>>22040157
Do the local militia have guides and such as that they can provide to us, as well as up-to-date maps so that we can plan our attack?

Also, did the infantry see any indications of static defense turrets?

Did the pirates look like they're about to pick up and move?

Also, are all of our repairs finished?

>>22040157
>drawn in tight in the middle of a valley,
Wouldn't this mean that we could look down into the valley from up high on the sides and turn this into a turkey shoot?
Or do our weapons not have the range?

>>22040246
Repairs are currently finished! All the armor damage suffered in the previous battle was repaired relatively quickly. In addition, the Koshi's been stripped of its usable parts.

So far, the pirates are largely milling about, from what your infantry tell you. It seems like they may have been getting ready to move out, as they could make out several mechs being mounted near daybreak, before they left. No turrets were seen however. Whether they are planning to move outside the protection of the EM field and their position or are just getting ready for your own potential attack is unclear.

The loals could provide you with help in the guide area in getting to the edge of the place, but there's been little reason to enter it forever, so no one really knows what goes on inside it apart from sparse satellite images.

>>22040265
>You could indeed do that!

>>22040283
>they could make out several mechs being mounted
Oh, can they tell us what mechs they saw?

All told, it sounds like we should get the entire company ready to ride out.
The Militia is welcome to come along if they want to get some payback on the pirates.

I think that we're going to try for a long-range engagement, keep the heavies and assaults up front, the light mechs in the back unless and until we actually engage, and have the Raven use its EWAR package to basically make us untargetable by the pirates.

>>22040323
And by long-range engagement, I mean hide behind the lips of the valley, only exposing what little we need to get target locks and fire down into the pirate camp.

>>22040323
Lacking any special gear, they were forced to rely on eyesight, however they could make out one mech at least with a large axe, and another three mechs of unrecognizable shape as well. One man says he swears he could make out one mech as a Charger.

You give a general alert that you may be moving out soon, and detail your plans to the Militia leader, Tyler Ives.

"You're free to come with us if you and your men want some revenge." you offer, to which he shakes his head.

"If it's all the same to you, we'll stay here. Our tanks couldn't keep up through the hills and woods like your mechs, and besides, if they send out a sneak attack while you'll heading over, we need some assets left to defend the city."

>>22040393
"Sure, that's fine."

Not too familiar with BattleTech radar ranges and such; if we have Randolph in his Stinger LAM up in the air to give us top-cover, would the pirates be able to sense our approach?
Should we keep him on the ground with the others?

>>22040510
>Rudolph could indeed provide you with radar coverage of the area from above, and help update your tacnet with enemy and friendly mech positions. He's be unable to fight while doing so however.

>>22040561
Hmm...but the Raven version we have is equipped with powerful sensors, right?
Wouldn't it be redundant to have both it and Rudolph doing overwatch?

On the other hand, the Stinger LAM isn't that great in a fight. I noticed in the last fight that the Stinger we were using was the regular version, meaning it has less armor and weapons than the LAM version; is there any way to get the LAM into MegaMek?

>>22040633
Well keep in mind that when Stealth Armor is on the mech in question acts as if it is in enemy ECM, so its own Atermis IV systems and active probes won't work, iirc. Also, the Raven's more able to put up a fight being nearly twice the tonnage of the Stinger, with more armor as well.

And I'm afraid I do not know how to get the LAM version into MM; if someone could give me its stats I could try to import it?

>>22040776
I can get you the stats from sarna.net, but I don't have the original PDF's that have the actual in-game stats.

All I can see is that the version of the Stinger LAM we supposed have has 1 Medium Pulse Laser, 2 Small Pulse Lasers, double heat sinks and 5 more tons of armor.

>>22040776
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Stinger_LAM
This good enough?

>>22040849
>>22040838
Okay, I've thrown something together that should get the job done. Interestingly enough the LAM is 10 tons heavier than the standard version.

>>22040929
Battletech shrugs at real-life physics, so nothing to really be surprised about.

Either way, get everyone together and mobilize. We want mechs on top of that canyon with infantry nearby and ready to cover them.
We also need to cover the escape routes out of that valley, so get to planning.

>>22040929
Alright, so we can have the Stinger LAM up in the sky providing overwatch, while the Raven provides protection with the Guardian ECM and goes Stealth to be harder to hit.
If need be, the Stinger can fly down and transform to fight alongside us.

Let's mobilize our company, bring along our infantry to help secure the base once everything is over.

Also, going over the maps of the valley, identify potential escape routes. We're going to want to watch them.

File: 1355510265741.png-(1.45 MB, 2037x2484, 32x34 pirate defense!.png)

>>22040984
The signal to mobilize is sent, and you head to your Cyclops to coordinate everything. Overlaying a map of the area onto your screen, you can get a general idea of the area of engagement. With the hills to the east, they shouldn't know you're coming until you're right on top of them. It should take you about two hours to arrive there though, mostly due to your Cyclops and Atlas and Infantry. If you wanted you could send the others ahead and have yourself, the Atlas and infantry form a rear reinforcement group.

>>22041087
No thanks. Is the Militia staying behind or acting as a backup?

>>22041111
>see
>>22040393

No need to split up that way, I think.
Sorrounding them sounds fine, though, so how about we split into two groups and hit them from the left and right.

If there are any inactive mechs, we need to kill off anyone trying to man them before they get inside the cockpit.

Other than that, standard ambush from above.

>>22041130
Unnecessary, and we'd be dividing our company and presenting a weaker side for the pirate to break through, rather than an escape route that they can use and we can chase them down through.

The point is, if they're running, we can shoot them in the back. If they have to go through our weaker lance, they'll cause damage that we have to pay to repair.

And finally, keep in mind what happened with our very expensive light mech from the last battle.
It got taken out in one turn because 2 mechs concentrated their fire on it. The same could easily happen to one of our other light or medium mechs. Especially if the enemy gets a lucky headshot in.

>>22041087
Have the company move forward as one group, with the Raven's Guardian ECM keeping the company protected and undetectable.

Stinger LAM to be in the air and providing eyes in the sky for us.

>>22041130
>You could indeed encircle them if you wished. As it is, you have all the time in the world so I'll let whoever plays as Baker's Dozen deploy from all four map edges. That being said the east side does give you a nice vantage point.

>>22041184
>>22041198
Ok, changing vote to keeping everyone together.

Which makes sense, really, not like they can hide when we have a plane up there.

>>22041227
>>22041198
>>22041184
>Okay then! Will someone who wants to pilot join server 68.192.21.190 port 2346? Also, since this match doesn't require predeployments, you can feel free to have all three of you join up and each control 4 mechs or something.

>>22041249
have you put it up? I'm getting a can't find server error.

Same here, can't connect to the server.

>>22041346
>>22041325
One moment, as we are experiencing techical difficulties!

>>22041381
Okay, try again. If this doesn't work I have no idea.

File: 1355512570081.jpg-(64 KB, 1152x864, Error.jpg)

>>22041391

>>22041391
Its not working.

>>22041427
>>22041439
Well peanutbutter and suck, it worked fine yesterday.

>>22041449
Yeah, I was the one who played yesterday, and it's not working for me now.

Try switching map around and creating the game from scratch.

Oh, wait, if the pirate base already has an ECM field around it, then will we need to have the Raven turn off its Stealth Armor and activate its Beagle Active Probe in order for us to be able to have the Timber Wolf and Catapult target mechs with their LRM's?

>>22041475
>Okay, I've fiddled again, give it another go.

>>22041514
>No, as has been said before the Command and Control systems in your Cyclops will allow your company to ignore the EM effects, and with the targeting data your LAM is feeding you LRMs should be fully functional.

>>22041541
Nope.
Try loading up the same map we played last time.
It's probably not the map, but... well, i have no idea as to what it is.

Also, try restarting your computer, that seems to fix just about anything.

>>22041574
>Already tried the restart.... this is quite trying.

>>22041586
are you sure you are giving us the right address?

>>22041606
It's the same he gave us yesterday... you checked for a dynamic IP, maybe?

>>22041606
>....guess who just found out their IP is dynamic~ Try 68.192.40.217

File: 1355516601520.png-(964 KB, 1920x1046, Pirate Defense turn 1.png)

Managing to sneak up on the pirates, the Baker's Dozen uncovers an odd sight. It seems the enemy mechs and vehicles have been mobilized, while any extranious personnel have fled to the forests to the south, where one of the Platoons of Baker's infantry was moving towards. Having intercepted them, they will be tied up for the rest of the battle. As it is though, it looks like this might be less a battle and more a massacre given the overwhelming positional advantage the Dozen hold!

>>22042031
Okay, have all mechs fire their long range weapons onto the pirates. Have the Phoenix Hawk stay where it is but turn to the south, because that Enfield might try to flank us.

Take out that Hetzer though; thing mounts an AC/20 that would fuck up even an Atlas.

>>22042063
>>22042031
If you can, move that Marauder to Hex 3115 and use its PPC's to strip armor for the other mechs to punch through.

>>22042031
The Drillson is also dangerous, because it mounts a Large Laser which has the range to hit us, and an LRM-10.

That Hatamoto-Chi has 2 PPC's; kill it fast!
The Gladius has a single AC/10, not too dangerous, but don't ignore it or it'll hurt.

>>22042063
>>22042082
>>22042104
>Since the pirates are patrolling the valley unaware of our heroes, the Baker's Dozen decides to move in during turn 1, and hold fire until the next turn when they'll be able to shoot without fear of reprisal (enemy surprise, 1 free round of shooting to our heroes) and not having their own move mods to worry about.

>>22042031
I looked up the pirate mechs on sarna, and the thing to worry about on the Enfield are its Large Pulse Laser and its LBX-10. Keep it far away because that LBX could destroy a light mech in a single volley.

The Enforcer has an AC/10 and a Large Laser.

Painful, but not as bad as the Enfield.

Keep your lighter assets out of the muck. The Centurions, at the very least. Loop them around south maybe.

>>22042279
But looping them down south puts them in range of the Enforcer and Enfield.
It's better to keep them where they are where their gauss rifles and LRM-10's can be of use.

The centurions and the raven held off attacking and stayed in hiding behind the ridge as not to get hit by the first wave of retaliatory fire.

The rest of the light mechs fired their long ranged weapons at the buccaneer, but missed almost everything, doing negligible damage.

File: 1355518681004.png-(1016 KB, 1920x1046, Pirate Defense turn 3.png)

>>22042031
The opening volley from the Baker's Dozen is perhaps not as devastating as they could have hoped; lasers, ACs, and missiles rock the Hatamoto Chi and the Mad Cat's ER Large Laser manages to mission kill one of the Gladii hovertanks. However, the rest of the enemy forces are now alert to the attack, and will begin to respond in kind.

>>22042378
By light mechs, I mean light mehcs+marauder and catapult.

>Aaaaand one of our players has just had to leave. If anyone'd like to replace him, please join as Specter's Heavy Lance.

>>22042382
Hauptmann and Atlas concentrate on the Hatamoto. Jagermech can try to core the Gladius, and the MadCat should be able to also fire on the Hatamoto.

Catapult should be able to stay hidden and use its LRM's to continue trying to hit the Buccaneer, along with the Cyclops and Marauder.
Centurions try to stay away and snipe with their LRM's and gauss rifles.

Be careful of that Enforcer coming up.

The Hatamoto has to be taken out quickly.

So... just to let people know, we're not really going anywhere until someone joins in and takes over the heavy lance.

File: 1355519877837.jpg-(60 KB, 669x621, potato masher.jpg)

>>22042534
I'll give it a shot.

>>22042415
Err... >>22042593 here - I played militia yesterday, and connected just fine, but I seem to be boned for connecting today. Could you re-check your IP?

>>22042619
>Yeah apparently my IP changed last night, it's now 68.192.40.217

>>22042619
The IP is here:
>>22041625

>>22042382
The carnage continues folks! The Hauptman's gauss rifle blows off the Buccaneer's left arm, while withering fire from all sides sends the Hatamoto Chi crashing to its knees, falling on its head and damaging the pilot! Unfortunately the Cyclops of our hero Thomas Baker draws equal fire and falls, despite the amount of cover it had. Fire is traded from mech to mech, mech to vehicle, and while the Baker's Dozen have weight on their side the pirates seem to have the advantage in maneuverability!

File: 1355521069356.png-(973 KB, 1920x1046, Pirate Defense turn 4.png)

>>22042784
>Forgot mah pic

>>22042800
Have the Hauptmann, MadCat, Jagermech, and Atlas take out the tanks.

Have the Centurions try to snipe the Hatamoto-Chi's pilot.

Marauder, attack the Enforcer. Cataput, use LRM's against the approaching tanks. Phoenix Hawk, provide fire support to the Cyclops as it gets up by firing on the Buccaneer.

>>22042852
The hit allocation is random, so I don't really see a way to snipe the pilot.
The centurions will be firing at the Hatamoto, however.

File: 1355521598135.jpg-(170 KB, 600x600, erica hartmann.jpg)

>>22042852
Hmm... I'll try sniping the tanks then, yeah. Lucky for me, I got the Cyclops up and into kicking position on the Buccaneer.

File: 1355522509041.png-(1009 KB, 1920x1046, Pirate Defense turn 5.png)

>>22042784
This round is just as fierce as the previous ones, with the Hatamoto falling and the pilot being KO'd from their injuries. Armor melts from mechs as lasers burn and AC's thunder with their explosive payloads and missiles fly. So far though, the Hatamoto is the only real casualty, though several vehicles are feeling the hurt!

>>22043037
Move the Raven to Hex 2712 if it needs to, and alpha strike the Enfield.

Jagermech, MadCat, and Hauptmann concentrate on the Enfield; its got a very nasty autocannon.

Atlas, if that Dilbson is stunned, take out that Enforcer. Centurions, help the Atlas out by concentrating fire.

Marauder, full PPC strike on the Enforcer.

Catapult, fire on the Gladius there.
Phoenix Hawk, try to help out the Cyclops against the Buccaneer.

File: 1355522983864.jpg-(46 KB, 462x600, hartmann.jpg)

>>22043083
Will do. I'll try to take opportunity shots with big guns if one of the pirates slows down too much too!

Oh, something that I think should probably be posted on the OP of these threads:
http://pastebin.com/shuP5PVB

>>22043083
You know, now I wish we'd stuck with the stock Phoenix Hawk instead of going with the PXH-1K; yeah, it gets a Small Laser but it doesn't have jump jets anymore.

File: 1355523379151.jpg-(46 KB, 390x738, BWCMovieShortMechwarrior.jpg)

>>22040157

How often is this thing being run? Sorta interested but it depends on scheduling and all that.

>>22043188
Yearp. These kinds of maps really show how much jumpjets can change the game.

>>22043120
Yeah, those tanks, while not being anywhere close to the firepower or versatility of a mech, still mount things like AC/10's and other very nasty stuff that could ruin a light mech's day.

>>22043202
>I've been running since Wednesday, but I'll probably take a weekend break and start doing this weekly on Tuesdays.

>Well, I did NOT expect what just happened.

File: 1355523879664.jpg-(122 KB, 700x745, hartmann1.jpg)

I tried my best, guys. I really did.

They came from... behind. ;___;

File: 1355523892268.jpg-(40 KB, 261x738, BWCMovieShort_F_Mechwarrior.jpg)

>>22043230
What time are we looking at on Tuesdays?

>>22043279
>>22043289
Did we just die?
Did a bunch of pirates just kill us?

>>22043302
Lucky shot from a tank blew up ammo stores.
Then the pilot blacked out and fell which caused another point of damage and killed him, i think.

>>22043291
>Probably noon EST, but I can run later if that works better for people.

>>22043302
>Maybe >.>

>>22043308
>blew up ammo stores
But our Cyclops has CASE. It should prevent that kind of thing from happening.

>>22043337
Apparently, it's not enough.
I could be reading it wrong, the Op will elaborate better than me.

File: 1355524473328.png-(984 KB, 1920x1046, Pirate Defense turn 6.png)

>>22043309
The battlefield looms in Baker's Cyclops, the massive enhanced headsup display showing his forces and the enemy's. It shows the small hovertank moving to flank his forces, and for the moment, ignores it, trusting his mech's armor to take the hit. Around him, mechs and vehicle parts fly as the Buccaneer goes down, followed by a Drillson. One of the enemy mechs, the Enforcer, attempts to Death From Above the Atlas, only to fall from the sky failing to hit.

Then Thomas feels his mech shake as the Saladin light Hovertank fires its massive AC/20 at his exposed rear, the shell shattering through his weak left torso rear armor. A split second later, the mech shakes again as the shell hits his LRM ammo bin, CASE directing the explosion out the back while his Gauss rifle also explodes. His mech is still functional.... but the neural feedback from the two explosions send Thomas unconscious.

That alone would not kill him though. Still alive just, though unconscious, his mech begins to fall, toppling backwards.... and that's when the jolt of impact snaps his neck.
.
.
.
.
Rest in Peace Thomas Baker.

File: 1355524829930.png-(282 KB, 608x576, hartmann2.png)

>>22043388
I'm sorry guys. I'm so sorry. ;_____;

So, uh... shall we vote for a new commander? Sai? Rudolph? Corporal Hartmann?

>>22043388
>Saladin
WAT

Where the Hell did that come from? It's not anywhere on the map that I could see.

We need to kill that Saladin now, because it's got an AC/20, and its in close range.

And goddamn, our reputation is so screwed now: losing so much to a bunch of Outer Rim pirates, the commander of the company getting killed.

>>22043472
Yeah. But that's what Saladins do, isn't it? Pop out of nowhere and zap you in the ass?

I think it laid low behind one of the elevations, and staid still so the Raven's BAP couldn't catch it. Then on the right moment, BAM.

>>22043472
>It's been slowly moving south since the beginning of the battle to flank. It's visible as an icon on the minimap in more recent pics. I'm so sorry guys, I knew I shoulda given him Edge...

>>22043472
It was all the way down, nobody really thought anything of it.

Then it scored a massive crit and everyone was wtf.

>>22043502
Argh. If we could have seen it, we'd have given the Phoenix Hawk priority to kill it before it got in range.
It's almost invisible on the minimap.

File: 1355525294708.gif-(708 KB, 500x363, battletech is kinda like that.gif)

>>22043502
>>22043515
>>22043533
See, this is the beauty of BattleTech. You have a top of the line mech, all eyes are on you, and one little fucker in a hovercraft blows you a new asshole and it's all over.

Don't tell me you can't dig that.

>>22043388
Oh for fucks sake. This is why Battletech is a terrible system to run PC's in. They're far to squishy.

>>22043388
Dammit, those tanks and their AC's are in perfect range to kill our mechs.

MadCat and Hauptmann, finish off that Enfield.

Jagermech, Raven, and Centurion take out the Dillson.

Atlas and the other Centurion take out the Enforcer.
Marauder, take out the Scimitar and the Gladius threatening the Catapult.

Catapult take out that Saladin and Phoenix Hawk fight the Chameleon for another turn.

>>22043569
It could have been worse. It could have been an Atlas taking a reactor critical from a Savannah Master.

>>22043569
That's actually the part about the system I hate the most. Even Dark Hersey has Fate Points.

>>22043569
Actually, I think it's really more a matter of all players needing to use Sarna.net or clicking on all units to find out what weapons they're carrying, and prioritising whoever's got the big gun, regardless of their size.

Saladin's are easy to take out for a mech, we could have popped it, if we'd known it carried an AC/20 of "fuck your PC, I get crits".

>>22043608
>>22043586
Battletech DOES have edge which would have allowed a reroll of the ammo crit. It's my fault for not giving you guys any. I really didn't think you'd need it this early on, but I should have anticipated battletech being battletech. However, I'm gonna stick with this. Think of the opportunities it gives you for RP. You can choose a new mechwarrior as the leader of the company, and someone's gonna have to tell Mom and Pop Baker.

>>22043637
>someone's gonna have to tell Mom and Pop Baker.
Oh man, that's gonna be a fun talk.
"Sorry, sir, ma'am. Your son got popped by a tank in what was supposed to be a milk run against pirates."

AND the LRM and Gauss Rifle are totaled, too! At least the mech could have been intact!

>>22043637
Cool. I choose his twin brother.

>>22043637
Well, Sai, as his second-in-command, is the logical choice.

But then again, he ALSO got his mech shot out from under him.

So is this going to become known as Baker's Curse? The leader of the Baker's Dozen either dies or has their mech horribly shot out from under them?

>>22043748
If that's how the dice roll...

>>22043789
But then how are we going to carve out a periphery kingdom if our mechs keep getting totaled.

>>22043748
It would also help if the people playing the game weren't a couple of noobs who don't even know what a saladin tank is.
I mean, I read up on just about every mech on the field on sarna, but I pretty much ignored the tanks and assumed they are just annoyances.

>>22043813
I'm banking on just using mechs to break their centre and then letting the tanks and troops deal with the rest.

Enraged by Thomas' death and the command net going silent, the read of the Baker's Dozen rampage through the pirate camp. The Hatamoto is blown apart by several mechs at once, the commander going down with a cry of "The Hydra shall live on!" that goes largely ignored as the Dozen concentrate on destroying every last enemy mech and vehicle.

In the end, they manage to do so. However, their forces are damaged. The Cyclops will need a new engine, and a gauss rifle, not to mention pilot. The Catapult is lacking an arm and has taken serious armor damage, while the Mad Cat is damaged as well.

Still, you've come out mostly in the black, as far as money and salvage is concerned; The Hatamoto Chi took severe damage but is mostly repairable and could likely be sold for a hefty sum, at least 5 million Cbills net profit. Likewise the Enfield is in good shape, and the Chameleon pilot made a run for it before his mech fell over and accidentally forced him to eject.... straight into a cliff face.

>What awaits Baker's Dozen over the coming days and weeks? What is the mysterious Hydra? These things and more may come to light next Tuesday!

>>22043827
I looked up the tanks, but I didn't see the Saladin, so I assumed that it had retreated off the field.

>>22043813
Don't you mean, "how are we going to carve out a Periphery kingdom if our leaders keep dying"?

>>22043902
Meh, leaders are easy to replace.

>>22043870
Your assumption fucked us kid.

>>22043925
My assumption that it wasn't there, and the controller's assumption of "Oh, it's a tank and I'm in an Assault Mech, it can't do shit to me", and the OP's assumption of "Oh, it's the first mission, they don't need Edge".

The only one who won here, is the MegaMek diceroller.

>>22043852
Still, hard to become a kingdom if our king gets killed with deary regularity. Also my main reason why I absolutely HATE killing off PC's especially as a GM. It tends to depress role-playing as the Players tend to see their characters (rightly) as simply replaceable pawns in a narrative that really isn't about their characters. In my experience once you start killing off characters things go to murderhoboing very fast, as the PC's stop being heroes and start being world weary mercenaries, unless you have very experienced roleplayers, and even they are far from immune. That's why I fudge like hell when dealing with new players, so they get involved with the roleplaying aspect and invest in their characters. And now I'm done with my tangent.

>>22044022
>Still, hard to become a kingdom if our king gets killed with deary regularity.

Kingdom?
FVCK kings, we're going for a military dictatorship.

>>22044070
So that what, the entire High Command gets wiped out by a lucky aerospace fighter crashing into their command bunker and setting off a chain reaction that causes the bunker to collapse?

WHAT A TWEEST

At least it wasn't a hetzer on the third level of a parking garage.

>>22044119
The command chain gets bumped up a little.
Even high command can be replaced.

>>22044204
But then all semblance of role-playing and character interaction will inevitably die. And that would be bad.

>>22044022
Yeah, but that just doesn't go very well with the nature of BattleTech. At the moment I moved the Cyclops, I had no scope on the Saladin. A human mistake. And all it took was that single rapier thrust to hit the PC.

In BattleTech, any single unfortuitous roll can result in catastrophy. A fresh mech, a fresh commander, can at any time he is shot at die from a single hit. Thus the game becomes famous for it's focus on forces beyond individuals, despite the fluff we're frequently fed.

>>22043748
>So is this going to become known as Baker's Curse? The leader of the Baker's Dozen either dies or has their mech horribly shot out from under them?

It's going to become completely farcical around the time the 5th commander's dropship gets shot down by a peasant with a puckle gun.

>>22044496
Well, that's what we get for not getting off his lawn.

So what are we doing about a new character?
Sai? The Other Baker's Son?
Though realistically, it'll have to be Sai since space travel takes weeks to months in the setting.

>>22044961
It's either Sai, or then we conveniently invent a new crewmember who has management skills. Or so I figure.

We could even change our unit name to the Dead Bakers. Merc units are pretty whimsical about their naming in general.