ISP

ISP

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Building a Unit - Lance Packs!

I thought I'd try something a little different on a building a unit, and just scratching it out on paper, totally worked.

So, in addition to the last post on advice for new players, here's a quick and handy double dose of Building a Unit that I'll be doing in 2018; 1st Federated Suns Armored Cavalry of House Davion, AND the Tamar Cavaliers of the Lyran Alliance, two companies apiece, solely built from lance packs currently on Iron Wind Metals website, because hey, what would be easier?? One company apeice is an online exclusive "Alpha Strike" build from the three lance packs listed, then 2 lances are from the FM 3085 online exclusive section, with the last lance being a book lance pack in the general releases section. I'm purposely leaving the exact variant used blank, this is just to illustrate how you can build two beast House forces, super flavored with their own 'Mechs, without even needing to know what 'Mechs they use the most.

Prices are current as of the writing of this blog and are based on full IronWind Metals costing, so if you get your 'Mechs or hex bases elsewhere at a deep discount, high five to you. Two-company units for right at the $300 mark is not bad at all though.

EDIT - Okay, I actually went back and added THREE more two-company units - the 9th Pesht Regulars, House Kurita (I like their paint scheme), Red Lancers, House Liao, Iron Guard, House Marik. You can change which individual unit each of these forces represents, but in either case, that is FIVE TOTAL TWO-COMPANY UNITS! So, regardless of which House you'd like to start playing, you're pretty solid without needing to think too heavily, whilst getting some really good forces.

EDIT 2 - This was way back in 2017. 7 years later, and we have an assload of new plastic Force Packs but none of them really have the same "iconic faction" as the IWM packs did, at least until the Davion and Kurita lances get released, so I'm not gonna take this down. No idea if IWM still has these packs available for order but worst case scenario, these units at least -feel- like the factions they represent so it's a good starting off point for people wanting to build something new.

1st FS Armored Cavalry, House Davion

1st Company
Command (Fed Suns Heavy/Assault Lance FM 3085, $48.50)
Sagittaire
Warlord
Hammerhands
Argus

Scout (Fed Suns Light/Medium Lance FM 3085, $37.50)
Legionnaire
Watchman
Fireball
Scarabus

Medium Assault (Sword & Dragon Mech Pack 1, $49.95)
Black Knight
Cataphract
Hatchetman
Enforcer

2nd Company
Command (House Davion Command Lance Alpha Strike, $47.25)
Atlas
Gunslinger
Black Knight
JagerMech

Pursuit (House Davion Pursuit Lance Alpha Strike, $36.25)
Centurion
Scarabus
Stealth
Javelin

Striker (House Davion Striker Lance Alpha Strike, $39.25)
Clint
Dervish
Hatchetman
Enforcer

Plus 6 packs of hex bases, total cost - $300.40, with free shipping on IWM


Tamar Cavaliers, House Steiner

1st Company
Command (Black Widow Company Lance, $46.95)
Zeus
BattleMaster
Griffin
Uziel

Assault (Lyran Commonwealth Heavy/Assault Lance FM 3085, $50.50)
Mad Cat Mk II
Hauptman
Barghest
Crossbow

Scout (Lyran Commonwealth Light/Medium FM 3085, $35.25)
Griffin IIC
Eisenfaust
Razorback
Dart

2nd Company
Assault (House Steiner Assault Lance Alpha Strike, $48.50)
Banshee
Zeus
Stalker
Salamander

Cavalry (House Steiner Cavalry Lance Alpha Strike, $38.50)
Falconer
Battle Hawk
Bushwacker
Hollander

Pursuit (House Steiner Pursuit Lance Alpha Strike, $36.25)
Nightsky
Vulcan
Wolfhound
Commando

Plus 6 packs of hex bases, total cost = $297.65 with free shipping on IWM

9th Pesht Regulars, House Kurita

1st Company
Command (Kurita Heav Lance, $46.95)
No Dachi
Kintaro
Daikyu
Wolverine

Assault (Draconis Combine Heavy/Assault Lance FM 3085, $47.95)
Mad Cat Mk II
Ha Otoko
Naginata
8k Warhammer

Scout (Draconis Combine Light/Medium Lance FM 3085, $37.75)
Wight
Nyx
Komodo
Wolverine

2nd Company
Cavalry (House Kurita Cavalry Lance Alpha Strike, $42.95)
Grand Dragon
Grand Dragon
Daikyu
Lancelot

Fire (House Kurita Fire Lance Alpha Strike, $48.00)
Atlas
Apollo
Thug
Hatamoto-chi

Pursuit (House Kurita Pursuit Lance Alpha Strike, $33.25)
Daimyo
Panther
Jenner
Mongoose

 Plus 6 packs of hex bases, total cost = $298.55 with free shipping on IWM



Red Lancers, House Liao

1st Company
Command (Capellan Confederation Heavy/Assault Lance FM 3085, $47.95)
Pillager
Emperor
Lao Hu
Thunder

Assault (House Liao Heavy/Assault Lance Pack, $49.95)
Yu Huang
Lao Hu
Ti Ts'ang
Helios

Scout (House Liao Light/Medium Lance Pack, $44.95)
Sha Yu
Men Shen
Snake
Duan Gung

2nd Company
Command (House Liao Command Lance Alpha Strike, $48.00)
Awesome
Cerberus
Emperor
Catapult

Pursuit (House Liao Pursuit Lance Alpha Strike, $34.50)
Cicada
Clint
Raven
Jackal

Battle (House Liao Battle Lance Alpha Strike, $42.25)
Huron Warrior
Thunder
Cataphract
Vindicator

 Plus 6 packs of hex bases, total cost = $309.30 with free shipping on IWM


Iron Guard, House Marik

1st Company
Command (FM 3085 Lance Pack, $49.95)
Osprey
Karhu
Thunderbolt
Prefect

Assault (Free Worlds League Heavy/Assault Lance FM 3085, $49.00)
Marauder II
Patriot
Rifleman IIC
Marauder

Scout (Free Worlds League Light/Medium Lance FM 3085, $36.95)
Hammer
Falcon Hawk
Apollo
Shadowhawk IIC

2nd Company
Fire (House Marik Fire Lance Alpha Strike, $42.95)
Albatross
Awesome
Tempest
Hermes II

Guard (House Marik Guard Lance Alpha Strike, $42.25)
Orion
Guillotine
Hercules
Hammer

Striker (House Marik Striker Lancer, $40.75)
Wraith
Tarantula
Anvil
Trebuchet

Plus 6 packs of hex bases, total cost = $303.55 with free shipping on IWM


Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Fen's Advice for New Players in 3067

As I'm sitting here thinking about campaigns and factions and how absolutely overwhelmed with options one can get, I figured I'd lay down some thoughts for new or returning players, and faction-masters, about some of the strengths and ideas of the various banners under which one can fight. This isn't a be-all, end-all of the universe, just some opinion pieces.Also, I repeat some things where two factions interact, if only so that someone going straight to their faction doesn't have to read anything else...

Inner Sphere/Major

Capellan Confederation - Probably one of those Romance of the Three Kingdoms fans, or big into China/Russia, or maybe you just like having uphill battles. Much respect there. Despite having the smallest territory of the "Major" IS powers, the CapCon does have a lot going for it. Play it up, the sneaky, underhandedness of it all. Get your allies to do much of the dirty work, but then reward them well. Your smaller size can be a boon, since it makes your regiments more concentrated into a tighter area, limiting the time reinforcements take to get from one system to another. And mines. Oh, man, do you guys love minefields, from Fa Shih battle armor, that also has magnetic clamps to ride cavalry on any 'Mech, to mine-laying Long Range Missiles, you are the ultimate defensive player. Don't be afraid to lay down the mines, and then utilize Stealth Armor and Electronic Counter Measure suites to confound your enemy's attempts. Add in some Triple-Strength Myomer to take advantage of the hot running armor, and you'll be just fine.

As the head of the Trinity Alliance, remember that you also have access to the worlds and forces of the Magistracy of Canopus and the Taurian Concordat in the Periphery section. The CapCon and MoC have incredibly close ties (marriage close), even into 3150, so they can be intimately trusted. It would take some absolutely stupidly huge shark jumping, like of massively, stupidly huge proportions, for the MoC to turn against you. The TC, on the other hand, is an alliance of convenience, and so long as you're focused on giving them some tech that they can use to batter down the Federated Suns, they'll be happy with you.


Draconis Combine - If this is the faction you're leaning towards, let me just applaud your refined and discerning taste. You might be a bit of a weaboo, or maybe you just like Japanese culture, but in either case, this is the place for you. Weapons you're going to want to learn to use are the Heavy PPC, Medium Range Missiles, and Swords. Yeah, sometimes you end up with an HPPC and a Sword on the same 'Mech (the HPPC penalizes your shots at close range), but you're a samurai, so suck it up, buttercup, and get those decapitation swings going. MRMs are like dummy fire rockets - you take a penalty to hit your enemy due to lack of guidance, but make up for it by being able to potentially fire a metric assload of missiles in one turn. If you're a big fan of coordinating pieces to maximize firing potential, say hello to C3 Computers, guaranteed to have you going dakka dakka dakka on your enemy. Moreso than any other Inner Sphere power, excepting the Lyran Alliance and possibly ComStar/Word of Blake, you have access to a ton of Clantech to refit your OmniMechs with, as well as to put into the field wholesale. Plus, be prepared to send large amounts of supplies to Clan Diamond Shark to purchase parts and replacement 'Mechs on Itabaiana.

But don't stop there! The Combine is dominated by House Kurita's Japanese flavor, but that's not all it has to offer. Two sub-factions, Clan Nova Cat and the Azami, season to perfection what is already a spicy bowl of ramen. The Azami worlds were originally settled by North African Arabs, and retain that definite feel too them. Never truly conquered by the Dragon, they nonetheless are an important part of the Combine, lending their bad-ass Arkab Legions to the communal defense. These guys are really awesome! Clan Nova Cat is detailed more in the IS Clans section but in a campaign context, you will most likely be responsible for the care and feeding of your pet Clan and I highly, hiiiighly recommend that you take a page out of the Azami-relations handbook - treat them with honor, and respect befitting a partner and not a vassal state. Give both subfactions some leeway and support them, and don't let the Black Dragon Society or fear of a Civil War lessen your honor towards them. Provided another player isn't representing either of them, anyway. If they are, make sure you're a team to be reckoned with. The two sub-factions share borders with Clan Ghost Bear and the Federated Suns respectively, so supporting them as they defend you is incredibly important.


Federated Suns - I could go on a diatribe about the munchkin nature of the Suns, but honestly, ever since 3052 or so, other than Victor Steiner-Davion's "instant win" button, the FS has taken as many licks as anyone else. You have more planets than anyone else from the get go, but many of them are also kind of worthless, and you'll always have to keep an eye on the risk vs reward with your huge borders. Fortunately, you do have a ton of regiments with which to defend yourself, you'll just have to stay creative with their deployment and keep a flexible mind going into anything. On the battlefield, expect to see a LOT of your 'Mechs with some combination of Ultra Autocannon 2/5/10, LB-X Autocannon, or Rotary Autocannon 2/5. Or even just a plain old Autocannon 2/5/10. AC20s are less a Federated Suns thing, but overall, ballistic weaponry, in addition to Targeting Computers and/or Pulse Lasers, are what the FS likes to build. With Precision and Armor Piercing rounds available, don't think any less of those standard AC2/5/10s, as they can be incredibly useful. You haven't faced a Clan opponent in any context since 3061 for salvage, and the recent Civil War denuded even further your stockpiles, but you still have more access to Clantech than either the CapCon or the Free Worlds League.
 
You'll need those edges, with the Draconis Combine perched "north" of you, the Capellan Confederation directly to the "west," the Taurian Concordat "beneath" you, the Outworld's Alliance/Clan Snow Raven on your "northeast" border, and the Word of Blake occupying your capitol of New Avalon. Relations are still strained with the Lyran Alliance, who also has their own problems, but maybe you can find a way to work with them to take some of the pressure off of your holdings. You have your own internal disputes between March Lords of the Capellan March and Draconis March, but you aren't entirely friendless in the universe, so it's best to sue for at least some non-aggression treaties with your neighbors, even if it means sacrificing some less important worlds or making other concessions.

Free Worlds League - Strength through Diversity is the motto of the League and if you're playing them, it's either because the color purple really appeals to you, or you love that each different region within the League has its own awesome little flavor. Or maybe you just dislike every other faction and they seemed the least offensive to your delicate snowflake sensibilities. No judgement. You gotta love massed Long Range Missile spam, if you're a Marik person. Matched up with Extended Range Lasers and Light Gauss Rifles, your key to victory is going to be in dictating range and keeping it to the extremes. Since you'll more than likely be dealing with heavier units, mobility will win you more battles than anything. Plus, your WarShip fleet is the largest of any Inner Sphere power, and if you assign your most important battle groups a WarShip escort, well, try to save some salvage opportunities.

Strength through Diversity has a flip side though, and it's subfactional divide. The Marik Commonwealth, Duchy of Andurien, Principality of Regulus, and Duchy of Oriente all tend to jockey for position within, though they can all usually be counted on to band together in the face of outside adversity. The Capellan Confederation, though a nominal ally, hasn't forgotten when the Duchy of Andurien joined with the Magistracy of Canopus to invade them after the 4th Succession War. An ongoing war with the Lyran Alliance demands focus, as well as a semi-to-hostile border with the Marian Hegemony on the Periphery side of the League. Your greatest ally is the Word of Blake, so long as you don't attempt to cross them. Requesting aid for your wars, and supplying them with worlds to buffer their Protectorate is a solid strategy, but like any other faction with a dark and twisted side, don't rely on them any more than you absolutely have to.


Lyran Alliance - "85 tons? Oh, a scout 'Mech!" sums up the Lyran "Wall of Steel" philosophy to combat. You've a surfeit of assault 'Mechs available to you, from the not-all-that-great-but-still-iconic Banshee, to the probably-gonna-murder-everything Fafnir. Light Fusion Engines stolen from Wolf's Dragoons and Heavy Gauss Rifles that will hammer through armor like a hot knife through butter, along with variations on the Autocannon-20 are your forte. Don't ever let anyone tell you that bigger isn't better, but despite the bias towards heavier machines, the Lyrans also have some great lights and mediums, probably inherited from their time joined at the hip with the Federated Suns. Bring that German and Scottish heritage out and goose step to the bagpipes during all your combat sorties. You pay for great tactical choices with shitty strategic ones, since Lyran "Social Generals" have a hard time fighting their way out of a wet paper bag. Hey, no one is perfect.

But watch out for Isle of Skye separatists, Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf to your "east," the continued Free Worlds League threat to the "south," and the Word of Blake naval blockade around Tharkad. You can open tighter relations with your cousins in the Federated Suns, who still have a handful of your decimated regiments on their worlds, support a rebuilding of the Free Rasalhague Republic, or throw everyone for a loop by supporting the Capellan Confederation in exchange for them taking some of the heat from the League. Wash that Steiner-Davion taint out of your mouth and get a real Archon in the form of Adam Steiner. Use, but don't full trust, your pet Clan Wolf-in-Exile and hope the real Wolves don't come to eat them any time soon.  


Inner Sphere/Minor
ComStar - If you're playing ComStar, you're going to be in for a rough time. True, you still have a few WarShips left and some great Star League 'Mech designs in your ranks, but post-Case White, your military is not what it once was. However, don't let that discourage you! Basing yourself out of Tukayyid in the Free Rasalhague Republic, and administering the HyperPulse Generators of the Lyran Alliance, Federated Suns, Draconis Combine, and most Periphery realms, you have access to resources to start rebuilding your numbers. Coordinate your forces as best you can with Improved C3 computers and the best supplies that the Inner Sphere will sell you. My best advice is honestly to find a better faction, but if you're sold on ComStar, forget about sacrificing what you have left against the Word of Blake at least from the start. Rely on your HPG revenue and your contacts to get your power base strengthened. Work with the Free Rasalhague Republic to retake some of their lost territory, and then subjugate them utterly when no one is looking. Hell, you're going to die out at some point and just become a 'Mech-less corporation by 3145, so be a BAMF until that happens.


Free Rasalhague Republic - I gotta admit to a fondness for the FRR. Way back when I started in the BattleTech universe, I was involved with a mercenary unit called The Blacksheep, and part of their backstory was that they were working with the FRR movement in the Draconis Combine's Rasalhague Military District. So, take everything great about Lyran 'Mechs, Combine 'Mechs, and ComStar stock, and mash it together, and you get the Little Viking State that could. From the 1st Tyr BattleMech Regiment to the 3rd Drakons, you have some great units left in your little rump state, and working with ComStar, you might actually be able to retake some of your lost glory. Of course, in canon BattleTech, what's left of the FRR gets absorbed by Clan Ghost Bear to form the Rasalhague Dominion, so maybe you might want to mosey on down that way now...


Mercenary - "No Gods or Kings, Only Man" mercenaries are too diverse to make generalizations, and in a campaign sense, are usually forced to either pick a faction to represent or support, or used as a bargained-for ready reserve to fill in when no one else is available. That means an unrivaled flexibility to use what designs make the most sense for you, as well as not being tied down to a philosophy that you may tire of eventually. All non-Clan factions make use of mercs and your talents will never go unused. Unless you're Wolf's Dragoons or a member of the Allied Mercenary Command. Then your talents are best left at the bottom of the nuclear crater along with your 'Mechs and your sense of self worth.



Word of Blake - Ah, clearly you like being both the underdog in a fight, and a merciless force of nature, at the same time. Since you sit at the dead center of the Inner Sphere, alliances are your primary bet from the get-go. Ties are strained with the Capellan Confederation/Trinity Alliance and can be hit or miss with the Free Worlds League, but this is your most powerful political block and if you, plus the players of these two factions, work diligently, you will be the premier movers and shakers of the universe. That's, of course, if you can get your internal factions all in a row. The Word of Blake has lots of secrets (see separate post about that) but overall, your greatest strength is novelty. ComStar and the Word are the only factions that use a base six for their formations, and the Improved C3 computer system allows for unprecedented coordination. Remember, you don't need six 'Mechs to use iC3, just that you can max at six. Depending on the type of pick up game or campaign you're playing, feel free to introduce your opponents to the joys of cybernetically enhanced Manei Domini MechWarriors, and remember - you have access to a LOT of other factions' toys. Superheavy 'Mechs and Land-Air 'Mechs, Drone 'Mechs, Celestial-series OmniMechs, Variable-Speed Pulse Lasers, all of these are solely yours to use. And you have a TON of WarShips which, take my advice here, are best used if you create naval battle groups (or naval level IIs) of 6 WarShips, attendant combat DropShips, and swarms of Spectral-series OmniFighters to ensure local space superiority during any conquests.

Through your political ties and memberships, the Circinus Federation, outlined in the Periphery section is actually a vassal state, the Chaos March is practically yours, you have a few Hidden Worlds out there, and the only thing that can really stop you is spreading yourself too thin. Make some moves, take some worlds, then turtle up and flesh out your Divisions even more.As you have a blockade going against the capitol of the Lyran Alliance, are engaged in a three way battle on the capitol of the Draconis Combine, and are occupying the capitol of the Federated Suns, my advice would be to either heavily reinforce all spots with a WarShip II and at least a handful more Divisions, or to cut your losses, make a few final "fuck you" gestures on each planet, and consolidate closer to your Protectorate worlds. Winning a handful of morale boosting battles is great, but not at a cost of losing the war.

Periphery
Circinus Federation

Magistracy of Canopus


Marian Hegemony - Romans. In. Spaaaaaaaace! Absolutely, 100%, do not fail to do so, please, make sure you're quoting "Gladiator" every opportunity that you can. Please. I beg of you. So you're a former bandit kingdom, turned to a degree of legitimacy. Compared to even the smallest of Inner Sphere powers, you're fairly week, but you have character, and a crap ton of one-shot Rocket Launchers on your 'Mechs, so that is cool. The Word of Blake was once your ally, and they probably still deal with your HyperPulse Generators for you, but relations have cooled significantly since your war with the Circinus Federation. So, gotta watch out for them. The Magistracy of Canopus doesn't like you much either. Sorry, bro. At least the Free Worlds League is ripe for raiding whilst they're distracted with other problems. Your tech level isn't the greatest but you do have a fairly large overall force size for the amount of planets you control, and when you're hitting the table top, make sure that you're focusing fire between as many RL carries as you can.

Outworld's Alliance

Taurian Concordat

IS Clan
Diamond Shark - Mon-ay for nothin' and your chicks for freeeee. It's all about the bottom line with the Sharks, and your 'Mech selection really exemplifies that. From the large amount of Mad Cat II/III/IV/V/VI/XXX you have, to the collection of upgraded IIC models, everyone wants your wares. In fact, you're the number one source for Homeworld Clan product, like Heavy Lasers in the IS, so milk the crap out of it as you can with Trials for whatever campaign supply point type resources whenever possible. You only control a couple of IS worlds, and, more than likely, won't be in a position to be a conquering force, so these points will be the lifeblood of your efforts. However, also remember that as of 3067, you're basically in control of the Chainlane Isles ("The Reef") and probably have a crapload of production facilities being moved into there. The Sharks really like top of the line and highly mobile units so expect to field faster examples in every weight class, or 'Mechs with lots of jump capability. You deserve to be pampered with nothing but the best.

Your big trading hubs are Twycross in Clan Jade Falcon space, Trondheim in Clan Ghost Bear territory, and Itabaiana in the Draconis Combine. Yes, you read that right, the Combine. Because you've been selling the DC the Ha Otoko BattleMech since 3062, and as of 3066, have been selling both the DC and Lyran Alliance small amounts of Mad Cat Mk IIs. Damned traitors to Kerensky's vision. But really, you could hold several factions in the palm of your hand for scraps of Clantech. I heard a rumor that if you approach Clan Wolf for a series of trials, putting up some clusters worth of 'Mechs in exchange for control of a planet, that you could probably score Unzmarkt fairly easily.


Ghost Bear - Did you come here because the Free Rasalhague Republic sounded awesome but is in kind of a shitty position? That's okay! Clan Ghost Bear is all the Nordic fun of the FRR with all the Klingon rahhhh smash argh you love about the Clans, and that is alright alright alright. Your single biggest advantage over your fellow Inner Sphere Clans is that your entire touman (that's military force) beyond a single honor guard force, is in your Dominion. That doesn't necessarily mean a whole lot in a Total Warfare or Alpha Strike game, but for a campaign? That generally means that you have more Clusters available for deployment than anyone else in your neck of the woods. You can attempt to absorb what's left of the FRR before the Wolves do, pushing you into conflict with IS powers down that way, or drive Clan Nova Cat to extinction, take as much of the Draconis Comhine as possible, you have options, playa! Leviathan WarShips aid in moving your population, or as a deterrent to attack, despite their anemic attack for their size. Second-line 'Mechs such as the Grizzly, Arcas, Stone Rhino, Stinger IIC, Ursus, and Kodiak are your bread and butter. In fact, some of these are better than front-line OmniMechs, so don't be afraid to use them to their fullest.

Every Clan is at once an ally and an enemy, but the Ghost Bears maintain relatively good ties with Clan Diamond Shark and Clan Snow Raven, the former because everyone needs the Diamond Shark's goods and the latter due to years of working together on the Leviathans, as well as both of their totems being arctic, which sounds like a superficial thing but it's the Clans, who knows why they are the way they are.


Jade Falcon - Back in the day, the Falcons were the biggest douchebags in the entire BattleTech universe. Well, after the Federated Suns, anyway. Because they had shit leadership and a whiny fanbase and that whole Refusal War with Clan Wolf left a bad taste in my mouth. However, you have Marthe Pryde and Samantha Clees as Khan & saKhan respectively in 3067, and they're both enjoyably well-written characters. No, no really, I mean that. In fact, Vlad Ward of the Wolves thought Marthe was VERY enjoyable that one time on Strana Metchy, if you know what I'm sayin'. Actually, for a guy that isn't even statted with a high charisma, the fact that Vlad bagged both the Khan of the Clan that has been the Wolves' biggest enemy since the get-go, AND Katherine Steiner-Davion, you gotta give him mad props. Oh, uh, right. Clan Jade Falcon are usually considered staunch traditionalists in books where they appear, right up until the Dark Ages when suddenly they're using chemical weapons and dropped WarShips into planets. Not sure where that happened, but you can change that fate. Your Scientist Caste is a bit of a handful, keep an eye on them. The Dark Nebula is a sore point, with the Star League Camelot Command Naval Station inside of it, so at some point, you're going to want to address that, even though it has probably been retconned out of the universe by this point. I dunno, Falcons aren't too bad of a Clan, as Clans go. I've actually read them described as the Lannisters of the BattleTech universe, and that's pretty apt, in that they fuck their brothers.

By '67, I think that the relationship with Clan Wolf is more grudging respect both ways than full on antagonism. In canon, when the Council of Six is formed, and the Wolves give their big "fuck you!" to the Grand Council on Strana Metchy, Marthe Pryde actually applauds Vlad Ward, for more than just his size and stamina, so there's that. Which is a good thing, since the Lyran Alliance is going to bear watching. With Tharkad blockaded by the Word of Blake, you might be able to expand your territory to the "west." Be mindful of Homeworld Clans, however, both in the Homeworlds, which you should vacate eventually, and returning to the Inner Sphere. Operation: Ice Storm in canon saw Clan Ice Hellion and Clan Hells Horses invade, but if you're playing our 5th Succession War, prepare your anus for Operation: Annwyn Rising and Clan Blood Spirit/Clan Cloud Cobra.


Nova Cat - Not gonna lie to you, in canon, post-Jihad and into the Dark Ages, the Nova Cats get a pretty raw, barebacked gangbang of a deal. You guys did it to yourself though, so my biggest piece of advice is don't do it. First, don't be dicks and learn to exist in the Irece Prefecture. Second, if a guy name Stone comes asking for troops, tell him to piss off. Third, work with the Dragon, not against the Dragon. Fo real. The Star League is dead, and you've already pledged yourself to defend the Draconis Combine border with Clan Ghost Bear, so do it. The Cats invented the Clantech Extended Range Large Laser by the by, and are noted for the marksmanship abilities, so go with that. Kill them with kindness a kilometer away. The mystic angle, which can feel like a tacked on shtick but which is actually pretty cool, should be used without being abused. In fact, there's probably a rule somewhere about vision quests giving you some kind of a bonus. Otherwise, you have sweet designs like the Nova Cat, Huntsman, Sphinx, Cave Lion, Wendigo, and Avalanche to look forward to using, and teaming up with Luthien Armor Works will help you max out your touman to thwart those pesky Bears or the Word of Blake.

Which obviously indicates that Clan Ghost Bear is your primary threat, as well as the Black Dragon Society of the Combine. The ultra-traditionalists disagree with Theodore Kurita allowing you to control, for the most part, the Irece Prefecture, and will stop at nothing to see you dead. That could spell disaster for you if the Combine player wants to be an ultra-traditionalist, so I'd recommend making sure they're more of a moderate. Unless YOU are playing the Combine, in which case, all my remarks above still hold - the Nova Cats are important and, treated properly like good kitties, will bring many dividends. Just don't let them wander off and blitzkrieg the Bears without your support. Look for Clan Diamond Shark traders to land on a world near you, and if some new Homeworld Clans happen to stop by, just remember you were abjured and they will come at you harder than Ron Jeremy at a high school prom.


Snow Raven - Reapers of the Void, also co-holders of the "crappiest at 'Mech fighting on the ground" title. Recently scouting out a niche for themselves in the Inner Sphere, as of 3067, the Ravens found themselves in a bit of a pissing match with the Outworld's Alliance, and much to their surprise, the OA's AeroSpace Fighters actually kicked the hell out of them. Which isn't actually that shocking, since the Ravens are known as the "WarShip Clan" as opposed to the "AeroSpace Fighter Clan" aka Clan Cloud Cobra. Any other Clan would probably have made the Alliance their space bitch but instead, the Ravens are looking to move in, maybe eat all their sammiches, probably put the moves on their wives, you know, the things Clanners do. The Raven Alliance, much like the Rasalhague Dominion, becomes one of those weird Clan/Sphere hybrid realms where the civilians really just hate everyone. But, yeah, so you look cool in your Raven uniforms, you have WarShips up the ass, and you make space-adapted versions of most OmniMechs, plus have some really interesting designs like the Omen and the Deimos.

No one really likes you much in the Inner Sphere except for Clan Ghost Bear and Clan Diamond Shark, and the latter really just because they have raging wood for everyone. The Outworlds Alliance only likes you because you're big and strong and can ball gag them properly, but most of their civilians, who are basically pacifists anyway, aren't fans. The Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns, due to their shared borders with the Alliance, are going to be both really defensive, and really great possible victims as need be. But again, your ability to scorch worlds doesn't really play well back home and doesn't earn you much territory so even if you're only semi-capable fighters, just do your best.

Wolf - Nicholas Kerensky's chosen Clan, you got some serious weight of history on your back. Straight up, first and foremost, since this is the Clan I play most, let me lay this out for you - can't have one foot in the Homeworlds and one foot in the Inner Sphere. Eventually, you have to make a choice, and the correct choice is the Sphere. Load up on Timberwolves, phase out your reliance on Dire Wolves in favor of Tomahawks/Tomahawk IIs. Bring in more mobile factory platforms, or capture them from other Clans, but give yourself more self reliance in the Wolf Occupation Zone. Wardens suck, but you have them, so use them. Not as sacrificial lambs but as honored participants in glorious last stands. Watch your Periphery border, because a storm is brewing.

Clan Ghost Bear and Clan Jade Falcon are the perennial thorns in your side, but don't count ComStar or the Free Rasalhague Republic out of the fight just yet. In fact, I would recommend in any campaign that taking the last worlds of the FRR before the Ghost Bears do would be in your best interests, especially if the Bears are busy with the Draconis Combine or Clan Nova Cat. Like any other faction in the game, you'll have the most luck with misdirection, whilst still keeping your honor intact. The Falcons have always been your biggest rivals and their worlds sure look mighty fine, even if you're playing the 5th Succession War campaign and Clan Blood Spirits/Clan Cloud Cobra are on their way. And I heard that you could score some sweet, sweet 'Mechs in exchange for Unzmarkt is you Trial Clan Diamond Shark. On the Homeworld front, if you choose to stay in, make sure to work with Clan Coyote as much as possible, going so far as to trade for entire Galaxies of their troops in exchange for some genetic legacies. Will be much worthwhile.

Wolf-in-Exile - Okay, after thinking long and hard about Stackpole's shark-jumping pseudo-Clan experiment, and what advice I could possibly give someone interested in them, here it is. You have three Clan Galaxies of troops, and control a section of Arc-Royal in the Lyran Alliance. Plus a couple of WarShips. Initiate a "Trial of Homecoming." Challenge Vlad Ward to a five on five full Zellbrigen duel, Clan Wolf's Golden Keshik command star vs Phelan Kell's Clan Wolf-in-Exile Golden Keshik command star. Then, have all MechWarriors on the WiE side shoot someone else's opponent, opening up a grand melee, before ejecting, and leaving Phelan to 1 v 5. Then, after he inevitably dies and those three Galaxies plus WarShips go to the real Clan Wolf, start playing them as a faction. WiE is basically "Clan Lyran Alliance Mercenary" and they blow. Just don't play them.

Homeworld Clan
Blood Spirit

Cloud Cobra

Coyote

Fire Mandrill

Goliath Scorpion

Hells Horses

Ice Hellion

Star Adder

Steel Viper

Monday, November 27, 2017

1st Davion Rangers RCT

This isn't so much a unit spotlight at this time, but may be updated to be one in the future. Mostly just posting so Sean has easy access to his 'Mech list, which is all at my place, so he knows what he has/what he needs to order. I don't have a TO&E so I'm mostly just organizing them in a way that makes pics easy. I'll throw on the correct variant designation as soon as I can.

 Thunderbolt NAIS, Rifleman, Rifleman, Legionnaire
 Phoenix Hawk, Centurion RAC, Warhammer, Rakshasa
 Thunderbolt, Nightstar, Hammerhands RAC,  JagerMech
 Hatchetman, Shadowhawk, BattleMaster, JagerMech
 Marauder, Sagittaire, Templar, Templar

Friday, November 17, 2017

Operation: Nachtfalke Redux


Operation: Nachtfalke

A sleepy, previously unimportant Chaos March world leaps into the forefront when a massive mineral deposit and a lode of Germanium are found within days of each other on the world’s main continent. Because of its location and the lack of an appreciable standing military force, not to mention the newly discovered mineral wealth, it is highly sought after by many factions. Each makes plans to send an expeditionary unit in the hopes of claiming the planet for their own. Smelling profit, mercenaries and pirates are also flocking to the world in droves.
            This is a planetary campaign for two or more players.


Initial Setup
            Lay out the node-based planetary map. Players roll 2d6 for initiative. With HIGHEST roll going first, they take turns selecting a single military base as their starting point. Each player begins with a number of Warchest Points (WP) based on the number of players in the campaign;
            2 Players – 200 WP
            3 Players – 150 WP
            4+ Players – 100 WP
            Warchest Points are used to purchase battlefield units, pilots, and to pay for movement or repairs. All military bases come equipped with a merchant, facilities for purchasing/building units and academies for training personnel. Players use this beginning fund to purchase units prior to the start of the first Turn Sequence.

Turn Sequence (1 Turn = 1 Week of Game Time)
1)      Resources Phase – Each player roles 2d10 and adds the result x 10 Warchest Points to their treasury. This represents resources sent by the player’s faction. Tax revenue is then added based upon how many/which nodes are controlled.
2)      Movement Phase – Players roll 2d6 for initiative with the LOWEST score moving first. Players alternate moving a single unit a single node at a time until all desired movements have been made. Units follow routes of march between nodes. Players cannot move through an enemy-controlled node, but may pass through nodes belonging to an allied player with their permission. If a node is uncontested or enemy-controlled with no opposing units present, the player must end the turn with their unit located there to gain control. If there are enemy units, combat ensues next phase.
3)      Combat Phase - Any opposing units left on a node together at the end of the movement phase engage in a game of BattleTech. The mapsheets are determined by the node, with the Defender (whichever player arrived first or already controlled the node) setting up his/her units anywhere on the map* and the Attacker (whichever was the last to move units) entering from whatever map edge lies in the direction they arrived from. For example, if a player moves into the capitol city of Nifleheim from the north, the north edge of the mapsheets would be considered their home edge. From one to four mapsheets may be used to represent the node, depending on the number of total units;
A - Four or less total = 1 sheet.
B - 5 to 8 total = 2 sheets
C - 9 to 12 total = 3 sheets
D - 13 or more = 4 sheets.
Any mapsheets can be used, but for flavor purposes, try to use Military Base # 1 and #2 for MBs, Suburbs or Residential sheets for SCs, Skyscraper or DropPort sheets for LCs, Ishiyama Arena from Solaris VII for Ms, etc, with additional mapsheets drawn up based on the terrain surrounding the node, such as heavy forests, mountains, or coastlines. Bonus if a player records which maps are used for each node as it happens, so the same can be used for future battles.
      * - Defenders may deploy up to half of their force, rounded down using "Hidden Unit" rules.
4)      Allocation Phase - Players may purchase new units, repair damage and improve their MechWarriors.

COSTS

Construction
      As no war can be waged without materials, players must bring into battle the finest of war-machines. To build or purchase new units;
Unit Type IS - C* - WoB Clan
Battle Armor Squad/Point 10 - 15 WP 20 WP
Light Vehicle/VTOL 30 WP 45 WP
Medium Vehicle 50 WP 65 WP
Heavy Vehicle 80 WP 95 WP
Assault Vehicle 110 WP 125 WP
ProtoMech Point 50 WP* 50 WP
UltraLight 'Mech 15t 30 WP 40 WP
Light 'Mech 20t 40 WP 50 WP
Light 'Mech 25t 50 WP 60 WP
Light 'Mech 30t 60 WP 70 WP
Light 'Mech 35t 70 WP 80 WP
Medium 'Mech 40t 80 WP 90 WP
Medium 'Mech 45t 90 WP 100 WP
Medium 'Mech 50t 100 WP 110 WP
Medium 'Mech 55t 110 WP 120 WP
Heavy 'Mech 60t 120 WP 140 WP
Heavy 'Mech 65t 130 WP 150 WP
Heavy 'Mech 70t 140 WP 160 WP
Heavy 'Mech 75t 150 WP 170 WP
Assault 'Mech 80t 160 WP 180 WP
Assault 'Mech 85t 170 WP 190 WP
Assault 'Mech 90t 180 WP 200 WP
Assault 'Mech 95t 190 WP 210 WP
Assault 'Mech 100t 200 WP 220 WP
Superheavy 'Mech 105t* 250 WP N/A
*Note - ProtoMechs in Inner Sphere formations are limited in deployment to Word of Blake forces. Superheavy 'Mechs are limited in deployment to Word of Blake or Republic of the Sphere forces.

Movement
      Without movement, there can be no combat. Money must be paid to move a force from node to node.

Unit Type Movement Cost Move Limit
Battle Armor Squad/Point 5 WP 1* Move
Light Vehicle/VTOL 7 WP 3 Moves
Medium Vehicle 9 WP 2 Moves
Heavy Vehicle 11 WP 2 Moves
Assault Vehicle 12 WP 1 Move
ProtoMech Point 6 WP 2 Moves
Light 'Mech 8 WP 4 Moves
Medium 'Mech 10 WP 3 Moves
Heavy 'Mech 12 WP 3 Moves
Assault 'Mech 18 WP 2 Moves
Superheavy 'Mech 25 WP 1 Move

* Note - Battle armor may move on an OmniMech if they are capable of doing so (see the unit's rules). Their movement cost remains the same but they may move a number of nodes equal to or less than the 'Mech to which they are attached.

Components
      When a unit takes damage, it must be repaired. The cost of the repair depends on the amount of damaged sustained and the type of battlefield unit. Battle armor, vehicles and ProtoMechs cannot be repaired and must be purchased from scratch if destroyed. Weapons may also be reloaded any time that a unit is repaired, including the weapons for vehicles and infantry. "Damaged" refers to any amount of armor or critical space loss, "Crippled" is one or two Engine criticals, one Gyro critical, missing one or two limbs/side torso destruction, or the loss of a head*. "Destroyed" is missing three or more limbs/both side torso destruction, two Gyro criticals, or three Engine criticals/center torso destruction.

Weight Class Damaged Crippled Destroyed
Light 15 WP 30 WP 45 WP
Medium 30 WP 45 WP 60 WP
Heavy 60 WP 75 WP 90 WP
Assault 90 WP 110 WP 130 WP
Superheavy 100 WP 150 WP 200 WP

Reloads
Ballistic, per ton, 3 WP
Missile, per ton, 6 WP

*Note - Whilst destroying the head of an enemy 'Mech effectively destroys the 'Mech on the field, for the purposes of repair cost, the loss of a head counts as a missing limb, and is covered under "Crippled". This means for the purpose of salvage (see below), it is almost always beneficial to take out the head of an enemy, repair the 'Mech, and put it back into the field. 

MechWarriors
      All starting MechWarriors enter play as 7/6 “ultra-Green" for free unless purchased at full cost below in addition to the cost of their unit. MechWarriors may be improved by paying the difference in cost, once per turn in the Allocation Phase, between the current level and the next level of Skill Rating. This can be done in increments each turn until the MechWarrior becomes a 2/1 “ultra-Elite,” the maximum level of improvement possible.

Rating Piloting/Gunnery Cost
Green 6/5 30 WP
Regular 5/4 60 WP
Veteran 4/3 120 WP
Elite 3/2 200 WP
Ultra-Elite 2/1 400 WP

* Note - For Battle Armor, use the Piloting column for their Anti-Mech skill, while Vehicles use the Piloting column for their Driving skill.

MechWarriors may be "healed" at a cost of 10 WP per wound during the Allocation Phase.

Special Piloting Abilities
      Maximum Tech introduced skills beyond simple Piloting and Gunnery to customize pilots. This trend continues in Tactical Operations and Alpha Strike. Each MechWarrior may have a maximum of two abilities at one time. Abilities stack with each other or with bonuses from HPG control in the case of Tactical Genius. SPAs come in five types - Piloting, Gunnery, Melee, Command, and Other. Only one instance of a Command SPA counts per side, per battle.

Ex; having four 'Mechs with MechWarriors that have "Tactical Genius" still only nets a +2 Initiative bonus per turn, total, but it also keeps the bonus alive if one of those 'Mechs is destroyed.


Skill Cost Effect Type
Acrobat 10 WP Roll 1d6 - 1-4 = +1 jump MP, 5-6 = JJs fail P
Brawler 20 WP Range TN modifiers become -1/+2/+5 G
Cool Hand 30 WP -2 heat generated per turn O
Dodge 20 WP +2 TN to be hit by physical attacks, no physical attack is made in that turn's PA phase P/M
Maneuvering Ace 30 WP May Lateral Shift in a Biped 'Mech for 2 MP P
Marksman 50 WP -1 ranged attack TNs, unit cannot move that turn G
Melee Specialist 40 WP -1 TN for physical attacks OR +1 damage for PAs M
Sharpshooter 60 WP Range TN modifiers become +1/+2/+3 G
Speed Demon 30 WP +2 Running MP, no Ranged Combat attacks that turn P
Tactical Genius 40 WP +2 Initiative each turn C
Toughness 30 WP -2 TN for consciousness rolls O
Weapon Specialist 60 WP -2 TN with specific weapon declared at purchase G


NODES

Description
      Nodes represent towns, cities and other sections of the map that are of importance. Controlling as many of these as possible is vital to victory. Each gives up tax revenue in the form of C-Bills and/or some other benefit to the controlling player.

Node Type Tax Revenue Special Benefit
SC Small City 5 WP None
LC Large City 10 WP May repair units without MB
IC Industrial Complex 10 WP -1 WP ammo cost
MB Military Base 20 WP Allows new units to be purchased
Produce Field 3 WP 5 WP MechWarrior healing cost
M Mine 10 WP 10% reduction in repair cost
RC River Crossing None Half move cost/'Mech, double move cost/Vehicle
MP Mountain Pass None Half move cost/Infantry, double move cost/'Mech & Vehicle
HPG HyperPule Generator 5 WP +2 Initiative in all battles

SPECIAL CASE RULES

Salvage
      It is inevitable that players will lose 'Mechs in the course of the campaign, or gain 'Mechs from winning the field of battle. When this happens, the cost of repair might not be available for all crippled or destroyed ‘Mechs. The player may sell the salvage for WP gain, subtracting the level of damage from the base cost of the ‘Mech. For example, a broke player has a destroyed Masakari/Warhawk that he decides to sell. The base cost of the ‘Mech is 190 WP and the cost of repair on a "Destroyed" Assault is 130 WP. By selling the Masakari, the player gains 190 – 130 = 60 WP.
Any 'Mech that is left on a node, whether due to pilot ejection or damages, becomes the salvage of the player that controls the node at the end of battle. If a 'Mech is repaired, it is considered to be at the node it was salvaged from at the start of the next Resources Phase.

POWs and Ejection
      Players may eject pilots before they are killed in combat. MechWarriors have 1 MP to spend each turn until they retreat from the field on their home edge. Pilots that end a turn in a hex that an enemy unit occupies are captured. These MechWarriors can be executed or ransomed back at the capturing player's discretion.

Alliances
      Players may wish to ally themselves with each other in the course of the campaign. After the third campaign turn, any player may approach any other with the offer of an alliance, the terms to be set between the two parties. Under an alliance, players may move through each other's territory without needing to control any of the nodes and may aid any allied forces in combat at a mutually occupied node. Resources may be shared between allies as well. At the beginning of any turn, any allied player may declare his/her intention to end the alliance. This can cause combat to ensue at mutually occupied locations.
          Clan factions can ally with other Clan factions without penalty, as can Inner Sphere factions with other Inner Sphere factions. Clan and Inner Sphere factions allied with one another suffer a -2 Initiative penalty in combat where their ally is involved, and cannot share resources, but may still move through one another’s occupied nodes.

 3-Way (or 4-Way, 5-Way, etc) Battles
      When more than two players occupy a node during the start of the combat phase, a multi-way battle erupts. Best judgement must be used when determining initiative and home edges. There is a limit of five sides to a battle, with four sides acting as attackers through the appropriate map edges and the fifth side acting as the defender with the usual deployment. If more than five player forces are at a single node at one time, Alliances must be formed for at least the duration of that battle that brings the total number of sides to five or less.

Maximum Force Size
      To prevent one player from just sitting on a single node and building a regiment-sized force, the maximum number of battlefield units that any player can have deployed at a single time, including ‘Mechs, vehicles and infantry, is 24. Older units may be sold as salvage so that new ones may be purchased.

HyperPulse Generator
      For the purposes of selecting a starting position, a Word of Blake or ComStar player may opt to select an HPG in lieu of a Military Base. If this option is used, for the remainder of the campaign, the HPG is worth 10 WP for tax purposes, instead of 5 WP as normal or 20 WP per Military bases, and still provides the initiative bonus. 

Losing a Military Base
      While it won't eliminate a player from the game, losing a sole military base can be a crippling blow to the war effort. With a base of operations, a player;
     
      1) Cannot roll to gain resources
      2) Cannot build new units
      3) May continue to repair units if at least one Mine or Large City is occupied
      4) Can only gain resources from taxes
      5) Can improve MechWarrior piloting and gunnery numbers, but not purchase new abilities

If a player recaptures their base or occupies another, they may resume all normal activities.

Ending the Game
      The game ends when one of the following conditions are met;
      1) Less than half the starting number of players wishes to continue
      2) Only one player has units to field and no other player controls a military base to purchase more
      3) One player controls more than 50% of the nodes on the map

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

State of the Sphere: Inner Sphere in Flames

Note - Whilst this is an SotS post, it isn't one of my normal "this is where we are/recap of the previous year" like I normally throw up at the beginning of a new year. I want this post to serve as a sounding board of ideas for an Inner Sphere in Flames/5th Succession War/Wars of Reaving grand campaign, that we've been meaning to do for like a decade. And I'll be picking on a couple factions/players whilst doing so, NOT because I strongly dislike those factions/players, but because they're the people I've had the most conversations with and the factions that we've talked the most about.

Format
This is where I've struggled the most. How do we run a massive multiplayer offline strategic wargame involving so many factions and players? We have all of the current line of core rulebooks, from the mano y mano A Time of War RPG all the way up to Interstellar Operations and the Campaign Operations book. ISO and CO have great ideas for abstract systems to represent forces in play, but whilst that is great for covering huge swaths of territorial conflict, that's just AccounTech, not BattleTech. But that's what being a Khan or House Lord really is - accounting, crunching numbers on a spreadsheet, weighing losses against the investment, etc. Tracking the minutiae of factory production and knowing how much you need in taxes to pay for a new company of FNR-5 Fafnirs is super important! If, you know, you're into that kind of thing.

Most of my players are not. Now, in my "professional" life, I'm constantly working spreadsheets and tracking logistics. That's old hat for me, and if I have to do it in my gaming, I'm not terribly sad about it. But my players are here to play, to conquer planets, to crush all opposition. Alpha Strike is a nice step in the right direction for a middle ground between the abstract ISO system and standard BattleTech play, since it's not feasible to play campaigns spanning thousands of planets one lance/3 hours of gaming at a time. The older MechForce idea is pretty sound too, wherein players tally up victories for their faction played in a certain period of time, and then translate them into X planets taken by that faction, but it maybe oversimplifies what we want to do.

GameMastering
In addition to the format of how battles are fought, there are a myriad of little additional things that can balance a war between six-planet Word of Blake and 2000-planet Federated Suns. Well, those 52 Divisions, Hidden Worlds, and WarShip fleet really already do that, but I mean more along the lines of intangibles, like anti-HPG electronic warfare, ROM operations, the classic ComStar "let's just kill all of their scientists" schtick, etc. Every major and minor power has some kind of intelligence apparatus for screwing with their friends and foes. And, in addition to that, each power has internal divisions. As opposed to Divisions, like military formations.

The Federated Suns, to continue with our examples here, isn't a monolithic organization. Sure, Victor "won" the Civil War and all is love, peace, & chicken grease on New Avalon with Yvonne in charge, right? Riiiight. There's also a bridge on Tharkad I'd like to sell you... Fact is, reading stuff like "En Passant" or pretty much any Hasek-heavy book, reveals that the noble families that produce the March Lords have their own schemes brewing. I'll get into this a little bit more below, and I'll use some Jihad examples, but suffices to say that the FS isn't alone in this. Free Worlds League? Divisive as hell. Draconis Combine? Do the "Black Dragons" ring any bells? Lyran Alliance? Well, Skye, Duke of Tamar, Democracy NOW!, I could go on all day with Lyran divisions.

With all of this, any massive campaign almost begs for a neutral, "has zero love for any faction" GameMaster to handle internal strife, external operations, and monthly/quarterly/yearly "time bombs" that hit factions. Except, well, that person a) has to have an encyclopedic BattleTech knowledge without any attachment and b) has to have the time to set everything up.

Clearly, I have the knowledge, but I am, unfortunately, biased as heck. I would love to use a lot of the canon happenings from '67 - '85 in the campaign, pursuant to what players are actually doing in between the turns/where their movements differ from canon, and hit all factions fairly hard, but at the same time, I want to play my Wolf Galaxies. Having the Word of Blake player, as one of the core kickers of the 5th SW be the GM would work great, but would require a lot more study and time investment on their part, and would take a bit of their enjoyment of BattleTech away.

The compromise there, and one Sean and I have talked about at length, is having a GM group of three or four people that can work on "storyline progression" as well as to coordinate, and approve or veto in-universe happenings.

Ie, places where a sourcebook is fuzzy or an operation needs to be carried out in secret - my Draconis Combine is going to launch a DEST operation against Jesse's Ghost Bears before a planned assault by my allied Nova Cats. Maybe we're going to sabotage a factory or assassinate a unit commander to cause a disruption to aid the assault. So, everyone in the committee is aware of what is going to happen, except for Jesse, and any rolls associated with this will be done in front of the committee so if it fails but the plot isn't uncovered, Jesse is none the wiser other than -something- happened. That works great for all the little in-fighting and back biting and internal strife. Continuing that, my Draconis Combine may or may not suffer a Black Dragon uprising on Dieron. So, without me around, one of the committee members rolls to see what happens. Of course, this requires that we build some catch-all random occurrence tables, but that is totally do-able. And every committee member would need a solid knowledge base to start from, requiring a little bit of study.

Metagaming
Is impossible to not do. One of the benefits to a vibrant universe is that so much of the backstory is filled in for you and you're not spinning much out of whole cloth to play. However, the downside to that, is if you're playing in a previous time to the most current (3068 vs 3150), you have "future knowledge" of many things, such as me knowing where all of the Word of Blake Hidden Worlds are, that is tempting to use in-game.

To go back to the Federated Suns - one of Sean's first orders of business is to create an "Outback March" and funnel resources that direction to bring the Suns' least cared for worlds up to snuff. This will help prevent the breakaway of Filtvelt and Malgrotta, which happens during the Jihad. So that is metagaming. But, it's also super logical - why would you not create the March and work towards making sure your people can at least read? Also, there's the mystery of Panpour (consensus is that they are either trying to rebuild a Texas-class WarShip, or build a new one from scratch, TPTB killed the plot thread before it went anywhere) and the whole issue with the black boxes, that have basically been written out of universe, or strongly de-emphasized over the years. Black boxes, though, only really aid military commands since they can't transmit much data in one shot, and don't lend too strong of an advantage to the FS (or the DC and LA, who also have some). Neither does the creation of a new March, really, but that one comes with some consequences - in "En Passant," noted above, the Sandoval family is not the strongest supporters of Victor, and by extension, the seat of government on New Avalon, even if Tancred is married to Yvonne. And the Haseks are the Haseks. So, as he and I have discussed, making a new March is a great idea, but at the same time, it also puts an upstart in the March Lord position alongside families that have supported the FS for centuries in the Sandovals and Haseks, inevitably leading to intrigue. And that's awesome. Because, at it's core, BattleTech is all about hitting the table top with your 'Mechs and doing a frighten, but the BattleTech UNIVERSE is a living, breathing, dynamic thing, populated by so much gray, you'd think colorblindness is a rampant trait. Any campaign that isn't just AccounTech needs to take that into consideration. We are all the "good guys" from our point of view, even the Word of Blake or the Clans.

Speaking of the Clans, there's another metagaming situation afoot. Operation: Ice Storm is the invasion of the Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf occupation zones by the Ice Hellions and the Hells Horses respectively. Except, that'll be changing to the Cloud Cobras and the Blood Spirits. The former because they're tired of being in the Star Adder's shadow and the latter because it's their only long-term hope for survival. That's less metagaming (knowing the outcome of the Wars of Reaving) and more because I have an Iota Galaxy Blood Spirit cluster that I'd always planned on bringing to the Inner Sphere. The bigger metagaming, though, is that for it to logically work, a couple of things need to be moved up on the time table, and I'm loathe to "rewrite" history. But it only takes a tweak or two and suddenly, you can have a new invasion kick off as the Wars of Reaving hit full swing. Of course, me, as a Wolf player, knowing what is coming, could quickly send Galaxies worth of troops to the Periphery side of the Occupation Zone to stop that from even happening, but I'm actively looking forward to a mini-WoR campaign for the Spirits and Cobras to establish a foothold, with my weak-ass Omegas back there.

3068?
Given that 1 April '68 is about five months after the Whitting Conference where the Star League is desolved, and about 10 months after Field Manual: Updates, it might seem a weird starting point. However, one of the biggest hurdles to a 5th Succession War is, well, a lack of a war. So, we start in June '67. Star League meeting comes up, everyone stays in and votes for a new First Lord and then... PeaceTech? That may be the only outcome worse than AccounTech. Having the Word occupying New Avalon (whether they stay or not...), Tharkad blockaded, the Free Worlds League and Lyran Alliance going at it, the Capellans and Feddies going at it, Luthien dealing with a three-way battle, the Clans dealing with the Homeworld stuff, it all forces players to actually play.

Players can forge their alliances, break their vows, set up coordinated strikes, or lone wolf it all they want still. Using a base chart to show "alignment," ie "we are hostile to A, neutral-hostile to B, allied to C, and neutral to D" gives a starting point. Where everyone goes beyond that is up to them. Something I would like to see (not making this official, just throwing it out there) is that Arthur Steiner-Davion, the not-dead S-D who is now known as the Master's Protege (but not, thank the Gods, Devlin Stone, Ben and Herb confirmed), be returned to the FedSuns by the Word of Blake, after they pull their forces off of New Avalon, and in exchange, he brokers a temporary cease fire with the FedSuns wherein the worlds from Acamar/Genoa inward (worlds the Word takes eventually anyway), be given to the expansion of the Blakist Protectorate, freeing FedSuns troops to push against the CapCon, or defend themselves better against a renewed Drac invasion. I'd also suggest the death of several current leaders (Teddy Kurita, Yvonne and Peter S-D, that guy from Rasalhague) during the period after the Conference, to replace them with "more suitable" candidates (Hohiro Kurita, Jackson Davion, Adam Steiner, so on) as a further universe shake up. THAT IS ALSO NOT OFFICIAL DON'T BE UPSET YVONNE FANS.

Plus, planetary campaigns - I'm still down to run a Total Chaos style fight over Tikonov between the Feds and Caps, to give one or the other ownership as we go into the April 3068 start, akin to the Total Chaos campaign I ran for the Word of Blake to conquer Outreach (which went way better for the Word than it did in canon), giving them an extra manufacturing planet and strengthening their position in the Chaos March.

Factions
Something I've said forever, but will reiterate, is that I want people to play the factions they want to play, so long as we cover all our main bases. There's no reason we can't have multiple people rocking Lyran or Feddie or Drac, so long as we don't have half the universe with no players. And people are welcome to play more than one faction as long as they aren't bordering one another, or that they are willing to pick one or the other (if playing two) if a new player would like to head one up. THAT ONLY RELATES TO A MASSIVE CAMPAIGN THOUGH. To throw that out there more - pick up games, we can all play different units of the same faction, that's fine. Just based on what we have for assembled forces right now, here is where we're sitting with players and units (* = hard dead set on using, either because it's one of my mains, or because the force belongs to that player);

IS
Capellan Confederation - Three Kingdoms Lancers (Jesse)
ComStar - None (None)
Draconis Combine - Otomo, 1st Genyosha (Fen)
Federated Suns - 1st Davion Rangers* (Sean)
Free Rasalhague Republic - None (None)
Free Worlds League - 19th Marik Militia (Tiffy)
Lyran Alliance - 4th Skye Rangers* (Mitch)
Mercenary - 26th Royal Tyran (Jer), Kuroi Kaze* (Fen), Khaos Chevaliers (None), Song's Sentinels (None)
Word of Blake - 53rd Shadow Division* (Fen), 54th Shadow Division (Rachel)

Clans
Blood Spirit - Iota/Zeta Galaxy (None)
Cloud Cobra -  Pharaoh Keshik (None)
Diamond Shark - None (None)
Ghost Bear - 1st Bear Regulars, Tau Galaxy (Jesse)
Jade Falcon - Generic Camo, Turkina Keshik (Sean)
Nova Cat - Nekoryu Cluster (None)
Wolf - Golden Keshik*, Alpha Galaxy*, Beta Galaxy, Delta Galaxy, Omega Galaxy* (*Fen)

Periphery
Marian Hegemony - I Legio Martia Victrix (None)

WIP
Clan Diamond Beta Galaxy
Free Worlds League 1st Covenant Guard


Now, I don't expect to fill every slot, and we have players that haven't really decided where they want to go yet, but if we're all running one or two (I would give up Draconis Combine and run Marian Hegemony/Clan Wolf, for instance, using my Kuroi Kaze as a full on merc force where other players need me to be, as example), we can cover a lot of interstellar ground. Plus, I start a new unit at least once a year, if I'm not expanding current ones (I only have a 5-'Mech star for the Diamond Sharks right now), giving us even more options as we go. On the Draconis Combine front - if two people wanted to play Drac, one could go 1st Genyosha and one can go Otomo, and then use the 8th Arkab Legion or the Nova Cats Nekoryu Cluster (both are works in progress) to round out their forces as needed, or as a supplement or whatever, depending on the system we use.

Non-Canon Forces
And that is really the best part of the above - all of our mercenary forces are non-canon, giving them supreme flexibility. Sean's FedSuns unit is (per our conversations) the core of a new brigade. The Three Kingdoms Lancers don't exist in the canon CapCon. So, we can use FM:U to nail down where canon regiments are located, but our custom stuff we can place anywhere to really drive home some drama. Since I mentioned Tikonov, the Three Kingdoms Lancers could be there to aid in the Warrior House defense, where Sean's FSU is in the vanguard of the Suns' campaign to retake the world. The 19th Marik Militia can choose to have close ties with the 53rd Shadow Division, where the 26 RTM and Jer can decide to either back Tiffy's faction, or side with Mitch against her, or even pledge service to the Draconis Combine and run that power.

What that means in play is that for every non-canon unit, a world of deployment will need to be picked after a faction is decided on (if applicable) and this can plug some serious canon holes in the old defenses.




BOOM. Campaign map added. NOW, an actual 3067 map will also need to be used to track which worlds are specifically in each region BUT here's how this will break down however we do the things;

Target power has less than 10 regions = 4 victories to secure
Target power has 11-15 regions = 3 victories to secure
Target power has 16-25 regions = 2 victories to secure
Target power has 26+ regions = 1 victory to secure.

This means the powers that divide their sections the most also have fewer forces in each section versus other powers. IE, there are fewer total units in one of the Capellan Confederation's 30 subdivisions than there are in one of Clan Wolf's 5.