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7/27/2019 FASA - Battletech - Dragon Magazine Articles

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by Margaret Weis and Kevin Stein1986 FASA Corporation

It had taken a direct appeal to King Jeverid to free up much ofthe equipment the Lancers needed, including eight battered butserviceable hovercraft weapons carriers, five-man machines likethose Grayson had seen in Sarghad. Three of them mounted autocannons, and one a combat laser. Two . . . carried short-rangeSkorpiad anti-armor missiles, while the rest carried anti-

personnel heavy machine guns. This small armada was no matchfor the entire enemy Mech force. With luck though, they mightknock out one or more of the light Mechs in open battle.

Decision at Thunder Riftby William H. Keith, Jr.

Accusations have been made against battlefield historians ofthe Succession Wars that they ignore or gloss over the roleplayed by ground forces support units in favor of the more glam-orous escapades of the MechWarrior.

According to these jokers, aMaraudernailing aMarauderishistory, grumbles Anjin Smith, Liao sergeant and proud operatorof a Hetzer Wheeled Assault Gun. A Hetzer nailing a Marauderis an accident.

But there have been many occasions when the ground forcesproved to be the decisive factor in battles. To quote KatrinaSteiner, Winning commanders are those who recognize theunique abilities of the support units and who make astute andcreative use of them on the battlefield. This article examinesthree representative ground-forces vehicles.

[Vehicle and component weights are expressed in metric tons (1metric ton = 1,000 kilograms). - Editor]

Type: Hetzer Wheeled Assault Gun

TonsMovement Type: WheeledTonnage: 40Cruise Speed: 4Flank Speed: 6Engine: 10

Rating 140

Type I.C.E.Control: Robotic Option 2Lift Equipment:Power Amplifier:Heat Sinks: 0Internal Structure: 4Turret:

Armor:LocationFrontLt./Rt. SideBack

Turret

78 OCTOBER 1986

96Points3022/2222

0

6

Weapons and Ammo:

TypeAC/20Ammo (AC) 20

FacingFrontFront

Tons144

Mass: 40 tonsMovement Type: WheeledPower Plant: SitiCide 140 I.C.E.Cruising Speed: 43.2 kphMaximum Speed: 64.8 kph

Armor: Star Slab 6Armament: One Crusher SH CannonManufacturer: Quikscell CompanyCommunications System: Johnston Q-BandRobotic System: Furbish RobocheckTargeting and Tracking System: Scantrex DualTac

Overview:The Hetzer Wheeled Assault Gun is primarily used to provide

cheap fire support to troops on planets of limited military signifi-cance. Because the mechanical systems of the Hetzer are ex-tremely simple to operate, it has become standard practice toinstall robotic remote-control units in the Hetzer, using it as anunmanned scout vehicle.

Capabilities:The Hetzer is generally used only in a support role. It is never

found operating alone unless it is a robotic scout. The CrusherSuper Heavy Cannon gives the Hetzer enormous fire power po-tential, but its lack of a turret and other, more diversified, weap-onry makes it a nightmare machine for crewmen who arecompelled by either fate or a deranged commander to take oneinto a non-defensive combat situation.

The Hetzer is a wheeled vehicle. This has the advantage ofkeeping its cost down (the whole concept behind the Hetzer), butit restricts the vehicle to moving only over terrain that is eithernaturally flat or has been flattened. These manmade Hetzerpaths are a dead giveaway that Hetzers are operating in thearea.

Most people will do anything to avoid being forced into the

cramped crew compartment of a Hetzer. If the vehicle catchesfire, those caught inside are doomed. Certain sadistic sergeantshave been known to use duty in the Rolling Coffin as a means ofpunishing poor performance.

Battle History:The only known battle fought by Hetzers in a nonsupport role

occurred on Exit, in Liao space. It was, of course, an accident.Two commanders, bored with tedious patrol duty on a planetwell behind the front lines, challenged each other to a war gameusing the only vehicles they currently had at hand robotic-controlled Hetzers for the playing pieces. The robotic-controlled Hetzers were reprogrammed to handle simulatedbattlefield conditions. Since the programmers had so much timeon their hands, some of the programs designed were, in fact,

quite unique.


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On the day of the mock battle, a Marik advance scout force -not noted for its luck dropped on planet to see what, if anytroop concentrations had been left there. Here was a real, livetarget! Overjoyed, the Liao commanders gleefully sent the Het-zers into action. The reprogrammed Hetzers almost completelydestroyed the smaller but better-armed Marik forces. Marikcommanders are still pondering the last message of their scoutforce, warning of a planet crawling with berserk Hetzers.

The Hetzer commanders were promoted and are currently incharge of reprogramming other Hetzers for the use of Liaonobles.

Control:Lift Equipment:Power Amplifier:Heat Sinks:Internal Structure:Turret:

Armor:LocationFrontLt./Rt. SideBack

Variants: Turret

Although the cannon is a preferred weapon, Hetzers have beenknown to carry long- or short-range missile packs, or even lasersand flamers. These, however, are rare modifications.

Some forces use Hetzers equipped with advanced scouting anddetection equipment, but the high cost of such equipment gener-ally prohibits its use to better-armed and more mobile units.

Weapons and Ammo:

TypeSRM 6SRM 6Ammo (SRM) 30

Notable Armor Units and Crews:Anjin Smith, a Liao sergeant, is the only member of a Hetzer

crew never to have requested transfer to a different vehicle unit.Operating in a Hetzer he reprogrammed himself, Smith has beenthrough more than fifteen engagements, with fifteen kills ofassorted larger vehicles to his credit among them a Marauder

Type: Harrasser Missile Platform

Movement Type:Tonnage:Cruise Speed:Flank Speed:Engine:

Rating

Type

Hover

1015

120I.C.E.

12.5

02.5.6

32 2Points76/676

Facing TonsTurret 3Turret 3Body 2

Mass: 25 TonsMovement Type: HoverPower Plant: GM Classic II I.C.E.Cruising Speed: 108.0 kphMaximum Speed: 162.0 kphArmor: 2 Star SlabArmament: Two Sureshot Mk. VI Short Range Missile Packs

Manufacturer: Foxcell Products, Inc.Communications System: ZaiBan X-1000Targeting and Tracking System: TacTex Fixer

Tons Overview:

25

8

The Harrasser Missile Platform is used in support of infantrythat is moving into enemy-held territory. The Harrassers highspeed keeps it out of harms way.

Most of the original Harrassers were built on civilian worlds in2996, designed to defend against either invading troops or lighterMechs bold enough to move into a city. This vehicles high speedand easy maneuverability made it instantly popular with its oper-

Hetzer Wheeled Assault Gun


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Harrasser Missile

Platform

ators. Before long, the Harrasser was one of the most popular

privately-owned military vehicles on the market.Not only does the Harrasser require a skilled and daring driver,

but the vehicle itself is a pure joy to operate. It is no wonder,then, that Harrasser drivers take pride in their machine, spend-ing long hours tinkering with it. Harrassers are lovingly kept inperfect condition. Many have been passed down from generationto generation and are today worth more than five times theirnormal C-bill cost.

sizes. A lesser-used option is to replace the missiles with flamers

or communications-detection gear. These are generally used onlyfor very specialized missions.

Capabilities:The Harrassers armament is designed for quick infighting. Its

two SureShot Mk. VI Short Range Missile Packs give the Harras-ser a good chance of disabling a vehicle much bigger than itself.In general, however, it cannot win a sustained fight because of itslight armor.

The Harrassers best defence is its amazing speed. When mov-ing full out, it is difficult for even Mechs to land a hit on anevading Harrasser.

Notable Armor Units and Crews:Marklin Chevy Chevalier is the owner of one of an original

Harrasser, one of the first ever to come off the assembly line. It isrumored that he won it in a card game, having staked his familyestate for a chance to acquire the coveted vehicle. Chevy has kepthis Harrasser, known as Aces and Eights, in perfect condition,both, for fighting and to exhibit in the Harrasser shows held atvarious times and places throughout the star systems. Here,proud Harrasser owners come together to admire each othersmachines, learn new variations, and swap war stories. Chevy iscommander of the 17th Support Unit stationed on Shroedinger.He is also president of the 57 Club, a group of Harrasser collec-

tors stationed on the planet.

Battle History:One of the first and greatest Harrasser victories occurred on

Quentin, a planet where many Harrassers were built. In 3000, anadvance group from an unknown Kurita Jump Ship invaded theplanet during a border skirmish that had gotten out of hand.Catching the forces of House Davion garrisoned on Quentin com-pletely by surprise, the Kurita troops quickly disabled or cap-tured most of the defending armor units. The few Mechs thathad been stationed on Quentin had been recently transferred toguard the border, leaving behind only a couple of light Mechlances and one medium lance. Kurita forces crushed these with-

out difficulty.The Kurita forces had just settled down to relish their triumphwhen they were suddenly attacked out of nowhere. The 3rd and5th Infantry Support Companies of House Davion had been outon maneuvers in a remote area of the planet. Using their Harras-sers, the 3rd and 5th ISC launched a series of hit-and-run guerillaraids. Their precision strikes so devastated the invaders that theKurita troops surrendered within one week.

Variants:

Type: Schrek PPC CarrierTons

Movement Type: TrackTonnage: 80Cruise Speed: 3Flank Speed: 5Engine: 17.5

Rating 240

Type FusionControl: 4Lift Equipment:

Power Amplifier:Heat Sinks: 30 20Internal Structure: 8Turret: 2.1

Armor: 11 2 7Location PointsFront 27L t . / R t . S i d e 20/20Back 20Turret 25

Weapons and Ammo:Many variations have become popular with Harrasser operators

over the years, since part of the joy of owning one of these vehi-cles is souping it up. Replacing the two missile packs with one * T y p e Facing TonsFarFire-10 Long Range Missile System and 24 loads of ammuni- PPC Turret 7tion is one of the most popular modifications. Another popular PPC Turret 7

variation replaces the missile pacs with laser weapons of various PPC Turret 780 OCTOBER 1986


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Schrek PPC Carrier

Mass: 80 TonsMovement Type: TrackPower Plant: Pitban Fusion 240Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph

Maximum Speed: 54.0 kphArmor: ArcShield VIIArmament: Three HellStar PPCsManufacturer: Aldis IndustriesCommunications System: Olmstead 3000Targeting and Tracking System: Omicron IX

Overview:For many years, the Demolisher heavy tank was one of the

most feared vehicles on the battlefield. Unfortunately, it wasfeared as much by its own crew as it was by the enemy. TheDemolishers main guns had the side effect of generating suchextreme amounts of heat that the crew had to wear speciallydesigned coolant suits when operating it. If the Demolisher be-came involved in a sustained firefight, even the crews coolant

suits would give out. If they didnt die from the heat, the crew-men were so weakened they could no longer fire and instantlybecame sitting ducks.

Ten years and hundreds of coolant suits later, Aldis Industriesannounced the release of a vehicle of a size and fire power com-parable to the Demolisher, but without the heat problems. Thisvehicle was the Schrek PPC carrier.

Capabilities:The Schreks main function on the battlefield is to act as long-

range heavy fire support to vehicles and Mechs. The three Hell-Star PPCs allow the Schrek to engage and destroy practically anyMech in combat. A light Mech may be able to close with theSchrek, but one hit from the PPCs will usually disable or kill theMech. By the time heavier Mechs lumber near enough to engage

a Schrek, the Schreks PPCs may have already inflicted severedamage on them. Medium-sized Mechs are most dangerous to aSchrek, since these Mechs combine both good speed and strongfire power capabilities.

The Schreks angled, sloped armor and low profile make it adifficult target to spot and destroy. It is, therefore, particularlygood for taking fire from hidden gun emplacements. TheSchreks two treads allow it to move easily over soft terrain.

The Schrek lacks close-range attack capability. The PPCs havedifficulty concentrating a particle stream at ranges under 90meters, so a Schrek generally attempts to avoid direct engage-ments with an enemy.

Battle History:Though understandably reluctant to release any information

concerning his homeworld, the alleged interstellar pirate Redjak

Ryan has allowed this story to be made public. According toRyan, he and his troops were away from their homeworld ofButte Hold in an attempt to purchase several pieces of agricul-tural equipment necessary to the peaceful, agrarian pursuits ofour people. Some unknown invader, hearing that the main forcesof Ryans army were off-world, took advantage of the opportunityto raid several of Butte Holds outposts.

After stealing large quantities of supplies and equipment, theinvaders set up camp outside one of Ryans major strongholds,obviously preparing a full-out assault. Fortunately, Ryans com-manders had the presence of mind to investigate certain largecrates marked Tractor that Ryan had brought back from his lastfarm equipment purchasing expedition. No one was more sur-prised than Ryan upon learning that the five Tractors were five

Schreks.I cant imagine how such a mix-up occurred, Ryan commentedlater. I suppose well have to return them sometime!

The invaders force consisted of light and medium Mechs, andalso included several aerospace fighters. Its initial plan was tocompletely overwhelm and overrun the strongholds defenders.Within thirty minutes, however, the five Tractors had reducedthe enemy to scrap metal.

Variants:Very few variants of the Schrek have come into use. Occasion-

ally, troops mount external machine guns or small lasers on them,but this is rare.

Notable Armor Units and Crews:

A private in the heavy armor unit of Halstens Brigade, Fre-derick Sniper Jones earned his nickname by his skill in makingincredible shots. On at least three occasions when his Shreck hasbeen battling overwhelming Mech forces, Jones has picked out acommander and made a kill with a PPC shot to the head.

In summation, we quote Hanse Davion, speaking at the awardceremonies held in honor of the 3rd and 5th ISC. In his speech,Davion commented, I have sometimes heard Mech pilots sneerat those who act in a ground-support capacity. I have noticed thatit is often these very pilots who end up fighting alone againstuneven odds, having been abandoned by those who might havebeen able to save them. I can only say that these unprofessionalimbeciles richly deserved their fate. I know more than one Mech-Warrior who owes his life to his ground support. The smart onesnever forget it.

82 OCTOBER 1986


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DragonStrike (SSI)

Reviews

Saddle up your silver dragon and hit the sky!

Computer games ratings

X Not recommended* Poor** Fair** * Good**** Excellent***** Superb

Strategic Simulations, Inc.

675 Almanor AvenueSunnyvale CA 94086(408) 737-6800

DragonStrike * * * * *

PC/MS-DOS version $49.95DragonStrike is an enormous amount of

fun to play. Its a dragon-flight simulatorthat combines air-to-air and air-to-groundcombat from the perspective of a warriorastride a great winged beast. Given thefeel of powerful flight and the reassuringweight of the dragonlance resting in itssaddle mount, youre ready to do battlewith any number of evil dragons.

The land of Ansalon has been overrunby evil Dragonarmies. Only you and theforces of Good can stop the onslaught of

the evil Dark Queen, Takhisis. As a Knightof Solamnia, you ride a good dragon fromyour base on Sancrist Isle against theenemy hordes, advancing through thethree orders of knighthood: the Knights othe Crown, the Knights of the Sword, andthe Knights of the Rose. To become one othe latter is a rare privilege; to survive anadvance through the 22 different battles i

DragonStrike is a rare feat as well.Every mission is fully explained. You can

even safely fly over a mission area to get ataste for the battlegrounda good way fonovice lancers to learn how to effectivelyguide a dragon in flight. You can use thekeyboard, a mouse, or a joy stick to do

this. You must also use combinations ofkeys on the keyboard to control variousaspects of the simulator. For example, we

DRAGON 4


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ound the mouse was quite effective inontrolling the dragon; push forward onhe mouse and the dragon climbs, pullack and it dives. Moving the mouse to the

eft or right causes the dragon to move inhose directions. Pressing the right mouseutton fires the dragons primary breath

weapon, while pressing the left buttonires the dragons secondary breath

weapon. To properly aim the lance, youmust use another set of nine keys on the

eyboard; you can assign any keys youwish to the flight controls. Your view isrom the saddle atop the dragon, so youan easily determine if your lance is prop-rly aimed to strike a target. Navigatinghe dragon properly saves time and en-rgy in concentrating on adjusting theance. By moving the dragon in any direc-ion and by keeping the lance in the center

position, you can pierce the hide of an evilbeast quite nicely!

The vivid graphics screen (ours was inGA mode) displays not only the main

view from the back of your dragon but

lso your current direction of flightnorth, south, east, or west). A height andpitch indicator shows your dragon inelation to the ground and his angle oflight up or down. The amount of breath,

power, and speed left to your dragon arehown, as are the remaining hit points foroth yourself and your dragon. These

values can be displayed as either numericalues or as colored bars. Also on-screen isCrystal Ball that enables you to deter-

mine where enemy forces are located. AnArrow of Enemy Detection shows youwhere the nearest enemy unit is currentlyocated, and three doses of Keoghtoms

Healing Ointment are available. Othermagical items found during your adven-ures are shown on-screen as well.

As you pilot your dragon into combatwith an enemy dragon, vicious hand-to-hand and tooth-and-claw combat are han-

led automatically. As a knight lancer, youan sustain damage only from an attackrom above, but dont forget that your life

depends upon your dragon; an attackrom below would certainly injure him. Ifnough damage is taken to reduce your

dragons hit points to zero, youll both fall!Keep an eye on your dragons power;

hould his power fall, a good maneuver iso wait until your dragons power returnso full, then climb and drift for a while.

Youll still be pursuing the enemy, but yourdragon will get enough rest to be at full

ower for combat.Should you succeed and complete a

mission, an award ceremony is held. Youllearn if you have gained rank or are enti-led to join a new order. You can completeDragonStrike no matter which of thehree orders of knighthood you are in.

The first mission for new lancers isalled Snow Blind. Your army has left

Sancrist Isle to battle Takhisiss forces, and

ou have been left on the island to watchor enemy white-dragon scouts. Shouldny scouts appear (and naturally, they do),

48 SEPTEMBER 1990

DragonStrike (SSI)

you are to hunt them down and preventthem from warning the Evil Queen of thegood alliances plans. Your next mission isentitled Occupational Hazard. Here youapproach the Isle of Cristyne and spotseveral wyverns about to drop onto mem-bers of your forces naval fleet. Wyverns,as you probably know, have deadly sting-ers. Riding your bronze dragon, you caneliminate the wyverns and save the ships.The third mission, Black Plague, has youin combat against a black dragon that haswreaked havoc on the knights outpost in

southern Ergoth. This dragon is a realsneak; watch out for back attacks!

All of the missions are exciting andincreasingly dangerous. Your first mountis a bronze dragon; you graduate to asilver dragon and finally to a gold dragonas you join different knightly orders. Con-sidering that the gold dragon has a 190body and a 159 tail, youd think littlecould measure up to his stature. Well,think again! Takhisiss Death Dragon hasan armor class of - 11 and 200 of bodylength, with a Death Gas breath weapon!Other forces that oppose you include

manticores, sivak draconians, and flyingcitadelsfortresses held aloft by magic.Included with the game on the back

page of the users manual is a keyboardcommand diagram to assist gamers inlearning key presses for this arcade flightsimulator. The copy protection methodused is to match two symbols shown on-screen with two symbols in your book.You are then asked to enter a specificnumbered word from a specific numberedparagraph on that page, and all is well!

DragonStrike supports the AdLib soundboard. One reason for this arcade gamessuccess is the fact that Westwood Associ-

ates programmed the material for Strate-gic Simulations, assuring top quality. Youcan also change the amount of on-screen

detail to speed up the game, if you wish.We thoroughly enjoy DragonStrike, the

latest member of SSIs AD&D computergames. It is highly original in design andplay, offers enormous dollar-to-play value,and is a superior arcade/strategy game.We dont think youll want to miss thisone. Try it out at your dealer and see ifyou dont agree that DragonStrike ishighly addictive.

ActivisionMechwarrior (Activision)

3885 Bohannon Drive

Menlo Park CA 94025(415) 329-0800

Mechwarrior * * * * *

PC/MS-DOS (EGA) version $49.95This game requires a PC/MS-DOS com-

puter running at no less than 8MHz with512K RAM, or 640K RAM on a Tandymicrocomputer. A color monitor is alsorequired. Mechwarrior supports EGA,VGA (in EGA emulation) and Tandy 16-color graphics boards. Option support isoffered for the AdLib sound board or theRoland MT-32. A joy stick is optional.

If you have played FASAs BATTLETECH

game or Activisions Battletech computergame, you can probably guess that Mech-warrior involves tactical-level, 3-D combat


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Mechwarrior (Activision)

using Mechs. This is a highly entertaining,edge-of-the-seat combat/adventure gamethat finds you ultimately controlling anentire lance of Mech combat machines (ifyoure lucky enough to survive your firstmissions, that is). The programming wasmanaged by the staff at Dynamix, thecoders responsible for A-10 Tank Killer,

Arctic Fox, andAbrams Battle Tank.Before you can participate in Mech-

warrior, you must enter the data neededto complete a Mech ID and code check.

You match the Mech picture on-screenwith an identical Mech pictured in theusers manual, then cross-reference thecode check for that Mech and enter anauthorization code. Once thats accepted,the adventure begins.

You start the adventure having beenaccused of killing your uncle, Duke Van-denburg, by one Jarris McBrin. Jarris hashis eye on your uncles title, but youve gotto prove your innocence by finding thereal killers, whose symbol is the deathsskull and who are known collectively asthe Dark Wing. Your true name of GideonB. Vandenburg must remain secret, as awarrant for your arrest has been issued.The warrant carries a reward for thosetempted to turn you in. The trials andtribulations youll encounter in yoursearch are but one annoyance, as youvegot to complete your mission in five years.

In order to find the killers, you will needmoneylots of money. You can earnmoney by requesting missions from thevarious Successor States, that make up theStar League. Missions reward success withhard cash, as well as with equipment youcan salvage from the battlefields.

Through exhaustive research and many

defeats, we can say that the best contractsawarded at the start of the game are thosethat are defensive in naturee.g., defend-

ing a water tower or other installationagainst a single enemy unit, As you startthe adventure with a Jenner Mech, try tofind defensive contracts in which theenemy force is of like caliber. However,there are a few contracts that are a weebit off in their calculations of enemystrength; where there are supposed to beone enemy unit, two or three are some-times the reality.

Jenners are not the strongest of Mechs;they are considered light and weigh 20-40

tons. Other Mechs you will probablyencounter and control include the Locust,Phoenix Hawk, Shadow Hawk, Rifleman,Warhammer, Marauder, and Battlemaster.

With the Jenner, we found a great tacticto use on the slower adversaries was tocircle behind them and fire. Not only werewe able to take foes out of the action, butour Jenner received no damage whatso-ever. Garnering the credits for a successfulmission and for salvage helped us move onto new planets in our quest for clues as tothe identity of the Dark Wing.

As you will work for various spacefaringpolitical families (houses), its a wise merce-nary who keeps track of how those fami-lies feel about you, especially before youtry for a contract. Such checks are han-dled through the NewsNet, where mes-sages of importance are gleaned andposted for you by your software agent.Read the messages thoroughly! It is onlythrough the NewsNet that youll learn ofthe Dark Wings location. And when youdo learn of its location, be certain youbuild your lance before taking the enemyon. That requires money, crews, andMechs, so select assignments carefully.

You can change crew assignments when

you wish. Also, when you enter variousMech complexes on the planets, youllsometimes be greeted with important

messages from others using the com-plexes. Keep your pen and notepad hand

At the complexes, you can repair, reloaand sell your Mechs. Its not uncommonbuy a Mech at a reasonable price on amajor world, then sell it at a premium onminor planet. You can build quite a hoarby using this maneuver throughout thegalaxy.

When selecting a contract, you canattempt to alter the contract to reflect

what you believe your value is in compleing the assignment. A total amount for tcompletion of the mission is revealed inthe contract, as well as a percentage of tsalvage that you will receive upon victorAdditionally, a final percentage is offereup front. Try to increase these percentagand the total payment; youll be surpriseat how often you can earn far more thanthe contract initially stipulates. Submityour revised percentages and totals to thhouse in question, and itll either acceptyour terms or youll see a new contracton-screen (and usually the new contracthas upgraded the percentages to reflectyour demand for higher amounts). How-ever, you wont always succeed in obtaining higher payments. The house may grotired of dickering and refuse to offer youa contract. You must be wise enough tofigure out how close you can push thehouse before it closes the contract to you

To travel from planet to planet, a starmap is offered. You can move the mousecursor over any dot and quickly learn thname of the planet and its leading attrib-ute. For example, those interested in finding the best pizza in the Star League areadvised to head for the planet Galuzzo in

House Kurita! You can access each planedatabase for more information. Access ahouse, and a list of all aligned planets ardisplayed. Move the cursor over a planetname and press RETURN; the Star Mapreturns, and the flight path from yourcurrent location to the new planet is indicated, as well as the cost, in credits, itllrequire to get there.

The first undertaking on any new planshould be to go to the local bar and ordea drink. Most times youll be told that itsbeen pretty quiet and you should comeback another day. Occasionally the bar-tender will reveal critical information to

you. When you follow his tips, remembeyour mission is to clear your name, not tget killed in pointless firefights. Fight onwhen there is no other course of action.

When you are involved in actual Mechcombat, the screen reveals Mech controAs with many combat simulators, youhave a forward view of the terrain withweapon cross-hairs. The MechWarriorMech control screen is quite compact. Yocan rotate your Mechs torso while tracking an enemy Mech with weapon cross-hairs, or you can instantly autoalign youMechs torso to the aiming crosshairs.Theres a weapon-status board where yoselect a weapon to fire. Indicators for lifsupport, sensors, gyros, and engines are

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ll directly below the main viewscreen andare easy to read. A target display showshow much damage youve inflicted on anenemy Mech. By using Automatic WeaponSelection and the TAB key, you can fire allyour weapons at a single target automati-cally. You must watch the heat indicatoror your Mech; should you overheat, you

will not be able to move or fire.Some specific hints for those entering

he world of MechWarrior include:Light Mechs can jump over enemy

units to get behind them;Zanzibar in the Capellan Confederacy

has some great buys;Lands End is probably a good starting

point;An assignment to Dustball should be

accepted;Brown is both helpful and dangerous;Stone Arrow;Wendall can lead you to Willard;Okefenokee; andKearney knows all!

MechWarrior is a great strategy/

adventure game. We found that the soundsometimes became monotonous, especiallyn the bars, but thankfully there is a

sound-off option. The game can be playedusing a mouse, joy stick, or keyboard. Weound the keyboard/mouse option best forhe adventure portion of the game, andhe joy stick most appropriate for Mech

combat. You can save as many as 12 gamesn progress, and any can be recalled when

you wish.MechWarrior will have you sitting onhe edge of your chair as you take enemyMechs head-on. The combat sequences

alone would have been enough for most

gamers. Add in the adventure of findingyour familys killers based on clues youmust find throughout the Star League, andyouve got an offering with an extremelyhigh entertainment value. We recommendMechWarrior not only to arcaders but alsoo adventure gamers.

Budokan (Electronic Arts)

Electronic Arts

1820 Gateway DriveSan Mateo CA 94404(415) 571-7171

Budokan * * * *

Commodore Amiga version $39.95Martial arts are back again. In Budokan,

your character learns four different typesof martial arts and uses them in a competi-tion called the Budokan. Each style ofmartial arts has over 25 moves, so thegame takes time to master. At the begin-ning, you enter different buildings topractice karate, kendo, nunchaku, and bo.You can practice the moves by yourself oragainst one of three skilled opponents. Abar at the top of the screen shows yourstamina and ki. Stamina drops as theplayer performs complicated moves or is

hit by the opponent. This bar slowly re-turns with rest. Ki represents mentalpower; the more ki, the more damage is

50 SEPTEMBER 1990

Budokan (Electronic Arts)

inflicted with each hit.After you spar, the computer gives you

pointers on how to improve your fighting.You can then enter a sparring building tocompete against another human player oragainst the computer itself. You can evenfight the computer using a different formof martial arts; e.g., you can use the bostyle while the computer uses karate.When you feel that you have practicedenough, you can enter the Budokan andfight other computerized opponents. Youchoose which martial art to use for eachmatch. Each style can be used only fourtimes, so use the weaker styles on oppo-nents with less strength and save theoetter-prepared styles for later. If you win,you progress to the next level. If you failto beat an opponent one of three times,you drop to the next lower level.

Overall, Budokan is a refreshing martial-arts game with competition and variety.The moves, however, are a double-edgedsword. It is fun to have a variety of attacksand defenses, but some are hard to accom-

plish, and you might become frustratedwhen attempting to do one move butending up with another move that puts

you in a precarious situation. This hap-pened to us a number of times, and weturned off the computer before we tookout our frustration on it. The animationand sound were well done. Except for theone negative point mentioned, we recom-mend Budokan to any martial-arts orarcade fan.

News and new productsAccolade (408-985-1700) enters the ani-

mated graphic-adventure game categorywith two new offerings. The first is Searchfor the King. Players assume the identityof Les Manley, an employee of WILL, thelowest-rated television station in NewYork. The station has put up a reward of$1 million to anyone who can find theKing, the worlds greatest and most elusiveentertainer. You control the actions ofbumbling Les Manley in search of theKing, trying as you do so to become famil-iar with the character. What seems logicalmay not always be the correct move. Thesecond offering isAltered Destiny,

wherein players are introduced to a worldfrom another space and time. Designed byauthor Michael Berlyn (The Eternal Enemyand four other science-fiction novels), you

Future Wars (Interplay)


13/28

Photography by Mike Bethke

Heres something you can fight about! BATTLETECH campaign rules, part 1

In DRAGON issue #144, this columnpresented a miniatures battle taken from a

campaign based on FASAs BATTLETECHgame, run by the Gamemasters Guild ofWaukegan. The battle was well receivedby the readers, and many people re-quested copies of the rules we used to setup that campaign. As it turned out, thecampaign died shortly thereafter due tobookkeeping problems. Since then, ourclub has worked hard to produce viableBATTLETECH campaign rules for long-erm play.

The breakthrough came through theefforts of one of our members, JayClenndenny, with the assistance of fellowmember Ralph Cooper and with the rest

of the club offering suggestions and play-ng devils advocates. Jay has had long

experience in smoothing out gaming prob-ems, as he heads the clubs playtesting

efforts for different game companies ands a long-time board and miniatures game

player. He has also won the National STARFLEET BATTLES Patrol Ship Tournamentfor the past two years, and he co-authoredhe PANZERTRUPPEN 1990 modern-armor

miniatures rules.This article begins a two-part series

giving you the full set of BATTLETECHminiatures campaign rules that we nowuse. Changes may be freely made to these

rules, though all changes should use com-mon sense. The following BATTLETECH

materials are required for campaign play:the second-edition BATTLETECH boxedgame, The BATTLETECH Manual: TheRules of Warfare,

andBATTLETECH Battle

Maps. Supplemental rules to be used asneeded include the MECHWARRIORgame, the AEROTECH and CITYTECHboxed sets, DropShips and JumpShips, TheMercenarys Handbook, BATTLETECHTechnical Readout 3025, BATTLETECH

Technical Readout 3026, and the five Suc-cessor States books on the Houses in-volved. Other materials used (such asarticles from gaming magazines) must beagreed upon by all players and the judgeat the start of the game.

A few hints might help your campaign:1. See if you can get a copy of FASAs old

Successor Wars poster through your localhobby shop (or assemble a map using themaps in the backs of the Successor Statesbooks), and mount it in your gaming area.This poster can help you plan strategy inthe campaign. If you mount the poster oncorkboard, you can use color-coded pinsto show which Houses forces own whichplanets. The posters map scale is 1 = 16parsecs.

2. Make sure that each House has aminimum of two players, and that at leastone person from each House is availablefor playing at each meeting time. Playerswho wish to play specific Houses should

be allowed to do so. The other playersshould choose the remaining Houses by

drawing slips of paper from an opaquecontainer; players who chose randomlymay trade Houses, but all House vacancies

must be filled. Dont allow gamers to takethe roles of mercenaries until this is done.This allows for smooth-flowing games withquick-playing turns and battles.

3. Pick a judge who will have final vetopower when game disputes take place.The judge must have complete knowledgeof the game rules and (if he plays) shouldplay a mercenary force so that his rulingsare as unbiased as possible. A judge shouldintervene only if the Houses cannot cometo a decision while using the game rules.

4. House Liao may be given a few extrabenefits when the game is being set up(such as two or three extra turns of pro-

duction), as it may be so easily attacked byother Houses.

These rules assume that the players willshow good judgment with their unit pro-ductions and deployments. If players goout of their way to abuse the rules incertain areas (particularly with regards tovehicles), then the judge reserves the rightto make corrections and changes with theapproval of the five heads of Houses andthe mercenary representative. The bottomline is to have fun and not abuse the rules.

Questions on these campaign rules maybe directed to: Gamemasters Guild ofWaukegan, c/o Friends Hobby; 1411 Wash-

ington Street, Waukegan IL 60085, U.S.A.Please enclose an SASE for a reply.

DRAGON 103


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BATTLETECHCampaign

IntroductionThese rules offer House-specific guide-

lines for many aspects of the campaigngame, but the production rules are genericand apply to all Houses. Generic rules areoutlined first; House specifics are coveredlater. The campaign can be expanded toinclude FASAs AEROTECH game for

fighter combat, and production can bemodified to represent the actual produc-tion abilities of each House, as noted in theSuccessor States books and other sources.

All references to weights are roundedup to the nearest half ton. Note that pro-duction costs are given in terms of thetonnage that must be processed by a pro-duction facility.

ProductionEach House has several production

facilities located throughout its space, asnoted in the BATTLETECH CampaignPlanetary Directory herein. Each produc-

tion facility is subject to the followingrules:

1. Mech facilities have the followingcapacity limitations per turn:

Size Capacity

Assault 100 tonsHeavy 100 tonsMedium 120 tonsLight 100 tons

The light Mech facility may not turn outmore than two of the same Mech model inone turn (e.g., it cannot build three Lo-custs in a single turn).

2. Vehicle facilities can handle all vehicle

104 SEPTEMBER 1990

sizes, each building up to five vehicleswith a total weight of up to 125 tons perturn. (Houses must also buy infantry outof this fund.) Each vehicle facility canproduce only one vehicle for every 25 tonsor fraction thereof of capacity. Also, eachfacility may allot a maximum of 40% of itstotal production capacity to fusion-enginevehicles, hovercraft, and VTOLS. Vehiclefacilities may also produce weapons forfixed defenses, but these must be made in

25-ton lots.3. DropShip facilities can handle all shipsizes, up to 1,000 tons total per turn.

All facilities may carry over the con-struction of units from turn to turn.(DropShip facilities must do this anyway.)

Expansion: A facility may expand its sizeby applying up to 10% of its current capac-ity for five turns. The facility then increasesby the amount invested per turn (e.g., aheavy Mech facility of 100-tons capacity thatinvests 10 tons of its capacity for 5 turnsbecomes a 110-ton Mech facility.)

New facilities: A facility may also builda completely new type of facility using the

rules in the previous paragraph; after fiveturns of construction, the new facilityscapacity will equal only half the invest-ment per turn. (In the above example, theheavy Mech facility applying 10 tons of itscapacity to construction could create anew facility for light Mechs with a five-toncapacity.) Facilities may also be started onplanets that do not have such facilities.The cost is the same as above, but con-struction requires 10 turns to complete, aswell as control of local starports (for ship-ping the parts).

New pilots: A Houses production mustalso cover the cost of all new pilots needed

for Mechs and vehicles. Each new pilot

starts as a 4-4 (in pilot and gunnery skills).Houses may lower each number by onefor every five tons spent in production (itis assumed that money that would havebeen spent on a factory instead goes forpilot training). Houses may also knock offone point from one of the two skill scoresif the unit being piloted is represented byan actual miniature. (This was a club ruledesigned to encourage miniatures use!) Inno case may new pilots go below 2-2, and

each House is allowed only one 2-2 perturn; other pilots may lowered to 3-3.

Replacement parts: Production is alsoused to create replacement parts. When aHouse fails to repair something, it must bereplaced with an exact duplicate. The costof any nonweapon replacement item isequal to the items weight in tons.

The replacement weight of a weapon isfound by taking the number of criticalspaces destroyed divided by the originalnumber of critical spaces. The result is thepercent of the weapons original weightthat must be replaced (e.g., a PPC has onecritical space left out of three, so it mustpay 66% of seven tons to be replaced).

The replacement weight of infantryequals the squads post-combat size di-vided by its original size, then multipliedby the original cost in tons (see InfantryCosts in next months column). An infan-try squad may be put together from sev-eral damaged squads, but the infantryinvolved must be of the same type.

Any leftover production space may beused for replacement ammunition andparts. The only exception is that specificand unique equipment for a unit (e.g.,lifters for a hovercraft or an arm from an

Atlas) must come from the specific pool ofproduction. Houses must also use specificproduction for the pilots and initial ammu-nition for the unit in question.

Resources: Each facility needs re-sources in order to operate every turn.Resources are measured in tons and comefrom resource planets. Each turn, a Housecan assign as many tons of resources asare available to the production plants of itschoice. The total resources for each Housewill equal the number of planets and theirresource values that are controlled withinthat Houses sphere of influence. A Housemust be in control of the spaceport of a

resource planet in order to ship resources.A production turn may go like this:

TOTAL RESOURCES: 1000 tonsAssault: 100 tons for an AtlasHeavy: 70 tons for a Grasshopper, 5 tons

for pilot modificationMedium: 45 tons for a Phoenix Hawk, 55

tons for a Shadow HawkLight: 40 tons for two Locusts, 30 tons for

a Panther, 10 tons to expand (1st turn)Vehicles: 60 tons for an LRM carrierDropShips: 520 tons for a LeopardOther: 20 tons for ammunition, 20 tons for

parts


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Stockpiles: Any resources not used inproduction are stockpiled at the facility ofthe Houses choice. All stockpiles must bedocumented to avoid confusion and loss.

Legality: Only units from officialBATTLETECH publications and articles maybe used in the campaign. The only exceptionis that up to 10% of each facilitys capacitymay be used to work on modified Mechs orvehicles, which must be built from scratch

and must be approved by the judge beforethey can be used.

Statistics on each Houses units andproduction must be checked by players oftwo other Houses for accuracy. The loca-tion of a Houses units need not be dis-closed. Detailed espionage is assumed toprovide such information in game terms.

Ensuring the legality of mercenary con-struction is the responsibility of the Houseemploying the unit. Illegal units will beremoved from the game by the judge.

DropShips & JumpShips

As AeroSpace Fighters are not used inthese campaign rules, DropShips can landsafely on planets and can participate inbattle as noted in The Rules of Warfare.DropShips can carry the number ofMechs listed for them in FASAs DropShipsand JumpShips manual or else can carryone vehicle of up to 100 tons (or two vehi-cles, each of 50 tons or less) per Mechcubicle. VTOLs may be carried in place ofthe listed AeroSpace Fighters on eachDropShip (one VTOL per AeroSpaceFighter cubicle). Each DropShip can carryonly one set of units per turn; Houses candrop off and pick up vehicles, Mechs, and

troops after each move (e.g., a House cantcarry 50 units in one Leopard). All troopsmust debark from a DropShip at the endof its movement phase.

Each House is assumed to have enoughJumpShips each turn to move its DropShips. Mercenaries are assumed to haveenough transports to move their units, buttheir DropShips and JumpShips are notrepresented in the game.

JumpShips move 48 parsecs per turn (3on the old Successor Wars map) whenmaking regular attacks. Each HousesJumpShip movement is unlimited within

its own territory, but unlimited movementmay not be combined with making attacksduring the same turn; attack movement islimited because it involves crossing intohostile territory, careful maneuvering, etc.JumpShip and DropShip movementschange when making raids (see Raids).

PlanetsFor game purposes, three types of plan-

ets exist:1. Resource planets: Each has resource

centers from which resources may beshipped to production facilities on otherplanets.

2. Production planets: Each has one ormore production facilities and might have

resources as well.3. Strategic planets: These have no re-

sources or production facilities, but theyare located in strategically importantstellar positions.

Each planet can have several types ofinstallations on it. These installationsinclude:

1. Cities: Cities are always found adja-cent to any of the following four types ofinstallations. More than one installationmay be present with any one city.

2. Resource centers: These are foundonly on resource planets and on a fewproduction planets. Control of the cityadjacent to a controlled resource center isnot required in order for a House to ac-quire resources from that center.

3. Production facilities: Resources areturned into manufactured items (likeMechs) at these installations. In order fora House to produce items in a productionfacility, it must control the city adjacent tothe facility as well as the facility itself.

4. Spaceport facilities: These are the only

places from which a planet can moveresources off-world. Without control of aspaceport, a House cannot ship resourcesoff-world, and such resources will accu-mulate instead at the local resource stockpile.

5. Resource stockpiles: These accumu-late as noted, either adjacent to starportsor adjacent to resource centers.

Facilities and combat: Resourcecenters, production facilities, and space-ports may not be shot at; they are consid-ered too valuable by all sides involved. (If ascorched earth campaign is allowed, inwhich the defensive side destroys its ownfacilities to prevent their capture or in

which the attacker wants to knock outfacilities it cannot capture, this

rule is suspended.) Military units wishingto capture one of these installations mustcross one gaming board (as defined inTerrain & Maps in the section on Bat-tles) to reach the installation. However,two boards must be crossed to reach aproduction facility, the first being thefacilitys perimeter. Fixed defenses prohibitattacking forces from landing closer to oron top of these installations. This rule alsoallows for battles to be fought across avariety of environments.

Captured production facilities and re-source centers need one turn to beginworking for their new owners. New own-ers might also need to control adjacentspaceports and cities. All partially com-pleted units captured in their installationsbecome the property of the new ownerand may be finished as usual, subject tothese guidelines.

If a partially completed unit exists at afacility that is under attack, the defendermay use that unit with all of its attacksand defenses at half strength. The incom-

plete unit gains a 4-4 pilot (he hasnt fin-ished his training).

BattlesEach battle uses The BATTLETECH

Manual: The Rules of Warfare as a guide,and initiative is used. Each battle con-tinues until one side has no active unitsremaining on the playing area.

Terrain & Maps: For game purposes, aboard is a 5 x 5 square of 25 BATTLE-TECH game maps, each marked off inhexes for movement purposes. Terrain foreach battle is randomly determined usingthe Terrain Generation Tables (see Terrain

Generation in next months column). Onceterrain is generated, a rough map of the

DRAGON 105


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playing area must be made and kept sothat future battles in this area may usethis same map for setup. Wind directionmust be rolled each time the area is usedfor battle (see Terrain Generation in nextmonths column).

Stacking: A House may have at most 24Mechs and vehicles on a single board,though with appropriate off-board support for its force (but no more than twoartillery units and two other units, such asLRMs). If one sides force is larger than 24

Mechs, it is assumed to occupy more thanone board, and both attacker and de-fender must commit forces to each of thetwo boards (each battle is then played outin sequential order). Home Guard units donot count for stacking purposes.

Installations: For assaults against aninstallation, the fixed defenses placed atthe beginning of the campaign are free forstacking purposes. If they are destroyed,the owning House may replace them (suchreplacements also do not count for stack-ing purposes). The defender is allowed toplace up to 24 units (including additionalfixed defenses, with every 25 tons orfraction thereof counting as a unit) in thecity next to the installation. Each side maythen bring in up to 24 units more (plussupport) per board side that it currentlycontrols. Thus the attacker must capturethe territory around the installation inorder to cut the defender off, and thedefender must protect more than theinstallation alone or else face the prospectof being attacked from all directions.

Disengaging: Any unit may disengagefrom a battle and leave the game maps;once it leaves, it cannot return to thatbattle. In an installation perimeter battle,

the defender must designate which edgeof the playing area is closest to the installa-tion he is defending. If the defenders units

106 SEPTEMBER 1990

do not disengage in that direction, theymay not participate if the battle continuesat the installation itself.

Time: Time has no meaning from onebattle to the next. While this seems unreal-istic, it is too hard to keep track of multi-board battles turn by turn and still keepeverything straight. All perimeter battlestake place first, followed by installationbattles. Damage or wounds may not berepaired or healed while a unit movesfrom one board to the next, unless the

House wishes to regroup and declare hisintent not to pursue any further battlesfor that turn. Ammunition, however, canbe replaced.

Artillery: Off-board artillery can beassigned to a particular battle and board,and regular rules governing its use areapplied. Off-board LRMs are stationed at aspecific point along a board side. Rangesare calculated by figuring the distancefrom the edge to the target in question,then adding three hexes to the range. Off-board LRMs may not be shot at and arealways considered to be shooting by indi-rect fire. The owning House may changean off-board artillery units location at theunits normal movement rate, or at halfmovement if the unit has no turret. Addi-tional movement modifiers are added atwhatever rate was used (cruise or flank).

SalvageThe winner of a battle may salvage the

enemys equipment, subject to the follow-ing guidelines:

1. An ammunition explosion that de-stroys a unit or three engine hits against aunit will make that unit worthless forsalvage.

2. A House may scrap one or more of itsunits. Spare armor may be collected, with50% of the remaining armor added to the

Houses spare-parts stockpile at no charge.Engines and weapons may be salvaged,going to the spare-parts stockpile to awaitusage (when used, the House may make afree roll to replace an engine with anexact duplicate). All remaining ammuni-tion is added to the Houses stockpiles.

3. If a House decides to salvage an en-emy unit for its own use, and the salvagedunit is not unique to a particular House(see House-Specific Units), it may repair

the unit as one of its own but must pay10% of the units total weight before it canintegrate it into its own forces. If this isnot done, the unit must be scrapped.

4. If a House decides to salvage an en-emy unit for its own use, but the salvagedunit is unique to a particular House (seeHouse-Specific Units), then the House hastwo options: a) It may repair the unit anduse it in its own forces, except that it mustpay a 20% fee for its initial use and anextra 10% fee for any parts required torepair the unit; or b) It may send the unitto an appropriate construction facility for

study and research. In the latter case, theHouse must pay 10% of the captured unitsweight out of its production tonnage forthat facility, paid each turn for five turns,to study the unit. After that time, it mayattempt a die roll on the Weapons andEquipment Availability and Cost tables onpage 66 in the MECHWARRIOR rules,selecting the most difficult availability rollappropriate to the unit captured. If theroll fails, the House may continue to pay10% of that units weight each turn for anew roll (to a total of three such rolls).Once the roll succeeds, the House maybuild that unit as one of its own. Captured

units of the same type as the unit studiedwill not then require the extra 10% forrepairs.

RepairsEach House and mercenary unit must

repair its units at the end of each turn.This is accomplished in the followingmanner:

1. For every piece of equipment de-stroyed, a roll on the appropriate Weaponsand Equipment Availability and Cost ta-bles, on page 66 in the MECHWARRIORrules, is used to check for a repair at-tempt. If the roll succeeds, the equipmentis fixed. If the roll fails, the equipmentmust be replaced. A House must alwayspay to replace armor.

2. If the repair is not made, the House mayeither use battlefield salvage or pay (in tons)to replace the part in question (see Produc-tion and Salvage for details).

House-Specific UnitsEach House starts the game with partic-

ular units (and their variants) that it alonecan produce. Other Houses have troubleusing these specific units if these units arecaptured, and those Houses must spend

more to operate those units as their own.Mercenary units may use these units withno restrictions but cannot pass informa-


17/28

tion to other Houses on how to use theseunits. House-specific units include:

1. Davion: Enforcer, Valkyrie2. Kurita: Dragon, Panther3. Steiner: Zeus, Wolfhound, Hatchet-

man, Commando4. Marik: Hermes II, Orion5. Liao: Vindicator, Cataphract, RavinA House may trade information on the

operation of its own House-specific unitswith other Houses. How such agreements

and payments are reached is left up to theHouses involved (but such agreementsshould be made in writing to aid recordkeeping). Any House receiving this infor-mation may now build and operate thatspecific unit as if it were that Houses own.

Initial House ForcesEach House gets 15 turns worth of initial

construction. No expansion of existingfacilities may take place; only units may bebuilt. Pilots are created as per the usualrules, except that each House gains oneeach of the following types of pilots forfree: 0-0, 1-1, 2-2. These are the Houses

combat leaders and the cream of its mili-tary. In addition, each House receives one

Raid Success Table

1d6 Results

1 Attackers are caught just before the raid; roll on Combat Subtable.2-5 Continue with raid as planned.6 Attackers have 50% chance to be caught after the raid (roll 1d6: 1-3, all

escape; 4-6, roll on Combat Subtable).

Combat Subtable

1d6 Results

1-2 DropShips are caught while trying to escape and are destroyed. RaidingHouse loses half its force (including pilots) and half of all booty, if any.

3-6 DropShips are caught and surrender while trying to escape. Raiding Houseloses half its force (including pilots): all booty is recaptured. Capturedpilots may be ransomed.

BATTLETECH Campaign Planetary Directory

Houses

Facility Davion Kurita Steiner Marik LiaoAssault Mech-DropShip/500 New Avalon Luthien Tharkad Atreus Sian

Heavy Mech/150 Robinson Benjamin Skye Regulas CapellaMedium Mech/100 New Sytris Dieron Donegal Marik SarnaLight Mech/50 Montcoal Rasalhaghe Tamar Escobas TikonovVehicle/50 Delphos Pesht Turinge Oriente St. Ives200 Kentares IV Iljima Bountiful Harvest New Delos Glasgow

Pattonsburg Soverzene Hespherus II Rasalas Shensi10 0 New Ivaarsen Alya Carstairs Amity Dilon

Steins Folly Junction Halfway Ibstock MenkeStrategic Aucara Beta Mensau V Borghese Loongana Capolla

Damevang Caldrea Vulcan Preston HeligolandUlan Bator Gunzburg Zwenkau Talitha Tantara

Notes: These are merely the worlds used in the Gamemasters Guild of Waukegan campaign; other campaigns may use otherworlds. Mercenaries are assumed to come from Terra.

DRAGON 107


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Overlord, one Union, and two LeopardDropShips for free. Houses ignore thelimits on the number and types of unitsproduced for the initial construction per-iod (as noted under Production), andeach House may have two modified assaultMechs, two modified heavy Mechs, fourmodified medium Mechs, eight modifiedlight Mechs, and eight modified vehicles.

Each House may also place up to 25 tonsof fixed defenses on each of its worlds for

free. The world designated as the Housescapital gets 50 tons and one of the produc-tion facilities. Houses may not add to theirfixed defenses with initial constructionprojects.

Each group of players operating a Housemust designate a leader to coordinate theefforts of all players on the team, to helpwith rules disputes, and to check theaccuracy and legality of the Houses plansand actions.

Pilot SwapsSwitching a pilot from one unit to the

same type of unit is allowed without pen-

alty (e.g., an Atlas pilot can run any Atlas).When a pilot goes to a similar but differ-ent unite.g., to a Mech in the sameweight class as the original Mechs (light,medium, etc.), or to a vehicle or other unithaving the same mode of movement as theoriginal (track, hover, et&he loses oneskill level each from both pilot and gun-nery skills. If a pilot is transferred to anyother Mech or vehicle in the same type ofunite.g., from a Wasp to a Griffin (differ-ent weight classes), or from a hover vehi-cle to a tracked vehiclehe loses two skilllevels each from both pilot and gunnery

skills. A pilot sent from Mechs to vehiclesor vice versa loses three skill levels eachfrom both pilot and gunnery skills.

108 SEPTEMBER 1990

Mercenary UnitsMercenary units are available for pur-

chase in the game. Each such unit is abouttwo companies in strength, with support-ing vehicles. Each contract should bewritten out and must contain the follow-ing information:

1. Payment in tons (but see followingsection);

2. Length of contract (in turns); and

3. Maintenance terms. If the Houseallows the mercenary unit to use thatHouses own maintenance facilities, thenthe mercenary unit may roll on the appro-priate Weapons and Equipment Availabilityand Cost tables on page 66 of the MECH-WARRIOR rules, under the appropriateHouse. If the use of House maintenance isnot permitted, then the mercenary unitmust roll under the Periphery headings ofthose tables.

A House may pay mercenaries with newvehicles and Mechs, but these must comefrom that Houses production. Mercenariesmay use any unit, even House-specific

units, with no additional costs. Otheraspects of the contract (e.g., no attackingthe former employer) are left to be de-cided between the mercenary and House.Each mercenarys goal is to keep his unitalive and growing in reputation and size,while having a good time.

Starting out: A mercenary unit maystart the campaign with 1,600 tons forbuilding its initial units. Each mercenaryunit must complete its construction projectsas if it were a House with 1,600 tons ofresources to be used over four turns. DropShips are provided for free at the games

start, as are a l-l pilot and a 2-2 pilot (theleaders of the mercenary unit). The unitmay build one each modified assault, heavy,

and medium Mech, and two each modifiedlight Mechs and vehicles.

RaidsEach House may conduct hit-and-run

raids against another House to gain re-sources and equipment parts.

To gain resources, a Houses forces mustget to the storage area for a Houses re-source production area or a stockpile at aHouses unit production area. Each attack-ing unit may carry off resources at therate given for picking up things in The

BATTLETECH Manual: The Rules of War-

fare (page 41). The raided House gets tokeep the difference between what it pro-duced and what the raiders took.

To gain equipment parts, the procedure isthe same as for gaining resources exceptthat parts are found only at a Houses pro-duction facility. Partially completed unitsmay be carried off and completed at theraiding Houses own production facilities.

Special JumpShip movement must beused on deep raids (raids extending over

48 parsecs to a limit of 128 parsecs from afriendly planet). DropShips used on a raidmay each have a maximum of only 12Mech cubicles (Overlord DropShips can-not be used). The whole DropShip raidingforce must have a total of at least 24 Mechcubicles of space to make the raid (e.g., ifusing only Leopards, each having fourMech cubicles, a House must use at leastsix Leopards on a raid).

To conduct a raid, the attacking Houseannounces that a raid is taking place, thenrolls on the Raid Success Table to makesure that its forces got there.

Look for part 2 of our BATTLETECHcampaign rules next month!

your envelopeLetter!to show what

your letter contains a letter tothe editor, Forum submission,request for guidelines, gamingarticle, short story, artwork,cartoons, or subscription corre-spondence. This ensures thatthe letter you send gets to theright person. In the UnitedStates or Canada, write to:DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box111, Lake Geneva WI 53147,U.S.A. In Europe, write to:DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd,

120 Church End, Cherry Hin-ton, Cambridge CB1, 3LB,United Kingdom.

Label

Your

If you corres-pond with usat DRAGONM a g a z i n e ,p l e a s e l a b e lthe outside of

DRAGON is a trademark of TSR, Inc.

1990 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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20/28

Photography by Mike Bethke

1990 by Robert Bigelow, Jay Clenndenny, and Ralph Cooper

Setting fire to the galaxy: BATTLETECH campaign rules, part 2

For those of you just joining us thismonth, we present the second half of ourminiatures campaign rules for FASAsBATTLETECH game, as used by theGamemasters Guild of Waukegan. Thesecampaign rules were put together fromclub input, the sacrifice of time and effortby Ralph Cooper, and the knowledge andskill of Jay Clenndenny.

An alternative campaignA short, bloody BATTLETECH campaign

may be created by using The MercenarysHandbook and restricting constructionprojects to a total of 1,000 points per turn.No Houses are involved, as this is strictly acampaign between mercenaries. In addi-tion to 1,600 points for initial construction,each player gains JumpShips as needed,but starts with only two Leopard Drop-Ships and a converted Leopard oreship(having open compartments that cannottransport Mechs).

The players planets should form a dou-ble ring around a central star (ignoringorbital effects), with a ring of resourceplanets between the other rings to make

one resource planet per two players (seeMercenary Campaign Set-Up diagram).Each players home planet contains 300resource points, plus one each of six facili-ties (DropShip, assault, heavy, medium,light, and vehicle) and two spaceports,each with cities. Each resource planetcontains one resource facility, one space-port, and 700 tons of resources. Playersmay raid each others planets for re-sources or production facilities. All other

control rules apply to the use of resourcepoints, and all other campaign rules apply.

BATTLETECHCampaign (cont.)

Sequence of Play1. Industries consume resources and

produce new units. Check your account-ing figures carefully and have someonedouble check them.

2. Any mercenary unit not under con-tract may come up for bid, and offers maybe made to mercenary units under con-tracts to encourage them to break their

contracts. Mercenary units must have anewly written deal at the end of this phasein order to break a contract with aHouseand gain the resultant problems.(Mercenary units simply dont break con-tracts for the heck of it.) Record keeping isvery important here!

3. Each House plots its own movementson paper. This also includes orders formercenary units on contract. If the merce-nary unit has secretly broken a contract,

then the mercenary unit must plot whereit plans to go independently of Houseorders.

4. Each House and mercenary forcemoves its units.

5. Combat is resolved by miniaturesbattles.

6. Repairs, battlefield salvage, and am-munition replacement are conducted. Youmay not use battlefield salvage collectedthis turn to repair units, unless the sal-vaged material is used to repair a unitinvolved in the same battle. Only repairparts designated at the beginning of theturn are available for use. Repair parts aregeneric except for limbs and drive compo-

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nents, which must be designated as sepa-rate parts. (You can generate spares on thefollowing turn.)

7. Resources are shipped to productionplanets.

Note: If a production facility is cap-tured, resources may be shipped to thatfacility starting on the following turn, andactual manufacturing may begin for thecapturing force on the turn after that.

VariantsSome of the variants given in official

sources and articles are not possible due

to weight or rules restrictions. Below areour official campaign versions of whichunit variants are used. Other Mechs andvariants are from Battletechnology maga-zine, produced by Pacific Rim Publishing(3833 Lake Shore Avenue, Oakland CA94610, U.S.A.). The use of variants must beagreed upon by all of the players takingpart in a campaign game. Mech body-partabbreviations used include: H = head,RA = right arm, LA = left arm, RL = rightleg, LL = left leg, RT = right torso, CT= center torso, LT = left torso. Systemsabbreviations used include: AC = autocan-non; HS = heat sink; JJ = jump jets;

LL = light laser; LRM = long-range missile;MG = machine gun; ML = medium laser;PPC = particle projection cannon; SL =small laser; SRM = short-range missile.

Alliance: No variants allowed.Archer: No variants allowed.Assassin: Remove 2 JJ (RT/LT); add 2 SL

(RL/LL); armor: H 8, RT/LT 8/4, RL/LL 6,CT 10/4, RA/LA 6.

Atlas: Remove 1 ML (RA) and 1 SRM; add 1LL (RA).

Awesome: No variants allowed.Battleaxe: No variants allowed.Battlemaster: Remove 2 ML and 1 SRM

104 OCTOBER 1990

(rear); add 7 HS; no other variantsallowed.

Blackjack: Remove 2 ML (RA/LA); add 2 LL(RA/LA) and 6 HS; armor: H 5, RT/LT13/5, RL/LL 16, CT 16/7, RA/LA 12.

Catapult-LRM20: Remove 4 ML and 4 HS;add 1 ton ammunition (CT) and 2 SL(RT/LT).

Catapult-PPC: Remove all JJ and LRM; add2 PPC (RA/LA) and 6 HS.

Centurian-L: Remove AC10; add 1 LL and1 ML (RA), and 2 HS; armor: H 9, RT/LT18/6, RL/LL 24, CT 24/7, RA/LA 16.

Centurian-20: Add AC20 (RA).

Charger: No variants allowed, except forthe Challenger.Cicada-F: Remove 1 ML (RT) and SL; add 2

flamers (RT/CT); armor: H 6, CT 8/4 (allelse is same).

Cicada-PPC: Not allowed.Clint-AC10: Remove all JJ and ML (CT);

replace AC5 with AC10.Clint-D AC5: Remove all JJ and ML; add

AC5 (RA); armor: H 5, RT/LT 2/1, RL/LL2, CT 4/1, RA/LA 2.

Commando-AC: Remove 1 SRM; add AC2(RA) and 1 ton ammunition (RT).

Commando-L: Remove 1 ML; add 1flamer (RA).

Commando-LL: Remove 1 ML and 6 SRM;add 1 LL (LA).Crusader-D: Add 4 HS.Crusader-K: Add 4 HS.Crusader-L: Add 2 JJ each in RT/LT, and

add 2 HS.Cyclops: Remove AC20 and ammunition;

add 2 LRM-15 and 4 tons ammunitionin place of AC20; armor: RA/LA 25/25(all else is same).

Firestarter: Add 2 SL (CT) and 3 SL (RT);armor: H 9, RT/LT 12/6, RL/LL 12, CT16/6, RA/LA 12.

Gladiator: Remove all JJ; add 2 ML (RT/LT).Goshawk VTOL: Remove 1 HS; add 1 ML

(front).

Griffin-S: Add 3 HS.Hunchback: No variants allowed.

JagerMech: Add 2 LRM (RA/LA) and 2 tonsammunition each to RT/LT.

Javelin-F: Add 4 ML (RA/LA/RT/LT), 1 SL(H), and 1 HS; armor: H 8, RT/LT 10/4,RL/LL 14, CT 16/4, RA/LA 10.

Jenner: Armor: H 8, RT/LT 12/4, RL/LL 13,CT 18/4, RA/LA 12.

Kirin VTOL: Remove 2 ML; add 1 HS and 1SRM-2 (front).

LRM/SRM carrier: You may design thisunit as you wish, though the unit musthave an I.C.E. engine and must weigh60 tons.

Locust 1E: Remove 2 MG and ammunition;add 1 ML (CT) and 2 SL (RA/LA); keepother ML; armor as Wasp.

Locust 1M: Remove 2 MG and ammuni-tion; add 2 LRM (RT/LT); armor: H 1,RT/LT 2/1, RL/LL 2, CT 2/1, RA/LA 1.

Locust 1S: Remove 2 MG and ammunition;add 2 SRM (RA/LA); armor: H 6, RT/LT5/2, RL/LL 6, CT 8/2, RA/LA 3.

Marauder-D: Add 1 LL (RT) and 4 HS.Marauder-M: Add 4 HS.Marauder-L: Add 2 HS, 1 PPC (RA),

1 LL (LA).Mercury: Add 1 extra ML (LT).Orion: Add 3 SRM-4 and 2 tons ammuni-

tion (LT), and add 1 HS.Ostroc: 1 LRM replaces 1 SRM; no other

variants allowed.Ostsol: Remove all ML; add 2 PPC (RT/LT).Phoenix Hawk-K: Add 3 HS and 1 SL (CT);

armor: H 9, RT/LT 18/4, RL/LL 22, CT23/5, RA/LA 14.

Quickdraw: Add 4 HS and 2 ML (LT).Rifle AC: Remove all LL and AC; add 2

AC10, 2 ML, 2 tons ammunition (one of

each to each arm); armor: H 6, RT/LT12/2, RL/LL 10, CT 20/4, RA/LA 13.Rifle PPC: Remove all AC5 and LL; add 2 PPC

and 2 ML (one to each arm) and 11 HS.Shadow Hawk-2D: Remove 2 HS; add

SRM-2 (RT) and ML (RT).Shadow Hawk-2K: Model has only 14 HS.Spider (both): Remove 2 JJ (one each side).Stinger-V: Add ML (LA); armor as Wasp-K.Super Griffin: Not possible.Thunderbolt-E: Add 2 JJ each to RT/LT, 1

LRM-10 in RT, and 2 HS.Thunderbolt-S: Add 2 flamers (RT) and 5 HS.Titan-J: Remove 1 SRM-4 from each side;

move SRM-6 to LT; add 3 JJ (RT/CT/LT).

Titan-2: Ignore comment on extra 5 tons ofammunition; add SRM-2 (LT).Trebuchet-5J: Add 5 JJ (2 RL, 2 LL, 1 CT),

4 HS, and 1 ton LRM ammunition (RT);armor: H 9, RT/LT 13/5, RL/LL 16, CT22/7, RA/LA 11.

Trebuchet-5S: Add 2 SRM-6 (RT), 1 tonammo (RT), and 8 HS.

Urbanmech: Add AC20 (RA); remove 1 HS;armor: H 5, RT/LT 7/3, RL/LL 10, CT10/7, RA/LA 9.

Vindicator: Not possible.Victor-S: Remove 1 HS; replace SRM-4 with

SRM-6.Vulcan: Add 1 MG (LA) and 3 ML (RT);

armor: H 8, RT/LT 16/4, RL/LL 20, CT16/6, RA/LA 12.


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Warhammer-D: Add 3 HS; armor: H 9, RT/LT 21/8, RL/LL 30, CT 30/9, RA/LA 21.

Warhammer-L: Add 1 flamer in RT/LT.Wasp-D: Remove SRM-2; add 2 SL (LT) and

1 flamer (LL).Wasp-K: Remove ML; armor: H 6, RT/LT

8/2, RL/LL 8, CT 8/4, RA/LA 6.Wasp-L: Remove all weapons; add

1 SRM-4 (LL).Wasp-WD: Remove all weapons; add 2 SL

(RA), 2 SL (LT), and 2 SL (LL).

Whirlwind Hover: Change fusion to 135I.C.E; remove 2 ML; add 1 MG (turret)and ton ammunition; allow 3 tonsfor infantry transport.

Whitworth: Remove LRM; add 3 SRM-6(RT/CT/LT) and 2 tons ammunition(RT/LT)

Wolfman: Not allowed in play.Wolverine-K: Add 1 LL (RA), 1 ML (CT), 1

SL (CT), 3 HS; armor: H 8, RT/LT 20/6,RL/LL 26, CT 28/8, RA/LA 18.

Wolverine-M: Add 1 LL (RA), 1 ML (RA),and 4 HS.

Wyvern VTOL: Replace 1 SL with 1 HS;armor: F 26, L/R 22, B 20, R 2 15.

Prohibited ItemsNo Star League materials or units are

used in the campaign. Additionally, mines,vibra-bombs, Land Air Mechs, and pop-uppill boxes or other fancy fixed defensesare not used. All fixed weapons in a cityare placed in buildings. If these units areused, prepare to limit them to avoid pro-longed trench, siege, or fortress warfare.

Terrain GenerationTerrain for miniatures battles is gener-

ated whenever there is combat in nonur-ban areas across open ground, at resource

centers, or at spaceports. One representa-tive from each side involved in the fightingchooses a number between one and six.Add one to each number selected. Eachresult represents the number of times thatthe player may roll on the Terrain Genera-tion Table to create the battlefield environ-ment. (If generating terrain for urbanbattlefields, see City Layout.)

Both players reveal their chosen num-bers at the same time. The person whoselected the lowest number (or the defend-ing player, if the numbers selected were atie) rolls 2d6 on the Terrain GenerationTable and places the result on the board;

this is his first turn. Players alternaterolling dice and choosing terrain until oneplayer has made as many rolls as he isallowed. The other player then finishesout his rolls. Terrain is placed as it isrolled, before the next roll on the TerrainGeneration Table is made.

First and foremost, the layout of thebattlefield board must make sense. Youcant run a river over the mountains, butyou can start one there. You may placetrees on mountains if you wish, but theymay not be placed on buildings. Buildingsmay be placed on hills only if they fit.Buildings may not be placed on water. You

must use the terrain as rolled, and it must

all fit on the map.If a resource center or a spaceport is on

the board, the defender places that facilityafter all terrain features have been laidout, and he can automatically place a two-hex-wide road from that center leading offthe board. The defender will also be ableto place two small maintenance OF defensebuildings (one-level, one-hex, 75 CFs) forevery 25 tons of fixed defenses. Thesemust be placed within six hexes of thefacility in question and must also be placedwithin six hexes of each other, so long as

they can each trace a line of sight back tothe facility.

A spaceport building is two hexes wide,one hex deep, and three levels tall. Next toit is a concrete launching and landing padthat covers a square four hexes across.

Resource centers cover four hexes andhave two levels. A concrete lot one hex insize lies immediately next to the facility;this lot is where resources awaiting ship-ment are found (and from where they getstolen on raids).

Production facilities cover six hexes andhave three levels. A concrete lot onesquare wide encircles the facility. No other

terrain features may be placed next to thisfacility.

No military units may enter or stand ontop of a spaceport, a resource center, or aproduction facility. Concrete pads and lotsmay be entered like any other area ofclear terrain.

Wind: After terrain is laid out, winddirection is determined by rolling 1d6. Ona roll of 1-2, wind is present; numbers areassigned to the cardinal directions(1 = north, 2 = northeast, 3 = east, etc.),then 1d8 is rolled for the direction itself. Ifthe initial 1d6 roll is 3-6, no wind ispresent. Wind direction remains constant

throughout the course of a battle.

City LayoutTo create natural terrain on a board

showing a city layout, each player selects anumber between 1 and 3 and uses theTerrain Generation Table. This terrain isplaced first. Any reference to possibleextra buildings is automatically treated asopen terrain.

The defender of an urban area involvedin Mech combat is allowed to use 2,000CFs of buildings to form his city. This summust be distributed in lots of 25 CFs size.The Building CF Costs Table is used to

determine building costs. The selected CFis multiplied by the given multiplier, andthe product is then multiplied by thebuildings level (e.g., a two-hex, level-2structure of 50 CFs would be 100 CFstotal). After the defender decides upon hisbuildings, they are placed on the board.The player must place paved streets usingcommon sense.

Infantry CostsThe Infantry Costs Tables show the

production costs (in tons) for infantryunits in a BATTLETECH campaign. Notethat anti-Mech infantry costs double the

values given.

Home GuardEach of the five Houses has a Home

Guard to protect its capital. Because oftheir special status, Home Guard units aretreated as exceptions to several rulespresented in this column.

Home Guard units for all Houses arecreated during the initial (pre-game) con-struction period. Each such unit consistsof 12 Mechs totalling 400 tons (onlyMechs may be purchased for HomeGuards). Home Guard Mechs may be ofany size but must be regular Mechs or

approved variants without modifications.

DRAGON 105


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Mountains Subtable

1d6 Mountain result

1 One five-level mountain2 One four-level mountain3-4 One three-level mountain5-6 Two two-level hills

Pilots for such units are received free andinclude a 2-2 commander, with all otherHome Guard pilots being 3-3.

Home Guard units and pilots may not betransferred or moved off the capital cityboard during a battle. These units do notcount for stacking purposes in combat (seeBattles: Stacking in last months column).

Finally, Home Guards may replace losses,ammunition, and make repairs at the rateof 40 tons per turn, over and above allother production considerations.

Rules Clarifications

In any campaign, rules disputes mayappear and rules lawyers might try tochange the intent of the game. TheBATTLETECH Manual: The Rules of War-

fare governs the conduct of combat in thiscampaign. All rules disputes must be set-tled by the representatives of each House,the mercenary representative, and the

judge. Possible areas of rules conflicts areaddressed as follows:

Punching rules in the game are not veryclear. You may punch only if your Mechhas a lower arm actuator (a fist) on thelimb in question. It does not matter whatweapons the unit has in the arm it

punches with. Each official Mechs actua-tors are given on its sheet from theBATTLETECH Reinforcements pack. Thereferee is the final authority on whatMechs have in any event. Do not forgetthe - 1 penalty to hit if no hand actuatoris present.

A charge attack requires that the charg-ing unit has a chance to survive the attackat the time the charge is declared. VTOLSmay never declare a charge. The damagepoints caused by a charge attack are fig-ured by multiplying the charging unitstonnage by the distance to the target inhexes, then dividing the result by 10 and

rounding up to the nearest whole number.

106 OCTOBER 1990

In engine weight calculations of modi-fied vehicles, the engine must have at leasttwice the rating of the weight of the vehi-cle before suspension becomes a factor.

Torso critical hits are not automatic. Youmust roll on the Mech Hit Location Tableand Critical Hit Effects Table, pages 22 and

23, in The BATTLETECH Manual: TheRules of Warfare.

An ammunition explosion destroys aMechs limb when that limb is blown off,but the blast does not hurt the rest of theMech.

Damages for purposes of a piloting skill

roll are cumulative (e.g., if your unit takes40 points of damage, it gains a +2 PSRmodifier; 45 points of damage would stillbe + 21. A piloting roll for leg damage needbe made only after a successful physicalattack against a Mechs leg.

QuestionsAll questions and comments on these

campaign rules may be directed to: RobertBigelow, c/o Friends Hobby, 1411 Wash-ington Street, Waukegan IL 60085, U.S.A.

Terrain Generation Table

2d6 Terrain result

2 Roll on Mountains Subtable3 Roll on Hills Subtable4 One one-level hill5 One lightly wooded area6 Open terrain (roll on Roads

Subtable)7 Open terrain8 Open terrain (roll on Buildings

Subtable9 Roll on Water Subtable10 One one-level hill11 One lightly wooded area12 Roll on Woods Subtable

Hills Subtable

1d6 Hill result

1-2 One three-level hill3-4 One two-level hill5-6 Two one-level hills

Roads Subtable

1d6 Road result1 One two-hex-wide road across the

board2 One one-hex-wide road across the

board3-6 No roads

Buildings Subtable

2d6 Building result

2 One large two-level, three-hex build-ing (50 CF)

3 One large one-level, two-hex build-ing (50 CF)

4 One small two-level, one-hex build-ing (50 CF)5 No buildings6 No buildings7 No buildings8 No buildings9 One medium, one-level, two-hex

building (50 CF)10 One large, three-level, two-hex

building (50 CF)11 One medium one-level, two-hex

building (50 CF)12 One huge two-level, four-hex build-

ing (25 CF)

Water Subtable

1d6 Water result

1-2 One two-level-deep river (two hexeswide) crossing the board

3-4 One one-level-deep river (one hexwide) crossing the board

5-6 One small lake with a one-level-deepriver (one hex wide) leading awayfrom it to the edge of the board


24/28

Woods Subtable

1d6 Woods result

1-2 Two heavily wooded areas3-4 One heavily wooded area5-6 Two lightly wooded areas

Building CF Costs Table

Level Level Level

Building 1 2 3

hex Min/ Min/ Min/

size Mult ip l ier Max Max Max

1 hex 1 25/100 25/75 25/502 hex 2 25/75 25/50 253 hex 3 25/50 25 n/a4 hex 4 25 n/a n/a

Infantry Costs Tables

Foot infantry Cost

Rifles 7Machine guns 10Flamers 10Portable lasers 14SRM 14

Mech infantry cost


Jump infantry Cost


DRAGON 107


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26/28

TTRICKSRICKS OFOF THETHE TRADETRADEArtwork by Earl GeierCourtesy of FASA Corporation 1991 by Mike Speca

A BATTLETECH* guide to making your Mechs uniqueWhile readingTechnical Readout 3025 tain Mechs and vehicles inferior to others

andTechnical Readout 3026, put out by because their complex systems had nothe FASA Corporation for the BATTLE- effect on which was doing a better job.TECH* game, a glaring inconsistency For instance, the Rifleman and JagerMechcaught my eye. Under the Capabilities Mechs were both praised for their abili-section in the equipment descriptions ties as antiaircraft platforms. But I wouldwere discussions on the superior and much rather have an Archer or Marauderinferior systems each Mech and vehicle Mech taking on aircraft, because in theutilized. However, these descriptions had actual game all four Mechs have the same

no real effect on the game. This was notchance of hitting the aircraft, and theonly disappointing, but it also made cer- Marauder and Archer would do much

more damage on a successful hit.So, I have created a list of modifica

for all the Mechs and vehicles for whcurrently have the statistics and in-ddescriptions (all the Mechs and vehicpresented in the two books listed aboThe modifiers given are listed for eacroll target number, not the actual dieThis system concurs with that prese

in theBATTLETECH Manual: The Rules ofWarfare.

16 FEBRUARY 1991


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BattleMechs

Light MechsCommando: None.Firestarter: None.Javelin: A piloting skill check at a -1

bonus is required when runningthrough rough terrain, rubble, orwoods.

Jenner: This Mech cannot punch becauseof its arm design.

Ostscout: This Mech has highly sensitivesensor arrays that can detect heat,light, sound, etc., at a 90-km radius.While in deep scan, however, the Mechwill not be able to warn its pilot ofdanger. Another scanning mode canalso alert pilots to the location ofMechs, vehicles, large groups of men(10 or more within 10 meters of eachother), mine fields, and cities.

Panther: This Mech must roll 2d6 uponany successful punches with the right

arm. If a 12 is rolled, the heat output ofthe PPC increases by one point.Spider: All attacks on a jumping Spider are

penalized with an additional +1 pen-alty to their to-hit numbers.

Stinger: None.UrbanMech: This Mech cannot punch, but

attackers get an additional +1 penaltyon their to-hit numbers in any situationin which the Urbanmech has partialcover.

Valkyrie: None.Wasp: None.

Locust: This Mech cannot punch becauseof its arm design.

Medium Mechs

Assassin: The game master should roll 2d6every time the Assassin falls or is hit inits left torso. If a12is rolled, the SRM 2ammo jams and will no longer feed intothe SRM, although the round currentlyloaded may still fire. This jam can onlybe repaired in a fully functional Mechrepair bay.

Blackjack: None.Centurion: None.Cicada: None.Clint: All repair times are multiplied by

1d4.Dervish: None.Enforcer: None.

Griffin: None.Hatchetman: The Hatchetmans hatchet

does 9 points of damage, instead of thestandard 5 points of damage done by anormal punch from a 45-ton Mech.The Mech ejection system removes theentire head of the Mech, not just thepilot. This Mech also has a -1 bonuson its to-hit number against aircraft.

Hermes II: This Mechs advanced com-munications system has a 1000-kmrange and can communicate withspacecraft in orbit.

Hunchback: None.Phoenix Hawk: This Mech has many op-

tional devices available to it. The GMshould decide which of these devices

he will allow the players to have, aswell as their effects and cost. See theCapabilities section of the PhoenixHawk in FASAsTechnical Readout:3025.

Scorpion: This Mech may change its fac-ing at the cost of .5 MPs per hex sideturned. All leftover fractions arerounded up. For example, a two-hexside facing change costs 1 MP and athree- or four-hexside facing changecosts 2 MPs. These

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