Topic: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play (Read 18154 times)

klinktastic · « **on:** March 21, 2011, 08:29:25 PM »

If you're in the middle of a campaign or thinking of starting one up, here are some tips for campaign play.

If you haven't seen the main page, the article is here: http://ourbattletech.com/2011/03/tactics-discussion-tips-for-campaign-play/

Rangerrob · « **Reply #1 on:** March 29, 2011, 09:39:35 AM »

Some of you may have seen my current (Operation Bulldog) or past (Carver V) campaign over on the official Battletech boards.

I've been doing these for a while, here is what I can offer for Campaign play tips.

1) Keep it simple.

My group knows of battletech, but many of them don't own any minis and many don't own any of the rulebooks past Total Warfare. For the group it is more about getting together to have fun. I stick them with canon mechs with no modifications allowed. I bet that none of them have ever customized a mech.

My current campaign they are members of the 1st Davion Guards on Port Arthur during Op Bulldog. I keep throwing new mechs for them to use either as replacements for mechs lost or upgrades for their current rides.

Repairs between missions are simple...Everything except Engine or Gyro damage is fixed. Mechs with Engine and Gyro damage will miss the next mission, so they have to take up a new ride. Ammo is refilled. They are part of the largest military op ever in the inner sphere. Resupply is not an issue.

Salvaging inner sphere mechs from the battlefield is the same..so long as the chassis is intact (No CT destruction and no ammo explosion) then they can salvage the chassis...if they hold the battlefield.

Salvage for Clan mechs is possible too. But I've dumbed down the salvage to 5 parts. For them to salvage a specific clan mech they need a intact CT, undamaged engine, undamaged Gyro, undamaged head, and the correct weapons. So I keep a simple chart for them listing all the chassis, heads, engines, gyros, and clan weapons they have collected during the campaign.
Once they get those 5 from a given mech then they can field that clan mech. Example: Mission #5 players salvaged a Hunchback IIC that was headcapped early in the game. In mission #7 they took out another Hunchback IIC with a gyro destruction (leaving the head undamaged). So for mission #8 they have Hunchback IIC.

2) Keep the players involved between games.

I use a blog to share information with my players. On the blog they will get

Mission briefings
After Action Reports
NPC Dossiers
Tech Readouts for their mechs or mechs they will be facing
Mission hooks (Cut scenes, NPC dialogs)
Rules summaries (for rules that we will use in the next game)
Tables, showing their Mechs, Mechwarrior stats, Clan salvage

So a couple times a week, I'll post something to the blog. We also use email, for stuff like mech selections, or voting which batch of mechs to take, or which mission should they do. Stuff like that.

I also asked each player to write up a dossier on their Mechwarrior. I asked for a name, callsign, brief history, and an picture of what they look like. Doing this awards them a free "kill" for their mechwarrior. We have had some "interesting" characters in the campaign.

You can check out the blog at...
http://operationbulldog.blogspot.com/

3) Keep your games moving.

I'll be the first to admit...Battletech is a slow game. If your playing company on company, you can expect to kill the better part of an afternoon / evening. We use the following tweaks to speed up the game and keep things moving...

* Movement Dice. We will go over the use of movement dice when we get together. In brief, The color of your die is how YOU moved, the number on the die is the Modifier to be Hit.

*Fire sticks. Rather than slowing the game down with a fire declaration phase, we will be using the fire sticks. After everyone has moved, everyone will place their fire sticks (one per weapon on your mech) at their intended target.

* Box O Death. (AKA the Missile Rack) This is a new one for the campaign. Found this idea on the b-tech forums. I'll be building a couple of these using 6 sectioned cases. Taken one of those bead cases, filled each box with a pair of dice, and numbered each section.

That's a start...I'm sure I'm forgetting much more. But I didn't want to drown you with a wall of text...but I think I did.

klinktastic · « **Reply #2 on:** March 29, 2011, 09:58:28 AM »

Good suggestions for actual game play. We definitely use movement dice to indicate type of movement and the movement modifier as well as the Box 'O Death. I really like those Fire Sticks. Very cool idea. Useful for gaming groups of all sizes, definitely more important the larger the games become.

Knightmare · « **Reply #3 on:** March 29, 2011, 10:47:50 AM »

Welcome Ranger!

Definitely some useful tips. I never thought of the fire sticks. Good call. They're cheap and easily replaceable. (Plus you can get double duty by flipping them over and using the other side!)

Good stuff!

Rangerrob · « **Reply #4 on:** March 29, 2011, 10:53:19 AM »

Left out the fire stick details...Knew I was forgetting something.

I actually got the idea from playing MegaMek...thought, if a PC game can do it why can't the players.
Each weapon on the Mech has a firestick. I make mine out of popsicle sticks.

One one side of the stick I write the mechs name (Warhammer).
On the other side of the stick I write the weapon and the heat it generates (ERPPC 15)

During the game when it comes to the fire declaration phase, everyone can place the firesticks for the weapons that they wish to shoot next to their target.

Then shooting phase comes around, the Warhammer player would...
1) pick up his stack of sticks,
2) figure to hit numbers (with the aid of the movement dice)
3) roll, placing the hit sticks in one pile, the miss sticks in another.
4) roll for damage location using the Hit pile.
5) put the hit and miss piles back together and generate heat.

added bonus...Stacks of lumber can get to be quite impressive when the big boys come out to play.

When not playing I keep my firesticks sorted by weapon type in a couple of those bead storage containers (just like the box o death). When it comes time to make sticks for the next game. I use mailing labels or masking tape and relabel the "mech side" of the stick. Meaning for a Hollander I would grab one of the Gauss Rifle sticks, then cut a little label that says Hollander and cover up the name of the mech that used that stick in the last game. Never really noticed that all clan weapons and IS weapons generated the same heat until I started making these sticks (So your Med Pulse laser sticks can be used for either Clan or IS).

Knightmare · « **Reply #5 on:** March 29, 2011, 11:14:34 AM »

Makes perfect sense considering how often you're changing 'Mech types for each game. Much easier than trying to assign specific sticks to a specific 'Mech.

Rangerrob · « **Reply #6 on:** March 29, 2011, 12:12:17 PM »

The next tip I can share is about Non-player characters (NPC's).

I think the players enjoy the game a little more if you give a personality to the mechwarrior in the mech they are facing.

In my campaigns for the major villains I have added names and pictures and a little background.

I tend to give them a face that they recognize and my potentially dislike already. What do I mean by that?
Most of my players are Boston Red Sox fans (Baseball team for those not from the states). The Red Sox are bitter rivals with the New York Yankee baseball team. So I cast Yankee players as the "Smoke Jaguars" for the campaign.

Here is an example:
Smoke Jaguar Dossier

Type: Military Personnel (Elemental)

Name: Giambi

Rank: Star Colonel

Last know location: Port Arthur

Star Colonel Giambi is the highest ranking elemental on Port Arthur. Intel shows he was once part of ilKhan Lincon Osis battle armor squad.

Giambi is a master tactician, training his "Toads" to anticipate where the enemy will be and station themselves in the proper position to strike.

The Star Colonel is stickler for physical fitness for all those under his command. When not behind the command desk or on the target range, Giambi can be found in the weight room or on the training field. He has been know to take detailed notes on each of his subordinates. Never far from his datapad, the Star Colonel tracks each warriors progress and compares it to past marks set. Doing so keeps those under his command in peak fitness. His is always quick to offer guidance on nutritional supplements that will improve a warriors capabilities.

Star Colonel Giambi was part of both actions on Tukayyid and Luithen. His squad was the second to land on Tukayyid, and eliminated at least three ComGuard Assault Mechs. On Luthien an equipment failure kept him from reaching the front lines, before the Jaguars began their retreat.

Star Colonel Giambi has yet to secure a bloodname. He has finished second at the bloodname contest no fewer than five times. Giambi is now starting to pass his prime. He may be overly aggressive in battle, in an attempt to prove to his fellow Jaguars he is still a capable warrior.

This is really helpful when issuing challenges. Saying "Star Colonel Clemens in his Mad Cat challenges you Chris." has a little more impact than just saying "the Mad Cat challenges you" An added bonus is by choosing the Yankees, I have a built in way to tell the players how good the mechwarrior is. They will know that Galaxy Commander Jeter or Ruth are more capable than Star Captain Posada. This really sunk in for me how effective this was, when early in the campaign I placed a Mad Cat on the table. The largest mech the players had was a Shadow Hawk so they knew it was trouble. Then I said "Star Captain Gehrig in the Mad Cat challenges you Kyle." Players actually said "OH &*%# it's Gehrig!" They didn't say..."Oh no at Mad Cat!"

Just adds a little flavor to the game. I've based other NPC's on actors, actresses, and pro wrestlers. Putting a face to the nameless mechwarrior brings a little more to the table. Especially when the players may face them more than once.

Ice Hellion · « **Reply #7 on:** March 29, 2011, 04:01:45 PM »

Interesting thoughts.

I added you blog to my list of blogs to follow.

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Author Topic: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play (Read 18154 times)

klinktastic

Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play

Rangerrob

Re: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play

klinktastic

Re: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play

Knightmare

Re: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play

Rangerrob

Re: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play

Knightmare

Re: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play

Rangerrob

Re: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play

Ice Hellion

Re: Tactics Discussion: Tips for Campaign Play