357th Infernal Division: November 2017

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

357th Infernal Division

ISP

Monday, November 27, 2017

1st Davion Rangers RCT

Friday, November 17, 2017

Operation: Nachtfalke Redux