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Opening Fiction

By far, Wild Things is the very best fiction so far out of the Jihad Turning Points books. The story telling is superb.  I really felt the primal desperation of the resistance fighters on the frozen tundras of Tharkad.

Tharkad

The planetary map and terrain tables follow the JTP formula and are just as you would expect from a planet half frozen and half blasted to oblivion.

Combatants

Continuing on the opening salvos of Tharkad’s liberation, the combatants section offers bites of information that tell the bigger story.

From my reading, there are not a whole lot of shockers.  Not like the over the top antics we saw in New Avalon.  In a way, I think that the end product is more realistic and a bit easier to swallow.

Additional flavor is provided by the Clans, both the Wolves and the Falcons oddly.  Whenever you get these two factions on the same world, fighting for the same goal, you are bound to get some interesting angst.  Too bad the combatants section is ill-sized to tell the full story.  Suffice it to say, there are plenty of role playing opportunities introduced for game masters who have the initiative.

Tracks

The Tharkad tracks continue the downward slide of creativity in optional bonuses and victory conditions. I doubt that the writers spend much time playing in these tracks themselves. Unfortunately a lot of the tracks being presented from New Avalon and on look virtually the same. While there is value to game masters and role players to have the proper unit lists, terrain, and back story, the simple war gamers among us will be disappointed.

The majority of victory conditions in Tharkad involve destroying the opposition.  It stinks of laziness.  I’m sorry to say, but no matter the objective, I’m going to try to kill my opponent regardless.  So please, add a little flavor into the objectives.  Add meaningful optional bonuses that make me think.   Need some hints?  There are plenty hidden in the rough at the community created Warchest track thread.

Good news of sorts is the return to six tracks per book.  I was a little worried when New Avalon only contained five.  The more Warchest tracks the better providing fodder for the imagination of Battletech gamers.

Record Sheets

Two proper Lyran ‘Mechs grace the Tharkad Turning Points book.   Neither under 75 tons.  The first is a Word of Blake modified Fire Falcon sporting a Heavy Gauss and some extra energy weapons to boot.  It’s a curious design that also includes C3i.  Certainly a salvage special.

The next ride is a Fafnir from Peter Steiner-Davion himself.  C3 slave and ECM provide a curious electronics package.  While the ECM is an excellent fit against the WoB the C3 slave is suspect.  But thats nothing compared to what comes next.  Hold on to your potatoes.

Fafnir Peter has a single Heavy Gauss with some lasers sprinkled in.  But then, the balance is filled with a boatload of Rocket Launchers.  Ten ten packs.  My goodness.  This is what the Lyrans equip their Archon in the face of invading religious fanatics?  They deserve the five year occupation and the whole sale nuking of their planet.

Tharkad is loaded with Warships.  Six in total including the Essex, Fox, McKenna, Mjolnir, Sovetskii Soyuz , and a Tharkad.   The warship record sheets are honestly almost worth the price of admission into the Jihad.  At the very least they are a pleasant bonus that hopefully entices some of the ground pounders out into the depths of space.

Planetary Maps

The planetary maps of Tharkad round out this PDF. We are still waiting for planetary assault rules so these will be on my back burner until Interstellar Operations comes out.

Overall Tharkad contains some of the best fiction and the most immersive storyline of the series.  I found the Warchest tracks relatively unimaginative but it follows the formula for what you would expect.  Beaucoup warships makes for a happy aerospace player.  And by the way you really should try some warship battles.

If you like the other Jihad Turning Points than there is no reason not to add this volume to your collection for only $5.  If you are looking to get into the series I’d recommend you check out Luthien first to see if the style and content is up to snuff.

This Event was played at Cold Wars 2009 and run by Commando ‘Speck’.  The Lone Star  Battalion faces off against Redfield’s Renegades after a tragic error sends both Mercenaries into a rage.

Details are available in the full Lawyers, Guns, and Money scenario pack available as a free download, as are other Game Scenarios at ClassicBattletech.com.

All forces are 3025 variants.

Redfield’s Renegades

• Cyclops (Piloting 3, Gunnery 3)
• Zeus (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• Grasshopper (Piloting 2, Gunnery 3)
• Hunchback (Piloting 4, Gunnery 2) *Sensor Hit
• Catapult (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• Whitworth (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4)
• Trebuchet (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• Dervish (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)

Lone Star Company

• Atlas (Piloting 3, Gunnery 3)
• Awesome (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• Banshee (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• Dragon (Piloting 2, Gunnery 3)
• Assassin (Piloting 3, Gunnery 3) * AC20 hit to CT
• Enforcer (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)
• Clint (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4)
• Jenner (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3)

Turn 1

The Assassin and Hunchback begin the game in the center of the map.  The Assassin, vastly outmatched makes a run for safety.  The Hunchback seizes the initiative and gives chase hoping for one last shot before being forced to pull back.  The shot goes wide gouging the dirt beside the fragile light ‘Mech.

Turn 2

The remaining forces for each side enter the battle and rush towards each other.  The Lone Star Dragon manages to hit with a long range pack of missiles.  At least a few missiles punch through the now retreating Hunchback’s armor but does not cause critical damage.

Turn 3

While the bulk of both forces continue to advance the Lone Star breaks off a set of light ‘Mechs, a Jenner and a Clint, around cover to threaten the Renegades flank.

The Lone Star Atlas is the only ‘Mech to land a shot this turn, an LRM20 on the Hunchback who continues to move backwards towards the main force of Renegades.  Again the center torso armor is unexpectedly breached but again no critical hits occur.

Turn 4

The Renegades stay tight together as they slow to a walk, firing off several volleys of Long Range Missiles at the approaching Lone Star ‘Mechs.  The Grasshopper and Catapult combine fire on the Lone Star Enforcer and hit with everything.  Almost all of the missiles hit the legs, slagging most of the armor away.

The Lone Star ‘Mechs have less luck at long range and only land an AC10 and LRM10 at the Dervish and Catapult respectively.

Turn 5

The Lone Star Battalion takes the hill to the right of the battle while their light ‘Mechs complete their flanking run and bear down on the tightly packed Renegades.  The Renegades continue a slow march forward as their weapons begin to cycle into better range brackets.

The Renegades concentrate all fire on the Lone Star Banshee.  A stray AC5 shell hits the cockpit while the Catapult and Trebuchet combine to rain down four LRM15 racks mostly into the Banshee’s center torso.  The Banshee lists under the wave of weapons fire and falls.

The Lone Star Battalion returns fire but fails to do significant damage.

Turn 6

The Renegades begin to fall back keeping the enemy at optimum range for long range missiles.  The Lone Star ‘Mechs continue their advance slowly closing the gap with the exception of the Awesome which stays put behind partial cover to line up shots.  The Heavies and Assaults finally round the hill and bear down on the Renegades.

The Awesome crushes into the Cyclops with two PPCs.  The other Lone Star ‘Mechs follow suit but the damage is spread evenly around the lightly armored Assault ‘Mech.  Return fire from the Renegades is spread out across multiple targets failing to deal significant damage.

Turn 7

The Lone Star Atlas, Banshee and Dragon rush towards the Renegade position.  The Renegades send the Grasshopper and Cyclops to meet them in a melee fray.  The Lone Star light ‘Mechs continuing their wide flanking runs are now getting to within medium range weapons range.

The firing phase is furious.  The Renegade missile salvos scatter damage across the Atlas.  The Cyclops begins taking critical damage as the last shreds of armor melt away exposing internal structure.  The Lone Star Banshee takes a through armor gyro hit and falls.

During physical combat the Renegade Cyclops and Grasshopper kick both of the Dragon’s legs.  The Dragon returns the favor to the Cyclops but strikes the only fresh armor remaining on the ‘Mech.

Turn 8

The Renegades walk backwards again, trying to keep the Lone Star Heavy and Assault ‘Mechs at optimum range for their missiles.  The Lone Star light ‘Mechs finally engage at close range.  The Banshee is unable to stand but avoids pilot damage.

The Atlas opens up weapons fire with an AC20 round to the Cyclop’s leg cutting deep into the internal structure.  Continued fire from other Lone Star units shred what was left of the leg away as well as cutting off the right arm and reducing the right torso armor to shreds.

The Jenner lines up a rear shot on the Whitworth and punches through to the torso.  The shot hits ammo bins and the ‘Mech is obliterated.

The LRM volleys from the Renegades continue to be on target.  Four more salvos of LRM 15s rain down on the Atlas slowly wasting away armor.

The Renegade Dervish spots the fast moving Assassin and hits with enough lasers and SRMs to cause a leg critical.  The Assassin fails to keep it’s feet underneath and falls onto it’s center torso destroying the previously damaged ‘Mech.

The Physical attack phase features more kicking by the bigger ‘Mechs.  The Dragon’s leg is critically hit by the persistent attention given to it by the Renegade Grasshopper.

The Results

It is at this point that hungry bellies got the better of the gamers on hand.  From the looks of the battle there was no clear winner.  Forced withdrawal had not kicked in for either side and damage was evenly spread among both forces.  The Lone Star Battalion had a long term advantage with their multitude of energy based weapons.  LRM ammo while effective for the Renegades was starting to run low.

The consensus from the players was that the event was at that point a draw but I can easily see at least a marginal victory for the Lone Star Battalion if only for their force’s longer staying power.

See the full transcript.

Lots of interesting tidbits in this chat.  Sadly, I missed the live version due to issues at work.  No worries though.  The good folks at Catalyst have once again posted a neatly put together transcript for all to read.  Here are the best facts in the bunch in case you’d prefer an executive summary.

• Classic Battletech will from now on be known only as Battletech.
• Interstellar Operation is increasingly looking more like a 2010 release.
• Next Handbooks will be Major Periphery States followed by House Liao.
• HexPacks, terrain and game aids for playing Battletech this year.  Perhaps this will include counters for buildings and such?
• The GenCon and Origins canon event will take place on Dieron.
• Business is very brisk on the retail side.  Good news for the long term viability of the game.

I’m lukewarm on the removal of the “Classic” moniker.  Even though it has been a pain to explain to returning players what the Classic meant, after all of the time invested in the re-branding of the game, there are going to be naysayers out there.

Knowing what is in the pipeline is good to hear.  An active line of communication with fans is very appreciated and I believe in the long run that it is a necessary characteristic for a successful game company.

From the chat, we may also be treated to a new book release.  Perhaps soon, so keep an eye on the main page for big news.

Cold Wars 2009 is in the books and it was a great one.  There were plenty of ‘Mechs being smashed all weekend long. I’ve got some great content lined up and am anxious to share with all of my readers.

Lawyers, Guns, and Money: The Mistake

Look for a full after action report from this fast paced and popular scenario in the near future here at the ScrapYard!  The Lone Star Company faces off against Redfields Renegades after a terrible misunderstanding pits the two Inner Sphere mercenaries against each other to avenge an apparent wrong.

Coming Soon!

Other Classic Battletech Events

Demo Agent “Speck” and company held many events throughout the weekend including the Fall of Hesperus II, The Demise of Delta Company, and Damnation: Luthien 3074.  Every event was well attended and provided the opportunity for any convention goer to take a shot at reliving Battletech history.

Sadly I could not make every event.  Other priorities like food and the occasional non-Battletech game (gasp!) take precedence.  Here are a few scattered pictures from some of those events.

The Grinder and Demo

Both the grinder and demo games were once again very popular.  I ended up playing quite a bit in the Grinder between games or whenever I had a spare hour to kill.  There was a steady stream of players at the Grinder all weekend long.  A great showing for Classic Battletech!

The demo table likewise was full of new players playing Battletech for the first time.  Nothing says convention like blowing up your first ‘Mech!

The Painting Competition

As part of the bring in painting contest, I entered my 15th Lyran Regulars Warhammer.  The competition was fierce.  There were a lot of deserving miniatures this year, far more than I saw last year.  I am pleased to say I managed to take Third Place among the Single Figure Other category.

The best in show for the event happened to be my very favorite and I just had to share the quick photo I took while it was on the judging table.  I forgot to get the artist so if anyone happens to know the painter send me an email so I can give credit for this great miniature.

Iron Wind Metals

Iron Wind brought all of the newest Battletech miniatures including several resin kits to Cold Wars.  I picked up a HPG grid resin and pewter kit and I have to say it looks great.  Look for a terrain post using the HPG later on this month.

Many Thanks to Go Around

My thanks go to Mark “Speck” Yingling and everyone who helps him out during the Con for putting on another great show.  There were plenty of games and lots of amazing moments as Lasers Missiles and Cannon shells flew all weekend long.

Also thanks to Iron Wind Metals for not only attending but helping support the Classic Battletech events by providing product vouchers.  Always a welcome treat at any convention.

The painting competition I entered on the Classic Battletech forums has finally begun the voting process.  The first round is to determine among submitters with multiple entrants which will be used in the final painting showdown.

Both my entries are represented.  I hope you have the opportunity to cast a vote.  Just looking at the double entries so far there is a lot of great competition.  I’m looking forward to seeing the full field.

Voting Link Here

Can anyone guess which ones are mine?  ScrapYard contributors and NJ residents need not apply!

As reported in an earlier post, I had planned to attend NJCon this year as I had last year and host several beginner and advanced games of Battletech.  One thing about last year that made the convention a beast to endure was the lack of air conditioning during one of the worst heat waves of the year.

Well this year the planning crew is moving the venue and the subsequently the date to Fort Dix NJ which among other things has air conditioning!

No more sweating on our record sheets!

http://www.njcon.org

I’m looking forward to hosting games all weekend so if you are in the NJ area come on over and roll some dice!

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

Totally politically incorrect but absolutely hilarious.  I had to share.

Courtesy of Fear the Boot RPG Podcast.