BATTLETECH MISSIONS

PLAYER RULES INTRODUCTION

Battletech Missions is an experimental ongoing Battletech campaign. Each player plays

the role of a ‘Mech pilot working for a small Mercenary company. Players will develop their pilots

over the course of a series of Missions. Each mission will involve a group of 4-6 ‘mechs with a

defined set of objectives. Each pilot in the group will receive rewards in the form of C-Bills and

XP based on whether or not the mission is successful, whether their ‘mech survives, and so

forth. C-Bills are used to upgrade ‘mechs, XP is used to upgrade pilots.

GETTING STARTED

Each Character starts the game with:

● A Pilot with Gunnery Skill 4 and Piloting Skill 5

● 2,000,000 C-Bills (2,500,000 C-Bills if they join a faction)

● 15 XP

The year is 3025, near the end of the third succession war. Technology is limited to ‘mechs

available in the 3039 book. See Available Starting mechs for a list of ‘mechs that the players

have access to.

Players may also choose a Faction at character creation. This gives a one-time signing bonus

of 500,000 C-Bills and opens up additional ‘mech Chassis and abilities. See the Faction Rules

for details.

SCENARIOS

Each Mission is a single game intended for 4-6 players. The players will all form a single

team while the GM will run the opposing force(s).

Successful completion of a scenario will result in the awarding of a Mission Certificate

(“Cert”). This will include XP and C-Bill rewards, as well as pieces of equipment or ‘mech

chassis that are now available to the player.

Typically, missions will also include a “Bonus Objective”. This could be anything from

completing the main objective in a given period of time, gathering some additional intel,

capturing an enemy pilot, etc. Completing the Bonus objective will generally involve an extra C-

Bill reward, and may also involve the awarding of a “Debrief” Cert on top of the regular mission

cert.

As with other “Living” campaigns, awards will be assigned a C-Bill cost, and will be made

available to all players of a mission. If the player has the C-Bills they can purchase the

equipment at any time.

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MECHS

Players start with a single ‘mech chosen from the available starting ‘mechs list below.

They may not customize that ‘mech unless they have certs saying otherwise. Certs may allow

for the replacement of identical weapons, replace a heat sink, or other similar activities, and will

be given a C-Bill cost.

Pilots only begin the game capable of piloting Light ‘mechs, and must spend XP to

upgrade their pilot’s certification to heavier weight classes.

Mech Variant Reference Wt. BV Cost Speed Weapons HS Armor

Commando COM-1D 3039 p157 25 558 1,811,250 6/9/0 LL, SRM6 10 48

Commando COM-2D 3039 p158 25 541 1,823,750 6/9/0 SRM4, SRM6, ML 10 64

Hornet HNT-151 3039 p406 20 488 1,212,700 5/8/5 ML, SL, LRM5 10 64

Hornet HNT-152 3039 p407 20 475 1,248,700 5/8/5 ML, SL, SRM4 10 64

Locust LCT-1E 3039 p439 20 553 1,574,200 8/12/0 2xML, 2xSL 10 64

Locust LCT-1S 3039 p442 20 440 1,511,200 8/12/0 ML, 2xSRM2 10 48

Locust LCT-1V 3039 p443 20 432 1,511,200 8/12/0 ML, 2xMG 10 64

Locust LCT-3V 3039 p444 20 490 1,553,200 8/12/0 2xML, 2xMG` 10 56

Stinger STG-3G 3039 p445 20 497 1,662,240 6/9/6 2xML 10 64

Stinger STG-3R 3039 p446 20 359 1,614,240 6/9/6 ML, 2xMG 10 48

UrbanMech UM-R60 3039 p165 30 504 1,464,125 2/3/2 AC10, SL 11 86

Wasp WSP-1A 3039 p448 20 384 1,614,240 6/9/6 ML, SRM2 10 48

Wasp WSP-1D 3039 p449 20 403 1,638,240 6/9/6 ML, 2xSL, F 10 48

Wasp WSP-1K 3039 p450 20 376 1,614,240 6/9/6 ML, MG 10 56

Wasp WSP-1L 3039 p451 20 335 1,624,320 6/9/6 SRM4 10 48

Wasp WSP-1W 3039 p452 20 373 1,633,320 6/9/6 6xSL 10 48

SCENARIO REWARDS

At the end of a mission, each player will be awarded a scenario certificate, or “Cert”. The

Certificate lists the various rewards for that mission. The rewards include a C-Bill reward

(payment for a mission), XP (representing increase in the pilot’s experience) and Salvage.

C-BILLS

Pilots start with a fixed 2,000,000 C-Bills. When a pilot completes a mission, he will get a

C-Bill reward, depending on the mission outcome. C-Bills can be spent on upgrades for ‘mechs,

or for replacing the ‘Mech entirely. If a pilot joins a faction (see below) he gets a one-time

bonus of 500,000 C-Bills.

Award Value (Mech survives)

Value (Mech Crippled)

Value (Mech Destroyed)1

Winning a Scenario 250,000 150,000 100,000

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Losing a Scenario 50,000 50,000 50,000

Scenario Bonus Varies Varies Varies

Most missions will include a “Scenario Bonus”. This is some extra part of the mission

that is worth a higher reward but is not required for victory. This could include things like

capturing an enemy pilot for questioning, or completing the mission in a certain number of turns,

etc.

C-Bill rewards are listed on mission certs.

Unlike most Battletech campaigns, the nitty-gritty details of ‘mech repairs are abstracted

away. To keep things interesting for the players, even total ‘mech destruction isn’t a serious

setback. Mission C-Bill rewards are based on the state of your ‘mech at the end of a mission,

with higher rewards for intact ‘mechs than crippled ‘mechs than destroyed ‘mechs. No matter

what state a ‘mech is in at the end of a scenario, it is completely repaired and rearmed for the

start of the next scenario.

XP

Each mission (successful or otherwise) grants each player a certain amount of XP. XP

can be spent to improve pilot skills, buy abilities, or cookies. Pilot skills can be bought down for

the listed amount. However, a pilot’s Piloting and Gunnery skills can never be more than one

apart - i.e. a pilot that is a four gunnery and five piloting must buy down his piloting before he

can improve his gunnery skill. At the end of every scenario, XP are awarded to each player.

These can be used to purchase pilot upgrades, Cookies (Single use special abilities) or Faction

Abilities.

Because this is a living campaign, pilot death would be a real bummer. Therefore, if a

pilot is killed, he is considered to have made a miraculous escape, possibly in a slightly

irradiated refrigerator. However, the pilot will receive less XP for that mission.

Award Value (Pilot Survives)

Value (Pilot Killed)1

Winning a Scenario 15 5

Losing a Scenario 5 2

Each ‘Mech/Combat Vehicle killed by party2 1 1

1Note that pilot death isn’t permanent – it just involves a smaller XP award.

2Kill XP are awarded to each player; they are not split. If a group of four players kills two ‘mechs, then each player will

be awarded 2 extra XP.

Spending XP

XP can be spent on a number of different things. Once XP have been spent they cannot be

“unspent”. Cookies are single-use special abilities, see table below for a list of cookies and their

descriptions.

XP Costs

Buying a particular single use Cookie Cost + 15 * Number of Other Cookies

Buying a random single use Cookie 10 + 15 * Number of other cookies

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Make a specific cookie "Universal" +15

Piloting 5 to 4 40

Piloting 4 to 3 80

Piloting 3 to 2 160

Piloting 2 to 1 320

Piloting 1 to 0 640

Gunnery 4 to 3 50

Gunnery 3 to 2 100

Gunnery 2 to 1 200

Gunnery 1 to 0 400

Unlock Medium ‘mechs 30

Unlock Heavy ‘mechs 60

Unlock Assault ‘mechs 90

Pilots begin the game as 4/5 Pilots (4 Gunnery, 5 Piloting), and can be improved as above.

Pilots also begin the game able to pilot only light ‘mechs, and must purchase the ability to pilot

larger ‘mechs. Note that there is no requirement to purchase one class before another – in other

words a pilot could simply skip Medium ‘mechs and go straight to Heavy ones.

Note that the ability to pilot a Heavy ‘mech doesn’t grant the user enough C-Bills to buy one.

SALVAGE

During a scenario, if an enemy ‘Mech has been disabled but not fully destroyed, it may

be salvaged. This means that that ‘Mech is now available for purchase by players. At the end of

the scenario, the GM will check off all salvaged ‘mechs on the player’s cert. They may then

spend the listed amount to purchase that ‘Mech for future use.

Certain Certs will allow for upgrades to ‘mechs, such as the “Inferno Missile” Upgrade.

These have a certain cost. You can upgrade a ‘mech by paying that cost. Certain Upgrades

take the form of new types of ammunition available to that ‘mech. The pilot of the ‘mech can

choose, at the beginning of a mission, whether or not to replace a ton of ammunition for any of

the weapons on his ‘mech with a ton of the alternative ammo.

‘Mechs may always be sold for 80% of their full value (any C-Bills spent customizing

them are lost, however). New ‘mechs may be bought from the Starting ‘mechs list, plus any

‘mechs that have been made available via certs.

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COOKIES

Cookies are single-use abilities that allow pilots to do something special. Cookies can be

bought either as specific cookies or as a random draw from the cookie deck at the beginning of

the game. Cookies have variable costs, depending on how powerful they are. See the “Cookies”

table at the end of this document.

The cost for each cookie after the first goes up by the number of cookies the pilot

already has. Each subsequent cookie costs and additional 15 XP per cookie the pilot already

has. For example, if the pilot were to purchase “Luck” (allowing a single reroll) that would cost

15 XP (per the table). If he were then to purchase “The Boxer” (giving the pilot a +2 bonus to a

single melee attack) with a table cost of 10 XP, he would need to pay a total of 25 XP – 10 for

the cookie, plus 15 * 1 (the number of cookies he already had). A third cookie would cost an

additional 30 XP on top of its cost from the table.

Cookies come in two basic flavors: Those that affect the player’s mech, and those that

affect enemy ‘mechs. Those that affect enemy ‘mechs can be used against any enemy. Those

that affect the player normally can only affect the player’s ‘mech, but for a flat fee of 15 XP, a

cookie can be made “Universal”, allowing the player to play it on any friendly ‘mech.

Cookies cannot “stack” – it is not possible to play two cookies at the same time.

However, a player may purchase two copies of a cookie to play on subsequent rolls or turns.

Cookie Cost Effect

Edge 15 Force an opponent to re-roll one roll

Luck 15 Reroll a roll after the fact.

Ha ha! That missed! 15 Subtract 1 from an opponent’s roll after the fact

Oh look, that hit after all! 15 Add +1 to a roll immediately after the fact

Taking the Hit 10 Force an opponent to shoot at you if you are at least as close as his original target

Short Circuit 15 An opponent’s energy weapon fails to fire. You take the heat instead

Great shot kid, that was one in a million! 15 Add +2 to a to-hit roll. Must be played before the dice are rolled

I am ten ninjas 15 Subtract 1 from all opponents’ shots against you this round

.88 Magnum 10 Ignore partial cover for one target this round

Nobody could have survived that! 5

If pilot would otherwise be killed, he miraculously ejects and survives (receive full XP for mission)

Robin hood was a wimp 10 Ignore one hex of woods for an attack

Field Repair Kit 10 Repair 5 armor in 1 location

That's not my head 10 +1 or -1 to a location roll against you

Joe Cool 15 -5 Heat

Busted Radiator 15 +5 Heat to an enemy mech

Safety? Who needs that? 10 Ignore minimum range for one weapon for the turn

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Cookie Cost Effect

I ain't got time to bleed 10 Ignore 1 point of pilot damage

Speedy Gonzales 15 +1 to walk speed for the turn

The Boxer 10 +2 bonus to a melee attack

Overrun 10 Can move through an enemy mech

Surefooted 15 +2 bonus to Piloting Skill Rolls for the turn

Bad Back 10 Enemy ‘mech can't torso twist

Good Shooting, Tex! 15 +1 bonus to your attack rolls for the phase

Nobody saw that! 15 +1 bonus to a PSR after it's been rolled

Bananna Peel 15 -2 penalty to an enemy PSR

Sniper Scope 15 +2 to each range bracket for a weapon for the turn

Hey You! 10 Force an enemy to shoot at you if you are at least as close as his original target

After You 15 Your team wins initiative

Calling him out 15 Force a specific enemy unit to move during an initiative phase

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FACTIONS

At any time, including at character creation, the player may select a Faction for his

character. Each faction has different advantages, including ‘mech chassis and pilot abilities that

are only available to that faction. Some missions will have faction specific events that may mean

one-time bonuses (or penalties), or perhaps sub-missions that when completed give extra XP.

Note that the player’s primary allegiance is always to the unit, not to their faction.

Once a faction has been selected, the player cannot change their faction.

Upon joining a faction, the player gets a one-time signing bonus of 500,000 C-Bills.

‘Mechs: Each faction lists special faction-specific ‘mechs at each weight class. These ‘mechs

are available for purchase as if they were either “Starting ‘Mechs” or as if the player had

salvaged them on a cert. Note that at this stage the Heavy and Assult ‘mechs haven’t been

selected yet, but they will be typical ‘mechs for each faction (Kurita will likely have the Dragon,

Liao the Cataphract, etc.)

Faction Abilities: These are special abilities that can be purchased (for an XP cost). They are

similar to Cookies, except that they do not count as a cookie for purposes of calculating cost.

House Kurita (Draconis Combine)

Light: Panther PNT-9R (2,449,260), Jenner JR7-D (3,161,925)

Medium: Crab CRB-20 (3,921, 875), Sentinel STN-3K (3,098,830)

Heavy: Grand Dragon DRG-1G (5,116,800), Crusader CRD-3K (5,296,610)

Assault: Awesome AWS-8Q (6,598,170), Stalker STK-3F (7,252,925)

Faction Ability:

Bushido (15 XP): Once per scenario you may declare a target for a duel. Attacks against that target are made with a -1 to hit bonus. However, attacks against any other target have a +2 penalty. You may declare your target during any fire declaration phase. These modifiers last until the end phase of the first turn after the designated target retreats or is otherwise defeated or destroyed.

House Davion (Federated Suns)

Light: Valkyrie VLK-QA (2,166,320), Javelin JVN-10N (2,330,640)

Medium: Clint CLNT-2-3T (3,566,080), Enforcer ENF-4R (3,527,875)

Heavy: Rifleman RFL-3N (4,852,800), Warhammer WHM-6R (6,023,384)

Assault: Victor VTR-9B (7,941,720), Longbow LGB-0W (8,314,671)

Faction Ability:

Tactical Genius (15 XP): Your team wins initiative ties. Additionally, once per scenario you may take any teammates place in initiative if using forced initiative.

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House Liao (Capellan Confederation)

Light: Raven RVN-2X (2,393,325), Urbanmech UM-R60L (1,568,125)

Medium: Blackjack BJ-1 (3,145,775), Hunchback HBK-4G (3,437,875)

Heavy: Cataphract CTF-1X (5,987,854), Catapult CPLT-C1 (5,691,125)

Assault: Victor VTR-9B (7,941,720), Stalker STK-3F (7,252,925)

Faction Ability:

For the Chancellor! (15 XP): Once per turn you may take one pilot hit to add +1 to an attack or pilot skill roll after the fact. You must roll for consciousness at the end of that phase normally.

House Marik (Free World’s League)

Light: Spider SDR-5D (2,942,290), Hermes HER-1B (2,612,220), Hermes HER-1A (2,569,970)

Medium: Hermes II HER-2S (3,159,380), Trebuchet TBT-5N (4,203,500)

Heavy: Orion ON1-K (6,501,250), Thunderbolt TDR-5S (5,268,560)

Assault: Battlemaster BLR-1G (8,399,494), Awesome AWS-8Q (6,598,170)

Faction Ability:

Plays Well with Others (15 XP): Once per scenario, for one turn only, you may declare one other pilot to be your partner and an enemy unit that you can see within 10 hexes as your target. All your and your partner’s attacks against the target have a -1 to hit bonus.

House Steiner (Lyran Commonwealth)

Light: Valkyrie VLK-QA (2,166,320), Commando COM-1B (1,786,250)

Medium: Hatchetman HCT-3F (3,111,990), Griffin GRF-1N (4,864,107)

Heavy: Warhammer WHM-6R (6,023,384), Archer ARC-2R (6,180,974)

Assault: Zeus ZEU-6S (7,555,800), Battlemaster BLR-1G (8,399,494)

Faction Ability:

Intimidating (15 XP): Once per scenario, during the move phase, you may declare that enemy units cannot move adjacent to you.

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Comstar

Light: Mongoose MON-67 (1,885,730)

Medium: Sentinel STN-3L (3,203,830), Crab CRB-27 (4,050,875)

Heavy: Black Knight BL-6-KNT (7,136,938), Exterminator EXT-4A (6,486,123)

Assault: Thug THG-10E (7,712,040), Highlander HGN-733 (8,010,780)

Faction Ability:

None

Mercenary

Light: Flea FLE-4 (1,519,200), Flea FLE-15 (1,519,200), Firefly FFL-4A

(2,164,500)

Medium: Wyvern WVE-6N (3,154,765), Hoplite HOP-4C (4,038,009)

Heavy: Archer ARC-2W (6,197,974), Bombardier BMB-10D (5,491,310)

Assault: Annihilator ANH-1A (7,648,667), Marauder II MAD-4A (9,356,000)

Faction Ability:

Payday (15 XP): You receive a bonus of 50,000 C-Bills for every successful mission, and 10,000 C-Bills for every unsuccessful mission

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STARTING MECHS BY FACTION

Mech Variant Ref Wt. BV Cost Speed Weapons HS Armor

Draconis Combine

Jenner JR7-D 3039 p172 35 875 3,161,925 7/11/5 4xML, SRM4 10 52

Panther PNT-9R 3039 p175 35 769 2,449,260 4/6/4 PPC, SRM4 13 104

Federated Suns

Valkyrie VLK-QA 3039 p453 30 723 2,166,320 5/8/5 ML, LRM10 11 92

Javelin JVN-10N 3039 p160 30 594 2,330,640 6/9/6 2xSRM6 10 64

Fire Javelin JVN-10F 3039 p161 30 835 2,361,840 6/9/6 4xML 10 96

Capellan Confederation

Raven RVN-1X 3039 p383 35 639 2,899,575 5/8/0 2xML, SRM6, EW 12 64

Raven RVN-2X 3039 p384 35 887 2,393,325 5/8/0 LL, 2xML, SRM6 12 104

Urbanmech UM-R60L 3039 p166 30 470 1,568,125 2/3/2 AC/20, SL 11 64

Free World's League

Spider SDR-5D 3039 p162 30 524 2,942,290 8/12/8 ML, F 10 56

Hermes HER-1A 3039 p411 30 601 2,569,970 9/14/0 2xML, F 10 56

Hermes HER-1B 3039 p412 30 687 2,612,220 9/14/0 3xML 10 56

Lyran Commonwealth

Valkyrie VLK-QA 3039 p453 30 723 2,166,320 5/8/5 ML, LRM10 11 92

Commando COM-1B 3050 IS p12 25 616 1,786,250 6/9/0 LL, ML, SRM2 10 64

Comstar

Mongoose MON-67 3039 p408 25 741 1,885,730 8/12/0 3xML, SL 10 78

Mercenary

Flea FLE-15 3039 p405 20 430 1,519,200 6/9/0 F, 2xSL, 2xMG, 2xML 10 48

Flea FLE-4 3039 p404 20 432 1,519,200 6/9/0 F, LL, 2xSL 10 32

Firefly FFL-4A Klondike p33 30 831 2,164,500 5/8/4 3xML, 4xSL, LRM5 10 104

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KEEPING TRACK OF IT ALL

Attached at the end of this document is a “Battletech Missions Character Sheet”. It

includes space to keep track of everything that happens to your pilot, from missions to

purchasing ‘mechs and upgrades. Each row contains a space for the change in C-Bills and XP

(either gained or lost), plus whatever caused that change. For example:

BATTLETECH MISSIONS CHARACTER SHEET

Character Name Lefty Player Name Jamez_____________

Faction _Free Worlds League____________________________

What? C-Bills +/- C-Bills Total XP +/-

XP Total

Starting Cash 2,000,000 15

Join FWL +500,000 2,500,000 15

Starting ‘Mech (HNT-151) -1,212,700 1,287,300 15

Cookie: Luck 0 1,287,300 -15 0

Mission 01-01 +250,000 1,537,300 +17 17

Mission 01-02 +350,000 1,887,300 +7 24

Buy Infernos -15,000 1,872,300 24

In this example, the pilot “Lefty” started by joining the Free Worlds League (collecting a cool

500k C-Bills in the process), bought a Hornet HNT-151, and started with the cookie “Luck”

(which allows him to, once per mission, re-roll one of his rolls). He then completed two missions,

collecting 600k in cash and 24 XP, and then spent 15,000 to buy inferno missiles for his hornet.

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BATTLETECH CHARACTER SHEET

Character Name ____________ Player Name ________________

Faction __________________________________________

What? C-Bills +/- C-Bills Total XP +/-

XP Total

Starting Cash 2,000,000 15