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PoptartsNinja posted:I work, and Mondays I work late into the evening which makes it very hard to update. This was exacerbated by me trying to set up a work-from-home system to prepare for the April blizzard we just suffered. Which I spent hours trying to set up and ultimately didn't work. Hooray! Alright, that's it, can we just Kickstarter this whole thread so I don't have to hear PTN's made-up excuses. A blizzard... Typical.
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Apr 9, 2013 17:52
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RedMagus posted:What would be the issues with heat management in a winter/ice environment? I forget if we've already done a battle with such problems, but it would be interesting to see. The battle in Tharkad was in the middle of winter, but there were no special rules on heat negation then. I guess because the fog and night conditions already made that mission pretty complicated... And that King Cobra looks pretty drat beefy. Hopefully, we'll be the ones using it and not being the ones who get it inflicted on us. Still, it would be hilarious if we come across it and we get challenged to a "Steiner Trial" to the effect of having no idea what the clanner piloting it is talking about. I have a feeling that Star League Task Force Serpent is going to cut a swathe through the Inner Sphere on their way to Terra, especially with these mechs. Sure, they might not actually make it there, but its goign to be interesting come the next Political Update, especially if Bondsman Caesar Steiner manages to convince the Steel Viper leadership through Star Commander Dusk to join with the breakaway Republic of Skye. Nice naming of the task force, btw, combing all three snake named clans (Steel Viper, Cloud Cobra, Star Adder). Do they get together like that in canon or are they rivals of some sort? Someone let me know about canon clan politics concerning these guys. Also, Task Force Serpent sounds familiar as well. Was it one of the groups of Star League house and merc troops that VSD and Focht led to the Clan Homeworlds in the prelude to the Great Refusal or something like that? Or am I just getting mixed up here?
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Apr 9, 2013 19:08
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GhostStalker posted:Nice naming of the task force, btw, combing all three snake named clans (Steel Viper, Cloud Cobra, Star Adder). Do they get together like that in canon or are they rivals of some sort? Someone let me know about canon clan politics concerning these guys. Also, Task Force Serpent sounds familiar as well. Was it one of the groups of Star League house and merc troops that VSD and Focht led to the Clan Homeworlds in the prelude to the Great Refusal or something like that? Or am I just getting mixed up here? You are correct. Task Force Serpent was the name of the allied task force that curbstomped the Wispy Kittens (Aka, Smoke Jaguar) all the way back to Huntress and then forced the Clans to abandon their invasion plans with the Great Refusal.
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Apr 9, 2013 19:13
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^^^ Operation Bulldog was the one that drove the Jaguars from the IS. Task Force Serpent was the 2nd smaller group that took the Exodus Road and launched a surprise attack on the Jags capital of Huntress. The Vipers are kinda dicks to everyone, but for a little while the three Snake Clans were allies during the WoR. Cobras and Adders have generally always been fairly close, though.
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Apr 9, 2013 19:22
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Man, looking over the rules, I just remembered; every turn in Battletech is only 10 seconds long. That means that the battalion the Goons are facing has lost almost 95% of it's fighting strength in a single engagement that has lasted all of 5 minutes. Just goes to show you how lethal Battlemech combat can be when you have 40+ husks strewn across the field after so short a time. This must be the longest, most bloody 5 minutes in that poor Mackie pilot's life.
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Apr 9, 2013 20:00
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60 men entered this battle, 8 remain.
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Apr 9, 2013 20:12
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Breakout: Tactical Update 30 Movement Phase X2 Exterminator - Initiates a DFA on S3 Awesome! X9 Cyclops IIC - Movement interrupted, ally occupying hex! Combat Phase H2 Cougar D - Fires Large Pulse Laser at S3 Awesome (3 base + 4 range + 1 movement + 1 enemy movement - 2 pulse = 7): rolled 8, hit Right Arm (14/24 armor remains)! - Fires Large Pulse Laser at S3 Awesome (3 base + 4 range + 1 movement + 1 enemy movement - 2 pulse = 7): rolled 8, hit Center Torso (20/30 armor remains)! - Gains 26 heat, sinks 25! X2 Exterminator - Unable to fire! - Gains 4 heat, sinks 26! X7 Vindicator - No Line of Sight to target! - Gains 1 heat, sinks 24! X9 Cyclops IIC - No Line of Sight to target! - Gains 2 heat, sinks 30! X11 Merlin - Fires LRM-5 at S3 Awesome (0 base + 0 range + 3 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 smoke - 1 LK Missiles = 4): rolled 5, 5 missiles hit Right Arm (9/24 armor remains)! - Fires Medium Laser at S3 Awesome (0 base + 4 range + 3 movement + 1 enemy movement + 1 smoke - 1 LK Missiles = 8): rolled 12, hit Center Torso (15/30 armor remains)! - Gains 2 heat, sinks 27! S1 Mackie - Torso twists to threaten hex 1607! - Fires Heavy PPC at X2 Exterminator IIC (2 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 heavy = 7): rolled 6, miss! - Fires HVAC/10 (High Explosive) at X2 Exterminator IIC (2 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 2 enemy movement = 6): rolled 7, hit Right Torso (12/22 armor remains)! S2 Battlemaster - Torso twists to threaten hex 1208! - Fires Heavy PPC at X2 Exterminator IIC (2 base + 2 range + 0 movement + 2 enemy movement + 1 heavy = 7): rolled 10, hit Right Torso (0/22 armor, 12/15 structure remains)! Crit! S3 Awesome - Fires PPC at X2 Exterminator IIC (2 base + 0 range + 1 movement + 2 enemy movement + 3 minimum range = 8): rolled 6, miss! - Fires PPC at X2 Exterminator IIC (2 base + 0 range + 1 movement + 2 enemy movement + 3 minimum range = 8): rolled 7, miss! - Fires PPC at X2 Exterminator IIC (2 base + 0 range + 1 movement + 2 enemy movement + 3 minimum range = 8): rolled 6, miss! End Phase: X2 Exterminator IIC - Critical chance in Right Torso! No critical hits sustained! - Must pass a piloting test or fall (2 base + 1 massive damage = 3): rolled 6, succeeds! Physical Combat Phase: X2 Exterminator IIC - Delivers Death from Above to S3 Awesome (2 base + 3 movement + 1 enemy movement - 1 piloting difference = 5): rolled 5, hit! - - Deals 5 damage to Right Arm (4/24 armor remains)! - - Deals 5 damage to Head (0/9 armor, 0/3 structure remains)! `Mech destroyed! - - Deals 5 damage to Center Torso (10/30 armor remains)! - - Deals 5 damage to Head! End Phase: X2 Exterminator IIC - Must pass a piloting test or fall (2 base + 4 DFA Attack = 6): rolled 3, fails! - - Suffers falling damage to Left Arm (0/16 armor, 6/10 structure remains (Crit!)), Center Torso (25/26 armor remains)! - Critical chance in Left Arm! No critical hits sustained! The Awesome’s PPCs lashed out at random, filling the air with bolts like artificial lightning. Static electricity, the detritus of the weapons’ discharge, filled the channel left by a few grams of charged particles moving at a reasonable fraction of the speed of light. Those PPCs promised death to anything the Awesome faced, and yet each shot missed its vulnerable, airborne target by scant centimeters. The nearly imperceptible jerk of the Awesome’s shoulders as the flinching pilot relaxed was telling. Tjris Amirault smiled a cruel smile, and lined up another shot. Though his laser pistol had no hope of actually damaging a `Mech at this range, from his personal experience the sound of a handheld laser pistol striking Transplex was nearly indistinguishable from the sound of a small laser doing the same. He fired again, and the Awesome paused for a fraction of a second as the pilot scrambled to find where the shots were coming from. The Exterminator’s great wedge-shaped foot crushed its cockpit with an unceremonious contempt. The heavy `Mech stood for a moment, balanced on the unguided Awesome for nearly a full second before they both fell in a heap of metal and twisted limbs. Tjris holstered his pistol, walking with stiff legs towards his Dropship. He paid little mind to the BattleMaster as the Capellan Vindicator distracted it while the Cyclops IIC blew it apart. He paid less mind to the distant Mackie, its body wreathed in the flames of clinging, gelled incendiaries and crawling with Salamanders. One of them punched a hole in the transplex windscreen and filled the Assault `Mech’s cockpit with fire. He ascended the boarding ramp of his dropship with arms held at ease, ignoring the bustling technicians as they scrambled to finish bringing the great ship’s systems online. Tjris stopped only when he reached the bridge, commandeering the radio even as Talyn’s badly-damaged Cougar clambered aboard. “Inner Sphere Freebirths: it seems we have suffered the indignity of a draw. So, I grant you this boon: anything that cannot leave the field under its own power is yours; and you may travel safely through Hell’s Horses territory for the next six weeks. That should see you beyond our borders after which, you are on your own.” “Death Commandos: know that I shall look forward to the day when I can again face you in honorable combat. We shall prove once and for all whom the superior warriors are. All the Clans shall know of your prowess, that we may one day take your survivors as bondsmen. Until that day,” he paused as the Overlord-C’s engines ignited with a piercing roar. “I wish you well.” He paused again for a few moments before adding, “And Wilberforce? Try not to die before I see you again.” Mission Objectives: Secure the Dropships (complete) Hold off the 1st Kestrel Grenadiers (complete) Optional Defeat the 1st Kestrel Grenadiers’ 2nd Battalion (38/40) Death Commandos: Defeat more Kestrel Grenadiers than the Hell’s Horses (20) Hell’s Horses: Defeat more Kestrel Grenadiers than the Death Commandos (20)  Key: X2 Exterminator IIC, X7 Vindicator, X9 Cyclops IIC, X11 Merlin, H6 Gargoyle Tjris Player `Mech Status  After-Action Report: The Overlord-C class Dropship Wild Mustang hung in a low orbit, her great engines burning with a low intensity to hold her stationary as a pair of surviving fighters moved to board. They paid no mind to the tiny Capellan Thrush that watched from a safe distance, caring little if their temporary allies learned anything from Clan combat doctrines. Star Captain Tjris Amirault undoubtedly stood like a statue on her bridge, adamantly refusing medical help for his numerous cuts and bruises. Too distant to see with the naked eye, the Death Commandos’ own dropship broke orbit, likely counting on their little fighter’s speed to see it to a safe rendezvous point. On the bridge of that vessel, Wilberforce stared at the navigation console for a few silent moments before depressing the ‘transmit’ stud on his microphone. “That was an excellent speech,” Wilberforce replied with a voice full of raw with emotion. His gut still seethed with ice and fire as memories of a young woman he’d hated intensely filled his mind. His fingers brushed the radio’s transmission keys for a few moments before he continued. “However, I believe you should know: our mission was to eliminate or capture all Clan forces on Jeronimo.” “Fare thee well, Star Captain.” The little Thrush fighter, in its parallel orbit below and behind the Wild Mustang suddenly burst into motion. Heedless of the G-Forces, the pilot brought his craft up to its maximum safe speed and beyond. The disc-shaped craft smashed into the Wild Mustang’s idling engines like an exploding buzzsaw, sheering off thruster nozzles and sending the Dropship spinning out of control. Wilberforce watched the navigation display in silence for a few minutes as the slow Inner Sphere computers tried to estimate the craft’s course; but eventually turned away with disgust before it ever finished. Perhaps the Wild Mustang would skip from the Atmosphere a few times before it burned up; perhaps it would be incinerated right away. It didn’t matter to him. Not anymore. You know the drill, guys! Time for an MVP Vote! I need ONE player MVP in addition to the Exterminator IIC and Rifleman IIC. PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 20:47
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Oh you poor clan bastards thought that the DC were honorable  DC MVP: Steve (like anyone can take that away from him) Clan MVP: Hastur (oh poo poo Hastur is dead! No wait.. his Rifleman has jump jets. I'm sure he'll be fine. )If I have to pick a Player MVP it has got to be Hastur. The man was a monster. Kestrel MVP: No idea. The one who legged the Atlas? Affi fucked around with this message at 21:01 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 20:56
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Doin' it the Death Commando way. Awesome way to end it! Lessee, lessee. HH MVP: Rifleman IIC - 'Cause Hastur, that's why. Here's hoping the unkillable bastard makes it to an escape pod or something. DC MVP: Exterminator IIC - Lots of choices, but how can you not go for the foot that ended it? OPFOR MVP: Phoenix Hawk - You know the one, that 'Hawk that wouldn't loving die. jng2058 fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 21:00
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 Yeah, that was absolutely the best way for this to end.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:00
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Holy poo poo  Also Steve/Xarbala for MVP. Not the flashiest, not the most daring, but he was there when GoonStarCompany needed him most.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:01
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Holy poo poo. That was awesome! Edit: HH MVP: Tjris: Wrecking most of a lance of Grasshoppers and saving the mid-game mostly by his lonesome. Commandos MVP: Steve: Xarbala was all over the field, remained untouched for most of the battle, and made the ending possible. Zeroisanumber fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 21:07
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Tis a shame that the Death Commandos won't become the stuff of legend all across clan space, but perhaps it's for the best since I doubt any live Davions got close enough to know what hit them. Opfor mvp is impossible for me to pick, there were just too many to really stand out in my mind. Definitely Steve for the Death Commandos and Hastur for HH. Our king in yellow will be missed
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Apr 9, 2013 21:10
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This mission was about as as it gets. Player MVP Hells Horses: Hastur. For continuing to be amazing. Player MVP Death Commandos: Steve/Xarbala hands down. OpFor MVP: The zombie Pixie.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:12
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That's pretty much the best ending possible for the fight. Also, PTN, minor proofreading error. :fixed: Arcturas fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 21:12
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jng2058 posted:Doin' it the Death Commando way. Awesome way to end it! These are also my votes. Just saying. Assuming I get one, which I am honestly not sure of.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:12
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Hahaha, that turn was f-ing beautiful! The aftermath however was somewhat depressing. Hastur deserved to live. That's the DC way though; fulfill the mission objectives whatever the cost (personal or otherwise). As for MVPs- Death Commandos MVP: X2 Exterminator IIC (T.G. Xarbala) Hell's Horses MVP: H1 Rifleman IIC (sarmhan) Kestrel Grenadiers MVP: G1 Phoenix Hawk
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Apr 9, 2013 21:13
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dis astranagant posted:Definitely Steve for the Death Commandos and Hastur for HH. Our king in yellow will be missed This will do for my vote, as well. But really we're all winners coming out of this scenario. And who knows, perhaps if we say Hastur's name three times he will somehow reappear...
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Apr 9, 2013 21:18
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DC: Steve for MVP- Hastur was plain more deadly, but no one danced like he did. HH: Hastur. Opfor: That one who pushed the stormcrow in to the water, legged the atlas, and got someone else, to boot, I think?
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Apr 9, 2013 21:18
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 Player Victory! DC MVP: Steve (DFAs are awesome) Clan MVP: Hastur (killed a stupid amount of enemies; wiped out a lance of heavies on his own) Overall Player MVP: Hastur (Seriously, the guy was ridiculous.) Kestrel MVP: G1 Phoenix Hawk. (Killed the Stormcrow, Mad Dog, and Atlas, plus myriad other damage.) Good god, that was down to the wire. Shame about the HHs, but the Capellans can make it up to me by using their captured swag to kick the Suns' collective teeth in.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:22
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That was the most metal way for this campaign to end, a down to the wire DFA to the face for the win. Also, House Laio is going to be /swimming/ in new tech, as they got who knows how many examples of Davion's new Heavy PPCs and HVACs to salvage, not to mention plenty of Clan Tech to play with from this mission and the previous ones in the capmaign. I forsee this being a huge boon to their R&D teams. And as if we needed the reminder, Death Commandos are assholes. Fair well Hastur. You are one of the few Clanners I respect. Gooncompany MVP: Steve, for out-awesoming an Awesome with a last minute DFA to win the entire campaign. Goonstar MVP: Hastur, rest easy buddy. Poor Bastard Davions MVP: G1 Phoenix Hawk, he fought well for DracSun scum. Rorahusky fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 21:30
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DCMVP Steve, because Justice. HHMVP Gonna go with the Cougar. Sure Hastur did a crapton of damage, but with that 'mech it's expected. FCMVP Holy god that Phoenix Hawk
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Apr 9, 2013 21:34
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PTN, it's "fare" well, not "fair" well. Xarbala for DC MVP Rifleman IIC for HH MVP Stupid Unkillable PHawk for OpFor MVP TildeATH fucked around with this message at 21:45 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 21:41
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DC: Steve HH: Hastur DS: Pixie Hawk All glory to the DFA, we couldn't steal hastur? AtomikKrab fucked around with this message at 21:46 on Apr 9, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 21:44
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That's the end of my favorite mission so far. So much fun to read. That said, VOTES DC MVP: Steve for bein' awesome, and bootin' Awesome. HH MVP: Hastur, for showing everyone why Clan LPL's are utter bullshit on top of more bullshit. OpFor MVP: Phoenix Hawk.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:44
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Well, that's the Death Commandos for you. Petty and childish to the end. It's been like six months since a political update. I hope the next one is a big un.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:51
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PoptartsNinja posted:After-Action Report: That's not how orbits work  but yeah that was pretty badass. (Maybe the Overlord was actually not in orbit, but instead had taken a parabolic suborbital trajectory and was now using additional thrust to maintain altitude... necessary if you want to remain geostationary without attaining the full altitude of a geostationary orbit?)I'm curious as to how much Clan salvage the DC is bringing home. Seems like maybe it's a lot. I'll have to think a bit about MVPs. It's always tempting to vote for the longest-surviving guys, in part because they're in recent memory, but sometimes a key figure does something important but ultimately fatal early on in an encounter and they deserve just as much attention as the lucky survivors.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:55
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Leperflesh posted:That's not how orbits work I'm not speaking literally, she's stationkeeping. 
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Apr 9, 2013 21:55
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Goddammit, Death Commandoes!! And Wilberforce is taking this whole bondsman-loyalty-thing to new extremes, wow. EDIT: Also, you corrected the 'Fair well'-typo, but it's still wrong (in a different way) now. Look at the sentence.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:56
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jng2058 posted:HH MVP: Rifleman IIC - 'Cause Hastur, that's why. Here's hoping the unkillable bastard makes it to an escape pod or something. Me too.
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Apr 9, 2013 21:56
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Gimmick Account posted:EDIT: Also, you corrected the 'Fair well'-typo, but it's still wrong (in a different way) now. Look at the sentence. Nah, I just managed to typo "thee" I'm just going to call it know for the Exterminator, Phoenix Hawk, and Rifleman IIC; so the vote is now for a player MVP who is not one of those!
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Apr 9, 2013 21:58
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Capellans are going to have working copies of a UAC/20 and every single Clan Pulse Laser to reverse-engineer, not to mention an insane amount of high-quality salvage. That's going to change some things...
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Apr 9, 2013 22:07
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Out of curiousity, I decided to see exactly how much the Commandos made off with from just this mission Banshee IIC: Reduced to little more than a torso and legs, though I suppose if any FF or Endo Steel went into it's construction, they could at least get some examples of that from the corpse. Wolf Spider A: Completely intact, pilot died of massive neural shock due to implants. Excellent salvage. Also gives the Cappies a fully functioning example of Omnimech tech. Mad Dog Prime: XL Engine is badly damaged from the torso loss and the machine is probably all sorts of shorted out from it's bath, but otherwise an excellent find. Prime examples of Large and Medium Pulse Lasers, and an intact clan LRM20. Stormcrow H: Again, the 'mech has been flooded, but that is still a relatively intact XL Engine, Endo Steel, and FF, along with Heavy and ER Lasers. Exterminator IIC: Completely intact, with a working example of an ECM Suite and TAG along with it's weapons. I forsee prototype Guardian ECM in the future for the Cappies. Cyclops IIC: Another example of the UAC/20 to go with the one from the Wolf Spider, and a Medium pulse from it's severed arm. Gargoyle Tjris: Heavy Laser and maybe the Targetting Computer, but not much else. And that's just the Clantech. There's also who knows how many intact copies of the HVACs and PPCs from the Kestrals, along with plenty of salvagable 'mechs, provided of course that the Death Commandos stuck around long enough to haul all this junk into their holds before blasting off. Also, Other MVP: Cyclops IIC, both for the killing it did, and because having it parked behind that dropship for the latter third of the battle really put a cap on just how far the enemy was willing to advance. Both the Battlemaster and Mackie couldn't advance close enough to make full use of their short range weapons, because doing so would put them into a position where that UAC/20 could potentially get a flanking or back shot. As long as it was parked there being menacing with it's big gun, they were restricted to plinking at range. Rorahusky fucked around with this message at 14:12 on Apr 10, 2013 |
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Apr 9, 2013 22:08
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Bonus MVP: Cyclops IIC - Did some on screen murdering with his UAC20 and got the Battlemaster off screen to boot.
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Apr 9, 2013 22:08
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Edit: Shoot, Rorahusky beat me to the post... Salvage Detail Time! From this scenario alone (based on Amirault's fluff speech) we have the following- Clantech: examples of Clan pulse laser technology (both Med. and Large) UAC/20s (1 from the Cyclops IIC and 1 from the Wolf Spider) 6 examples of ERMLs a functional cLRM-20 Heavy Laser technology additional XL Engines, FF armor, and Endo Steel ECM gear Targeting Computer DracSuns tech: at least 9 Heavy PPCs at least 7ish HVAC/10s plus many other weapons Add to that the LB-10X and UAC/10 weapons, at least 1 ERPPC, etc from previous campaign scenarios. Hopefully Justin and Romano will be satisfied. Other MVP: Cyclops IIC
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Apr 9, 2013 22:08
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Alternate MVP: Piet in the Banshee IIC, for tanking damage like a champ and making Wilderforce cry.
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Apr 9, 2013 22:09
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My initial reaction was "Awww, a draw and the Death Commandos let them walk away? That's bullshit!", and then they all died in a dropship crash.  And now the vote has been called while I left this post up to go cook dinner, but I'm still leaving my Death Commandos MVP up.  Death Commandos MVP: Steve, the Avatar. It could be the same Steve. You don't know! It would certainly fit her style. Good job, Xarbala.
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Apr 9, 2013 22:16
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God drat, reading that fluff I honestly had to go back and check if Wilberforce wasn't a Death Commando from the very start. That was ice cold.
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Apr 9, 2013 22:17
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A justice foot to end the game is utterly amazing. Player MVP: Star Captain Tjris in his Gargoyle
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Apr 9, 2013 22:22
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fool_of_sound posted:
Decepticon Rave Party is the best (and only) way to celebrate this astounding victory.
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Apr 9, 2013 22:34
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