only 28 armor points total remaining out of a starting 307.

Draconis Combine vs Clan Blood Spirit (a repeat due to player request!)

This game began much like the first with the Combine coming out strong but fading fast.  The crit seeking ability of the Blood Kite once again proved vital to the Clan force.  The No-Daichi ended up legged and broken on the ground while the Battle Cobra succumbed to arm destruction (no weapons) but not before head capping the Combine Daishi.

The final rounds of the contest involved the battered Blood Kite tearing apart the internal structure of the No-Daichi for the eventual win.

Capellan Confederation vs Clan Fire Mandrill

This match began with the Liao Thunder going up against the Fire Mandrill Warhawk A while the Emperor took on the Gargoyle C.  The Thunder rushed the Warhawk with hopes of bringing it’s AC20 into play.  Despite some early solid hits, the Thunder succumbed quickly to the advanced targeting computer in the Clan Warhawk which gutted the center torso and scored three quick engine hits.

The Emperor put up a better fight against the Gargoyle and managed to trash almost the entire front facing armor.  All three torso locations were open and a few lucky shots got inside and damaged the gyro and engine but not enough for the kill.  The Emperor in turn was decimated by a spread of weapons fire which blew off one arm and critically hit all of it’s own front torso locations.  After an impressive barrage from the Clan Gargoyle, two engine hits in the center torso followed by a single engine hit in a side torso spelled the end of the Inner Sphere ‘Mech.

Battles From the Past

The ScrapYard has fought several of these battles in the past.  You may recognize the terrain and miniatures from older after action reports.  here are some links to previous battles and the results.

• Battle 1, Federated Commonwealth versus Clan Smoke Jaguar (Inner Sphere Wins)
• Battle 2, St. Ives Compact versus Clan Wolf (Clans Win)
• Battle 4, Comstar versus Clan Jade Falcon (Clans Win)
• Battle 5, Free Worlds League versus Clan Star Adder (Inner Sphere Win)

The Final Score

After nine total games, the Inner Sphere was only able to pull out three victories.  In a stark contrast to the canon results, the Clans dominated the warriors of the Inner Sphere.  I had a lot of fun watching so many different people play these games and experience the fast paced action.  These are quick battles on average and there are still a few of the battles that we have yet to try. 

Let me know if you have had any experience with these battles from the Twilight of the Clans sourcebook.  I’d love to add your results to the pile and see if the Inner Sphere could do any better given a larger sample size!

This year more than others, the Lancaster Host seemed to show it’s age.  The secluded corner where the BattleTech games were being held  was constantly overheated with very poor ventilation.  Added into the mix was poor lighting and water stained fixtures that made the venue appear more like a mildewed basement than a proper convention hall.

Poor lighting and bad ventilation aside, the crew did a fantastic job as they always do.  We had a great selection of games to select from BattleTech to BattleForce to A Time of War.  Demo Agent Speck and his minions are an example for other demo agents out there.

About Those Minions…

Most of my readers know that the ScrapYard is a two man operation.  My partner in crime is SaxyWolf who is often behind the scenes but is a vital component to making this blog possible.  I couldn’t ask for a better minion and I really owe him big this time around.

We got to the parking lot at the Lancaster Host around 11 and started fetching supplies for our noon game.  I looked around the back of the car and to my horror, I could not find my minis.  We have a full set of miniatures for our Twilight of the Clans game and I left then in SaxyWolf’s garage.

The trip to Cold Wars is a two hour drive.

Without missing a beat, we touched base with “Speck” to switch our game to the evening slot and SaxyWolf volunteered to hit the road while I sat in on the afternoon BattleTech games to generate after action report material.

SaxyWolf gets a gold star this convention.  Thanks for taking one for the team.

Iron Wind Metals

Iron Wind was in attendance as usual with a plethora of blisters on sale.  The selection of available units included many fan-funded, online-exclusives, and archive items, all at regular prices.

I love seeing Iron Wind at conventions because you are always able to find something for your collection.

Also on display were a few samples of the mini-mech line due to appear within the next month or so.

BattleTech Gaming

We had games from the animated series to the depths of the Jihad on the agenda.  The ScrapYard will have no less than three after action reports from the con.  Before the full featured reports are prepared, here is a sneak peek at some of what’s in store.

And All the Rest

There is always more to conventions than BattleTech.  I didn’t get around to play any other games this con but I did sneak away from running or recording games to snap pictures of some of the coolest set-ups out there.  Enjoy the visual goodness!

The broken warriors of the Free Worlds League are under assault from the elite of the Word of Blake.  Sneak attacks, sabotage and genocide are now common place in the fragile nation.

Word of Blake forces are planning to attack the capital but a brave commander has marshaled a force of Free World’s League Militia to stand in their way and aim to prevent their advance.  The Word of Blake will not be denied and send a force to press the League’s defense.  Can the Militia hold out?  Can they stop the onslaught or will they be yet another ineffective speed bump on the road to desolation?

Free Worlds League

Command Lance

• AWS-8Q Awesome (Piloting 3, Gunnery 2) Commander
• P1 Perseus Prime (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• MR-5M Cerberus (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• ON1-M Orion (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)

Chase Lance

• DV-6M Dervish (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)
• HER-2M Hermes (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• HMR-3C Hammer (Piloting 3, Gunnery 2)
• WTH-1 Whitworth (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)

Support Lance

• Striker Light Tank (Driving 4, Gunnery 3)
• Achileus Battle Armor, Machine Gun (Gunnery 3)
• Achileus Battle Armor, Laser (Gunnery 3)
• Achileus Battle Armor, Flamer (Gunnery 3)

Word of Blake

Primus Level II

• LGC-01 Legacy (Piloting 3, Gunnery 2)
• C-SRP-O Seraph Invictus (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)
• TSN-1C Tessen (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)
• ST-8A Shootist (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• BL-12-KNT Black Knight (Piloting 3, Gunnery 2)
• LGH-4Y Lightray (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)

Dominus Level II

• GUR-2G Gurkha (Piloting 3, Gunnery 2)
• RDS-2A Red Shift (Piloting 4, gunnery 3)
• Purifier Battle Armor (Gunnery 3)
• Purifier Battle Armor (Gunnery 3)
• Nephilim Assault Battle Armor (Gunnery 3)
• Phalanx Heavy Battle Armor (Gunnery 3)

SPECIAL RULES

The following special rules were in effect during this game.

Heavy Rain and Lightning

All to-hit numbers and piloting rolls were modified by +1.  Each turn there was the possibility of lightning strikes.  The location of lightning strikes were randomly determined with the aid of a cell phone random number generator.  Lightning Strikes can be seen on the battlefield marked by yellow chips.

Fire for Effect

The Free Worlds League have access to three artillery units: a Long Tom, a Sniper, and a Thumper all within 1 turn artillery flight time.

Watch Your Step

The Free Worlds League may plant 6 conventional mine fields and 3 EMP mine fields.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

Cutting Off the Head

The Word of Blake must destroy the Free Worlds League Commander’s Awesome.

Moving On

After the League commander’s ‘Mech is destroyed, the Word of Blake forces must exit at least 50% of their ‘Mech forces off the map edge opposite their starting edge.

The Word of Blake achieves a Minor Victory if they destroy the League commander and a Decisive Victory if they can achieve both objectives.  Any other result is a Free Worlds League Victory.

ENGAGEMENT

Turn 1 – Free Worlds League Wins Initiative

Both sides advance towards the other with malicious intent.  The Word of Blake spreads wide with the heavier slower units heading down the middle while the Leaguers concentrate in the middle of the battlefield protected by ample woods.  The Word of Blake Gurkha is the first to find a minefield but shrugs off the damage.

Weapons fire is sporadic with a few long range shots hitting the mark but nothing to warrant concern at this point.

Six lightning strikes reach earth but none threaten either force.

Turn 2 – Word of Blake Wins Initiative

The Militia press the center of the field with their heavier units while stabbing forward with faster units.  To the North a Whitworth, Striker Tank and Hermes attempt to blunt the overreaching Tessen.  To the south, a lone Dervish foolhardily jumps far from support.  Blakist forces seize the advantage and swarm the Dervish with the speedy Lightray, Gurkha, and Red Shift.

The remaining Blakist forces slowly make their way towards the fight.  Along the way the Legacy walks through two minefields, one of which goes off for minimal damage.

The first round of artillery falls in a tight grouping around the slowly moving Seraph doing moderate damage from two of the three rounds.

The Nephilim BattleArmor, who began the battle ahead of the main Blakist line, opens up with all missile tubes to the Whitworth’s rear.  The torso armor crumbles under the impact.  Critical hits strike an engine but spare the ammunition stored close by.  The Militia Dervish is spared major injury by poor shooting by the three Blakist ‘Mechs surrounding him.

Minor damage is spread around to almost all combatants.  The Free Worlds League has particularly bad rolls.  The only bright spot is a lone PPC shot to the BlackKnight which kills a Purifier squad occupying a torso location.

Ten lightning strikes litter the battle field but leave both forces unmarred.

Turn 3 – Word of Blake Wins Initiative

The Militia units continue to press the center and move to flank the larger Legacy allowing the Tessen to move uncontested towards the Free Worlds League Commander.

The faster Blakist units to the south swarm over the hill to surround the Awesome from the rear as the heavier Blakist units continue to approach from the front all but completely ignoring the supposedly diminutive militia units the League’s commander is hiding behind.

Artillery lands in a grouping between the Seraph and the Black Knight but only dealing minimal damage to the Black Knight after the rounds scatter.

The Blakists suffer poor rolls but do manage to slag several tons of armor off the Awesome.  The Legacy has it’s rear armor stripped but no internal damage results.  Concentrated fire on the Blakist Shootist strips the armor off the right torso and badly damages other locations.

The Gurkha misses a sword attack on the Awesome which retaliates by kicking off the Gurkha’s left leg.

Seven lightning strikes stab the earth, this time getting very close to some of the Free World League ‘Mechs.

Turn 4 – Free Worlds League Wins Initiative

The Blakist Legacy attempts to move forward to put it’s back (now a gaping hole) against a wall and fire at the League Commander but activates an EMP mine field with it’s first step.  The mammoth electromagnetic pulse instantly shuts down the ‘Mech for five turns.

The Militia heavies hold the center of the battle field while the faster ‘Mechs wrap around to the Seraph’s rear.  Word of Blake forces are now surrounding the Militia but cannot seize the advantage due to the loss of initiative.

Several artillery rounds surround the Blakist Black Knight, but are not close enough.  Another round scatters far enough to nick one of the Free Worlds League ‘Mechs and the adjacent  0ne-legged Gurkha on the ground.

Poor results continue for the Word of Blake who just can’t seem to score meaningful hits against their opponents despite the partial C3i network.

The Hermes behind the shutdown Legacy easily hits with everything to cause the ‘Mech to fall.  Combined fire from the majority of heavy militia units gut the Shootist, critically hitting most of it’s weapon systems but sparing it from the junk heap for now.

All Word of Blake units concentrate fire on the Militia Commander in his Awesome and manage to slag off all remaining armor in the right torso but still cannot score critical damage.

The Seraph is pummeled from the rear but avoids catastrophic damage.

In the physical phase, the Orion kicks off the Shootist’s left leg, adding the the misery befalling the Word of Blake force.

Three lightning strikes occur and one is close enough to do damage.  The Orion and Shootist both receive scars from the adjacent lightning strike.

Turn 5 – Free Worlds League Wins Initiative

The Free World League forces form a tight circle to corral the undaunted Seraph which obliges and walks into yet another minefield.  The Commander in his Awesome waits for the right moment and runs towards heavier cover and the protection of his lance mates where the ring of ring Blakists has collapsed.  The rear armor is prominently displayed to all enemies which has more armor than the front at this point.

The remaining Word of Blake do their best to anticipate but cannot reach optimum distance for their weapons and failing C3i network.  The League Cerberus marches into the fray and gets behind the cautious Tessen.

The guns of the artillery are now silent as the action heats up and the danger of friendly fire increases to unacceptable levels.

Almost the entire Marik force pours fire power into the Seraph which quickly accumulates engine hits until the great machine falls silent.  The Cerberus meanwhile rips through the rear armor of the Tessen and turns it’s gyro into scrap.

Return fire from the Word of Blake concentrated once again on the Awesome strips yet additional armor but cannot generate critical hits to even slow it down.

The Legacy is swarmed by a squad of Achilieus which scramble to the head of the immobile ‘Mech and aim to rend it from the torso.

End Game

The game is called as the Word of Blake finds themselves battered and their objective escaping their grasp.  Meanwhile, the greater battle for Atreus is not going so well for the Free Worlds League.  For every battle won by the League like this here, there are dozens more where the best of the League are hunted down and slaughtered.

This was a good game with incredible mine rolling by the Free Worlds League player.  Damn near every minefield the Word moved through detonated.  The EMP mine on the Legacy was more salt in the wound as more and more ‘Mechs were legged by the aggressive Militia forces.

This battle was fought at Historicon 2010.  Many thanks go to Demo Agent “Speck” and his great work putting this and other games together.  The battle used BattleForce rules from Strategic Operations.  The total force list looks huge but it was easily managed with the streamlined BattleForce rules.

Comstar – Tenth Army

Alpha Level II (Ostscout Mini)

• MON-68 Mongoose
• JR7-F Jenner
• JR7-K Jenner
• OTT-7J Ostscout
• ASN-21 Assassin
• HER-2S Hermes

Beta Level II (Phoenix Hawk mini)

• PNT-9R Panther
• PNT-9R Panther
• CDA-3C Cicada
• STN-3L Sentinel
• WTH-1S Whitworth
• PXH-1 Phoenix Hawk

Gamma Level II (Crab mini)

• BJ-1DB Blackjack
• WVE-6N Wyvern
• CRB-27 Crab
• HBK-4G Hunchback
• EXT-4D Exterminator
• EXC-B2 Excalibur

Delta Level II (Archer mini)

• BMD-12D Bombadier
• CRD-3K Crusader
• JM6-A JagerMech
• ARC-2K Archer
• ARC-2R Archer
• ARC-5R Archer

Eta Level II (Warhammer mini)

• TDR-5S Thunderbolt
• GHR-5N Grasshopper
• GLT-3N Guillotine
• WHM-7M Warhammer
• BL-6-KNT Black Knight
• ON1-K Orion
  

Naga Level II (King Crab mini)

• AWS-8Q Awesome
• CRK-5003-1 Crockett
• HGN-732 Highlander
• AS7-K Atlas
• KGC-001 King Crab
• KGC-001 King Crab
  

Omega Level II (Marauder mini)

• TDR-5SS Thunderbolt
• ST-8A Shootist
• MAD-5M Marauder
• ON1-M Orion
• THG-11E Thug
• VTR-9K Victor

Zeta Level II (Battlemaster mini)

• AWS-8Q Awesome
• SPT-NF Spartan
• BLR-3M Battlemaster
• STK-5M Stalker
• BNC-5S Banshee
• AS7-D Atlas

Clan Wolf – 4th Wolf Guards

Alpha First Star (black/brown Man-o’War mini)

• Timber Wolf (MadCat) A
• Timber Wolf (MadCat) A
• Gargoyle (Mon-o’-War) A
• Gargoyle (Mon-o’-War) Prime
• Gargoyle (Mon-o’-War) Prime

Bravo First Star (MadCat mini)

• Timber Wolf (MadCat) B
• Timber Wolf (MadCat) B
• Gargoyle (Mon-o’-War) Prime
• Gargoyle (Mon-o’-War) Prime
• Warhawk (Masakari) Prime

Clan Wolf – 3rd Battle Cluster

Alpha Assault Star (Vulture Mini)

• Ice Ferret (Fenris) Prime
• Mad Dog (Vulture) Prime
• Gargoyle (Man-o’-War) D
• Gargoyle (Man-o’-War) Prime
• Executioner (Gladiator) Prime

Bravo Assault Star (brown/orange Man-o’-War mini)

• Ice Ferret (Fenris) Prime
• Mad Dog (Vulture) Prime
• Timber Wolf (MadCat) B
• Timber Wolf (MadCat) C
• Gargoyle (Man-o’-War) Prime

Charlie Assault Star (Grey Man-o’-War mini)

• Phantom C
• Ice Ferret (Fenris) Prime
• Gargoyle (Mon-o’-War) A
• Gargoyle (Mon-o’-War) D
• Gargoyle (Mon-o’-War) Prime

Turn 1 – Comstar wins Initiative

Very little action this turn as the two forces lurk towards each other.  Comstar Gamma Level II (Crab mini) is perfectly out of sight and lets loose indirect fire attacks which miss.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 0, Comstar: 0)

Turn 2 – Comstar wins Initiative

Both Clan Wolf and Comstar begin converging their forces towards the middle of the battle.  Gamma Level II remains hidden in woods peppering Clan ‘Mechs using indirect fire.

Most Comstar fire misses this turn except a lucky weapon critical hit on a Warhawk.  The Clans luck does not fare much better at long range and only manages to strip half the armor off one King Crab.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 0, Comstar: 0)

Turn 3 – Clan Wolf wins Initiative

Gamma Level II continues to evade line of sight as Comstar forces are forced to consolidate units into two groups.  Clan Wolf makes excellent use of initiative to force combat.  Comstar had no choice but to shore up their firing positions to absorb damage from the amazing Clan firepower.

Naga Level II is ravaged in the ensuing firefight.  Both King Crabs and a Highlander are destroyed.  Return fire from Comstar brings down a  single Man-o’-War.  On the western side of the battle, armor is slagged off in droves but only a single casualty results.  A Fenris manages to inflict a killing blow on a Marauder in the Omega level II.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 4, Comstar: 1)

Turn 4 – Comstar wins Initiative

After losing initiative, Clan Wolf pulls their forces together and Comstar happily accepts the opportunity to play hammer to their anvil.  The overall movement of the battle has left Beta Level II out in the cold and is unable to contribute.  Slowly they are making their way back into the fray.  Gamma Level II has finally broke from the cover of woods to apply direct fire onto the Clans.

Comstar concentrates fire on high priority targets and manages to deal significant damage this turn.  One MadCat A is destroyed while it’s star mate is stripped of armor.  A Man-o’-War Prime is taken out by one Level II, wasting a lot of shots by viciously over killing.  Another Level II concentrates on the Phantom and destroys it easily.

Clan return fire sheds more armor and manages to destroy a Black Knight, an Orion and an Awesome.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 7, Comstar: 4)

Turn 5 – Comstar wins Initiative

Having lost initiative again, the Wolves present a firing line to the split up Comstar forces.  Intervening terrain and long range prevents line of sight for most units.  Comstar manages to line up medium range shots on a Man-o’-War.

All available Comstar units with line of sight, bury lasers and missiles into a single Man-o’-War D.  The OmniMech is ravaged but standing with a weapon hit and a single point of internal structure remaining.  Return fire destroys a Thunderbolt with some help from an indirect fire attack from the out of sight Vulture.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 8, Comstar: 4)

Turn 6 – Clan Wolf wins Initiative

Clan Wolf breaks for open terrain and tightens up their formation.  Comstar forces to the West have to take their time getting around terrain.  The remaining Comstar forces anticipated incorrectly and are caught and isolated by the bulk of the Clan force.

The turn starts off well for Comstar.  A Man-o’-War D is finished off from long range and a Man-o’-War A is head capped by the Sentinel from Beta Level II which has finally joined the battle.

The Clans return fire in stunning fashion, concentrating most of their firepower into Gamma Level II.  The Clan splits up fire and punishes Gamma.  The Crab has it’s head blown off on the first hit.  The Excalibur, Wyvern, Exterminator, BlackJack, and Hunchback are all blown to bits with varying amounts of overkill.  Gamma Level II is completely destroyed.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 14, Comstar: 6)

Turn 7 – Clan Wolf wins Initiative

The heaviest Comstar assets are still cautious as they come around terrain.  Omega and Delta Level II are hesitant to move too far in front of the slow moving Zeta.  The Clans make good use of initiative and isolate Comstar forces in the center of the battle.  Charlie Assault Star (grey Man-o’-War mini) makes a bold move behind Naga Level II (King Crab mini).

Comstar remains on the defensive and can only respond meekly to the Clan attack.  Two level IIs combine to take out a MadCat B while the Fenris of Alpha Assault Star has it’s paint scratched after several misses.

The Crockett and Atlas both fall from split fire by a single Clan star.  An already damaged Grasshopper is finished off with minimal effort.  A Panther is pummeled but survives with one point of internal structure.  Both a Whitworth and Cicada are hit solidly but survive.  Naga Level II is now completely destroyed.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 17, Comstar: 7)

Turn 8 – Clan Wolf wins Initiative

Clan Wolf remains tightly packed and tries to put distance between themselves and the relentless Comstar pursuers.  Comstar forces despite losing initiative do a better job of anticipating the Clan’s moves but can do nothing to prevent Charlie Assault Star (grey Man-o’-War mini) from lining up rear shots against Zeta (Battlemaster mini).

Two level IIs combine to bury the dangerous WarHawk.  A Marauder and Battlemaster team up to perfectly destroy a Man-o’-War Prime.  A flurry of missiles from Delta’s Archers cripple an Executioner which is then finished off by Alpha Level II who has been making pot shots at available targets.

Previous damage continues to hamper Comstar’s ability to keep ‘Mechs from becoming scrap.  Two Panthers, a Warhammer, and an Orion all fall to enemy fire.  The Warhammer took an entire star to finish off while the Orion was finished by one last powerful hit.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 21, Comstar: 10)

Turn 9 – Clan Wolf wins Initiative

Clan Wolf is now feeling the pressure and split their forces.  Slower stars fall back while maintaining a strong firing line.  The two faster stars of Alpha and Charlie Assault continue to harass the Comstar flank.  Comstar stays as tightly grouped as possible but cannot help but to slightly leave behind the slowly moving Zeta.

Clan Wolf opens up combat with a head shot on an Awesome.  A Thunderbolt, Guillotine and Sentinel are all destroyed by a barrage of weapons fire.

Comstar unloads on the Clan forces in front of them and do considerable damage but amazingly nothing is destroyed.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 25, Comstar: 10)

Turn 10 – Comstar wins Initiative

Comstar continues to put on the pressure and manages to sneak the fast Alpha Level II (Ostscout) into the Wolf flank.  Heavy assets from Delta and Eta (Archer and Marauder) are flanked by Charlie Assault (grey Man-o’-War).

Comstar begins to reap what they sowed last turn.  The Vulture’s missiles are silenced by Zeta’s concentrated fire.  A MadCat B is destroyed by Eta level II.  Beta level II cleanly kills a Fenris from the rear and thus finishes off the last remaining Omni ‘Mechs of Charlie Assault.  A second Clan Fenris is destroyed by physicals at the end of the turn.  Alpha Level II (Ostscout mini) split up it’s fire against the Clan rear with spectacular results.  A MadCat C is destroyed outright while a Man-o’-War explodes from an ammo explosion.  This finishes off the last remnants of Bravo Assault (brown/orange Man-o’-War mini).

Return fire from the Clans is sporadic and borderline ineffective.  A single Banshee from Zeta is killed in a last gasp by the now destroyed Vulture.

(Kill Tracker – Wolf: 26, Comstar: 16)

End Game

The game was stopped at this point when our allotted time ran out.  That’s the thing about conventions, there is always another game a few hours away and we had to make way so the next game would have enough time to setup.

We began the game with 73 units and after ten turns we are down to 27.  So who had the upper hand?  Who would have pulled out the win if we had enough time to finish the game through?

Comstar (20 remaining ‘Mechs):

Alpha and Delta are both untouched.  Omega and Zeta are looking very strong with deep armor and frightening short range threats.  Beta has taken the most punishment of those surviving but is well equipped to keep up a harassing role (all the slow ‘Mechs are now destroyed!).

Clan Wolf (7 remaining OmniMechs):

Among the remaining forces, there are four Man-o’-Wars which are notoriously under armed for their size.  A MadCat and Vulture are the heaviest damage threats.  A Fenris rounds out the Clan options.  All Omnis are untouched.

Time to sound off!  Who would have ruled the battlefield?  Can the Clans make good enough use of their big damage ‘Mech killers or will the smaller but more numerous Comstar forces win the war of attrition?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Radstat

In 3074 The Word of Blake assaulted Radstadt, a core world in the newly formed Ghost Bear Dominion.  Elements of the Bear’s Sigma Galaxy were on a training assignment when the 43rd Shadow division clashed with the trueborn warriors of the Third Claw and 5th Bear regulars.

Clan Ghost Bear – Sigma Galaxy

• Arcas (3/4)
• Warhammer IIC 4 (3/4)
• Supernova 2 (3/3)
• Bane 2 (3/5)
• Kodiak 3 (2/3)
• Tyr Infantry Support Tank (2/2) x 2
• Golem Battle Armor (2/2)
• Rogue Bear Battle Armor (2/2)

Word of Blake – 43rd Shadow Division

• Preta Dominus (2/2) *
• Flashman 7B (2/3)
• Seraph Dominus (3/3) *
• Seraph Infernus (3/3)
• Archangel Infernus (2/1)
• Archangel Dominus (3/3) *
• Purifier Battle Armor (2/2)
• Challenger MK XI (3/3)

* indicate Manei Domini pilots

Turn 1 and 2 – Ghost Bears win Initiative Both Turns

The armies are separated by a large winding hill in the center of the battle.  As such, the first two turns feature little action.  Line of sight is blocked as each force slowly stalks forward in a foreboding line.

The Word of Blake stay relatively concentrated in a tight group to the North.  A Preta and Flashman are the point ‘Mechs, running fast but keeping out of view for the time being.

The Ghost Bears are fanned out in a wide attack line.  The slower ‘Mechs steadily climb up the mountain face.  The speedy Tyr Infantry carriers sweep around the hill instead of going over the top.

Turn 3 - Word of Blake wins Initiative

Both forces cautiously approach the other at first but begin making bolder moves to attack.  The Bears get close to the top but still cannot see the main force of Blakists.  Both Tyr deploy infantry behind partial cover.  The threat of the heavy Battle Armor will have to be dealt with eventually.

In a quick attack, the forward Preta jumps over the top of the mountain and puts itself behind the lumbering SuperNova.  A flurry of PPC and laser fire shed 25 points of armor in the left leg and arm.

No other fire is successful this turn.

Turn 4 – Ghost Bears win Initiative

All Clan ‘Mechs except the slightly bruised SuperNova crest the mountain and line up shots against the Blakists.  The Tyr Infantry carriers speed into short range to harass.

A Ghost Bear Arcas makes a long jump behind the Blakist Flashman.  Meanwhile, the Blakist Preta assumes a harasser role and lurks just out of sight behind the Clan force, positioning for an attack.

The Ghost Bears spread their shots across available targets.  Critical hits are scored on the Blakist vehicles.  One of the Seraphs takes enormous damage from PPCs but manages to keep its balance.  In a surprising long range hit, the Preta gets tagged with an AC20 shell from the far off Kodiak.

The Blakists choose to pile most weapons on the Arcas who jumped into their midst.  Even at such short range the Wobbies managed to miss far too many Heavy PPC shots for their liking.  One Snub Nose PPC did hit the head but failed to score a critical hit.

Turn 5 – Ghost Bears win Initiative

Both Archangels and one Seraph stay back while the Flashman and the second Seraph push forward.

The wounded Arcas jumps to cover as the Supernova finally brings its weapons to bear.  The Warhammer IIC and Bane hold their ground behind partial cover.  The Kodiak brings up the rear and is flanked by the lurking Preta.  The Tyr infantry carriers sprint behind the big Archangels for rear shots.

This turn featured a lot of misses (some due to partial cover) with lots of damage soaking.  A significant amount of armor was shed by both sides without hitting any internal structure.  That would change in the physical attack phase.

The forward Seraph is running hot with TSM active and gives a solid kick destroying 34 points of armor from the SuperNova’s right leg.  There is one critical hit, and it finds the Advanced Tactical Missile ammunition stores.  The resulting explosion takes off the leg and severely injures the pilot.  The return kick is not quite so successful but manages to topple the TSM monster.

Turn 6 – Ghost Bears win Initiative

The Flashman and Preta get bolder and pick spots directly in front of the camping Bane and Warhammer IIC.  The Seraph stands his ground in front of the downed SuperNova while the remaining Blakist force inches closer while keeping the top of the mountain in sight.

The Kodiak runs to close with the main fray.  The Warhammer IIC and Bane continue to hold their position.  The battle armor all the while have been pestering the main Blakist force but fail to make a significant dent in their impressive armor.

The Blakist pile most of their fire on the Warhammer IIC while spreading enough fire to hit every target in some way.  The Ghost Bears consolidate fire on the two targets on top of the hill, leaving the Archangels and their Seraph cohort to the harassing Battle Armor and Tyr combat vehicles.

The Flashman is receives a heap of PPCs and is gutted by three engine hits.  The Seraph beside him is just as lucky.  After soaking two AC20 rounds and taking it, one last medium laser severs the the remaining structure holding  the right arm on.  Further fire from the Arcas peppers the torso and head with SRM hits.  After the pilot takes his damage (needing only a 3 to stay awake), he promptly falls unconscious.  And then it got worse.  The resulting fall would end with critical hits to BOTH hips.  Without an arm to prop with, the red Seraph was now out of the battle.

Return fire from the Blakists is just as cruel.  The Warhammer IIC takes a beating from multiple sources and finally takes an ammo critical hit.  Combined with a prior head hit and damage from the fall, the Warhammer pilot is knocked unconscious, needing a 10+ to wake up.  The Arcas, although not heavily targeted, meets a similar fate and takes pilot hits from ammo explosions and fall damage.  Both lie knocked out on the battlefield.

Turn 7 – Ghost Bears win Initiative

The main Blakist force slowly moves back, still being harassed by the Tyr.  They remain wary of the slowly approaching battle armor.  The Preta makes a long jump away from the thick of the battle.

The Ghost Bears stand their ground where they can while the Warhammer and Arcas dream sweet dreams in their cockpits.

Weapons fire is well spread as available targets show the fatigue of battle.  The downed Seraph soaks hits from the SuperNova in front of him.  The damage inflicts an engine and gyro hit and also destroys a leg.  Interesting choice of targets since the Seraph was unable to prop and fire.  Return fire from the other Seraph at the bottom of the hill sends two Heavy PPCs to the center torso, coring the SuperNova.

The Kraken is successful in hitting with both Ultra AC10s at double rate but manages to find fresh armor on an Archangel when very little remains anywhere else.

Turn 8 – Ghost Bears win Initiative

The Blakists reverse their previous course and walk forward toward the mountain into the awaiting arms of the Rouge Bear battle armor.  The Preta makes a long jump again, preferring to stay at a distance.

The conscious Ghost Bear pilots concentrate fire on the closest Archangel while the Blakist return in kind with fire directed mostly at the Bane.

The Ghost Bears tear into the Archangel but fail to shed enough armor to reveal internal structure.  The first Heavy PPC shot directed at the Bane evaporates the cockpit.  The remaining three Blakist ‘Mech’s pummel the headless ‘Mech.

In a surprise turn, the immobilized and almost forgotten Tyr combat vehicles score two engine hits on the Seraph from rear shots.  The Seraph is staggered but not out of the action.

Turn 9 – Ghost Bears win Initiative

The Ghost Bears rolled a 3 for initiative.  The Blakists did them one better with snake eyes.

The Warhammer IIC wakes up!  Meanwhile the battle armor are now out of missiles.  The Blakists move back again trying to get the troublesome Tyr out of rear arc.

The Warhammer is quickly put down again by a gyro hit causing him to fall behind partial cover.  The advancing Kodiak’s head is disintegrated by a Heavy PPC from an Archangel.

Return fire from the active Ghost Bears only manages to score a gyro hit and destroy a Heavy PPC in the Seraph.

End Game

All that remains of the Ghost Bear force is an unconscious Arcas, some battle armor without missiles and the immobilized Tyr.  The remaining Archangels and Seraph are more than a match for what’s left and are victorious on the battle field.

This was an excellent game with lots of action.  When the Word of Blake and the Clans meet with their best equipment, you are bound to see lots of fireworks.  This battle did not disappoint.  Kudos to Chuck for putting together this well thought out game.