ScrapYard Armory

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

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

1st Davion Guards

Assault Lance

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

Command Lance

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

Support Lance

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

3rd Robinson Rangers

Command Lance

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

Fire Lance

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

Heavy Lance

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

Recon Lance

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

Strike Lance

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

Support Lance

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

Objectives

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

Turns 1 and 2 – Robinson Rangers win Initiative

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

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

Turn 3 – Davion Guards win Initiative

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

Turn 4 – Robinson Rangers win Initiative

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

Turn 5 – Robinson Rangers win Initiative

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

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

Turn 6 – Davion Guards win Initiative

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

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

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

Turn 7 – Robinson Rangers win Initiative

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

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

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

Turn 8 – Davion Guards win Initiative

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

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

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

Turn 9 – Davion Guards win Initiative

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

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

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

Thoughts on the Game

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

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

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

Every once in a while you just have to brag.

Today is my day.

Everything you see; final price: $97.20

Local gaming store was having a sale and right or not, all of their BattleTech miniatures ended up in the $1 bin.  So I had to buy them.  All of them.

What can I say?  I’m happy while my significant other is mildly annoyed.  I have a lot of painting to do.  Time to get busy!

This lance of Locusts in Black Widow company colors was a commission piece for a fan of the site.  While I am satisfied with the end result, it took me too much time to come through to the end.  I don’t think I will be able to take future commissions until I am more confident in my ability to find the time required to finish a project in a reasonable timeframe.

That said, here is a quick brief on how I got from bare metal to the painted lance you see above.

Construction

These things are tiny!  Lining up the legs was a beast of a task.  I took extra care and spent a few evenings making sure they would be dead on so the upper body of the ‘Mech ended up level.  Nobody likes an oddly leaning miniature.

One of the Locusts I modified to show a more drastic bend in the leg.  I’m not the best modder out there but after a few layers of paint, I am satisfied with the result.  Not ecstatic.  But it will do.  It helps to break up the monotony of the lance.  Variety is the spice of life, on the tabletop and otherwise.

Black Base Color

The Black base was a simple base color and a series of dry brushing steps.  Not much to comment on.  This was the easy part of the paint job.

Black	Cold Grey	Stonewall Grey

Red Highlights

When I first laid paint down on the highlight portions, I used a simple base color and a panel line to accent.  After a day or two to look it over I was very dissatisfied with the result.  The panel line was far too harsh.  I ended up laying down several glazes to smooth the transition.  The difference between high and low is less noticeable but for the small accents they are, I am pleased with the result.  I went just a bit outside my comfort zone for this one.  If I had chosen a more drastic peak-to-mean color palette to start with, the fade would have been fantastic.  At least I think so.  Can’t wait for the next opportunity to try it out.

Gory Red	Scar Red	Bloody Red

Cockpit

I’m very comfortable with a blue jewel for cockpits these days.  The small surface on the side cockpits were a bit of a bear to get into.  Those area have a less gradual fade to them, but the focus is usually going to be on the front facing cockpit panel anyways.

Stormy Blue	Magic Blue	Electric Blue

Details

Details for this lance were limited to gunmetal on the laser ports and decals from Fighting Pirannha Graphics.

Base

The base was made using my standard basing mix and several drybrushing steps.  The extra rock under the modified Locust came from a simple cork.  The drybrushing I gave the underlying terrain came out slightly different when applied to the cork, which worked out well.

Beasty Brown	Filthy Brown	Dead White

Dieron takes us back to the Draconis Combine and also back to Ben Rome, the originator of the Jihad Turning Points series.  How does Mr. Rome handle the return to the Combine sandbox and how does it stack up with the first of the series?  Has the Jihad Turning Points aged well or gone sour?  Read on to find out!

The New Dieron

New Dieron opens up this edition of the Jihad Turning Point series with an action packed fire fight between elite forces from both House Kurita and the Word of Blake.  In a delicate chess match each vies to outplay their opponent.  An entertaining piece of writing from beginning to end and it sets the stage for what is to come.

Something just isn’t right though.  The way the story pans out leaves me wondering.  I expect that the peculiarities I see are evident of my general lack of knowledge of the significance of Dieron in the Jihad.  Hopefully the rest of the PDF will help illuminate the matter.

Some Special Thanks

An interesting note from Ben Rome’s special thanks.

Many thanks to the hundreds of fans who participated in the Origins and GenCon Dieron canon event in 2009, where a few key results from the reclaiming of Dieron in 3077 were determined. (You may even recognize a couple of the events herein.)

It’s great to see fan participation end up in the pages of canon fiction.  Fans of the game can still have an impact on the game even if that impact is a handful of die rolls among the many thousand it must have taken to compile the results of the Origins and GenCon games.

Atlas

The Atlas section gives a thorough account of the geographical features of the planet sprinkled with nuggets of information on the Blakist invasion and eventual liberation.  Equal parts history lesson and geography, we have a neat description of the planet to accompany the full sized planetary map we now expect from the Jihad series.  Par for the course, but the real reason I buy these PDFs is yet to come.

Combatants

Blakists, Ghost Bears and Kurita, Oh My!  My first impression was that the force abilities were rather safe.  A bit too heavy in the use of off-map movement and initiative bonuses.  Rather vanilla.  But things got better as the pages turned.  By the end I have to say I enjoyed the section and the variety of force abilities.

The notes section is full of the kind of information that I love reading as it helps to put the pieces together.  That full picture gives a very nice account of the events that occurred on Dieron during the occupation.

Best force ability goes to the 23rd Division.  When special “arsonist” squads are deployed in a track, you are bound to find yourself in some fun and interesting situations.  Still, anyone using them during a game is going to have a bear of a time following up on all of the fire and smoke rolls.  But if you don’t like rolling dice, maybe BattleTech is not the right game for you to begin with.

Tracks

We have hit the motherload.  Dieron brings us nine tracks, the most ever for the Turning Points series.

The Tracks in Dieron have a slight change.  The Situation section of each track is written as fiction instead of the factual, “who what where” style of Turning Points prior.  I read each introduction and gave it a day to marinate.  After letting it all soak in, I can say that they have grown on me.  The bulk of each track has all the facts anyways, so the extra fiction is a added blessing.  Kudos to Mr. Rome for trying something new.

Dieron provides excellent tracks with a lot to offer.  At times the objectives seem a little on the safe side.  That combined with the liberal use of Tactical Operations add-ins leads to a potential mundane set of wartracks.  The saving grace is the character within the special rules and optional bonuses.

From Banzai Courage, Air Strikes, to unique terrain requirements, the collection of Dieron tracks as a whole brings a healthy dose of creativity to the Turning Points series.  The quality of the Dieron tracks is on par for the series but does not hold a candle to either Sian or Galtor.

Record Sheets

We only get two new unique variants in this Turning Points.  For more tracks, it’s a trade I’d make any day.

Both designs are Clan chassis.  The Dasher is a bit predictable.  Run fast, hit hard and don’t get caught.  The Kodiak is a bit more interesting due to mixed technology.  It’s a frightening standard engine beast with a C3 Master and Inner Sphere weapons.

All The Rest

Dieron finishes up with the expertly crafted planetary assault map.  We are still waiting for Interstellar Operations to give us updated rules to use them but they are a welcome and expected addition at the end of each Turning Point PDF.

What a week.

I’ve written and deleted this post about a dozen times now.  I’m at a loss for exactly what to say.

From Adam Jury via the CBT.com forums;

The details of my business relationship at Catalyst is irrelevant to the general public, but the fact that it no longer exists isn’t. I absolutely love the games I worked on, and I think that we accomplished great things in a short time, including my graphics work [with David Stansel and Matt Heerdt] on BattleTech, such as the the Box Set, Total Warfare, TechManual, and Tactical Operations. The entire crew — from writing to art to development to the camospecs crew and everyone else — put much blood, sweat, and tears into that series of books, and all I hope for now is that everyone continues to enjoy them for what they are.

Catalyst Game Labs is moving on from this.  There has been a very healthy flow of PDF products and Randall has posted up pictures of a brand new print product, HexPacks: Lakes and Rivers.  Maps have so far been the missing link with Catalyst.  Maps for the game have only been available as FanPro branded releases.  Maps will soon be back.  The product lineup from source books, fiction, miniatures and maps will be in place and available for new comers to get in the cockpit and fire their first PPC.

From Randalls blog post;

I believe in Catalyst, I believe in the team we have, I believe we’ll over come what’s occurred and come out of this down the road stronger than ever. Most importantly I believe in the strength of BattleTech and the community, and that’s a rock I’m using personally to help move forward.

Time to move on.  This blog will follow suit.  I have a review for JTP: Dieron, two battle reports from Cold Wars 2010, and enough draft posts to feed this blog for the next two years.

One last quote from the CBT.com forums, courtesy of Razziberry;

BattleTech is what cockroaches will be playing after humans die-off.

Hell yes.  Lock and load.

Official Statement from Catalyst

http://catalystgamelabs.com/2010/03/17/catalyst-game-labs-press-release/

Adam Jury Has Left CGL

From JMH

The best way Dumpshockers can help out is to slow down, take a deep breath, and not let rumors get out of control. I have heard the rumors, I know there are problems, but I have also talked to the entire management team at CGL and have not heard plans to shut anything down. There are matters that definitely need to be addressed–specifically, the future of CGL as an organization and the outstanding, long-past-due payments to freelancers. I’ve asked management to address those issues, and they will be meeting tomorrow to discuss their best options.

So in the meantime I’d ask everyone to calm down and not spread rumors. I’m very sad that CGL has recently lost some very good people, but I remain hopeful that we will continue producing great Shadowrun products for you, and that the people who worked on those products will be paid what they are owed.

I’m happy to answer questions in this thread or through PM, but I again ask people to keep speculation on this thread to a minimum.

Jason H.
Shadowrun Line Developer

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

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

Last Stand of the Davion Guards

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

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

Red versus Blue

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

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

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

Clash on Labrea

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

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

The End of Necromo

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

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

Grand Melee

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

Sigh.

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

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

All the Rest

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

Wow, this is a story I wish I had done.  Purple Pawn takes an in depth look at Iron Wind Metals with pictures of their base of operations.

A must read for any BattleTech fan!

IWM creates the figures to match new technologies, arms, humans, and vehicles as defined, described, and illustrated by Catalyst Game Labs. In the past, such as when IWM was working alongside FanPro LLC, IWM would have to figure out what was new by looking at the new product catalogs put out by FanPro LLC. Nowadays, CGL gives IWM a heads up over what’s new before their new products hit the public.

Original Article

This battle was played during Dreamation 2010 in Mt Morris NJ.  Thanks go to Anthony “ShadHawk” Hardenburgh for the great mission, map and minis!

Clan Hells Horses

• Fenris
• Dasher
• Koshi
• 2 Epona Pursuit Vehicles
• 2 Hephaestus Scout Tanks
• 5 Points of Elementals

Clan Nova Cats

• ShadowCat
• ShadowCat
• Dragonfly
• Uller
• Puma
• 5 Points of Elementals

Mission Objectives:

• Recon the main buildings in the city – Recon units include elementals and any unit with active probes
• Escape the city with the data to fight another day

Turn 1 – Nova Cats Win Initiative

Both forces move towards their objectives.  Very few shots are within range and none of those have line of sight.

Turn 2 – Hells Horses Win Initiative

Each force moves up carefully and begin dropping elementals next to objectives.  Again there are no shots but this time it is due to no line of sight and not necessarily range that is the culprit.

Hells Horses leave the Fenris behind to scan a building, sacrificing position for an early objective advantage.

Turn 3 – Nova Cats Win Initiative

The first objectives are finished scanning this turn and movement forward continues.  Positioning is becoming crucial as more weapons begin to get in range, however all weapons miss their targets.

Turn 4 – Hells Horses Win Initiative

Combat is inevitable.  One of the Nova Cat ShadowCats activates MASC only to have it fail causing critical damage to a hip and a leg actuator on the other leg.  The other ShadowCat moves to support causing the Hells Horses to duck behind cover to avoid engaging.

On the other side of the battle, the Hells Horses push to attack the Nova Cat Uller using the buildings to cover their vehicles.  The Fenris is bringing up the flank and positions for a long range shot.

Weapons fire goes disastrously for the Nova Cats.  The only bright spot was a solid Gauss Rifle hit to the center torso of the Hells Horses Koshi.

The Hells Horses weapons hit often, including a long range ERPPC from the Fenris.  The Dragonfly receives several critical hits to it’s right arm, destroying a SRM4.  The Uller has it’s right torso ripped off, which takes out the offending Gauss Rifle in its right arm.

Turn 5 – Nova Cats Win Initiative

The Nova Cats continue to press and manage to line up a rear shot on the Fenris.  The Hells Horses Dasher backs up the Fenris forming a small conga line.  The Hells Horses vehicles move quickly to attack targets of opportunity.

All the while, elementals from both Clans are fighting in one of the objective buildings.

The Nova Cat Uller and the Horses Koshi mutually kill each other.  The Puma who is slowly getting into the action is hit from behind by an Epona.  The Horses vehicles continue to defy the odds and are kept safe by continuing to move fast.

In the conga line, damage is done to each member except the Dasher.  The Dasher, however, causes the only critical hit destroying an arm actuator in the DragonFly.

The wounded ShadowCat loses it’s balance and falls after sustaining heavy damage, slowing the ‘Mech down even more.

Turn 6 – Hells Horses Win Initiative

The Nova Cat Puma makes a bold move and rushes to an objective building and drops an elemental squad.  The Horses are quick to pounce and line up four units with rear shots.  While the wounded ShadowCat is harassed by elementals the other makes a run to help the out maneuvered Puma and manages to gain line of sight to the Fenris’ rear arc.

The Dasher and DragonFly both seek cover, each not willing to risk damage without a significant advantage.  They scatter to very safe locations away from the main fray.

The ShadowCat with the broken MASC is blistered by elemental SRMs and can’t return fire successfully.  The other ShadowCat has better luck and rips through the Fenris’ armor on the left torso and cuts deep into the internal structure. The Puma takes too much damage from too many units and has a leg ripped out from under him.  One of the Hephaestus Scout Tanks runs low on luck and takes massive motive damage rendering it immobile.

In the objective building under contention, the Nova Cats take a decisive advantage on damage dealt.

Turn 7 – Hells Horses Win Initiative

With the initiative advantage, the Horses begin to back away from the downed Puma putting distance between them and the approaching ShadowCat that damaged the Fenris last turn.  The Nova Cat DragonFly and ShadowCat sandwich a Horses elemental.  The Dasher takes advantage of the wide open DragonFly and lines up a rear shot.

The Horses move another point of elementals to replace forces lost in the contested building.

Elementals continue to kill each other with lasers and machine guns.  The other Hephaestus Scout Tank takes motive damage but not rendering it too slow to escape.  The Dasher makes the most of his position and cores the Nova Cat DragonFly.

At this point, the Nova Cats see the writing on the wall and begin to withdraw from the battle to lick their wounds.  Hells Horses hold a 5 to 3 objective advantage and have destroyed or crippled 3 ‘Mechs while suffering only one ‘Mech destroyed and an immobile hover tank.