ScrapYard Armory

I’ve got the Channel Campaign blues.

You can download the Leviathans Channel Campaign Open Alpha for free from the BattleShop.  It is a very nice little PDF with what look to be a well crafted set of campaign rules for small to moderate sized forces in the Leviathans universe.  I’s got nicely sized diagrams and well described examples.  It’s all there.

And then I go to my copy of Strategic Operations and carefully feather through the pages.  Pages 47 through 50 are there, mocking me.  I’m talking about the Linked Scenario rules for BattleTech.  I had high hopes for this particular section of Strategic Ops.  Official BattleBlogs fed my interest.

The Linked Scenarios rules from Combat Operations was one of the better received sections of that book. They provide a simplified and easy-to-use framework for building a campaign used in conjunction with the Creating Scenarios section of Total Warfare.  They’ve been included here, as ever updated and expanded as appropriate.

Only there were no expansions.  The whole section was a straight copy-paste from Combat Operations.  I have to be honest and tell you that I felt let down.  Strategic Operations gave us so much great content full of examples and diagrams.  Rules for Aerospace, maintenance, repair, BattleForce, and QuickStrike all got a proper amount of attention, detail and explanation.  Linked Scenarios simply had the dust shaken off and reprinted.

It may have been that there just wasn’t enough room.  The core rulebooks are each monsters in their own right in the “Yeah, we got a rule for that” era.  A casual look at the back of the book reveals no blank pages or advertisements, each evidence of no more room to put an eight page printing block.

Looking Closer

So what is wrong with the rules as written?  There is much confusion over how forces are matched against each other.  When you are not using a campaign map (an abstract campaign) it can be frustrating if it is not clearly discussed by both parties before the campaign begins.

Try to use maps for strategic movement and you see just how incomplete the rules are.  It feels like there just wasn’t enough time devoted to it.

Long story short, you can give the Channel Campaign to two players familiar with Leviathans and they will be able to play the game to completion under the rules as written.  No further explanations or agreements are required.  They just sit down and start playing.

Strategic Operations fails this test.  I have attempted campaigns twice now and each failed to complete due to disagreements sucking the fun from an otherwise enjoyable evening of gaming.  Here are a few posts from the official forums that describe what I’m seeing.

• Linked Scenario Questions
• Combat Ops, Linked Scenarios
• Any of you have ever played with…

Where Are The Maps?

Further, while it talks a good fight about using maps and having strategic moves the rules for such actions are no where to be seen.

This may be something Catalyst is busy working to include in Interstellar Operations.  After all, we have been receiving gorgeous new maps on a regular basis from Historical and Jihad Turning Points pdfs.  We need a reason to use them.  Here’s hoping Interstellar Operations has a few answers for us.

What’s the End Game?

I’m not here to rant and rave all day without doing something about it.  There are issues but none that are insurmountable.  After all I’ve only attempted to play twice and both ended before properly concluding.  BattleTech is a game where house rules are encouraged.  Whatever you have to do in order to make it fun.

Time to be a little proactive.

I’d like to hold public linked scenario campaigns here on my blog.  We have all the tools we need namely MegaMek and another tool I will be describing in a future post.

I have a few goals;

1. Make it work.
2. Make it fun.
3. Post examples that will encourage others to use the rules and host their own linked scenario campaigns.

There will be two parts;

1. Abstract Campaign (no strategic map)
2. Map Based Campaign

All I Need is a Little Help

Have MegaMek and a few hours to help out?  Order writing will be done in house but the actual games can be outsourced to you the readers.  If you are interested in playing some games and help us churn out the campaign missions we will be able to accomplish more.

Lets do our own Alpha Testing.  Leave a comment if you are game.  Roll Call!

During the fighting on Tukayyid, Clan Wolf had already secured Skupo and now were running for Brzo. The battle for Brzo took a turn for the worse for the Com Guards when the 4th Wolf Guards and 3rd Battle Clusters arrived to crush through the defenders.

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!

We have all played in a big game more than once or twice in our BattleTech gaming lives.  Chances are you have played in quite a few over the years.  I’m talking about the big convention games with loads of people piloting more ‘Mechs and combat vehicles than you can shake a stick at on a vast battlefield with all the trimmings.

Inevitably the game’s turns begin to grind.  Full turns are measured in hours not minutes.  You spend more time waiting for your turn than actually executing your movement or attacks.  At least you can drive to pick up some pizza without missing much.

The strategy and tactics necessary to win are lost in the confusion.  Each individual player has little to do with the overall outcome.  There are few opportunities to make good strategic advances when six other people on the team are planning their own opportunities.  The game becomes less personnel, where the strategy and tactics of the individual mean less to the overall success of the mission.

There are obvious exceptions to the rule but in my experience a majority of large convention games regress to an impersonal ‘Mech smashing fest (not that there is anything wrong with that).  If there are more than four players at the table, you can probably kiss goodbye any chance you had at making a meaningful impact on the course of the game.  I wanted a change and set out to make a big game with lots of players who all had a chance to make a difference in the big picture.  Here are my goals.

• Make it Personal – Each player should feel they made an impact on the game.
• Make it Fast – Nobody likes a game that does not come to a reasonable conclusion or turns that drag on and on.

Along Came Historicon 2010

I wanted to try something different and Historicon gave me my  opportunity.  I was on the hook to run one big game for up to 12 people.  My plan was to make a massive battle with ‘Mechs, Combat Vehicles, Battle Armor, Aerospace Fighters, and Artillery (Oh My!).

This game would ultimately use Total Warfare, Tactical Operations, and Strategic Operations.  How cool is that?  We have all of these cool rules so why not use them?

How It Works

Break open your Total Warfare books and read along.  These rules in conjunction with Tactical and Strategic Operations are the back bone of this big game experience.

The foundation of the big game came from using a low altitude map for the Aerospace dogfight.  On this map, each hex represents one ground mapsheet on which the ‘Mechs and Vehicles are fighting.  We used four standard battles each two maps large.

Using numbered BattleForce blip counters, I marked the relevant maps on the low altitude maps.  When a fighter ended movement on one of those hexes I carefully notified the ground forces of their presence.

I say carefully since aerospace fighters move after ground troops.  They should have the privilege to see where the ‘Mechs are and how they are facing before determining their final location.  I allowed ground forces to move at the same time as the fighters to save time.

Synchronized Turns

To keep things running smoothly all of the turns need to be aligned.  When the aerospace fighters swoop in for a strafing run, you had better let the ground troops know there is a fighter in their map so they can act accordingly in the weapons attack phase.

I chose to use a relatively simple solution to keep everyone in sync.  Each battle had a half sheet of paper marked READY (green) on one side and NOT READY (red) on the other.  At the beginning of each turn the players flipped the paper to NOT READY.  With a quick glance I could see who was done and who was still resolving combat.

On a few occasions some players finished well ahead of the other battles.  More experienced players will tend to do that.  However, I also think the force selection had something to do with it.  For future battles done in this style I will try harder to match the average weight and tech level in each battle to avoid major mismatches between battles.

The other half of that problem is when one battle lags behind the others.  That happened twice where a relatively inexperienced player was playing.  Given that no fighters were in their hex, I waited a few minutes and started the other turns.  I simply asked them to head right into their next turn when ready.  That will always be a judgment call based on the activity of the fighter battle but it worked out for us.

Aerospace Support

Using fighters in low altitude requires a good read through of the rules and demands the attention of your most experienced players.  It is a very critical role to fill with many crucial decisions.  When to make a strike run?  Where to position your forces?  How low do you go for fear of becoming a lawn dart?

Total Warfare is not the best tome for parsing all the various rules required to play Aerospace.  That said, I had prepared a cheat sheet to help players who are new to the dog fighting and strafing world of air-to-ground combat.

Fighter Reference Sheet – PDF (45 KB)

The coup de grâce of the game was going to be a fully loaded Leapord Dropship for each side.  Combat drop rules would be used to inject ‘Mechs into the various battles.  Watching the pace of the ground battles I chose to keep the dropships in reserve.  I didn’t see the kind of casualties I thought would require the use of a new lance per side and instead let the battles run their course.

Having thought about it, I wish I had let the players have at it.  The downside would be the potential unbalancing of one battle or another.  However, I believe the coolness factor of combat dropping ‘Mechs would have been worth it.  Plus, any combat dropped ‘Mechs are sitting ducks for at least one turn at best.  Ample opportunity to take cover from opposing ‘Mechs on the ground and point all weapons to the skies!

Fire for Effect

Artillery is an inspiring tool for some and ignored by others.  Each team had access to off board artillery (1 turn flight time) in the form of one Sniper and one Long Tom.  Requests for artillery were delivered to me on note cards and I assigned rounds to the battles in the event that there were more requests than available strikes.

Artillery made for some very interesting situations but did not turn the tide in any battle by itself.  A beautiful example was the city fight.  The first turn, both called artillery on the other when most units were walking along the roads out of LOS.  The damage was brilliant.  Each round struck multiple targets and delivered consequential damage.  The turn after, the ‘Mechs moved the hell off the roads!  It changed the dynamic of the game without breaking it.

‘Mechs are still kings of the battlefield.  Artillery is a spice that was fun and managed to change the tempo for some but not all of the games.  With  a GM running the battle on the sidelines, the note card system worked well but could have used a standard format for requests.

The Report

In a stunning display of combined arms antics, the opening turn saw all four fighters from the Marik side diving into the nearest battle to strike at an enemy Warhammer.  Unfortunately for the fighter group, without any other targets to worry about on turn 1, the entire Lyran lance opened up on the Transit and blasted it out of the sky with a(n) (un-)fortunate fuel tank hit.  Already one fighter down, the Marik player continued to harass ground targets while being picked apart by enemy fighters in the air.

Meanwhile on the ground, the battle raged back and forth but saw a distinct advantage starting to build for the Lyrans.

It was late in the game when the Lyrans won complete air superiority but still the Lyran air commander decided to mostly concentrate on the last remaining Marik fighter.

In the end, the Lyrans had enough of an edge in the ground games to secure final victory for the overall battle.  And with air superiority firmly in grasp there was no stopping the Lyrans.

I had lots of compliments on the game.  Every player with a few obvious exceptions was 100% engaged in the game the entire time.  There were a few turns where one battle finished way early and two occasions where the group was waiting on one battle to finish.  Still, turns averaged a half hour a piece and we got through 8 complete turns in our allotted time with a clear winner at the end.

There was a base battle value (not accounting for pilot’s skill) of over 55,000 in play which included 32 ‘Mechs, 8 vehicles, 1 Battle Armor, and 8 aerospace fighters and we finished the game in less than 5 hours to a clear victor.  Given the opportunity, I’d love to do it again and I bet it would be even better having learned from this first go.

Day two is in the books and it was a busy one.  I started the day at the two BattleTech seminars in the Marriott before spending more time in the exhibitor hall taking in the sights and getting demos when my curiosity was properly piqued.

I spoke with the Iron Wind Metals guys for a bit.  The smaller BattleForce Mechs are indeed going to be for sale sometime in 2011.  There are a few more sculpts being made to fill out the line before being offered up.

What’s Up with Catalyst and BattleTech

First up, Loren Colman took the floor and dealt with the elephant in the room.  There are lots of rumors flying around but it is not the intent of these seminars to confirm or deny rumors or missinformation.  Yes the company is having problems.  Problems they are dealing with.  They would much rather spend their time focusing on what is important, the fans and the game.

Topps is in fact flying in to GenCon to spend time with Catalyst and is in talks for a long term licensing deal.

On BattleTech:

The box set missed GenCon but as Brent the Art Director pointed out, “For what is worth, it’s not our fault.”  To which Randall had to add.

I’ve never wanted to punch a baby seal doll more in my life. -RB

That said, the box set is due in the fall.  A Time if War is due in the winter (December).  Era Report 3052 will be a sourcebook with roleplay support.  Moving into 2011 we are looking at two Jihad books, Reckoning and field manual 3085.  Reckoning will cover the founding of the Republic as well as Word of Blake weapons and systems that were not widely deployed and/or kept under wraps after the war.

2011 will also see the Liao Handbook, Interstellar Ops, the Clan Box Set, and Historical: Reunification War.

There was little revealed about the War of Reaving or the Ares class BattleMech.  That said, there was ample innuendo that after the Jihad wraps up, the Clan Homeworlds would be due for some attention.

One interesting note is the fact that the Starterbook line did not do as well as was hoped.  Future releases if any would most likely be a PDF release only.

On Leviathans:

It’s a cool game and Catalyst wants to be a cool company that makes cool stuff.  There is no release date yet.  Catalyst wants to make the box set the biggest and baddest box set they have ever produced.  That would make for a price point around $80-100 which is roughly on par with the biggest from companies like Fantasy Flight Games.

That could all fall through if they can’t make it all fit in that price package but they are striving for it.

Here are some fun quotes, paraphrased of course.

Herb is the Line Developer for BattleTech when I let him. – RB

Ergo, it’s like a BattleTech rules debate. -HB

Painting Contest

Here are the BattleTech entries I saw in the painting display yesterday.  No doubt they are from some of the best at CamoSpecs.  Lets wish them the best as the compete against the field in the Machines of War category.

Late Night Quick Strike

Late at night what else is there to do but bash ‘Mechs in an impromptu Quick Strike battle with the Camo Specs artists and a few battalions of our nearest and dearest ‘Mechs.  We were looking at around 50% casualties after the second turn and at the end there were far more broken ‘Mech carcasses than there were active.  It was a lot of fun and I hope that QuickStrike makes it into the official schedule next year.

Other Games

I can’t write about everything I do and see in the exhibitor hall but here are a few highlights.  I wanted to get into a few others but crowds made it impossible to squeeze into a demo.  I have two more days to get those in and I expect I’ll get my chance eventually.

AE-WWII

I took a quick demo to try out this game.  It features a D6 system similar to WH40K. Roll to hit, roll to save.  The miniatures look great and stat cards are not official but fans have found ways to make their own.  Not a bad game but I felt it lacked a hook to make it unique and interesting.

Castle Panic

Not every game has to be a dark and scary theme.  This light hearted co-op board game has you protecting the castle from a swarm of orcs, goblins and other monsters intent on sacking and pillaging.  The board is divided into rings and colors.  The players will take their turns using their hand to attack specific locations on the board to keep the monsters away.  You can also repair walls and fortify defenses if you fall behind.  A very interesting game and fun too.  Not for everyone but this is one you can bring home for younger children.

Balance of Power

Balance of Power has super simple rules with very complex strategy.  There are three kinds of pieces; bankers, generals, and kings.  On your turn you can move or duplicate.  You gain points for taking over territories.  But you can only move one of each type of piece and you can’t have more than three units per territory.  My brain is spinning at the possibilities of this game.  When it comes out, it is sure to win over some fans.

Last Night on Earth

This zombie board game has been out for a while but I’ve never played it before.  They also had a martian invader themed addition which will be compatible with the original.  Long story short the zombies ate us in short order but we had fun splattering what brains we could.  A fun game and a worthy addition to a zombie fans board game library.

M.E.R.C.S Take Two

I did another game of M.E.R.C.S because I enjoyed it so much the first time.  We incorporated some advanced rules like bounding (coordinated move-fire actions to cover more ground than normal) and played two complete games in the time allowed.  Each faction won one game which I think is good news for game balance.

One of the most important features I saw was that an individual initiative system with over 10 figures on the board will work.

All The Rest

Conventions are awesome…

In 3063 with the Fed Com Civil War heating up, the 1st Davion Guards on New Avalon knew their days were coming to an end.  Their commander, Marshal Bishop Storek decides to set the final fight on his terms.  By October, Marshal Storek made a final stand with two assault companies at the mountain pass to prevent the Loyalist forces from following the 1st Davion into the pass.

This game was played at Cold Wars 2010 under the stalwart guidance of Demo Agent “Speck”.  This was a BattleForce game with each unit representing a lance of ‘Mechs.

1st Davion Guards

Assault Lance

• EMP-6A Emperor
• HGN-732 Highlander
• MAD-5A Marauder II
• PLG-3Z Pillager

Command Lance

• AWS-9Q Awesome
• Templar Prime
• CP-11-G Cyclops
• Sunder A

Support Lance

• LGB-12C Longbow
• Templar B
• VKG-2F Viking
• AS7-K Atlas

3rd Robinson Rangers

Command Lance

• HBK-4G Hunchback
• BLR-4S Battlemaster
• BNC-5S Banshee
• MR-5M Cerberus

Fire Lance

• DV-7D Dervish
• DV-7D Dervish
• GRF-3M Griffin
• LNX-9C Lynx

Heavy Lance

• CTS-6Y Cestus
• CES-3R Ceasar
• WHM-7S Warhammer
• DGR-3F DragonFire

Recon Lance

• ALM-9D Fireball
• JR7-D Jenner
• SPR-5S Spector
• WLF-2 Wolfhound

Strike Lance

• Blackjack A
• Blackjack A
• MAD-5D Marauder
• PTR-6M Penetrator

Support Lance

• CN10-B Centurion
• WR-DG-02FC War Dog
• AWS-8Q Awesome
• STK-5S Stalker

Objectives

Kill everything.  The Robinson Rangers only win by eliminating every last one of the Davion Guards.

Turns 1 and 2 – Robinson Rangers win Initiative

In the first two turns, each force begins the march towards the enemy.  The Davions tend to be reserved and are more comfortable to allow the Rangers to advance.  The Rangers have a small amount of woods in front of them to give cover.

On turn 2, the Rangers begin to have some separation between their faster units and the larger slower Heavy and Command lances.  In the next few turns the Ranger commanders begin slowing down the attack to allow the slower units to catch up.

Turn 3 – Davion Guards win Initiative

The Davions use their initiative to good advantage.  After committing the Heavy Lance to long range the Davions pounced and managed to isolate a small segment of the Rangers without support.  The numerical advantage at long range pays off big resulting in 13 damage delivered versus 6 received.  An excellent start for the Davions who must fend off the larger force.

Turn 4 – Robinson Rangers win Initiative

Back on the attack, the Rangers try a similar strategy of divide and conquer.  The Davions don’t take the bait and move back to avoid any major exchange of fire.  No shots were fired as no units ended movement within range.

Turn 5 – Robinson Rangers win Initiative

The Rangers are fully cohesive now and rush forward as fast as the Command Lance can follow.  The Recon Lance strays slightly closer to the Davions.  Still in long range but positioning for a flanking opportunity in the future.  The Guards have the terrain advantage and superior long range weapons.  All shots are at long range this turn.

The superior firepower of the Guards is felt by the Rangers.  Half of the Heavy Lance is destroyed (Cestus and Caesar) while the Rangers can only answer with 6 damage to the previously scratched Templar.  There were lots of misses by the Rangers this turn.

Turn 6 – Davion Guards win Initiative

In an interesting move, the Guards pull back and bring the fight out into open terrain.  While the bulk of the Rangers is slowly advancing in a solid group the Recon Lance is now solidly in medium range and threatens the Davion flank.  Three of the Ranger’s Mechs are still at long range while the front two lances (Command and Fire Lances) are now in medium range.

The Davions focus all firepower on the forward leading Command lance delivering a hail of fire that amazingly only destroys the Hunchback.  The Hit to Miss ration is frustratingly high for the Davions.

The Rangers have a much more successful round of shooting and manage to waste no shots on overkill at all.  Both Templars fall to combined damage from the Ranger forces.  The final point of damage on the Command Lance Templar came from a lowly Fireball from the Recon Lance.

Turn 7 – Robinson Rangers win Initiative

Feeling rather smug, the Rangers hope to press their advantage.  They brazenly rush to trap the Davion assault lances in melee range.

Weapons fire for the Davions is mixed but the shots that do hit are devastating.    The Davions concentrate fire on two lances and combined with physical attacks the rest of the wounded Heavy Lance and the entire Command Lance is destroyed.  Perhaps going to melee range was not the best choice by the Ranger commanders?

Not to be outdone, the Rangers unleash a blistering volley of fire on the Davion Lances.  Each lance received at least some attacks and very few missed.  The Viking in the Support Lance was killed by an unfortunate headcap very early into it’s internal structural.  A Pillager, Emperor and Longbow all join their fallen comrades, the latter two from physical attacks at the end of the turn.

Turn 8 – Davion Guards win Initiative

The Davions try to spread the field by jumping the Assault lance to high ground.  The Rangers have ample jumping ability to counter Davion maneuvers.  The Ranger Fire Lance and Recon Lance both have rear shots on Davion lances.  The noose is beginning to tighten around the Guards.

The Davions concentrate on the Recon and Strike Lances and kill 3 ‘Mechs in the process, a Jenner, Fireball, and Marauder.

The Rangers continue to make lucky rolls and destroy 3 ‘Mechs; one by a headshot.  All this while the entire Fire Lance misses and three ‘Mechs have no targets due to overkill.  In the Physical attack phase, the Rangers pile damage on the opposing Marauder II.

Turn 9 – Davion Guards win Initiative

The initiative advantage is not enough to save the battered Davions.

The last damage the Davions manage to muster is to kill the Recon Lance Spector.

The Rangers begin cleaning up and finish off the Assault Lance with rear shots and heavily damage the Command Lance Sunder.  The last remaining member of Command Lance is a lone Awesome who manages to survive one more turn against the Robinson Ranger onslaught.

Thoughts on the Game

I honestly did not think that this game would be as one sided as it was.  Certainly some of it was luck.  The Davions had several opportunities to do some serious damage early on but missed some easy rolls.  Honestly, when I saw the Davion Guard record sheets I cringed.  Several lance members could do 5 or 6 damage at most ranges.  Whatever these things hit, they were going to hurt badly if not outright kill.

It’s obvious that the Davions held the weapon and skill advantage but the shear volume of opposition ‘Mechs was too much.  In the war of attrition, the Davions lost.

One more point.  I think the Davions should have done more to secure the better terrain positions early in the game.  In BattleForce, it is key to remember that you receive FULL benefit from your individual movement without even moving.

Cold Wars 2010 was held in Lancaster, PA this past weekend.  I was able to visit for two days this year and a full line up of games was on the schedule.  Many thanks go to Demo Agent “Speck” and his minions for the excellent games.

Much buzz was in the air over the venue shakeup for HMGS’s signature convention, Historicon.  Historicon will be hosted in Valley Forge, PA this year instead of Baltimore as originally planned.  I’ve never been to the Valley Forge venue but the BattleTech crew seems optimistic about the expected turn out.  I’ll be there ‘Mechs and terrain in tow as I’ll be running at least one game. So, come on out and see what I cook up!

Last Stand of the Davion Guards

The first game on Friday was a BattleForce game from the FedCom civil war.  With only four people at the table we moved through the turns quickly and completed the game to 100% destruction of one of the forces.  A great game!

Did the Davion Guards hold out or did the Robinson Rangers bust through the defensive line to attack the Davion flank?  I’ll have a complete battle report available shortly!

Red versus Blue

Capture the flag in the Solaris arenas.  Each side had two lances of BattleMechs in a long but narrow arena.  The goal was simple, capture the enemy flag and return it to your base.  I had a lot of fun playing this game despite the fact that my team ended up losing.  Inside of four hours we battled and raced across the arena and had a clear winner in the end.  I was pleasantly surprised by how fun this game was.  Maybe it was the map setup or the selection of units but the game just felt right.  It is absolutely something I’d like to do again and possibly create a few maps for in the future.

There are always things to improve.  Some of the faster MASC units may be an unbalancing influence but not something that can’t be countered.  I think it may have been unwise to leave a lone LongBow near our deployment zone to defend the flag.  Any ‘Mech with pulse weapons would have been a better choice.  At the very least we should not have left him so far forward.  The Mercury who stole our flag had a clear shot to race across the board and that was our fault for leaving the door open.

I’ll reiterate; It was a great game.  Look at the photos of the game below and take note of the layout.  I dare say, it almost looks like a concept paintball field (speedball not woodsball, if you don’t play paintball ask someone who does for the reference).

Clash on Labrea

The Ghost Bears fight it out against the Nova Cats for control of a supply depot.  Each side had two stars a piece and the fighting was furious.  Luck was not on the side of the Ghost Bears as they lost more than a few units to through armor criticals and head shots.  Clan ERPPCs are a bitch.

The frequent falls were comical at times.  We had up to four ‘Mechs down in a pile as failed pilot rolls and gyro hits took their toll.  A fun game despite my limited participation.  My Ryoken B was unfortunately caught a bit ahead of the vanguard and ate too many pulse lasers on turn two or three.

The End of Necromo

The Word of Blake is intent on destroying the production facilities on the Capellan world of Necromo.  I was on the side of the Capellans fending off the toaster lovers from laying waste to our power plants and research centers.

The End of Necromo will be another full battle report to be featured in a future post.  Until then, here are a few teasers.

Grand Melee

The Grand Melee is the traditional end of the Saturday evening.  I took to a NovaCat C and ran head first into the awaiting pulse lasers of a Glass Spider.  In the second turn, due to the combined fire from no less than three ‘Mechs, I succumbed to three engine hits.

Sigh.

I didn’t do near the damage I wanted but such is life.  In a perfect world I would of been able to stay at a more significant range to use my autocannons to greater effect.  As it was, I was sandwiched between the Glass Spider and a Rifleman IIC.  Rock and hard place, check.  Not to mention the extra attention from a Kraken in heavy woods and partial cover in the center of the battle.

But, I’m not bitter at all.  Good times were had by all and I got to do some play testing for a future post in the break just before the Melee.  Can’t wait for the next con.

All the Rest

Here are a few pictures from the rest of the convention.  As always there were quite a few fantastic setups.  If you have not been to a HMGS event you need to start.  It may not have the publicity of GenCon or Origins but it is more wargame centric and is in no way a small convention.  Historicon is just around the corner so make a point to come out for a day or more.  You will not be disappointed.

And with it we now have BattleForce record sheets! Get it here.

This is a moment I have been waiting a long time for.  Many thanks go to Catalyst Demo Agent “SkyHigh” for making this recent addition possible.

BattleForce and QuickStrike Made Easy

With easy access to BattleForce record sheets, the gates have been opened to put Strategic Operations to full use.  BattleForce is only the tip of the iceberg.  QuickStrike is a great way to make use of the new record sheets.  You can play fast paced skirmishes or epic regimental slug-fests with relatively minimal setup.  At least you won’t have to fill out countless sheets by hand or bother with the very complicated BattleForce conversion.

BattleTech Force Balancer

An easy way for you to manage your lances/stars is by using the BattleTech Force Balancer.  Get it for free via SourceForge.  You can setup your lances to make the best use of your BattleMechs movement modes.  Another terrific fan produced program.

A great day for BattleTech.  Now get those games running!

Have you ever been in a situation where you thought to yourself or even out loud, “Wow, I’m bored, I wish we could play some Battletech but I don’t have everything I need.”

That’s horrible and I can empathize.  Battletech is a complex game by design. There are more than a few items that are required to play the game.  Sometimes you just don’t have the tools to do the job.

Until now.

What if you always kept a ready stock of Classic Battletech material on your person or within easy reach at all times?  Enough for a lance on lance beat-down or grinder ready in five minutes?  And what if this all fit conveniently into one of those manila envelopes you’ve likely seen floating around?

Materials Required

• Maps
• Some Dice
• Record Sheets
• Common tables for easy reference
• Paper counters for figures
• A Pencil or two (mechanical is best)
• An envelope for easy storage and transport

Stuck in an airport with no way out? You have a time killer within easy reach (assuming you didn’t check it)

Power outage ruined your movie night?  You have an answer to quell the boredom (so long as you have a flashlight handy).

Zombie apocalypse?  You’ll be able to wait out the bastards assuming your loved one wasn’t already bitten.

The Best Things In Life Are (inside a) Free (pdf)

Catalyst comes to the rescue with a monstrously generous pile of free PDFs that are perfect to use in a Battletech emergency kit.

• Introductory Record Sheets
• Total Warfare Charts and Tables

For counters, there is no better substitute for real miniatures than the BattleForce tokens from Strategic Operations.  Check out PRI for some great downloads featuring all the colors of the major houses.  Alternatively, BattleCorps will sell you the PDFs for around a dollar per faction.  Cut out an assortment and glue them to some stiff cardboard for a cheap but effective token.

• BattleForce Tokens by Bedwyr

No matter what way you like to play you are never more than five minutes from a game if you are prepared.

It’s finally here!

After a long wait my new mat has finally arrived.  You can’t imagine how happy I was to see it waiting for me after work.

The mat is gorgeous.  The star pattern and nebula artwork are stunning.  To see it in person is something pictures cannot do justice to.

One Good Side Deserves Another

And, oh by the way, it’s double sided.  That’s right, on one side I have 1.5″ hexes for aerospace fighter dog fights and furballs.  On the other is 1″ hexes to add the extra space required for the long range weaponry of Warships.

I love having the flexibility and just can’t wait to play out my first battles in space.

Games To Play

I’ve got a list of games and After Action Reports dying to be written.  After such a long wait I’m excited to finally get a chance to round up some Aerospace figures for a proper space battle.

• Aerospace Grinder aka The Furball
• A proper Warship battle
• Case White anyone? (using new BattleForce rules of course)

The Troubling Thing Is

I ordered this mat in December of last year.  For a while Hotz didn’t even respond to emails requesting status.  After paying so much good money I expected better service.  I got so worried in fact that I made a post about it earlier this year after hearing similar stories from other Battletech players on the forums.

To make matters worse, the mat is not exactly as I had ordered.  I had requested that the nebula patterns be made blue instead of the red he usually uses.  It still looks great but after waiting so long and being so very patient I was hoping that at least my order would be correct.

I contacted Hotz with my concern and he replaced the mat for me very quickly.  I am happy with my mats and can’t wait to play out some great games.

If you have the time to wait and the money to burn, the product is amazing.  You just need faith that Hotz will eventually take care of you.

Everyone loves a good campaign. Every miniature wargame worth it’s salt has some form of campaign system.

Classic Battletech is in a unique situation among wargames in that it does not offer a standardized or well regulated competitive environment. While there are those that would love to have it made available, the distinctive casual flare of the game is a lure for many.

What it lacks in the area of competitive play Battletech more than compensates with an abundance of campaign settings complete with unique rules sets and quirks. Look hard enough and you’ll be sure to find a home within the Battletech universe.

For the uninitiated this can all be a bit daunting. I’ve queued up a list of the campaign engines worth your time. Each system has its own unique character that I hope to convey to you the reader in as concise a style as possible. It is up to you to determine just what floats your boat though.

Chaos Campaign

Chaos Campaign is a plot driven campaign system that debuted with the Dawn of the Jihad source book. The system is now a free download.

The premise of the rules set is to abstract all of the background functions of running a force down to a single point value, Warchest Points. Each scenario or Track has a Warchest point cost to enter. This accounts for all of the maintenance and transportation costs that are required to get your force to the battlefield. During the track you will vie for objectives that earn Warchest points back. Optional bonuses that make the Track potentially more difficult or dangerous up the ante, but carry with them an extra Warchest point reward if you manage to complete your objectives in spite of them.

After creating a force, you determine it’s Force Size Modifier and Technology Rating. These modifiers will affect the conversion of Warchest Points to Support Points. Support points are used to repair your units and buy new materials and equipment as well as hire new personnel. This allows a Chaos Campaign to scale to just about any level the players desire. You can play through a campaign with a single company with tracks involving between 4 and 8 units as well as Battleforce scale forces. The flexibility is endless and works well if you ignore some of the Support Point tables.

In addition to the wealth of Jihad era tracks available for purchase from Catalyst, there is a great forum post at ClassicBattletech.com with community created Warchest tracks dealing with many other Battletech Eras.

Materials Required

• Chaos Campaign (Free PDF)
• Any or All; Dawn of the Jihad, Jihad Hotspots 3070, Jihad Hotspots 3072, Jihad Turning Points Luthien/New Avalon

Game Master Required?

• Yes. The GM picks and runs opposing forces to fight the player group as well as introduces additional hooks and expansion ideas.

Starterbooks

Forget the Starter moniker. These books mean business and are a worthy addition to any gamers collection, young old or anywhere in between.

Based on the Chaos Campaign Warchest system, each Starterbook is a self contained campaign featuring two famous forces from the Battletech universe. Sword and Dragon tackles the War of 3039 using the Fox’s Teeth and Sorenson’s Sabres while Wolf and Blake takes place during the Jihad Era with the Wolf’s Dragoons facing off against the Word of Blake.

Each force tackles a series of generic missions like Recon, Defend, and Strike in order to build up their force. Once you feel you have enough upgrades and are ready, you play Touchpoint missions. Each Touchpoint revolves around a particular battle and adds additional flavor to the mission. Eventually in each book there is a final showdown that pits the two headline forces against each other.

Both Starterbooks work well with a single player if you have someone to play opposing forces for you and is easily adapted to two player head to head.

The only noticeable drawback in the Starterbooks is the sometimes annoying proof reading mistakes and rules omissions. For instance, while both books mention the ability to upgrade pilots, you’ll go blind trying to find those rules anywhere in the book. A little bit of common sense will go a long way to maneuvering through these inconsistencies. Don’t let it ruin your game. Both books are well worth your time despite their flaws.

Materials Required

• Starterbook: Wolf and Blake (either or)
• Starterbook: Sword and Dragon (either or)

Game Master Required?

• Required for single player. Optional for two-player versus.

Strategic Operations/Combat Operations Linked Scenarios

Linked scenario rules provide an extension of the scenario generation section of Total Warfare. Players build forces using an agreed upon method and play out smaller battles between units after issuing strategic orders in an order writing phase. There are three new scenarios that are used to build on those provided in Total Warfare.

Linked Scenarios is an abstract system that does not track force position absolutely. Each force during a turn will seek out combat with the enemy and is assigned opponents using a simple set of assignment rules. The smaller individual battles that result affect the campaign and will eventually determine a winner before the other force is totally destroyed.

Linked scenarios presents an oddity in terms of its current rules set. Strategic Operations contains a virtual copy-paste from the FanPro product Combat Operations. Not something I was happy to see to be honest. I am working on new additions to make this rule set much more palatable to a game theory advocate such as myself. Stay tuned.

There are certain areas of the rules that are never truly fleshed out like move orders. Without proper rules for the use of a strategic map, movement orders are relatively useless. Hope remains that Interstellar Operations will add this functionality. Don’t hold your breath though.

Materials Required

• Combat Operations OR Strategic Operations

Game Master Required?

• No.

Mercenaries

Guns for hire in the 31st century toting 100 ton anthropomorphic tanks bristling with weapons. Yes please. I’ll have some more thank you.

Running your own mercenary force, or at least attempting to, is a right of passage in the Classic Battletech game. Even the Chaos Campaign borrows from this fundamental theme for it’s Jihad plot line.

Field Manual Mercenaries takes you through a rather detailed process of generating a mercenary force from the commander to the administrative paper pushers. You get very detailed when it comes to unit maintenance by tracking time, material, and money. For some, this can be a turn off. If you’d rather spend time playing the actual game instead of figuring out what ‘Mech will get it’s weekly maintenance due to a Tech shortage stick with the Chaos Campaign which hides this minutia.

However, if you do enjoy the fine tuned control and the gritty down in the weeds detail then Mercenaries is the right campaign for you. You may very well spend as much time handling post mission logistics as you will playing missions.

Another aspect of Mercenaries that is unique is the roleplaying bend that the developers took when it comes to mission resolution. Tables and charts will get you right up to arriving in system for your contract but from there on, you are at the mercy of a Game Master who’s in charge of generating encounters and resolving missions.

Materials Required

• Field Manual Mercenaries Revised
• Field Manual Mercenaries Supplemental (optional)
• Field Manual Mercenaries Supplemental II (optional)

Game Master Required?

• Yes.

Solaris VII

The bright lights of the Solaris arenas have been a draw for many players. Who wouldn’t want to try their hand at crawling up the Solaris ranks for a shot at the championship?

A campaign on Solaris VII can take different paths. For example, each player may choose to operate as an individual Mechwarrior plying his trade in the arenas. This kind of adventure can be tightly integrated with the Classic Battletech RPG and has a decidedly roleplaying feel.

If players are looking for a different experience each player may choose to take on the role of an owner/operator of a Stable or Cooperative. You’ll manage your cadre of ‘Mechs and pilots in hopes of racking up victories and hopefully placing one of your elite into the Grand Melee at the end of the season.

Solaris VII is the kind of campaign where the more players involved the more fun it can be.

The information available to players is varied and sometimes difficult to pull together into a tight and coherent campaign.  Make sure all your players are in agreement on how the campaign will be run including how many matches are run each week, what kind of materials and supplies are available, etc. There is a lot of room for player interpretation which is a well known double edged sword for gamers.

Material Required

• Map Pack Solaris VII
• Mechwarriors Guide to Solaris VII (optional but recommended)
• Solaris The Reaches (optional)

Game Master Required?

• Yes.

Quick Summary