ScrapYard Armory

Originally played at Southern Exposure (Cherry Hill, New Jersey) in 2006.  Scenario and miniatures provided by Catalyst Demo Team Agent Jim “Ratboy” Williamson.  Visit his website at Time Warp Comics and Games or find your own local Demo Team Agent at Catalyst Demos.

This blast from the past is from a forum post I made back in the day.  Unfortunately, all of the pictures were on a different web server than the ScrapYard is on now.  Luckily I had a back-up on an old hard drive.  I had to do some searching to find it though.  I was getting worried this AAR wouldn’t see the light of day again.

Vengeance Gambit

Mechwarrior Malton sat in his ‘Mech, deftly piloting his Osiris through the broken countryside outside New Avalon.  He wished he were somewhere else.  He wished he could be on the ‘real’ front line defending his home from those Blakist scum.  What’s left of his home anyways.  A lot of things changed when the Jihad began.

His patrol was constantly running afoul of enemy signatures.  More than half of them turned out to be false.  Electronic interference was running high.  That’s too bad.  He wanted every opportunity to bring his lasers to bear on some of those bastards!

Static broke the relative silence of his cockpit as his command chimed in over an encrypted channel.

“This is HQ to any available units in Gamma Sector. Over”

Malton was quick to reply. “HQ this is attack lance zero-nine, got any Blakists we can kill?”

“I just might.  We’ve been getting so many false signatures these days it’s hard to be sure.  Anyways, there is a cluster of readings due east of your position.  Together with some intel we’ve gathered from Blakist transmissions, we think we may have a chance to intercept something important.”

“What do you mean ‘important’?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.  Your lance will have to check it out.  If you see anything down there resembling a transport, you better be damn sure it doesn’t get to the city… for all our sakes.”

“My pleasure.” Malton finished as he coaxed his 30 ton ‘Mech to a full sprint.  His lance mates followed his lead.  Any day he could kill Blakists was indeed a good day to be alive in New Avalon.

Word of Blake

• Locust
• Fire Starter
• Falcon Hawk
• Stinger
• Tracked Heavy Transports x 4
  

Federated Suns

• Osirus
• Argus
• Valkyrie
• Warrior H-8 VTOLS x 2
  

Turn 1

Both forces advance towards each other.  The WoB forces concentrate the transports to the south, hoping to shoot across the board to complete their objective.  Weapons fire is ineffective during the beginning part of the battle.

Turn 2

The Osiris gives up his rear in order to get the best shot possible on the transports.  The Locust make him pay with a rear center torso critical hit to the engine.  The Davions open fire almost exclusively on the transports while the WoB ‘Mechs pepper them with laser and missile fire.

Turn 3

The Argus and Valkyrie stand their ground and pound away at the fragile transports.  One of the lead carriers explodes from the concentrated laser fire and autocannon rounds.  The Osiris lags behind after finding his heat issues compounded by the previous engine hit.  The Valkyrie gets hit in the head with a Large Laser from the FireStarter.  The pilot is dazed but remains conscious to fight.

Turn 4

The Davions realize that the transports pack a little bite!  All eight machine guns find their target on the Argus.  The Argus returns in kind with three RAC 5 shells pummeling the transports.  The Locust kicks the Osiris from behind causing the ‘Mech to fall.  The pilot was so dazed from the fall that he barely remained conscious.

Turn 5

The second transport is laid to waste by Davion combined firepower.  The WoB forces rip into the Valkyrie, punching through its armor and inflicting no less than three critical hits inside its side torso.  Miraculously, they all miss the dangerous ammo bins inside.  A third transport is destroyed by another volley of RAC 5 shells.  The physical attacks from the opposing forces get deadly in this turn.  The Firestarter kicks the Valkyrie forcing a fall while the Argus kicks the Stingers leg clean off.

Turn 6

The Stinger props and shoots to the best of its ability.  The last transport is suffering from major motive system damage and can only crawl towards the objective point so far away.  The Argus finishes it off with one last volley of autocannon fire, crushing the WoBs last hope for delivering their cargo.

My Brother happens to make his living overseas in Japan.  Since his laptop broke a few months ago it has been difficult to get a game of Battletech in via MegaMek.  Even when we did play, MegaMek had far too many disconnect issues.

Fast forward and we are itching for a game so we are making the best of our situation and playing the whole thing over email and chat.

We selected a lance on lance battle with a 5,000 BV1 limit, Inner Sphere level 2.

My Forces

• Axman AXM-1N
• Shootist ST-8A
• Hunchback HBK-5M
• Atlas AS7-D

His Forces

• King Crab KGC-005
• Flashman FLS -9C
• Wyvern WVE 10-N
• Spider SDR-8M

The battle will take place over rolling hills.

Initial Deployment

Beware the large images.  I will be updating this map as the game progresses so check back for updates.

Turn 1 – I Win Initiative

The Atlas fires off a LRM20 volley at the King Crab but misses badly.  No other fire this turn.

Turn 2 – My Brother Wins Initiative

My Atlas follows up with another volley of missles that find their mark this time around.  The King Crab takes nine missiles across the left side of its body.

Return fire from the Wyvern misses.

Turn 3 – I Win Initiative

All fire is ineffective due to cover provided by trees and partial cover.  Lasers and missile volleys go wide for both squads.

Turn 4 – My Brother Wins Initiative

My Shootist and Hunchback land a couple medium lasers on the Spider but nothing crits.

The Spider in turn hits the Shootist with only one laser.

The Atlas gets hit with an ERPPC, LRM10, an ERLL, an a cluster of 16 LBX shots.  The damage is scattered fairly well.  No major damage concentration yet.  One ends up hitting the head but he pilot stays conscious.

The Atlas shrudges off the damage and gets ready to charge.

Turn 5 – My Brother Wins Initiative

I get the better of this round of combat.  The King Crab is singled out for fire by all of my units.  The King catches no less than two of four AC20 shells needing 9s and 10s to hit.  There are now gaping holes in his armor ripe to be critted in the following turns.

Return fire is concentrated on the Shootist and rips open two sections of armor but no criticals result.

Turn 6 – My Brother Wins Initiative

The Shootist manages to land an AC20 shot onto the King Crabs’ left arm, disintegrating it.  Additional laser fire rips apart the rest of the right torso but does not cause critical damage.

The cluster shot from the King Crab shreds more armor, but the damage is thin and evenly distributed.  By now the Shootist has two pilot hits.

The Flashman and the Atlas/Axman trade fire, shredding more armor but not opening any new holes.

The Wyvern is content to stand and hit from afar thanks to C3i.

Turn 7

The Shootist goes toe to toe with the King Crab hoping to put it down with the help of the Hunchback.  The Atlas and the Axman team up on the Flashman ignoring the pesky Wyvern and Spider.

The plan did not work well.  A AC20 round managed to crit the King Crab’s ammo but with CASE protecting it, it withstood the damage.  It made it’s pilot rolls and conscious rolls.  The return fire cored several holes in the Shootist but missed vital criticals.  The kick however, sheared off the Shootist’s leg entirely.  Now on the ground the Shootist is going to be of limited use.

My Axman set up a nice rear shot and hit with the AC20 and the large pulse and both manage to hit the left arm.  He loses a double heat sink and the shoulder actuator as a result.

After looking at the possible shots, the Atlas torso twists to take out the Spider.  And manages to miss a 5 with the AC20.  The rest however finds the mark, ripping apart an arm and the entire left torso.  The SRM6 takes out a few more jump jets, adds two head hits, and puts the Spider on the ground.  He won’t be going far next turn hopefully.

Turn 8 – I lose Initiative again…

On the ground and lacking an arm, my Shootist eats dirt.  My hunchback has just about everyone behind him, so he takes one shot with an arm mounted laser at the King Crab and hopes he doesn’t become popular.  The Atlas and Axman split fire on the King Crab and the Flashman hitting with both AC20s and doing a lot of damage.  The King Crab takes a gyro hit and goes down.  The pilot takes another point of damage and goes unconscious.  However, without an arm, he is now in the same situation as my Shootist, unable to prop and fire.

The Wyvern fires on the Hunchback, tearing off front armor but not breaking through.  The King Crab and the Flashman concentrate fire on the Atlas, hoping to burn it down.  However, the Flashman is conservative with his heat.  The Atlas takes a boatload of damage but takes it like a champ including an AC20 slug to the leg.  Nothing goes internal.

The Axman kicks the downed King Crab and manages to crit the gyro again, making sure he will absolutely not be getting up again.

Turn 9 – I lose Initiative

The Spider and Axman trade fire ineffectively.  The Hunchback is left to watch the Atlas’ back without a viable target to shoot at.  The Atlas pummels the Flashman including an AC20 to the Left Leg and destroying the Left arm with laser fire.

The Flashman returns fire, overheating in the process, and manages to place an ERLL to the head.  This is the second head hit and it tears off the reamining armor in the location.  My pilot makes his consciousness roll.

Turn 10 – Guess What!  I Lose Initiative!

The Hunchback and the Atlas fires everything they have at the Flashman but manage to miss both AC20s.  Adding insult to injury, that was the last round of ammo the Hunchback had.  A few lasers get inside the Torso armor but no criticals result.

The Axman turns and fires his pulse laser behind him but misses.

Everyone fires on the Atlas and effectively so.  While the Flashman cooled off with only 3 Medium Pulse lasers he made them count.  Both the Wyvern and the Flashman put hits on the Atlas Head, killing the mighty hundred tonner.  Dead as a doornail.

Well that changes things an awful lot.

Turn 11 – I win Initiative (finally)

The Spider runs north away from combat, but my Hunchback (who is now ammo-less) and Axman keep pressure on the Flashman. Interestingly, the Wyvern starts to work his way towards the battle.

Both forces fire at each other with damn near everything they have but do not end up delivering much damage.  The only critical hit this turn is a hand actuator on my Axman.

Turn 12 – I lose Initiative

The Shootist finally stands and takes the beating he deserves.  A few engine hits later and he is sucking dirt with his friend the Crab.

Otherwise a boring turn and the hunt is on…

Turns 13 to the End

My Brother dodges around for a while and we trade shots as I rush forward with my battered Hunchback and Axman.  Finally, he makes a break for it and sends his Spider on a flanking run.  The Hunchback moves to intercept and expects at least a few easy shots.  Astonishingly, it’s medium lasers find fresh armor.  In return, the Spider sends his own medium laser to the head causing the pilot to go unconscious.

Meanwhile, the Axman duels with the lightly armored Wyvern.  The Wyvern manages to find the wholes in the Axman’s armor and knocks out the AC20 it desparately needed.

With one pilot unconcious and the other missing his main weapon, I can do nothing by cede the battlefield to the victor.

After all is said and done, it was a great game.  If the rolls had gone a little differently the end result may have gone in my favor.  A very good game indeed.

So lets recap.  A lance on lance game played over email beginning in September.  Game ends in February.  Hmmm…  We may need a better way to make the turns move a bit quicker.  I plan on investigating some alternatives and reporting back.  Until then, this post is officially complete.  I’m looking forward to the next one already!

I am back from Historicon and I had a blast. I only attended on Saturday to take in a few games I was interested in as well as to go shopping in the massive dealer room. In fact, I spent pretty much the entire morning working my way through trying very hard to keep my wallet in my pocket. By the time I got to the Iron Wind Metals booth, I could last no longer.

Here are a few quick pictures of the Battletech miniature display. As always, Iron Wind Metals brought with them some amazingly painted miniatures. Makes my 2nd Freemen (keep reading for more on that…) look like crap on a hex.

Please bear with me for the rest this post as I will be talking about a few game systems that have little to do with Classic Battletech. (You mean their are games out there besides CBT? GASP!)

Painting Contest

Historicon has a bring in painting contest each year to go along with their epic Iron Paintbrush challenge (paint a given mini in one hour using tools on hand!). I decided to toss my hat in the ring in the Single Figure Other category. Other simply means non-historical. Therefore, I was pitted against all the other fantasy and sci-fi minis.

Here is my entry, a Flashman in Second Freemen colors. I am proud to say that I got second place. Keep in mind that there were only five or so entries in my category.

CBT Grinder and Benjamin Take 1

The morning session of games had a Grinder and a big game featuring the Draconis Combine versus the Word of Blake.

I sat down for the Grinder before heading off to lunch. I randomly selected a Cougar A to start off with and I made the most of it. I ended up getting four kills before prematurely ejecting because I was hungry.

Combat!

The crying shame of the convention was that I forgot to take any pictures of this gaming session. I was having so much fun actually playing that I just forgot.

Combat! is a lightweight WWII skirmish game that cares more about the individual soldiers, like Vinny who wants to run a car wash after it’s all over, than the exact specifications of weapons, grenades, and the like.

The system is fast and easy to learn and works using a deck of cards, a system I found very clever. The game itself is being developed and tested and may be available commercially sometime next year. If it does go to print I will be sure to pick up a copy. It is a fun system that you can play with your friends when you need a break from Classic Battletech.

Iron Winds of War – The Peasants are Revolting!

Iron Winds of War is a light weight fantasy and medieval ruleset sponsored by Iron Wind Metals. The rules are based on Rules According to Ral, ala Ral Partha.

The game itself plays very fast while providing a good amount of strategy. In about two and a half hours, we fought a huge battle to an acceptable conclusion.

The scenario we played involved a peasant uprising. Seems the ‘Man’ has been drunk on power and has been spending all his free time oppressing the poor serfs. The ‘Man’, represented by a Bishop looking character is out and about when the peasants, helped by a group of rebel warriors and a mysterious group of black clad knights, finally have enough and decide to do in the Bishop.

The stage is set. The Bishop is caught away from his castle with an imposing group of rebels in his way looking to slit his throat. The battle commenced and casualties started to pile up. Through most of the game, the Bishop was heavily protected by a group of four foot knight units. Near the end of the game, after a series of disastrous personal challenges, the Bishop was forced out of hiding to rally routed units.

In the end, the peasants did not have the lasting power to close in on the Bishop and they fled only to be oppressed some more.

I played on the side of the Bishop’s forces in the scenario. I apologize to my opponents for rolling so damn well. Seriously, I wish I could roll as well during my Battletech games. I’d be getting headshots every other hit. And then there was the single mounted knight that just… wouldn’t… die… It fought off a full strength group of warriors three times!

Good game. Good enough for me to go out and buy a few clamshells from the Iron Wind Metals booth. I am not going to be giving up CBT for anything but this is a fast game that would be easy to buy into once and be able to play with friends for those Battletech breaks.

More CBT, Grand Melee and Benjamin Take 2

My hat goes off to Commando ‘Speck‘ again for a great con. His games are always well attended and he does a fantastic job bringing CBT to the masses. There had to be almost twenty people participating in the two evening events, maybe more. I didn’t end up staying till the wee hours. I had to get back home before it got too unreasonable an hour. All together a great Con. I am looking forward to many more!

No convention is complete in my opinion without a good old fashioned Classic Battletech Grinder!

NJCon08 was no different. My good friend and I were on hand to dish out ‘Mech blasting goodness to the masses. We had two takers on Friday evening. Not a stellar turnout but those that did were very enthusiastic about the game.

The terrain used included a game mat from Hotz ArtWorks with 2 inch hexes. The woods and water were made out of stiff felt available at any arts and craft store. The trees included a mix of pre-made woodland scenics and custom made ones. The hills were made out of pink insulation foam that was cut, shaped, painted, and flocked. Quite a bit of work but worth the effort for terrain that will last several years (hopefully!).

While it wouldn’t make sense to give a play by play like the other CBT events, there are more than a few highlights to mention.

Early on in the game, the new players began to feel out the game and get a sense of movement and how not to open yourself up to back shots.

Once a few of the light ‘Mechs went down, the mediums and an early heavy came out to play. In a two turn sequence, a Thunderbolt sought out partial cover by dipping into the level 1 water in the middle of the board. A Griffin positioned himself carefully and got ready for a bull rush if the Thunderbolt stayed in the water.

Sure enough the Thunderbolt remained stubborn and took his chances in the water. The Griffin ran into position and promptly kicked off the Thunderbolt’s head in the physical attack phase.

A few turns later that feisty Griffin was still on the board when the first Assault ‘Mech started play. It took no more than three or so turns for the Battlemaster to take two head hits. The second one was from a LRM volley by the Griffin for the kill. It was the only time in the game that the Griffin ever hit with the LRM20.

Here are a few pictures from the event. Thanks to all the players for giving it a go. Each walked away with the complete lineup of introductory PDFs on CD.

Federated Commonwealth vs Clan Smoke Jaguar

This battle represents the first battle of the Great Refusal. The game was played at NJCon08. For this battle, Clan honor rules were in effect.

Federated Commonwealth

• Archon-Prince Victor Steiner-Davion (2/4) – Daishi A
• Danai Centrella (3/4) – FLC-8R Falconer

Clan Smoke Jaguar

• ilKhan Lincoln Osis (2) – Elemental Battle Armor Point
• Star Colonel Kit Furey (1/2) – Masakari C

Turn 1 – Clan Smoke Jaguar wins Initiative

The Falconer jumps up to a high point on the canyon while Victor throttles his Daishi forward. The Masakari drops down into a woods filled depression and disembarks it’s mechanized elementals.

The Falconer issues a challenge to Star Colonel Kit Furey in his Masakari who accepts.

The Masakari opens up with two ERPPCs and two Large Pulse Lasers, all of which hit and melt armor from the Falconer at a quick pace. Danai barely keeps her ‘Mech standing. All of her return fire misses wide.

Turn 2 – Federated Commonwealth wins Initiative

Star Colonel Furey stays put, confident in his superior position. The Falconer jumps toward the Clan position behind cover. Meanwhile, the elementals jump from one side of the canyon towards Victor in his Daishi. Cautious of being swarmed, Victor slows his advance and awaits the outcome of the current challenge.

There is no line of sight for either side.

Turn 3 – Federated Commonwealth wins Initiative

Seizing the initiative, Danai uses her jump jets to power her Falconer over top the stationary Masakari for a rear shot. Victor move up the canyon closer to the evading elementals who again chose not to break cover.

Reaching back with one arm, Star Colonel Furey makes called shots to the center torso with both ERPPCs. Both hit their mark, collapsing the heavy ‘Mech’s armor but without doing critical damage.

The Falconer alpha strikes in return ignoring a rapid spike in heat (+13). The gauss rifle and two medium lasers miss but everything else hits dead center. The rear armor of the Masakari melts away and the ‘Omni’s XL engine and gyro take damage.

Amazingly, all pilots made their rolls to stay upright.

Turn 4 – Clan Smoke Jaguar wins Initiative

Overheating and forced to make a decision, the Falconer stays steadfast in the face of the heavier Clan ‘Omni. Star Colonel Furey turns his Masakari around to face his attacker. All the while, the elementals slowly stalk Victor’s Daishi, staying close but always out of sight.

Without jumping heat to worry about, Danai opens up again, this time hitting with her gauss rifle to the leg. Her ERPPC misses and the rest of her lasers pepper the torso of the Masakari.

Sensing the end, Star Colonel again calls his shots against the already broken center torso of the Falconer. His ERPPC strikes another location but even without the aid of the targeting computer, one of his two large pulse lasers finds the center torso coring the ‘Mech.

Turn 5 – Federated Commonwealth wins Initiative

Victor challenges Star Colonel Furey who accepts. Victor brings his Daishi to the edge of the canyon while Furey turns his ‘Omni to face. Free from the threat of return fire for now, the elementals jump up from hiding and daringly watch the Daishi above them, ready to pounce if needed.

The Masakari is overheating slightly and chooses his fire carefully this turn to cool down. No called shots are made, but ERPPC and pulse lasers scatter across the Daishi’s torso, arms, and legs without much effect.

Victor fires on the Masakari, hitting with all three large pulse lasers, raking the ‘Omni’s torso. The gauss rifle misses but both short range launchers lock on and riddle the Masakari with tiny explosions, including one to the head, rattling Star Colonel Furey.

Turn 6 – Clan Smoke Jaguar wins Initiative

The Masakari maneuvers back, hoping to bring more terrain between him and his opponent next turn. The Daishi, lacking jump jets, cannot close the gap and remains steady despite the elementals seemingly dancing at his feet.

The Masakari pours damage into the Daishi left leg, hitting with both ERPPCs while a lone pulse laser burrows into the center torso armor.

The Daishi critically hits the center torso with his gauss rifle, hitting the engine shielding and spiking the Masakari’s temperature. Another two pulse lasers manage to crit the left torso, damaging two separate double heat sinks.

Turn 7 – Federated Commonwealth wins Initiative

After taking an engine hit and losing two heat sinks, the Masakari is dangerously overheating and cannot move to a better position. The Daishi remains stationary, confident of his range.

Sensing the end again, Star Colonel Furey fires with everything but this time, he calls his ERPPC shots on the Daishi’s left leg. Both ERPPCs and one additional pulse laser hit and tear the leg off.

The Daishi gauss rifle and one pulse laser rips into the Masakari’s center torso, finishing off the engine shielding.

Missing a leg, Victor cannot break his ‘Omni’s fall, and takes damage. He remains conscious and watches as the nearby elementals ready themselves for the kill.

Turn 8 – Federated Commonwealth wins Initiative

With the initiative to the Federated Commonwealth, the elementals chose to pick their fight and dodge behind cover, wary of the still dangerous Daishi armament.

Turn 9 – Clan Smoke Jaguar wins Initiative

With the initiative in their favor, the elementals rush the grounded Daishi, knowing that the Daishi cannot return fire inside his own hex.

The elementals launch their SRMs and pepper the Daishi with small lasers.

In an act of desperation, Victor thrashes his ‘Omni around, striking and killing two elementals outright and damaging two more. (TW pg. 151 ouch!)

Turn 10 to the End

The remaining few turns were a flurry of dice rolling. The elementals needed to stay at the back of the Daishi to avoid weapons fire, but they also could not survive another thrash attack.

Victor decides to force the issue and attempts to stand each of the next few turns at a 9+.

The first attempt fails and Victor takes damage but remains conscious. The elementals stay at his back and spread damage on the Daishi with missiles and lasers, hoping to find the kinks in the armor.

The second attempt to stand fails and Victor takes another hit but makes his roll again for consciousness. The elementals continue their attack with lasers now that their SRMs are depleted. The damage from falling and the elementals is beginning to add up. The left torso armor is gone. The right arm has only two remaining points of armor and center torso only four.

The third attempt happens while Victor has the initiative. The ‘Omni struggles to stand but cannot. He falls again, taking damage again but remains conscious. This time however, the fall lands him directly facing the attacking elementals.

Perching on one arm the Daishi raises up three pulse lasers and both SRM launchers and disintegrates the remaining battle armor. The last volley from ilKhan Osis and his remaining elementals manages to hit the Daishi in the head. The fourth wound to Victor knocks him out.

Victor would awaken three turns later to realize the battle was won.

Free Worlds League vs Clan Star Adder

This battle represents the fifth battle of the Great Refusal.  The game was played at NJCon08.

Free Worlds League

• Colonel Dana Briggs (2/3) – P1B Perseus
• Force Commander Nisa Geller (2/4) – MR-5M Cerberus

Clan Star Adder

• Khan Cassius N’Buta (2/3) – Kingfisher D
• saKhan Tabitha Paik (1/2) – Cauldron-Born Prime

Turn 1 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative

Both sides advance towards each other over the rolling green hills, careful to not get caught with easy shots this early in the battle.

Both sides decide to split their fire, scattering auto cannon shells and laser fire across torsos and limbs. All of the gauss slugs miss their target this turn.

Turn 2 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative

The Cauldron-Born and Kingfisher both find a grouping of trees to fire from with the Cauldron-Born leading the attack. The Cerberus moves down, behind the cover of a hill while the Perseus pilot bravely charges down hill towards the Clan ‘Omnis.

Both Clan ‘Mechs pour fire into the lone Perseus, shedding more than 2 tons of armor combined from it’s right torso and left arm. The Perseus, unphased, returned fire, scoring two large pulse laser hits on the Cauldron-Born, one of which strikes the head. saKhan Tabitha Paik shakes off the wound and remains conscious.

Turn 3 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative

The Cauldron-Born defiantly stands his ground atop the wooded hill. The Perseus, knowing his lancemate was close behind him, rushes up the wooded hill to face the saKhan. Smelling blood, the Kingfisher inches his ‘Omni closer for a clear shot. The Cerberus manages to crest the hill that hid him a turn earlier, finally able to contribute to the fight.

The Perseus gauss rifle finds fresh armor on the Cauldron-Born’s left torso but his PPC manages to crit the left leg, destroying the ‘Omni’s upper leg actuator. The Cerberus misses with most of its medium range lasers but aims true with the gauss rifle, critically hitting the left torso, damaging the shielding of the Cauldron-Born’s XL engine.

The Clans relentlessly assault the heavy Perseus ‘Omni with weapons fire. The Perseus’ left arm is ripped clear off its frame while the left torso armor shatters. Amazingly, no critical damage is scored in the torso. The Perseus continues the fight, minus its two Large Pulse Lasers.

Turn 4 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative

The Cauldron-Born and Kingfisher both stand their ground. The Cerberus continues down the hill he climbed earlier to face both Clan ‘Omnis while the Perseus backs up and goes prone to avoid being targeted this turn.

The Cauldron born and King Fisher combine firepower and unleash hell on the lone Inner Sphere ‘Mech. More than 3 tons of armor vaporize off the Cerberus ‘Mech without a single penetration.

The Cerberus fires at the wounded Cauldron-Born striking the center torso for critical damage, completely destroying the ‘Mechs gyro. The gyro destruction wouldn’t matter though, the Cerberus’s volley of medium pulse lasers ravaged the Clan ‘Omni and managed to strike the previously damaged head, killing saKhan Tabitha Paik.

The Cerberus however, was throw off balance by the wave of weapons fire that turn and fell. The ‘Mech bore all of it’s weight on it’s right arm, crushing it and his ERPPC beyond usefulness.

Turn 5 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative

The lone Clan ‘Omni stands his ground. The Perseus manages to do little else but stand while the Cerberus gets up on a run and rushes up the hill to meet the Kingfisher.

The Perseus misses with all of it’s remaining weapons. The Cerberus groups three pulse lasers into the left torso of the Kingfisher and lands a gauss slug to the left arm.

The Kingfisher unloads on the Cerberus, spiking his heat but hitting with everything. Autocannon slugs tear into the Cerberus’ right torso. Large lasers scour the ‘Mech’s torso, leg, and remaining arm. The gauss rifle takes a critical and explodes, ripping through the ‘Mechs remaining arm internal structure and into the torso, stopping just short of coring the XL Engine.

Turn 6 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative

The Perseus stays put while the Kingfisher backs up behind a hill. The Cerberus advances on the retreating Clan ‘Omni but takes cover hugging a cliff face. No line of sight for either side.

Turn 7 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative

The Perseus and Cerberus both push their advantage after the Kingfisher is unable to move to a better position.

The Kingfisher desperately fires all of it’s weapons after cooling off last turn. Only it’s lasers hit the Cerberus who loses armor off it’s left torso but fails to breach to the already battered internal structure.

The Perseus lands another gauss rifle slug into the Kingfisher’s left torso. Without any criticals in that location, they transfer to the center where the gyro and ER Large Laser are hit. The Cerberus scores hits with it’s medium lasers, all of which find internal structure without producing critical damage.

The King Fisher lists painfully and is unable to right itself due to a damaged gyro.

Turn 8 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative

The Kingfisher stands and moves back trying to put more terrain between him and his attackers. The Free World League ‘Mechs stand their ground and line up their cross hairs.

The Kingfisher’s lasers are ineffective, somehow finding fresh armor on the Cerberus’s center torso. In return the Kingfisher loses it’s autocannon, it’s right arm and another large laser.

The Cerberus makes his shutdown roll after heating up this turn. The Kingfisher is unable to remain standing and falls again.

Turn 9 – Free Worlds League wins Initiative (again?!?)

Despite his damaged gyro, the Kingfisher manages to stand and accepts another volley.

The Kingfisher loses all but one of his lasers and falls again under a constant barrage of fire.

The best Khan Cassius N’Buta can do is to critical the Cerberus’s hip in the exchange. The Cerberus would make his own roll to remain standing.

The lone Clan Warrior, unable to continue to fight effectively, acknowledges the Free Worlds League victory.

The Cerberus had two points of internal structure remaining in it’s left torso. The Perseus had a single shot of gauss ammo remaining.

NJCon is in the books. It was a learning experience in more ways than one. It ended up being a significant amount of work. I cannot take full credit for the effort. I had a lot of help from Ellis, my friend from college and now Classic Battletech partner in crime.

The Grinder

Friday night was the grinder. We set up rather quickly. I was impressed by how much terrain we actually fit in the small plastic container we brought. We had a little bit of everything; hills up to level 3, water, light woods.

In order to break the ice a bit, Ellis and I started up the grinder and got the dice rolling. It was not long before two people came over and gave it a try.

We ended up playing right past 10PM when both players had to throw in the towel since they had already been up for quite a while. It was after all, a work day. Both had a good time and left with a copy of all of the free introductory PDFs on a snazzy CD. At least one of them loved the game so much that he said a copy of Total War was in his near future.

Twilight of the Clans

The big games with the big terrain. Most of the work that went into this Con went into this event. It was a shame then, when we only had one serious player take it for a turn.

We did have two kids come early in the afternoon, but they only made it through one and a half turns before vanishing to a Star Wars mini game. Those kids could talk fast! I believe the conversation went something like this:

OhwowIlovebattletechcauseiveplayeditsomuchlikeallthetime exceptforthetimeIdidn’tplaylikelastweekandIknowhowtoplay Ohwowisthatastormtrooper?

Very cute kids, I’m glad they stopped by even though they did not stay long.

What Now?

I have a heap of content to write up including two after action reports and several terrain tutorials. Be sure to check back often. As soon as I can get these posts written and pictures cropped I’ll get posts up for your reading pleasure. Until then, take care!

Cold Wars 2008 was held in Lancaster Pa just two weekends ago. I’ve gathered up a few thoughts to share.

Commando “Speck” Did an Amazing Job

Never before have I seen a better effort to present and publicize Classic Battletech. The CBT games were actually tucked away in a corner of the convention hotel. But everyone and I mean everyone knew for sure how to find us. It was hard to miss the massive poster in the main lobby. Once you found yourself inside the room, you could look over new product releases on display, pick up fliers for BattleCorp or the Classic Battletech relaunch, as well as snag a business card with yet more information on the game. Wow.

All convention long there were Quick Start Rules ready to be played at a drop of a hat. Indeed, several passers by sat down for a game and shuffled through the contents of the Introductory Box Set on display. I overheard many comments about what a deal the Intro Box Set was. Kudos Catalyst Game Labs.

All convention long, there was a Grinder with intermediate rules. It was very well attended throughout the weekend. Even Saturday night after returning from the blackout many convention goers, including lots of young ones, came over to burn a few hours in the Grinder. It was a sight to be seen.

Each time slot also had an advanced game played with gorgeous terrain and minis. The big game on Saturday night was attended by no less than 16 people!

Well done all weekend long.

Random Event Photos

Unfortunately, I could only get half an AAR out of my notes from the convention. I was trying to play each event while recording the major events each turn. In the end, my notes are almost illegible and don’t capture all of the best moment during the games. All I can say is, well, you had to be there. But in case you weren’t, here are the rest of my event photos in no particular order.

Forces from the Word of Blake descend upon an allied look out post. The defenders, a ragtag mix of units from across the Inner Sphere, stand in their way.

The attacking Word of Blake forces consist of a light/medium ‘Mech Level II and a light/medium Combat Vehicle Level II.

The defending Inner Sphere forces include a light/medium Mech Lance, a light Combat Vehicle Lance, and a standard Battle Armor Lance. The Inner Sphere forces must protect listening posts manned by conventional infantry platoons.

Turn 1:

The Word of Blake rushes at top speed towards the first listening post. Under a barrage of fire, the majority of the infantry inside are killed or injured rendering the post out of commission. The Inner Sphere force, not yet in range, makes haste to defend the other objectives.

Turn 2:

The Word of Blake force splits off into two groups. The first head directly towards the defending ‘Mech force while the other breaks to the right flank to threaten another listening post. An allied battle armor squad stands vigil near the  post on the right flank.

A Word of Blake Jackal lags behind and takes careful aim at the oncoming defenders. An Extended Range PPC shot goes just wide, barely missing the target.

Turn 3:

The Allies send a lone spider jumping atop the local terrain on the left flank just behind a listening post. The allied combat vehicles rush the Word of Blake units attacking the right flank, vainly attempting to head them off. The Word of Blake Scarabus speeds off past the defending forces in search of easier targets to the rear of the engagement.

During a hurried volley of weapons fire, the Allied Wolverine takes a medium laser to the head but the pilot shrugged off the damage. The Battle Armor on the right flank get peppered by missile and laser fire. A Word of Blake Saladin manages to hit the allied Griffin in the leg, almost up ending the ‘Mech in a single blow.

Turn 4:

The Jackal continues to snipe from afar, landing solid hits to the Inner Sphere force engaging the Word of Blake vehicles. The Saladin jams its Ultra AC 20 and is rendered immobile by enemy fire. Both Zephyr hovercraft meet the same fate as they lose all motive systems but remain positioned for shots against the central listening post.

On the right flank, the allied Battle Armor squad is vaporized by a laser volley from Word forces. And then suddenly…

Game Play Note: It was about this time that power was lost at the convention venue. It was not only us, but the entire city block affected. The rolls and results of turn 4 were actually completed by cell phone and lighters.

By the time power was restored it was already too late to finish up before the next game.

I was impressed that everyone was so determined to see out the last turn without the lights. Even the Grinder in the same room continued for a good half hour rolling dice via whatever light source at hand.

Good times, good times…

My thanks to Mark “Speck” Yingling for putting on a great game during Cold Wars 2008 in Lancaster Pa. I hope to have the opportunity to play with him again in the future.

Dreamation 2008 was held at the Hilton Woodbridge last month. This event featured an abbreviated Clan Ghost Bear star against a mixed Periphery vehicle force defending a supply depot. The battle had some great action.

My thanks go out to Jim “Ratboy” Williamson for hosting the event and supplying the fantastic miniatures and terrain. Visit his site here.

Ghost Bear Raiding Party

• Cougar Prime
• Dragonfly Prime
• Dasher Prime
• Shadowcat Prime

Total Battle Value: 5750

Periphery Planetary Defense Forces

• Rommel Tank x 2
• Warrior H7 Attack Copter x 2
• Myrmidon Medium Tank x 2
• Scimitar Medium Hover Tank x 2
• Bulldog Medium Tank x 3
• Manticore Heavy Tank x 2

Total Battle Value: 5854

Turn 1

Both forces rush toward the center of the battle field. Forces remain outside of effective range for now.

Turn 2

The Scimitars and Warrior Attack Copters spread hits across the Shadowcats torso. A few scattered missiles manage hits against the Dragonfly as well but nothing penetrates.

The Clan forces return fire and destroy a Scimitar stabilizer and jamming one Warrior Attack VTOLs SRM4. The Shadowcat took aim but could not hit with the gauss rifle. The Inner Sphere vehicle crews breath a sigh of relief.

Turn 3

Through a blistering hail of missiles and lasers the only significant

damage dealt is a lone Manticore’s motive system. Substantial damage reduces the vehicle to half its original movement.

The lone Dasher activates MASC and rushes behind the Inner Sphere forces for a better shot.

Turn 4

The gauss rifle finally finds armor, coring through the lead Scimitars front armor, destroying the vehicle. The Warrior VTOL crew counts it’s lucky stars as a flurry of Clan weapons fire, including several pulse lasers all somehow miss their target.

The Dasher meanwhile, presses its luck and fails to navigate the ferrocrete. The pilots failure to control his ‘Mech sends him skidding across the ground very nearly causing critical damage. The Inner Sphere forces were not able to capitalize due to their lack of maneuverability. No clean shots were available against the downed clan ‘Mech.

Turn 5

The Dragonfly disengages to the east while Inner Sphere forces attempt to corner their Clan foes on the North and South ends of the battle. A Mymidon receives a potent gauss rifle slug for his trouble while return fire is limited to a lone SRM6 rack that peppers the Shadowcat’s already damaged torso.

The Dasher brought his ‘Mech upright and attempted to rejoin the fray. However, a Rommel tank had other ideas and managed to rip the OmniMech in two with a well placed AC20 round from long range.

The Cougar begins to find its stride and dispatches a Scimitar with a volley of pulse lasers and LRMs.

Turn 6

The Cougar, confident of its superior range, begins to pelt the vehicle crews from afar.

The Dragonfly remains cautious as it slinks behind woods awaiting a clearer shot.

The Shadowcat pilot goes toe to toe with a Bulldog tank and plowed a gauss slug into the front armor. The Bulldog returned the favor, melting away tons of armor, mostly from the already damaged torso section. The vehicle crew is astonished that the Clan ‘Omni took no critical damage. The Shadowcat pilot abandoned whatever was left of Zell and threw its weight behind a kick. The kick was aimed perfectly collapsing the front armor. The crew compartment was crushed in the process, instantly killing the entire crew.

Turn 7

The Clan forces maneuver to take advantage of their long range weapons against the slowing Inner Sphere opposition. All attacks are from long range. The Cougar destroys a Rommel tank with lasers and missiles.

Turn 8

The Inner Sphere VTOLs give chase to Cougar but fail to inflict meaningful damage. A sole pulse laser is more than the lead copter can defend against and crashes.

The remaining Inner Sphere forces consolidate and edge themselves backward toward the supply depot.

Turn 9

Another VTOL is brought down with a well placed pulse laser shot. The Inner Sphere tanks feel desperation creeping up and launch themselves towards the Clan OmniMechs unable to muster an effective offense at range.

The Ghost Bears are content to to dance behind cover and pick off the tanks as them rush towards them.

Turn 10 – INNER SPHERE FORCES SURRENDER

Out gunned and now out maneuvered, the Inner Sphere forces surrender the battle instead of risking everything in a bloody battle of attrition.