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Howdy, I am looking to start a short LP of BATTLETECH, the upcoming PC strategy game. I am going to use another game, MEKHQ as a campaign simulator, and then fight out the giant robot battles using the Battletch Founders Beta as commentated battles. I have drafted a first post and I was wondering if anyone had any feedback before I let it loose!
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Welcome to this hybrid Battletech Game, MEKHQ mercenary lp. With the release of Battletech on the horizon, and the community as a whole desperate for anything new. I thought I would fill the gap with a mercenary campaign, using the MEKHQ ATB(Against The Bot) system to run the universe. Rather than complete battles in MegaMek, the tabletop Battletech Simulator, I will import the lances into Battletech and play them out there. Passing the damage back into MEKHQ and managing finances and contracts in that simulator. It might be fun, it might be a mess!
The year is 3025 and the Inner Sphere is enjoying a brief period of relative peace. The Third Succession war has ended with no clear victor and the five noble houses are dusting themselves off and beginning their preparations for the next great conflict. For the first time in centuries, mankind is creating new technologies and slowly dragging itself out of the self-engineered dystopia it has created. Some will look back on this era as a renaissance.
Into this arena, steps a new mercenary company. With unknown backers and a lance of old but workable ‘Mechs
Goons! I need four MechWarriors. I have portraits (see below), but if you want to supply something appropriate please post a link with your details. MechWarriors need a name for their ride and a callsign.
We also need the following:
A unit name
A name for our alpha lance
All of our MechWarriors are going to start off green. I am also going to need alternatives, as people are going to get injured and will need to spend time in the medbay!
Our starting personal are as follows - All names and statistics are coming from the simulator. I rolled for a random mech from the era for each pilot, re-rolling any mechs that aren’t available in the game. To give GoonLance a fighting chance, we are starting with two Medium Mechs and two Lights - making us very well equipped for our era.
Admin Staff
John Guziki - Administrator/Commander and Pilot
John's role is finding us contracts and acquiring supplies. Once we leave Galatea this is going to be much harder.
Struana Kyle - MechTech
Struana is our Scotty, keeping our 'Mechs combat ready and on their feet.
Athdara Hunt - Doctor
Athdara is the company Doctor, her role is to keep our pilots in one piece.
Pilots are replaceable, a Battlemech is not.
BattleMech Pilots
Alpha Lance
Murray Balman - Lance commander
Trebuchet TBT-5N
Murray’s Trebuchet is a fantastic long range support 'Mech but it also has the weapons for close in support. It’s a great 'Mech for a commander who can keep on top of the battle and contribute, without getting too badly damaged. However the Trebuchet is very hungry for ammo, keeping it armed is going to be expensive.
Sam Walmesley - MechWarrior
Shadow Hawk SHD-2H
Sam’s Shadow Hawk is one of the most common Medium ‘Mechs in the Inner Sphere. Average at everything, but capable of fighting at any range, the ShadowHawk is the AK47 of the modern battlefield. Easy to pilot and maintain, it’s a great 'Mech for a starter merc unit.
Anker Mikalis - MechWarrior
UrbanMech UM-R60
The UrbanMech is a gun on legs. No ammo, no speed. Anker better be a great shot.
Titas-Eliver Sorsa - MechWarrior
Firestarter FS9-H
Titas-Eliver pilots a Firestarter, one of the most terrifying ‘Mechs for anyone to encounter. Armed with multiple warcrimes in the shape of fusion fed flamethrowers and heavy caliber machineguns it is a terrifying weapon to behold for infantry and vehicles. Against a larger 'Mech it’s multiple flamethrowers can overheat and shutdown enemies, leaving them vulnerable for the rest of the lance to mop-up.
I am happy to replace any of our MechWarriors with goons going forward - sign up if you want to be a mechjock! <google doc link>
I have gone ahead and added our pilots and mechs to GoonLance, ready for their first contract. Struana has been assigned as our primary MechTech for the lance, she is in charge of all the locals we will be hiring to keep our robots running. Once we get a decent amount of scrip we can start hiring mechtechs for each of our 'Mechs as well as the lance as a whole.
As you can see, the game has calculated the cost of our lance at 13Million Cbills. This is good and bad. The good news is we can use this to get a sizable loan by putting our 'Mech Assets up as collateral. The bad news is that we really can’t afford to replace any of these ‘Mechs if we lose them. You can see why a lot of mercs work for salvage, it’s worth a lot.
I go ahead and get a 10mil Cbill loan to add to the seed money we acquired from Rich Uncle Lowtax.
I buy LRM, SRM, AC5 and AC10 ammo to make sure we have a starting set of equipment. I also hire local technicians and medics to bring those teams up to the minimum strength required to keep our unit running. It is going to take a little bit of time for our ammo and armour to arrive. So I advance time several days to make sure it arrives. Once we leave Galatea, finding equipment will be much harder. I am fudging things a little to get us on our feet.
Our finances after setting up are as follow.
11million Cbills isn’t a lot of Money to be running a Merc Company... We need to get a job fast.
: Good news, we have several offers for work.
(A). The Capallen’s are looking for us to go Pirate Hunting on Ilmar, it’s 10 jumps away which will take 89 Days. The contract is for 3 months.
Estimated profit is 4.4 million CBills. 10% Salvage Rights
(B). Davion are looking for Mercs to help them assault Bharat, it’s 6 jumps away, which is a journey of 68 days. Bharat is a Capellan Confederation world, which will put us in opposition with them. Contract length is 6 months
Estimated total profit is 5 million CBills. 40% Salvage Rights
(C). ComStar head the mercenary board, so keeping them on side is a good idea. They are looking for some Mercs to deal with a Pirate problem on Freisland, it’s 14 jumps away - a journey of 112 days. The contract is for 4 Months.
Estimated total profit is 8.4 million CBills. 10% Salvage Rights
(D). Our last offer comes from the Free Worlds League, they are looking for someone to Raid Cor Caroli, a Lyran world. Cor Caroli is only 1 jump from Galatea, making it a relatively quick 64 days journey. The contract will last 4 months as we support special forces teams making a raid.
Estimated total profit is 2.5Million CBills. 10% Salvage Rights
: Working for ComStar is good cash, and would probably help our merc rating. I dunno if assaulting a planet for the Davions is a good idea, it’s doesn’t seem worth the cash.
Thread! Vote on our first mission, and if you are wondering what the game looks like, here is some sneak peaks:
