Any interest in Mechwarrior/Battletech Tactics game?

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Narshe
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Any interest in Mechwarrior/Battletech Tactics game?

Post by Narshe » Wed Jun 15, 2016 9:07 pm

Hey y'all! I wanted to see if anyone would be interested in playing like a Mechwarrior tactics game! Familiarity with mechwarrior isn't really necessary, but if you are you might enjoy the lore (although this game will not necessarily follow canon storylines). The game is for between 2 and 5 people, each of whom will be in command of a "Lance" of 4 battlemechs, and played on a hex map that I will create for each scenario that we play, using icons representing battlemechs.

Battlemechs can be light, medium, heavy, or assault-class, each of which has their own advantages and disadvantages, and might have special abilities. In addition, there will be a total "points" limit of some kind allotted to each player, so that it's fair. So for example, a light mech might be worth 5 points, a heavy mech 15 points, extra ammunition 2 points, repair facilities 10 points, etc.

I will also introduce various factions, roughly divided into Inner Sphere (home team, access to local factories and resupply) and Clans (visiting team, better technology, Lance is called Star and consists of 5 mechs instead of 4).

The teams need not be even - each player will have a set of objectives that they will have to meet in order to win the scenario. For example, consider the following scenario.

Player 1 (Crucis Lancers of House Davion) starts on a base in the center of the map, and is responsible for protecting a few objectives scattered around their base. Player 2 (Sabre Company of the Tortuga Fusiliers, pirates) drops their lance on a ridge overlooking multiple objectives, and wants to steal from the objectives (capture and hold for 1 turn). Player 3 (Pit Bull battalion of the Kell Hounds, mercenary company) starts at the edge of the map, and is tasked with helping Player 1 and preventing theft by Player 2.

At the end of the scenario, the game will be scored thusly:
Player 1 awarded points for each standing objective, and a bonus for any destroyed pirate mechs.
Player 2 awarded points for each stolen objective (roughly 3x what P1 gets for defending them), a bonus for any destroyed mechs, and a 3x kill bonus for "salvaged" mechs (I need to work out rules for this).
Player 3 awarded points for each destroyed pirate mech, bonus for each surviving Player 1 mech, smaller bonus for each standing objective.

Person with the highest points at the end "wins", but it's really more about the fun of the tactics than it is about winning.

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For the specific mechs, I'm thinking about the following rules:
Basic Rules:
Mechs will have 1 move action + 1 attack action, or 1 full action.

1 move action allows a mech to travel its speed.

1 attack action allows a mech to fire all of its weapons. Each weapon attack is rolled seperately and receives a bonus based on the
weapon's accuracy score.

1 full action allows a mech to either do an Alpha Strike (2x damage), or Aim (large bonus to attack; will almost guarantee a hit except on Nat 1, or against especially tricky targets).

1 full action will also allow a mech to Run, gaining a multiplier to its speed based on size - 3x for light, 2x for medium & heavy, 1.5x for
assault. Performing 2 full actions back-to-back will cause a mech to overheat.

Concepts:
Overheated: A mech can get Overheated either by performing 2 full actions back-to-back, or by firing or getting hit by certain types of weapons. An Overheated mech stays Overheated for 4 rounds (this can be mitigated by certain types of upgrades). Doing anything more than 1 move or 1 attack action, or attacking with certain types of high-heat weapons, have a risk of causing the mech's fusion core to go critical. This is not a good thing.

Shutdown: As a full action, a mech can shutdown, which will cause it to dump all heat. It can start up the next round for free and have a full round of actions. A shut-down mech is much easier to hit, and all attacks against it get a bonus equal to half the aiming bonus.

Critical Hits: A particularly good attack role has a chance of scoring a crit, causing a second die to be rolled (just like in D&D). A confirmed crit does double damage, and might have an additional effect, such as causing an ammo explosion (destroys weapon). A confirmed crit on a cockpit has a 50% chance of outright killing the pilot.

Repair and Reload: On certain maps, mechs will have access to repair facilities. If one is available, a mech can spend 1 turn shutdown inside a repair facility to get its armor repaired and all its ammunition restocked. Based on faction and advantages purchased with points, other ways of repair & reload may be available.

Advantages: Typically, each player will be allotted a set of points with which they can outfit their lance. They can also optionally choose to spend points on "advantages" that may be available to their side based on the scenario. For instance, in the above example, Player 1 might be able to purchase base defenses and repair facilities. Player 2 might be able to purchase an Orbital Bombardment that will soften up enemy mechs in an area, or Commandos that will bomb defenses and repair facilities. Advantages may or may not be revealed to the other players.

Surprise Action: Depending on certain situations - ambushes, advantages, etc, one player's mechs might catch another player's mechs flat-footed, in which case they get an extra half-action (either attack or move).

Knocked Down: A mech might become KO'd if it's hit especially hard, or falls from a great height, or get its legs blown off. A KO'd mech is considered flat-footed against any attackers, and also gains a penalty to armor equal to a shut-down mech.

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Mech Class Advantages:
Light - Lowest amount of armor & weapon allowance. Very mobile, with highest base speed, 3x run modifier. Special Ability: Agile, always gets an extra half-action (stacks with the one they get from surprise). This extra half-action can only be taken if you do no full actions that turn.

Medium - Significantly better armor & weapons than Light, but still pretty mobile. Decent speed, 2x run modifier. Special Ability: Surprise Maneuvers - choose 1 enemy mech gain a penalty on attacks against them equal to quarter-aiming bonus, plus bonus on attacks that they make equal to quarter aiming bonus for 1d3 turns (until the enemy pilot figures out your tricks). Can't be used against the same pilot twice in the same encounter. You gain an equivalent bonus to confirming crits.

Heavy - Access to all the best weapons in the game, great armor, decently mobile. Okay speed, 2x run modifier. Special Ability: Blitz - allows a Heavy mech to run its speed and still do a full attack action such as Alpha Strike or Aim. The mech is immediately overheated for a guaranteed 1 turn afterwards, and this cannot be mitigated by equipment or advantages.

Assault - Best armor in the game, access to the best weapons and then some. Lousy speed, 1.5 run modifier. Special Ability: Knockdown hit - always knocks down on an Alpha Strike where at least one weapon hits.

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GathersIngredients
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Re: Any interest in Mechwarrior/Battletech Tactics game?

Post by GathersIngredients » Fri Jun 17, 2016 2:39 am

Is this going to have PvE (the players co-operating against a common enemy) "maps", too, or will it be PvP (players competing with one another in teams, or everyone for themselves) only?
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Nerre
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Re: Any interest in Mechwarrior/Battletech Tactics game?

Post by Nerre » Wed Jun 29, 2016 4:46 pm

I played a lot of battletech and therefore am curious. How about a little test game? :)
:zzz:

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Narshe
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Re: Any interest in Mechwarrior/Battletech Tactics game?

Post by Narshe » Wed Jul 13, 2016 1:22 pm

Hey sorry y'all, I forgot about this. Yeah, I'll post a little sample thing where I "play" both sides, maybe on the weekend. :-)

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