Jeffro’s Car Wars Blog

Here we go with the Shadow Hawk.  This mech was featured prominently on the cover of the an early rulebook.  It played a major part in the early days of the Gray Death Legion as well, thanks to the creative  work of William H. Keith.  I always hated it, though: a measly Jump-3 and one each of the dinkiest weapons in the game.

In the reworking below, we bump up that too-big-to-just-be-a-medium-laser to a large laser.  (My weapon inflation of giving the light mechs large lasers of some flavor kinda forces us to do something along those lines.)  Bumping up the AC/5 to an ultra is a decent improvement… and the SRM/2 Streak is a minor one.  (I wanted to beef up the SRM, but I figure changing it would steal some of the Wolverine’s thunder….)  I’d hoped to be able to roll out the improvements with just the savings from Endo-Steel and Ferro-fibrous, but I had to go with the XL-engine instead….

You’d think that with a name like Shadow Hawk the ‘mech would have some kind of stealth capabilities….

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Shadow Hawk SHD-2J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          55 tons
Chassis:       Standard
Power Plant:   275 Core Tek XL Fusion
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets:     5 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 150 meters
Armor Type:    Standard
Armament:     
  1 Large Laser
  1 LRM 5
  1 Ultra AC/5
  1 Streak SRM 2
Manufacturer:  J&D Motors
  Location:    Terra
Communications System:  Ectoblitz
Targeting & Tracking System:  Dynamahn

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Shadow Hawk SHD-2J
Mass:          55 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  91 pts Standard               0      5.50
Engine:        275 XL                       12      8.00
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:   8
   Jumping MP:   5
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               0       .00
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  184 pts Standard              0     11.50

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             18         26     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  9     
   L/R Side Torso:           13      20/20     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              6/6     
   L/R Arm:                   9      18/18     
   L/R Leg:                  13      26/26     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 Large Laser            RA      8           2      5.00
1 LRM 5                  RT      2   24      2      3.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 RT)
1 Ultra AC/5             LT      1   40      7     11.00
  (Ammo Locations: 2 LT)
1 Streak SRM 2           CT      2   50      2      2.50
  (Ammo Locations: 1 RT)
5 Standard Jump Jets:                        5      2.50
 (Jump Jet Loc: 2 LT, 2 RT, 1 CT)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         14          55     55.00
Crits & Tons Left:                          23       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        9,898,506 C-Bills
Battle Value:      1,242
Cost per BV:       7,969.81
Weapon Value:      996 / 964 (Ratio = .80 / .7
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 16;  MRDmg = 12;  LRDmg = 4
BattleForce2:      MP: 5J,  Armor/Structure: 5/2
                   Damage PB/M/L: 3/2/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: MM;  Point Value: 12

The Wolverine… now that was a deceptively evil machine.  There used to be these tournaments that were run at cons were you’d pick a ’mech from the original technical readout.  There’d then be a series of duels played… and you scored points based on the relationship between the tonnage of the two ‘mechs.  If you could beat a heavy ‘mech with one that weight 10 or 15 tons less, you’d rack up a lot of points.  In those days, the Wolverine was a tough contender that repeatedly upset the expectations of its opponents: the long ranged autocannon couold usually get a shot and the SRM pack could ensure the catching of any stray criticals.  The Wolverine was mobile enough that he could shrug off losses on initiative rolls and at the same time profit from them when things when they turned out good.

In the revised version below, we used Ferro-Fibrous armor and Endo Steel technologies to allow for an upgrade to the LB-10X autocannon and an ER-medium laser.  I should probably upgrade the SRM-6 to a STREAK model, but that might be a bit much.

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Wolverine WVR-6J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          55 tons
Chassis:       Endo Steel
Power Plant:   275 Core Tek Fusion
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets:     5 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 150 meters
Armor Type:    Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:     
  1 LB 10-X AC
  1 SRM 6
  1 ER Medium Laser
Manufacturer:  (Unknown)
  Location:    (Unknown)
Communications System:  (Unknown)
Targeting & Tracking System:  (Unknown)

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Wolverine WVR-6J
Mass:          55 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  91 pts Endo Steel            14      3.00
 (Endo Steel Loc: 2 LA, 3 LT, 8 RT, 1 CT)
Engine:        275                  6     15.50
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:   8
   Jumping MP:   5
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               0       .00
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  179 pts Ferro-Fibrous        14     10.00
 (Armor Crit Loc: 3 LA, 1 RA, 6 LT, 4 RT)

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             18         27     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  9     
   L/R Side Torso:           13      19/19     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              6/6     
   L/R Arm:                   9      17/17     
   L/R Leg:                  13      25/25     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 LB 10-X AC             RA      2   20      8     13.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 LA, 1 RA)
1 SRM 6                  LT      4   15      3      4.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 LT)
1 ER Medium Laser        HD      5           1      1.00
5 Standard Jump Jets:                        5      2.50
 (Jump Jet Loc: 1 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         11          76     55.00
Crits & Tons Left:                           2       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        5,698,006 C-Bills
Battle Value:      1,271
Cost per BV:       4,483.09
Weapon Value:      1,006 / 1,006 (Ratio = .79 / .79)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 20;  MRDmg = 9;  LRDmg = 2
BattleForce2:      MP: 5J,  Armor/Structure: 4/5
                   Damage PB/M/L: 3/2/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: MM;  Point Value: 13

Okay, here we go with the Griffin.  That funny little gun he carries really doesn’t look like the other PPC’s in the game.  But it looks even more like what I’d imagine Gauss Guns to look like than anything else I see.  I hate that I’m making so many of these things with XL engines… it’s like my inner Munchkin is crying to get out or something.  But I did manage to control myself enough so as not to tack on additional weapons, endosteel, and ferro-fibrous.  He also carries a piddly standard LRM-10; I was tempted to increase it and say it had a special rotary magazine, but that came off as hokey to me….  Note that this ‘mech rates the same Battle Value as the ER-PPC toting Warhammer I designed a while back.  I wonder how that duel would play out…. 

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Griffin GRF-1J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          55 tons
Chassis:       Standard
Power Plant:   275 Core Tek XL Fusion
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets:     5 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 150 meters
Armor Type:    Standard
Armament:     
  1 Light Gauss Rifle
  1 LRM 10
Manufacturer:  (Unknown)
  Location:    (Unknown)
Communications System:  (Unknown)
Targeting & Tracking System:  (Unknown)

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Griffin GRF-1J
Mass:          55 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  91 pts Standard               0      5.50
Engine:        275 XL                       12      8.00
   Walking MP:   5
   Running MP:   8
   Jumping MP:   5
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               0       .00
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  185 pts Standard              0     12.00

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             18         27     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  9     
   L/R Side Torso:           13      20/20     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              6/6     
   L/R Arm:                   9      18/18     
   L/R Leg:                  13      26/26     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 Light Gauss Rifle      RA      1   32      7     14.00
  (Ammo Locations: 2 RA)
1 LRM 10                 LT      4   24      4      7.00
  (Ammo Locations: 2 LT)
5 Standard Jump Jets:                        5      2.50
 (Jump Jet Loc: 2 LT, 2 RT, 1 CT)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                          5          53     55.00
Crits & Tons Left:                          25       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        9,949,656 C-Bills
Battle Value:      1,191
Cost per BV:       8,354.04
Weapon Value:      696 / 696 (Ratio = .58 / .5
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 7;  MRDmg = 11;  LRDmg = 7
BattleForce2:      MP: 5J,  Armor/Structure: 5/2
                   Damage PB/M/L: 2/1/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: MM;  Point Value: 12

While it’s not necessarily clear to me yet how to assign the new Level II gear to each of the 12 original Battletech ‘mechs, I think it should be self evident to all men of good will that the Thunderbolt is endowed with the meanest weapon in the game.  The gigantic gun is definitely too big to be a mere Large Laser; that thing is THE Gauss Gun of the classic ‘mechs.  It doesn’t look so big on the mini’s I’ve seen, but let’s do something to set this ‘mech apart from all of the others anyway.

I was going to bemoan the fact that I didn’t intstall CASE for the old girl, but the XL engine makes it kind of pointless to do that….  The Gauss ammo will not detonate, but don’t forget that a stray crit on the gun itself results in 20 points of extra damage!

(One thing I don’t like about the new weaponry is that everything got improved except for LRM’s.  Even SRM’s got Streak guidance technology… but now there’s several weapons that have a longer range now than the old long range missiles.  Maybe that’s not such a bad thing… back in the day we tended to favor LRM’s and probably packed a few too many for our lances.)

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Thunderbolt TDR-5J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          65 tons
Chassis:       Endo Steel
Power Plant:   260 Magna XL Fusion
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets:     None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor Type:    Standard
Armament:     
  2 ER Medium Lasers
  1 Gauss Rifle
  3 Medium Pulse Lasers
  1 LRM 15
Manufacturer:  J&D Motors
  Location:    Terra
Communications System:  Ectoblitz
Targeting & Tracking System:  Dynamahn

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Thunderbolt TDR-5J
Mass:          65 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  104 pts Endo Steel           14      3.50
 (Endo Steel Loc: 1 HD, 4 RA, 3 RT, 2 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
Engine:        260 XL                       12      7.00
   Walking MP:   4
   Running MP:   6
   Jumping MP:   0
Heat Sinks:     12 Double [24]               6      2.00
 (Heat Sink Loc: 1 LT, 1 RT)
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  200 pts Standard              0     12.50

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             21         28     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  9     
   L/R Side Torso:           15      22/22     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              7/7     
   L/R Arm:                  10      19/19     
   L/R Leg:                  15      29/29     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
2 ER Medium Lasers       RA     10           2      2.00
1 Gauss Rifle            LA      1   16      9     17.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 LA, 1 LT)
3 Medium Pulse Lasers    RT     12           3      6.00
1 LRM 15                 LT      5   16      5      9.00
  (Ammo Locations: 2 LT)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         28          76     65.00
Crits & Tons Left:                           2       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        11,893,311 C-Bills
Battle Value:      1,383
Cost per BV:       8,599.65
Weapon Value:      2,214 / 2,214 (Ratio = 1.60 / 1.60)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 31;  MRDmg = 21;  LRDmg = 11
BattleForce2:      MP: 4,  Armor/Structure: 5/3
                   Damage PB/M/L: 5/5/2,  Overheat: 1
                   Class: MH;  Point Value: 14

Ahh…the Locust.  This ‘mech is a truly nasty sort: with an ER Large Laser for heavy sniping and two SRM-4’s to pick up stray criticals, this is now a ‘mech to be feared!  The fancy XL engine sets it appart from the Wasp & Stinger– in C-Bills it costs nearly twice as much as either of those!  Her Battle Value of 791 is roughly between the numbers of the other two.  The only thing left that I dislike about the design is that the Locust gives up its hand actuators and gets nothing in return.  At any rate, there’s now a lot more variety between the three lightest ‘mechs in the game– and hopefully they can be more than just speedy targets.

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Locust LCT-1J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          30 tons
Chassis:       Endo Steel
Power Plant:   240 Pitban XL Fusion
Walking Speed: 86.4 km/h
Maximum Speed: 129.6 km/h
Jump Jets:     None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor Type:    Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:     
  2 SRM 4s
  1 ER Large Laser
Manufacturer:  J&D Motors
  Location:    Terra
Communications System:  Ectoblitz
Targeting & Tracking System:  Dynamahn

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Locust LCT-1J
Mass:          30 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  51 pts Endo Steel            14      1.50
 (Endo Steel Loc: 1 HD, 3 LA, 3 RA, 3 RT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
Engine:        240 XL                       12      6.00
   Walking MP:   8
   Running MP:  12
   Jumping MP:   0
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               3       .00
 (Heat Sink Loc: 1 LT)
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA    R: Sh+UA+LA       14       .00
Armor Factor:   99 pts Ferro-Fibrous        14      5.50
 (Armor Crit Loc: 1 LA, 1 RA, 6 LT, 6 RT)

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             10         15     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  5     
   L/R Side Torso:            7      10/10     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              3/3     
   L/R Arm:                   5        9/9     
   L/R Leg:                   7      13/13     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 SRM 4                  RA      3   50      3      4.00
  (Ammo Locations: 1 LA, 1 RA)
1 SRM 4                  LA      3           1      2.00
1 ER Large Laser         CT     12           2      5.00
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         18          72     30.00
Crits & Tons Left:                           6       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        4,955,600 C-Bills
Battle Value:      791
Cost per BV:       6,264.98
Weapon Value:      590 / 590 (Ratio = .75 / .75)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 15;  MRDmg = 7;  LRDmg = 2
BattleForce2:      MP: 8,  Armor/Structure: 2/1
                   Damage PB/M/L: 3/2/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: ML;  Point Value: 8

You ever wonder why everyone used Stingers instead of Wasps in the original setting?  Wasps had twice as much firepower… you’d think everyone would go with them if they had a choice.   Here’s my attempt to explain the reason for fewer Mechwarriors preferring that design: the Wasp mounts Pulse lasers and lighter armor where the Stinger mounts Extended Range lasers instead.  This gives the two much more of a contrast.  My new Stinger has a Battle Value of 876 and the new Wasp has 733.  While the Stinger may tend to contribute a lot more to a fight, the Wasp is probably a lot more fun for the daring and wreckless sort….

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Wasp WSP-1J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          30 tons
Chassis:       Endo Steel
Power Plant:   180 GM Fusion
Walking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97.2 km/h
Jump Jets:     6 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 180 meters
Armor Type:    Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:     
  1 Large Pulse Laser
  1 Medium Pulse Laser
Manufacturer:  J&D Motors
  Location:    Terra
Communications System:  Ectoblitz
Targeting & Tracking System:  Dynamahn

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Wasp WSP-1J
Mass:          30 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  51 pts Endo Steel            14      1.50
 (Endo Steel Loc: 8 LA, 3 RA, 3 RT)
Engine:        180                  6      7.00
   Walking MP:   6
   Running MP:   9
   Jumping MP:   6
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               9       .00
 (Heat Sink Loc: 1 RA, 1 LT, 1 RT)
Gyro:                                        4      2.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:   81 pts Ferro-Fibrous        14      4.50
 (Armor Crit Loc: 8 LT, 6 RT)

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          8     
   Center Torso:             10         10     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  3     
   L/R Side Torso:            7        8/8     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              3/3     
   L/R Arm:                   5        8/8     
   L/R Leg:                   7      11/11     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 Large Pulse Laser      RA     10           2      7.00
1 Medium Pulse Laser     HD      4           1      2.00
6 Standard Jump Jets:                        6      3.00
 (Jump Jet Loc: 2 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         14          77     30.00
Crits & Tons Left:                           1       .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        2,617,940 C-Bills
Battle Value:      733
Cost per BV:       3,571.54
Weapon Value:      332 / 332 (Ratio = .45 / .45)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 13;  MRDmg = 3;  LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2:      MP: 6J,  Armor/Structure: 2/3
                   Damage PB/M/L: 2/2/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: ML;  Point Value: 7

Here’s my revised Stinger design.  I always hated how the original light mechs were all nearly identical– they all toted the same useless medium laser.  Hopefully this recon ‘mech will contribute a little more to the action than his forbear.

               BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model:    Stinger STG-3J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 3050
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard design

Mass:          30 tons
Chassis:       Endo Steel
Power Plant:   180 GM Fusion
Walking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97.2 km/h
Jump Jets:     6 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 180 meters
Armor Type:    Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:     
  1 ER Large Laser
  1 ER Medium Laser
Manufacturer:  J&D Motors
  Location:    Terra
Communications System:  Ectoblitz
Targeting & Tracking System:  Dynamahn

——————————————————–
Type/Model:    Stinger STG-3J
Mass:          30 tons

Equipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  51 pts Endo Steel            14      1.50
 (Endo Steel Loc: 8 LA, 3 RA, 3 RT)
Engine:        180                  6      7.00
   Walking MP:   6
   Running MP:   9
   Jumping MP:   6
Heat Sinks:     10 Double [20]               9       .00
 (Heat Sink Loc: 1 RA, 1 LT, 1 RT)
Gyro:                                        4      2.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H    R: Sh+UA+LA+H   16       .00
Armor Factor:  105 pts Ferro-Fibrous        14      6.00
 (Armor Crit Loc: 8 LT, 6 RT)

                          Internal    Armor
                          Structure   Value
   Head:                      3          9     
   Center Torso:             10         15     
   Center Torso (Rear):                  5     
   L/R Side Torso:            7      10/10     
   L/R Side Torso (Rear):              4/4     
   L/R Arm:                   5      10/10     
   L/R Leg:                   7      14/14     

Weapons and Equipment    Loc  Heat  Ammo   Crits    Mass
——————————————————–
1 ER Large Laser         RA     12           2      5.00
1 ER Medium Laser        HD      5           1      1.00
6 Standard Jump Jets:                        6      3.00
 (Jump Jet Loc: 2 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
——————————————————–
TOTALS:                         17          77     28.50
Crits & Tons Left:                           1      1.50

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        2,715,440 C-Bills
Battle Value:      876
Cost per BV:       3,099.82
Weapon Value:      522 / 522 (Ratio = .60 / .60)
Damage Factors:    SRDmg = 12;  MRDmg = 7;  LRDmg = 2
BattleForce2:      MP: 6J,  Armor/Structure: 3/3
                   Damage PB/M/L: 2/1/1,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: ML;  Point Value: 9

I played a quick game of BattleTech this past weekend using the mechs I recently designed.  It was the first time I’d played the game since being a teenager, so I’ve got a much different perspective now than I had then.

The thing I liked best about the game was that the rules were very unobtrusive.  After going over the basics, we hardly had to reference them.  This is much different than Car Wars with the way play ground to a halt every time a collision occurred and we had to hash over the T-bone rules, etc.  Another thing I’ve been fighting with Car Warsis the need for a referee– it just doesn’t work that well for competitive two player games.  BattleTech is a lot closer to Ogre in its playability: the record sheets are all public and there are very few rules that players will tend to quibble over.  The design system is clunky… and the hex map system limits your movement options tremendously… but I can see why BattleTech has had a much stronger following than Car Wars now.  It’s so much better suited to one-on-one play and its very accessible.

The thing that frustrates me most about the game is those all-important initiative rolls.  In a duel, the one who wins will go to a hex where he gets an edge with his weaponry.  In a large laser vs. PPC game, the laser mech will head for range 5 and the PPC mech will head for range 6, for example.  The mech that loses initiative will often hide, retreat, or stay still in order to minimize the advantage of the other.  With the elimination of the Torso Twisting reaction phase that occurred with FASA’s “Master Rules” revisions, its much easier for a speedy mech to get behind a slow one.  The net result of all this is that combats are strangely muted hit-and-run dances that play out nothing at all like they would in a phased system.

The revised Marauder I designed has an edge in Firepower, Speed, and Range against my revised Rifleman.  The Rifleman’s advantage in regards to Armor, Heat, and Sturdiness were nowhere near sufficient to stand up to it.  After this game, I no longer see a heat problem as being such a bad thing– at least in a duel where its relatively easy to break off an attack temporarily.  The problem with the XL engines having three crits in each torso dooming your mech to destruction when any torso section is destroyed is also not such a bad deal.  The Marauder never even broke a sweat on that point in spite of his inherent flimsiness.  One interesting tactic my opponent used was to burn up the ammo for his AC-10 Ultra with abandon.  By the time it was gone, he’d surely be in danger of a stray critical setting off an ammo explosion, so there was no need to worry about conserving it.

Probably the most irritating thing in the game was that Level 1 water provided no real benefit.  You get the problems of partial cover without the full benefit… and if you have inner sphere double heat sinks, you can’t fit them in your legs to pick up the extra cooling benefit.  Argh!  That’s a very strange decision on the part of the designers, but at least it can be fixed with scenario specific rules: maybe a cool wind blowing across the lake to get a flat bonus.  I think it would be neat if your mech was automatically cooled a certain amount for each water hex it moved through.

Anyways, it was a fun game over all.  My Rifleman died after succumbing to a lucky second head shot.  (Well… even if my head didn’t get blown off, I was in deep trouble.  The shot just before that blew an arm off.  If I had put just one more point of armor there, it would have remained, so I’ll think a little more carefully about armor placement in the future….)  I think I hit with 7 large lasers over all… compared to 10 10-point hits that I took from the Marauder.  That doesn’t bode well for a rematch.  Back to the drawing board….

After working out an improved design for the Rifleman, I thought it’d be a cinch to take on the task of improving rest of the original Battlemech designs by using Level II equipment to make the designs match more closely the spirit of Loose’s classic Technical Readout illustrations.  It turns out to be a thing easier said than done!  One thing I want to do with these designs is to take pairs of ‘Mechs that were essentially identical in the old game and then heighten the variance between them with two plausible but contrasting design philosophies.  The Stinger and Wasp, the Ostroc and Ostsol, and the Warhammer and Marauder all come to mind here.  Let’s see what we can do with the last two:

First, let’s keep the spirit of the original designs as intact as possible.  (This is more of a touch up than a re-envisioning.)  The Marauder looks much faster, so we will make him a 5/8 ‘mech instead of 4/6.  The Warhammer’s PPC’s are much larger, so lets make them into fancy Level II ER PPC’s.  The Marauder’s Autocannon is positively huge, so let’s make it an AC-10 Ultra.

The Warhammer presents quite a few problems, though.  In the original drawings it appears to have 4 small weapons in each torso section: a bigger laser, a smaller laser, a machine gun, and a flamer.  It’s no big deal to add the flamer, but it also appears that the each hump on the Warhammer’s shoulders contains an LRM-10.  This is painful to add in– the ER PPC’s create tons of heat and are even longer ranged than the LRM’s.  It doesn’t make sense to add those on unless we sacrifice our premise that the Warhammer has the biggest meanest PPC’s on the planet.  I’m not ready for that yet.

The six missiles on the external mount also present a problem.  There’s no rules in Battletech for external mounts.  Also… the missiles appear to be a very large and heavy hitting “fire and forget” affair.  Downgrading the Warhammer’s SRM-6 to a single shot SRM-6 saves you a measly half ton on a mech that already has heat and armor problems.  (The rules are very disappointing here.)  Why would anyone ever purchase a single shot rocket?  They were a mainstay in classic Car Wars designs, but here they are useless.  I want cheap, lightweight single shot heavy rockets in Battletech.  I want to buy a bunch… hit a big read button… and then see my enemies go boom! 

(My brainstorm for single shot rockets: a single shot shot ranged “heavy” rocket does 12 points of damage, 2 heat, weighs 2 tons, and uses one critical space.  A single shot long ranged “heavy” rocket does 5 points of damage, 1 heat, weighs 1 ton, and uses 1/4th of a critical space.  So the Warhammer’s super-SRMs would weigh 12 tons and the super-LRM 10-packs would each weigh 10 tons.  These weapons would completely change the tactics of the game: you might not be alive if you wait to close to a shorter range to fire!  We’re not going to use these variant rules in our current draft of the designs, but I wonder if they’ve made something like this for Maximum Tech or whatever it is that has the fancy design rules….)

Here are links to the designs if you’d like a closer look at the details: Rifleman, Marauder, and Warhammer.  And here are links to their record sheets if you’d like to play test them out in a game: Rifleman, Maruader, and Warhammer. 

I’m not so sure I like the results of sticking with with the ER PPC’s.  I may put those back to regular PPC’s and add in the LRM-10’s while changing the Marauder’s arm weaponry to a pair of large pulse lasers and a pair of medium pulse lasers.  That sounds promising, but let’s see how the other revisions turn out before we try that.  (It may be more appropriate to save this laser variation trick when we retool the Ostroc and Ostsol a little more….) 

Another thing to consider would be to remove the XL Engine from the Marauder and replace it with a regular engine and lighter Ferro-fibrous armor.  The Marauder just looks like it’s built a bit sturdier than the Warhammer.  I’d probably have to drop it back to 4/6 to do that, though…. 

Also, I’d like the Warhammer and Marauder to be more-or-less equal in a straight duel.  The above version of the Warhammer has a battle value of 1,201 to the Marauder’s 1,419.  A lot of that is due, I expect, to the AC-10 Ultra being an awesome weapon while the ER PPC is just a heat-spewing zap gun.  If I could have things exactly the way I want them I’d make the AC-10 Ultra to an AC-8 Ultra and the Warhammer’s PPC be 12 points of damage to the Marauder’s 9 point PPC’s.  This degree of granularity just isn’t in the design rules, however.

As you can see there’s a lot of difficult decisions to be made.  Choosing to do things a given way forces us to cut back on other desired design requirements.  Hopefully the reworking of the Stinger and the Wasp will go better….

 (Once again, these designs were built using Heavy Metal.  Be sure to look out for the revised Total Warfare edition of this software that’s coming soon.)

While checking out a cool mini of the Exterminator over on the Lost Level, I was reminded of how it always bothered me that the design systems of the original Battletech game did not match up with the drawings of the original 12 Battle ‘Mechs.  It’s almost as if the game was designed well before the pictures of the various ‘Mechs were selected and drawn up:  The Marauder’s PPC’s are clearly a different size than the Warhammer’s.  The skinny lasers on the Rifleman are clearly different from the fat elephant gun carried by the Thunderbolt.  (And those things are lasers on the Rifleman.  There’s no way that each arm sports a Large Laser and an Autocannon.) 

The game would be a lot more interesting if there was more variation between the designs… but my attempts to “fix” the design system and combat rules have not been pretty.  Instead of adding unnecessary house rules to a game that seems to possess a great deal more vitality than even my beloved Car Wars, let’s just see if we can juice things up a bit by taking advantage of the Level II equipment that came along in later iterations of the system.

***
Type/Model:    Rifleman RFL-3J
Tech:          Inner Sphere / 2750
Config:        Biped BattleMech
Rules:         Level 2, Standard designMass:          60 tons
Chassis:       Endo Steel
Power Plant:   240 Pitban Fusion
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets:     None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor Type:    Standard
Armament:     
  4 Large Lasers
Manufacturer:  J&D Motors
  Location:    Tera
Communications System:  1200 baud
Targeting & Tracking System:  Ectobliks
Type/Model:    Rifleman RFL-3J
Mass:          60 tonsEquipment:                                 Crits    Mass
Int. Struct.:  99 pts Endo Steel            14      3.00
 (Endo Steel Loc: 1 LA, 1 RA, 3 LT, 3 RT, 2 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
Engine:        240                  6     11.50
   Walking MP:   4
   Running MP:   6
   Jumping MP:   0
Heat Sinks:     17 Double [34]              24      7.00
 (Heat Sink Loc: 1 LA, 1 RA, 3 LT, 3 RT)
Gyro:                                        4      3.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors:                5      3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA    R: Sh+UA+LA       14       .00
Armor Factor:  200 pts Standard              0     12.50

[This design was built with the fantastic Heavy Metal software.  I failed to account for the really cool targeting system that this ‘mech had in the Robotech system– that’s what the fins on its head are supposed to be.  I think you can add one in for 5 tons… but you’d have to drop 3 double heat sinks and 2 tons of armor.  I just don’t have the heart to make that kind of change.  You can do that if you’re content to take on a nice heat problem while walking into a firefight without “protection.”]