Player Dossier: Walter "Maverick" Sobchak

1st Davion Guards Dossier

Type: Mechwarrior

Name:  Walter Sobchak

Callsign: Maverick

Unit: 1st Davion Guards, 7th Company

Battlemech: Penetrator PTR-4D

Specialty:  Lasers, ER Lasers

Status: KIA, Port Arthur, Operation Bulldog

Walter is a widowed alcoholic with a short temper living in the Okefenokee system with his mother and little brother (Earl). Outside of being the towns mechanic, his days and nights are spent drinking and bowling with Earl, and playing the Solaris VII, a stand-up arcade game at the bowling alley. Eventually he becomes the highest scoring player of the game. Shortly afterwards, he is approached by a Davion Guard's recruiter, named Theo.  Theo lures Walter onto a shuttlecraft, with the promise of ale and women.  But before Walter realizes what is going on, he is on New Avalon, training to be a mechwarrior at NAIS.

The game was designed as a test to find those "with the gift" and only those that score high enough get a "visit" from the Davion recruiter. Walter set the high score throughout the Federated Commonwealth.

.

Before Walter can attend his first training class, word of a pirate raid on the Okefenokee system reaches New Avalon.  Apparently the worst ever.  Walter demands that if he is to stay in the Guards, he must first go back to defend his homeworld.  Theo reluctantly agrees, going back with Walter.  Upon arrival, back in Okefenokee, Walter finds both his Mother and Brother have perished in the raid.  Walter fully commits himself to the Davion Guards at that point.  Knowing the skills he will learn will give him the best chance at revenge. 

While on New Avalon during his training, Theo introduces Walter to Nash, a grizzly old dropship captain and former mechwarrior one evening at the Officers club.  They eventually get into a drunken brawl, and each sees the strength in the other and they become good friends.  Nash gives Walter some pointers and guidance during his training on the workings of a battlemech. The 1st Davion Guards, who are very suspicious of the new recruit, who was brought in due to his skill at a video game. After the first couple battles he earns the call sign "Maverick" because of his lack of knowledge of in the ways of mechs and mech warfare, but his willingness to fight in his own way.


Maverick was assigned to the 7th company of the 1st Davion Guards upon graduation from the NAIS.  He is one of the longest standing active members of the 7th and currently pilots a Penetrator PTR-4D Battlemech.

(Written by Fab, Edit by RangeRob)

Mission #6: After Action Report (Debriefing)

Location: Briefing room, HPG station, Southern Hemisphere, Port Arthur.

Captain Nash addresing the mechwarriors after their failed assault on a Jag firebase.

  Wow, that could have gone a little better.  At least you all made it back.  Glad we got that Mechwarrior recovery hovercraft working.  She got a good workout yesterday.

Alright, you guys have faced tough tests before, this was the toughest.  Command thought you guys were on a roll, and probably put you into a situation that left too much up to chance.  I however am not of the same mind set.

You guys had this, but acted like a bunch of wet behind the ear recruits.  Here is where I see your could have improved.

1) Whose idea was it to use a gunline rather than concentrating your forces on one point?  Pushing a flank as one group might have helped.  Sure a couple might have taken the brunt of the firebase defensive fire, but that would have allowed the others to engage at short range relatively untouched.

2) Did I forget to send you the dossiers of the expected tanks at the base?  When looking at those, don't just look at the weapon loadouts.  Also look at the Armor, and how fast they are.  Lookin at the Pike and the LRM carriers, if you guys gotten to a side wall and forced them to move in order to engage at you, it might have been a little better for you.    

3) Way back in Terra's history.  Armies used to have Commisars.  They were officers, that insured the objectives of the mission were accomplished.  If a soldier retreated in the face of the enemy...he would have been an example to others as to what happens to troops that retreat during an advance.  Putting the pressure on the clanners was key.  Falling back after taking a couple of hits, or in the face of a squad of toads...not that good of an idea.

4) Toads.  I think I overstated how dangerous they actually are.  At most they can take a ton of armor off of you.  Sure if they get on the head of your mech, you are in trouble, but facing volley after volley of an LRM carrier that can strip 4 tons off...easy choice which I would rather face.

5) I must have forgotten to mention to try to take out the Power building to drop all the turrets at once rather than take each one out.

6) Movement will help keep you alive when assaulting.  Not using your max speed when in range of the enemy guns, will make you a prime target.

Anyway, rant over.  Glad you all made it back.  As you know we have been assigned garrison duty here at the HPG while we lick our wounds.  Command has given us quite the selection of heavy mechs to fill out our roster.  Some of you may notice the Mechwarrior Meech is not here at the briefing.  He took a tumble climbing out of the Venom.  Apparently there was some hidden damage on the access ladder and a rung let go on him.  He will be down at least a month (Player in Florida for next months game).

I fully expect a counter attack by many of the same forces we just faced.  They will probably leave the tanks at their base and hit us with some mechs, maybe elementals.  Be ready folks.  Look over the new mechs we have, and start familiarizing yourself with your selection.

Dismissed.

(OOC) Mitch will miss the next mission, he has given up his pick to help the team...he will get the first pick next time through no matter the killboard or dead mechwarriors.  Jay is staying in the Daikyu, so Kyle your pick.

Mission #6: Killboard, Mechbay, Roster and Mech Selection order

First up the Killboard. This is it set in stone, don't like it too bad.  Kills are awarded for bold actions, doing or saying something that makes most or everyone in the room laugh, and whenever I feel like it.  Anyways here it is for Mission #6.

It was asked what the heck Aggressive play means.  Well it is a tool I use to help catch players up to the others, or to give some points where a player may not have earned any.  But to earn it you must play aggressively...meaning no falling back, or hiding behind a building.  Goes back to my Battletech is a long enough game don't make it longer than it needs to be speech that you all have heard many times.

Next up are the Mech losses.  Players lost a freakin lot.  Dragon Fire, Maelstrom, Peregrine, Komodo, Grand Dragon.  The Crab was also too badly damaged to repair and was shipped back to command.



Command has given us a garrison duty while we review our latest action.  We got some pretty sweet rides to use as we Defend the HPG we took from the Nova Cats.  Our new mechs are:
Marauder, Penetrator, Crusader, Grasshopper, Thunderbolt, Warhammer, Rifleman, and a Catapult.  Furlow has also taken the c3Slave out of the Venom and added back the Medium pulse laser, making it the 9K version were we don't have a C3Master to link it to at the moment.


 New look of the Mech Bays with all the changes.

Mechwarrior Roster after Mission #6

Jay, you reached 10 kills, so I lowered your gunnery, you also have a skill choice from the regular or veteran skills.

Fab and Larry, you guys are within 1 kill of your 10th.  You also have yet to turn in a Character Dossier.  Turn one in and get the bonus kill bumping you to the next level essentially.  For your dossier to count, you must have a background story, (How you got into the Lucky 7th) plus a picture or two of what your guy looks like.


Derek, you hit 5 kills.  So you can lower your piloting by 1 if you wish or wait for 10 kills (like everyone else) and lower your gunnery.  You also get to chose a 2nd skill from the regular skills list.

Here is the mech selection order for Mission #7 (Hint, we will be using almost the exact same map, only you guys will be defending)


Mitch
Jay
Kyle
Fab
Larry
Scott
Jeff (Blue Falcon)
Dereck

Lee
Gregg
Derek

Get Pickin'

After action report for Mission #6 to follow....

Mission #6: Mission Briefing

Mission 6: Capture the Firebase

Time to go on the offensive, roll out guys.

Primary Objectives:
+ Eliminate all opposing Jaguar forces at firebase.

Secondary Objectives:
+ Cause minimal collateral damage. (We would like to use the base for future operations)

Mission Briefing:

Pretty simple this time out...push the Jag out of the firebase.  We will approach from the south, which should give us the best chance at surprise.

We will strike at dawn.  Gave brief thought to a nighttime assault, but the firebase is too well lit for it to be of any real advantage.

There are 2 walls around the firebase.  

The outermost is rounded on the top so it will be almost impossible for your mechs to stand on.  Not sure if it would support the weight of a mech anyway.  Use it as cover, jump over, climb over, or destroy a section to continue your push.  It is short wall and should only come to the waist level of your mechs.

The innermost is on the firebase itself.  This one appears to be built right into the terrain, and will be impossible to destroy a section.  Estimates are that each wall section could support at least 500 tons.

Get in there and dig them out.  Eliminate or rout all Jaguar forces from the area.

Expected Jaguar forces:

Mechs:

Timberwolf Prime: Star Captain Gehrig (2/3)

Thor Prime: Mechwarrior "Tommy" John (3/4)

Loki Prime: Mechwarrior Wells (3/4)

Vulture Prime: Mechwarrior Sanders (3/4)

Huntsman Prime: Mechwarror Sax (3/4)

Vehicles:

Demolisher Heavy Tank (unknown variant): (3/4)

LRM Carrier (3058): (4/5)

LRM Carrier (3058): (4/5)

Pike Support Tank (Clan): (4/5)

Pike Support Tank (Clan): (4/5)

Elementals:

Star Commander Winfield's Point: Small Lasers (2/3)

Point 2: Small Lasers (3/4) 

Point 3: Small Lasers (3/4)

Point 4: Small Lasers (3/4) 

Point 5: Flamers (3/4)

Automated Turrets:

The South East and North West corners of the firebase are protected by a pair of turrets.

One of the pair has Dual Ultra AC2's, the other has an LRM 20 launcher.

There appears to be a structure on the northside of the firebase that may power these turrets.  Scan the building to see if dropping it will take out all 4 of the turrets.

Good Luck!

Nash out.

Mission #6: Recon Video

Here as promised is the video of the table.

Players will be coming in on the edge near the hills.  Objective will be detailed in the mission briefing, but safe bet is you will have to capture the firebase.

On a side note.  Furlow, our master Technician, when looking over the new Kurita mechs thought is wuold be quite wasteful for us to send out a C3slave without a network to link to.  She was able to take the C3Slave unit out of the Grand Dragon and restore the Mech to the DRG-5K variant. She was able to replace the rear mounted medium laser in the spot left by the C3Slave.  Yes, this gives the Grand Dragon two rear facing Medium lasers, not overly useful, but more so than the C3Slave.

Mission Briefing to come.

Nash out.

OOC: Also, Larry had graciously donated his Barstools for use around the table.  Thanks Larry!  Those should work much better than the lawn chairs I have down there now.

Game Guide: Clan Elementals

  Although I know you guys faced off against some Clan elementals before...they never really got into combat.  I fully expect this time that they will.  So here is a quick run down on how they work.

1) Movement:  Walk 1 Jump 3.  So the most they can move is 6".  Battle Armor never use their movement modifier to adjust their own to hit numbers so...they will always be jumping.

2) Damage: Each suit takes 10 points of damage.  Come in squads of 5.  So yeah, each stand can take at least 50 points of damage.  When you roll damage you will roll a D6 and that number elemental will take the damage from that attack (reroll 6's).  Any excess damage is lost...So say you hit a squad with an AC20.  You roll a 2 and elemental #2 takes 20 points of damage killing him.  Once an elemental is killed, you re-roll that number to assign damage.  So say you also it that stand that same turn with a large laser and roll a 2...you would get to roll again to assign that 8 paints of damage.

3) Weapons:  Each elemental suit comes with an SRM2 launcher with one reload (4 missiles) and either a small laser, MG, or flamer.  The whole squad is armed with the same weapon.

4) Shooting attacks:  When an Elemental stand shoots, they don't uses their movement mods as mentioned above.  So they will only be adding your movement modifier to their attack.  Making them quite accurate, however when they hit they roll on a chart to see exactly how many of the remaining elementals actually get their shots on target.  Think of it like a missile attack, even with a hit not all 5 elementals will get their lasers / missiles on target.  Each of the weapons will roll separately on the location chart, so not all 5 elementals will hit you in the head with one roll, the damage is spread out.

5) Targeting:  When you shoot at them, if they jump their 6", figure you will be adding +3 to your rolls.  +1 for the distance, +1 for the jump, +1 for being battle armor (tiny and tough to hit).  Same for if you attempt a physical attack on them.


6) Leg attacks: If an elemental squad is in base to base with you, rather than shooting they can make a Leg attack.  They will use their anti-mech skill, and if they hit do 5 points of damage to a given leg and get an automatic chance for crit.  Their to hit number is modified if the squad is missing more than 2 men.  This happens in the shooting phase.  You can only be target of one Leg attack per turn.  Their base number to make a Leg attack will be 3+ your move modifier and any terrain.

7) Swarm attacks:  If an Elemental squad is in base to base with you, rather than shooting or making a Leg attack they can attempt to swarm your mech.  Essentially climb up to attack you on a modified punch chart in the next turn.  This will give you chance to get them off of you in the physical attack phase and following movement phase (more on that later).  As long as they are on you, they will do their standard weapon damage (No missile attacks by them when swarming) to one location every turn in the shooting phase.  They will also get an automatic chance for crit on the location they hit.  So a full squad with small lasers will do 15 points to a torso, arm or head, with a crit chance even if they don't take off all the armor.  If you are swarmed and someone shoots at you there is a 1 in 3 chance they will hit an elemental instead of you.  Their base number to swarm you will be a 5+ your move modifier and any terrain.

8) Fighting the swarm:  Here are a few ways to get them off you when you have been swarmed.

  A) In the physical attack phase you can attempt to push them off with your hands.  Each arm that didn't shoot can make a piloting skill roll with a +4 plus any additional modifer for missing/damaged actuator.  A successful roll means you have scraped them off you doing punch damage to one of the elementals.  A failure means you punched yourself and you must take the damage.  You must state if you are trying with both arms and roll for both even if you succeed with the first attempt.

  B) In the movement phase you can try a couple of things...Jumping or going Prone.  If you jump you can make a piloting check with a +5.  If successful you have shaken them off so they are at your feet again (doing some damage to them).  Or you can intentionally fall over for 2" of walking or running movement, take a piloting check with a +1 to knock them off you, you will take falling damage and do some damage to them.  If you accidentally fall over, the swarming unit will stay swarming you.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle. 

Mission #6: Dueling / Physical attacks.

Just a couple of notes for Mission #6 as the game approaches.

In an earlier post Star Colonel Giambi esentially takes the gloves off the clanners for combat.  Here is what he meant when he said..."Authorized to use any means necessary to destroy that mech."

1) The Jaguar Mechwarriors will still try to duel with you.  I'll place the fire declaration sticks first.  Then let you guys place yours.


2) Any player that fires on a mech that is not firing at them will become "Dezgra" (Clan term for disgraced).  And will write their name on the whiteboard we use for initiative tracking in the Dezgra section.


3) Any mech that is Dezgra may be fired upon targeted by any and all clan mechs.


4) Physical attacks work a little different.  You guys will declare physical attacks first.  If you declare a physical attack, the clanners will be allowed to respond that turn with a physical attack of their own.


5) If you perform a physical attack on a Mech or vehicle you will write your name down in the Dezgra section of the whiteboard. (Notice I didn't say Elementals, Clanners fully expect you to try to stomp them or punch them off you as they climb your mech.)


6) Any mech that is Dezgra may be the target of Physical attacks.

To sum up, If you break a duel or perform a Physical attack then the clanners get to play by your rules against your mech.

Teaser as to what you will be facing...A Star of Mechs, A Star of Heavy / Assault tanks, and a Star of Elementals, plus base defenses.  Should be the toughest one yet.  I know I keep saying they and you keep rising to the challenge.

Mission briefing and video of the map to come later this week.