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Voyager I posted:Man, you can't help feeling bad for whatever glorified toll-booth operator is about to discover that the enemy heavy/assault lance currently engaging the security detachment is actually there for him. Ideally, he'll never even have a chance to realize this.
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Jun 25, 2015 05:51
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Lee Kung and the Wyvern for OpFor MOTM, just for that bit of fluff.
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Jun 25, 2015 06:40
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Can you fire? Then continue firing! Blow that checkpoint UP.
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Jun 25, 2015 07:41
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Voyager I posted:Man, you can't help feeling bad for whatever glorified toll-booth operator is about to discover that the enemy heavy/assault lance currently engaging the security detachment is actually there for him. In whatever Battletech afterlife, he'll be chatting to his afterlife buddies all "...so what got you? You died of tuberculosis? Bummer. And you? Oh, drowned trapped inside a tank that you powerslid into a lake? Nice one. Me? They came at me with Gauss rifles, and I wasn't even in a Mech, I was just sitting there. That's what it took to get me." *ghost strut*
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Jun 25, 2015 13:53
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Even then, all the sweet death cred in the world can't make up for the fact that Clan Heaven is twice as nice and half as difficult to get into.
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Jun 25, 2015 17:41
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Dachshundofdoom posted:Even then, all the sweet death cred in the world can't make up for the fact that Clan Heaven is twice as nice and half as difficult to get into. Clan philosophy is nihilistic. You don't get into the Remembrance or the Gene Pool then nothing of you exists.
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Jun 25, 2015 17:55
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How do Clan gene pools exist? They're all clones of clones of clones (times a few hundred at least). From my rudimentary understanding of cloning, wouldn't that be introducing insane numbers of genetic mutations into the gene line? Like, if you could clone from Bob, 1st MechWarrior of Clan Space Assholes, or his super distant clone (that phrase doesn't even make sense to me) Tim, Performed Satisfactorily in the Face of Clan Space Dickheads, wouldn't you always ALWAYS choose Bob, considering Tim is at this point a really inferior copy from probably a bunch of other copies? Or do they do some kind of mix-y do and whirl em all up for luck of the gene draw, at which point why not just have sex?
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Jun 25, 2015 21:26
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mercenarynuker posted:How do Clan gene pools exist? They're all clones of clones of clones (times a few hundred at least). From my rudimentary understanding of cloning, wouldn't that be introducing insane numbers of genetic mutations into the gene line? Like, if you could clone from Bob, 1st MechWarrior of Clan Space Assholes, or his super distant clone (that phrase doesn't even make sense to me) Tim, Performed Satisfactorily in the Face of Clan Space Dickheads, wouldn't you always ALWAYS choose Bob, considering Tim is at this point a really inferior copy from probably a bunch of other copies? Or do they do some kind of mix-y do and whirl em all up for luck of the gene draw, at which point why not just have sex? Clanners aren't clones. The warriors are super inbred test tube babies, selectively bred from the descendants of the original 800 bloodnamed dudes. The greatest of Clan technologies is whatever keeps the whole lot of them from turning out like Carlos II.
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Jun 25, 2015 21:39
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dis astranagant posted:Clanners aren't clones. The warriors are super inbred test tube babies, selectively bred from the descendants of the original 800 bloodnamed dudes. The greatest of Clan technologies is whatever keeps the whole lot of them from turning out like Carlos II. The "800 warriors making up the entire caste" is another child of Nicholas Kerensky's brain damage which he was actually talked down from. They threw in a bunch of civilians in the paternal lines after someone explained the obvious fact that 800 people sealed off from society isn't a healthy sized pool for genetic diversity even with Star League medical technology. If they HADN'T done that then the genetic disease that the Blakists created in the Jihad probably would have wiped them out entirely so it's kind of a shame.
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Jun 25, 2015 21:54
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dis astranagant posted:Clanners aren't clones. The warriors are super inbred test tube babies, selectively bred from the descendants of the original 800 bloodnamed dudes. The greatest of Clan technologies is whatever keeps the whole lot of them from turning out like Carlos II. The Scientists probably 'refresh' the gene pool every so often. Who's going to catch them at it?
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Jun 25, 2015 23:22
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So what exactly is the criteria for "make it look like an accident" on the checkpoint?
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Jun 25, 2015 23:38
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paragon1 posted:So what exactly is the criteria for "make it look like an accident" on the checkpoint? I'm gonna shoot once at the Bloodhound, then two other weapons at the checkpoint. It's a "near miss."
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Jun 25, 2015 23:41
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Just a reminder that kids in sibkos really are genetic siblings.
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Jun 25, 2015 23:46
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There are 8,324,608 possible combinations of 23 chromosome pairs. That means with just two parents, assuming you're doing test-tube babies and also assuming you have the technology to select individual chromosomes, OR if you just randomly choose eggs and sperm, you still have a huge variety of possible genetic combinations from a founder population of 800 individuals. The founder effect is important in that, with a low number of individuals, you tend to randomly have an over-representation of certain genes and an under-representation (e.g., total absence) of others. one classic example are the descendents of the mutineers of the Bounty on Pitcairn Island, who are all descended from just a handful of sailors and tahitians: a total of 15 men, 11 women and a baby. Another is the 15 colonists who founded the population on Tristan de Cunha, which as a result has a higher incidence of glaucoma and asthma, the latter because three of the 15 settlers apparently carried a gene for asthma. In most of these cases, the founder effect did not produce such severe genetic abnormalities as to render later generations nonfunctional or even particularly unhealthy. 800 colonists is well above the minimum needed to have a reasonable genetic diversity, especially if the colonists come from several different populations rather than a single population. There are bound to be certain genetic traits including diseases with a higher incidence among the descendents, but higher incidence could mean instead of 1 per 100,000 individuals in the original population, you now have an occurrence of 1 per 10,000 individuals. 10x more common, but still hardly something that would doom the whole population, even if the trait is fatal. Add in a modern or futuristic capability to manage gene frequency by selecting specific chromosome pairs and, if you're aware that a certain gene carries a negative trait, you can select it out of your population without needing to engage in cloning, and while still allowing for a huge population composed of individuals each of whom has a unique gene pattern. Leperflesh fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Jun 26, 2015 |
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Jun 26, 2015 19:43
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Clanners are oddly resistant to the idea of major invasive genetic engineering, which I know seems strange. It's a cultural thing. If you think about it, the breeding program is the closest thing to a religion there is in most Clan societies and their ancestors are what they "pray" to, so the more tampering it takes to produce a worthwhile batch of Clanners, the weaker that line would be, and nobody really wants to admit that. They correct major genetic defects which can be easily identified (by flushing that embryo) but they also haven't made any significant breakthroughs in genetic engineering that didn't already exist in the Star League. Even the iron womb technology itself is something that had already existed for centuries but hadn't been used due to perceived ethical questions. Case in point: elementals weren't produced by the Hell's Horses splicing "grow loving huge" genes into infantry, they're the result of a program where they took the samples from their tallest and most jacked infantry and paired them a few dozen times. While the technology they use to do it is more advanced and results in many more offspring, the Clanners are using one of the oldest and simplest techniques in human history: pair up things with desirable traits, pair the offspring, repeat. It's actually the Society, not the Clans themselves, who adopted the methods you're thinking of. They could produce clones in batches of a dozen or more and still avoid the existence of any undesirable traits because they were super-aggressive in going through the chromosomes they wanted to use before cleaning them out and splicing other things in. Defiance Industries fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Jun 26, 2015 |
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Jun 26, 2015 20:25
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The Society may have had kind of bullshit missiles but they were interesting for the brief period of time when they were antagonists and existed.
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Jun 26, 2015 20:33
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iATMs make sense when you realize most of their pilots were 5/6 and 6/7. Same with Nova CEWS. They become total poo poo when you try to play them in a normal context. The guys writing the books made some good balance decisions, just like with the MD advantages. The MD advantages are grossly overvalued in BV because they're not intended to be used in that situation, and Society gear doesn't have BV at all.
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Jun 26, 2015 20:41
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I don't even consider Nova CEWs all that bad. It's basically a more limited (you need to devote more space to scouts) but more flexible (you can link up with any two other units with Nova) C3i I'm not a huge fan of the C3 equipment in general. It's the kind of stuff I'd D&D4.0 into an 'assist' action.
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Jun 27, 2015 19:16
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Behind Enemy Lines: Tactical Update 4 “The small fry just keep getting faster,” Mechwarrior Barthleson lamented. He was one to talk: compared to the heavies of only a few years prior his Maelstrom was frighteningly quick. Barthleson’s nickname was “Bad” for a reason, he loved to complain and that alone could be hard on morale. He was a good fighter but he’d been bounced from command to command until he’d slid into Lt. Khalil’s command. As usual, Khalil gave Barthleson’s whining precisely the attention it deserved: none. “Continue the advance,” Khalil’s voice was calm as ever. “Objective status?” “Drawbridge is down,” Bergit’s thick accent was as difficult to place as ever, but her voice was clear and understandable. Her target had been the militia checkpoint on the road. “The peasants are running for cover. I don’t think I drew too much attention.” “I think my attacks have caught their attention,” the question had cut off Bad’s bitching, as had the steady advance of the three remaining enemy `Mechs. “Yeah, we’ve definitely got their attention. That’s right, Capellans, a shiny BattleMech you never knew was there! Fetch!”   Shooting Phase War Dog (Player) - Fires Gauss Rifle at Bloodhound (4 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 low light = 10): rolled 9, miss! - Fires Large Pulse Laser at Bloodhound (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 dusk - 2 pulse laser = 10): rolled 6, miss! - Fires Medium Pulse Laser at Bloodhound (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 dusk - 2 pulse laser = 12): rolled 5, miss! - Fires Medium Pulse Laser at Bloodhound (4 base + 4 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 dusk - 2 pulse laser = 12): rolled 8, miss! - Fires Streak SRM-2 (One Shot) at Bloodhound (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 12): rolled 5, fails to lock-on! - Fires Streak SRM-2 (One Shot) at Bloodhound (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 12): rolled 7, fails to lock-on! - Gains 21 heat, sinks 20! Nightstar (Player) - Fires Gauss Rifle at Checkpoint (4 base + 2 range + 1 movement - 4 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 4): rolled 11, hit (0/15 CF remaining)! Building Destroyed! - Fires Gauss Rifle at Checkpoint (4 base + 2 range + 1 movement - 4 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 4): rolled 6, hit! - Fires ER PPC at Bloodhound (4 base + 2 range + 1 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 dusk + 1 secondary target = 12): rolled 9, miss! - Gains 19 heat, sinks 28! Maelstrom (Player) - Fires ER PPC at building hex 0617 (4 base + 0 range + 2 movement - 4 target movement + 1 low light = 3): rolled 3, hit (5/15 CF remaining)! - Fires ER Large Laser at building hex 0617 (4 base + 0 range + 2 movement - 4 target movement + 1 low light = 3): rolled 3, hit (0/15 CF remaining)! Hex collapses! - Gains 29 heat, sinks 34! Cerberus (Player) - Fires Gauss Rifle at Bloodhound (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 low light = 12): rolled 2, miss! - Fires Gauss Rifle at Bloodhound (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 3 enemy movement + 1 low light = 12): rolled 9, miss! - Gains 4 heat, sinks 30! Sha-yu - Fires ER Large Laser at War Dog (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 11): rolled 4, miss! - Gains 24 heat, sinks 26! Bloodhound - Fires ER Medium Laser at War Dog (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 11): rolled 9, miss! - Fires ER Medium Laser at War Dog (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 11): rolled 7, miss! - Fires ER Medium Laser at War Dog (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 11): rolled 8, miss! - Fires Streak SRM-6 at War Dog (4 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 dusk = 11): rolled 9, miss!   Player Status:  Opposing Force Status:  Neutral Status  Mission Objective: - Protect Carlos Marik (0/1) Secondary Objectives: - Damage but don’t destroy the Civillian `Mechbay in hex 0517 (1/1) - Destroy the Capellan Checkpoint in hex 1418 (1/1) - - Make it look like an accident (?/1) - Avoid Antagonizing ComStar (0/1) Vengeance Counter: 1 Special Rules:  Dusk – This mission takes place at dusk, applying a +1 penalty to-hit. This penalty may worsen if the mission lasts long enough for night to fall. Escort Mission – This mission has a mobile objective that must be defended.Orders Due: Midnight Tuesday!
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Jun 28, 2015 22:25
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Sly/Plotting? Uh guys, watch out!
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Jun 28, 2015 22:40
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Time to pick a target and focus fire? The Wyvern looks nice.
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Jun 28, 2015 22:44
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We're going to need to get in pretty close to get some hits in between our gunnery and the move mods on those faster enemy units. We have a good chance to plug the Wyvern though, it's only got a +1 move mod, and all 4 of us can potentially unload on it. If I move to 0315, I thiiink the building hex in 516 breaks LoS from me to the Bloodhound, and the rest of the building blocks the Sha Yu. I'll have 8s to plug the Wyvern, and I think the Nightstar does as well if it stays immobile. (Which is pretty safe, btw, it looks like the best shot against you is on 9 from the Wyvern's LRM10, and 11s from everything else.) I think the Cerb and War dog can just walk in towards the mech bay and take similarly OK shots at the Wyvern. I haven't really decided where I want to move yet though. Even though I think I can get shots on the wyvern this turn without taking much return fire, I'd be really exposed for at least a turn or two until the rest of the team arrives. Comedy option is I charge down to 0818, which at least gets me a +3 move mod and minimum 10 needed to hit me! I'd have the same 10s needed to hit anything though. On the plus side I should be able to scan the building and see if that "Sly" means that kind of danger. Any ideas?
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Jun 28, 2015 23:31
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Great job with the checkpoint. No way to know for sure if they took the bait but that was pretty much a best effort. Maybe the two sly plotters were fooled by the revealed mech and are planning something concerning it? If it's a strong mech, maybe one of them's going to bail out and get in it? Or call up a friend of theirs to hurry over? Assuming it can cold start and that the pilot could even get in, I guess. Seems like the obvious "unintended consequence" of that particular side objective.
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Jun 29, 2015 00:05
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Gwaihir posted:I haven't really decided where I want to move yet though. Even though I think I can get shots on the wyvern this turn without taking much return fire, I'd be really exposed for at least a turn or two until the rest of the team arrives. Comedy option is I charge down to 0818, which at least gets me a +3 move mod and minimum 10 needed to hit me! I'd have the same 10s needed to hit anything though. On the plus side I should be able to scan the building and see if that "Sly" means that kind of danger.
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Jun 29, 2015 00:11
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Ardlen posted:Another comedy option is to charge down to 0817 and turn to take back shots at the Bloodhound. I think that's possible, but I could be wrong. Yea, I can move there, but my shots will all be total garbage. I'd be hitting on 10s I think. (4 gunnery + 1 dusk + 2 I ran + 3 enemy move mod). That and my two big guns are in left/right arm, and I don't even have hands for extra good punch times  And I wouldn't be able to kick from anywhere I can get without getting shot by all three of them.
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Jun 29, 2015 01:07
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This is the only thing that would come to mind after reading all those misses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr2GeWiDrdY
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Jun 29, 2015 01:09
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Dolash posted:If it's a strong mech It's a Dart.
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Jun 29, 2015 01:36
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PoptartsNinja posted:It's a Dart. They could use it as a replacement for that Flea then! 
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Jun 29, 2015 01:38
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Gwaihir posted:They could use it as a replacement for that Flea then! They are, admittedly, pretty decent at charging things. Not that it's likely to happen, but if it does, they're usually good for 20~ damage a charge and they can usually survive a couple of them. It's best to think of the Dart (and similar mechs like the Fireball) as less an actual mech and more a guided missile.
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Jun 29, 2015 01:50
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The Wyvern is very much making itself the easy target, having only moved four hexes to the other two 'Mechs' eight hexes; that, combined with "Sly/Plotting," makes me concerned. Gonna shoot it anyways, mind; shame about that intervening hill, but I can maneuver to where it shouldn't intercede. EDIT: My orders, for the record: quote:MOVEMENT DivineCoffeeBinge fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Jun 29, 2015 |
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Jun 29, 2015 03:16
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You don't have to skirt the hill- It's only a height one and won't block LoS. I'd either sit still to hit on 8s or just walk straight forward 4 hexes.
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Jun 29, 2015 04:26
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No need to stand still; you can close to medium Gauss range. (you're currently hitting on a 10, you can make it 9 as you know)
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Jun 29, 2015 04:32
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Gwaihir posted:You don't have to skirt the hill- It's only a height one and won't block LoS. I'd either sit still to hit on 8s or just walk straight forward 4 hexes. Am I misunderstanding the partial cover rules? God knows that's likely. Standing still puts the Gauss Rifles at long range versus the Wyvern, though, which sort of negates the point of standing still - and moving where I'm planning gives me, I think, better responsiveness for next turn. That said, I'm willing to be talked out of it. 
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Jun 29, 2015 04:36
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Partial cover only matters (generally) if they're immediately behind the obstacle. (Or in depth 1 water, etc)
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Jun 29, 2015 04:48
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ah yea, derp. forgot about the range. I would definitely just walk forward 4 then. Better shot and puts you closer for next turn. No reason to sit still. I'm leaning more towards 0315 and shooting up the Wyvern myself as well now. The pulse lasers on it end up making for the more dangerous weapons because of how hard it is to hit anything for us. So more shots at it the better. It'll have return fire on 7 or 8s at me, but I've got plenty of armor atm. Can someone remind me about LoS rules? It looks like from 0315, I have the 50/50 choice as to whether the bloodhound is in LoS from me thanks to the building hex in 0516. So if I just don't shoot at him he shouldn't be able to fire at me this turn, right? If he does have LoS I think I'll just go straight forward to 818. I get much worse shots, but I'll be far better set up for the following turn, so I'll almost certainly be able to get directly behind someone.
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Jun 29, 2015 05:06
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PoptartsNinja posted:It's a Dart. Surely the least plausible part of the raid masquerade isn't that they shot at the checkpoint, but rather that they'd gamble a heavy/assault lance for 25 tons of mech? Although assuming they've got a good getaway planned (How are they doing extraction, again?) the raid could be more smash than grab, since picking off some exposed and seemingly unsupported light/mediums is an end unto itself.
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Jun 29, 2015 05:24
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To be fair, as hilariously crap a Dart is at fighting (as opposed to disposably ramming) other 'Mechs, it's pretty great at hit and run raids against (the far more common) lightly defended targets. Good speed, no ammo, pulse weapons to murdalize soft targets. Not that that needs to hold up as plausible.
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Jun 29, 2015 05:42
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Dolash posted:Surely the least plausible part of the raid masquerade isn't that they shot at the checkpoint, but rather that they'd gamble a heavy/assault lance for 25 tons of mech? Although assuming they've got a good getaway planned (How are they doing extraction, again?) the raid could be more smash than grab, since picking off some exposed and seemingly unsupported light/mediums is an end unto itself. It's not too implausible; the unit has been doing the guerilla thing for a bit and so presumably still has some Mechwarriors whose rides have been shot out from beneath them, so wanting to get a 'Mech - any 'Mech - to bolster their strength can't really be a terrible idea... and as the mission looks on paper, it's not that much of a risk to the Assault Lance, given the light defense. We know, as players, that the defense is probably going to stiffen a good deal because we can see BVs; the characters involved, not so much.
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Jun 29, 2015 05:45
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Fraction Jackson posted:They are, admittedly, pretty decent at charging things. Not that it's likely to happen, but if it does, they're usually good for 20~ damage a charge and they can usually survive a couple of them. Having once charged down a Gunslinger with a Fireball and knocked him off a four story cliff, I can attest to this strategy. All Charge All the Time!
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Jun 29, 2015 11:42
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Alternatively, if it's a "secret" mechbay, they didn't know what they were getting when they launched the raid. They're just as disappointed with finding a dart as you'd expect, so now they're going to take it out on the defenders.
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Jun 29, 2015 13:51
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