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PoptartsNinja posted:Not sure why my bold tags broke for the last three vehicles. Well, as someone who played a lot of Mechwarrior games, but only a little Battletech, mostly as a result of this thread, I'm probably not the most qualified for this, but I've been doing some toying with vehicles, and helicopters are fantastic in my experience. Sure, they've got paper thin armor. Sure, any crit on them will wreck their day. That's why they're apparently not terribly threatening. Karnovs have what it takes to make a solid VTOL craft. They're fast, fast enough that they put most scout mechs to shame. They also fly, so they ignore terrain, going right over woods, rough terrain, and whatnot. They make fantastic scouts, but even worse than that, if you throw weapons on them, they make excellent flankers - and that is likely what the Karnovs have. If we're lucky, they're armed with a whole mess of machine guns. Sure, they'll have enough ammo to rain down 8 shots per round, but machine guns at least have limited range. Don't get close, and you won't risk an unlucky critical ending your day. If we're less lucky, they're carrying a pack of SRM 2s. That would give them a range and damage advantage over the machine gun pack, at the cost of only having the ammunition for a few volleys. At this point, it becomes imperative to snipe them out before they get in range to shred armor. And if we're really unlucky? They're transports, carrying troops to unload, and then they'll pick up hostages. PTN has demonstrated that whatever unknown this is, it's probably the worst for us. Did I miss anything? The prospect of a few incredibly fast harrassers/flankers abusing movement advantage in the woods seems to be the most likely problem for us here.
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Feb 10, 2011 20:54
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Der Waffle Mous posted:The best Karnov is the one that carries about a dozen rocket launchers. Do those exist at this point in time? I just looked at the introductory rules variants for the breakdown. I also avoided posting specific damage outputs, due to what seems like thread policy, but, suffice to say, that variant is far and away more deadly than the two I listed. If that variant is flying at this point in time, everyone should press their initiative advantage to stay away from these boats and bring them down. Any hit on them is a potential kill, and any hit they land on you may well be the same...
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Feb 11, 2011 02:48
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PoptartsNinja posted:Worst case scenario is actually: Yeah, I figured infantry could potentially be something horrifying, along these lines, but I didn't really know until you posted that. Chalk that up to 'Things I don't really know about Battletech'. I don't see any 'dedicated anti-infantry' weapons on the party mechs, so oddly enough it looks like the best infantry counter is the party infantry. If these turn out to be transports, I wish you guys the best of luck. Hopefully the sapper/sniper/platoons can cull their ranks.
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Feb 11, 2011 09:29
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Regarding bug mechs... I'm also a sucker for the mobility provided by jump jets. There's nothing quite like taking something with a good number of jump jets into an environment with a lot of cover, poor visibility, or movement penalties and abusing the mobility advantage, especially against longer ranged attackers... and there's always DFA. So, on that note, give me a Wasp, especially a WSP-1W. 6 Small Lasers, that's more firepower than a Charger! A decent pilot can abuse that 6 jump range to move to the ideal attacking locale each turn, and hopefully land a number of small, abrasive hits on the opponent. With luck, a few good kicks or the odd lucky punch could knock an enemy out of the fight. This variant also has a fair amount of armor, considering its weight, giving it a chance to stand against infantry fire, or even a medium laser. And, at 1.6 million C bills, you can afford to field one of these babies. Or two. Maybe even more!
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Feb 16, 2011 18:08
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Oh man, what a choice. B seems more pragmatic, but A seems like a better chance to set up some Shakespearean drama, as I imagine there are enough things in place to make Justin regret that choice. However, that is more personal than political drama, and B is likely enough to result in more intrigue, somehow. At any rate, it doesn't feel like Justin seems committed to Romano's ambitions just yet, and B looks like it could play out in any number of interesting ways. So I'll vote for it.
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Mar 22, 2011 17:53
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Mastigophoran posted:Behold the glory that can only be described as Ice Slide Bullet Ballet. I believe it covers pretty much all the gauntlets thrown down. This is beautiful indeed. On topic, this thread is going interesting places. My entire knowledge of mechwarrior canon before this came from an old mac version of MW2's text dumps and campaign, so I knew about the old clan invasion, the battle of Tukayid, and the Refusal war. All of these Mary Sues are sort of making my head spin, and yet PTN seems to be steering us well clear of their ilk, so ignorance, I guess, is bliss. The real irony is that while you face a REDACTED in the Mechwarrior 2 campaign, engine limitations make it a fairly worthless foe. I've yet to load any of them up in Megamek, as having not played tabletop, I really don't get what the fuss is about, mechanics wise. As far as combat goes, good luck out there. Given this unit's experience fighting house Kurita, I'm sure they're well within their rights to know how to abuse honor duals to play for time without being too obvious about it. The real question is, would they know just how horribly outmatched they are? I'm sure reports of the clan invasion have been coming in for a while now.
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Mar 26, 2011 01:30
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Bobbin Threadbare posted:First contact and horrible things You know, aside from MW2's plot synopsis in the game shell, the only other encounter I ever had with Battletech plot was fanfiction... crossover fanfiction, even. Somehow, it still got the tone and concept better than this, simply by not having aliens, focusing on warring noble families, and having battles focusing on mechs duking it out. It did have a LAM, though, just like this. Please, keep this up - this could go so many directions... Question to the thread: why all the hatred for LAMs? I've never really thought about them, as Megamek doesn't bother with them, nor do any of the games I've played. However, one of the main sources of artistic inspiration for Battletech (Macross) was full of mechs that turned into planes. Is the distaste people trying to distance Battletech from some of its inspirations? Knee jerk reactions against some author avatar who piloted a LAM and killed everything in the skies and on land himself? Dislike of rules that must've been absolutely awful to implement on tabletop?
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Apr 3, 2011 23:48
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Man, this book is awful. They really had to name the girl Goodall, didn't they? At least they're going the horrible almost pets route rather than the earlier, hinted crossbreeding route. I guess I can see why LAMs are reviled. Making the person running the game look up a whole set of rules that wouldn't exist otherwise is bad, them being poorly balanced just adds to it (though after the introduction of Clantech before BV, I'm surprised they got singled out for ire.). The anti-anime sentiment is a little ironic, but considering that at the time of Battletech's launch, Harmony Gold was pulling a Saban with the mech's sources to create Robotech for Western audiences, a lack of knowledge or even like of the inspiration makes quite a lot of sense. I guess I wouldn't have any dislike of LAMs if they had well implemented rules and BV, but as I've never run into them aside from as a concept, I don't really have much of an opinion. As for the raging battle, I eagerly anticipate how PTN's tweaked Hellbringer performs. I always loved that chassis, as with MW2's implementation of the customization system and clan arsenal, you could easily strip out the (non-implemented) electronic warfare gear, and turn it into a rather speedy, durable death dealer. So, good luck out there - this thing could be packing anything.
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Apr 5, 2011 15:49
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PoptartsNinja posted:... I understand the logic of all your descriptions except for this one. Is this ideal because the Vipers aren't burning their best troops on learning Steiner rules? Or is this more ideal because a Garrison Galaxy would be better suited to holding the territory it conquers? e. I see. They're really committed to this invasion, then...
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Apr 11, 2011 17:20
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Are there specific rules for fire harming infantry/ejected pilots, or are we adding them on because of fantastic drama? I know my experience with MegaMek seems to tell me that pilots eject to an adjacent hex, in line with the whole 'chutes don't carry you that long or far' fluff, and that fire seems to only add to Mech heat, as well as fill the board with smoke. Either way, this fire is tactically interesting, and dramatic. It's very fun to watch this play out.
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Apr 13, 2011 18:25
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I just caught up from a few turns ago, and wow, this has literally turned into a knock down, drag out, brutal melee. There isn't really much I can add at this point. Muk, I think you've got a fairly good sense of things: clanners may have a weird, exploitable sense of honor, and a societal structure that lends itself to individual battles rather than a sustained turf war, but they aren't stupid. Playing this hand does well for the Lyran reputation, and does as well for buying time as breaking the rules would, if not better. If cheating might lead to victory, I could see advocating it, but killing the opposing mechs isn't the goal - buying time is, and in this case that means being slowly dismantled, critical by critical. It's a heroic story of a different kind, or a tragedy, depending on what the dice say. I can't wait to see how it plays out. This thread has been all kinds of good for inspiring drama, with propaganda, side content, people rooting for both sides of the conflict, the underpinning fluff, and players making their calls as to what they think is the best course of action. Wherever this is going, I look forward to it.
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Apr 18, 2011 18:14
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Oh hey, wow, a ton has happened here while I was busy the past day and a half. I can't say I wasn't hoping Muk would pull through, but given the scenario and the odds, a loss right before the end after poor luck and careful stalling makes a cold, bitter defeat, showing the power of the clans. And we still haven't seen their most obnoxious feature (at least, some of us, including myself.) Without further delay, I'll throw in my votes, if they're still around: MVP: Sam because running a long delaying action to try to get the dropship off world was a tough job, and the ploys used made the best of a very brutal scenario. Everyone involved did a great job, baiting the clanners and trying to win, but luck, fluff, and decisions brought it all down on 1 character, who made the best possible choices given a nasty situation. Clan MVP: Drang showed the best of the clans - skilled warriors with a sense of rules, and enough flexibility to work those rules, along with the ability to pilot machines that punch well above their weight classes. The bizarre admiration, the sticking to the 'Steiner rules', and the offer of surrender all show one expression of the ideals the clans seem to represent. Dusk showed this as well, but she wasn't directly involved in the battle. There's also the fact he drove a As far as the political vote, I may as well hop on the A bandwagon. I don't necessarily think this is the smartest choice the character could make, but it seems the most appropriate, and like it would lead to interesting things. Really, anywhere this thread goes, I'm looking forward to it. The opening scenarios gave a pretty good taste of what was 'normal' before the invasion, but now we're hitting the main event, and with all the results of the votes in, the next scenario could get really crazy depending on how people play with it. It's been my experience that even something subtle like lower light visibility can have a big effect on how different armies perform, as that would handicap units reliant on very long range weaponry... unless someone was willing to spot for the LRMs.
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Apr 20, 2011 00:39
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Ah, so it goes. I can only hope that these recordings reach the rest of the Sphere, and give them some idea what is coming their way. So now we've seen how the best the IS has to offer in Succession war forces stacks up to the clans. At this point, it would be very interesting to see a fresh perspective on this conflict. So you offer 3 strange factions, and a new merc regiment. poo poo. I have to say, I really want to see how players deal with the Clan perspective. I don't really agree with almost any of the Clan ideals, but they're interesting, and I'd love to see how they're handled in this alternate timeline. Besides the fact I want to see what Bobbin cooked up. Voting C
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Apr 20, 2011 06:52
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Ok, all the vague hinting in this thread now gives me an idea of who these people are, and why they're fighting. I still don't get IS politics, but for the immediate scenario at hand, I have a few things that I'm paying attention to: -Why bother immitating Clan voice/logos for the mechs? Is this a scapegoat thing, or are the aggressors trying to rile up anger against the clans? I'm basically sure it's the former, but the latter is still on the table until I see solid proof otherwise. -What are they drawing attention from? Obviously there is something else going on here, but whoever's attention they attract has to be someone that a) cares about statues, parks, and peace as well as b) is not mobile enough to immediately turn around and deal with the real threat. -Who are they protecting? Yeah, I've seen some theories bandied about, but it's also possible that the limo is a fake VIP meant to look important, who if exposed will give away the plan. This is again unlikely, but until the story is blown wide open, it's hard to say we actually know anything. I don't really know Lyran politics, so I'm not going to make/hedge bets on any of these.
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Apr 25, 2011 18:43
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Oh man, a bunch of light mechs destroying buildings in a city, on a timer? Now all we need is a wandering nuclear missile carrier. Seriously, go to town here. It's probably worth conserving some ammunition, considering, and using the buildings you actually want destroyed as cover. Buildings can work as cover, right?
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Apr 28, 2011 23:34
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Mary Annette posted:Never stop jumping. Giving yourself tough shots is worth it to give the enemy impossible shots, and we've already seen that these conditions are gonna make for a lot of impossible shots. This will make the fight run long, though, so our Valkyrie and Javelin may need to watch their ammo. This is true, except for certain critical caveats. Specifically, any target that is lighting the players up which is very fragile, depending on the level of reinforcements that show up. We don't know the nature of the 'soft' timer on this mission, and as such a few riskier shots to prevent the players from getting overwhelmed may be worth it. Otherwise, keeping control of the fight, giving the enemy poor shots, and slowly racking up that property damage value will win the day. I worry about the Commando being the least mobile unit on the field, and therefore most vulnerable to being trapped in a bad position, but really anyone who lets the opposition get off a few easy shots could be in a bad way pretty quickly.
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Apr 29, 2011 19:03
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This scenario was a fun little twisty one. I can only wonder what the secret objective for destroying the train - my brain wonders if it would've nuked the planet, like a certain building in a certain Mechwarrior 2 scenario. Unlikely, but hey, I can dream. I'd have to vote for the Von Luckner, the Valkyrie, and the Helicopter. All three were incredibly deadly and effective in their own ways.
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May 20, 2011 17:24
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Ok, so... completely coming out of nowhere, riding in on a heavy mech to make someone punch himself in the face? This alone makes the <REDACTED> worth the price. Better than the system where all they could do is be tiny, run around slowly, and fire their small laser.
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Jun 2, 2011 08:15
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Man, even in a scenario where it our forces had a strong composition, coordination, positioning, losing a mech just happens, sometimes. That said, clan lights seem even more brutal in tabletop than in PC games. I've been lurking for a long while after posting some earlier in the thread, but it's interesting to see the depths of complexity and insanity that this universe provides. To our players, good luck. I've only played tabletop a bit in megamek with a buddy and versus bots/myself, but it's indicated to me that while this thread seems to have an unusual number of weird twists of dice, the system is tailored such that those happen at least once per game. So, it's probably not worth getting careless at this point. I enjoy the scenarios win or lose, but there's just something cathartic about murdering Far Country. On a metaplot scale, I've been trying to figure out what all of these developments mean in the context provided by Sarna and posters here in the thread, and I'm not really sure about my conclusions. Poptarts, you seem to be enjoying slowly revealing the twists and tweaks you've played with the setting's history and development, so I doubt you're done with you adjustments, so any postulations at this point probably would be missing something important.
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Sep 15, 2011 21:59
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landcollector posted:This scenario has appeared to be a little too easy, quineg? PTN must have something else in store for the players. It's also possible that this is a result of the overall campaign pacing. I may not be a very good GM, but I do understand the concept of varying encounter difficulty to keep a campaign interesting. It's also possible that initiative is such a huge factor that Poptarts' best efforts implement mechanics to balance around it, combined with the whim of dice, have created what looks like a series of varying difficulty encounters. I mean, we all expected the first brush with elementals to be at least partially brutal, but rolls and specifics made them incredibly murderous. On a similar note, even if this was intended as a breather encounter, our players have been having a good run spotting and destroying targets though both careful play and decent luck. If there's a twist, cool, and if there isn't, that's good as well. It's a neat setup, and I think it serves to highlight that stealthy, mech-murdering infantry units can be eliminated with the right counter mechs and tactics, even in heavy woods.
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Sep 15, 2011 23:20
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