Apollyon Cometh!

and he has no pants! featured on the cover of the soon to be released Jihad Hot Spots: 3072, Precentor Apollyon, everyone's favourite cybernetic baby-eating, MD-leading WobBlie is depicted against a backdrop of 2 of the new Celestial series 'mechs that the Blessed Word will soon use to stomp some scotsmen...

in a related story, the .pdf for CBT Tech Manual is now available online. this writer for one is eagerly awaiting its appearance on the shelves, so that finally i can find out what the hell a Hyper Assault Gauss (C) is all about. and how to stick one into a 'mech!

http://www.classicbattletech.com/index.php?action=gallery

check out the covers, available as wallpapers. i got the pantsless one as a desktop!

now for the new box set...

Heaven's Drive - L'Arc En Ciel

A mix of stuff

1. Fedsuns won Vengeance Gambit at Katong.
2. Quads behind partial cover are evil incarnate.
3. Colin has created miniatures 'starter packs', to go on sale soon. These contain four mechs and (I think) some sort of rules, and would go on sale at a price cheaper than the sum total.

Vengeance Gambit Lineup

Here're the remaining forces for VG Riposte

Fed Suns
Battlemaster
T-Hawk
Devastator x 3
Black Knight
Templar x 2
Sunder x 2
Thanatos x 2
Schilitron
Partisan
Pegasus
Legionaire x 2
Infiltrator x 2
Mantis
Cavalry

Word of Blake
Grim Reaper
Legacy
Viking
Toyama
White Flame
Buccaneer
Wraith x 2
King Crab
Marauder
Crusader
Puma
Brutus
Partisan
Purifier x 2
Mantis x 3
Cyrano x 3

Unfortunately, I can't quite recall the maps used, and I think I've somehow lost the data I wrote on one of the record sheets. And stupid starboi still hasn't sent me the photo of the battle scene yet... This is exactly what I'm afraid would happen when a scenario is left alone for too long.

Nevermind, I still vaguely remember the battlefield setup.

TWG

Vengeance Gambit

Okay folks. I've confirmed VG for Sunday, 31st December. Once we've finished, we'll celebrate the New Year at Settlers'!

Damien, Gordon, and Marissa have confirmed, and Jon will be with us till about 6 pm. Kenneth, pls contact Jeff and the others!

TWG

Vengeance Gambit

Okie... Since we all have a whopping 2 days of holidays on the 1st and 2nd of January, I'd like to finish Vengeance Gambit on the 31st of December. If we finish early, can also celebrate the New Year!

So here're the details.

Time: 1400 - 2400 hrs
Location: Settlers Katong
What to bring: pencil, dice, eraser

Damien has confirmed. I need the rest of you to tell me if you;re coming so I can make the arrangements with Settlers. If too late, we might have to shift the game to the 1st or the 2nd of January.

Please reply ASAP!

The Wobbly Guy

Intellectual Ponderings in CBT

Came across an interesting article on Empires and the importance of frontiers. Kinda relevant to the current situation, especially vis-a-vas the Successor States and the dynamics between House Lords and their direct subordinates on the borders, plus the growth of empires.
http://isteve.blogspot.com/2006/11/foundation-of-empire.html

The concept of 'asabiya' is of most interest, especially to die-hard supporters of any House or clan. In the jihad, it could conceivably be argued that the Free Worlds League completely lost it. And once lost, it's poof. So no more FWL. For some reason or other, the minor differences between the Mariks, the Regulans, the Orientes, and the myriad factions that make up the FWL suddenly became too magnified for the FWL to unite in the face of an external enemy.

As a Wobblie strategist, this is of paramount interest. So how then, to promote divisions within each and every enemy state/nation/organization, in order to splinter them and render them more digestible piecemeal?

Simple. Lay low, build up forces, deprive enemy states of their natural external enemies(okay, maybe not so simply done). Internal pressure will build, and hasten the process along with some good ole rabble-rousing. Then when they start to split, wedge them apart.

Precentor [deleted]

Quid Nunc, Precentor?

was talking nonsense with JT over the table, and discussing the need for a promo during the holidays. but what to play? something accessible, simple to start up, and great fun!

the first answer came in the form of the Urbie Derby.

players:
scenario supports multiple Player Characters. the more the merrier!1 Urbie-Master/GM needed

equipment:
handy-dandy RS
buttload of Urbie Minis/coke bottle caps/chess pawns
minis for the Player Characters
poker cards for initiative purposes

gameplay:
player chooses his own mech and is given a 3/4 pilot. all Urbies have 4/5 pilots

each player starts out hot-dropped on a random map sheet, 1 per player. if the GM is feeling venomous, play city maps. scatter would be fun!

3 Urbies per player are hot-dropped too. Urbie force composition is randomly determined from the Urbie-Master RAT. (at this point, lazy me really ought to draw up this table to showcase my evil Urbie designs, but as mentioned i'm lazy. suffice to say that over 20 RL10s on an Urbie is wicked sick! so is an Arrow IV...)

Special Rules:
Killing: a mech is considered destroyed if
a) the mech has lost at least 1 leg and 1 arm
b) the mechs pilot has been killed
c) all centre torso internal structure has been destroyed
if multiple players fire upon a single urbie, the mech whos weapon lands the killing blow is determined to have killed the Urbie for scoring purposes. initiative in the attack phases must be adhered to for this reason, as kill-stealing is a definite tactical possibility!
if a player's mech is killed, that player is out of the game. he may be deputised to help the Urbie-Master if there are a lot of mechs in play, to speed things up.
Urbies Fight To The Death: there is no forced withdrawal for the Urbies. not like they can get away at any decent speed ;)
Braaaaaaiiiinnnsssss: Urbies attack the nearest target. no-one said you couldn't draw off the Urbies and let them hammer some slower sucker...
Respawn: whenever an Urbie dies, roll 2D6. on a result of 11+, not one but 2 fresh Urbies respawn. roll on the Urbie-Master RAT for each new Urbie spawned to decide its configuration, then hot-drop, accounting for scatter.
Great Justice: if a player manages to kill/mission-kill a pristine Urbie in one round of fire and/or physicals, or the mech dies from effects related to said attacks in either the weapons, physical or heat phases (falls on ammo bin, overheats and blows up etc) the player gains 1 edge point to be used at any time to influence his/the Urbie-Master's rolls. this may not be used to interfere with another player character's rolls.
My Brother's Keeper: players may not fire upon, physically attack or otherwise molest other players' mechs. Urbies may only fire upon or kick player character mechs. come on now, who the hell is going to score a punch, charge or DFA with an Urbie?
Special Ammo: all ammo types considered LvlII in the BMRr or covered in TW may be used by either the players or the Urbie-Master. when the mech is first deployed, the controlling player must declare the ammo type (even if conventional) and which bin exactly the ammo is located.

Scoring:
and now the fun! to calculate a player's game score, simply take the total BV of the Urbies he killed before being overrun, divided by the BV of his mech (not adjusted for pilot). this encourages the use of mechs other that 100-tonne Gauss-Zillas.

so yeah... any comments and suggestions? i wanted something not too complex, and yet fun to play both for new players and experienced players alike!

Some more new tricks learnt

Important rule change concerning infernos from Total Warfare: they no longer heat up a mech by 6 heat for 3 turns. Instead, each missile adds 2 heat for that turn.

Jon and I played it out today. I was using a Battlemaster/Javelin tandem, while Jon was using a Stalker/Spider tandem. Both of us had a Warrior H-7 and a Vedette tank. All L1 tech.

We found that infernos, while not as instantly deadly to vehicles as in the past, are still more than capable of neutralising them through critical hits. Against mechs, the use of single heat sinks made the infernos devilishly useful, but only if enough of them hit at the same time. Infernos can really mess up somebody's day, especially if they calculate to just 4 over. If hit by 7 infernos for 14 hit, that would force a shutdown at a roll of 6+ at 18 heat. We also determined that infernos now would make TSM a lot more tricky to maintain.

I'm thinking of testing the new inferno rules against L2 tech. Probably next week.

Vengeance Gambit Update

Woot! Managed to have the game of Vengeance Gambit finally at Settlers Katong yesterday! Kenneth and Jeff played the Feddies, Jon and Guan Yew played the Wobblies, while I refereed and Damien watched the fun!

The buildings will be taken down, all that's left to decide is whether the Feddies can take down enough Wobblies. Given the number of gauss rifles on their side, and the overrated Wobblie experimental C3 Level II(Zucker's boys), I'm still giving a slight edge to the Feddies.

Of course, when the MD VTOLs enter the field, it'll be quite different...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newcomers to the game, feel free to introduce yourself! Old timers, pop in the comments too!

The Wobbly Guy

Recent Events

Uhm, nothing to do with recent real life events(as much as they suck. Norks with nukes. Urgh.), and everything to do with our game.

The latest version of Megamek is out. I tried to run it, but it's too slow. The 30.11 version is still the most stable. I mainly use it for bot testing, although strangely enough, my home PC can't run the bot for more than 3 minutes before the bot shuts down. So I'm actually using my school-issued tablet PC for this... when I doing other work, of course! It's cathartic to pit the stoopid bots against each other and see them come up with the darnest moves.

Like...

Backing into the frontal firing arc of an enemy that had already moved.

Charging into an enemy ECM bubble.

Attempting to stand on a damaged gyro when there's no immediate danger.

And countless others. But if it's bot against bot, at least their stupidity cancels out.

Onto other news. Jon and me were training in the use of VTOLs and C3, and I gotta say the Mantis and Pintos are nasty pieces of work. Although with 4/5 pilots, the VTOLs do tend to sideslip...

Finally, I'm negotiating with the Settler's Katong people for the 29th October Vengeance Gambit: Riposte event. But I need players!

The Wobbly Guy

Vengeance Gambit: Prelude to Riposte

Jackson Davion and his Fedrat scum have prevailed over the valiant Word of Blake forces!

Prelude to Riposte
Sunday 8th October, Settlers' Katong, 2.00pm.

Mission description: Zucker knows too much, and somebody in High Command wants him to stay alive. Since he is now in the hands of the Federated Suns, and held in a supposedly secure facility, you have to get him out ASAP before he spills too much.

Don't worry. Only a light force of mechs and vehicles are defending the place, and you're getting Tau Zombies to help.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
BTW, forces for Vengeance Gambit: Riposte have been finalised. Now we need to set a date. The 15th of October seems to be unpopular, so how about the 29th?

Pls reply to me in my email or in the comments thread!

The Wobbly Guy

Vengeance Gambit Update!

Hi peeps! Just received good news! The Word of Blake just won their first battle in Vengeance Gambit!

*Weeps in joy*

Still, a few victories here and there isn't going to make much of a difference. Most of the FanPro Commandoes are planning for Riposte with this in mind.

Anyway, here're the details for Vengeance Gambit: Riposte.

Date: 15th October
Time: 2.00pm
Location: Settlers' Katong

Duration: As long as we can, duh! Preferably until 11.00pm.

Pls bring pencils, eraser, and minis, plus at least 10 dollars. Record sheets will be provided.

Please email me at kdbspeck@starhub.net.sg if you're interested in playing, or you may reply to this post in the comments thread! Please leave your email and/or handphone number, so that I may contact you if there are any changes.

Jon, please try to get Ed and Kenneth. I'll see if I can get David the Lum and Colin down, though they're probably busy with their adult entrepeneurial lives!

The Wobbly Guy

Semi-Regular Gaming

Hi everybody! A bit busy these days with marking prelim papers, though I should be quite free after next week.

Anyway, here's the important message: semi-regular games can be arranged at either Settlers' Katong, PI or Serene Center. Just contact me on the blog or on my email listed at my profile, preferably by two days before the actual date of every week. We'll game on Sundays, or Saturdays, most of the time.

Because I loaned out my laptop to my sister, the only way I can use my portable printer to print anything is to use my school-issued one. And the HMV didn't install properly. So any gamers would have prepare their record sheets beforehand.

Meanwhile, a quick update on Vengeance Gambit: the Davions are kicking ass all over the world. Urgh.

TWG

More Pics!!!

The davion scum prepare for battle!
A cute little Crab!
Marshall Jackson Davion's defenders(bottom) face off against Precentor Armaros' Manei Domini Wraiths.
The Davions have established a solid defensive position with their LRM carriers(the vehicle clump on top of the hills at the top of the pic).

Departure

seeing as this is Ravi's last day on our shores for a while, though it would be fitting to post up something for him. first met Ravi about... close to 4 years ago i guess. typifies the Singaporean gamer: enthusiastic, likes niche units, and of smaller build than the typical american gamer. and through all this time its been a great ride. i got hints of vee evilness, moments of craziness together with him (the MON-76 Dash Of Glory shall be remembered) and above all his ethos of fair play is one to be emulated. losing is okay, as long as you did your best and figure out what went wrong.

to Ravi, good luck with schooling in Bristol. hope you find a bunch of good friendly gamers, may your dice never grow cold! or cease to give headshots! hope to see your paint-fu and bashing skills reaching new levels when you return!

Pics!!!

Ken and the Cwat with their treasure trove of long-lost secret battletech manuals!















From left to right: Ravi, Jeffrey, Kenneth, Ed, Jon, and yours truly.















The Word of Blake prepares for battle!

Battle on the Thames River

Well, we lucked out this time.

When our scouts reported heavy Wobblie presence in our sector, everybody was placed on high alert. We got even more spooked when some of our recon units got smashed, and one lance of stragglers from a raid disappeared without a trace. For a while, it looked bad.

Old Man Jackson quickly pulled units from all over, even strpping some neighboring sectors of their defences so we can protect the Legion project better. Well, the other COs were unhappy, but it ain't exactly their ass on the line.

As a rookie, I was posted to one of the experimental Legionaires, because we couldn't afford to put our best jockeys in prototypes that hadn't really been tested in battle yet. Everybody was edgy for the week before the actual attack, though we didn't know when the hammer would fall.

When sensors five klicks out blared out the presence of incoming mechs, we scrambled. The old man knew what he was doing. We had plenty of tanks and mechs, and we outnumbered the toaster-worshippers pretty badly. Still, I can't forget the way the Blakists moved their mechs. The tech boys said they found bits of metal in some of the pilots after the battle, and there was some kind of weird tech that enabled them to con their mechs with style.

Not that it helped them any. They came in straight at us, and we shot back with everything we had, including the kitchen sink. They lost a Hussar right away, and we soon got into a slinging match. It was a bit close for a while, but their CO misjudged the distance, from what the other jocks say. We could hit them, and that meant we could kill them.

I even got my first kill.

It was a crazyMongoose that dashed into our backfield. It was sliding like a snake, and none of us could hit it. My Legionaire was hunkered down, trying to avoid making myself a target, but it came straight at me. Seems like they were out to shutdown the project.

I can't remember exactly what I did, but I think I just pointed the RAC in the Mongoose's direction and let 'er rip. The next thing I knew, the Marshal himself was on the comms to congratulate me.

The rest of the battle was a bit of a blur after that. The Blakists realized they were badly outgunned, and three damn Wraiths went in to thrash the project buildings. They did a fair bit of damage, but we stopped them. Just barely. Their King Crabs came in, and we whapped them silly. Stupid robes don't know that you don't charge into a bunch of gauss rifles.

For some reason, they pulled back after we headshotted their Vanquisher. Seemed like they lost any stomach for a fight, seeing that we still had more than a company left on the field. But two Wraiths, and two of the stealth mechs, managed to escape, and from all accounts, one of those Wraiths held one of their COs. Their other CO, in the Legacy, got captured. He's now a guest of the MIIO boys.

Heard they're dragging some choice intel out of him. Good. It's payback time.

Cadet Reggie Evans, New Avalon
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a decisive victory for the FedSuns. Considering the mistakes made by the Wobblies early on, it could have been much worse.

The exact nature of Part Two: Riposte, will depend on the overall situation and the collated scores of all Vengeance Gambit events. This time, however, I will be building the units, basing them on the survivors of Part One, and taking into account preexisting damage.

Riposte will be held in October, on the 15th or 22nd, Sunday. Pls make time for that day, preferably till 11pm.

Until then, we'll run simple lance on lance games to amuse ourselves.

For what's it worth, the Wobblies are all taking a beating. Our scores here were about 1000(FS) to 500(Wob). Some places had scores of 1000(FS) to 40(Wob).

Sheesh.

Contact Me!!!

Hey everybody, pls select me as your FanPro Commando rep, and pls send me your email if you have not received any emails from me yet! This is to streamline and simplify communications amongst players in Singapore.

Yeah, I'm looking at you, Kenneth. :P

Scene 1: Davion Defense

posting for Kwat:

HEAVYMETAL PRO
BATTLEMECH ROSTER SHEET

-

Reserve Assault Lance

TONS TYPE & MODEL COST BV Skills STD WV RATIO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
85 BattleMaster BLR-4S 16,984,110 2,409 2/3 2,600 1.62
100 Devastator DVS-2 22,398,000 3,140 2/3 3,908 1.87
100 Thunder Hawk TDK-7X 22,162,000 2,951 2/3 3,069 1.56
100 Thunder Hawk TDK-7X 22,162,000 2,951 2/3 3,069 1.56
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
385 Tons Total (4 'Mechs) 83,706,110 11,451 12,646 .95


C3N #3

TONS TYPE & MODEL CONFIG COST BV Skills STD WV RATIO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S 35.00 Pegasus (C3 Variant) Hover 1,990,133 569 4/5 409 .72
S 35.00 Pegasus (C3 Variant) Hover 1,990,133 569 4/5 409 .72
S 80.00 Partisan Air Defense Tank (XL Track 12,292,200 712 4/5 825 1.16
M 80.00 Schiltron A Wheel 13,454,583 1,088 4/5 1,194 1.10
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
230.00 Tons Total (4 Vehicles) 29,727,050 2,938 2,837 .91


C3N #2

TONS TYPE & MODEL CONFIG COST BV Skills STD WV RATIO
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M 90.00 Ajax Assault Tank B Track 23,174,062 1,081 4/5 1,818 1.68
S 60.00 LRM Carrier (3058 Upgrade) Track 3,088,000 666 4/5 236 .35
S 60.00 LRM Carrier (3058 Upgrade) Track 3,088,000 666 4/5 236 .35
S 60.00 LRM Carrier (3058 Upgrade) Track 3,088,000 666 4/5 236 .35
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
270.00 Tons Total (4 Vehicles) 32,438,062 3,079 2,526 .75


C3N #1

TONS TYPE & MODEL COST BV Skills STD WV RATIO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MM 90 Sunder SD1-OB 34,511,125 1,362 4/5 2,378 1.75
S 90 Sunder SD1-OC 28,382,438 1,493 4/5 3,004 2.01
S 75 Thanatos TNS-4S 19,339,250 1,639 4/5 1,835 1.12
S 75 Thanatos TNS-4S 19,339,250 1,639 4/5 1,835 1.12
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
330 Tons Total (4 'Mechs) 101,572,063 6,133 9,052 1.39


Assault Lance

TONS TYPE & MODEL COST BV Skills STD WV RATIO
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
100 Devastator DVS-2 22,398,000 2,616 3/4 3,908 1.87
100 Devastator DVS-2 22,398,000 2,616 3/4 3,908 1.87
85 Templar TLR1-OC 26,871,637 2,158 3/4 2,331 1.35
85 Templar TLR1-OC 26,871,637 2,158 3/4 2,331 1.35
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
370 Tons Total (4 'Mechs) 98,539,274 9,548 12,478 1.31


3G Infiltrator Mk II x 1 = 206
4G Infiltrator Mk II x 3 = 516


and there you have it! they who are about to feel the wrath of Blake have stepped forward!

Entre'Acte: Word Of Blake Theme

Here's the forces of the Word of Blake, locked loaded and toga-blessed!

Option 1:

Mech Lvl II: The Razor's Edge
1) LGC-03 (3/3)
EBV: 1397.3
2) KGC-005 (3/4)
EBV: 2727.5
3) KGC-005 (3/4)
EBV: 2727.5
4) HSR-500-D (2/3 MD)
EBV: 1420.5
5) VQR-2A (3/4)
EBV: 2221.75
6) RJN101-C (2/3)
EBV: 1975.5
subtotal: 12452.05

Combined Arms Lvl II: Steel Wind Of Victory
1) Longinus BA (squad of 6) w/ Flamer (gunnery=3)
EBV: 259.2
2) Longinus BA (squad of 6) w/ Flamer (gunnery=3)
EBV: 259.2
3) Karnov UR (3/4)
EBV: 25
4) Karnov UR (3/4)
EBV: 25
5) MON-76 (2/3)
EBV: 1086
6) OTL-8M (2/3 MD)
EBV: 1794
subtotal: 3448.4

total for Option 1:
15900.45EBV

Due to scenario constraints, my LvlII pilots may not be named, or their little dirty tricks or BV revealed. i'll just give you the BV of the whole LvlII

Option 2:
Reinforcing Lvl II: The Chancellor's 3 Treasures
1) TR1
2) TR1
3) TR1
4) CRD-7L
5) MAD-7L
6) MAD-7L
subtotal: 13636.5EBV

Kwat: JT says you may match the BV of my disgusting option 2 LvlII. not sure about pilot constraints or anything, just that you're held down to a lance size of reinforcements. thats even more concentrated evil than i can muster.

Edit: oopsie with the BV. nice catch Kwat!

You Won't See Me Coming - JJ Burnel & The Stranglers