A Game Of Armored Combat

Hello and welcome to another Psyonic_Reaver installment! You're in for a real treat today folks! A real life Battlereport! Please hold the applause while I continue. Today's Battlereport will be on the BattleTech Universe and the people who live there AKA my brother and I battle on a 22in. x 17in. hex board each with a Lance at our disposal. A Lance is combined of 4 Mechs, usually two heavier type Mechs, a medium Mech, and a light Mech.

Now I just want everybody to know that the people playing this game are HUMAN, mistakes will be made on both sides but will not be mentioned. Therefore if you are knowledgeable about this game and catch something that is wrong, PLEASE DO NOT BUG ME ABOUT IT. I do not CARE.

When I make comments during the game they'll be within (and colored this color).

--WARNING--This BR will be probably be over 20megs of pictures so I’m going to be spreading it out over several BR’s and include this big long intro. to the games basic functions to help you pass the time as the pictures load.--END WARNING--

Now I'm going to list what kinds of terrain there are and what they do along with other aspects of the game you might want to learn more about to know what I'm talking about later on. If you don't really want to read about it then skip to the beginning of the report.

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Open Ground: No bonus to defense. 1MP to move over. So it will cost one "movement point" to cross each Open Ground.

Light Forest: +1 to hit, light cover. 2MP to move into but only 1MP to move out of. So it will cost two "movement points" to enter into the light forest but only one to leave. Not to mention it makes your Mech harder to hit. But if you have to shoot though a light wood to hit a Mech on the other side the other Mech gets the bonus. Got it yet? Good.

Heavy Forest: +2 to hit heavy cover. 2MP to move into but only 1MP to move out of. So it's the same as above, except your Mech gets a +2 to hit instead of +1.

Cliffs: There are three levels of elevation. Level 1 covers about half your Mech and costs 2MP to move onto or climb up. Level 2 covers your entire Mech and cannot be accessible from the ground, you must be on a Level 1 to move onto a Level 2 which costs 1MP. Level 3 is one and a half times taller then your Mech and is not accessible from the ground or a Level 1, you must be on a Level 2 in order to move onto a Level 3 which costs 1MP. Now keep in mind that if I was to jump or walk off a Level 3 cliff I would have to make a piloting roll using two dice and get a combined roll of six or higher to remain standing. If I get lower then that my Mech falls down causing damage. Fun stuff huh guys?

Water: There are only two levels of water. Level 1 is about ankle-deep and it costs 2MP to move into and it also gives a bonus to cooling your Mech off 6 Heat Points (HP) but makes you -1 to hit AKA easier to hit. Level 2 covers everything but the head of your Mech and costs 4MP to move into from a Level 1 AND nothing can hit you, but you can't fire out. This also cools off your Mech 6HP. If you were to fall into it from open ground you would have to make a piloting roll to see if your Mech would remain standing after falling so far.

Is everybody writing this down? No? Good. I'll try my best to explain for the first couple of rounds how movement and heat works then I'll cut it off and just do that writing thing I do.

Some more basic info before we start:

1) Initiative is at the beginning of each round. Each player each roll one die, the one with the lowest roll has to move his Mechs first. If the players roll the same number, they re-roll. The benefits of winning the Initiative round means you can watch where your opponent moves and then react accordingly to his moves. 

2) Hits occurred during battle are simultaneous. So damage effects do not happen until the end of the round.

3) SRM means Short Range Missile, an SRM-6 means it is a SRM that fires 6 missiles. A LRM means Long Range Missile, an LRM-15 means that it is a LRM that fires 15 missiles.

4) Basic Heat, Damage and Range Table for Weapons

             Heat   Damage        Range (In Hexes)

                                              4          6         8 (Rolls you need or higher to hit)

                                          Short / Medium / Long

Machine Gun-  0 ----- 2 -----      1 / 2 / 3

Flamer-            3 ----- 2 -----    ""              ""

Small Laser-     1 ----- 3 -----    ""              ""

Medium Laser- 3 ----- 5 -----     1-3 / 4-6 / 7-9

Large Laser-     8 ----- 8 -----   1-5 / 6-10 / 11-15

*PPC-            10 ----- 10 -----  1-6 / 7-12 / 13-18

*Auto Cannon- 1 ----- 5 -----        ""              ""

Long Range Missiles

~5 Rack-      2 ----- # -----    1-7 / 8-14 / 15-21

~10 Rack-     4 ----- # -----       ""              ""

~5 Rack-      5 ----- # -----        ""              ""

~20 Rack-     6 ----- # -----       ""              ""

Short Range Missiles

2 Rack-       2 ----- ^ -----       1-3 / 4-6 / 7-9

4 Rack-       3 ----- ^ -----          ""           ""

6 Rack-       4 ----- ^ -----          ""           ""

*=Minimum Range is 3 / ~=Minimum Range is 6 / #= 1 point of damage per missile that hit / ^= 2 points of damage per missile that hit.

If you try to fire closer then Minimum Range with weapons that have a Min. Range, all your attacking rolls get +1 for every Hex closer they are to you. So if an enemy Mech is in a Hex next to a Mech using a PPC then that Mech would have to use the Short Range roll, so a combined roll of 4 or higher will hit, but since the enemy Mech is an extra 3 Hex's closer then it'd bump it up to 7 to hit instead of 4.

5)                  Heat Point Table

    Activity                           Heat Points

------------------                ---------------------

Walking                                 +1 per turn

Running                                 +2 per turn

Jumping                                 +3 per Hex (min. of 3 per turn)

Trying to Stand Up                +1

Weapon Fire                             See the weapons chart above

Heat Sinks                              -1 per sink operation (Heat Sinks help lower your Heat Points, so that you may move again or fire weapons)

                                               -1 additional for heat sink under water (6 max.)

1st Engine Critical Hit            +5 per turn

2nd Engine Critical Hit          +10 per turn

6)                Critical Hit Effects Table

          /-Life Support- 1 point of damage to MechWarrior per turn heat is 15 - 24

Head |-Cockpit- MechWarrior is dead. Mech is out of the game.

          \-Sensors- 1^st hit: +2 to fire. 2^nd hit: No fire.

Torso Area|-Engine- 1^st hit: +5 heat per turn. 2^nd hit: +10 heat per turn. 3^rd hit: Mech Destroyed.

                  |-Gyro- 1^st hit: +3 to all piloting rolls 2^nd hit: Mech Destroyed.

Arms|-Shoulder- +4 to hit with ranged weapons.

         |-Arm Actuator- +1 to hit

         |-Hand- Cannot fire hand held weapon.

Legs|-Hip- 1^st hit: MP is halved. 2^nd hit: No movement

        |-Leg Actuator- -1MP and +1 to all pilot rolls

Weapons: Weapon destroyed.

Jump Jets: Jump Jet destroyed.

Heat Sink: Heat Sink destroyed.

Ammo: Ammo explodes doing damage to Internal Structure and the MechWarrior takes 2 hits.

7) A MechWarrior is the pilot of a Mech. If the Head is hit or Ammo explodes then the MechWarrior takes a hit.

            Consciousness Number

1^st       2^nd      3^rd       4^th       5^th     6th

(3)      (5)      (7)      (10)    (11)   (Dead)

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Let's get ready to RUMBLEEEEEEE!!! By showing you the map of the playing field.

As you can see it's pretty much even on both sides except for the large pool of water in the center of the map.

Now lets introduce the players!

Aren't they sexy studs? I'm the one that is trying to look cool and impressive and my brother is holding the dinosaur. Hey, he doesn't like being stalked alright?

Now here's the list of Mechs that Psyonic (Me) choose for his Lance. His color of choice is Blue.

(Note: I've given each Mech a "pilot" and a color so its easier to distinguish who's who.)

--Smurf Lance--

-Sgt. Psyonic.Smurf will be commanding the Mad-3R Marauder Heavy Mech. It weighs 75 tons and its movement points are: Can walk 4 hexes, run 6 and jump for 0. Its arsenal includes two PPC's, two Med. Lasers and an Auto Cannon.

-Lt. Buckeye.Smurf will be piloting the BLR-16 Battlemaster Assault Mech. It weighs 85 tons and its movement points are: Can walk 4 hexes, run for 6 and jump for 0. Its weapons includes a PPC, six Med. Lasers (two facing the rear), an SRM-6, and two Machine Guns.

-Prt. Tyrant.Smurf will be engaging with his TDR-55 Thunderbolt Medium Mech. It weighs 65 tons and its movement points are: Can walk 4 hexes, run for 6 and jump for 0. Its inventory includes one Large Laser, three Med. Lasers, an SRM-2 and an LRM-15, and two Machine Guns.

-Prt. Dino.Smurf will be taking point with his WSP-1A Wasp Light Mech. It weighs 20 tons and its movement points are: Can walk 6 hexes, run for 9 and jump for 6. Its offensive capabilities are one Med. Laser and one SRM-2.

And here's STIM's (My brother) Mechs. His color of choice is Red.

--Stim Lance--

-Sgt. STIM will be commanding his customized Mech the DF-1 Defender Heavy Mech (Which will be represented by the Warhammer Icon). It weighs 70 tons and its movement points are: Can walk 5 hexes, run for 8 and jumping is 0. Its arsenal includes one Large Laser, two Med. Lasers, one SRM-6, and four Machine Guns.

-Lt. Joseph will be piloting the BLR-16 Battlemaster Assault Mech. It weighs 85 tons and its movement points are: Can walk 4 hexes, run for 6 and jump for 0. Its weapons includes a PPC, six Med. Lasers (two facing the rear), an SRM-6, and two Machine Guns.

-Prt. Huma will be engaging with his RFL-3N Rifleman Medium Mech. It weighs 60 tons and its movement points are: Can walk 4 hexes, run for 6 and jump for 0. Its inventory includes two Large Lasers, two Med. Lasers, and two Auto Cannons.

-Prt. Ken will be taking point with his LCT-1V Locust Light Mech. It weighs 20 tons and its movement points are: Can walk 8 hexes, run for 12 and jump for 0. Its offensive capabilities are one Med. Laser and two Machine Guns.

Y'all ready for this?

North side of the map facing South: STIM  
                  --Mech Starting Positions--                 

Defender on Hex 0102 -- Rifleman on Hex 0601 -- Locust on Hex 0801 -- Battlemaster on Hex 1502

South side of the map facing North: Psyonic   
--Mech Starting Positions.--

Wasp on Hex 615 -- Thunderbolt on Hex 816 -- Marauder on Hex 916 -- Battlemaster on Hex 1016

Round One. Ready? Go!

Stim wins the Initiative. Psyonic moves first.

--Movement Round--

This where the Mechs are at the end of the movement round. The yellow arrows are where their facing.

Psyonic keeps his main force together while sending the Wasp out to the left to engage STIM's Defender with his SRM's.

Stim, hoping to surround his enemy, keeps his troops spread out trying to flank the main attack force.

  --Attack Round--

Stim -- Stim's Defender takes a pot shot at the enemy Wasp with its Large Laser but misses. Meanwhile, Huma's Rifleman lets off with its two Auto Cannon's at the closing Thunderbolt. One of the AC's hit in the Right Leg causing 5 damage to the armor there. Joseph has his Battlemaster take the Rifleman's example and fires off its PPC nailing the Thunderbolt in the Right Arm for 10 damage. Now Ken's scouting Locust shoots its Med. Laser at the leading Marauder but the shot goes wide.

Psyonic -- Dino's Wasp fires off its SRM-2 in return fire at the Defender but the missiles lose their lock and thud into a nearby hill. The Thunderbolt, after shrugging off the damage done to it, returns fire on the Rifleman with its Large Laser but Tyrant was still a bit shaken from that last AC hit and his shot misses. Now the Buck's Battlemaster sets its sights on the scouting Locust and opens up with its PPC and two Med. Lasers. The Lasers miss but the PPC nails the Locust in the Left Torso searing off its armor and scoring a critical hit on its internal structure, disabling its Left Shoulder. Psyonic (Marauder) decides to finish the Locust by letting off with his Auto Cannon and one of his PPC's but misses by a long shot.

Round Two. Ready? Go!

Psyonic wins the Initiative. Stim moves first.

--Movement Round--

--Attack Round--

Psyonic -- The Wasp is in no position to attack and forfeits its turn. Buckeye, feeling lucky, trys to hit the Locust with his PPC again but, sadly, misses. Tyrant, his honor on the line, aims his PPC and one Med. Laser on the Locust, scoring two hits! The PPC tears into the Right Arm dealing 10 damage while the Laser sears the Left Arm for 5. Both of these weapons cause internal damage and thus a critical hit is scored on each Arm's Actuator! Making it almost impossible for the Locust to use the Machine Guns that are positioned in each arm, but the Med. Laser is fused onto the Center Torso and is fully charged... Finishing up Psyonic's attack is the Marauder which blasts away with a PPC, a Med. Laser and a Auto Cannon. The PPC and the Laser miss their intended targets but the Auto Cannon burrows into the Right Leg causing 5 damage on the enemy Battlemaster!

Stim -- The Locust, hurt but not dead, fires away with it's Med. Laser at the Thunderbolt. Tyrant bearly managed to avoid the blast and escaped unscathed. Stim's Defender warms up it's Large Laser and lets go at the Thunderbolt but also but misses. Huma's Rifleman also takes up the task of shooting at the Thunderbolt and two Med. Lasers and two Auto Cannons fire towards it, but only managed to hit it with one Auto Cannon in the Left Leg causing 5 damage to that area. The Battlemaster, ignoring the closer Marauder, opens up on the Thunderbolt with a PPC and two Med. Lasers but horribly missing.

Round Three. Ready? Go!

Stim wins the Initiative. Psyonic moves first.

--Movement Round--

--Attack Round--

Stim -- Ken decides a new target is in order and rotates his Mech to set it's sights on Dino's Wasp, firing away with its Med. Laser but missing. STIM lines up on the Wasp also with two Med. Lasers, an SRM-6, and it's four Machine Guns but misses also. The Rifleman opens up again with two Med. Lasers and two Auto Cannons on the Thunderbolt and in taking more time to actually AIM at the Mech, manages to hit with everything but a Med. Laser. All the weapons hit the Thunderbolt's Center Torso and an Auto Cannon manages to break though one part of the armor to cause a critical hit! (If you roll snake eyes you get a Crit. Hit automatically) One of the Thunderbolt's engines explodes! Causing the Mech's heat to skyrocket by 5 Heat Points. Joseph, out for revenge, attacks the Thunderbolt with a PPC and a Med. Laser, badly damaging the Mech's Right Torso for 15 damage.

Psyonic -- Dino opens fire with his SRM-2 and his Med. Laser at the Locust but his shots go wild. Tyrant, seriously pissed, noticed that the Locust had its back to him. A common battlefield rule about firing at the back of an unaware opponent was un-honorable but another known fact was that Mech's had 90% lower armor on their backsides then their fronts. Tyrant opens fire with is Large Laser and his SRM-2 anyway. While the Missiles flew past the Mech, the Large Laser melted into the Locust’s Rear Center Torso for 8 damage and continues in and through the Mech! The Locust stumbles for a few seconds before suddenly exploding. (When that happened I jumped to my feet and did the boogie dance and said "Booya who’s your mama?" Yeah, I'm nerdy like that.) First blood goes to the Smurf Lance! Psyonic, grinning from ear to ear, opens up with his PPC, a Med. Laser, and an Auto Cannon. His excitement must of gotten in the way of common sense though as he wasnt aiming at anything. Buckeye's Battlemaster, originally planning on firing on the Locust, fires a PPC and two Med. Lasers on the distant Rifleman but there must of been a cross breeze and the weapons miss. (My older brother walked past and made my rolls sucky. Stupid breezes.)

Round Four. Ready? Go!

Psyonic wins the Initiative. Stim moves first.

--Movement Round--

--Attack Round--

Psyonic -- The Wasp has managed to move in behind Huma's Rifleman and fires off its Med. Laser and SRM-2, while the laser misses, the missiles lock onto the Mech's Rear Right Torso, tearing off its armor and hitting internal systems. Luck was on Dino's side as one of the missiles score a critical hit on the Shoulder, essentially making the Auto Cannon and Large Laser in the Right Army useless. The Battlemaser fires off its PPC and Med. Laser missing the Rifleman, but a last second attack with an SRM-6 hits for 8 damage to the Left Torso. The Thunderbolt also fires on the Rifleman with two Med. Lasers, scoring a hit on the Left Leg and Arm each causing 5 damage. Wrapping up Psyonic's attack phase is the Marauder which lets loose with, you guessed it, a PPC, a Med. Laser and an Auto Cannon on the closing enemy Battlemaster. Surprisingly, The PPC strikes the Right Arm for 10 damage, while the Med. Laser and the Auto Cannon strike the Left Leg and Left Torso for 5.

Stim -- My brother is worried now, he was one Mech short, his forces were spread too thin and he had an enemy Wasp flanking his Rifleman. Never-the-less, STIM orders his Defender to fire on the wounded Thunderbolt with his SRM-6 and two Med. Lasers but again his shots go wild. The damaged Rifleman still has willpower to fight and opens up with two Auto Cannons and two Med. Lasers on the Thunderbolt. Huma scores an AC hit on the Left Arm for 5 damage, while the Med. Lasers scorch the Left Leg and Right Torso for 5 damage each. Now the Battlemaster returns fire on the Marauder with a PPC and two Med. Lasers but another cross breeze screwed up his shot as well. (Take a guess who walked by again. ^^)