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jng2058
Jul 17, 2010

We have the tools, we have the talent!





PoptartsNinja posted:

I must say, people have once again seriously underestimated the threat of the Warrior Attack Helo. That is all.

They asked if they should shoot it down, I told 'em yes. If they don't, that's not MY fault. :)

RE: Needlers - I'd also like to point out that a main point in their favor is that they can't blow a hole in the outside of the spaceship that you're in, making them an excellent choice for dropship/jumpship security goons.

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landcollector
Feb 28, 2011
Let me guess:
1) The Warrior helo is spotting for artillery as others have said.
Or
2)The Warrior shot its AC/2 at someone, got a TAC, and made someone's missile ammo explode.

Tempest_56
Mar 14, 2009

ShadowDragon8685 posted:

I'd like to say "no, of course not," but all indications are that "Yes, yes they are."

My reasoning (aside from the usual Poptarts ominous statement) is the mission goal of avoiding damage to certain buildings. Since damaging buildings accidentally is not too common or easy, it means there's going to be something that will be actively attempting to do so. Artillery into a civilian center about covers it.

Magni
Apr 29, 2009

Defiance Industries posted:

Tiaret, Victor's jag bodyguard, uses a gyrojet carbine. She uses it like a pistol. Turns out if you are loving gigantic they become practical.

They're also fairly practical when used for what they're mostly designed for: Combat in zero-G environments. Not having any real recoil is a pretty immense advantage in an environment where firing a shot from anormal slugthrower will cause you to slowly fly backwards whenever you fire a shot with a normal gun.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

Magni posted:

They're also fairly practical when used for what they're mostly designed for: Combat in zero-G environments. Not having any real recoil is a pretty immense advantage in an environment where firing a shot from anormal slugthrower will cause you to slowly fly backwards whenever you fire a shot with a normal gun.

Lasers also have that advantage too, and are easier to hit with. Needlers also have very little recoil, since most of their damage is done by cutting razor-sharp holes in a person's cardiovascular system.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 7

Movement Phase



Combat Phase:
H1 Valkyrie fires Medium Laser at building hex 1021! (4 base + 0 movement + 0 enemy movement + 0 range + 2 full moon night + 1 fog - 4 immobile target = 3): rolled 7, hit (0/15 structure remains)! Building hex 1021 collapses into rubble! 500,000 c-bills in damage sustained!
H1 Valkyrie gains 8 heat, sinks 11! 0 heat builds up!

H2 Commando fires SRM 4 at P3 Warrior (4 base + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 0 range = 7): rolled 8, 2 missiles hit rotors (1/2 armor remains (movement reduced to 9/14)), front (4/6 armor remains)!
H2 Commando fires Medium Laser at P3 Warrior (4 base + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 0 range = 7): rolled 11, hit rotors (0/2 armor remains (movement reduced to 8/12))!
H2 Commando gains 6 heat, sinks 10! 0 heat builds up!

H3 Assassin fires LRM 5 at S2 Stinger (4 base + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 0 range + 2 heavy woods + 1 minimum range = 10): rolled 12, 3 missiles hit right arm (3/6 armor remains)!
H3 Assassin fires SRM 2 at S2 Stinger (4 base + 0 movement + 3 enemy movement + 2 range + 2 heavy woods = 11): rolled 7, miss!
H3 Assassin fires medium laser at building hex 0921 (4 base + 0 movement + 0 enemy movement + 0 range + 2 full moon night + 1 secondary target in forward arc - 4 immobile target = 3): rolled 5, hit (8/15 structure remains)! 9,000 c-bills in damage sustained!
H3 Assassin gains 7 heat, sinks 10! 0 heat builds up!

H4 Javelin fires SRM 6 at building hex 1606 (4 base + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 0 range + 2 full moon night - 4 immobile target = 5): rolled 7, 5 missiles hit (5/15 structure remains)! 60,000 c-bills in damage sustained!
H4 Javelin fires SRM 6 at building hex 1606 (4 base + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 0 range + 2 full moon night - 4 immobile target = 5): rolled 4, miss!
H4 Javelin gains 13 heat, sinks 11! 2 heat builds up! Overheat Penalty!

S1 Stinger holds fire!
S2 Stinger gains 5 heat, sinks 10! 0 heat builds up!

S2 Stinger fires medium laser at H3 Assassin (4 base + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 range + 2 full moon night + 1 fog = 12): rolled 4, miss!
S2 Stinger fires medium laser at H3 Assassin (4 base + 3 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 range + 2 full moon night + 1 fog = 12): rolled 8, miss!
S2 Stinger gains 11 heat, sinks 10! 1 heat builds up!

S3 Scorpion Light Tank holds fire!

S4 Galleon Light Tank fires medium laser at H4 Javelin (4 base + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 4 range + 2 full moon night + 1 fog = 16): automatic miss!

P1 Locust fires Medium Laser at H2 Commando(4 base + 2 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 range + 1 fog = 9): rolled 12, hit center torso (3/8 armor remains)!
P1 Locust fires Medium Laser at H2 Commando (4 base + 2 movement + 0 enemy movement + 2 range + 1 fog = 9): rolled 3, miss!
P1 Locust gains 8 heat, sinks 10! 0 heat builds up!

P2 Locust holds fire!

P3 Warrior fires SRM 4 at H2 Commando (4 base + 1 movement + 0 enemy movement + 0 range = 5): rolled 5, 4 missiles hit Left Torso (4/6 armor remains), Right Leg (6/8 armor remains), Right Torso (4/6 armor remains), Left Torso (2/6 armor remains)!



End Phase



Physical Combat Phase:
H1 Valkyire kicks building hex 0921! Automatic hit (2/15 structure remains)! 20,000 c-bills in damage sustained!

H4 Javelin kicks building hex 1606! Automatic hit (0/15 structure remains)! Building hex 1606 collapses into rubble! 300,000 c-bills in damage sustained!



End Phase:



A crowd of people pressed heedlessly against the thick-paned glass that made up the bulk of the Heavy Snow Nightclub’s façade. The thick, armored material was the same used to armor battlemech cockpits; and nearly always presented a clear view of either the splendor of Tharkad City’s skyline, or the unbound fury of Tharkad’s winters.

Among them, unnoticed, a small man was jammed uncomfortably against the glass by the press of the crowd. Too busy watching the distant flickers of explosions and blood-red laser pulses barely visible through the thick fog, Clovis Lestrade was too preoccupied by the distant battle to care that he could barely move an inch.

“Clovis,” a voice whispered. He looked up into a pretty, effeminate face—the type of face he expected would never give him the time of day were he not the only (and, he lamented, illegitimate) son of Duke Lestrade. She was a bit on the older side, but still beautiful… he found her eyes fascinating, and oddly familiar.

“… My name is Danica Holstein,” she explained quietly. “I’m… a friend of your mother’s.”

Clovis blinked. His father had never spoken much of Clovis’ mother; only that she’d abandoned them both not long after Clovis’ birth. For a moment, he toyed with the thought of calling the bodyguard his father had provided; then discarded the idea in a fit of what he described as ‘Lestrade pique’.

“You know my mother?” He asked simply.

Danica nodded almost imperceptibly. “… I… we both belong to an organization called ‘Heimdall’.”

“Heimdall?” Clovis was ever used to playing the fool—even his own father sorely underestimated him, and that’s how he preferred things. He was intimately familiar with his father’s own views of the organization, but it never hurt to gain a little first-hand knowledge.

“We’re a group of ‘loyal opposition’. Most of the time, we—” she cringed as something exploded nearby, prompting the majority of the crowd to scream in terror “—aren’t even active; but when LOKI is used to terrorize the Lyran people, we stand against them and try to prevent them from taking things too far.”

Clovis blinked stupidly, his expression carefully controlled to keep skepticism from crossing his features. “… And what do you want with me? I’m just—”

“—the only person close enough to Melissa Arthur Steiner who could bring a message to her.”

Clovis’ expression darkened perceptibly. “My mother vanished into the night only a few days after I was born,” he growled, “and now she sends a messenger—not to me, but to use me to give Melissa Steiner a message?”

Danica blinked, and looked away. “Your mother… didn’t flee into the night, Clovis. Your father had her shot, and left her to die. Only a twist of fortune saved… saved her life.”

“I don’t believe you,” Clovis Lestrade countered with quiet conviction. Danica bit her lip, then sighed—and pressed a computer chip into his child-like hand.

“You’re a brilliant young man, I hear,” Danica said softly. “I know you can unlock that—it’s from your mother. It will tell you everything. You should leave—there’s no telling when these raiders will attack this building.”

She vanished into the crowd so quickly Clovis couldn’t follow—he frowned, silently cursing his small stature. He glared down at the chip in his hand, his face contorting as he contemplated simply destroying it or trying to unlock his secrets.

Eventually, his curiosity won out. Pocketing the chip silently, he motioned for one of his assigned bodyguards—who quickly cleared a path through the crowd.

“I grow bored of this place,” he announced with a spiteful edge to his voice. “Return me to the Palace, immediately—and if this club survives the night, have it bulldozed to the ground.”

The agent rolled his eyes. “As you wish, Master Lestrade.”



Enemy Forces:
S1 STG-3G Stinger: jumps to 1604! Floodlight active!
S2 STG-3G Stinger: holds position! Floodlight active!
S3 Scorpion Light Tank: Flanks 2 to hex 1509!
S4 GAL-100 Galleon Light Tank: Flanks 3 to hex 0511!
P1 LCT-1E Locust: runs 3 to hex 1422!
P2LCT-1S Locust: walks 2 to hex 1623!
P3 Warrior H-7 Attack Helicopter cruises 2 to hex 1220! Currently at height 5! Floodlight active!



Mission Objectives
Destroy the Statue of Duke Lestrade (hex 1214) to draw LOKI away from the Heavy Snow Nightclub! (Complete!)
Heavy Snow Nightclub (green) Building Must Not Take Damage!
Avoid damaging residential (blue) buildings! (0/20,000,000 c-bills in damage sustained)
Cause Property Damage to Commercial and Industrial (red) buildings or enemy units! (986,000/30,000,000 c-bills in damage caused)
Await Further Objectives!








H1 VLK-QA Valkyrie
Weight: 30 tons (Light)
HD A(S): 8/8 (3/3)
LT A(S): 12/12 (7/7)
LT R A(S): 2/2
CT A(S): 14/14 (10/10)
CT R A(S): 4/4
RT A(S): 7/12 (7/7)
RT R A(S): 2/2
LA A(S): 9/9 (5/5)
RA A(S): 9/9 (5/5)
LL A(S): 12/12 (7/7)
RL A(S): 12/12 (7/7)
Heat: 0/30
Overheat Penalty: None
Heat Sinks: 11
Movement: 5/8/5
Mechwarrior: Pilot 4, Gunnery 4
Mechwarrior Name: Rain
Mechwarrior Player: Dominus Caedis
Mechwarrior Status: OK!
Armament:
LRM 10 – LT (Heat: 4, Ammo: 11, Range: (L:21 M:14 S:7 Min:6), Status: OK!)
Medium Laser – RA (Heat: 3, Range: (L:9 M:6 S:3), Status: OK!)
Critical Damage: None!
Notes: 1 hand (Left)

H2 COM-2D Commando
Weight: 25 tons (Light)
HD A(S): 6/6 (3/3)
LT A(S): 2/6 (6/6)
LT R A(S): 3/3
CT A(S): 3/8 (8/8)
CT R A(S): 4/4
RT A(S): 4/6 (6/6)
RT R A(S): 3/3
LA A(S): 6/6 (4/4)
RA A(S): 6/6 (4/4)
LL A(S): 8/8 (6/6)
RL A(S): 6/8 (6/6)
Heat: 0/30
Overheat Penalty: None
Heat Sinks: 10
Movement: 6/9/0
Mechwarrior: Pilot 4, Gunnery 4
Mechwarrior Name: “Sleet”
Mechwarrior Player: Terror Storm
Mechwarrior Status: OK!
Armament:
SRM 6 – CT (Heat: 4, Ammo: 14, Range: (L:9 M:6 S:3), Status: OK!)
SRM 4 – RA (Heat: 3, Ammo: 23, Range: (L:9 M:6 S:3), Status: OK!)
Medium Laser – LA (Heat: 3, Range: (L:9 M:6 S:3), Status: OK!)
Critical Damage: None!
Notes: 2 hands

H3 ASN-21 Assassin
Weight: tons (Class)
HD A(S): 8/8 (3/3)
LT A(S): 10/10 (10/10)
LT R A(S): 2/2
CT A(S): 12/12 (12/12)
CT R A(S): 4/4
RT A(S): 10/10 (10/10)
RT R A(S): 2/2
LA A(S): 6/6 (6/6)
RA A(S): 6/6 (6/6)
LL A(S): 6/6 (10/10)
RL A(S): 6/6 (10/10)
Heat: 2/30
Overheat Penalty: None
Heat Sinks: 10
Movement: 7/11/7
Mechwarrior: Pilot 4, Gunnery 4
Mechwarrior Name: Snow
Mechwarrior Player: Capskye
Mechwarrior Status: OK!
Armament:
Medium Laser – RA (Heat: 3, Range: (L:9 M:6 S:3), Status: OK!)
LRM 5 – RT (Heat: 2, Ammo: 22, Range: (L:21 M:14 S:7 Min:6), Status: OK!)
SRM 2 – LT (Heat: 2, Ammo: 47, Range: (L:9 M:6 S:3), Status: OK!)
Critical Damage: None!
Notes: 1 hand (Left)

H4 JVN-10N Javelin
Weight: 30 tons (Light)
HD A(S): 6/6 (3/3)
LT A(S): 8/8 (7/7)
LT R A(S): 2/2
CT A(S): 8/8 (10/10)
CT R A(S): 2/2
RT A(S): 8/8 (7/7)
RT R A(S): 2/2
LA A(S): 1/6 (5/5)
RA A(S): 6/6 (5/5)
LL A(S): 8/8 (7/7)
RL A(S): 8/8 (7/7)
Heat: 5/30
Overheat Penalty: Movement Reduced to 5/8/6!
Heat Sinks: 10
Movement: 6/9/6
Mechwarrior: Pilot 4, Gunnery 4
Mechwarrior Name: Hail
Mechwarrior Player: TildeATH
Mechwarrior Status: OK!
Armament:
SRM 6 – RT (Heat: 4, Ammo: 24, Range: (L:9 M:6 S:3), Status: OK!)
SRM 6 – LT (Heat: 4, Ammo: -, Range: (L:9 M:6 S:3), Status: OK!)
Critical Damage: None!
Notes: 2 hands



Enemy Status
S1 STG-3G Stinger
Tonnage: 20 tons
Critical Damage: None!
Pilot: Piloting 3, Gunnery 4
Heat: 0/30
Overheat Penalty: None!
Armament: 2 Medium Lasers
Notes:

S2 STG-3G Stinger
Tonnage: 20 tons
Critical Damage: None!
Pilot: Piloting 4, Gunnery 3
Heat: 0/30
Overheat Penalty: None!
Armament: 2 Medium Lasers
Notes:

S3 Scorpion Light Tank
Tonnage: 25 tons
Critical Damage: None!
Pilot: Driving 5, Gunnery 4
Armament: Autocannon/5, Machine Gun
Motive System Damage: None!
Notes:

S4 GAL-100 Galleon Light Tank
Tonnage: 30 tons
Critical Damage: None!
Pilot: Driving 3, Gunnery 4
Armament: Medium Laser, 2 Small Lasers
Motive System Damage: +1 penalty on all driving skill rolls!
Notes:

P1 LCT-1E Locust
Tonnage: 20 tons
Critical Damage: None!
Pilot: Piloting 3, Gunnery 4
Heat: 0/30
Overheat Penalty: None!
Armament: 2 Medium Lasers, 2 Small Lasers
Notes:

P2LCT-1S Locust
Tonnage: 20 tons
Critical Damage: None!
Pilot: Piloting 3, Gunnery 4
Heat: 0/30
Overheat Penalty: None!
Armament: Medium Laser, 2 SRM 2s
Notes:

P3 Warrior H-7 Attack Helicopter
Tonnage: 21 tons
Critical Damage: None!
Pilot: Driving 5, Gunnery 4
Armament: Autocannon/2, SRM 4
Motive System Damage: None!
Notes: Movement reduced to 8/12!

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Sep 28, 2013

Mukaikubo
Mar 14, 2006

"You treat her like a lady... and she'll always bring you home."

quote:


The agent rolled his eyes. “As you wish, Master Lestrade.”

Fluff status: GONE HAM

Clovis as an 'insider' instead of an 'outsider' is... hoooooooo boy. And now I guess we know why we were protecting the nightclub. Seems a little bit of a letdown, though I am sure the next political vote is going to be pants-on-head hilarious.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

Mukaikubo posted:

Clovis as an 'insider' instead of an 'outsider' is... hoooooooo boy.

And I haven't even introduced Dr. Banzai yet!

... but seriously, I was going to point out that the Commando is about to be in serious trouble--but then I realized there is no 'about to be'. The Commando is going to die in a turn or two if it doesn't get some immediate support. Just saying.

Mukaikubo
Mar 14, 2006

"You treat her like a lady... and she'll always bring you home."

PoptartsNinja posted:

And I haven't even introduced Dr. Banzai yet!

... but seriously, I was going to point out that the Commando is about to be in serious trouble--but then I realized there is no 'about to be'. The Commando is going to die in a turn or two if it doesn't get some immediate support. Just saying.

I am sure it will be fine. No need to worry. :v:

Polaron
Oct 13, 2010

The Oncoming Storm
How is the helicopter still flying with zero armor left on its rotors?

Battleteeeeech :argh:

Dominus Caedis
Sep 17, 2007
Stupid Noob

quote:

P3 Warrior H-7 Attack Helicopter cruises 2 to hex 1220! Currently at height 5! Floodlight active!

This is our best chance to bring the bastard down! Lets get 'im.

Edit: Can you DFA an airborne VTOL?

Dominus Caedis fucked around with this message at 05:00 on May 3, 2011

ShadowDragon8685
Jan 23, 2011

Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember SD from such films as "Guys, I'm not sanguine about this Mech choice", "The Millstone of the Clans", and "Uppity Sperglord ilKhan"! Make sure to clear the date for his upcoming documentary, "How I ran a Star of Clan Mechs into the ground!"

Polaron posted:

How is the helicopter still flying with zero armor left on its rotors?

Battleteeeeech :argh:

It still has structure left on the rotors.

I guess BTech VTOL rotors are built with lots of redundant arms and the unbalancing arms are just automatically blasted off with explosive bolts?

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

Polaron posted:

How is the helicopter still flying with zero armor left on its rotors?

Battleteeeeech :argh:

0 armor 3 structure. It's Battletech, everything is carrying unnecessary armor that doesn't hinder operational performance when it's shot off unevenly. Hell, the Clan Donar copter even has two counterrotating rotors JUST IN CASE.

Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

For those not into the fluff, who is this Clovis character?

TildeATH
Oct 21, 2010

by Lowtax

PoptartsNinja posted:

And I haven't even introduced Dr. Banzai yet!

... but seriously, I was going to point out that the Commando is about to be in serious trouble--but then I realized there is no 'about to be'. The Commando is going to die in a turn or two if it doesn't get some immediate support. Just saying.

If he backs up that street to 1918 (barring the horribly unlucky piloting roll) he should be fine. It gets him out of range of that chopper spotlight and out of LOS of the two Locusts. Of course, H1 and H3 should still move into some kind of position to disembowel those chickenwalkers. I'm too busy on the nice side of town providing color for the story.

jng2058
Jul 17, 2010

We have the tools, we have the talent!





SynthOrange posted:

For those not into the fluff, who is this Clovis character?

In the original Stackpole novels (Warrior: En Garde, Warrior: Riposte, Warrior: Coup) he's a brilliant computer hacker who's part of dropship jumpship crew who first gets involved in the attempted kidnapping of Melissa Steiner, then hooks up with the Kell Hounds, then eventually finds out that he's the bastard son of Duke Aldo Lestrade, who had been loving with the Hounds for awhile, and eventually sneaks in and assassinates his dad in revenge for the raid on the Kell Hounds base that wipes out a bunch of his friends. In the canon he works for his mother, Danica Holstein and is a member of Heimdall.

In this version, he apparently was raised by his father and is as much of a bastard as his dad is, what with the bulldozing a bar because he's done with it and all.

Mukaikubo
Mar 14, 2006

"You treat her like a lady... and she'll always bring you home."

SynthOrange posted:

For those not into the fluff, who is this Clovis character?

The illegitimate, dwarf son of Duke Aldo "rear end in a top hat" Lestrade. In the canon timeline, he is a computer ultragenius who is one of Heimdall's top people eventually.

Oh, and he murders Duke Lestrade.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
He's Duke Lestrade's illegetimate son by Danica Holstein. In the main timeline, he assassinated his father because his father was a mass-murdering psychopath who founded the 'Free Skye' seperatist movement, invited Kurita forces to attack the Isle of Skye on several occasions, tried to assassinate Katrina Steiner on several MORE occasions, and got was directly responsible for House Kurita murdering over a thousand people in cold blood.

Clovis assassinated his father when Duke Lestrade indirectly killed the love of Dan Allard's life.

Clovis is also a genius-level intellect, and can make computers do things nobody else even realizes they're capable of. He was also a huge help in finalizing the Wolfhound's computer systems, and was pretty much solely responsible for the weight-distribution changes that allowed Kai Allard-Liao's Centurion to be outfitted with a Gauss rifle.

So, in short:
He's a midgit and a genius.

jng2058 posted:

In this version, he apparently was raised by his father and is as much of a bastard as his dad is, what with the bulldozing a bar because he's done with it and all.

In his defense, he may be giving that order simply because he doesn't expect anyone to actually follow through with an order given by "Duke Lestrade's 'special' little boy".



TildeATH posted:

If he backs up that street to 1918 (barring the horribly unlucky piloting roll) he should be fine. It gets him out of range of that chopper spotlight and out of LOS of the two Locusts. Of course, H1 and H3 should still move into some kind of position to disembowel those chickenwalkers. I'm too busy on the nice side of town providing color for the story.

That would take him three turns, since the penalty for moving recklessly is cumulative per point of MP ignored during the whole of the movement. It gets big in a hurry, and is incredibly risky.

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 05:10 on May 3, 2011

TildeATH
Oct 21, 2010

by Lowtax

PoptartsNinja posted:

So, in short:
He's a midgit and a genius.

You mean he's this guy?

jng2058
Jul 17, 2010

We have the tools, we have the talent!





PoptartsNinja posted:

So, in short:
He's a midgit and a genius.

In short. Heh.

He's also quite a bit like Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones if you're watching/reading that. And for that matter, both of them eventually murder their rear end in a top hat fathers.

TildeATH
Oct 21, 2010

by Lowtax

PoptartsNinja posted:

That would take him three turns, since the penalty for moving recklessly is cumulative per point of MP ignored during the whole of the movement. It gets big in a hurry, and is incredibly risky.

Ah, I thought it was a one-time check to go regular speed. So he's really moving 2/3 and 3/5 with a piloting check? Or is it that he needs to make a piloting+2 to even move the extra hex (because he needs to save up the MP?

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

TildeATH posted:

Ah, I thought it was a one-time check to go regular speed. So he's really moving 2/3 and 3/5 with a piloting check? Or is it that he needs to make a piloting+2 to even move the extra hex (because he needs to save up the MP?

He'd have to make either: 3 piloting checks at +2, +4, and then +6 to move a single extra hex; or two piloting checks at +4 and then +6 (obviously, the second option is better but still horribly risky).

If he tried to flat-out run and ignore every MP penalty, he'd hit an automatic failure by his third hex.

... Honestly, if you're trying to cheese the system, the best thing to do would be to try to force a skidding test since that can take the Commando up to its maximum movement (at the cost of putting it flat on its face/back and potentially taking a header into a building).

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 05:28 on May 3, 2011

TildeATH
Oct 21, 2010

by Lowtax

PoptartsNinja posted:

He'd have to make either: 3 piloting checks at +2, +4, and then +6 to move a single extra hex; or two piloting checks at +4 and then +6 (obviously, the second option is better but still horribly risky).

If he tried to flat-out run and ignore every MP penalty, he'd hit an automatic failure by his third hex.

... Honestly, if you're trying to cheese the system, the best thing to do would be to try to force a skidding test since that can take the Commando up to its maximum movement (at the cost of putting it flat on its face/back and potentially taking a header into a building).

I didn't realize the mechanic worked like that. That's horrendous. Those poor, bloody Locusts.

Tempest_56
Mar 14, 2009

PoptartsNinja posted:

... Honestly, if you're trying to cheese the system, the best thing to do would be to try to force a skidding test since that can take the Commando up to its maximum movement (at the cost of putting it flat on its face/back and potentially taking a header into a building).

This is a good plan, as long as the building is a red one.

Sair
May 11, 2007

Obviously the most effective way is to use your mech as a wrecking ball.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
Let’s Read: Main Event (part 1)

Ahh, Battletech novels. They were a staple of my youth, and I love them (even if Michael Stackpole really should’ve stuck to writing about X-Wing fighters). However, as you know, I’m extremely opinionated; and there are books that I strongly dislike. I honestly don’t mind Mary Sue characters, I genuinely like Prince Victor Davion, Phelan Kell, Kai Allard-Liao, and Cassie Suthorn. I don’t hate Duncan Kalma, Loren Jaffrey would be a pretty cool guy to drink with, and even that terrorist dickhead Aris Sung is pretty fun to read about.

… And then there’s Jeremiah Rose. Jeremiah. loving. Rose.

When I first read the first (and only) two books about the Black Thorns, I sincerely wanted to like them. On paper, they have a lot of character: they’re a small company of Mercenaries lead by a former member of the ComGuards who also happens to be a Northwind Highlander (even if he’s not actively practicing his caber-tossing). Unfortunately, well… you’ll see.

You’ll loving see.

So, without further adeu, I present to you:



Also known as, the worst battletech book since the one with the loving bird aliens a book that’s marginally better than its sequel (and the reason I’m glad the Black Thorns got killed to a man—sorry, ‘disappeared’, during the Jihad).

Oh, and before I forget to mention it, this book has pictures which I will be scanning and showing you. They’re hilariously bad.



Chapter 1
Tara, Northwind
23 April 3054

There is no prologue, thank god. This book was pretty clearly intended to be a one-shot at this point, so they do pretty much nothing in the way of the interesting politics that Battletech is pretty famous for. This is not in the book’s favor, watching the unfolding politics and scheming antagonists is half the fun, and the closest we’re going to come to ‘political maneuverings’ is a dickhead in a Marauder II.

But hey, spoilers.

Main Event posted:

Jeremiah Rose stopped to draw in a deep breath.

Oh, hey, that’s a good start. Our protagonist has remembered how to breathe.

Main Event posted:

The dawn breezes on Northwind had a scent all their own, one he had never forgotten in all the years away from his homeworld. The real thing was far better than any memory, but he had no time to tarry.

But he does have time to waste thinking about it. Our time. He then goes to customs and body-slams the door open. God, I really wish I was joking.

Main Event posted:

Startled customs agents in their regulation Stewart tartans stared at Rose as he pushed the unexpectedly light door open with a crash.

Rose then contemplates on how IRRITATING customs is even in the far future world of OUTER SPACE. See? He is a relatable character! LOVE HIM!

… Honestly, this is our first impression of Jeremiah Rose and he comes across as a total rear end in a top hat; describing a man he’s never met (the custom’s official) as “evil” and “narrow minded” even though they haven’t even said a single word to each other yet. You see, Jeremiah just knows people. If he thinks about something, he is probably correct. If he makes an observation, it is ALWAYS correct. He’s Dominic Deegan in space and it hurts just thinking about it.

Customs then takes a little longer then normal because Rose is a dickhead (but he blames it on the customs officials, what a GREAT GUY). Rose owns precisely three jumpsuits and a single pair of formal-wear, and it still takes the 90 year old customs agent a half-hour to sort through it because Rose A) hasn’t washed his clothing since he left Terra, B) doesn’t believe in folding anything, and C) is an unhelpful dickhead.

Rose then lets the old man fumble around with his second suitcase for a bit before he reveals that the latches are GENETICALLY ENCODED to only open for JEREMIAH ROSE. This case holds Rose’s pistol which is described as being custom-made for Rose and “like a rifle with a short grip”.

AKA, it’s bullshit. The Customs agent then declares that the laser ‘pistol’ is a “Mechwarrior’s weapon” which is ridiculous since most Mechwarriors carry weapons that can fit in a holster or, at the very worst, a pocket holdout pistol that’s easily concealed; not a colossal “twice the size and weight of an average laser pistol” laser pistol.

The agent then asks to see the papers for Rose’s ‘Mech, learns he’s dispossessed (aka: has no ‘Mech), and announces it to everyone in the room to show how evil customs agents are in the SPACE future! irritate Rose, because Rose is a dickhead.

People then point and laugh at Rose, and he turns the other cheek. See? HE is a LIKEABLE CHRIST FIGURE character! LOVE HIM!

We are then treated to several paragraphs about how startled Rose is to see people wearing something other than austere white ComStar robes the riot of colors that is typical for Scotland Northwind, apparently.

Main Event posted:

Of all the people and places Rose had seen, none could match the vigor of the Highlanders when it came to enjoying life.

Bow-chicka-bow-wow!

Anyway, after some more pointless exposition wherein it is revealed that Rose has a GURU from which he learned the SPACE MYSTICISM that allows him to be RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME, Rose commandeers a Taxi and directs it to take him to The Fort; the Northwind Highlanders’ main base (an old Castle Brian) on Northwind. The Driver just gives Rose a look.

Main Event posted:

“The Fort,” [Rose] repeated. “I’m not some stupid tourist or dumb mercenary. Take me to the Fort, now.”

Cowed by Rose’s forcefulness, the driver faced front again and eased the car into traffic.

WHAT A NICE GUY.

We’re then treated to more information about the Northwind Highlanders that simply doesn’t matter because Coleman did it better and this book isn’t about the Highlanders in any way. We then learn that the Northwind Highlanders, a mercenary organization of four regiments, is ruled by warriors. What. A. Surprise.

Rose then stiffs the cabbie pays him 50 c-bills and wanders off before collecting his change (what a NICE GUY). We then learn that it is early morning. He talks to the secretary who tells him to wait. We are then treated to a description of how an elevator works. I’m not kidding. Rose thinks about the stupidest things and assumes you’ll be interested in them too.

We then learn that Rose requested permission to speak before the Assembly of Warriors six months ago. They’d probably have responded sooner if he hadn’t been on loving Terra. We then learn, surprise of surprises:

Main Event posted:

His numerous requests had initially received a poor response, but with persistence he had finally managed to win a place on the agenda. After almost three months aboard ship, he finally arrived by JumpShip at the nadir jump point for Northwind.

Ok, to put this in perspective: Terra is precisely one jump from Northwind. He should’ve been there in two weeks. Additionally, the Highlanders pride themselves on letting any Highlander (by blood) address the assembly; yet they are only allowing Rose to speak to get him to STOP PESTERING US ALREADY, GODDAMN YE!

They keep him waiting outside the door for nine hours, then let him in. We then learn that Rose is nervous about public speaking; which is a genuine and relatable character train, right?

Then the chapter ends.



Next Time:
Jeremiah Rose gets laughed out of the Assembly of Warriors. Also, a picture of him trying SO HARD not to be all pouty about it.

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 06:04 on May 3, 2011

Mukaikubo
Mar 14, 2006

"You treat her like a lady... and she'll always bring you home."
PTN, do you want a xanax? Maybe some prozac? Gosh.

Wow.

Yeah, these are two novels out of the set that I never actually read. I am not sad about this now.

cookieman
Jan 19, 2009
Dont DFA the chopper. Ram it from below with jumpjets.
DFB
Can't imagine that'll be good for it.

Vox Nihili
May 28, 2008
You guys might may to start focusing more on the swarming enemy forces and less on the buildings for the time-being. There's no way you'll be able to evade the opposition while slowly wearing down buildings over the next 10 turns, anyway.

AtomikKrab
Jul 17, 2010

Keep on GOP rolling rolling rolling rolling.

I have had this explained to me.

AtomikKrab fucked around with this message at 06:46 on May 3, 2011

Sam Hall
Jun 29, 2003

PoptartsNinja posted:

Hell, the Clan Donar copter even has two counterrotating rotors JUST IN CASE.

Does destroying one of them force the player to spend all his MP spinning madly in circles for the rest of the game? please say it does.

Olesh
Aug 4, 2008

Why did the circus close?

A long, chilling list of animal rights violations.
I'm looking over at the latest report and something is bugging me. Originally, I was questioning why on earth the rotors are not destroyed, since they took 7 damage and only have a total of 2 armor and 3 structure.

I went and looked it up and apparently rotors only take 1/10 weapon damage from any hit (rounded up). So, there's that for anyone who was wondering like me.

I originally was going to try and figure out the justification (obviously fast-moving rotors are not going to be affected by a laser to the same extent as a stationary object, and autocannons fire multiple shots, not a single shell), but I realized that this is a game about completely impractical walking tanks and that would be excessively nitpicky.

Too bad you didn't hit anything else that would have actually taken damage!

The Merry Marauder
Apr 4, 2009

"But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."

TildeATH posted:

Ah, I thought it was a one-time check to go regular speed.

I'm away from my books, but I looked up the fog rules when the scenario was announced, and that's what I found. Oh well, bad advice on my part. Still:

TildeATH posted:

If he backs up that street to 1918 (barring the horribly unlucky piloting roll) he should be fine. It gets him out of range of that chopper spotlight and out of LOS of the two Locusts. Of course, H1 and H3 should still move into some kind of position to disembowel those chickenwalkers. I'm too busy on the nice side of town providing color for the story.

But you wouldn't want to go to 1918 anyway, because the chopper is facing up that street.

The Commando can get to 1223 with just one PSR; out of LOS of the Locusts, and out of firing arc of the chopper. Turn after that, he can smash into 1125 and let the building soak the SRMs.

Edit: Bowman, if you're going to cornhole S1, jump up to 1703 so any missed SRM shots don't hit the nightclub?

The Merry Marauder fucked around with this message at 08:18 on May 3, 2011

paragon1
Nov 22, 2010

FULL COMMUNISM NOW
Put the book down Poptarts! Nothing could possibly worth it!

Are you serving some kind of penance or something?





vvvv I reserve the right to be overly melodramatic about anything.

paragon1 fucked around with this message at 08:48 on May 3, 2011

The Merry Marauder
Apr 4, 2009

"But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."

paragon1 posted:

Put the book down Poptarts! Nothing could possibly worth it!

Eh. The book's annoying, but not that bad. Rose loses a fight on Solaris, which by Battletech standards is pretty outré, and he doesn't always get his way. I get annoyed later on with the lance of retirees that turns out to be exclusively assault Mechs, and then the Black Thorns' tendency to dispatch Masakaris and Daishis effortlessly and with a ready quip. Still, some of the main "characters" get killed, and, frankly, any kind of protagonist vulnerability is a welcome change from the norm in these novels.

Vox Nihili posted:

There's no way you'll be able to evade the opposition while slowly wearing down buildings over the next 10 turns, anyway.

Not necessarily. Unless PTN changes the initiative rules, it's pretty easy to jump away from contact but still in range of buildings. Even if he spreads out enough so something will have an LOS, which would take more reinforcements and a bit of maneuvering, they'd have a hell of a time hitting anything that jumps every turn in these conditions.

AtomikKrab
Jul 17, 2010

Keep on GOP rolling rolling rolling rolling.

remember you are explosive to a one hex zone around your mech, stay at least that far away from the nightclub

Preechr
May 19, 2009

Proud member of the Pony-Brony Alliance for Obama as President
Wait a minute, they made a sequel to Main Event? Goddamn. That book really was a shitpile. Jeremiah Rose, the man so magic he can win a match in a Charger.

Mary Sue though he is, at least that cop calls him out on what a douche he is, after wiping the floor with his rear end.

ShadowDragon8685
Jan 23, 2011

Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember SD from such films as "Guys, I'm not sanguine about this Mech choice", "The Millstone of the Clans", and "Uppity Sperglord ilKhan"! Make sure to clear the date for his upcoming documentary, "How I ran a Star of Clan Mechs into the ground!"

PoptartsNinja posted:

Let’s Read: Main Event (part 1)

So, without further adeu, I present to you:


I'm sorry! I'm sorry I said it! I take it back! Please go and read more Star Trek to us, oh Pastry Assassin!


Seriously, just based on your intro there, I already want this guy to get clobbered in the face by caber. What a douchenozzle - he body slams the door to the customs office down and then acts all butthurt when they gently caress with him?

I hope somebody knocks some of his teeth out.

Alchenar
Apr 9, 2008

goatface posted:

So do they know how to build jump drives and cheap ground-to-orbit ships, or are they stuck with hundreds of years old ones?

What I'm basically asking is: Why are they still in a loving scarcity society?

We live in a post-scarcity society now but most of the world is still starving.

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Its Rinaldo
Aug 13, 2010

CODS BINCH
All this GDL hate is making me :smithicide:

So what if I was eleven and a moron with no taste and wouldn't start reading actually good science fiction for another two years. The GDL books were the first Battletech books I read and I love them unconditionally, like my own little retarded baby. I mean, what fiction has a scene better than a Marik Colonel busting down a building in his Warhammer and seriously considering machine gunning a naked woman in a bathtub.

Pure literary gold!

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