Campaign Operations Part 3 (We're going to need another company of battlemechs)

All right BattleTech fans, we’re back for part 3 of our series on unit construction using the Campaign Operations rules set for Battletech.  Looking back at least week’s write-up, we’ve got the first company of the Tombstones identified and their battlemechs acquired.  This week we’re going to try to fill out the second company and make some moves on some other unit ideas. 

I have conjured the raging Wookie known as Drewbacca, and in the ten minutes I had to speak with him about it, he has committed to the following:

“Well, I mostly like lights and mediums, so I will probably go Federated Suns” 

So, we’re going to have a Federated Suns unit, circa 3025 running around at about the same time as the Tombstones.

Other Important notes for the next week or two:

·         Hopefully I  get my camera operational again and we can have pictures of the tombstones (I’ve got all 36 battlemechs painted, I need to put in the canopy details and gun metal up the weapons and jump jets before giving them a final once over)

·         I have a write up for Combat Manual: Kurita that is mostly done,  aside from some art, and then I’ll either cover the historical series or I’ll dig a bit deeper into the Alpha Strike side of things. 

·         Me poking Drewbacca until he gets his butt into gear and gets some dice rolled and a unit built

Once we have units operationally constructed, we’ll try to show you how the Operations side works and maybe run through a campaign for you folks.  Also keep an eye out for the breakdown on how the force construction rules for Alpha Strike work compared to Campaign Operations. 

On to the Crunch:

Last week we assembled the first company of the Tombstones, and we spent some C-Bills and rolled some dice.  This week we’re going to look at expanding into a second company of assault battlemechs.  Looking at the 4^th operational lance, I want to put some ammunition carrying cannons onto the field, and after checking my collection, I am going to angle for a Nightstar, a King Crab, a Thunder Hawk and an Atlas.  Remembering our chart from last week, I need to roll at least a 9 to acquire a battlemech of the assault class with a regular pilot.  We roll the dice and are crushed with disappointment.  We end up rolling a 5 for the Nightstar, a 6 for the King Crab, and a 2 for the Thunder Hawk.  We did succeed at scoring another Atlas with a roll of an 11. 

Checking back at the MUL, and the collection of models I have, I want to pick up a Cyclops and hopefully another Atlas.  The Dice are good this time and I end up slinging both the Cyclops and the Atlas with a pair of 10s.  To round out the lance, I opt to try for another Cyclops, and pick it up with an 11.  4^th lance is done, lances five and six to go for the second company.

 For lance number five, I think I want to try for some longer ranged fire support with some speed.  So I am really keen on a pair of Stalkers and a pair of Banshees (And I happen to have two of each of them in miniature form).  So I roll for each, the Banshee and the Stalker, and fortune is on my side this time, I roll a 10 for the Banshee and a 9 for the Stalker.  Needing to acquire one more of each, I roll the dice again and come up with a 10 for the Stalker and an 11 for the second Banshee.  Both of these units have an interesting mix of long and short range firepower, and for the 3025 era, decent speed.  The only thing that I could get that’s faster would be a Charger, and I don’t think that’s on my MUL availability table. 

So lance 5 is in the books, and now it’s on to lance 6 to finish off the second company.  Ideally, this lance is a mix of unit types to back up the other two lances in the company, so I am rolling for a Victor, a King Crab, that pesky Nightstar, and a Highlander.  The dice are firm in their denials this time, and I can’t roll higher than a 6 for anything.  For Round 2 I aim for an Atlas, a Battlemaster, an Awesome and a Goliath (because quads are battlemechs too).  The dice are less fickle, and I fail to acquire an Atlas (rolled a 3) and a Goliath (rolled a 5), I do manage to pick up the Battlemaster with a 9 and the Awesome with an 11.  I note that I only have one more Battlemaster in my group after this one, and I roll to pick up another one of those and a Cyclops.  The dice decide that’s okay, and I come up with a 10 for the Battlemaster and a 12 for the Cyclops. 

This adds 12 more assault battlemechs to our growing force, and puts at a total of 24 assault weight battlemechs.  My cash reserves are looking a little light at this point, and my collection of assault battlemechs is also rapidly depleting.  The third company (which you can see next week) is going to be predominantly heavy battlemechs.  Our unit has grown and includes all of the following units.

1^st Lance

King Crab (O)
Atlas
Atlas
Battlemaster

2^nd Lance

Highlander (O)
Highlander
Victor
Victor

3^rd Lance

Battlemaster (O)
Awesome
Awesome
Awesome

4^th Lance

Cyclops (O)
Cyclops
Atlas
Atlas

5^th Lance

Stalker (O)
Stalker
Banshee
Banshee

6^th Lance

Battlemaster (O)
Battlemaster
Awesome
Cyclops

 

All of the units are rated at Regular experience, and the officers for each lance are listed with the parenthetical (O)

Looking ahead, I am probably going to want to try and transport the entire group using one dropship, or failing that, as few as I have to pick up.  I think I am going to be aiming for an Overlord class dropship, or failing that, as many Unions as I can lay my hands on. 

Anyway Game Fans, that’s our post for the week on Campaign Operations, and there might be some more goodies that go up between now and Monday, so check back when you have the free time.

 

Game on, Game Fans