OBT Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

AU Developers - Please PM Knightmare or MechRat if you need board or permission changes

Pages: [1] 2   Go Down

Author Topic: Campaign Basics  (Read 42394 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

klinktastic

  • Piotrowski's Predators
  • Moderator
  • Kapten
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 416
Campaign Basics
« on: March 14, 2011, 12:40:17 PM »
The current iteration of this campaign begins with the formation of the Hexare Grenadiers at the conclusion of Operation: Sovereign Justice and the initiation of Operation: Thunderstrike with the Hexare Grenadiers contracting with the Capellan Confederation.  The Hexare Grenadiers is actually a mercenary regimental structure comprised of individual mercenary outfits that banded together under one banner to secure favorable contract terms given to larger units over those given to smaller units.  The Hexare Grenadiers are comprised of the following merc units:

Warlock Fusiliers
Lord of the Night
Shengli Armed Asset Protection
Piotrowski's Predators
Bethlan's Irregulars
Tako Nu
Sendo Tenshi

Without going into the extreme details of our campaign management system,  we are using a homebrewed rule set that streamlines campaign management but aggregating a lot of things together.  First off, we use economic points (EP) as our currency.  Roughly, 1 EP translates into 1 ton of materiale.  This is not always the case, as there are considerations for using lower tech, level 1 units, ICE engine vehicles, etc, but for the most part the EP to ton ratio is a 1 for 1 basis.

Initial unit construction has you starting with 275 EPs.  All units have an upkeep that aggregates pilot wage, tech wages, general maintenance and overhead.  Each mission is worth ~80 EP, with more intense missions being worth more.  Based on our current contract, we typically have first dibs on salvage in which we were the sole source of completing the mission.  If the CCAF is involved, they typically get the first pick.

Other interesting things of note, new green pilots (5/6) cost 5 EP and have cheaper upkeep as you build them up.  Additionally, you can spend 50 EP and get a randomly determined unit (we seen Commandos and Atlases) with a regular pilot (4/5) but has increased upkeep costs. 

Replacements cost their EP in tonnage, typically.  Repairs are typically free, you just need to repair the critted items. We use the standard charts in StratOps for this.

Upon becoming house sponsored mercenaries, we get all ammo free of charge and have available CCAF tech, including stealth armor, plasma weaponry, and some of the other typical trappings of the CapCon house troops.  They are eager to supply us with expensive tech to get their money back and improve our chances of completing missions for them.

I'm sure, MadCap will probably highlight some of the more specific inquiries, but I think I've summarized the most basic principles by which we are managing the campaign. 
« Last Edit: March 14, 2011, 12:40:37 PM by klinktastic »
Logged
Piotrowski's Predators - Reinforced Mixed Company

Providing swift death to your enemies since 3066

Knightmare

  • Terran Supremacist
  • Network Gnome
  • General
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,459
  • Taking out the Sphere's trash since 3026
    • Our BattleTech
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2011, 01:02:05 PM »
Interesting stuff. To-date how far along are you guys into your campaign? How often do you play? How much of the Campaign remains?

Basically, I'd like to know everything.
Logged
Quote from: Dragon Cat
WORD (of Blake) is good for two things. 1. Leaving inappropriate notes on other people's work. 2. Adding fake words (of Blake) to the dictionary.

klinktastic

  • Piotrowski's Predators
  • Moderator
  • Kapten
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 416
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #2 on: March 14, 2011, 02:17:16 PM »
Currently we are playing every other Saturday, starting at about noon and ending about 8.  We typically take a late lunch/early dinner break at the local Panera.

MadCap will have to tell you about his prior group's campaign progress, but I believe they started off on Outreach when it was assaulted by the WoB.  They eventually made their way to the CapCon and participated in Operation: Sovereign Justice.  MadCap moved, asembled a new team and picked it up with the start of Operation Thunderstrike. 

The way it is set up, we are helping the CCAF along their Prong Two attack corridor.  We have hit the following planets to date:
Glasglow
Overton
Gei-Fu
Brighton
Vestallas
Texlos

And we know our next two destinations:
Warlock
St Ives

After that, we will begin our drive towards New Syrtis.

We typically run anywhere from 3-5 missions per planet.  Now that some of the newer units have expanded, we've been able to do more multi-stage missions or simultaneous missions that impact one another, making it a lot more interesting.  Given our current rate, we probably have another year of real life time to proceed to New Syrtis and probably complete the Operation: Thunderstrike campaign.  However, we are not going to be finished there.  Once our contracts are up, we will host a town hall meeting and decide our next steps.  Odds are we'll stay onboard with the CCAF given our status with them.  But as things progress, we might decide to take our talents to another one of the Houses. 

My first involvement, and I'm not sure if they started prior to me joining, but I have an email dating back to March 7, 2010 as our first game.  So it looks like we've been at it about a full year now.  We started with I think 4 of us, but rapidly increased to 5.  Since then, we've added 2 more participants. 
Logged
Piotrowski's Predators - Reinforced Mixed Company

Providing swift death to your enemies since 3066

Knightmare

  • Terran Supremacist
  • Network Gnome
  • General
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,459
  • Taking out the Sphere's trash since 3026
    • Our BattleTech
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #3 on: March 14, 2011, 04:33:49 PM »
And you all do play in person? Wow. Very cool.
Logged
Quote from: Dragon Cat
WORD (of Blake) is good for two things. 1. Leaving inappropriate notes on other people's work. 2. Adding fake words (of Blake) to the dictionary.

klinktastic

  • Piotrowski's Predators
  • Moderator
  • Kapten
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 416
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #4 on: March 14, 2011, 04:47:15 PM »
Of course.  MegaMek sucks compared to the real thing.  Probably on St. Ives, and definitely on New Syrtis, we will be playing come high level BattleForce games as well.  Should be pretty cool. 
Logged
Piotrowski's Predators - Reinforced Mixed Company

Providing swift death to your enemies since 3066

MadCapellan

  • Warlock Fusiliers
  • Moderator
  • Kapten
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 382
  • Louise & Saito: Love Forever!
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2011, 04:55:49 PM »
Don't count on Battleforce for either of those, actually.  I find the real deal makes the battles so much more raw and epic!
Logged

Knightmare

  • Terran Supremacist
  • Network Gnome
  • General
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,459
  • Taking out the Sphere's trash since 3026
    • Our BattleTech
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #6 on: March 14, 2011, 06:23:47 PM »
Righteous.

I didn't realize you guys were all in the same geographic area. Neat.

I definitely agree that the real deal is far more epic. While I can appreciate BattleForce (I love grand strategy games) there's something exciting about the scenario. Especially if the outcome influences the story line in excess of the actual battle. Win a scenario battle, win a planet. Exciting stuff.
Logged
Quote from: Dragon Cat
WORD (of Blake) is good for two things. 1. Leaving inappropriate notes on other people's work. 2. Adding fake words (of Blake) to the dictionary.

MadCapellan

  • Warlock Fusiliers
  • Moderator
  • Kapten
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 382
  • Louise & Saito: Love Forever!
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #7 on: March 14, 2011, 06:42:02 PM »
Quote from: Knightmare on March 14, 2011, 06:23:47 PM
I didn't realize you guys were all in the same geographic area. Neat.

Greatest city in America!  Chicago,baby!

Quote
I definitely agree that the real deal is far more epic.

The problem with Battleforce is that you lose the experience of the individual pilot - the joy of scoring a floating crit, the struggle against a busted actuator, the individual heroics, the fear of swarming infantry - all those things that make the Battletech experience intense.  The campaign will likely include BattleForce scenarios at some point, but on those pivotal worlds, I have something else in store.
Logged

Knightmare

  • Terran Supremacist
  • Network Gnome
  • General
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2,459
  • Taking out the Sphere's trash since 3026
    • Our BattleTech
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #8 on: March 14, 2011, 08:27:02 PM »
I do love Chi-town. Big fan of the 11 City Diner. So, so good. I was there in Nov. 09 for a conference, I do miss that city.

Some BattleForce Scenarios are a lot of fun, particularly if you're working the whole planetary assault angle and run the BF portion of for the aerospace phase rather than AT2r.
Logged
Quote from: Dragon Cat
WORD (of Blake) is good for two things. 1. Leaving inappropriate notes on other people's work. 2. Adding fake words (of Blake) to the dictionary.

Ken

  • Bethlens' Irregulars
  • Hexare Grenadier
  • Fanjunkare
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 240
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2011, 08:30:48 PM »
Though one does wonder why I'm the only one who actually lives in the city.
 ;)
Logged

Ice Hellion

  • Protector of the Taurian Concordat
  • KU Player
  • General
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4,481
  • Beware of the all-seeing eye: Ice Hellion
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2011, 10:20:30 AM »
Isn't it a bit too much for House sponsored Mercenaries to gain access to so many advanced items?
Logged


"In turn they tested each Clan namesake
in trial against the Ice Hellion's mettle.
Each chased the Ice Hellion, hunting it down.
All failed to match the predator's speed and grace.
Khan Cage smiled and said, "And that is how we shall be."

The Remembrance (Clan Ice Hellion) Passage 5, Verse 3, Lines 1 - 5

MadCapellan

  • Warlock Fusiliers
  • Moderator
  • Kapten
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 382
  • Louise & Saito: Love Forever!
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2011, 11:44:52 AM »
Quote from: Ice Hellion on March 20, 2011, 10:20:30 AM
Isn't it a bit too much for House sponsored Mercenaries to gain access to so many advanced items?

Such as?  As Capellan sponsored mercenaries, we're one step down from House troops.  Stealth Armor isn't a big deal to issue out, because without the Capellan Confederation to constantly supply replacement armor as it's shot off, you'll quickly find yourself without it.
Logged

Ice Hellion

  • Protector of the Taurian Concordat
  • KU Player
  • General
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4,481
  • Beware of the all-seeing eye: Ice Hellion
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #12 on: March 21, 2011, 06:43:13 PM »
Quote from: MadCapellan on March 20, 2011, 11:44:52 AM
Quote from: Ice Hellion on March 20, 2011, 10:20:30 AM
Isn't it a bit too much for House sponsored Mercenaries to gain access to so many advanced items?

Such as?  As Capellan sponsored mercenaries, we're one step down from House troops.  Stealth Armor isn't a big deal to issue out, because without the Capellan Confederation to constantly supply replacement armor as it's shot off, you'll quickly find yourself without it.

stealth armor, plasma weaponry, and some of the other typical trappings of the CapCon house troops.
Logged


"In turn they tested each Clan namesake
in trial against the Ice Hellion's mettle.
Each chased the Ice Hellion, hunting it down.
All failed to match the predator's speed and grace.
Khan Cage smiled and said, "And that is how we shall be."

The Remembrance (Clan Ice Hellion) Passage 5, Verse 3, Lines 1 - 5

MadCapellan

  • Warlock Fusiliers
  • Moderator
  • Kapten
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 382
  • Louise & Saito: Love Forever!
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #13 on: March 21, 2011, 06:50:07 PM »
Quote from: Ice Hellion on March 21, 2011, 06:43:13 PM
stealth armor, plasma weaponry, and some of the other typical trappings of the CapCon house troops.

As I said, the supply of stealth armor is entirely contigent on service, as without replacement plate, you can't use it.  Plasma weapons are already available throughout the Inner Sphere.
Logged

Ken

  • Bethlens' Irregulars
  • Hexare Grenadier
  • Fanjunkare
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 240
Re: Campaign Basics
« Reply #14 on: March 21, 2011, 07:43:39 PM »
Stealth Armor is even being manufactured by at least three other nations by the mid 3070s.
Logged
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up
« previous next »