I understand.

December has always been dodgy.  Same with June, for government workers, and August for students.

You know what, were' going to adapt the old battletech rule, that if you're not here to roll, you lose initiative.

I will fill in for him and 'move' absent players along every three days, so that we can start getting into something that appears to be a groove again.

So at this point (if Rixx doesn't appear to roll initiatve for himself by the time you respond), presume you have won initiative Kusanagi.  Do you want to move first or concede the first move to Rixx?
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:55, Tue 10 Dec 2019.

I'll give him till tonight to log in and roll cause I'm too busy at work to do this on my phone but...

With it now being a back and forth move + fire, swap sides move + fire...as long as I'm not reading it wrong...it behooves me to start off first even if the first few rounds is simply maneuvering.

Up to you, i don't think you're fast enough to get your guns in range, so it might be worth conceding the move, up to you though.

Rixx was sort of nice putting the scouting locations so close to you.

I need to figure out if the current scouting rules are too easy or hard.  They are suppose to be reasonable objectives to allow light/recon mechs to pull their weight on missions, but not TOO easy.

I may leave the mechanics alone, the way you've done it (not requiring 'non' movement), but allow that the hex being scanned might require more than one scan for success, and in a true scouting mission, there will be more locations to scan, perhaps 3~5.  I might mix such a mission with artillery support, so a TAG would make your life easier to call in accurate weapon fire to take out say, a gun emplacement (which would be shooting at scouts, and perhaps making it more attractive to scan at range).

On reflection of these thoughts, i think maybe being able to fully move and scan is fine.  The current scouting mission is as easy as it gets with no static defenses and only requiring one turn of scouting, though i think the 1 point score reflects it's ease of completion... well for hex 0505 at least.


I suppose I'll know after the mission is over.

---

Only one action, not even a full turn in, but your thoughts so far on the mechanics?
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:33, Wed 11 Dec 2019.

You could also make it so that mechs with scout or probe are allowed to move and scan while mechs without are required to be in the hex at the beginning of the round.

As for thought so far...

It seems to be working fine.  We’ll see more when we start to get into combat at the same time.

You dont have to be 'in' the hex, there is a range modifier to make it more difficult if you're doing it from range though.

ie, from one hex away the hex gains a +1 defense modifier.

I'm wondering if its too difficult to do, but then again you're using a green pilot?

IF they had no scout ability it would be 1 in 6, so even a skill-less green has a chance to do it.  So should be okay i think?

Yeah someone like the Crusader or Trebuchet, being veterans have a base 3 if they are on top or next to it when they scan.  4's if 2 hexes away and 5's if three.

So using that as a counterpoint...

Currently Nagamichi is three hexes from the scan point that Maxine tried to scan by running on top of.  He'd as a veteran need a 5 to scan the spot, same as a Green pilot with scouting technology, or should he bound forward next to the spot it becomes a 50/50.  If they had to not only do no weapons fire but also stand stationary that would make them real ripe targets.  Of course it's possible that because of range limitations it would be no real problem but we'll see.

Hm...

That is a significant difference from intent.

Originally 'Short' was 0 hex, 'Medium' was 1 hex, and 'Long' was 2 hex, and you could only do 3 hexes with a beagle probe.

I'm going to edit the rules for scouting to reflect this...


Added to scouting rules


There is a +0 range modifier at range 0
There is a +1 range modifier at range 1
There is a +2 range modifier at range 2*  (Can only be done with a Scout)
There is a +3 range modifier at range 3*  (Can only be done with a Beagle Probe)

Original rules from past campaigns had you being in or next to the objective.  A Probe increased range, and a scout was trained to look farther, so those gave you a bit of a range advantage.  So if you're not a scout you have the option of getting as close to a hex away to scout, where as for a dangerous target, a scout or something with a probe starts to look good to scout it from arms length.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:03, Wed 11 Dec 2019.

Looks like a good edit.

Gives advantages to scout mechs and ones even further advanced via probe and you can use a similar calculus if you end up having ECM as well...from penalties to next to impossible if you're in the same hex.

Yes.

My campaigns always had an element of electronic warfare in them, this is just a natural reflection of it.

The test game will serve as an example for all the rules.

Eventually I will make a formal thread for it all.

Like all my homebrewed campaigns, the rules are always being bent and tinkered with for improvements.  I know how things SHOULD work, just getting the rules all down on paper is the tough part cause they're in my head, and i forget what i've written, not written, or maybe written wrong...

>.<

One of the reasons to have me around since I’m good with mechanics.  :-)

Well, i happen to think i'm okay with them too.

:P

Of course you are otherwise you’d never even try this.  ;-P

Now that i dont know about, I've seem some people tinker with stuff who have no business trying and making messy stuff they think is cool with out a concept for play balance and how things should work..

*shudder*

Mission turn updated, not that it needs to be said, but you have till 12/15 to post something before i feel the urge to post something for you :P

Two days is a reasonable turn around time isnt it?  Three if it's over a weekend?
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:34, Fri 13 Dec 2019.

mmm... weekend, so I'll give it another day or so for you to post.

I was hoping Reyvak would show and make some commentary...

Since they haven't posted.

Checking the cast attendance, they havent showed up since 12/05, nearly ten days ago.

It is the holiday seasons, but i find it a little surprising for him to ask to start this and just vanish.

Hopefully everything is okay with him.  Still we both seem to be motivated to at least finish this test mission which will make it easier to showcase the rules to new comers, and then...maybe i'll think about asking for new players... say... to celebrate the impeachment of the corrupt dead weight on our democracy?  Sorry i shouldn't mix politics and gaming.

Yeah, Kusanagi, in a crusader, only needed a 4+ to make that scout check.

Being a Veteran really helps, mechwarrior skills are always pretty important in a campaign so that makes sense.  Now if it was a wooded hex with some cover now, that might have been a little harder.

^.^

I'll give Rixx till 12/18 to post, but i have to admit, i'm not feeling good from past performance ...

>.>
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:25, Sun 15 Dec 2019.

Impeach quite likely.  Convict far less likely.

Politics, Religion and Sports.  The big three things that can lead to bloodshed in our world.

I remember, if he is the same, Reyvak being really on the ball when he could be around but when he said he couldn’t he was ghost.

There are enough republicans behind him, that some one will (like nixon) probably offer him a pardon.  Really the only way to convict, is to hold off on the criminal conviction till after the presidential election where, a hopefully democrat president, won't pardon him for his BLATANT crimes... i mean... he doesnt even try to seriously hide it... or.. maybe he's just too dumb or arrogant to think he has to?

Well the issue is that the House will vote for impeachment, that's a forgone conclusion at this point in time.  Then in the Senate they actually have a number of options.  It's unlikely that they will convict him, which in turn removes him from office.  Then there is a secondary vote which if is passed means that he cannot run for office again, aka disqualification.  They could, improbably, convict and remove him from office, someone pardon him of any federal crimes, and then he could actually run again for the election in 2020 regardless.  That is only halted if they also disqualify him.  It's also highly likely that should there be any doubt whatsoever of him staying in the office, that he will step down before the official tenure ends allowing someone to pardon him before anyone else comes on it that could choose not to.

His issues comes in if he has committed any State crimes, and since the Pardon doesn't absolve him of any state level crimes he could be then charged and potentially go to trial with possible conviction.

His problem is he's dirty on so many levels, the only place that's 'safe' for him to avoid a prison sentence is to take refuge and seek asylum in Russia or North Korea.

Okay.

So i just got out of the shower, where, as you know, i do some of my most innovative house rules for gaming.

This one has to do with the use of Indirect fire for LRM troops...

First... these rules are intended to provide a tactical advantage, and provide flavor for the use of LRM's on a mech.
 (This is actually a working test to try out these rules, which if i'm stupid and start a proper battletech game, might go into use in a conventional game.)

Second... there are some conditions for these rules.

- You must have legal line of sight to your target.
 (ie.  There cant be three 'points' worth of trees in your way).

- Your target must be at Medium or Long Range.


Third (Optional reading)... the theory behind these rules is as follows...

- Precedence -
  A mech is considered 'Level 2'.
  A mech is considered capable of firing over Level 1 terrain, and is only affected by level one terrain, when the target is in, or next to, the terrain.

- Extrapolation
  A mech can 'see/sense/aim' over Level 2 terrain.
  A mech can not fire at things that they can see/sense, because most weapons are 'direct fire' and said terrain (say a level 2 building) will interfere with such weapon targeting.

  A mech armed with LRM's are not hindered by such terrain, because the weapons has an arc trajectory and fire 'over' such terrain.

Fouth... the actual ruling...
  Units with an 'LRM' rating, may use die up to this rating for Indirect Fire.
  Indirect fire to ignore the penalties from the first 'level two' terrain.
  (ie... the first level 2 tree ... or level 2 building will not interfere with indirect fire.)


Thoughts on this?  Not too convoluted?  I actually toyed with saying that it just ignored all level two terrain, but that seemed over power and not quite right...

(ie.  Three points of tree that are level 2 tall will block line of sight... so... just ignoring them seemed over powered, but ignoring the 'first' seemed reasonable?)
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:33, Tue 17 Dec 2019.

Hmm...

So normally when someone spots for a unit that can't see there is a +1 for being a Spotter, +X that is the walk/run/jump that they may have used and I think I saw in a recent errata that if that unit also fires in the round that it changes the Spotter mod to +2.  On top of all the Attackers mods (Movement, pilot damage, etc.) and the defensive movement and terrain between the target and the spotter.

Which was why it was rarely used until C3 came about and negated a whole host of issues.  And was just as funnily not part of the C3i system that the Blakists used...but they prolly just trusted in Blake to hit.

…

So we're ignoring the first level 2 artifact (trees, buildings, cliff face mostly hiding the mech) and all the additional issues of the spotter (which of course isn't so much a difficulty if it's an infantry unit hiding somewhere).

…

In the more cut down rules of this form of BattleTech I'm not sure if we can represent it well.  In a 'full scale' one I'd probably say that the level two terrain feature you ignore adds a +2 to hit (like another heavy woods) and then roll 3d6 take the lowest two for how many missiles actually hit.  You can do it but even if you are a crack pilot and do hit you just can't lock on missiles to land on target even if they do hit the target.