Battletech in the City 2

Hello again!

My computer is dead (again), so no more combat mission for some time. However, I do not come empty handed this time!

I've got another Battle Report for you, once again in my current favourite game, Battletech! This time we are turning out 135 tons, with my named pilots Ashild, Lizbeth and Aaron in a Shadow Cat and two Hatchetmans. We're still experimenting with clan technology, but I think I can safely say that it's pretty clear why the Clans overran the Inner Sphere so thoroughly at first...

My opponent, once again my brother, comes to this battle with a custom Atlas and equally customized Jenner.

As the title implies, this is urban combat again, pitting us one against the other in cramped streets and atop towering Sci fi buildings.

We close quickly on jump jets (whose true utility we are now starting to see, thanks to the flexibility they give you in terms of height as well as facing)

Like predators spotting each other in the wild, this battle began with lots of maneuvering around each other warily. He obviously did not want to get trapped between death from above and hatchet attacks from my Hatchetmans, as well as being uncertain of what exactly my Shadow Cat with its improved advanced tactical missiles launchers (a real thing in Battletech, I'm not taking the piss with that name somehow) can do.

For my own part, I know that Atlas of his, named the Wyvern and painted to match a much larger Atlas I 3d printed and painted up for him at Xmas, is quite well armoured and carries a hefty punch at range as well as close in. I don't intend to throw myself on its guns, but rather wait for it to close and attempt to flank it.

The battle's first damage is inflicted by the Jenner with a Medium laser against Lizbeth’s Hatchetman. My custom mechs tend to be relatively light on armour, so while it isn't much damage inflicted, it still gives me pause.

In response, I move in with the Shadow Cat. We quickly learn that advanced tactical missiles with HE do an intense amount of damage but the up armoured Atlas weathers a volley of 30! Twice! I wasn't kidding when I said the thing was tanky!

It even withstands a volley from behind! Well, really from the side thanks to some solid torso twisting.

We then set the Atlas alight with inferno missiles out of spite, burning the woods down around it. If I can't break it, I can at least slow it down by forcing it to manage it's heat level. Plus I brought napalm, so I obviously need to use it.

Turning around, the Shadow Cat then one bangs the Jenner with the HE missiles! This Clanner mech is surely the MVP this time around!

The Atlas then shuts down from another inferno volley, and it's pilot ejects. Another victory for me, though I have to say it's really all thanks to the crazy clan technology my brother somehow let me use again. His mech was up to the task, but the versatility and power of the i-ATMs was just too much even for an Atlas to weather for long.

My Lance has been getting away with Murder so far - however, that may very well change soon... with our future leaders trained up, it may be just about time for us to join forces. The need for mercenaries is always great in the Inner Sphere, and in an Inner Sphere racked by Civil War even as it reels from the Clan Invasion, perhaps even more so...

A transmission from the Draconis Combine has recently arrived, looking for mercenaries. Before you get too surprised that they want mercenaries, this mission is intended to be fully deniable and high risk - picking a group whose survival means nothing to them is fairly logical under the circumstances.

There is talk of a world named Soverzene, great stockpiles of raw resources bound for the Alshain district before the Ghost Bears claimed them, and a prison full of rebel officers whose experience would be greatly appreciated by the Combine military.

So far, I can only disclose this one photo, but I hope this teaser whets your appetite for more!

Clan mechs patrol a hillside outside Averti City, Soverzene, Ghost Bear occupation zone

With that, I say goodbye for now, and I hope to see your reactions in the comment section below!

Blog Silence?

Surely not here!

But in all seriousness, I haven't had another game of Battletech (and haven't completed or proofread the last battle report), nor have I finished the ongoing game of Combat Mission yet, so I didn't have anything of particular worth to post.

I played a game using my OGRE Designer's Edition Kickstarter box this weekend... but did not record it or take any pictures. Some will say it is because I lost, I will say it is because punching out all the counters frazzled my brain. The game was the Ceasefire Collapse scenario, and served as a fairly good example of just how good a large OGRE is, especially compared to small ones - two Mk II OGREs are no match for a Fencer-class under any circumstances that I could see.

For those of you who don't know what OGRE is, it's a board game based around the concept of large supertanks called OGREs, driven by their own artificial intelligence (in fluff - in reality, of course, the players control them). These are played in great detail, with record sheets for their weaponry and damage, against droves of conventional forces. These being largely cannon fodder, they simply (and oh so elegant - a masterstroke of game design) have their stats marked on their counters, so you can just peek over and see exactly what you're contending with when you're not dealing with the stars of the show. All rolls are done with 1d6 (except for one related to nuclear cruise missiles, for some reason), and all hit results are drawn from a neat 6x6 chart. Absolutely wonderful game design, and if the game took 3 hours this weekend, I know it was only because of our setup time and reviewing the rules.

Hopefully I can produce a game report of that eventually so you can see the quality of the Designer's Edition as well.

Well, I know it's not much of an update, but it will have to do for now. Once again, thanks for visiting, and I hope to see you around again with the next post!