Starterbook: POW Breakout Track
After playing a few tracks in the Wolf and Blake Starterbook my friend and I have encountered an unusual situation. We have made our campaign a brutal sort. Our pilots can die during tracks, and in the event that we do not control the battlefield at the end of the track, we have to make a search and rescue roll to get our pilots back.
So what happens when the search and rescue crew come back empty handed? The missing pilots are instead recovered by the enemy and kept as POWs. After a bit of thinking blog poster Saxywolf and I came up with an extra track that can be added to either Starterbook campaign to provide a way to rescue those missing pilots. Saxywolf gets the lions share of the credit for this post.
Some of the top Mechwarriors are far too valuable to just leave behind.
Obviously this track is not for everyone. Your campaign may be much more lenient when it comes to pilot recovery. That is one of the great things about Battletech. You can make your games as hard or as easy as you like.
MISSION: POW Breakout
Leave no man behind!
GAME SETUP
The Defender places two mapsheets in any legal position. Place 2 + 1D6 medium buildings of Level 1 height anywhere on the battlefield. The Defender nominates one building to contain the captured Mechwarrior. Write the hex number down and keep it secret until the building is scanned.
Attacker
The Attacker is a portion of the player’s force. The Attacker may choose up to four units and may do so after the Defender has chosen their units. The Attacker may choose which map edge to enter from on turn 1. This map edge is then the Attacker’s home edge.
Defender
The Defender should be the same type of force that captured the Attacker’s Mechwarrior. Roll on the chart below to determine the Defender’s force composition. The Defenders must set-up first anywhere on the battlefield. The Defender’s home edge is opposite the Attacker’s home edge. Use the table below to determine the Defender’s force.
| 1D6 | Force Composition |
| 1 | 2 Light, 2 Medium, 1 Heavy |
| 2 | 1 Light, 2 Medium, 2 Heavy |
| 3 | 3 Medium, 1 Heavy |
| 4 | 2 Medium, 2 Heavy |
| 5 | 1 Light, 1 Medium, 1 Heavy, 1 Assault |
| 6 | 2 Heavy, 2 Assault |
WARCHEST
Track Cost: 300 WP, At least one Mechwarrior must be captured in order to play this track.
Optional Bonuses
+150 Prepared Defenders: The Defender gets +1 to their initiative roll for the first 6 turns. One defending unit may begin hidden (TW p.259) anywhere on the battlefield outside 8 hexes of the Attacker’s home edge.
+150 Light Fog: +1MP to enter each hex if running or walking. +2MP to enter the last hex if jumping.
OBJECTIVES
Leave No Man Behind: Locate your captured Mechwarrior by scanning buildings (see special rules below). (Reward: 200)
Bloody Their Noses: Cripple or destroy at least 50% of the Defending force. (Reward: 150)
Reinforcements: Remove one unit from the Defending force. That unit enters the game on turn 5 as reinforcements from the Defender’s home edge. (Reward: -150)
SPECIAL RULES
Salvage
Salvage is not available for this track.
Forced Withdrawal
All forces operate under forced withdrawal rules this track.
Scanning Buildings
Scanning buildings is accomplished by having a unit with an operating probe within four hexes. A unit without a probe must spend two consecutive turns within four hexes in order to scan. Scanning is done in lieu of weapons fire. Multiple buildings may be scanned at the same time.
NEXT TRACKS
Follow the next track listing from the mission you completed just prior to taking POW Breakout.
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big thanks for this – til now me and my group used to treat captured pilots as “miss a match” situations!
Let me know how it works out for you. There is the potential for a real ass kicking during this track, especially since you can’t get salvage from it. But then, what’s a good pilot worth to you?
Our pilots are forced to heal for a track after they get above 2 wounds.
The Warchest system is a great way for players to make a campaign their own.