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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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 Posted: 12-Aug-2004 13:50 Post subject: Need Some Feedback |
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In a few weeks I'll probably be running a BTech group. It's a three person group, and two of them haven't played it before (one is still a newbie to gaming in general).
I got to thinking of five missions that I could send them on as a part of their first "assignment." Thing is, given that they'll just be starting out (and they have yet to get assigned their mechs yet) I want to see if the first five battles I have them set up for would be too easy or too hard for their player level.
I'll be posting each mission seperately so that people can comment on each individual mission.
Thanks.
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Aug-2004 13:53 Post subject: #1 Canyon Defense |
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Maps: 2 BTech maps placed so that the mountains form a pass where the maps meet on the long end
The party has to 60 turns to clear a canyon pass so that a convoy of civilian aid workers can get through.
First attack will be 4 Blizzard hovercraft (all green) coming from the left-hand part of the map. A few turns after they show up, 4 Scorpion tanks (all green) will come from the right-hand part of the map. A few turns later, a platoon of SRM infantry and two Pike support tanks (regular) will come up the canyon itself.
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Aug-2004 13:55 Post subject: #2 Thick as Flies pt. 1 |
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Maps: Dockyards (Map set #7), one city map (Map set #7), 2 BTech maps
The party is to defend a warehouse district from attackers.
The attackers are 16 Ferret VTOLs, each with a squad of infantry. The infantry is regular but the Ferrets are green.
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Aug-2004 13:56 Post subject: #3 Thick as Flies pt. 3 |
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Same map set and mission type as #2.
Attackers: 12 Savannah Master hovercraft (6 green, 6 regular)
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Aug-2004 13:58 Post subject: #4 Jailbreak |
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Same map set as #2 and #3 (Can't find most of the maps me and Ronin have, so I'm trying to plan around that).
The characters are tasked with defeating the garrison around a prison facility.
Garrison:
4 Hetzer (green)
6 Scorpion (green)
4 Pike (regular)
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Aug-2004 14:00 Post subject: #5 In For The Kill |
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Maps: 2 BTech maps
With the success of the last few missions, the unit the players have been attacking is weak, so weak that the command track (a Behemoth tank, veteran status) is now out in the open and alone trying to compensate for the losses.
Party time.
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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SaberDance
Federated Suns
Colonel
Joined: 07-May-2004 00:00
Posts: 837
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| Posted: 12-Aug-2004 14:39 Post subject: RE: Need Some Feedback |
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Take this for whatever you think it's worth.
Provided your players aren't in anything too light (like a wasp or something) and have an opportunity to repair a little between missions, I think it looks fine.
One concern would be mission 3: 12 savanah masters won't be terribly hard (if you can't take your four, I will... kind of thing), but having all these tiny little things flying around your mech when you only have a 6 or 7 gunnery skill (unless your starting your players as regulars) and can't hit the $^*% things...
I once had a GM who liked to do that kind of thinf. I emphasise the past tense in this sentence. If the players are getting frustrated, have one of the savanah masters skid into a wall or something, let the players get in a few easy shots, and then retreat off the map. Failing that, blow up something that the players will miss (say their ammunition storage bin) and then withdraw.
I like the first two missions, there is my concern with the third, the fourth mission is OK, but I would express concern over the fifth mission: it's the culmination of the battle and the players have yet to face down a battlemech. Blowing up vehicles, even impressive vehicles is all well and good, but people play battletech for the "game of armored combat six stories tall." If they wanted to blow up tanks there are plenty of games from GDW still floating around. I can recomend Twilight: 2000 and Arctic Front.
And remember the cardinal rule of Gamemastering: when in doubt, fake it.
If your players are having a bad night of rolling, fudge a few shots, or throw a couple of pilot checks. The point is, the game needs to be challenging, but not frustrating (and that is a fine line to walk), and it needs to move, but not so quickly the players can't enjoy themselves. This is the major defect of Battletech (and any hitpoint or hit location game), the paperwork slows down the game.
Those are my suggestions. Good luck, and have fun.
M"SD"H
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"Politics is the Art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, misdiagnosing the problem, and applying the wrong solution."
-Groucho Marx
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Oafman
Draconis Combine
Tai-sho
Joined: 18-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1657
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Aug-2004 14:52 Post subject: RE: Need Some Feedback |
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Adding to what Saberdance has already mentioned, I would have to stress putting at least one mech in there somewhere, Maybe for the savannah masters one have 4 of those plus a couple of lights . Like a Locust and a Wasp, you get the picture. If they do wel with all the first missions, have the last one be a heavy mech all by itself (assuming that they are all piloting light and medium mechs. That way they can learn proper swarm tactics. Overall they look fun and challenging.
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Festina Lente!
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
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Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Aug-2004 18:05 Post subject: RE: Need Some Feedback |
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The base idea for the mission is this.
With permission from Comstar and the DCMS, Lindon's Battalion (Caph) subcontracted a couple of mercenary teams to investigate the dissappearances of some neutral civilian relief/support teams.
What no one knows is that a mercenary unit made solely of vehicles and infantry (like I said, all my players are pretty much green) that was hired by the FWL/Laio faction is behind it; as the unit commander has bought off their liason, none of the FWL/Laio commanders know about this.
Thanks to a radical change in how the convoys operate, the raiders were forced to split their raiding parties meaning that weaker-than-normal units were going on each mission (#1). When these units failed, the merc commander knew he had some problems to deal with. He decided to abandon the convoys in favor of the storage areas themselves (#2 and #3). Problem is, some of those captured during those raids squealed and revealed where the prisoners were being kept (#4); between recent losses and a pre-planned diversion the garrison was lighter than normal.
When the prison fell, the game was up for the merc commander. He ordered his men to go to ground and begin guerilla warfare; by this time reps from Lindon's Batallion had turned the captured information over to commanders of all the military units there.
After a few days of limited activity, the commander is going to make an attempt to link up with his other forces; for their part in liberating the prisoners and defending the depot the party is given the privelige of taking out the command track (#5) while LB arranges a trap for the forces he was to meet up with.
With the unit commander gone, the remaining forces give themselves up. Although the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission clears the FWL and Laio forces of all wrong-doing, it's still a PR blow. This gives me room for more potential adventures on the planet (after all, this is a 5-month contract).
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Oafman
Draconis Combine
Tai-sho
Joined: 18-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1657
Location: United States
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| Posted: 13-Aug-2004 07:21 Post subject: RE: Need Some Feedback |
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That makes a lot more sense. Knowing the story behind this it is going the right direction. I hope your troops do well in the mission. If they can get these missions right I foresee plenty of mech action in their future. Perhaps a Liao counterattack to try to save some face...
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
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Location: United States
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| Posted: 13-Aug-2004 15:57 Post subject: RE: Need Some Feedback |
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Actually, I had an idea; not sure if I'll remember it tho.
Between missions 4 and 5, the team will be sent to meet with a Marik liasion (Hammer, regular) and escort her back to the LB base. Thing is, the head of the merc forces paid her off and so now she's trying to kill the party.
About five rounds into the battle, some other Marik reps will show up (these guys are legit). They can't fight, but they can call in people who will. When the party brings the Hammer down (the FWL commander will give it to them for helping to catch a traitor) the FWL will have all the evidence they need of war crimes.
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 14-Aug-2004 19:52 Post subject: Continuing Adventures? |
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I just had an idea for a continuing adventure bit.
One of the NPCs the characters will meet is a Davion MI agent piloting a tricked-out Grasshopper (munch. munch. munch.). His wife is a civilian nurse.
As a result of the incidents described in the campaign, the relief teams are a little short-handed so the local hospitals have been asked for volunteers.
Guess who volunteers.
Guess who is an overprotective sadist (yes folks, I rolled "Master of persuasion" four times in a row for the Covert Ops life path).
I think that this will provide more than several possible side-quests and side-stories for the characters. What does everyone else think?
_________________
"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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