Hey Game Fam, today I’m going to look at something dear to my heart, Battletech. I love this game and want to see it flourish. This is a first idea for an introductory campaign for Battletech. This assumes you're familiar with the core rules of the game using either the BattleMech Manual/Total Warfare system or the Alpha Strike: Commander’s Edition. Let’s dive into the campaign’s mechanics.
Emporia Campaign
SitRep
On the planet Emporia, the Draconis Combine is launching a planetary invasion. Emporia is 1 jump away from Robinson, and the Combine is working on a strategy to isolate and reduce support for the March capital as a prelude to future invasions. Alongside assaults on Franklin, Allerton, and Rochester, Emporia is the deepest prong of this wave of the invasion. If the attackers succeed, they will earn glory and honor for the Dragon. If the Defenders can drive them off, they will provide a much needed morale boost for the Federated Suns.
Task Force Hagane
1 Battalion of the 7th New Samarkand Regulars (Veteran/Reliable)
1 Battalion of the 19th Sun Zhang Cadre (Green/Questionable)
1 Battalion of the 8th Legion of Vega (Regular/Reliable)
Under the Command of Tai-Sha Henrietta Margolis, the DCMS has tasked Task Force Hagane with taking control of the planet. Using her own Regulars as the core of her battle line, she plans to bring the Legion of Vega along for support and use the Sun Zhang Cadre as scouts and harassers.
Bastion Emporia
1 Battalion of the 5th Robinson Strikers (Veteran/Reliable)
1 Battalion of the Emporia March Militia (Regular/Reliable)
1 Battalion of the Ritza Mechwarrior Academy Staff and senior cadets (Green/Questionable)
In addition, both sides have hired Mercenary forces to supplement their forces.
The Battle plays out in three primary stages.
D-Day The Invasion begins:
Using Pirate Points, Task Force Hagane surprises the defenders and secures an LZ in one of the rocky badlands areas 100 kilometers from the planetary capital. Using the 19th to scout the Badlands, Hagane pushes out, driving towards the capital. The March Militia’s resilient defense stymies their drive on New Exeter. Seeing her options limited, Margolis sends the Legion of Vega on a deep raid to attack the academy head on.
D-Day +9
The Battle of Ritza Academy
The Legion of Vega pushes deep into the Flint Hills region. Their target is the Ritza Mechwarrior Academy. In a daring dawn raid, they surprise the skeleton crew on hand to protect the Academy (most of the senior cadets and staff are in the field, tangling with the 19th Sun Zhang on scouting missions). They cause massive damage, drawing the 5th Strikers into a chase across the planet. With the Strikers out of position, the Emporia March Militia’s defense wilts and the Regulars push in towards the capital.
D-Day +19
The Battle of New Exeter
The 7th New Samarkand Regulars have pushed the planetary defenders all the way to the planetary capital. Now, the EMM and the 5th Strikers have drawn the line and moved to stop Task Force Hagane dead in their tracks. Using elements of the Academy training Battalion to bait the attackers in, the Davion defenders tried to lure the 7th into brutal block to block fighting around the outskirts of New Exeter. Margolis used her own 7th Regulars as a distraction while the Legion of Vega and Sun Zhang Cadre flanked around the city and slammed into the spaceport. Caught between the two forces, they forced the Davion defenders to surrender.
Playing the Campaign:
This Campaign plays out across 6 weeks (though it is stretchable, so long as the intervals are equal). Players can choose to play either games of Total Warfare or Alpha Strike, and prepare forces accordingly.
Players:
Select one side of this conflict (Kurita/Davion) and select one unit in the briefing. Alternatively, you can prepare a mercenary command and choose one of the two sides. You are playing for that side for the duration of the campaign. TW players prepare a lance sized force (up to BV 10,000), while Alpha Strike Players prepare a Company sized force (up to 500 points).
Game Play
Once a week, players should all get together to schedule (and hopefully play games). Players must play at least one game each week. By mutual agreement, find an opponent to play a game with. Figure out which of you is the attacker and defender (it might surprise you which is which). Play one scenario in either the TW book or the Alpha Strike book (based on which system you’re using). ALL SCENARIOS USE FORCED WITHDRAWAL UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED.
They can change scenarios to have one of the following objectives in each game:
Attacker Only
Recon- At least one unit must make it to within three hexes (or 4 inches) of a specific point on the map (mark with an appropriate token). After completing this task, the unit must make it off that player’s home board edge. This counts as a primary objective. The Defender scores this objective if the Attacker does not make it to within range, or is destroyed before getting off the table.
Supply- At least one unit must make it to at least 1 of the 6 marked hexes (areas) on the map. Each successful supply drop collected is worth an additional Supply Point after the battle. Either player may score this one.
Winning the Campaign:
Every game outcome matters. Each Win gives that team 3 points towards winning the campaign. Each Loss gives that team 1 point towards winning the campaign.
At the Week 3 Meetup, the Battle of Ritza Academy is available to be played. Depending on which side wins the most games at the academy, their force will have a benefit for the rest of the campaign.
At the Week 6 Meetup, The Battle of New Exeter is available to be played. Depending on which side wins the most games, that side will give a massive point boost to the winning team.
After all games have finished, tabulate points. The team with the highest score wins the campaign and control of the planet.
This campaign uses a limited form of the Warchest system used in full Chaos Campaign gameplay and works as follows.
Repair and Maintenance: Every player has ten Supply Points to fix their mechs (or requisition new ones). You can use them for:
1 SP Repair Armor to a mech (Or a lance in Alpha Strike)
2 SP Repair Internal Structure to a mech (or a Lance in Alpha Strike)
2 SP Repair all Critical Hits to a mech (or a lance in Alpha Strike)
3 SP Replace a Destroyed limb/Torso
4 SP Replace a Destroyed Mech (Alpha Strike players can replenish up to a lance’s worth of mechs).
These replenish at the beginning of the next weekly meetup, and a player can bank up to 15 total Supply Points.
Improvements
At the beginning of Week 2, and every week after that, each player can improve the Piloting or Gunnery skill of 1 of their mechwarriors (Alpha Strike players can improve an entire lance). Alternatively, a Mechwarrior can gain a Special Pilot Ability (after week 3), or an Alpha Strike Lance can gain a formation benefit (A lance can become one formation listed in the Alpha Strike: Commander’s Edition book).
Touchpoint: Ritza
The Legion of Vega had marched through the night to get into position. Finally, they were at the Ritza Mechwarrior Academy and had a specific mission: Flatten the Academy and cause as much damage as possible. The operational plan would hopefully pull the Robinson Strikers out of their defensive positions and lead them on a merry chase.
Attacker: 8th Legion of Vega
Defender: Ritza Mechwarrior Academy Training Battalion (at least 1 unit in each defending lance is a Veteran Instructor).
Objective: Destroy the Campus of the Ritza Mechwarrior Academy. There are 4 buildings on the Defender half of the map for this game. The Attacker wins if they destroy 3 or more of those buildings, or the Academy HQ. One building is heavy, two are medium, one is light. The Academy HQ is hardened.
Mapsheets: Use Grasslands Forward Base and Foothills #2 (if you have them from the Map Pack: Grasslands) If not, use any two maps connected on their short edges. Defenders hold the short edge of Forward Base. I encouraged alpha strike players to use Grasslands B (the backside of the Lunar Battlemap).
Victory Condition: If the Attackers destroy the target buildings at the Academy, they score a decisive victory. If they fail, the defenders win a victory. If the defenders secure enough buildings to earn a victory AND force the enemy force to move ¾ of their units off the table with Forced Withdrawal, they win a decisive victory.
If the Attackers win a Decisive Victory, they have drawn the 5th Striker out of position for the rest of the campaign. This means that the Combine forces automatically win initiative for the first round of every game for the rest of the campaign.
If the Defenders win a Decisive Victory, they’re able to use the Ritza Academy as a resource for the rest of the campaign. All Suns forces gain 4 extra SP each week.
Touchpoint: New Exeter
Task Force Hagane has taken the bait and push into the city of New Exeter. The Defenders have laid a trap to isolate and destroy the 7th, but are unaware of the Legion of Vega and the Sun Zhang moving up behind them. Will the defenders be able to destroy the 7th before the pincer closes and catches them?
Attacker: Combine
Defender: Suns
Objective:
Attacker Objective: Draw the defending Suns forces out into the open long enough to catch them out of position between the Regulars and the Legion of Vega. Once the trap springs, destroy the defenders.
Defender objective: Outnumber and overwhelm the attacking Combine warriors. If they do this fast enough, the trap falls apart and the defenders will regroup and hopefully destroy the enemy reinforcements.
Mapsheets: Use any two mapsheets you have access to. Connect them by their long edge. This battle takes place on the outskirts of the city. Add buildings if you like to represent the city suburbs. The Attacker has their choice of deployment edge. The Defender has the opposite edge.
The Defender has two additional units at their disposal when the game starts. (Deploy as normal). However, at the start of the fifth turn, the Attacker gains four units along the defender’s table edge representing the attacker’s reinforcements.
Randomly generate these units using the RATs in FM 3145. Attacking units are the Legion of Vega or Sun Zhang Cadre. Defenders can pull units from any of their sub commands.
Victory Condition: The Defender scores 5 points for every enemy unit destroyed by Turn 5. After turn 5, they score 1 Victory point for each unit destroyed. The Attacker scores 2 Victory Points for every unit destroyed. They score an additional victory point for every turn they have a unit on the table until turn 5. Whoever scores the most points wins the battle.
The overall winner of this battle scores 15 campaign victory points. The loser scores 5.
Campaign Victory:
After the last games have finished, tabulate results. The side that scored the most points wins the campaign and takes control of Emporia. Losing forces can regroup off-world.
Unit Profiles
7th New Samarkand Regulars: 1st Battalion is on world pursuing this mission for the Kanrei. They are a Veteran command with a reliable track record of service. They are B rated and possess no special skills.
8th Legion of Vega: 2nd Battalion is operating to support the Regulars while 1st Battalion is supporting the thrust on Franklin. They are a Regular command with a reliable track record. They are C rated, and possess no special skills.
19th Sun Zhang Cadre: The Cadre is a battalion sized formation of instructors and students. The unit is Green, with a questionable track record (owing to the youth of the students more than anything else). They are a C Rated Command. Up to 1 unit in each lance in TW, and they can give 1 unit per company a Special Pilot Ability.
5th Robinson Strikers: 1st Battalion is on world for training exercises in the hills of Emporia. They are a Veteran Command with a Reliable track record. They are a C Rated Command.
They possess no special command abilities.
Emporia March Militia: The Emporia March Militia is a battalion sized formation raised by March resources. They are a Regular command with a Reliable track rating. They are a C Rated command and have no special command abilities.
Ritza Mechwarrior Training Battalion: One of many training battalions around the Federated Suns. The RMTB is a Green Formation with Questionable reliability. They are a B rated command. Up to 1 unit in each lance in TW, and they can give 1 unit per company a Special Combat Ability.
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