Scenario playtesting

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The following is a sorta bat rep for a scenario game I came up with aways back. This was it's first run and predictably, we found several issues with it, but I'll get to those in a bit. Firstly here is the back story and scenario, with the bat rep to follow, and then thoughts/needed revisions at the end. Hope you enjoy!

*****

It’s 3028, the 4th Succession war is just ramping up into full swing, and the Dame Catherine Humphreys, leader of the Duchy of Andurien declares war on the treacherous Capellan Confederation due to an 'unprovoked' attack. The Buffet Assault Group, is deployed to assist the 4th Defenders of Andurien in their assault on Scarborough…

*****

It has been a long day of fire support duties. The TBAGers have spent the past 12 hours, perched atop a ridge, pounding the Capellan defenders back into the stone age. Their ceaseless LRM strikes only interrupted by the frequent need to reload. However after hours of firing, their ammo hoppers (and the accompanying train of Andurien ammo carriers) have all run dry. Wearily, the TBAGers pull back to the rear for a much needed night’s rest. Even their CO Catalina is exhausted, spending the day endlessly patrolling for flanking attacks and escorting the ammo carriers heading both to and from their position against attack. 

As the day draws to a close and the evening fog rolls in, the TBAGers finally have the space port in sight, their barracks lay just beyond. Their minds dulled with fatigue they let their guard down as the Anduriens have a 2nd line garrison lance protecting the town from danger. With the last few straggling ammo carriers in tow, the TBAGers only need to pass thru town before they can enjoy some warm food, hot showers and blessed sleep…

The Scenario:

Eight thousand points per side, 4th Succession War (tech level 1). 

The defender’s Andurien lance and infantry platoon as well as my opponent's forces deploy as per the norm, and my opponent has the initiative for the first two turns as the rookie Andurien lance is thrown into disarray by this ‘sudden ambush behind the lines’. 

At the beginning of turn 2 the TBAGer mechs arrive on their table edge and wearily join the fray. Exhausted from a long day, their P/G skills are awful and all of their LRM hoppers are empty. They may not run in the turn they arrive since the inexperienced Anduriens were taken by surprise and neglected to warn them. Likewise the din of distant battles and the foggy conditions masked this fight from the tired mercenaries. The ammo carriers arrive on turn 3 and also may not run in the turn they arrive. 

The dense evening fog adds a +1 to hit modifier for all shooting rolls at all ranges. Physical combat rolls are unaffected.

In order to win, more than half of the TBAGer mechs and ammo carriers (I only have 2 ammo carriers) need to escape off of the board via the enemy board edge within 6 turns. The Anduriens DO NOT need to escape the board, however the Andurien mechs will fall back and retreat off of their table edge if they start taking internal damage. If the infantry platoon falls to half strength, the remainder will scatter into buildings/cover and be removed from the board.

The Buffet Assault Group in back were all quite tired 5/6 pilots with the 2 ammo carriers having 5/5 crews. The Anduriens in front were all 4/5 pilots, with 3/- Frogmen infantry. The three Urbies were identified as Light Pole, Mini-Bus Shortbus, and Emoji.

The battlefield. Note Felis Gigantus lurking off to the side...

Yes, I will make several strolls thru the middle of your game, and yes I will plop down right in the middle of it too!

Turn one. Due to range, fog and movement, my Anduriens make no shots. Screech's Capellans fire a few times, but no hits are landed. 

Turn 2 and the Tbagers arrive, and note the lonnnnnnng road ahead of them....

Multiple modifiers or not, they can't hit me if there's a water tank in the way!

Turn 3 the ammo carriers arrive, and prepare for their high speed dash across the table. 

Here at the top of turn 3, we realized my assault mechs had no possible chance of making it off of the board. So we added 2 turns to the game. Catalina pulled out of line in her Stalker to provide covering fire to her troops whom she ordered to make a run for it! Meanwhile Emoji, the infantry, and the Capellan scouts start brawling at point blank range. The infantry managed a Commando head shot amidst their little blast of buckshot, much to Screech's annoyance.

My lone gunnery highlight of the game came when 'shortbus' put an AC-10 slug into the head of Screech's Awesome. Sadly there was no crit made. Truth be told, there were quite a few head shots in the game, though this was the only one to penetrate anybody's armor in that location.

An Awesome disobeys orders and peels off to stand and fight. Three 'big guys' running and forgoing all shooting (paltry as it was) is kinda boring to play. Speaking of, 3 of the 4 Tbager mechs would end the game with minimal damage, and near all of it to their rear armor. 

...aaaand its a free-for-all at this point. Damaged urbies were making fighting retreats (albeit slowly), Assaults were running (also but not quite as slowly), the longbow narrowly passed it's piloting check to not fall whilst turning at a run on pavement and in the back field, one of the APCs made an unsuccessful MG strafing run on an enemy Catapult. 

At the bottom of turn 6 we called the game due to the late hour. 

The Awesome that stayed behind took a pounding this last round and would end the game on it's back, the only mech to fail a piloting roll all game! My side's 'hero-mech' title ought to go to my Andurien SHD-1R. It took an absolute ponding, and never once fell despite losing almost all of it's armor from the waist up!

The final, parting shot.

Okay so, thoughts?

Well first of all, success was impossible as I'd handicapped my forces too much. Thus the game essentially ended as a draw when we called it due to time. Had we gone another turn, the APCs would have exited the board, though at the minimum the Longbow and the one Awesome would have needed another 2 turns to exit as well. No units on either side were lost, though mine were sporting heavier damage than his mechs.

I had thought that a straight run across the board would be too easy. Perhaps had we been using a standard mapsheet it would have been. However mine is a 36"x36" map, meaning there was literally no way my lumbering assault mechs could make it in 6 turns! We realized this early on and revised it to 8 turns, but even then 10 might be more realistic, that or use faster mechs. However this was kinda tailored to my Tbagers so the latter isn't much of an option. Placing the Şoarece in the middle of the intersection as a roadblock didn't help matters either. 

The fog needs to go! Exhausted 5/6 pilots, running, and shooting at moving targets (at range) are all but impossible to hit. Adding in a further +1 meant more often than not, I needed a 13 or 14 to-hit roll on 2D6! Yeah, not happening. Indeed, all game my lowest to-hit number was a 7, however the vast majority were 10+ rolls, and box cars were kinda the norm.

Movement: Screech suggested my units be allowed to run on the turns they arrived. Tired or not, mechwarriors still react quickly to the situation and those few extra hexes of movement were sorely needed!

Deployment: He also suggested deploying his force on a flank. It would have been too easy to overload one side or the other, namely on the road itself to all but eliminate any hopes of escape from the outset. It was a conscious decision on his part not to do so.

Still, it was a fun time and we'll give this another go (with revisions) in the future.

My first game of 2020!

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After a yearlong hiatus due to misaligned schedules and an untimely illness on my part, Kushial was finally able to come over for a game! He was brining a medium/light weight company (well mostly, he left 2 behind to guard the dropship), against which I fielded a similarly weighted demi-company, of mechs, with an APC carried infantry platoon. 

The following is my usual brand of a half-assed bat rep. Kushial already posted his which you can read here. 

My setup assistant Baxter 'helping' as usual...he would be removed from the table several times over the course of the game. 

Kushial's Donegal Guard approaches...

My right flank defenders, with my Urbies in the 'subdivision'. I had hoped he would close to slug it out with them in these close confines, but to no avail. 

My left flank, and the LoS blocking hunk o' cardboard that would see much fighting around it. 

My hunchback advances boldly out in front of the vehicle park, tempting the hatchetman horde to charge in, but they don't take the bait...

My Whitworth would stand rooted in it's spot most of the game. with a multitude of targets, it had no need to close and performed admirably (well, when my die rolling actually cooperated) in the fire support role with it's twin LRM 10 launchers. 

Ceding ground to try and draw him into close range, the hatchetmen and Urbies instead trade long ranged AC-10 fire, whilst the first real scrum begins on my left flank. 

My first ever use of a quad mech, the Scorpion performed fairly well, though the lack of both adequate heat sinks and the ability to torso twist were rather difficult to grapple with. 

Backed into a corner already, grrr...

As a bit of a side note, in the background on the platform next to the dropship, That valkyrie had just finished incinerating my infantry platoon to a man! This was the first time that anyone actively engaged my infantry, normally they're just ignored.

The beginning of the end as the end starts to swing against me...

TREACHERY! Attacking a prone mech!?! (A Gryo hit and destroyed foot actuator would keep it down). This shall be noted in the Book of Gru-wait, wrong game system...never mind. 

I kept forgetting about that little, overheated all to hell and heavily damaged but still not dead little bastard.

and lo, the mechs began to fall...

The hatchetmen continue to dance back and forth in front of my gunline, taking damage but not enough to die. 

Finally they charge, axes held high! Two urbies would fall to shooting however, denying them their axe swings. Remarkably, one urbie took an ammo crit and survived by dint of only having 1 round left in the hopper! It still hurt quite a bit though. 

Trapped like a rat and preparing for death. 

The hatchetman would decapitate my griffin with it's axe, though a solid right hook to the hatchetman's face made for a glorious death!

With the last 2 urbies combat ineffective (only 1 small laser left between them), my still untouched (and almost out of ammo) Whitworth, and surprisingly only lightly damaged Scorpion run up the white flag and retreat. Likewise that heavy APC put pedal to the metal and made a run for it as well. 

My ragged survivors (though 'survivors' kinda debatable given the state of those two urbies)

So...I started off 2020 much like I finished off 2019, by losing. Of well, consistency is half the battle they say (just not the half I was hoping for...). Still, it was a fun time and I look forward to our next bout which hopefully will not be until 2021.

Its the Urbie Dance Squad!!

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Happy New Year folks! Wow, 2020....sounds futuristic doesn't it? However, rather than the far future we're still right here in the present, moving on...

Despite the inordinate amount of free time that PDF units seem to have, cleaning their mechs still doesn't seem to make it onto the duty roster...

I closed out 2019 by finishing off my 'Podunk' PDF lance, consisting of a trio of Urbies lead by an obsolete Shadowhawk SHD-1R. The Shadowhawk's LRM-5 was mismolded and looked more like an SRM-4. Somebody with decent greenstuff skillz (i.e.: not me) could've probably fixed that, but I instead trimmed the LRM and head mounted SRM launchers off making it into a SHD-1R. 

The cars, mini bus and lamp post all came from SteelWarriorStudios. The SHR-1R's base is by Gamecraft Studios.

I have a 2nd Shadowhawk in the same boat, and will likely make it into a 1R as well. Given my fondness for mediocre-to-shitty mechs, I don't see this downgrade as an issue, rather its perfect for PDF/Homeguard type of units. As such, this bunch is in urban camo, meaning it could be from most any inner sphere/periphery house or mercs, or even some really, really down on their luck pirates. 

Guess who's happy to see you???

The smiley emoji on the top of that one urbie is in recognition of it's first ever shot fired in anger that took down a pristine King Crab! I won't go into detail (again) as most folks like to remind me that I never seem to shut up about that, lol. 

These will likely not be all painted in the color scheme...

Also, some late year reinforcements rolled in in the form of a Bulldog lance. These tanks are from SteelWarriorStudios, and they scale perfectly with my Scorpion and Demolisher tanks. I think they're a vast improvement over the official model. I'm also tempted to mod the record sheet of the standard model to add in some additional armor to match what looks like appliqué armor as compared to the LRM versions.

As a Christmas present to me, I ordered a Marik decal for my truck.

Due to RL scheduling issues, there are still no dates set for games at this time (but we are trying!), despite that I'm hoping this is the year that changes my Battletech gaming from sporadic to frequent!

Merry Christmas Folks!

I have battletech-related presents for my local battletech opponents, and will get them to all of you...eventually. Sorry, but I seem to be piloting an Urbanmech rather than Santa's Sleigh when it comes to delivering presents.

Sadly, it has been quiet around here this month. Getting sick as hell is to blame, especially when it manifests on the very morning that I was looking forward to playing a game of Battletech vs. Kushial. 

Damnit!!! 

Likewise, painting prettymuch ground to a halt, as has most everything else. Which, given how crazy Decembers can be isn't anything really all that out of the norm. I do have this entire week off from work which is great! Though...with Christmas smack dab in the middle of it, and the obligatory family get togethers it'll likely feel like a whirlwind I'm sure, so enjoying a restful vacation will remain as always elusive (but hey, there will be presents at least right?).

Fear not, January is on approach, and little if anything happens the beginning of the year given everyone's broke, and worn out from the holidays in general. That means there will (hopefully) be time for gaming, with both a tentative scenario game vs. Hoss as well as a rescheduled game with Kushial (dates to yet be determined). Or at the very least there will be painting. 

Anyways, hope all of you enjoy Christmas, the New Year and anything else that pops up along the way! 

Happy Terrainsgiving!

o/

All of these pieces are from Hardware Studios.

I've just been a dry brushing away on my collection of 3D printed terrain here of late, and am making pretty good progress me thinks. I know the red and grey fuel tank was pictured in my prior post, but it seemed only fitting to include it again with the rest of what I've painted since. 

The black splotches represent battle damage resulting from my all-too-frequently inaccurate shooting...

The stenciling for hex bases on the roof of the vehicle bay was done by taping down spare bases with blue painters tape and painting the lines in between them. Originally, I had painted the building in red, blue and purple of the Free Worlds League, but I didn't care for the look. So, I went back over it heavily in grey. The latter is still barely visible giving the impression of paint that has largely flaked off over the years.

As you can see, ryza rust has been my friend on all of these pieces. 

Lift off in T-minus 10, 9, 8...

I didn't add a hex grid in on the landing pad as the Dropship is always parked there in game. As such, the four corners, and landings on the ramps are the only places a mech can sit without fear of wobbly model syndrome. 

The dropship is from Hardware Studios as well, whereas the bunker came from Steel Warrior Studios as a free bee with my last order! 

I have a hardened bunker and the Dropship itself left, as well as an older bunker and liquid storage tank that I'll likely be giving a repaint to, to match this newer terrain as well as my urban map sheet. 

Tanks! All sorts of tanks...

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I thought I'd preempt the inevitable Tanksgiving posts that will flood the blogosphere next week with two recently painted 'tanks' of my own. 

First of all, more over Steiner and your puny Atlas based scout lances, the Şoarece proves that no one can waste resources like the Free Worlds League can! 

Note the Şoarece's dirty appearance
from a recent river crossing. Due to
it's weight, few if any bridges can
support it. Luckily though it has a
limited amphibious capability. 

A rolling 175 tons of Seriously, what the fuck were they thinking?, the Şoarece is a nigh impregnable mobile fortress, slathered in 40.5 tons of armor, and moving at a whopping 18.5mph (on solid ground, going down hill and with a good tailwind). It has mixed autocannon armament that's...theoretically good at all ranges, and in practicality kinda worthless, backed up by a lone nose mounted machine gun. 

Fewer than 100 of these monstrosities tanks were built before production ceased, thus the roman numeral XIII on the front hull is actually the production number rather than any sort of regimental or unit marking. Also, due to their enormous size, at the time of manufacture Şoareces were christened with a name, much like naval vessels. 

This particular one was Christened the Warhound, and has a canine rampant decoration on both the port and starboard sides. However crews and regimental commanders alike quickly dubbed it The Dog due to its sluggish mobility and both anemic and mismatched weaponry. Most of it's career was spent in static defense and on parade duty.

In 2913, The Warhound went in for an overhaul and rearmament to (hopefully) silence the incessant complaints of the armored brigade commanders who despised the machine. The AC-2 and AC-20 were removed and replaced with a pair of AC-10s, giving the tank a triple mount of identical guns.

Whilst a bit more useful, The Warhound was now essentially a slower, overweight, Star League era Alacorn.  Commanders, resigned to the fact that there was no fixing the tank, continued to use it as little as was possible, until the tank was mothballed a mere two years later. The Warhound was reactivated a few times however, to serve as a stand in for a hostile, grounded dropships without actually risking damage to an actual dropship in large scale live-fire field exercises.

*****

And then there's the other tank. Its a 'not a fuel tank Screech!'  that I recently purchased a pair of from Hardware Studios. Its all drybrushing and I cranked it out in about 15-20 minutes. I'm quite happy with it and despite being intended for Battletech, is large enough to be useful as a LoS blocker in 40k/KT as well. 

The Robotech minis the Kickstarter backers ACTUALLY wanted...

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THIS! This is what we wanted out of that infernal Kickstarter!!
Also of note is the new Hardware Studios terrain in the background (funded by the sale of 40k minis).

By now, regardless of whether or not you were invested in it or not, everyone ought to be well acquainted with the clusterfuck that was Palladium's Robotech Tactics Kickstarter. Heh, after looking up that link, I checked on the now 103K+ comments of vitriol and hate to see that folks are STILL commenting on there...lol. It's done guys, get over it. Really. 

The mech itself is feather light and the wings are translucent, but ought to be fine even if you drop it...maybe.

Besides, Kids Logic now has the license and is making the minis we had hoped for in the first place! Unless you actually wanted a Warhammer that came in 30ish pieces rather than 3-4...

Really crisp detail. 

For instance, I ordered a Phoenix Hawk Battloid mode Veritech as a test purchase. $15 total with shipping direct from Hong Kong that took maybe a week and a half total. The mini had ZERO flash/mold lines and was 3 pieces that went together in minutes. 

Fits perfectly on the Gamecraft base which is the standard hex size. 

The only trimming was removing the pegs on the bottom of the feet so I could put it on one of my Gramecraft minis' hex bases. This was more or less a 'test purchase' (being justifiably wary after the KS), but now that I have it there will likely be another coming in the future as right after I ordered this they released the Warhammer.