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PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
Ikuta Glacier: Tactical Update 12




August had made a mistake. The realization of it was not long in coming, but as his Executioner’s long legs crossed the last few meters separating him from the Black Lanner he knew there was nothing he could do to avert his fate. His thumb stabbed down on the primary target interlock circuit and his lasers crossed the gulf in an instant, reducing the Black Lanner’s left shoulder to a mess of white-hot metal. It didn’t matter, the enemy pilot’s resolve was firm.

Like many assault `Mech pilots, August was accustomed to being feared on the battlefield. Even among the Clans assault-weight `Mechs weren’t common, and the ones in service often bounced from unit to unit as various missions demanded more firepower than the usual workhorse heavies and mediums could bring to bear. The most visceral, instinctively human reaction to being cornered by a charging assault `Mech was to flinch away in fear, which usually translated to a slight back-and-forth shift of a `Mech’s torso as the pilot looked for opportunities to make an escape. Even Clan training wasn’t enough to convince an average pilot to stand their ground in the face of overwhelming armor and firepower. August had assumed the Black Lanner would seek to flee if pressed.

The way it had firmly planted its feet told August that pilot wasn’t planning on running. Not yet. He twisted his controls—too late—to try to bring the Executioner’s left shoulder around. The Black Lanner’s torso tipped back as its pilot aimed its boxy missile-pods high. Even at such close range it was a risky, desperate ploy: an attempt to expend both flights of missiles against the Executioner’s upper chest, head, and shoulders rather than striking the machine in full.

Pain lanced through August’s side as his canopy exploded and showered him with the razor-sharp shards of an LRM’s casings. At least one missile had pierced that gaping hole and exploded somewhere in the back of the cockpit, and spilled liquid propellant burned and charred his right shoulder. Wet, green coolant spilled down the front of his coolant suit and August tried to ignore the metal splinter protruding from the front of his neurohelmet, stopped less than a centimeter short of piercing his right eye.

The world slowed to a pain-fueled crawl as the Executioner fell. He felt the gyros tumble, practically felt the wind on the `Mech’s atmospheric sensors. His own body, tiny and fragile, was perched on the very tip of a mountain of falling weapons. Even a Locust had more than enough mass to kill an unsecured pilot in a fall, without restraining straps a Mechwarrior’s body would be left broken by the forces involved. In an Executioner, a fall was so much worse. August felt his ribs give way even as two of the straps securing him to the machine’s command couch snapped. He hung in silence, his hands resting on the glacier’s snowy surface. He was fortunate he’d fallen face down, that at least would shield him from the wind. His mind was clear in the way only intense, immediate pain could manage. His machine could still fight.

But standing up again might become an even bigger mistake.








Movement Phase
Grand Dragon (Player)
- Must roll a 3+ to activate MASC: rolls 5, succeeds!

Stormcrow (Player)
- Turned on ice (4 base + 4 ice = 8): rolled 11, succeeds!

Nova G (Player)
- Initiates Death from Above on Black Lanner!

Huntsman G (Player)
- Insufficient MP to reach hex 0715: needs 9, has 8!



Shooting Phase
Executioner G (player)
- Fires iHeavy Large Laser at Black Lanner (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 8): rolled 9, hit Right Arm (0/13 armor, 6/9 structure remaining)! Crit!
- Fires iHeavy Large Laser at Black Lanner (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 8): rolled 5, miss!
- Fires Gauss Rifle at Black Lanner (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement + 2 minimum range = 10): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires AP Gauss Rifle at Black Lanner (2 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 8): rolled 9, hit Right Torso (13/16 armor remaining)!
- Gains 40 heat, sinks 37! Overheating!

Grand Dragon “Yuki-Onna” (Player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 28!

Crossbow G (player)
- No orders received!
- Gains 0 heat, sinks 27!

Stormcrow Prime (player)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 47!

Ironhold Battle Armor 5 (player)
- Holds fire!

Pouncer Prime (player)
- Fires ER PPC at Black Lanner’s Left Arm (3 base + 2 range + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement + 3 Targeting Computer Aimed Shot = 15): automatic miss!
- Gains 20 heat, sinks 27!

Elementals 3
- Holds fire!

Nova G (player)
- Unable to fire during Death from Above!
- Gains 5 heat, sinks 37!

Wraiths 1
- Holds fire!

Timber Wolf G (player)
- No orders received!
- Gains 0 heat, sinks 33!

Elemental 4
- Holds fire!

Huntsman G (player)
- Fires Large Pulse Laser at Black Lanner (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement - 2 pulse laser = 9): rolled 6, miss!
- Fires Large Pulse Laser at Black Lanner (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement - 2 pulse laser = 9): rolled 11, hit Right Arm (0/6 structure remaining)! Arm blown off!
- - Damage transfers to Right Torso (9/16 armor remaining)!
- Fires ER Medium Laser at Black Lanner (3 base + 2 range + 2 movement + 4 enemy movement = 11): rolled 8, miss!
- Gains 4 heat, sinks 39!

Wraith 2
- Fires Machine Gun at Crimson Langur (3 base + 0 range - 4 enemy movement = -1): 3 troopers automatically hit Rear Left Torso (1/12 structure remaining (Crit!)), Rear Center Torso (1/16 structure remaining (Crit!)), Rear Center Torso (0/3 structure remaining (`Mech Destroyed!))!
- Fires Machine Gun at Crimson Langur (3 base + 0 range - 4 enemy movement = -1): 2 troopers automatically hit Rear Left Torso (0/12 structure remaining), Rear Center Torso!

Hellbringer Prime (field refit)
- Holds fire!
- Gains 2 heat, sinks 31!

Black Lanner B
- Aims high and fires LRM-20 at Executioner G (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 3 aiming high = 9): rolled 10, 16 missiles hit Head (4/9 armor remaining (Pilot hit!)), Head (0/9 armor, 2/3 structure remaining (Crit! Pilot hit!)), Right Arm (5/31 armor remaining), Head (1/3 structure remaining (Crit! Pilot hit!))!
- Aims high and fires LRM-20 at Executioner G (3 base + 0 range + 2 movement + 1 enemy movement + 3 aiming high = 9): rolled 9, 12 missiles hit Left Torso (4/30 armor remaining), Right Torso (22/30 armor remaining), Left Arm (12/14 armor remaining)!
- Gains 14 heat, sinks 20!



End Phase:
Executioner G
- Must pass a 3+ consciousness test: rolled 6, succeeds!
- Must pass a 5+ consciousness test: rolled 6, succeeds!
- Must pass a 7+ consciousness test: rolled 11, succeeds!
- Critical chance in Head: rolled 3, no critical hit sustained!
- Critical chance in Head: rolled 9, 1 critical hit sustained!
- - Sensors hit!
- Must pass a piloting test or fall (3 base + 1 massive damage = 4): rolled 2, fails!
- Suffers 9 damage in the fall to Center Torso (13/47 armor remaining), Center Torso (9/47 armor remaining)!
- Must pass a piloting test to avoid pilot damage (3 base + 1 massive damage + 2 avoiding damage = 6): rolled 4, fails!
- Must pass a 9+ consciousness test: rolled 9, succeeds!



Physical Combat Phase:
Nova G
- Attacks Black Lanner with a Death From Above (4 base + 3 movement + 4 enemy movement + 0 difference in piloting skill = 11): rolled 12, hit!
- - Black Lanner suffers 15 damage to Left Torso (8/13 structure remaining (Crit!)), Left Torso (3/13 structure remaining (Crit!)), Center Torso (20/25 armor remaining)!
- - Nova G suffers 10 damage to Right Leg (5/24 armor remaining), Right Leg (0/24 armor remaining)!



End Phase:
Black Lanner
- Must pass a piloting test or fall (4 base + 2 death from above victim + 1 massive damage = 7): rolled 8, succeeds!
- Displaced into hex 1111!
- Critical chance in Left Torso: Rolled 5, no critical hits sustained!
- Critical chance in Left Torso: Rolled 7, no critical hits sustained!

Executioner G
- Displaced into hex 1010!

Nova G
- Must pass a piloting test or fall (4 base + 4 death from above attacker = 8): rolled 5, fails!
- - Suffers 5 damage in the fall to Center Torso (1/24 armor remaining)!
- Must pass a piloting test to avoid pilot damage (4 base + 4 death from above attacker + 2 avoiding pilot damage = 10): rolled 12, succeeds!



Next Turn’s Movement Phase
Black Lanner B
- Activates MASC: must pass a 9+ test: rolled 11, succeeds!








Player Status:




Opposing Force Status:




Special Rules
Necrosia Stimulants Once per game, BattleMechs and Elementals may inject themselves with Necrosia stimulants granting them heightened reaction times for three turns. While Necrosia stimulants are active, Mechwarriors gain a -1 bonus to gunnery due to their heightened reaction times but suffer a +1 penalty to piloting tests due to minor visual hallucinations. Elementals in Ironhold Armor gain a -1 bonus to gunnery with no penalties. All other Elementals instead gain a -2 bonus to Anti-Mech attacks with no penalties.
Icy Conditions Ice hexes are in play. At the bottom of the ravine, all ice hexes are treated as though they are elevation -6. It is possible to break through these ice hexes and fall into the liquid water below. If a `Mech does not extract itself from the water in two turns it will be frozen in place and immobilized (or destroyed if completely submerged).
-60 C All `Mechs cool 3 additional points each turn

House Rule
Heavy Vibro Claws deal +1 damage per claw per elemental on leg and swarm attacks rather than the standard ruling.



Primary Objectives
- Achieve 100% humiliation or more (Complete!)


Secondary Objectives
- Push or charge a Widowmaker unit into the ravine (+10%/10%)
- Kill Star Colonel Jolán Vickers (+10%/10%)
- Leave one crippled enemy alive (+0%/5%) (+5% if that unit is an enemy officer)
- Completely destroy a crippled enemy (+0%/10%)
- Defeat 3 `Mechs with Elementals (+10%/10%)
- Drug Free: defeat 5 enemy `Mechs without the aid of Necrosia (+10%/10%)
- Battle High: defeat 5 enemy `Mechs with the aid of Necrosia (+10%/10%)
- Give the Hunchback IIC pilot an honorable death OR capture them honorably (+0%/10%)
- Score twice as many kills than the Glacier (10%/10%)
- - Players 15
- - Glacier 3
- Kill an enemy `Mech without breaching its armor (+10%/10%)


Orders Due: Midnight Saturday!

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 02:09 on Jan 26, 2017

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apostateCourier
Oct 9, 2012


Bravo, Mechwarrior Des. Take that one alive if you can? Bravery and effectiveness like that shouldn't go to waste.

apostateCourier fucked around with this message at 01:17 on Jan 26, 2017

Zaodai
May 23, 2009

Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.


Pff, we don't need any LRM boating pubbies. Especially not Windowlickers.

mekilljoydammit
Jan 28, 2016

Me have motors that scream to 10,000rpm. Me have more cars than Pick and Pull
Yikes, that hurt.

Artificer
Apr 8, 2010

You're going to try ponies and you're. Going. To. LOVE. ME!!
Hahahahahahahahahahah wow August is about to die.

Mathwyn
Oct 31, 2012

Ante up.


I may be wrong, but I can't see the crit results on the Black Lanner?

Also, ouch. Good work on remaining conscious though!

Artificer
Apr 8, 2010

You're going to try ponies and you're. Going. To. LOVE. ME!!
The Yukionna is about to make it off the map so it is time for everyone to immediately turn around and blap the last enemy mech immediately. August is down to deep structure in his HD component.

Back Hack
Jan 17, 2010


I honestly thought my death from above would do more damage, but I'll take it.

Volmarias
Dec 31, 2002

EMAIL... THE INTERNET... SEARCH ENGINES...
The only thing that saved that from being a ridiculously flashy pilot kill is rolling 1 too few missiles :stare:

RA Rx
Mar 24, 2016

Hasn't Hanako actually made it now?

The objective specifies leaving before the last Widowmaker is defeated, and that can't happen until after the movement phase.

Unless before means a whole round.

---

And yeah, that Black Lanner pilot deserves capture. Maybe the Hunchback pilot could be useful too, despite having been dishonored by that funny OHKO bombing to the back.
Are the Goliath Scorpions leaving the rest to freeze?

RA Rx fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Jan 26, 2017

apostateCourier
Oct 9, 2012


Zaodai posted:

Pff, we don't need any LRM boating pubbies. Especially not Windowlickers.

They've earned SRMs with that display. They've demonstrated a willingness to engage at close range and the ability to make it count. Give that one a Swordbreaker loaded for bear with streak 6's.

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

Opfor or not, the Black Lanner pilot showed a remarkable amount of gumption right there.

Olothreutes
Mar 31, 2007

I was not aware you could "aim high" with missiles, and that's pretty neat. Also scary.

Zaodai
May 23, 2009

Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.


apostateCourier posted:

They've earned SRMs with that display. They've demonstrated a willingness to engage at close range and the ability to make it count. Give that one a Swordbreaker loaded for bear with streak 6's.

We're not short on warriors though. If we wanted someone to SRM swarm people, we could just have one of our warriors tasked with it. We're here to shame these chumps so badly that they get disavowed, and something tells me their reaction to it won't be to become The A-Team. One decent shot does not make a valuable asset, and not every mission has to be a recruiting trip. We should get bonus points for being like "You have fought well, for a Widowmaker. We grant you the honor of dying in battle rather than joining your commanding officer in freezing to death like the bandit he is." and then just alpha strike that thing out of existence with every mech we have.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

Olothreutes posted:

I was not aware you could "aim high" with missiles, and that's pretty neat. Also scary.

You can do it with anything, but targeted shots are hugely risky even at the best of times. A +3 penalty to hit is no joke.

Voyager I
Jun 29, 2012

This is how your posting feels.
🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥
Live or die, at least OpFor MVP will be an easy vote this time around.

Goon MVP probably goes to the Glacier.

Niacin
Mar 8, 2005
not so much
I'm in the Huntsman, and I adore shooting things in the back. However, I have enough MP for a charge. A question for the panel is, which one is cooler and more likely to inflict a mission kill? I think the itsy bitsy spider is going to run off next turn.

goatface
Dec 5, 2007

I had a video of that when I was about 6.

I remember it being shit.


Grimey Drawer
You've still got all your guns, shoot it.

LegendairyBovine
Oct 6, 2014
The Black Lanner pilot earned a death in battle nothing more. The whole point of the operation was to humiliate the Widowmakers as much as possible. I wouldn't think Goonstar should make too many exceptions to that modus operandi.

RA Rx
Mar 24, 2016

He's the first pilot ever to raise his missiles skywards though. Like flipping your arms in a Stackpole novel he (actually) surprised all of us!

And then he rolled 9+ twice (less than 10%) and managed three sixes on location.

The pilot has also survived two rounds now after everyone else focused on him.

It's pretty impressive, and would make a good replacement for the Hunchie pilot.

But yes, I suppose dying in a fire would be honorable enough.

RA Rx fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Jan 27, 2017

Centurium
Aug 17, 2009
Ok, now we can finish this.

Running along the ledge (edit: to 0815) and shooting at the back. Pulses and ER.

Also: Sorry thread, PTN. I must have closed my browser before actually sending my orders. For what it's worth, I was going to hold fire anyhow.

thetruegentleman
Feb 5, 2011

You call that potato a Trump avatar?

THIS is a Trump Avatar!

Voyager I posted:

Live or die, at least OpFor MVP will be an easy vote this time around.

Goon MVP probably goes to the Glacier.

It's terribly premature, but I believe Nevra was the pilot who dropped the bombs that wrecked the enemy on the first turn, so MVP will probably be her.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
Well, Accurate Weapons (Medium Lasers) and the new Nimble Jumper quirk makes the Spider the most obscenely powerful `Mech in 3025 play.

+5 move mods with a perpetual -1 ToHit :psyduck:


Edit: Ahaha, the poor Cyclops has Weak Head Armor (4) and a cowl.

Double Edit: That means a standard large laser is a headcapper from the front, and will strip off all of the Cyclops's head armor from the sides or rear.

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Jan 28, 2017

Defiance Industries
Jul 22, 2010

A five-star manufacturer


That's what 3025 needed, a loving Wraith.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

Defiance Industries posted:

That's what 3025 needed, a loving Wraith.

The Spider still kept the 'no ejection' flaw so it remains a pilot killer, it's just a pilot killer that's good at being a pest. Oh, and the Wraith also got Nimble Jumper so +2(+movement) jump mods all around.

I was going to say "To be fair, the Spider was one of the trash `Mechs of 3025 before" but then I checked some other notable trash `Mechs and, welp.

The Commando got the Exposed Actuators flaw and nothing else.

The Javelin got the Unbalanced flaw and nothing else.

The Stinger got Ubiquitous and the Cramped Cockpit flaw.


Oddities:
The Hatchetman got anti-aircraft targeting

The Jagermech got anti-aircraft targeting and the No Torso Twist flaw because the Jagermech needed to be even worse at its one job haha.

The Ebon Jaguar did not receive the No Torso Twist flaw like the other 'legs connect to the torso' `Mechs, proving once and for all that it does have hips.

The Battle Cobra got extended torso twist and the Crossbow got Improved Targeting (Short) meaning both of the Steel Viper cheap trash `Mechs are actually good.

The Annihilator did not get the Distracting quirk.

The Nightsky got Modular Weapon (Hatchet)

:psyduck:

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Jan 28, 2017

Voyager I
Jun 29, 2012

This is how your posting feels.
🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥
Why did 3025 need Nimble Jumper mechs???

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
To compete with the Clans, probably.

Fairness:

The Summoner got Ubiquitous but the Hellbringer didn't

The Warhawk got Improved Targeting (Long) because ahahahaha gently caress you I guess it just needed to effectively have a 2/1/0 range bracket.


I still like the BattleMech Manual but some of the quirks seem a bit unnecessary.

Chronojam
Feb 20, 2006

This is me on vacation in Amsterdam :)
Never be afraid of being yourself!


What does ubiquitous do? I didn't see it on the list on Sarnia before.

Xotl
May 28, 2001

Be seeing you.
Random BattleMech Manual quirk answers:

Wwe were instructed to give every mech at least one quirk. Not my preferred methodology, but there you go.

Spider got nimble jumper because the quirk literally comes from its fluff of being an agile, nimble jumper: it was the origin for the quirk. As the Spider is a mech that, despite having no advanced tech, the SLDF commissioned for its special forces, I assume it must have had some kind of distinctive edge I don't see an issue.

Ubiquitous "is common as all hell so parts are everywhere". It's new to the Manual; generally unseen only; doesn't cross across tech bases.

Distracting is a dumb quirk so I avoided it. I hate rules effects that have some bit of mind control powers and direct player actions. Why distracting for 100-ton mech one but not 100-ton mech two? Generally we saved it for things like huge mechs with skulls and firebreathing and crap.

We gave quirks that fit the fluff. As it's an optional ruleset, whether that made the mech godly or terrible we didn't really care about. The Nightsky has a modular hatchet because its fluff says it has a modular hatchet; same idea with the Hatchetman and Jagermech quirks. We did have some fun, I admit (see the War Dog's quirks).

Of course, they're still up for review, so if there's something we missed or got wrong, we're happy to fix it. There are lots of corrections queued up already.

Xotl fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Jan 28, 2017

vorebane
Feb 2, 2009

"I like Ur and Kavodel and Enki being nice to people for some reason."

Wrong Voter amongst wrong voters
I think I missed a step, do you mean quirks for the MWO?

Artificer
Apr 8, 2010

You're going to try ponies and you're. Going. To. LOVE. ME!!

vorebane posted:

I think I missed a step, do you mean quirks for the MWO?

For the tabletop.

Weissritter
Jun 14, 2012

Any quirks for the Timberwolf and the Atlas?

vorebane
Feb 2, 2009

"I like Ur and Kavodel and Enki being nice to people for some reason."

Wrong Voter amongst wrong voters
Cool, hopefully every mech gets cool stuff eventually.

Teledahn
May 14, 2009

What is that bear doing there?


PoptartsNinja posted:

Oddities:
The Hatchetman got anti-aircraft targeting

Anti-Aircraft Hatchets!

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

Xotl posted:

Random quirk answers:

Understandable, please also understand these are my first visceral reactions and very little actual thought has gone into assessing the quirks yet.

The Spider wasn't a bad `Mech before, but after it really is the top-tier light of the era, especially with the Jenner eating a 'no torso twist' flaw (which seems weird, the Jenner's always had hips?) I do understand not passing out distracting right and left, and I doubly admit I don't like the rules for the distracting quirk, but bumping into an Annihilator in fiction (the one time it happened, during the Black Thorns novels) was very much a "what did we get ourselves into?" moment.

I know quirks aren't a balancing method in tabletop, can be ignored, and have no effect on BV, but when chronic underachievers like the Javelin and the Stinger eat an penalties with no upsides it does make me hope they'll get another look-see. The Panther got some nice but not great bonuses, the Jav's got a bucket head so why not give it a cowl? :shobon:


Edit: I also feel the need to mention, I really like having all the rules I typically use consolidated together in one place. The BMM's a good buy.

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Jan 28, 2017

Rorahusky
Nov 12, 2012

Transform and waaauuuugh out!
Okay, I got a laugh out of some of the weapon descriptions in BMM. Like the entry for Machine Gun Arrays. 'You see, it's kind of like a gatling gun made out of gatling guns...'

Xotl
May 28, 2001

Be seeing you.

PoptartsNinja posted:

Understandable, please also understand these are my first visceral reactions and very little actual thought has gone into assessing the quirks yet.

No worries. Happy to hear your thoughts or I wouldn't have stopped by. Not everything is going to work for everyone.

quote:

The Spider wasn't a bad `Mech before, but after it really is the top-tier light of the era, especially with the Jenner eating a 'no torso twist' flaw (which seems weird, the Jenner's always had hips?) I do understand not passing out distracting right and left, and I doubly admit I don't like the rules for the distracting quirk, but bumping into an Annihilator in fiction (the one time it happened, during the Black Thorns novels) was very much a "what did we get ourselves into?" moment.

The Jenner I think will do just fine: it's still moves fast and is a bastard to hit, and has much greater firepower than a Spider.

As for the Annihilator, I don't remember the Black Thorns stuff all that well any more (I love BT, but re-reading the old fiction is generally not part of that), but I do wonder how much of that is "oh poo poo a 100-ton assault", which would occur any time one of those sort of guys lumbers out, especially given its Dragoons affiliation (though generally you're not ever going to be surprised in the ambush/sudden appearance sense by an Annihilator).

quote:

I know quirks aren't a balancing method in tabletop, can be ignored, and have no effect on BV, but when chronic underachievers like the Javelin and the Stinger eat an penalties with no upsides it does make me hope they'll get another look-see. The Panther got some nice but not great bonuses, the Jav's got a bucket head so why not give it a cowl? :shobon:

We really did just resign ourselves to the idea that some mechs are going to lose out in all this. The Stinger has always had a cramped cockpit and nothing else going for it other than being cheaper and easy to make (which are not qualities to be underestimated, but don't come out in quirks well other than the new Ubiquitous, which I created to help reflect this). Can certainly look at a cowl for the Jav, but that might be a bit much. Speaking of cowls, I hate what happened to the Cyclops, but the stupid example in StratOps forced our hand there.

quote:

Edit: I also feel the need to mention, I really like having all the rules I typically use consolidated together in one place. The BMM's a good buy.

Glad to hear it. That was definitely the idea, and I was wondering if a guy who ran so many sessions would find it useful. As an aside, the version of ice in the Manual is a touch less deadly. :)

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

Xotl posted:

No worries. Happy to hear your thoughts or I wouldn't have stopped by.

Well, here's some semi-coherent rambling, then!


Xotl posted:

The Jenner I think will do just fine: it's still moves fast and is a bastard to hit, and has much greater firepower than a Spider.

It's hurt more than it seems at a glance. Being forced to reserve 1-2 MP to face a target means it can't do any maneuvering on the way in if it wants to hit the +4 move mod it needs to not die. A quirkless Jenner can afford to run through 2 light woods or make a few turns to position itself because it can rely on a quick torso twist to get its guns on a target, a quirked Jenner can't. Either way, a quirked Jenner can still pull the Rifleman Arms Trick, it just means the up-armored JR7-F went from being the best Jenner to the "why would you take any other?" Jenner. No Torso Twist isn't crippling by any means but it is a much bigger penalty than it seems.


Xotl posted:

As for the Annihilator, I don't remember the Black Thorns stuff all that well any more (I love BT, but re-reading the old fiction is generally not part of that), but I do wonder how much of that is "oh poo poo a 100-ton assault", which would occur any time one of those sort of guys lumbers out, especially given its Dragoons affiliation (though generally you're not ever going to be surprised in the ambush/sudden appearance sense by an Annihilator).

The Black Thorns picked a fight with a company of the Wolf's Dragoons during their brief stay on Outreach. It was very much a "We bit off more than we can chew and oh poo poo they just ambushed us with an Annihilator! It's going to kill us all!" moment. The whole thing culminated with the Black Thorns accidentally killing a Dragoon and nearly getting themselves blacklisted by the MRBC. :allears:


Xotl posted:

We really did just resign ourselves to the idea that some mechs are going to lose out in all this.

Yeah, and I know some will no matter what. It's nice to see the Timber Wolf's Weak Head Armor popping up since that's the reason the Clans worked so hard to replace it.


Xotl posted:

Can certainly look at a cowl for the Jav, but that might be a bit much.

It was a joke, mostly. I've got a min-maxy friend who loved to throw cowls on everything. It's a pity there isn't a +1 on the missile tables quirk, there's gotta be some reason the Javelin is an AFFS workhorse. 'Sturdy' and 'Reliable' get thrown around in its fluff entries, which sounds like 'Rugged' to me. A `Mech you don't have to maintain as often would certainly be popular with the "what's the cheapest thing we can shovel into our scout lances" AFFS.


Xotl posted:

I hate what happened to the Cyclops, but the stupid example in StratOps forced our hand there.

You've got the option to change that, it wouldn't be the first time something as minor as a quirk got erratta'd into something more reasonable. If you're worried it'll make the Grognards complain, you could always let them know that the StratOps entry was a typo or even split the Cyclops entry into:

Cyclops: Command BattleMech, Cowl, Difficult Ejection, Poor Cooling Jacket (RA and LA Medium Laser), Weak Head Armor (1)

and

Cyclops (w/ Tacticon B-2000): Battle Computer, Cowl; Difficult Ejection, Poor Cooling Jacket (RA and LA Medium Laser), Weak Head Armor (4)

As it is, the Cyclops is just one in a long list of "trick your newbie friends who don't know any better into picking it" `Mechs. It looks attractive on paper and then you find out it's got less armor than a Hunchback and at that point it stops being a battlefield asset and starts being a weakness in your lines that you have to babysit.


Xotl posted:

As an aside, the version of ice in the Manual is a touch less deadly. :)

Nice, I never did like how walking on ice was more dangerous than walking through a tornado. Ice could be a +0 or +1 and it'd still be dangerous as hell due to all of the piloting tests it generates.


Initial "final" thoughts:
Ubiquitous is a good quirk, I like it.

You should consider giving the Shadow Hawk Good Reputation (2). Every time it's ever mentioned in a novel the protagonist/viewpoint character gushes about how much they love the Shadow Hawk and how great and versatile a `Mech it is and how much they'd love to own one (if they don't already). Clearly it had one of the best promotional advertisement campaigns in the history of mankind. That would make Shadowhawks useful as a sort of pseudo bargaining chit in the periphery, which amuses me. "How many Shadow Hawks is that Annihilator worth?"

Plus: even though Good Reputation (2) is a thing, no `Mech has it (unless the Yu Huang does, I mean. The Yu Huang has Good Reputation with no listed points value). Something needs it and it may as well be the Shadow Hawk! :pseudo:

You might want to consider a 'Turret Torso' quirk for `Mechs that can torso-twist freely like tanks, and give it to the Urbanmech and Blitzkrieg. They've both effectively got 360* torso twisting already since the Urbanmech can reverse its arms and the Blitzkrieg has a directional torso mount. Cutting out the extra step of saying "I reverse my arms" or "I point my gun backwards" wouldn't break either `Mech any more than they already are.

Nerf the Hellstar, give it weak head armor (2), that thing's like all cockpit. Clan Wolf is canonically bad at designing `Mechs with well protected cockpits

Edit: Change the Gauss Rifle's quote to "Long Range, Low Heat." Gotta sneak in references to Lainie Shimazu wherever possible, and that's about as direct a quote as they come.

Double Edit: You've got a "reach out and touch someone" quote for the ER Laser right after a "for people who really want to reach out and burn something" quote for the ER Flamer.

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Jan 28, 2017

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
Now taking bets on whether the Black Lanner survives the turn!

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Olothreutes
Mar 31, 2007

I'll put 10 PopTartPoints on the Black Lanner surviving, despite all odds. Bonus points if it loses its left torso and still survives with no weapons.

Olothreutes fucked around with this message at 23:09 on Jan 29, 2017

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