Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
9 78 1555 603083
F A 5 A C ORPOR AT. o N
2
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
CONffNrs & CRfD.rS
CREDITS
Writing Cover Design
Chris Hartford John Bridegroom
Illustrations
BattleTech Line Developer Tom Baxa
Bryan Nystul Storn Cook
Kevin Long
Playtesters Mike "MIKEN" Nielsen
BC Legion Chris Trevas
Dan "Flake" Grendell Layout
Randall Bills John Bridegroom
Steve bob Pitcher
Troy Allen Author's Acknowledgments:
Andy Ford This manuscript was produced on fou r different computer sys-
Bryan Marty tems (Apple Mac, Apple Newton, IBM PC and Amiga 1200), in
John Lollar two different countries: Germany (Boc hum and Essen) and
Chad Dean England (my flat in London, my parents' house in Nottingham,
Michael Jackson my office, the VWE center at the Trocadero and othe rs) .
Jared Cluff
Boston's Best BattieTechers (sponsored byYour Move Thanks to:
Games) Neil Dale, Darren Merriman and John Hague Moody who read
Hugh H. Browne, Jr. early drafts (as always) and hel ped test scenarios ; Mike
David J. Chernoff Stackpole for answering my queries about Malicious Intent
Michael DeFevers promptly; Bryan Nystul for letting me loose (again! ); and my
Robert R. Dougherty father, Michael Colin Hartford, for the loan of his 1894 copy of
Robert Feehan Rudyard Kipling's Barrackroom Ballads and Other Verses.
Eric A. Hart
Scott E. Johnson Thanks also to several who shall rem ain nameless , but who
Harry Schaffer provided inspiration (you know who you are).
Group W
Andrew Bethke When you go home,
James W. Moorman, Jr. tell them of us, and say,
Robert G. Kranker for your tomorrow,
Eric Munzinger we gave our today.
Gregory K. Plambeck
Edward C. Witzlib
Bryan Moorman BATTLETECH®, MECH®, BATTLEMECH®, and MECHWAR-
David Peterson RIOR® are Registered Trademarks of FA SA Corporation.
Dan Hurda THE FALL OF TERRATM is a Trademark of FASA Corporation.
Steve Edmons Copyright © 1996 FA SA Corporation . All Rights Reserved .
Printed in the U. S. A.
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Cover Art
Doug Chaffee
3
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
THE FALL OF TERRA
INTRO D UCTION
Terra is the homeworld of humanity, the prize of the Inner lines for runn ing each scenari o as a self-contained gam e are
Sphere. For centuries, this place of history and hope has drawn included in each scenari o.
conquerors and would-be conquerors intent on clai ming it as The rules in each scenario provide the information needed
their own. Once the capital world of the Star League and the to understand and play the encounter, including guidelines for
Terran Hegemony , Terra was plundered and despoil ed by determining the winner and loser of each battle. Each scenario
Stefan Amaris, whose brutal reign forced the planet's inhabi- begins with a personal accou nt of the battle and incl udes
tants to live in fear and depravation. The lege ndary General Situation and Aftermath sections, which provide historical
Aleksandr Kerensky fought a long and bitter campaign to liber- backg round of the engagement. The individual scenarios also
ate Terra , but the resulting peace was short- li ved. W ithin include sections titled Game Set-up, Attacker , Defen der,
months of Kerensky's victory , the Star League collapsed . In Victory Condit io ns and Special Rules.
2784, when the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere began gird- Game Set-up provides specific information needed to play
ing for war , the general assembled the remnants of the Star the scenarios, including instructions on laying out mapsheets,
League Defense Force and led them on an Exodus beyond the directions for any special terrain features, and suggestions on
bo undaries of known space . Soon after, the Inner Sph ere appropriate BattleTech rule s to use.
plunged into war yet again, and the prize of Terra was claimed The Attacker and Defender sections provide rosters of the
by ComStar, which would maintain the planet as neutral territo- scenario's combatants and directions for deploying forces . The
ry for more than 250 years . troop rosters include informati on on the vehicles used and the
In 3050, the descendants of Kerensky's Exodus fleet-the skills of the pilots. Assume all conventional vehicles are stan-
Clans-returned to the Inner Sphere. Intent on hu mbl ing the dard models unless the text specifically states they are upgrad-
proud armies of the Successor States, the invaders were deter- ed or refitted versions . Some units listed in the rosters , most
mined to found a new Star League and claim Terra as the capi- notably vehicle and spacecraft crews , have Unit Status ratings,
tal of their empire. ra t her than indivi d ual s k ill descriptions. When playing
The forces of ComStar spared Terra from the in vaders' BattieSpace scenari os, re fe r to p. 62 of the BattieSpace
grasp by defeati ng the Clans on Tukayyid in a battle for control Rulebook to determine the effects of Unit Status ratings . When
of Terra. But ComStar itself was rent asunder by internal politi- playing BattleTech, consult the following table :
cal feuding. In the end, the group known as the Word of Blake
fl ed to the planet Gibson in the Free Worlds League , whi le the UNIT STATUS
remaining faction held onto the name ComStar, as well as con- T ABLE (INNER SPHERE)
trol of Terra. Unit Status Gunnery/Piloting Skill
For six years the two factions bided their time, waiting for Green 5/6
the opportunity to destroy one anothe r. T hen, as warfa re Regular 4/5
betwe en the Successor States bega n to pl ag ue th e Inner Veteran 3/4
Sphere yet agai n, the Word of Blake saw its chance .... Elite 2/3
4
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
INrRODucrlON
Weather Condition
Thick Fog +24 _5 + 1 energy weapons
Falling Snow +0 +1 +1 -1
Blizzard +0 +1 5 +2 ballistic weapons -2
+ 1 all other weapons
Dusk +0 +1
The Weather and Terrain Modifiers Table summarizes the Deep snow terrain rules apply when an area becomes cov-
terrain and weather rules for the Fall of Terra. ered with loose snow that is more than a meter deep. Lesser
Note that all MP modifiers are added to th e standard MP accumulations of loose snow have no measurable effect on bat-
cost of the underlying terrain, so entering a Heavy Woods hex tlefield units; treat hard-packed snow as ice or clear terrain ,
covered in deep snow would cost a total of 4 MP. As with stan- depending on how slippery it is.
da rd MP modifiers, these MP modifiers have no effect on The mud rules described here apply to mud less than one
Jumping units. meter deep. Use the standard swampy terrain rules for deeper
The Piloting Skill modifie rs affect an y Piloting Skill Roll mud .
made while in the particular terrain or condition . Unless specifi-
cally noted , players do not need to make Piloti ng Ski ll Rolls to F OG AND IC E
enter any of the listed terrain or cond itions. The increased MP cost of entering hexes enveloped by
th ick fog or covered by ice represents the extra caution needed
OEEP SNOW ANO MUD to avo id tripping , falling or crashing under such conditions .
Deep snow and mud slow the movement of units and may (U nits that pay this increased cost are not subject to skidding
cause them to become stuck. To simu late the effects of deep on ice.) Howeve r, lucky or skillful pilots may move through
sn ow and mud, use the swampy terrain rul es (p. 91, BTC), wi th these conditions at full speed without mishap . Any player
the fo llowing modifications: attempting to do so must announce his intention before moving
Deep snow and mud are not as li kely to trap a unit as his unit. After the unit's first hex of movement, the player must
swam py ground. Therefore, apply a -1 modifier to the Piloting make a Piloting Skill Roll for the unit.
Skill Roll made to determine whether a unit becomes stuck on If the unit is a BattleMech and the roll fails, the 'Mech
entering the terrain. Apply the same modifie r to Pil oting Skill imm ediately falls and must stand up per standard rules before
Roll s made to free a stuc k unit. For example, an undamaged cont in uin g it s mov eme nt. If the roll succeeds, the ' Mech
BattleMech with a Regular MechWarrior would need to roll a 4 remain s upright. The unit may then move per standard rules .
or better to avoid becoming stuck . This modifier replaces the Howeve r, the player must make additional Piloting Skill Rolls for
usual + 1 modifier for Piloting Skill Rolls in th ese types of terrain. each non-Clear hex or elevation change it passes through.
Jumping units that land in deep snow or mud do not auto- Vehicles moving th rough thick fog or ice must make
matically become stuck. Jump-capable units using Walking or Piloting Skill Rolls afte r their first hex of movement as well. If
Running movement may become stuck, but they can free them- the roll fails in icy terrain, the vehicle goes into a skid (see p.
selves in subsequent Movement Phases by simply jumping out 23, BTC). If the roll fails in thick fog , the vehicle crashes, unless
of the terrai n. it is in Clear terrain. In Clear terrain , the vehicle simply hits a
5
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
'NrRoDucr,oN
..
D
o
~' - '
o
- -~ ----- <:>
~
----... a
hole or other minor obstruction , which costs the unit an addi- INTENTIONAL F I R ES
tional 1 MP. In all other terrain, the crash immediately ends the Many weapons can be fired into Woods or Building hexes to
vehicle's movement, and th e vehicle sustains damage to its intentionally start fires (p. 85, BTC). Thick fog, falling snow and
Front facing as if it had charged. blizzard conditions, however, increase the difficulty of starting
If both thick fog and ice are present, the total MP increase intentional fires. Therefore, apply a +2 modifier to any fire-start-
per hex is on ly +2. ing roll when such weather conditions are present. These condi-
Note that all other stan dard ice rules still apply (p. 89 , tions also lessen the chance that a fire will spread, so apply a + 1
BTC). modifier to rolls made to determine the spread of a fire.
8
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
J'HE FALL OF J'ERRA
OPERATION O DYSSEUS
The rift between Com Star and the Word of Blake grew steadily after the Schism -Excerpt from Wolf Net Classified Rep ort
occurred in mid-3052. At first, the confl ict between the two groups was little more than a Gamma 11A2
war of words. Although the massive defection of ROM operatives to the Word of Blake
provided the organization with a marked advantage in intelligence and covert operations Who was the traitor in ROM ? All intelli-
over ComSta r, ComStar enjoyed a significant military advantage over its opponent. gence gathered by our operatives wi th in the
Approximately fifty Com Guard divisions were deployed at ComStar installations across Word of Bl ake suggest Dem i-Pr ecentor
the Inner Sphere and the Free Rasalhague Republic, wh ile the Word of Blake Militia MU/D elta Michelle Ellin gham, co mmanding
consisted of only five full divisions and two fo rmin g divisions, all stationed on the world officer of thE counterintelligence division since
of Gibson. As a result, the Word of Blake could do little to make good on its th reat to Damien Constantine's assa ssination in
destroy ComStar and reclaim Terra, despite the rash actions of extrem ist factions within Septem ber 3057.
the Word of Blake, such as the Toyama sect. Then , in late 3057, war broke out between Born on Sirius in 3018, Elling ham joined
the Federated Commonwealth and the Liao-Marik alliance , sowing discord in the Inner ComStar in 3036 and quickly rose thro ug h the
Sphere. Word of Blake leaders saw their chance and acted. ranks, attaining the position of field coordina-
tor for the Free Worlds League in 3044. After
GATHERING STORM the mass defections from ComStar in 3052 ,
The Liao-Marik invasion of the Federated Commonwealth 's Sarna March provided she transferred to counteri ntellig en ce . Her
the Word of Blake with two immediate opportunities to further its goals of destroying ch~rming nature endeared he r t o her col-
ComStar and capturing Terra. Backed by the military mig ht of the Marik and Capellan leagues, and she even enjoyed good relations
invasion forces, Blake Militia units attacked ComStar HPG stations th roughout the so- with the abrasive Damien Constanti ne. When
called Chaos March . The militia units successfully captured many stations on Marik- Constantine named her de puty for co unterin -
Capellan occ upied worlds and conti nued to battle for other HPG stations in the Chaos telligence, no one suspected she was the
March almost a year after the outbreak of hostilities. Word of Blake's highest agent in ComStar.
But perhaps more important, the movement of large numbers of Marik and merce- Some of our analysts specul ate th at
nary troops in the area near Terra during the offensive enabled the Blake Militia to Elli ng ham conducted an illicit affa ir with
secretly move three of its five full-strength divisions to within striking distance of Terra . Constantine , which facili t ated he r rapid
Word of Blake Precentor ROM Ale xander Kernoff's brutal purge of suspected sp ies ad van cem ent in ROM and ena ble d her to
within the militia fo rces provided additional protection for the secrecy of the troop move- orchestrate his assassination when he was no
ment, and a high-ranki ng Word of Blake agent within ComStar's ROM successfu lly sup- longer useful to her. During the years before
pressed what little information did reach ComStar. the invasion, she apparently built up a web of
Terra remained fortified by ComStar's powerful Terran Defense Force, however, informants and sympathizers within ROM and
which effectively prevented the Word of Blake from launching an offe nsive agai nst the used a system of dead-letter drops to identify
planet. Within months, though, the ongoing conflicts between the emerging petty states ROM agents to her Word of Blake contacts. It
of the Chaos March had created a soaring demand for mercenary troops. As a re sult, is now believed that Ellingham's actions led to
many mercenary units employed in the Inner Sphere began to terminate their contracts the executions of more than twenty Com Star
and head to the Chaos March to earn quick profits. Brion's Legion was one such unit. agents operating within the Word of Blake.
Employed by ComStar since the Fourth Succession War, Brion 's Legion constituted
nearly half the strength of Com Star's Terran Defense Force, and so Com Guard leade rs made ample efforts to retain the legion when
Colonel Octavius Bri on announced his intention to terminate the unit's contract. Despite those efforts, the legion left Terra in early
December for Pleione in the Tikonov Reaches.
The legion 's departure left ComStar leaders with two choices. They could replace the legion with another mercenary unit or a Com
Guard unit from elsewhere in the Inner Sphere. Initialry, ComStar tried the latter course. Reassigning a Com Gua rd unit from the Free
Rasalhague Republic seemed the logical choice. In response to the War of Refusal between Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon, ComStar
had recently bolstered its Rasalhague forces with Com Guard units previously stationed in the Lyons Thumb. But the transfer of forces
from the Lyons regi on to Tukayyid and their subsequent replacement with Draconis Combine units-albeit under the auspices of
ComStar-had already angered Archon Katherine Steiner-Davion , and Primus Mori wanted to avoid further aggravating the Lyran
Alliance's new ruler. Additional ly, Precentor Martial Focht cautioned against weakening Com Guard forces along the Clan border dur-
ing this volatile time . Reconstituting one of the Com Guard divisions scattered across numerous Inner Sphere worlds provided the only
other alternative. That option, however, would undoubtedly prove to be a slowly accom plished logistical nightmare. Therefore, ComStar
leaders reached their fateful decision to replace the legion with another mercenary unit.
7
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
o OPERArlON ODYSSEUS .
A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING the planet, the Word of Blake commander, Precentor Suzanne
At about the same time that Com Star leaders were reach- Mulvanery , made them an offe r. If the Lancers kept a low profile
ing their decision, Colonel Evelena Haskell of the 21 st Centauri for the next few months , Mulvanery explained, the mercenaries
Lancers was using a Word of Blake HPG station to send word could be reu nited with their families-now under the Wo rd of
to Outreach that her mercenary unit was for hire. The Lancers Bl ake's "p rot ectio n" on Gibson. If they refused the offe r,
were one of the units used by Thomas Marik to reclaim Marik Mulvanery warned the Lancers that her forces would destroy
worlds lost during the Fourth Succession War. After using the th em a nd said sh e could not guarantee the safety of the
Lancers to bolster Marik forces landing on Wasat, however, Lance rs ' families if such hostil ities broke out. Colonel Haskell
Thomas Marik "loaned " the mercenary unit to the Capell an had little option but to comply .
Confederation. The Capellans , in turn , assigned the Lance rs to T he two Word of Blake divisions immediately beg an to
aid McCarron 's Armored Cavalry in an assault on Hs ien . reorganize themselves to match the reported composition and
Skirmishes with the Second FedCom RCT on Hsien left the organ ization of the real Lancers. Meanwhile , Word of Blake
Lancers bloodied , and many Lancers became convinced that operatives within Com Star made numerous alterations to the
McCarron had used them as cannon fodder. Aggriev ed at Com Guard re co rd s to bolster the deception and ensure that
Thomas Marik's apparent disregard for their unit, the Lancers the secu rity checks on the new Lancer personnel "recruited to
terminated their contract of almost forty years wi th the Free replace losses on Hsien" would not cause any alarm . T heir
Worlds League . cover in place, the new "Lancers"-Ied by Mulvanery, now mas-
Soon afterward, Colonel Haskell dispatched a message to querading as Colonel Evelena Haskell-headed to Terra.
the mercenary Hiring Hall on Outreach advertising the Lancers' Altho ugh many obse rvers have criticized Com Star fo r fail-
availability. When the message passed through Word of Blake ing to detect the deception, it seems fair to note that ComStar
HPG relay stations, Word of Blake operatives quickly passed was operating vi rtually without its most important leader at the
the information to Precentor Blane of Gibson , who had recently time-Prece ntor Martial Anastasuis Focht. As the Wolf-Jade
learned of Com Star's search for mercenary troops to replace Falcon War of Refusal reached its peak , Focht had trave led to
Brion's Legion on Terra. Blane immediately realized that these Morges to meet with Khan Phelan Kell at the request of former
circumstances provided the Word of Blake with an unp re ce- IIKh an Ulric Kere nsky. Immediately after this meeting , Focht
dented opportunity to sabotage ComStar's Terran defenses and trave led to T ukayyid in anticipation of the war games to be held
set the stage for a Word of Blake invasion of Terra. on that world in March. These events effectively deprived the
Accompanied by Word of Blake Precentor Martial Trent Arian, Com Guard of its best leader at this critical time. Additionally,
Blane traveled to Atreus. the Word of Blake infiltration of ComStar's Terran defensive
There, Blane and Arian presented their plan to Thomas fo rc es coincided precisely with the rotation of veteran Com
Marik. By inducing ComStar to hire the Lancers as replace- Guard troops from Terra to Tukayyid , a circumstance that fur-
ments for Brion's Legion and substituting disguised Word of ther enhanced the likelihood of Operation Odysseus's success .
Blake troops for the mercenaries , the Word of Blake coul d The so-cal led Shadow Lancers arrived on Terra in Janua ry
severely weaken ComStar's Terran defenses and pave the way 3058 and im mediately occupied the facility recently vacated by
for a successful invasion of the planet. Although Thomas Marik Brion's Legion at Bowling Green, Kentucky. Within days the dis-
declined to provide the Word of Blake with direct military sup- guised Word of Blake units began a series of joint orientation
port for the invasion, he did agree to provide logistical and exercises with the Com Guard 201 st Division's Alpha and Beta
transport assets, and ordered Free Worlds military forces and Battalions. Designed to familiarize the new troops with the ter-
intelligence agencies not to interfere with Word of Blake troop rain they were hired to defend and with the operational proce-
movements and intelligence operations in the area. du res of the Terran defensive forces , these exercises provided
Blane and Arian then returned to Gibson by means of a the impostors with ideal preparation for their role in Operation
Free Worlds command circuit. The two precentors met with the Odysseus. The Sh adow Lancers ' relative isolation also aided
loose council that controls the Word of Blake , and witHin hou rs their work. Far removed from the Com Guard HQ at Sandhurst
the council decided to proceed with the plan, code-named and the main North American Com Guard facility at Salina, the
Operation Odysseus. Shadow Lancers' posting at Bowling Green provided the m with
By that time , ComStar leaders had already narrowed their a lm o st fr ee reign , although severa l 01 P re centor HOM
list of potential replacements for Brion 's Legion down to a small Parrdeau's new TerraSec forces were aSSigned to observe the
group of mercenary units that included the 21 st Centau ri newcomers. Des pite this surveillance , the Shadow Lancers
Lance rs . The Lancers ' reputation, along with some subtle successfully contacted a number of Word of Blake sympathiz-
maneuvering by Word of Blake agents within ComStar, resulted ers within Com Star, the Com Guard and the Branch of Terran
in ComStar signing a five-year contract with the mercenary unit Affairs in preparation for the events about to unfold.
on November 30 . Under the terms of the contract , the fi rst In Fe bru a ry , the Jade Falcons struck into the Ly ra n
Lancer units would begin arriving on Terra for garrison duty in Alliance, further di stracting Com Guard leaders and Focht, who
January of 3058. With that contract , the Word of Bla ke had rem ai ned on Tukayyid . Preoccupied with his concerns over
completed the first phase of Operation Odysseus. possible violations of the Truce of Tukayyid and the ability of
Next , elements of the First and Sixth W ord of Blake the Lyran Alli ance to defend itself against Jade Falcon preda-
Divisions made landfall on the Lancers' base worl d of Nestor, tio n, Focht paid little attention to ComStar's Terran defe nse
where they immediately took the unit's dependents hostage and arrangments. By the end of the month, all th e Word of Blake
secured the Lancer facili ty. When the real Lancers arrived on forces were in place, and the timetable was set for the assault.
8
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
OPERAI'ION ODYSSEUS
When bad weather descended across much of Terra's Northern Hemisphere, confining -Excerpt from transmissions intercept-
many Terran defe nse units to barracks , the Word of Blake made its move. ed on 28 Fe brua ry 3058, sho rtly before the
devastation of the Sal ina com pound by a fuel-
HOMECOMING air explos ive (FAE) device.
The commander of Com Star's Terran Defense Force, Precentor Lisa Koenigs-
Cober, was enroute to the Bowling Green base to witness the Lancers' final exercises Salina Control: Unidentified aircraft bear-
before enteri ng active duty when hostilities began late in the afternoon of February 28. ing zero-nine-six, please identify yourselves.
As Koenigs-Cober's Leopard Class DropShip descended toward the facility, two aero- Lancer 1: Sal ina Control , this is Lancer
space fighters approached the vessel and shot it down. Only two 'Mechs and their pi lots Flight Alpha, requesting ap proa ch vector for
su rvive d the crash . landi ng .
Simultaneously, Word of Blake agents across Terra began operations against Com Salina Control: Negative Lancer Flight,
Guard sites. Perhaps the single most important of th ese agents was computer-systems we have ze ro visibility here . The re is a bl izzard
engineer Saloshi Fujishima. Fuj ishima was one of a handful of ComStar and civilian in progres s. Retu rn to Bowli ng Green .
personnel hired to overhaul ComStar's computerized base security systems on Terra Lancer 1: No can do, Salina Control.
following the Schism . Fujishi ma used his position to secretly install a "backdoor" that Bo wl ing Gree n is cl osed down and we are
provided him almost unlimited access to Com Star's Terran computer systems. At the bi ngo fuel. We must land at Salina.
time of the Lance rs ' attack in Bowling Gree n, Fuj ishim a was in a small office in the Salina Control: Please hol d... . Lancer
Japanese city of Nagoya. When the attack struck, he used this backdoor to send a com- Flight, you are clea red to land on runway zero-
mand sequence to all Com Guard and Terran Security Force facilities. The command seven -four left. We' re lighting up the ILS.
seq uence placed each facility in autonomous mode and informed each that it was being Lancer 1: Roger Salina Control , we have
overrun by enemy forces . As a result, the defensive systems assumed all personnel it. ETA is 7 minutes. See if you can keep a run-
prese nt were hostile and trapped a large number of Com Guard troops within their way open till then.
bases. Next, Fujishima sent out a command to change the security-access codes for all Salina Control: Roger Lancer Flight, we'll
the bases, which effectively prevented anyone from resetting the computer systems. As see what we can do.. . .
a result, Fujishima effectively neutralized more than 200 ex-SLDF bases maintained by Sa li na Contro l: We re ad you 4,000
the Com Guard and TerraSec forces. His work done, Fujishima disappeared into the mete rs out and on the path.
crowds of Nagoya until he could safely make contact with Word of Blake forces. Salin a Control : 3,000 mete rs, a little
The prima ry objective of the Word of Blake forces was ComStar's Hilton Head high.
headquarters complex, however. The system-wide computer lock-down left the complex Sali na Co ntro l: 2,000 meters . Lancer
security in shambles and prevented headquarte rs pe rsonnel from broadcasting req uests Flight, you are above the glide path . Abort your
for help to garrison forces station ed on Terra or any offworld locations. However, the landing. I repeat abort your landing.
Primus's bodyguard unit of light armor and infantry put up stiff resistance agai nst the [Static sou nds as a targeting radar paints
armor element of the Shadow Lancers, the Word of Blake unit assigned to capture Salina Control. ]
Hilton Head. As a result, the Shadow Lancer armor abandoned its plans for a fron tal Sal ina Control: Lan cer Fig ht, turn away,
assau lt and settled back into positions from wh ich it could bombard the com plex, hoping turn awayl
to either force the defenders to surrender or weaken them for a second assault. [A sonic boom can be heard in the back-
As the initial assault on Hilton Head began, Word of Blake operatives across Terra grou nd as th e two ai rc raft pass the control
took action to minimize the Com Guard response to the invasion. Word of Blake opera- tower, 300 meters abo ve the runway.}
tives who had infiltrated the Com Guard during the previous six years assassinated key Sal ina Control: Lancer fli ght, explain ....
ComStar officers and administrators . Meanwhile , Word of Blake aerospace fighters and [Loss of signal. ]
grou nd-based agents attacked Com Gu ard armo ries, 'M ech garages, barracks and
other key sites. The attackers killed many Com Guard crews and pilots and destroyed large amounts of Com Guard weaponry and
materiel. At the same time, Word of Blake agents used Siichin-a nerve agent-to neutralize ComStar's heavily fortified ROM head-
quarters. Within th irty minutes, the Word of Blake's surprise attack had transfo rmed ComStar' s Terran force into a scattered , disorga-
nized , leaderl ess force incapable of mounting a coord inated or effective defense.
To guarantee their control of North America , the remaining Shadow Lancers attacked the three Com Guard bases on the conti-
nent. Only the Sali na facili ty, the main North American headquarters for the Com Guard's 201st Division, put up any resistance.
Despite the loss of their commanders, the remain ing Com Guard troops at Salina rallied to meet the approaching Lancers. However,
the attackers badly outnumbered the Com Guard troops , who eventually withdrew under the cover of the raging blizzard and broke
through the encircling invading force .
Late in the evening of February 28, the bu lk of the Word of Blake invasion flotilla began to arrive insystem, jumping in to a pi rate
jump point in trans-lunar orbit. As the invasion fleet made its way toward Terra, vessels from Com Guard lunar bases and numerous
orbital and surface facilities moved to intercept it. Despite the valiant attem pts of these Com Guard force s to destroy the approaching
DropShips, the Word of Blake fleet reach ed Terran orbit.
As the fleet approached Terra, Word of Blake commandos moved to seize control of the remaining ComStar SDS (Space Defense
System) sites, which operated indepe ndently from the Com Guard general-secu rity compu ter system. By and large these assaults suc-
ceeded, although the raid on the Santo Tomas Andean laser battery turned into a protracted battle, which allowed the Com Guard
9
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
OPERAI'ION ODYSSEUS
10
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
OPERAr.ON ODYSSEUS
NEW ORDER
With the cessation of hostiliti es on March 7, the traitor
Satoshi Fujishima emerged from hiding to rendezvous with the
victorious Word of Blake forces. Mistaken ly believing that both
sides wanted him al ive, Fuj ishima trave led from Nagoya to
Tokyo on the Li near Central Shin kansen Mag l ev and then
began walking the remaining 400 meters to the Word of Blake-
occupied ComStar compound overlooking the Imperial Palace.
As he approached the gates, two shots ran g out. Fujishima died
before hitting the floor. Although Fujishima's assassin(s) remain
unidentified, many observers suspect that ComStar ordered his
death to prevent him from furth er aiding the Word of Blake
cause . As a result, the Word of Blake occupiers found them-
selves the victi ms of the ir own strategy, un ab le to "unlock"
much of the Com Guard computer security system and unable
to access many of ComStar's tech nological resou rces.
When news of the fall of Terra reached the True Believers
on Gibson, the Word of Blake released the true 21 st Centauri
lancers and their dependents, and the truth of the "lancer
betrayal" became kn own . Almost immediately, a number of
mercenary units that had been negotiating contracts with the
Word of Blake declared their refusal to serve the organization
and began looking for alternative employment. However, most
observers believe that the l ancer betrayal will not prevent less
reputable mercenary units from serving the Word of Blake.
As Word of Blake forces began the long process of "crack-
ing open" the sealed Com Guard bases and facilities, Word of
Blake representatives on Outreach demanded a seat on the
Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission, which denied the
request. By the end of March , however, the Free Worlds
league and Capellan Confederation had recognized the Word
of Blake 's authority over Terra. Within a few weeks , the
Federated Commonwealth, lyran Alliance , Draconis Combine
and st. Ives Compact recognized the Word of Blake's de facto
possession and agreed not to move against Terra-although
they stopped short of formally. acknowledging the legitimacy of
the new Terran rulers.
In contrast, the Free Rasalhague Republic condemned the
occupation. (The presence of thousands of Com Guard troops
based on Rasalhagian worlds undoubtedly contributed to the
Republic's decision.) ComStar issued a simila r condemnation
but declared that it would not move agai nst Terra while the Clan
menace remain ed-un less the occupiers mistreated the popu-
lation or the invaders' reported use of biochemical weapons
was confirmed . of Blake necessitated a comprom ise candidate-and as the
On Terra, the Word of Blake militia rebuilt, using salvage "'officer on the ground ," Arian was the logical choice.
and material looted from Com Guard storehouses. However, On Arian's instructions, the elected Terran Assembly was
guerrilla groups on all three of the Terran system's inhabited suspended indefinitely, leaving the reins of government firmly in
planets continued to strike ag ain st the occupying forces. his hands. The occupiers also restricted all access to the
Resistance proved especially tenacious on Terra, where the Terran archives and restricted the admission of non-Terrans to
population of more than six billion provided Com Guard raiders Blake and Earth universities. Arian also canceled a number of
with ample opportunities to hide, but the mining colonies on technology-related courses at the universities and reassigned
Mars supported a surprising amount of resistance as well. the lecturers, but the overall fate of both establishments
In April , the Word of Blake announced that Precentor remains in the balance.
Martial Trent Arian was assuming the governorship of Terra. At the time of this writing, Terra remains an open world ,
Many observers had expected William Blane, Precentor Gibson although non-Word of Blake visitors now must undergo exten-
and de facto leader of the Word of Blake, to assume control of sive security checks. It rem ains to be seen if Terra will remain
Terra, but apparently the Machiavellian politics within the Word open to outSiders, or whether its new rulers will revive the isola-
tionism of the pre-Reformation era.
11
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
FHE FALL OF FERRA
12
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
HOLD rHE l.NE
13
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
rHE FALL OF rERRA
SCENARIO 2: WHEN pulled up and dropped a pair of J91 Fuel -Air Explosive (FAE)
devi~es on the base.
TH E B OUGH BREAKS The resulting blast destroyed the Salina command struc-
ture and killed or injured almost half of the facil ity's combat-
ready troops. A number of junior officers successfully rallied the
We had no warning at all when the massive bomb detonat-
survivors, however. When these leaders reali zed that the encir-
ed over at the main facility. Our barracks are about two K's from
cling force would soon move to crush them, they quickly orga-
the HQ building, but the blast still blew out all the windows.
nized an ad-hoc unit structure and led their troops through the
I was in the mess, having just finished a stint on duty, and was
Lancer regiment.
attempting to chat up a redhead in Furillo's command when the
blast knocked us to the floor. As people struggled to their feet
we could see a hellish fireball rising where a raging blizzard had GAME SET·UP
been only moments before. Layout the BattleTech maps as shown . Use the Rolling
One of the squadies started yelling about how someone Hills #2 map from BattleTech Map Set 3 an d the Scattered
must've popped a nuke, but one of the officers-Adept Billiere, I Woods map from BattleTech Map Set 2. Due to the blizzard
think-pointed out that no one was that nuts and said it was conditions, all Level 0 hexes are cove red in deep snow (see
probably a fuel-air explosive. Whatever it was, it meant we Weather and Terra in Rules , p. 4) . Th e wate r hexes on the
were under attack. Scattered Woods map are Depth 1, covered with ice but not
Within seconds dozens of people were milling about, trying frozen solid.
to get into combat kit and get outside to meet whatever threat
,.
was incoming . As I jumped into the jeep that _would take me to
the hangar where my 'Mech was stored, I glanced north at the
K ~ ~
.
devastation . ~. ¥ SZ
3f !!~~ ~ ~
Pil es of smoking rubble lay where the HQ building and A .. ." .... ,.
~
.~.. ':"..
Alpha Battalion 's barracks had stood. About 200 meters out N 'lJ,F ~ ~
,~ I" ~'~ ~~ ,,> ~ .,
from what I took to be the blast point, a number of reinforced
11: ~ .. ....
?
'Mech hangars still stood, but even these buildings looked like a
~
ft?~ ~ ~
14
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
WHEN "HE BOUGH BREAKS
A TTACKER J .::7
The attac ke rs are e lements of the encircling Shadow 00 C7 c7
lancer Second BattleMech Battalion.
~
C7
As s ault L ance
Adept Epsilon-XIV Alex Nash (Piloting 3, Gunnery 3),
C
C7
CRD-5M Crusader I
Oeployment
All the attackers start the scenario on the map. They may
deploy anywhere on the western (Rolling Hills) map. When
deploying, all members of each lance must remain within 5
hexes of all other lance members. Attacker lance members
must maintain this spacing during the entire scenario as well.
VICTOR Y CONOITIONS
The scenario ends when all defender 'Mechs have exited SPECIAL RULES
the mapboard or have been destroyed. At that time, tally each This scenario is played in Blizzard conditions (see
player's score per the following guidelines . Then subtract the Weather and Terrain Rules, p. 4).
attacker's score from the defender's and consult the Victory The attacker receives an advantage on Initiative Rolls dur-
Table to determine the outcome . ing the first six turns of the scenario. On Turns 1 and 2, the
The defender receives 5 pOints for each defender unit that attacker automatically wins the Initiative. On Turns 3 and 4, the
exits the map via the west map'edge. (Any defender 'Mech that attacker receives +2 to all Initiative Rolls. On Turns 5 and 6, the
exits via any other map edge is considered destroyed.) The attacker receives + 1 to Initiative Rolls .
defender also receives 2 points for each attacker 'Mech The units from this scenario also appear in Scenario 6:
destroyed. Nowhere to Run and Scenario 16: End of the Line. If
The attacker receives 5 points for each defender 'Mech desired, these scena rios may be played as a three-scenario
destroyed. Attacker 'Mechs that exit the board may not re-enter sequence , with damage and ammunition levels carried over
but are not considered destroyed for purposes of victory pOints. from one scenario to the next (rules are provided in Scenarios
6 and 16). If desired, players can also improve the skills of their
MechWarriors during the scenarios. To do so, keep track of the
number of kills made by each MechWarrior during the scenario.
VICTORY TABLE For every 4 BattleMechs a pilot destroys, the controlling player
Final Score Outcome may reduce the MechWarrior's Piloting or Gunnery Skill by 1
20+ points Defender wins Decisive Victory (skills may never drop below zero). Skill improvements take
20-6 pOints Defender wins Marginal Victory place between the scenarios, not during the engagements.
5 to - 5 points Draw
-5 to -19 points Attacker wins Marginal Victory AFTERMATH
-20 to -40 points Attacker wins Decisive Victory Of the forty 'Mechs and vehicles in the Com Guard force at
Salina, only twenty-two 'Mechs made it through the encircling
Shadow lancers' line . These survivors fled west, hoping to
reach one of several Com Guard supply depots in the Rocky
Mountains. However, a number of lancer units moved to pur-
sue them, and the chase was on.
15
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
THE fAll Of TERRA
SCENARI O 3 :
F REE FALL
Aside from the flash ing green numbers scrolling
across the head-up display of his face-plate, Adept Rho-
VII Matheson had no other indication that he was falling A
th rough the sky, thousands of feet above the ground .
Inside his power armor (light) suit, he neither felt nor N
heard the air whipping by him as he plunged downward.
On his left and right, the green face-plate displays of his
troops shone like glowing emeralds in the velvety dark-
ness of the night time sky.
Matheson checked his altimeter-7 ,SOO meters.
The group had al ready fallen more than twenty kilome-
ters since jumping from their DropShi p over the Pacific 'DETAILED M AP ON P. 71
Ocean and body- planin g inlan d. Th e gro up was now
nearing the target, and for a brief mome nt Math eson shud-
dered-the group would be defenseless if an enemy ae rospace
GAME SET· UP
fighter passed through the area and spotted them. Still, the like- This is a MechWa rrior scenario. It may be played as a
lihood of such an occurrence was quite remote, and the radar- roleplaying scenario or as a tact ical com bat scenari o. The
absorbing material of the group's PA(L) suits virtually ensured MechWarrior Companion (MWC) is req uired to play th is sce-
nario.
that their target would not detect their approach.
After free-falling another kilometer, Math eson's troops Set up the maps as shown at top . The map on the left can
be created by drawing the hallways , rooms , and doors on the
deployed their parachutes. Ordinari ly the y wo uld not have
opened the chutes until later in their jump, but the target lay at back of a standard mapsheet.
an altitude of 5,700 meters above sea level. And in the thinner
DEFENDE R
atmosphere at such a height, their chutes requi red more time to
The defenders are the staff and security detachment of the
slow the jumpers' descents .
Santo Tomas battery .
Even so, the landing was fast, and the myomer muscula-
ture of each jum per's suit contracted instantaneously to absorb Staff
the impact. Wordl essl y, th e membe rs of the assa ult tea m All staff members are Tech archetypes (p. 48, MWII) , and
flipped their harn ess releases and set off across the mountain - each is armed with a standard laser pistol.
side toward their target.
Adept Zeta-XIX Victor Graham
SITUATION: SANTO TOMAs Adept Zeta-VI Helen Willows
LASER BATTERVJ CUZCO Adept Zeta-II I Jason Vir
ADMINISTRATIVE DISTRI CTJ Adept Zeta-II Benoit Weisser
ANDES MOUNTAINS J 221 0
Security D etachment
HOURS J 28 FEBRUARV 3 058 Treat security detachment members as Marine archetypes
Although the Word of Blake already had some troops on (p. 30 , M WC), but remove the Gunnery/ Space craft ,
the ground , the invaders desperately needed to land the main Piloting/Spacecraft and Zero-G Operations Skills, and disregard
body of their force as swiftly as possi ble. Despite th e work of the eq uipment listed on the archetype . Instead , each detach-
the saboteur Fujishima, however, Terra was still protected by ment member posses ses an ablative/flak body su it, an abla-
the remains of the Space Defense System (SDS), a collection tive/fl ak helmet, a medikit, a vibroblade, a military power pack
of high-power laser, PPC and missile batte rie s desi gn ed to and a standard pistol with 10 reloads. Additional equipment for
engage and destroy any vessels in orbit or attempting to land . each character is noted below.
Over a period of several weeks, Word of Blake ROM strike
teams had slipped into pOSition to capture or destroy numerous Adept Iota-IV Robe rt Wheeler (Laser rifle)
SDS sites across the globe. However, several SD S sites, such Adept Iota- I Xavier Grau (Laser rifle)
as the Santo Tomas laser battery in the Andes, were protected Adept Iota-II Gwyneth Carson (Pulse laser rifle)
by formidable natural defenses th at prevented ground-based Adept Iota-II Michiko Tadashi (Laser rifle)
units from destroying them. Adept Iota-I V Wallace Anders (Pulse laser rifle)
Acolyte Iota-VI Dani Sulgerbuel (Lase r rifle)
Acolyte Iota-III Neil Swan (Laser rifl e)
18
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
CeploYlTlent Coors
The staff members all start the scenario in the Control Room, Va rious doors are scattered throughout the complex. All
although one of the staff members may be placed in the Kitchen are shut and locked at the start of the scenario. Defending char-
or one of the Store Rooms at the defending player's option. acters must spend 1 MP to open a door. Any characte r must
Place two security guards in the Guard Room and one in spend 1 MP to close a door.
the Dormitory. The remaining guards may be placed anywhere The attackers must use their security skills and equipment
on either of the two maps except the Armory or the hallway to bypass the locks, gai n knowledge of the access codes or
leading to the Armory. destroy the doors to pass through them . Two numbers are list-
ed beside each door marked on the map. The fi rst number is
A TTACKER the Tech Level of the lock. The second is ihe number of points
The attackers are elements of the Word of Blake ROM of damage needed to destroy the door.
strike team who have just arrived at Santo Tomas after a HALO Any attacking character in the control room can attempt to
(high-altitude, l'Jw-opening) drop. find the door access codes in the battery's computer system.
All are Special Forces operative archetypes (p. 31 , MWC) , Each attempt is a Complex Action and requires an unskilled
with an additi onal Piloting: Battlesuit 3 (4+) Ski ll. Disregard the Computer Skill Roll (because none of the attackers have the
equipment listed on the archetype. Instead , each member of Computer Ski ll) . Apply a + 1 modifier if any defending characters
the team is equ ipped with a PA(L) suit, an Advanced Security are in th e room during the attempt. If the roll succeeds, the
Bypass Kit, a medikit, grenades (10 micro, 6 mini and 2 maxi; character has found the codes and radioed them to his team-
the attacking player chooses the types before the start of the mates. Starting in the next round, the attacking characters can
scenario), a vibroblade and a standard pistol with 10 reloads. open any of the doors by spending 2 MP.
Additional ski lls and equipment for each character are noted
below. A r lTlory
The base armory contains the following equ ipment:
Adept Rho-VII Willhelm "Bill" Matheson (Laser rifle with
JAF-05 flash suppressor, Sternsnacht pistol) 5 flak vests
Adept Iota-III Martina O'Toole (Pulse laser rifle with 5 Rorynex SMGs with 25 Rorynex SMG reloads
JAF-05 flash suppressor) 4 standard laser pistols
Adept Rho-IV Jimi Awolesi (Laser rifl e with JAF-05 flash 2 pump shotguns with 10 pump shotgun reloads
suppressor, Demolitions 4 (5+), a demolition kit, 20 maxi-grenades, 40 mini-grenades, 60 micro-grenades
4 blocks of pentaglycerine) 2 semi-portable support lasers
Adept Rho-III Clive Carr (Gyrojet rifle with 5 reloads) 4 high-capacity military power packs
Adept Iota-II Michael Pieczenik (Laser rifle with JAF-05 20 emergency fl ares
flash suppressor)
Half of each type of grenade are explosive grenades . The
CeploYlTlent rem aining grenades may be of any type the defending player
The attackers enter the map from the south map edge dur- desires. These types must be decided on before play begins.
ing the first round of play. Rem em ber that picking up items costs actions (normally
one Simpl e Action per item, subject to gamemaster or opposing
VICTORY CONCITIONS player's approval). Picking up and putting on a flak vest is a sin-
To win the scenario, the attackers must gain control of the gle Complex Action.
command center, neutralize any defenders and prevent the bat-
tery pers onne l fro m using their SDS weapon against the PA[L) S u its
approach ing Word of Blake fleet. Any other result is a defender Tech Level: 4
victory and has repercussions in Scenario 5: Down Into Availability: 0 (custom-made)
Darkness. Legality: C
Cost: 350,000 C-bills
SPECIAL RULES Power Usage: 1/round
This scenario takes place at night. Although the interior of Energy: 2/3
the complex is we ll lit, the outside is dark. The penalty for par- Ball istic: 1/2
tial darkness (n ight) applies to all Attack Rolls (p. 54, MWII). Melee: 1/3
Th e attackers ' PA(L) suits negate thi s penalty, and th e Coverage : Full (helmet and gloves may be re moved)
defenders have access to flares. A flare can be lit and dropped Damage Capacity: 60
in a hex as a Simple Action or thrown like a grenade. A fl are Movement: Full, no jump
illuminates the hex it lands in, as well as the 6 adjacent hexes Physical: 0
for the remai nder of the scenario. Units in illum inated hexes Athletic: 0
may be targeted with no darkness penalty. Lit fl ares can be BLD: +1
picked up safely by any character. Picking up a flare is a Simple
Action , whil e dropping a lit flare is an Incidental Action.
17
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
· FREE FALL
Power Armor (Light) suits, more commonly known as PA( L) suits, occupy a middle ground between body armor and full-fledged
battle armor suits. Designed for use in special operations, each custom- made PA(L) suit consists of layers of myomer musculature,
sheathed in a special "stealth" armor composite. Use the standard MechWarrior battle armor rules (pp. 95-97, MWC), with the follow-
ing modifications:
Each suit is custom-tailored for its wearer, so it provides no restriction
on the BLD Attribute of the user. Any other individual who uses the suit
will receives 1D6 damage for each rou nd he uses the suit and also
suffers Athletic and Physical penalties of +2.
PA( L) suits are not equipped with jump packs, medipacks or
LSSUs and do not have any integral weaponry. Therefore, the
Gunnery/Battlesuit Skill is not required to operate
the suit, although Piloting/Battlesuit is required.
A Single military power pack supplies energy for
a PA(L) suit's musculature, head-up display
(H UD) and life-support systems , an d may
also be used to power external systems via
two connection points situated at the suit's
waist. The HUD system provides information
on the suit's status and acts as rangefind-
er bi noculars and starlight goggles, but it
does not provide the wearer with any
bonus for tracking and targeting.
A PA(L) suit weare r's hand s are
pr otected by a pair of arm ore d
gloves, but oth erw ise the wea rer
may make full use of his hands to
operate equipment or weapons. A
detachable helmet contai ns the
HU D and respirator systems. The
suit can be operated without the
gloves and helmet, but the wearer
does not gain the benefits of these
systems and receives no armor pro-
tection on his hands and head .
The PA(L) suit armor also has the
same capabilities as an IR sneak, camo
sneak and ECM sneak suits (pp. 85, 87,
MWII).
Currently only ComStar (P series)
an d the Word of Blake (G series) have
access to PA(L) suits . The model used in
th is scenario is the Word of Blake G12
"Tornad o" suit. For game pu rposes, ComStar
and Word of Blake suits function identically.
AFTERMATH
With one or two exce pti on s, the Word of
Blake neutralized Terra's SDS sites as planned.
At se ve ral sites, however, the fighting lasted
longer than expected an d SDS staff managed to
laun ch and activate the orbital mirror system
known as Damocles . Despite this success, all
SDS ground bases were seized befo re th e
arrival of the Word of Blake fleet.
18
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
FALL OF rERRA
SCENARIO 4: OUT We were returning from patrol on the Libyan Plateau, about
75 kilometers north of Sitra en route to Cairo , when Kasuga
COME THE KNIVES made her move. I was on point as we crossed a section of par-
ticularly rough terrain , with Kasuga directly behind me . Now,
Madoka and I have had our differences in the past, but nothing
that led me to anticipate what she was planning .
Suddenly a barrage of weapons fire slammed into the back
of my Puma, cutting clean through the 'Mech's back armor and
ripping at the Puma 's right torso. If the techs at Jo-berg hadn't
been so insistent about getting hold of the Puma's targeting
computer, it would 've been gutted. As it was , I only lost a cou-
ple of heat sinks.
I turned as Maddy's Shadow Hawk unleashed a second
barrage that hit the Puma's left side and sent hazard lights
flashing allover the 'Mech's control panel until it looked like a
Christmas tree. For a split second, I thanked my lucky stars that
I was sitting in a Clan-built 'Mech. The cacophony of curses and
recriminations on the comm channel gave me no clue about
what was happening , but I didn 't hesitate as I dropped my tar-
geting crosshairs onto Maddy's Shadow Hawk.
"Now it's my turn ," I said as I pulled the triggers.
-Excerpted from the report of Demi-Precentor Emily
Price, 201 st Division
GAME SET-UP
Lay out the BattieTech maps as sho wn. Use th e two
Desert Sinkhole maps from BattleTech Map Set 3.
a fi'&?i ~
~
~
Ifd:'" H
II; §
A
:lI: ~ )I, ~ ~~';.=,
N
~ I=- ~
Iii
~
(!: ~ p;P
f.'t
'"
ATTACKER/CEFENCER
Demi-Precentor Price automatically starts the scenario
under the control of the defending player; Adept Kasuga starts
19
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
OUT COME THE KNIVES
under the control of the attacking player. The players then alter-
nately select MechWarriors from the remaining lance members.
Use a die roll to determine who selects first.
Ceployment
All the 'Mechs start play on the west mapsheet. The specif-
ic starting location of each 'Mech is indicated by the numbers
that follow the 'Mech's name . The first number indicates the
'Mech's starting hex. The second number is the hex the 'Mech
faces when play begins. For example, Price's Puma is placed in
Hex 1110, facing toward Hex 1210.
VICTORY CONCITIONS
Both sides attempt to destroy as many opponents as possi-
ble . Additionally, the defender attempts to exit one or more
units of the eastern map edge , toward the Com Guard base at
EI Qahira (Cairo).
SPECIAL RULES
Due to the advantage of surprise, the attacker
VICTORY TABLE
(Word of Blake forces) automati cally wins the
Situation Outcome Initiative for Turn 1.
All attacker units destroyed and Defender wins Decisive Victory Night combat rules apply (p . 94 , BTC) . The
o or 1 defender units destroyed Warhammer and the Vulcan are equippe d with
searchlights.
All attacker units destroyed and Defender wins Substantial Victory To better represent the sinkhole terrain , treat
2 defender units destroyed each hex's elevation as the lowest level in the hex.
For example, Hex 0145 of the Desert Sinkhole #2
At least 1 defender unit Defender wins Marginal Victory map is Sub Level 2, not Level O.
exits eastern map edge Treat Rubble hexes on the map as Rough terrain.
20
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
rHE 'ALL 0' FERRA
SCENARIO 5: DOWN referred to as "down." Hex-rows 02xx to 05xx are the atmosphere,
while Hex-row 06xx is the space/atmosphere interface.
INTO DARKNESS CEFENCER
T he defenders are the following elements of the Com.
We jumped in at a pirate point just outside lunar orbit and Guard Te rran Defense Fleet.
began to burn toward the planet as soon as we detached from
our JumpShips . There was little doubt that the Com Guard CSV Charleston, Avenger Class DropShip (Regular crew)
knew we w.§re coming-but we could only guess how would CSV Alexander Nikolayev, Achilles Class DropShip
they react. (Veteran crew)
We were a little over thirty minutes into the transit when 2 LCF-R 16 Lucifers
Com Guard aerospace interceptors from the Copernicus base CSV Jeanne D'Arc, Leopard CVClass DropSh ip (Regular
approached the fleet from the port quarter. Fortunately fo r us, crew)
the initial assault contained only two squadrons ; our fighters 2 HMR-HD Hammerheads
from the Ingram, Griffin and Fife took them out before they 4 TH K-63 Tomahawks
could close to effective range. CSV Casablanca, Leopard CV Class DropShip (Regular
Two hours later the fleet split into several smaller flotillas. crew)
We were part of Task Force Gold, scheduled to land at La Paz 2 RPR-100 Rapiers
before moving to secure the Com Guard base at Manaus . Most 2 SL 17 Shilones
of the fleet's DropShips were heading for the Northern 2 HCT-213 Hellca ts
Hemisphere-North America , Europe, China and Japan . That CSV Sawakaze, Union Class DropShip (Reg ular crew)
left Task Forces Gold and Copper, assigned the Azania land- 2 CHP-W1 0 Chippewas
ings, with the only Southern Hemisphere targets. That's proba- CSV Trafalgar, Union Class DropShip (Veteran crew)
bly why the Com Guard force chose to concentrate on us. 2 SYD-Z2A Seydlitzes
We were still in breaking posture when we detected the
Com Guard fleet boosting from Singapore Orbital. Our radar Cep loyment
and ESM clearly showed an Avenger and Achilles leading the The defenders enter the left edge of the map du rin g the
defenders. That's when I knew we were in trouble. Movement Phase of Turn 1, with a Starting Velocity between 3
-Excerpted from the report of Precentor Trevor Siaden, and 6. Fig hter squadrons may start play aboard or outside their
Captain, WoBS Hobart DropShips, at the defending player's discretion.
21
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
· DOWN INTO DARKNESS
of Turn 1, with a Starting Velocity between 3 and 6. Fighter SDS systems remained operational and threatened the invad-
squadrons may start play aboard or outside their DropShips, at i(lg DropShips. Players may wish to include such a system in
the attacking player's discretion. the scenario , especially if the Word of Blake forces failed to
take control of the SDS facility in Scenario 3: Free Fall.
VICTORY CONOITIONS Use the standard Surface to Orbit Fire rules (p. 38,
The scenario ends when all of the attacker's DropShips BattieSpace rulebook) and the following statistics for the SDS
have landed or been destroyed. To determine the scenario out- base.
come , first tally each player's score per the following guidelines: Primary Weapon: 2 heavy naval lasers (6 Fire Factors
The attacker receives points for landing his DropShips at each, 20-hex range , capable of independent targeting).
one of the following landing sites: Hex 0104 (west map), Hex Secondary systems: 5 missile batteries (5 Fire Factors
0111 (west map), Hex 0104 (east map) and Hex 0111 (east each, 20-hex range , capable of independent targeting).
map). No more than two DropShips may land at each site . If a Construction Factor: 280 (i .e., base can absorb 28 points
DropShip lands in any other hex, the attacker receives only half of BattleSpace damage before being rendered inoperative).
of its listed point value. For every 4 pOints of BaUleSpace damage inflicted on the
The defender receives points for each attacker DropShip base, remove 1 randomly determined weapon system.
destroyed. DropShips destroyed by weapons attacks, failed re- Location: Hex 0107, left map.
entry or any other cause count.
The point values for each DropShip are listed below.
TASK FORCE TARGETS
Task Force Primary Landing Target
Si lver Court of the Star League, North America
OROPSHIP VICTORY POINTS
Steel Sandhurst, British Isles
DropShip Type Victory Point Value
Zinc Geneva
Overlord 36
Bronze Moscow
Union 12
Lead Beijing
Hamilcar 8
Brass Kanto, Japan
Other 5
Gold La Paz, Bolivia
Copper Azania (South Africa)
22
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
FHE FAll OF FERRA
S CENARIO 6:
NOWHERE TO RUN
A.
Kea rn y: All right, Alpha and Beta Battalio ns, we've got to N
assume that the Salina base is now in enemy hands. I know
many of you probably want to march back there right now
and avenge our fallen comrades, but we'd probably only get
ourselves killed if we tried that. We may have gotten past
the Word of Blake siege line, but we're not out of the forest
yet and we're not in any shape to go looking for a scrap. DEFENDER
First, we need to replenish our supplies, repair any damage The defenders are elements of the 201 st Division 's Al pha
our 'Mechs have sustained, try to figure out what's going on and Beta Battalions. If playing the scenario as a self-contained
and regroup with other Com Guard units if possible. How're battle, simulate previous battle damage and ammunition expen-
we going to accomplish that? Well , the plan's simple. We're ditures by applying the random damage and ammo levels listed
going to keep heading for the supply depots in the Rockies. aftereach 'Mech. See Special Rules for further information.
In the meantime, I want everyone to .. . .
1 st Provisional Lance
Backman: Commander Kearny, we have a contact-surface Adept Epsilon-IV Edelle Kearny (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3),
target at 5,000 meters and closing. Bearing 087. AV1-0 Avatar Prime
(Apply 40 points of random damage. Remaining ammunition:
Kearny: Any 10, Liz? 12 LBX rounds, 22 LRM rounds, full load of MG ammo.)
Adept Epsilon-II Paulo Keating (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Backman: Signature suggests a Spider. Hold on , I've got more . WHM-7M Warhammer
A P-Hawk, and some others I can't 10 yet. (Apply 36 points of random damage. Remaining ammunition:
10 SRM rounds.)
Kearny: Is it just a patrol lance, or are they on to us? Adept Epsilon-II Neil Morris (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
HGN-732 Highlander
Backman: Commander, we have real trouble. I cou nt at least (Apply 55 points of random damage. Remaining ammunition:
ten incoming 'Mechs. The woods and weather are interfering 4 Gauss rifle rounds, 7 LRM rounds, 28 SRM rounds.)
with my sensors, so there might be even more out there.
They're closing fast. 2nd Provisional Lance
Adept Epsilon-IV Lewis Smith (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Kearny: Kearny to all commanders. We' re going to have to fig ht STK-5M Stalker
a rearguard action. First and Second Lances form up on me. Adept Epsilon-III Gary Connon (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
The rest of you keep h.eading west. You know where you' re HBK-5M Hunchback
going. Steadman, you're in charge until I get back. Adept Epsilon-III Charlotte Aird (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
CHP-3N Champion
Steadman: [long pause) Roge r, boss. Adept Epsilon-II Lizabet Backman (Piloting 5, Gunnery4) ,
FLE-17 Flea
Kearny: Okay, First and Second Lances, listen up. This is ou r Adept Epsilon-I Rick Cowling (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5),
deployment .. . . JVN-1 OP Javelin
Acolyte Epsilon-III Abi Ekoku (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
JR7-K Jenner
SITUATIO N: SHARON SPRINGS,
KANSAS, 0100 HOURS, Caployment
1 MARCH 3058 The defende rs depl oy afte r the attac ke rs have set up.
Afte r escaping the encircling Sh adow Lan cer forces at Defender units deploy on the Heavy Forest mapsh eet any-
Salina, the survivors of the 20 1st Div ision 's Al pha and Beta wh ere between Hex-rows 03xx and 07xx, with any facing the
Battalions fled west toward the Rocky Mountains. Howeve r, the defender chooses.
Shadow Lancer force doggedly pursued the fleein g Com Guard
troops , forcing them to fight several rearguard actions. ATTAC KER
T he attackers are elements of the Shado w Lance rs'
GAME SET-UP Second BattleMech Battalion. If playing the scenario as a self-
contained battle, simulate previous battle damage and ammuni-
Layout the BattleTech maps as shown. Use the Rolli ng
tion expenditures by applying the ran dom damage and ammo
Hill s #2 map an d the Hea vy Fo rest #2 map, bot h f rom
levels listed after the affected 'Mechs. See Special Rules for
BattleTech Map Set 4.
further information.
23
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
NOWHERE 1'0 RUN
A ssau lt Lance
Ade pt Epsilon-XIV Alex Nash (Piloting 3, Gunnery 3), VI CTORY TABLE
CRD-5M Crusader Defender 'Mechs
(Apply 20 points of random damage. Remaini ng Escaped Outcome
ammunition: 7 LRM and 47 SRM roun ds.) 0-1 Attacker wins Decisive Victory
Adept Epsilon-IV Min Walters (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4), 2-3 Attacker wins Marginal Victory
WHM-7M Warhammer 4-5 Draw
(Apply 29 points of random damage. Remaining 6-7 Defender wins Marginal Victory
ammunition: 12 SRM rounds, 4 AMS roun ds.) 8-9 Defender wins Decisive Victory
Adept Epsilon-III Toby Rose (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
GOL-3M Goliath
(Apply 42 points of random damage. Remaining
ammunition: 4 Gauss rifle roun ds, 18 LRM rounds.)
Scena rio 16: End of the Line. If dOing so, replace the Com
Adept Epsilon-II Lech Stanislov (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Guard First Provi sional Lance with the Com Guard survivors of
CES-3R Caesar
Scenario 2. Similarly, replace the Shadow Lancers Assau lt
(Apply 30 points of random damage. Remaining
Lance with up to eight surviving Shadow Lancer 'Mechs from
ammunition : 10 Gauss rifle rounds .)
Scenario 2 (attacker's choice). All of these 'Mechs must be
M edium Lance
used "as is"-no repairs or ammo refills are possible between
Adept Epsilon-VI Beth Fiorentino (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), the scenarios. (If players have improved the skills of th e pilots
PXH-3M Phoenix Ha wk of these 'Mechs, use the improved Skill Ratings.)
Adept Epsilon-IV Said Taghmaoui (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4), If desired , players may also improve the skills of their pilots
VND-3L Vindicator before playing Scenario 16. To do so , keep track of the number
Adept Epsilon-II Alice Nuwome (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), of kills made by each MechWarrior during the scenario. For
STN-3M Sentinel every 4 BattleMechs a pilot destroys, the controlling player may
Adept Epsilon-II John Kassovitz (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), reduce the MechWarrior's Piloting or Gunnery Skill by 1 (skills
TBT -7M Trebuchet may never drop below ze ro) . Skill improvements must take
place between Scenarios 6 and 16, not duri ng the en gage-
Support Lance ments.
Adept Epsilon-IV Nigel Hytner (Piloting 3, Gunnery 4) ,
SDR-7M Spider Random Damag e
Adept Epsilon-II David MacMillan (Piloting 5, Gunnery 3), If playi ng the scenario as a self-contained battle, random
CPL T-C3 Catapult damage is applied to certain 'Mechs to simulate battle damage
Adept Epsilon-II Alison Martin (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), (affected 'Mechs are noted in the Defender and Attacker ros-
OTL-5M OstSol ters) .
Adept Epsilon-I Lorna Graham (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4) , Apply all random damage in 5-point clusters, as if it were
BMB-12D Bombardier LRM damage. Each 5-point cluster hits in a randomly deter-
mine d locati on on the Front column of the BattieMech Hit
Deployment Location Table.
The attackers deploy first , anywhere between Hex-rows To prevent any 'Mech from being destroyed or crippled
10xx and 15xx on the Heavy Forest mapsheet, with any facing before the scenario begins, re-roll any hit location or critical hit
the attacker chooses. that would resu lt in any of the following conditions: destruction
of a location , an ammunition explosion, a third engine critical
VICTORY CONDITIONS hit, a second gyro critical hit, a hip or shoulder actuator critical
The defender must exit as many of his 'Mechs as possible hit or a cockpit critical hit.
off the western map edge. The attacke r attem pts to prevent
these 'Mechs from exiting. Th e scenario continues until all the AFTERMATH
defender units have exited the map or been destroyed. At that The 201 st's victory at the battle of Sharon Springs enabled
time, tally the number of 'Mechs that successfully exited and th e battered survivors of Salina to continue toward the Com
consult the Victory Table to determ ine the outcome. Guard's Castle Brian at Gunnison in the Rocky Mountains.
However, the unit's victory did not spell the end of its trials. At
SPECIAL RULES Ordway and Pueblo, the remnants of the 201 st fought two more
This scenario takes place at night. (Use the Night Combat bitter battles to fend off their pursuers.
rules on p. 94, BTC.) For the purposes of this sce nario, only the Once the unit entered the Front Range, it successfully
Warhamm ers are equipped with searchlights. broke contact with its pursuers and headed for Gunnison .
All Level 0 hexes, except those with Heavy Woods, are However, the 20 1st's problems were far from over.
covered in deep snow. The weather condi tion of Falling Snow is
in effect as well. (See Weather and Terrain Ru les, p. 4) .
This scenario may be played as part of a th ree-scenario
sequence wi th Scenario 2: When the Bough Breaks and
24
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
rHE ~A" O~ rERRA
25
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
G.VE ME "BERI'Y•••
Deployment
The attacker may move the units of Ever True II-Epsilon
onto the eastern edge of the mapboard during his first
Movement Phase. The units of Willing Obedience II-Delta enter
the mapboard via the eastern edge during the attacker's sec-
ond Movement Phase.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
The scenario lasts until all the units on one side have been
destroyed or until 20 turns have been completed. If units on
both sides have survived after 20 turns, determine the battle's
outcome as follows: If the Terran Assembly building remains
intact, the side that "occupies" it at the end of the scenario wins .
To occupy the building, a side must have an infantry unit in the
Terran Assembly building hexes. If neither side can manage
that, one of them can occupy the building by moving a
BattieMech into one of the adjacent hexes.
If the Terran Assembly is destroyed during the fighting, the
scenario ends immediately and the player who destroyed it
loses. However, if both players intentionally damaged the build-
ing during the scenario, the scenario ends as a draw-both
players have failed to achieve their objectives.
SPECIAL RULES
The weather condition of Falling Snow is in effect for this
scenario. Also, the Water hexes on the City Street Grid/Park
map are covered with ice. (The river on the other mapsheet is
normal Depth 1 Water.) See Weather and Terrain Rules, p. 4.
If desired, players may use Double-Blind Rules (p. 7,
BattleTech Tactical Handbook) during the scenario.
AFTERMATH
Both sides suffered heavy casualties during the close fight-
ing at Geneva, particularly the infantry units that participated.
The conflict also left many of the buildings in central Geneva
badly damaged; only the Assembly building escaped relatively
unscathed. However, even the Assembly bore the scars of four
separate Word of Blake assaults, in the form of windows bro-
ken, doors blown in, and walls pock-marked by weapons fire. In
the end, the Word of Blake captured the Terran Government,
but at horrendous cost to themselves and the people of
Geneva.
28
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
FHE FALL OF FERRA
SITUATION: COMSTAR
MILITARY HEADBUARTERS.
SANDHURST MILITARY D EFENCER
ACADEMY. BERKSHIRE. The defen de r consists of the following elements of the
BR ITISH ISLES. 1330 H OU R S . Sandhurst Traini ng Regiment.
1 MARCH 3058 True Students II.Alpha
.. Serve to Lead" Adept Epsilon-IV Gareth Pidgeon (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4) ,
-Motto of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst CLN-7V Chameleon
Acolyte Epsilon-I Andy Ryan (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5) ,
Sandhurst represented one of the Word of Blake's primary CLN-7V Chameleon
objectives in the battle for Terra. As the command center for the Acolyte Epsilon-I Elaine Cunningham (Piloting 6, Gunnery
entire Com Guard , the base contained large amoun ts of 4) , LCT-3M Locust
materiel, as well as invaluable information on the Com Guard' s Acolyte Epsilon-I Rebecca Wynberg (Piloting 5, Gunnery
troop strengths, deployments, facilities, and the like. 4), LCT-3M Locust
The Word of Blake forces carrie d out th eir assau lt of Acolyte Epsilon-I Kia Middlebeck (Piloting 6, Gunnery 5),
Sandhurst in two phases. Late in the afternoon of February 28, CPLT-C1 Catapult
small co mmando grou ps penetrated the base secu rity and Acolyte Epsilon-I Katsumi Mikimoto (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5),
sl ipped into the command building. USing si lenced weapons, ARC-5S Archer
they killed almost all of the base's military command staff. But
in a major oversight, the assassins did not attack any of the lec-
turing staff in outlying buildings.
27
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
SERVE 1'0 lEAD
D eploYlTlent
The attackers enter from the eastern map edge during their
first Movement Phase.
VI C TORY CONCITIONS
The scenario ends when all the units of one side have
been destroyed or exited the mapboard.
The defender must prevent the attacker units from exiting
the western edge of the map for as long as possible . If the
defender prevents 'Mechs from exiting past Turn 4, he receives
poi nts at the end of each turn. After Turn 5, the defender receives
5 points; after Turn 6, he receives 6 points; after Turn 7, 7 points;
and so on. The defender stops receiving these points as soon as
an attacker 'Mech successfully exits the map. Additionally, the
defender gains 5 points for each attacker 'Mech destroyed and
for each defender 'Mech that exits the western map edge after
Turn 6. Defending units earn no points if they exit off any other
map edge or exit before or during Turn 6.
The attacke r receives 10 points for each attacking 'Mech
that exits the western map edge or remains operational after all
the defenders have been destroyed or withdrawn. A 'Mech that
Warriors for Truth II.Alpha is un able to move for any reason is considered inoperational
Adept Epsilon-III Francois Lehronique (Piloting 5, Gunnery when determining victory.
4), HBK-5M Hunchback After play has ended, tally up each player's score. Then
Acolyte Epsilon-I Carlo Glenesk (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), subtract the attacker's score from the defender'S score and
BJ-2 Blackjack consult the Victory Table to determine the outcome.
Acolyte Epsilon-III Kate Willis (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3),
WHM-7S Warhammer
Acolyte Epsilon-I Edward Pask (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
CRD-5M Crusader VICTORY TABLE
Acolyte Epsilon-I Hassan Okrand (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), Final Score Outcome
MAD-50 Marauder 30 or more Defender wins Decisive Victory
Acolyte Epsilon-I Julie Birchall (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), 29 to 11 Defender wins Marginal Victory
CP 11-A Cyclops 10 to-lO Draw
- 11 to -29 Attacker wins Marginal Victory
CeploYlTlent - 30 or lower Attacker wins Decisive Victory
The defenders deploy on the west mapsheet. Place the
'Mechs of True Students within 3 hexes of Hex 0404. Th e
'Mechs of Warriors for Truth begin play within 3 hexes of Hex SPECIAL RULES
1109. The adverse weather condition of Fog affects units on both
mapsheets. (See Weather and Terrain Rules, p. 5.)
ATTACKER
Each building starts the scenario with the maxi mum
The attackers are elements of the Word of Blake's Task
Con struction Factor possible for the building 's type. None of the
Force Steel.
buildings has a basement.
Shield of .Justice II·Alpha
Adept Epsilon-V Aenaeus Parvus (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4) , AFTERMATH
CHP-1 N Champion
Adept Epsilon-IV Neil "Garfield" Barret (Piloting 5, Gunnery During the battle at Sandhurst, a small contingent of Com
4), TYM-1A Toyama* Guard troops held back a vastly superior Word of Blake force
Adept Epsilon-III Zabu Weah (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4), for almost fifteen minutes-although at a very high price. Of the
GRN-D-01 Grand Crusader twenty-four 'Mechs in the Com Guard contingent, only seven
Adept Epsilon-II Roberto Maldini (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5) , remained operational after the battle-and three were so badly
ALB-3U Albatross damaged that they had to be abandoned shortly after the with-
Adept Epsilon-II Sean Lamb (Piloting 4, Gunnery 5) , drawal. However, the defenders' valiant effort enabled al most
VRR-9K Victor fifty Com Guard 'Mechs and vehicles to escape Sandhurst and
Adept Epsilon-II Nigel Piggot (Piloting 5, Gunnery 3), engage the invaders in a series of vicious running battles during
MAD-50 Marauder the next few days.
28
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
IRVI ro LIAD
29
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
rHE FALL OF rERRA
30
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
MINI·CAMPAIGN RULES
Hetzer Wheeled Assault Vehicle (regular crew) Adept Epsilon-I Johanna Harris (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Partisan ADV (3058 refit, regular crew) WSP-1A Wasp
Sprint VTOL (regular crew) Acolyte Epsilon-III Guiseppe Tonolini (Piloting 5, Gunnery
4), FS9-H Firestarter
True Faith II-Mu
Chaparral Artillery Tank (regular crew) Ever Vigilant II-Alpha
Padilla Artillery Tank (regular crew) Adept Epsilon-III Mariane Thackery (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Maxim Heavy Hover Transport (regular crew) HUR-WO Huron Warrior
Maxim Heavy Hover Transport (regular crew) Adept Epsilon-III Juana Garcia (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Foot Infantry Platoon (rifle) HBK-5M Hunchback
Foot Infantry Platoon (SRM) Adept Epsilon-II Laura Kaye (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
DV-6M Dervish
Ready Supp ort II-Lambda Adept Epsilon-I Caroline Noone (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
J-27 Ordnance Transport (regular crew) STN-4L Sentinel
J-27 Ordnance Transport (regular crew) Acolyte Epsilon-II Richard Auton (Piloting 3, Gunnery 4),
MASH Truck (regular crew) GRF-3M Griffin
135-K Coolant Truck (regular crew) Acolyte Epsilon-II Mike Harrison (Piloting 5, Gunnery 3) ,
Flatbed Truck" (regular crew) . CRB-27 Crab
Flatbed Truck" (regular crew)
S\Nift .Justice II-Alpha
Sandhurst Provisional 1I.lota Adept Epsilon-V Clodagh Roche-Kelly (Piloting 5, Gunnery
Wheeled APC (regular crew) 4), KTO-19 Kintaro
Wheeled APC (regular crew) Adept Epsilon-III Tony Reeves (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Foot Infantry Platoon (rifle) BJ-2 Blackjack
Jump Infantry Platoon (laser) Adept Epsilon-III Max Aitchison (Piloting 3, Gunnery 4) ,
Jump Infantry Platoon (SRM) GRF-3M Griffin
Mechanized Infantry Platoon (rifle) Adept Epsilon-II Charles Smith (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
SC P-1 0 Scorpion
"See New Equ ipment, page 6 1. Adept Epsilon-I David Marsland (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
TBT -7M Trebuchet
W ORD OF BLAKE MILITIA, Acolyte Epsilon-II Modupe Olorwe-Okere (Piloting 5,
TASK FORCE STEEL, ALPHA Gunnery 5), SHD-5M Shadow Hawk
A ND BETA BATTALIONS Martyr's Wisdom II-Alpha
Precentor Epsilon-II Sam Ling (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
BLAKE'S MESSENGERS III-BETA
OTL-5M Ostsol
Adept Epsilon-I Theresa Oyakami (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4) ,
Blake's Vision II-Alpha
RFL-5M Rifleman
Adept Epsi lon-IV Rie Kotobuka (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
Adept Epsilon-III Oonagh Sheehan (Piloting 5, Gunnery 5),
MCY -99 Mercury
TDR-7M Thunderbolt
Adept Epsilon-II Miki Koishikawa (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Adept Epsilon-III Will Clarke (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4) ,
STG -3R Stinger
BCN-3R Buccaneer
Adept Epsilon-II Peter Marsh (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3),
Acolyte Epsilon-I George Hick (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
OTT-7J Ostscout
TMP-3M Tempest
Adept Epsilon-I Jini Gou lding (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4) ,
Acolyte Epsilon-I Bruce Rioch (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4) ,
LCT -1V Locust
EXC-B2 Excalibur
Acolyte Epsilon-I II Frances Elston (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4) ,
HER-1S Hermes
Cleansing Fire II-Delta
Acolyte Epsilon-II Delphine Guerrard (Pi/oting 5, Gunnery
Adept Epsilon-III Alessandro Gallo (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
4), LCT-1S Locust
TBT-7M Trebuchet
Adept Epsilon-II Carolyn Dampier (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4) ,
The Faithf u l II-Alpha
CPLT-C3 Catapult
Adept Epsilon-VI Beth Laurence (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
Adept Epsilon-II Chi Kit Tsang (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4) ,
PXH-1 Phoenix Hawk
GLT-5M Guillotine
Adept Epsilon-IV Diane Erin (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
Acolyte Epsilon-II Ro Armstrong (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
HMR-3M Hammer
TDR-7M Thunderbolt
Adept Epsilon-II Klaus Erkhart (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Padilla Artillery Tank (regular crew)
WTH-2 Whitworth
Padilla Artillery Tank (regular crew)
Adept Epsilon-I Brian Wilkes (Piloting 4 , Gunnery 5) ,
ASN-23 Assassin
'31
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
MINI·CAMPAIGN flULES
32
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
o
MINI·CAMPAIGN RULES
COOLANT TRUCK
Die Task Force Coolant trucks are useful fo r coolin g off ove rhea ting
Roll A B C BattleMechs, as well as bein g capab le firefi ghtin g units. Any
1-2 9, 11 11 10 BattieMech adjacent to a coolant truck may hook up to it for a
3-4 11 10 9, 11 turn. During the Heat Phase of that turn , and every Heat Phase
5-6 10 9, 11 11 thereafter in which it remains attached , a BattleMech hooked up
to a coolant truck can dissipate an additional 10 pOints of heat.
A player may announce his intention to detach a BattleMech
from a coolant truck d u ring t he End P hase of any turn .
REPAIR AND RESUPPLY Detaching takes up all of the foll owin g turn , afte r which the
'Mech can move and ope rate normally.
Players may not carry out repairs in the field during the
campaign. However, both sides may use their ordnance trans- A 'Mech hooked up to a coolant truck is immobile, and so
ports to load or unload ammunition after each scenario, provid- the standard -4 modifier to the to-hit number apply to attacks
ed that an ordnance transport took part in the scenario (and against it. It can also be the target of aimed shots . The 'Mech
survived) , and that the appropriate type of ammunition is avail- stays immobile for the entire cooling process-hookup, cooling,
able. and detachment.
Each coolant truck has five hookup pOints. Light and medi-
The players should determine the type of ammunition car-
um 'Mechs (up to 55 tons) use only a single hookup point to
ried on each truck before the start of the campaign. They may
gain the coolant benefits. Heavy and assau lt 'Mechs (60 tons
choose any BattleTech ammunition, provided it is acquired in
full-ton lots . Each J-27 Ordnance Transport may carry up to and up) use two hookup poi nts.
eleven tons of ammun ition. If a J-27 Ordnance Transport suf- Currently accepted rules of warfare offer a 'Mech hooked
up to a coolant truck a certain degre e of immunity from battle.
fers an ammunition hit, not only is it destroyed, but the explo-
Provided the cooling 'Mech makes no attacks, no one will fire
sion will also damage nearby units. For each fu ll ton of ammuni-
tion that the transport holds, inflict 1 point of damage on units in on it. If the 'M ech engages in hostile action, however, enemy
the transport's hex and all adjacent hexes. units may fire at the offender with impunity .
Coolant trucks equi pped with vehicle flamers (such as the
Each fl atbed truck can carry up to six tons of ammunition ,
135-K model) may fi re coolant through them instead of burning
and can also carry additional am munition as unprotected cargo
fuel. A playe r must an nounce his intention to fire coo lant before
(see rules for Cargo Carriers, p. 81, BTC) . However, ammuni-
the weapons are fi red; fi ring coolant sti ll consumes a "shot" of
tion in such an unprotected location is very likely to explode.
ammo.
Any attack that damages the ammunition (meaning any attack
Coolant may be fi red at a 'Mech to reduce its heat level
that strikes the truck) causes all am mun ition on board to
though this does not work nearly as efficiently as hooki ng it up:
explode. This destroys the truck and causes damage to nearby
The shot is resolved as a normal fl am er attack. If the attack
units as described above for J-27s .
hits, the coolant stream reduces th e target's Heat Level by 2
rather than inflicting damage.
SPECIAL UNITS Coolant may also be fired at a burning hex (or a 'Mech that
The vehicles described below, though not di rectly involved has been hit by an Inferno SRM) to put the fi re out. Roll against
in combat, playa major role in an ongoing campaign. The fol- the to-hit number as in a normal attack (applying the immobile
lowing rules are intended to app rox imate th e impact special target modifier if fi ring at a hex) . If the shot hits the target, the
units have on a battle . These ru les are optional Level 3 rules coolant puts out the fire in that hex (or the burning 'Mech stops
and not appropriate for tournament play. burning).
M OB ILE H EADQUARTERS
Any player with an operational Mobile Headquarters in a EXPERIENCE
scenario gains +2 to his initiati ve roll, provided the vehicle did Keep track of the number of kills made by each pilOt. For
not move in the previous turn . every 4 units a pi lot destroys, he or she may imp rove his
Piloting or Gunnery skill per the Skill Improvement rules (p. 17,
M .A. S. H . T RUCK BTC). These improvements take place betwee n scenarios, not
A M.A.S.H. unit allows the effective treatment of casualties during engagements.
following an engagement. After each scenario in the campaign,
any player whose forc es incl uded a MA S.H. unit (provided it
survived the scenario) may "heal" 1 damage box for all injured
MechWarriors, and may recove r up to 2 damage boxes on all
damaged infantry platoons. Infantry platoons destroyed in the
scenario cannot be revived by a M.A.S.H. unit.
Attacking a MAS.H. unit is against the currently accepted
rules of warfare . Intentionally attacki ng an enemy MAS.H. unit
will shift the victory cond itio ns of that scena rio 1 level in the
enemy's favor.
33
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
THE ~A" O~ rERRA
SCE NARIO 9:
FIELDS OF CAMLANN
..
I'd been to Salisbury Plain many times as a child. Dad
loved history and legends, and he took us to see the ancient
A
sites of Stonehenge and Avebury. He'd told us the story of King
Arthur's great battle here, at Camlann, at the end of his reign . It
N
wasn't the stories and ancient sites that attracted me most,
though. It was something far more modern.
My dad once brought my brother Peter and I to an open
day at the training grounds . It was the first time I'd ever seen a
BattieMech. An old Wasp stood by the gates, and to a twelve
year-old it looked huge. Now I know the Wasp is one of the CEFENDER
smallest classes of 'Mechs, but back then I thought of it as a The defend e rs are Task Force Epee of the San dh urst
giant knight in armor, fighting the forces of evil. I tried to imag- Training Regiment, as indicated by the mini-campaign rules
ine what King Arthur would've done with an army of (beginning on p. 30).
BattieMechs.
This was a couple of years after the FedCom/Draconis CeplDyrnent
Combine war, what some call the War of '39, and the Com The defenders may begin the scenario anywhere on the
Guards were trying to bolster recruitment. That a military facility two west mapsheets. Some units may begin the scenario hid-
existed on the plains was an open secret. There had been tank den (see Special Rules, below).
and artillery ranges in this spot for more than a thousand years,
ever since the days of the British Empire, However, during the ATTACKER
Succession Wars, and particularly before the Com Guards' The attackers are elements of the Word of Blake Militia,
existence was revealed in the 3030's, the modern use of the Task Force Steel. To determine which groups in the task force
site had been concealed from the rest of the universe. are involved in the battle, see the mini-campaign rules .
On that long-ago visit, I saw a mock battle between two
lances of 'Mechs. The fight was so fierce it raised clouds of dust CeplDyrnent
in the air in that arid summer. I suppose that trip was one of the The attackers enter via the east map edge during their first
things that drew me to the Com Guards, and ultimately led me Movement Phase.
to this situation.
There were 'Mechs out on the Salisbury Plain again, but V I CTORY CONDITIONS
this time it wasn 't an exercise or demonstration. They were The Com Gu ard's objective is to inflict as many casualties
here for conquest, and the notions of an awestruck schoolgirl as they can on the enemy while taking as little damage as pos-
began to seem strangely prophetic. sible. The Word of Blake Militia's objectives are to destroy as
-From the journal of Demi-Precentor Sharon Gardbaum, many Com Guard units as possible, and then continue off the
Acting Commander, Sandhurst Training Regiment west edge of the map in pursuit of the main Com Guard fo rce.
The battle continues until one side has been destroyed or
withd rawn, or 20 turns have elapsed, at which point the Com
SITUATION: SALISBURV
Guard force will automatically withdraw. When the scenario has
TRAINING GROUNDS. ended, determine each side's score using the following table:
WILTSHIRE. BRITISH ISLES
1530 HOURS. 1ST MARCH
3058 CONDITION POINTS
The Com Guard Task Force Epee withdrew onto the Enemy 'Mech destroyed 10
Salisbury Plain military range, hoping to lure a large part of the Enemy vehicle destroyed 5
Word of Blake forces into a series of ambushes . Whi le techni- Enemy infantry unit destroyed 3
cians worked frantically to circumvent the security lockout on Friendly combatant unit* exiting the west map
the numerous battlefie ld tra ining aids, the 'Mechs, vehicles and edge afte r T urn 5 (Com Guards only) 5
infantry moved into concealed positions and waited. Friendly combatant unit* exiting the west map
edge any time (Word of Blake only) 8
GAME SET·UP Control of the battlefield at the end of the scenario 20
Layout the BattleTech maps as shown . Use the Large
Lake #2 map from BattieTech Map Set 4, the Desert Hill s map *C ombatant units are any units in the scenario with the
from BattleTech Map Set 2, and 2 standard BattieTech maps exception of trucks, ordnance transports, M.A.S.H. units,
(from the BattleTech boxed set and/or Map Set 2). coolant tru cks and Mobile Headquarters.
34
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
FIELDS OF CAMLANN
SPECIAL RULES
This scenario is played in foggy weather conditions.
The Com Guards have managed to activate several sys-
tems on the range, and will use them to <;Jisrupt their pursuers
according to the following rules .
Minafialds
The Com Guard task force has managed to place five com-
mand-d etonated minefields (p. 93, BTC) . in th e area. The
defend ing pl ayer should write down the location s of th ese
mines before the start of the scenario.
A rtiller y
Hiddan Units In addition to any on-board assets, the defender may use
In addition to planting mines, the defenders managed to the range's arti ll ery system: a fixed-emplacement Long Tom
conceal seve ral vehicles and 'Mechs in specially prepared posi- cannon. To sim ulate the Long Tom, use the artill ery rul es (pp.
tions. Up to 50 percent of the defending force may begi n the 77-80, BTC). However, the Com Guards have only had time to
scenario hidden (see p. 89, BTC) . These hidden units may be pre-designate two hexes, and they also have limited am muni-
detected by normal means or with a Beagle active probe. Any tion : only 7 rounds, 2 smoke and 5 conventional. For purposes
hidden unit attacki ng or moving becomes visible. of time in-flight, treat the gun em placement as being 4 map-
These prepared positions also count as improved positions sheets away from the playin g area.
(see p. 92, BTC), and may be used as such by units even after
they have become visible. Treat these improved positions as W ithd r a wa l
Light buildings with a CF of 15. The Com Guards must delay the approaching Word of
Blake forces, and may not withdraw any combat units before
Ghoet e the Movement Phase of Turn 6. Any Com Guard units exiting
The Salisbury military range is equip ped wi th several the map before Turn 6 do not gain victory poi nts.
devices for simulating combat. One such device can create a Word of Blake fo rces may gain vict':.HY paints for exiting
"ghost" image of a BattleMech that shows up on an enemy units off the west map edge at any point during the scenario.
'M ech 's senso rs. Four such devices exist in this part of the
range, and the defending player should wri te down their loca- A F TER M ATH
tions before the start of the scenario. The defender may place Th e first warn ing the Blakist troops had of the ambush
them in any non-water hexes on any part of the playing area. came when an artillery roun d exploded in the middle of their for-
The defender also chooses the type of BattleMech that each mation, killing a number of infantry and causing extensive dam-
ghost represents. age to several 'Mechs.
Each ghost 'Mech is treated as an extra Co m Guard As they moved to form a defensive perimeter, Com Guard
BattleMech, except that it cannot move, fire weapons, or make troops began to snipe at the shocked B!akist unit. Within min-
use of any special equipment. A ghost 'Mech can on ly change utes, howeve r, the Blakist troops rallied and counterattacked .
facing, drop prone, and stand up. The Word of Blake can identi- The Com Guards used various decoy devices to sow confusion
fy ghosts as such by hitting them with weapons fire or moving a in the enemy ranks, allowing them to withdraw with minimal
unit adjacent to them. (A Beagle active probe can identify a casualties.
ghost within its detection range.) The ghost unit is immediately D uri ng the e ngag em en t, the Com G ua rd s los t t wo
"destroyed" when identified. (Destroying ghost 'Mechs does not BattleMechs, with anothe r four taking some degree of damage.
add to the Word of Blake's victory point total.) The Word of Blake Militia lost fiv e BattleMechs, with another six
damaged.
35
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
THE FALL OF TERRA
GAME SET-UP
Layout the 3 BattieTech maps as shown . Use the Heavy
Forest #2 map from BattleTech Map Set 4, the Desert Mou ntains
They made little effort to hide their destination , but the #1 map from BattleTech Map Set 3 and a standard BattleTech
head start they gained at Sandhurst made it difficult for us to map (from the BattleTech boxed game or Map Set 2).
hinder them . The terrain didn't help. A lot of it was wooded , and
the major roads never seemed to head where we wanted to go.
DEFENDER
The Com Guard forces cut north toward Oxford , and then
The defenders are Task Force Saber of the Sandhurst
across the Vale of the White Horse and the Thames Valley
before heading into the Cotswold Hills. Our force chose a less Training Regiment (see the mini-campaign rules , beginning on
p.30) .
direct route , making use of the motorway system that led to
Oxford, and then winding around the Cotswolds.
Deployment
By the time we reached Breedon Hill they were only a few
The defending player sets up first, placing all his units on
kilometers ahead , and we knew we 'd be upon them soon .
the center (Desert Mountains) map, in any hexes and with any
Fortunately for them , the Malvern Hills lay along the line of
facings desired .
advance, and part of the Com Guards made a stand there while
others continued on toward Hereford. ATTACKER
I knew the terrain would be a nightmare. The broad plain of The attackers are elements of the Word of Blake Militia
the Severn Valley lay to the west of the hills, almost flat for the Task Force Steel (see mini-campaign rules) .
fifteen kilomete rs between Breedon Hill and Worcestershire
Beacon. The main ridge line rose sharply from this pl ai n, soar- Deployment
ing to more than 400 meters above sea level in the space of a The attacking player may set up some or all of his forces
few ki lometers. Behind the main ridge lay a series of secondary within 3 hexes of the east edge of the map, after the defender
ridges, most of which were heavily wooded , promising a difficult has set up. Any attacking units not deployed at the beginning of
struggle ahead . the scenario may enter the map during any Movement Phase.
In the Iron Age the local inhabitants had built forts on these Units that will enter the map in a particular turn must be placed
hilltops, which were stili visible thousands of
years later. Now the Com Guards meant to
stand and fight here, and I had to ad mire their
com mander's choice of battleground. As I
ordered my men forward , I hoped that not too A
many of them would be buried here. N
-From ''Thin Red Line: The British Isles
Cam paign" by Precentor John Christopher,
Comma nder, Task Forc e Steel, Word of
Blake Militia
38
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
WHO DARES WINS
off the map near the east map edge at the beginning of the
turn. These units are considered in play in order to facilitate the
proper initiative and movement sequence.
VICTORY CONCITIONS
The defender's objective is to move a lance (6 units) of
'Mechs or vehicles off the left map edge to join up with person-
nel who have been retrieving supplies from the Hereford facility.
Doing this earns the defender 10 victory pOints. Once the sup-
ply party has left the board , the defending player receives an
additional 5 points for every 30 seconds (3 comple te game
turns) before the attacker starts to move units off the west map
edge in pursuit.
The defending player receives an additional 5 pOints for
each attacking 'Mech or vehicle destroyed or rend ered immo-
bile. However, for each Com Guard 'Mech destroyed or ren-
dered immobile, the defender takes a penalty of -10 points.
Calculate the defending player's total score and then con-
sult the following table to determine the margin of victory .
SPECIAL RULES
This scenario occurs during a light snowfall.
The battle begins shortly before nightfall and continues into
dusk. To simulate this, use the following rules : the fi rst 8 turns
of the scenario take place in daylight, and all subseq uent turns
take place during dusk (see the weather ru les, p. 4 of th e
Introduction) .
AFTERMATH
The battle at Malvern proved costly for the Word of Blake,
with the attackers taking considerably more casualties than the
Com Guard troops . A number of Blakist units were badly dam-
aged during the approach , but the assault on th e ridg e-line
proved especially disastrous. The combination of bad weather
and difficult terrain slowed the assaulting troops' progress, leav-
ing them exposed to heavy fire.
When the attackers eventually reached the crest of the hill ,
the defenders melted away into the forests , leaving the Word of
Blake with little to show for their efforts. However, the Com
Guards had some bad luck of their own ; they arrived at Hereford
to find the base deserted and most of the supplies gone.
Information obtained since the battle suggests that the
Blake's Wrath special-forces unit, who used the facility as their
headquarters, had withdrawn to one of the British Isles' major
cities. The unit's commander , Demi-P re centor Martial David
Burnside, realized that his unit would be of greatest use in opera-
tions behind enemy lines and had taken unilateral action. That
the Com Guards fought a major battle to obtain non -existent
supplies was one of the many ironies of the war.
37
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
THE FAll OF TERRA
38
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
CRO£SO Y CYMRU
SPECIAL RULES
This scenario takes place at night; use Night Combat rules
(p. 94, BTC).
Air Strikes
The clear weather allows the Word of Blake forces to make
use of air support. They have six medium aerospace fighters
(two TR10 Transits, two HCT-213B Hellcat lis and two F94
Stingrays), stationed 2 turns of flight due east of the battlefield.
None of the fighters may be equipped with bombs, though they
may make strafing runs on the battlefield .
The first pair may enter the board on turn 1 (simultaneously
with the defenders). The second pair arrives in Turn 3, the third
in Turn 5. Players may use AeroTech rules, BattieSpace rules,
or the aerospace support rules on pp. 70-75, BTC.
The Bridges
The two bridges differ slightly in design. The northern
bridge (Aust) is a single-span suspension bridge, with towers in
Hexes 0804 and 0814. The southern bridge (Redwick) consists
of five towers (in Hexes 0801,0805, 0809, 0813 and 0817) with
shorter spans.
Treat each of the towers as Hardened buildings with a CF
of 100. Each hex of the bridges has a CF of 50, and is treated
as a Heavy building. Contrary to normal building/bridge rules ,
these bridge sections can support twice their CF; that is, a CF
50 bridge section can support 100 tons .
Because the bridges are suspended, destroying an individ-
ual hex of a bridge section will not cause the hexes on either
side to collapse . However, destroying a bridge tower will cause
all the bridge sections between that tower and its neighbors
(and/or the shore) to collapse. The bridges are high enough
above the water that any unit falling off a bridge is considered
destroyed.
The Word of Blake player should keep in min d that
destroying the bridges may make victory easier in this scenario,
but will also have a profound negative impact on his forces'
chances in Scenario 12.
The River
The Severn River at this point is considerably wider and
deeper than standard BattleTech rivers. The hexes closest to
the bank (xx01 and xx17 rows) are Depth 1 water, the xx02 and
xx 16 rows are Depth 2, rows xx03 and xx15 are Depth 3, and
all other river hexes are Depth 4. (See maps above for illustra-
tion .)
In addition, the river tides have piled up a deep layer of silt,
making fo rding the river very difficult. In addition to standard
rules for moving into and through water, and the special case
ru les for Underwater Combat (pp. 95-98, BTC), the ri ver bed AFTERMATH
should be treated as mud (see Weather and Terrain rules, p. 5, The battle at the bridges was the war's worst disaster for
Introduction) . the Com Guard. The destruction of the bridges trapped a large
number of the Guard on the wrong side of the river , forcing
F orced Surrender them to surrender when the situation became untenable.
Any defending units unable to escape from the battlefield The collapse of the bridges and the battle that followed
because of damage, movement restrictions or other factors will cost the Com Guard high casualties. Together with the sur-
surrender once all the other defending units have exited the vivors of the Hereford operation, less than fifty percent of the
map. Surrendered units may not take part in Scenario 12. original force remained.
39
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
I'HE FAll OF I'ERRA
40
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
SEASON'S END
VICTORY T A B L.E
Final Score Margin of Victory
100 or more Defender Decisive Victo ry
11 to 100 Defender Marginal Victory
-20 to 10 Draw
-21 to -100 Attacker Marg inal Victory
-100 or lower Attacker Decisive Victory
41
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
SEASON'S END
AFTERMATH
The Com Guard troops opened fire as the enemy crossed
the Teifi, taking advantage of the ene my's restricted mobil ity.
However, the use of OropShips to ferry troops meant that the
Word of Blake had a larger force than expected, and they made a
mUlti-pronged attack.
Though the initial fi ghting went the Com Guard's way, the
number and relative freshness of Task Force Steel soon turned
the tables. Word of Blake Precentor Martial Trent Arian arrived to
oversee the battle, and his lance swiftly became embroiled in the
fighting. A number of Gardbaum's troops attempted to disengage
and go to ground, but most were pursued and captured. Little
more than a lance is believed to have escaped the battle.
By 2 P.M., the battle was over, signali ng the end of large-
scale resistance in the British Isles. However, all is not peaceful-
a number of terrorist incidents have occurred in recent months.
42
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
THE FALL OF TERRA
43
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
INI'£R£SI'ING I'IMES
Deployment
The Com Guard force enters the north edge of the map
during the attacking player's first Movement Phase.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Each side receives 10 pOints for each enemy 'Mech
destroyed, 5 pOints for each vehicle, and 2 pOints for each
infantry platoon . Enemy units that withdraw are worth half their
destroyed value (rounding up to 3 points for vehicles). When all
the forces on one side have been destroyed or withdrawn, the
scenario ends. Subtract the defender's score from the attack-
er's, and compare the result to the following table to determine
the margin of victory.
SPECIAL RULES
Units may exit the map from any edge . Exiting units are
considered withdrawn , and may not re-enter the map.
The attacker's Padilla tank may not remain off board and
fire as off-board artillery. It must enter with the other units, firing
its weapon using the on-board artillery rules (p. 80, BTC).
AFTERMATH
The Com Guard forces did well in the battle, crippling or
destroying more than half the opposing force. Reinforcements
coming from Beijing eventually forced them to withdraw to
T'ienchen, where they continued to raid the occupying forces.
Despite several attempts by the Word of Blake to destroy
this obstacle to their occupation, Delta Battalion of the 201 st
Com Guard division remain in control of the base, fulfilling the
role of the Castle Brian: to hinder the actions of an occupying
force and to harass them where possible. Unlike Stefan Amaris
almost 300 years earlier, the Word of Blake troops were not
prepared to use nuclear weapons to destroy the facilities, hav-
ing seen the effects of battlefield atomics on Gibson.
The attrition of combat has rapidly reduced the number of
troops stationed at T'ienchen, and the Word of Blake Militia is
expected to succeed in storming the site within the next few
months.
44
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
I'HE FAll OF I'ERRA .
p (7 ~
~
p
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~
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A. D-<
N iI?~ M
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)<; j-(
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til:'
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j-(
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DEFENDER
The defenders are an ad hoc lance of Academy students.
45
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
_ GOD OF WAR
VICTORY CONOITIONS
The attacker wins by forcing his way into the Wa r
Academy. The defender wins by keeping the attacker out The
specific margin of victory is determined as follows .
CONCITIONS VICTORY
SPECIAL RULES
Star League-era terraformin g has made the atm osp ~e re on
Mars sufficiently substantial that rules for fighti ng in vacuu m do
not apply. Low gravity, however, remains a factor (see p. 90,
BTC) . The gravity on Mars is 0.38 G. Note that a unit's move-
ment cannot be more than doubled by the effects of gravity.
The armored door to the War Academy is situated between
hexes 0914 and 1014 of the western mapboard . It has a CF of
110. However, its position means that it can only be attacked
from Hex 091 4, and attacking 'Mechs may not charge at it
AFT ERMATH
Though they ultimately gained control of the War Academy,
th e W ord of Slake sustained major casu a ltie s on Mars .
Approximately a battalion of cadets almost destroyed a slightly
larger Blakist force, leaving only six 'Mechs in operational con-
dition.
With a little luck, the Com Guards might have held Mars
and forced the Word of Blake to rethink th eir strategy. Their
narrow loss of the planet, however, removed a potentially major
thorn in the Word of Blake's side.
48
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
rHE FALL OF rERRA
47
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
PER ARDUA AD ASrllA
In addition to the fighting forces, the defending player must The attacker's objective is to seize control of the yards, facto-
set up the facilities listed below in the hexes indicated. These ries and habitats. To determine the specific margin of victory, see
yards, habitats and factories are not equipped for combat ; below. Any result other than those described below is a draw.
instead, they are the targets of the attacking Word of Blake
forces. The factories are ar med with 18 small pul se lasers 7+ yards captured while lOSing
apiece ; none of the other facilities have weapons. (For more half or less of attacking
information, see pp. 200-203, Technical Readout: 3057.) DropShip fleet Attacker Decisive Victory
48
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
PIR ARDUA AD ASI'RA
The pl ayer controlling an out-of-control figh te r squadron Meanwhile, Blakist troops landed on a number of shipyards
must make a sim ilar roll. A result of 10 or better indicates that and se ized control. However, the defending fighters proved
some or all of the fighters stri ke the facility. If this happe ns, more than a match for the light fighter screens carried by the
make a second 206 roll and look up the result on the Fighter Word of Blake OropShips, and they soon realized that the shi ps
Hits table (p . 19, BattleSpace). Cross- refere nce the dice roll would be lost unless they withdrew.
result with the number of fighters remaining in the unit to find Precentor Zwick ordered his ships to withdraw, but was
the number of fighters striking the facility. Each of these fighters fo rced to leave behind a number of Blakist troops. Com Guard
is destroyed (remove 1 row of armor from the fi ghter squadron) , forces soon recaptured those facilities, marking the end of this
and each infl icts an amount of damage on the station equal to decisive battle .
the fighter' s velocity. Approxim ately two hours after the battle ended, a Oante
class WarShip jumped in system in response to a plea for rein-
A FTERMATH forcements and took up position to guard the yards . This ves-
Having lost th e element of surprise, the Word of Blake sel, the Narbonne, showed signs of recent battle damage .
ships fo und their path blocked by a wall of fig hters that inflicted Wolfnet analysts have yet to determine the source of the dam-
considerable damage as the Blakist fleet pushed through to the age and the base fro m which the WarShip had been operating .
yards. Th e atta ck craft Avenging Fu ry moved to bombard
War wick St ation, but came under heavy attack from t he
Combine ship Hatakaze and was forced to withdraw.
49
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
THE FALL OF TERRA
SCENARIO 16:
END OF THE LINE
A
"Invalid access code. Access denied." N
Edelle Kearny was getting sick of that message . They'd
arrived at the Gunnison base half an hour earlier and transmitted
the code to unlock the huge 'Mech-sized doors, but gotten no
response. So Edelle had undogged the canopy of her battered
'Mech and started trying manual codes.
After a full fifteen minutes of effort, the doors still refused to DEFENDER
open. Edelle had already considered and rejected blasting her The defenders are elements of the Com Guard 201 st
way through; the doors were designed to defeat all sorts of laser- Division . All four 'Mechs in the First Provisional Lance have ran-
deSignated weapons , and the comparatively light-weight dom damage (see Special Rules, p. 51) and limited ammuni-
weapons on her 'Mech would barely make a scratch. Besides, tion . The Avatar Prime has 5 rounds of autocannon ammo and
destroying the doors would gain them nothing. The Blakists were 9 LRMs ; the Stalker has 22 SRMs and 24 LRMs, but no narc
hot on their trail , and only the Castle Brian was strong enough to pods; the Hunchback has 1 round of autocannon ammo; and
protect them . They had to get inside before pursuit showed up, or the Jenner has 18 SRMs left.
all of them were dead.
"Boss, we have two lances of 'Mechs moving up the valley. First Provisionel Lence
ETA three minutes, " reported Adept George Lint. Since Liz Adept Epsilon-IV Edelle Kearny (Piloting 4, Gunnery 3) ,
Backman's death at Pueblo, George had acted as the unit's AV1 -0 Avatar Prime (apply 75 points random damage)
backstop, reporting approaching enemy forces. Adept Epsilon-IV Lewis Smith (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
"Roger that," Kearny replied via her headset mike. "Just give STK-5M Stalker (apply 45 points random damage)
me a few minutes." Ignoring the sudden tightness of her throat, Adept Epsilon-III Gary Connon (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4),
she turned to the keypad for one last attempt. HBK-5M Hunchback (apply 30 points random damage)
"Invalid access code. Access denied." Acolyte Epsilon-III Abi Ekoku (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
"Damn!" Edelle slammed her hand into the keypad just as an JR7-K Jenner (apply 20 points random damage)
explosion echoed through the valley.
"Here they come, Boss!" George shouted over the headset. Second Provis ionel Lence
"Less than one minute until contact; they're already firing!" Adept Epsilon-III Stuart Hockin (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
Edelle's anger and fear drained away, leaving her calm and DV-7D Dervi5h
cold. She turned away from the keypad and walked back to her Adept Epsilon-II Nick Evans (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
'Mech, listening to the thunder of BattleMech footsteps getting GRF-3M Griffin
louder and nearer. As she climbed the ladder to her cockpit, she Adept Epsilon-II. George Lint (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4) ,
remembered part of a Kipling poem from her youth: OTL-5M 05t501
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's Adept Epsilon-I Susanne Westphal (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
yer soul?" TBT -7M Trebuchet
But it's 'Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll , D e ployment
Oh , it's 'Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll. The defenders set up first, anywhere on the Scattered
Woods or Rolling Hills #1 maps, with any facing.
SITUATION: NEAR GUNNISON.
ATTACKER
COLORADO. NORTH AMERICA
The attack e rs are elements of the Shadow Lan c ers
1900 HOURS. 2ND MARCH Second BattieMech Battalion. The 'Mechs in the support lance
3058 all have random damage (see Special Rules, p. 51), and some
Under attack before learning of the computer lockdown, the have limited ammunition . The Catapult is down to 2 Arrow IV
troops heading for the Gunnison Castle Brian found themselves ro unds; the 05t501's AMS system is out of ammo; and the
unable to enter their expected shelter. Trapped by Blakist forces Bombardier has 7 LRMs and 19 SRMs, but no AMS ammo.
in a box canyon , with no knowledge of what was keeping the
doors shut against them, they had little choice but to fight. Support L e nce
Adept Epsilon-IV Nigel Hytner (Piloting 3, Gunnery 4) ,
GAME SET·UP SDR-7M Spider (apply 20 points random damage)
Layout the BattleTech maps as shown . Use the Mountain Adept Epsilon-II David MacMillan (Piloting 5, Gunnery 3) ,
Lake and Scattered Woods maps from BattleTech Map Set 2, CPLT-C3 Catapult (apply 45 points random damage)
and the Rolling Hills #1 and #2 maps from BattleTech Map Set 3. Adept Epsilon-II Alison Martin (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4) ,
Sheer cliffs form the north, west and south edges of the map, and OTL-5M 05t501 (apply 50 pOints ran dom damage)
so no 'Mechs may exit or be forced to leave these map edges. Adept Epsilon-I Lorna Graham (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
BMB-12D Bombardier (apply 35 points random damage)
50
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
END OF "HE '.NE
A s sault Lance shoulder actuator critical hit; or a cockpit critical hit. If a critical
Adept Epsilon-II I Antoinette Keogh (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), hit is inflicted but the only possible result is one of these condi-
T-IT-N10M Grand Titan tions, disregard the critical hit.
Adept Epsilon-II Hadrian Barrowcliffe (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4),
ZEU-9S Zeus Morale
Adept Epsilon-II Gareth Griffiths (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4), Having fought a running battle for the best part of two days,
TDR-7M Thunderbolt both sides are reaching the end of their endurance and morale
Adept Epsilon-II Paul Hucknall (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), is at a low ebb. The Lancers know that if they hit the 201 st hard
JM6-DD JagerMech enough, the Com Guard force will break and surrender. The
201 st knows that their only hope is to damage the Shadow
Pur s uit Lan ce Lancers enough to force them to back off, allowing the Com
Adept Epsilon-IV Anton Ricks (Piloting 4, Gunnery 4), Guards to escape the canyon .
ENF-5D Enforcer To simulate this situation, each side begins with a Morale
Adept Epsilon-II Karl Mueller (Piloting 5, Gunnery 4), score of 20, which rises or falls as follows:
WVE-9N Wyvern
Acolyte Epsi lon-III Taron Morgan (Piloting 4, Gunnery 5) , Com Guards 'Mech destroyed (Lancers only) +1
CDA-3M Cicada Lancer 'Mech destroyed (Com Guards only) +2
Acolyte Epsilon-I Richard Pirie (Piloting 6, Gunnery 5), Friendly 'Mech destroyed -2
HER-5S Hermes /I Friendly 'Mech rendered immobile -1
Friendly commander's 'Mech destroyed
D eployment (Kearny for the 201 st, Nash or Hytner
The attackers may be deployed up to six hexes in from the for the Shadow Lancers) -2
east map edge.
Keep a running tally of the Morale scores throughout the
VICTO RY C O N D IT I ONS scenario. When a side's Morale score reaches 12 or less, that
The scenario continues until one side has been destroyed, side may surrender (201 st Division) or withdraw (Shadow
surrenders or withdraws from the map. If the Com Guard troops Lancers). During the End Phase of each turn in which a side's
surrender or are de stro yed, the Sh adow Lancers win the Morale score is 12 or less, each player should make a morale
engagement. If the Lancers are destroyed or forced to with- check by rolling 2D6. If the result is equal to or greater than the
draw, the Com Guards wi n the scenario. (For more information, side's current Morale score, that side breaks.
see Morale, below. ) If the 201 st Division breaks, it surrenders immediately and
the scenario ends in victory for the Word of Blake.
S PECIAL RU L ES If the Shadow Lancers break, they make an orderly with-
This scenario is played in deep snow; snowdrifts cover all drawal. All units must take the shortest route towards the west-
non-water hexes. ern map edge, but may make a "fighting withdrawal" if the
It is recommended that this scenario be played in conjunc- attacking player so desires. The attacker should continue to
tion with Scenario 2: When t he Bough Breaks (p. 14), and make a morale check in each End Phase. A second break
Scenario 6: Nowhere To Run (p. 23). In this case, replace the means that his forces flee the field; all units must face west and
Com Guards First Provisional Lance and the Shadow Lancers' move toward the western map edge at maximum speed .
support lance with the su rvivors of both sides from Scenario 6. Attacking units may fire weapons as they flee, but may not
These 'Mechs are used as-is; players may not make repairs or make any torso twists. The scenario ends in a Com Guards vic-
refill their am munition stocks between scenarios. Note that as a tory when the last Lancer 'Mech exits the map. If the only
result of experience gained in scenarios 2 and 6, the skill levels Lancer 'Mechs remaining on the board are immobile at any time
indicated in the above rosters may have changed. after the Lancers break a second time, the Lancers lose.
R a n d om C a rnage
If this scenario is played on its own rather than as a contin- AFTERMATH
uation from Scenari o 6, random damage will be inflicted on The battle at Gunnison effectively ended the Com Guards'
certain 'Mechs to represent combat damage from previous bat- battle for North America. Before being crushed, however,
tles. The amount of damage is listed with each 'Mech in the ros- Kearny's command managed to destroy a number of pursuers,
ters above. Apply this damage in 5-point clusters, just like stan- and several members of the 201 st evaded capture. These sur-
dard LRM damage. Each 5-point cluster should apply to a ran- vivors formed the nucleus of several North American resistance
domly determined location on the Front column of the cells, and continue to harass the Word of Blake wherever possi-
BattleMech Hit Location Table. ble.
To prevent any 'Mech from being destroyed or crippled The Word of Blake was glad to see the end of the fighting
before the scenario begins, re-roll any hit location that would in North America. Pacification freed up a number of troops for
result in part of the 'Mech being destroyed or rendered useless. peacekeeping duties and transfer to other theatres, in particular
Also re-roll any critical hit that would result in any of the follow- the under-strength South American and African operations.
ing conditions: destruction of a location; an ammunition ·explo-
sion; a third engine critical hit; a second gyro critical hit; a hip or
51
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
END OF "HE '.NE
52
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
I'HE 'ALL 0' I'ERRA
WAR WITHOUT ENe "That's where you're wrong Trent Arian," she said in a
hoarse whisper. "It's not over. It'll never be over while any of the
Com Guards remain alive. "
The doors banged open as the guards entered the hall. -Excerpt from Flames Against the Dark; A Call to
The prisoner held between them was barely conscious, her feet Resistance, an anonymous pamphlet presumed to be the work
dragging along the floor. A massive bruise covered the right of the Terran underground
side of her face, swelling one eye shut-the result of a hasty
ejection from a BattleMech. The MechWarrior bodysuit she Though major hostilities had ended by the second week of
wore was bloodied and torn, with bandaging and synth-skin March with the Word of Blake claiming victory , the battle for
peeking out from the rips. Her wrists were bound with a pair of Terra was far from over. Numerous small groups of Com
resilient plastic cuffs . Guards had survived the initial conflict and gone into hiding,
The troopers hauled her to her feet and stepped back. She from which they began to wage guerrilla war against their
stood swaying , attempting to focus with her one good eye on oppressors. Most of these were infantry troopers, but in several
the two figures in front of her. One was a slim young man in his more remote parts of the planet a few Com Guard BattleMechs
late twenties, someone she knew. The other was older, mid- remained in the field. Most surviving 'Mech forces were lance
fifties or so. His rank inSignia confirmed her suspicions about size or smaller and in poor condition, but a few forces up to
his identity . Only two people held that rank, and she knew company strength remained to challenge the Blakist occupa-
Focht was on Tukayyid. tion.
The younger man spoke. "Hello, Sharon. It's been a while." Starved of resources and vastly outnumbered , these small
Demi-Precentor Sharon Gardbaum glared at him . "When bands face a bleak future. Their small size and diverse nature,
you ran away to join the Blakies, I never thought we'd meet however, give them a temporary advantage against the occu-
again, let alone like this." piers by making them that much harder to track down an d
He smiled. "You knew we'd come. The on ly question was destroy. At least in the short term, they are likely to tie up much
when. I got this job because I knew the lay of the land here bet- of the Word of Blake's military machine.
ter than most. If others had done their jobs properly, you and I The information in this and the following section, Terra in
wouldn't be having this conversation." 3058 , allows players to stage BattleTech and MechWarrior
She gave a harsh laugh. "Meaning if others had done their campaigns on postwar Terra. This section offers information on
jobs properly, I would've been dead. Murdered like the others at postwar troop distribution and available equipment; Terra in
Sandhu rst. Cheers. That makes me ever so happy. Do you do 3058 provides general background information on Terra in the
this to all your old flames?" mid-31st century.
Seeing his companion at a loss for word s, the older man
spoke. "What Precentor Christopher meant, Miss Gardbaum , is TROOP PLACEMENTS
that if others had done their jobs, there would have been no
The bulk of the Word of Blake Militia made planetfall in
resistance and minimal casualties. A number of officers would
North America and Europe to deal with the Com Guards sta-
have died, but that outcome was inevitable-and their deaths
tioned there. They soon spread across the planet, taking control
would have spared many soldiers' lives. We did not expect peo-
of various facilities and enforcing co-operation from local gov-
ple outside the military structure to take control of the regiment
ernments .
... though with the benefit of hindsight, we should have."
Including the troops masquerading as the 21 st Centauri
Sharon looked him in the eye. "Are you satisfied with what
Lancers, seven Word of Blake divisions made landfall on
your people did?"
Terra-the equivalent of twelve regiments, of which more than
"Satisfied?" He shook his head. "No, I'm not satisfied . I'm a
50 percent were infantry and conventional troops.
sol dier. I don 't enjoy this carnage any more than you do, but
Approximately 370 'Mechs took part in the assault. All of the
since you chose to lead your cadets in a hopeless battle
attacking units su rvived, though some-most notably Task
against a vastly superior force, we had little choice."
Forces Steel, Gold and Copper-sustained major casualties at
"It was butchery," she spat.
the hands of the Com Guard and had to be reorganized after
"It was warfare ," he snapped back. "And you share the
the fighting ended.
blame. Those cadets had no officers until you appeared. You
Following the cessation of hostilities on 7 March, Precentor
led them to their doom , not I. Will your precious Focht be proud
Martial Arian began to reorganize and redeploy his forces to
of what you did?"
keep control of the planet they had won. The Shadow Lancers
She said nothing, regarding him silently and stead ily. 'They
were reassimilated into the main body of the militia along with
followed your orders," he continued, raising his voice and strid-
material salvaged from the Com Guard forces, restoring the
ing toward her. "Did what you said. Are you satisfied to have
Blakist force to seven divisions. Precentor Martial Arian sta-
their blood on you r hands?"
tioned one division on each of Terra's main continents and one
He paused, ta king a moment to regain his co mpos ure.
on Mars, with a nominal force guarding Antarctica . Most of
When he spoke again, his tone was measured. "We never
these units spend their time investigating the various Com
wan ted a bloodbath. Now we control Terra. Your futile attempts
Guard and Star League bases scattered across Terra, though a
to resist are over."
number are being forced to deal with increasing Com Guard
He turned to leave, but had only taken two steps when the
guerrilla activity.
sound of her voice made him stop.
53
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
WAR W''FHOU'F END
COM GUARD ACTIVITY sides attempting to gain information and hinder the other's opera-
Though large-scale organized resistance ended with the tions . Blake's Wrath, a Com Guard elite special-forces unit, is
destruction of the 201 st Division and the Sandhurst Training extensively involved in such activities, with operatives scattered
Regiment, a number of smaller units remain active five months across Terra and Mars. Players interested in espionage may wish
after the outbreak of hostilities. Most of these are infantry forces, to base a MechWarrior campaign around such an event; for more
made up of Com Guard and TerraSec personnel who refused to information on espionage and other mission-based campaigns,
surrender to the Blakists, as well as many operatives from the see the MechWarrior Companion .
Com Guards special-forces unit, Blake's Wrath . A few armor and Overt military actions can also occu r, but not reg ularly. The
BattleMech units remain at fighting strength, but their operations Com Guards lack supplies, and cannot afford to squander the
are li mited to less populous areas of Asia, Africa and South resources they have. The Word of Blake, though not lacking in
America. Few of the resistance units are above Level II strength, resources, does not have the information needed to bri ng its
though fragmentary evidence suggests that some Level III forces resources to bear. Aerospace forces play little part in Terran cam-
may have survived at hidden bases in Amazonia and Tien Shan in paigns, because the Com Guards have few aerospace fighters
central Asia. available. They do have some BattleMechs, but the difficulty of
The T'ienchen Castle Brian (see Scenario 13, p. 43) remains getting parts and facilities to make repairs means that the resis-
in the hands of Com Guard troops, but the Word of Blake's Fourth tance forces use 'Mechs only in do-or-die situations.
Division is close to having the defenders contained.
EGUIPMENT
T H E ONGOING CAMPAIGN Much of the Me ch Warrio r equipmen t li sted in t he
Pl aye rs interested in running postwar-Terra campaigns MechWarri or Companion is avai lable in the Terran system,
should keep in mind one key factor about the ongoing conflict-it though usually only through the black mark et (see p. 85 ,
has degenerated into a guerrilla war between two grossly mis- MechWarrior Companion). Large-scale military hardware such
matched powers, and so is wildly unpredictable. The Word of as vehicles and BattleMechs, as well as parts and am munition for
Blake occupiers have a vast military, but lack the necessary infor- them, are much harder to come by. Because the black market is
mation to identify and eliminate their opponents. The surviving the primary source, the base price of such military equipment
Com Guards have reliable information on the deployment of the begins at about 150 percent of normal costs, rising to 200 or 300
Word of Blake forces, but lack the materiel and numbers to effec- percent for vehicles.
tively oust them. Therefore, most of the "battles" between the two
sides are likely to be acts of espionage and terrorism, with both
54
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
WAR WII'HOUI' END
WORD OF BLAKE
AVAILABLE BATTLEMECHS BATTLEMECHS(3055,305B)
[3050,3055,3058)
Name Tonnage Technical OmniMech
'Mech TypefTech Readout Dice Roll Result Readout
Light or Medium/3050 4+ HMR-3M Hammer 30 3055 No
Heavy or AssaulU3050 6+ KA-KL-1532 Jackal 30 3055 No
Light or Medium/3055 6+ FNHK-9K Falcon Hawk 35 3058 No
Heavy or AssaulU3055 7+ FS9-0 Firestarter 45 3058 Yes
Light or Medium/3058 7+ BJ2-0 Blackjack 50 3058 Yes
Heavy or AssaulU3058 8+ HUR-WO R4L Huron Warrior 50 3055 No
Inner Sphere OmniMech/3058 11 + APL-1 M Apollo 55 3055 No
TR-1 Wraith 55 3055 No
AN V-3M Anvil 60 3055 No
If they wish, players may choose the composition of Word of TMP-3M Tempest 65 3055 No
Blake or Com Guard forces already on-planet. Both sides regular- EXC-B2 Excalibur 70 3058 No
ly use the equipment in Technical Readout: 3025 and Technical ST -8A Shootist 70 3058 No
Readout: 3026, and so 'Mechs and vehicles from these books WR-DG-02G-FC War Dog 75 3055 No
are automatically available. They also use much of the equipment GRN-D-01 Grand Crusader 80 3058 No
in Technical Readout: 3050, but that equipment is harder to get. LGB-7Q Longbow 85 3058 No
Designs from Technical Readout: 3055 and Tecnhical ALB-3U Albatross 95 3055 No
Readout: 3058 are even less common. Players wishing to use MR-V2 Cerebus 95 3055 No
3050, 3055, or 3058 'Mechs must roll 2D6 for each 'Mech. The T-IT-N10M Grand Titan 100 3055 No
dice roll result determines whether or not the 'Mech is available,
according to the table below. Clan 'Mechs are unavailable.
The following BattleMechtables list the 3055 and 3058
'Mech designs commonly used by each side, though players
may choose others subject to the limitations already given.
55
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
.,.HE FALL OF .,.ERRA
Star: Sol
Type: G2V
TERRA IN 3058
Time to Jump Point: 9 days
Recharging Station: Both The discovery of the Kearny-Fuchida hyperdrive system early in the 22nd century
Planetary system: 9 major bodies, numerous saved Terra from environmental catastrophe by allowing a mass exodus to the stars
minor planetOids and reducing the pressure on the planet's overtaxed resources. Fewer people, com-
bined with cleaner technologies and a greater awareness of the environment's impor-
Planet II: Venus tance, allowed Terra to recover from thousands of years of neglect.
Mean Orbital Radius: 108,200,000 km From the 19th to the early 22nd centuries, humans had migrated in great num-
Orbital Eccentricity: 0.007 bers to Terra's cities. Many chose to stay in the huge metroplexes even after large-
Equatorial Diameter: 12,104 km scale emigration to colony worlds had vastly reduced the overall number of humans
Escape Velocity: 10.3 km /sec on Terra. The largest metroplexes-the Eastern American Seaboard , London, Paris,
Axial Inclination: 30 the Ruhr, Kanto (Tokyo and Yokohama) and Java-supported close to 50 million peo-
Atmosphere: Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide ple each. Among those who left humanity's homeworld, ties to their new worlds and
Mean Atmospheric Pressure: 1,700 millibars interstellar nations replaced Terran national identities. Those who rem ained tended to
see themselves as superior to their "colonial cousins," even colonists within the Terran
Mean Surface Temperature: 60 0 C Hegemony, because living on the motherworld of the human race ti ed them to thou-
Surface Gravity: 0.88 sands of years of human history.
Population: 5,000 The Amaris coup of 2766, with its resu lting di sasters an d deprivations, dealt
Terra's pride a severe blow. Many Terrans who had looked down on what they termed
Planet III: Terra "newcomers" among the interstellar nations (some of which were nearly fi ve centuries
Mean Orbital Radius: 149,600,000 km old) joined the mad rush to leave the planet as the Rim Worlds troops advanced. The
Orbital EccentriCity: 0.017 Amaris forces prevented vast numbers of people from le avi ng, often at gunpoi nt.
Equatorial Diameter: 12,756 km Within weeks of the first assault, the Terran economy, dependent on resources from
Escape Velocity: 11.2 km/sec other worlds in the Hegemony, col lapsed . Between at rocities committed by Amaris
Axial Inclination: 23 0 17' troops, mass starvation, and epidemics that swept the planet during the occupation ,
Atmosphere: Nitrogen , oxygen almost 50 million people died before the Star League Defense Forces liberated the
Mean Atmospheric Pressure: 1,000 millibars planet in 2779.
Mean Surface Temperature: 22 0 C Once free of Amaris, almost half the Terran population fled their shattered home
Surface Gravity: 1.0 for other worlds. Most of those who remained were either too poor or too stubborn to
Population: 6,012,000,000 leave. Under the eye of troops from the former member-nations of the defunct Star
League, Terra's natives set about rebuilding their worl d. In the years that followed,
Planet IV: Mars local cultural identities became the people 's principal means of lifting themselves
Mean Orbital Radius: 227,900 ,000 km above the devastation.
Orbital Eccentricity: 0.093 Because of this experience, eve n today , a thousand years since human s first
Equatorial Diameter: 6,787 km traveled to the stars, Terra has the widest mix of cultures, languages, religions and
Escape Velocity: 5.0 km /sec ethnic grou ps of any human-inhabited planet. Terra's dazzling linguistic diversity is
Axial Inclination: 23 0 59' merely one example . Though the language of governm ent is Galacti c Standard
Atmosphere: Nitrogen , oxygen , carbon dioxide English , which all Terran citizens learn at school, over a hundred other lang uages are
Mean Atmospheric Pressure: 650 millibars in everyday use-more than in the rest of the In ner Sphere. Many citi zen s speak
French , German, Spanish or Mandarin as their first languag e, with Portuguese ,
Mean Surface Temperature: 10 0 C Japanese and Cantonese running these a close second . To outsiders this array of
Surface Gravity: 0.38 tongues seems like a recipe for chaos , but Terrans take pride in their multi-ethnic cul -
Population: 4,000,000 ture.
Hopes that this pride in diversity would prompt the people of Terra to resist the
Word of Blake's takeover have sadly proved false. The few anti-Blakist marches that
do take place are invariably suppressed by Word of Blake troops, ofte n by force . Most
Terrans do not seem to care who actually runs the planetary government as long as
their day-to-day lives remain unaffected . Solid anti-Blakist sentiment appears only on
Mars, much of it originating with Mars-based mining corporations. Unlike Terra , which
is largely self-sufficient except for a few minerals mined on Mars and in the asteroid
belt, Mars relies on the rest of the Inner Sphere for the goods needed to mai ntain its
existence. The mining corporations welcomed Primus Shariiar Mori 's refo rmation of
ComStar, using its loosening of restri ctions to open new markets for the ir goods. The
Word of Blake has re-imposed and even tightened restrictions on access to Terra ,
steps to which the corporations are fiercely opposed.
During much of ComStar's reign over Terra , the restricti ons it imposed on access
to the planet ensured Terra's neutrality and spared the Terran system the devastation
of the Succession Wars . Its relative isolation also enabled ComStar to conceal its bur-
58
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
FERRA IN 3058
geoning military might during the early 31 st century. Since the IN-ATMOSPHERE AND S U R F A CE
time of Prim us Hollings York, large regions of the planet have TRANSPORTATION
served as mi litary traini ng are as, and only after the revelation of Security is tig htest around transport hubs on Terra, espe-
the Com Guard's existence following the Fourth Succession cially the aerospace ports of major cities, from which conven -
War did Com Star allow visitors to approach the "cradle of tiona l and trans-o rbi tal passenger aircraft depa rt. Security
humankind" without special invitations. Not until the ComStar around sub-or bita l c argo DropShip flights an d diri gible
Reformation of 3052 did Terra once again become open to the cargo/cruise aircraft is slightly less stri ngent than for interplane-
general public. tary vesse ls. Howeve r, casual use of air travel is not recom-
Whole generation s of hum anity had been denied the mended for those wishing to avoid the attentions of the Word of
opportunity to visit their race's homeworld, and the slackening Blake.
of restrictions made Te rra an overni ght magnet for tou rists who For people who want to avoid run-ins with the authorities,
wished to visit the lands of thei r ancestors or the holy sites of trains or private cars are the best choice. In both cases, large
their religions. Amon g the most popular sites were the old amounts of commuter traffic make security checks difficult to
Terran Hegemony capital of Geneva (since transformed into the impose , thoug h individuals may fall afoul of periodic spot-
head office of the Branch of Terran Affairs) and ComStar's checks. One drawback to private cars-all of which are fu sion-
headquarters at Hilton Head. The former Star League Capital , powered-is the extensive use of auto-navigation systems that
the Court of the Star League (also known as Unity City) has allow onboard computers to control the vehicle. To aid route
remained sealed si nce the re ign of th e mad Primus, Dwight plan ning and traffic management, the auto-nav system passes
Kurstan. Though plan s we re initiated to open the site to the rou te and destination information to a central database, allow-
public, growing sentiment within ComStar and the Terran popu- ing a vehicle to be tracked. Disabling the system is on ly an
lation at large convinced the backers of those plans to let the option for travelers intending to avoid major expressways; as
site remain closed unti l th e re-creati on of the Star League . there is no speed limit on these roads, manual control of vehi-
Since the Word of Blake occu pation, work crews have been cles is prohibited. Lesser highways an d roads in rural areas
denied access to the Court. have speed limits of 150 kph and allow manual control. In urban
areas, where the speed limit is 50 kph, manual control of vehi-
O CC U P IED T ERRA cles is compu lsory.
In addition to rei mposing access restrictions, the Word of Rai l travel is less fl exible than a private car, but provides a
Blake has reintroduced several security checks for those travel- much faster mean s of crossing great distances. In many areas,
ing to Terra . Publicly, they claim that stringent security is a tem- most notably the crowded European and Asian metroplexes,
porary but nec es sa ry measure to thwa rt terrorist elements maglev trains make up much of the transport system . These
(such as the Com Guard Resistance); once the terrorist threat trains can reach speeds in excess of 500 kph. Some rail lines,
is gone, security will be eased. It remai ns to be seen, however, such as the North America-Europe line running under the
whether the Blakist forces will keep their implied promise and Atlantic Ocean and the two trans-Mediterranean links (one at
restore free access to Terra, or whether they will ultimately Gibraltar, the other between Sicily and Tunisia) run at speeds
return to pre-Reformation practices. up to 1,000 kph. Within a few hours of planting a bomb, a resis-
Currently, individuals wishing to travel to Terra must obtain tance fighter ca n take a high-speed train several thousand
a landing visa from Word of Blake person nel at an HPG station, miles to another continent without ever having to pass throug h
an embassy, or through one of several licensed travel compa- the stringent security checks needed for air travel.
nies. The use of complex verigraphs and security codes makes All road bridges on Terra have load signs posted, indicat-
such visas almost impossible to forge, though well-equipped ing the maximum weight each bridge may support. Different fig-
intelligence organizations such as the Draconis Combine's ISF ures are given for hovercraft, tracked or wheeled vehicles and
or Wolfnet may have managed to obtai n real documents from Battl eMechs, reflecting the differing surface press ures each
which to make high-grade copies . type of machine exerts. These signs allow military forces to
All vessels trave ling to or from Terra must first dock at move vehicles along highway routes without placing either the
either the nadir (Brandenburg) or zenith (Ve rsailles) recharging bridges or the transport at risk.
stations before proceeding in-system . Any vessel failing to do
so is assumed hostile and may face military action . After each ECONOMY
vessel and its passe ngers undergo several security checks, the After 250 yea rs of relative isolation from th e re st of the
craft is allowed conti nue toward the pla net. (Restrictions on Inner Sphere, the three inhabited planets of the Terran system
access to Terra do not prevent ships from using Terra's nadir have developed a more or less self-sufficient economy geared
and zenith jump pOints as stepping-stones for travel across the toward providing eq uipment, materials and services compara-
Inner Sphere.) ble with those fo und elsewh ere in human-occupied space. In
This tight secu rity makes the inserti on of military operatives fact, Terra generates a surplus of goods that are sold to trading
particularly dangerous. The Word of Blake, in conjunction with consortiums across the Inner Sphere. Despite being of no bet-
the Free Worlds League intelligence agency SAFE, has devel- ter quality in most cases than goods produced elsewhere, items
oped a massive database of known merce naries and intelli- labeled "Made on Terra" sell for a premium because of most
gence operatives, fo rcing foreign agencies to rely on less expe- buyers' senti mental attachment to anything connected with
rienced personnel. Needless to say, smuggling large-scale mili- hu man ity's homeworld . These exports generate curre ncy for
tary hardware or large amounts of equipment is especially diffi- Terra and provide fund s that can be used for various purposes,
cult (if not impossibre) .
57
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
TERRA IN 3058
58
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
rERRA IN 3058
capture, seems an unusual choice, as it lies more than 500 kilo- MILITARY FORCES
meters from the nearest major Martian city. However, the site' s The Word of Blake Militia and the Com Guard share the
isolation on Ch ryse Planetia and the presence of the Word of same unusual military structure, based around the combined-
Blake's Seventh Division nearby provides ROM with excellent arms principle.
protection against strikes by the opposition . Roman numerals designate the different unit sizes. The
The Terran Security Service remains a nomin ally civilian smallest unit, Level I, represents a single BattleMech, vehicle,
police fo rce, though most of its members have had military artillery piece, aerospace fighter or infantry platoon. A Level II
trainin g or experience with the Com Guards. They combine unit, roughly analogous to an Inner Sphere lance, contains six
ROM's security arm (and most of the personnel who formerly Level I units. A Level III unit, equivalent to a battalion and often
made up that service) with various functions of the Branch of referred to as such, contains six Level II units. The largest stan-
Terran Affairs, operating as an independent entity (insofar as dard unit, Level IV, corresponds to a division and contains six
the Word of Bl ake will allow). TerraSec is divided into thou- Level III units, equivalent to two regiments of troops .
sands of prefectu res, each of which reports to a district head- In addition to Levels I through IV, the Com Guard also uses
qua rt er s, whic h in turn reports to the BTA in G e nev a. Level V to designate an army made up of six Level IV units.
Prefectures vary wildly in size; many urban prefectures cover Heavy losses on Tukayyid, however, reduced most Com Guard
only a few dozen square kilometers, while some rural prefec- armies to four Level IV units. The Word of Blake does not use
tures cover hundreds or even thousands. TerraSec personnel the Level V designation.
do not routinely carry firearms, and prior to the invasion could Some units within both militaries use the lance, company,
easily obtain any weapons or other equipment as nee ded. battalion, and regiment formations common to the Great
Under martial law, the Word of Blake Militia is keeping ti ght Houses of the Inner Sphere. Most of these are training or ad
control over TerraSec's weapons stores, parceling them out to hoc units, but some-especially those consisting of new
TerraSec membe rs with great reluctance . recruits-are combat units. At least one Com Guard unit is
organized in a manner similar to the Clans' Star- Trinary-
E XPLORER CORPS Cluster-Galaxy grouping , most likely for training purposes.
Since its inception in 2960, ComStar's deep-space explo- In addition to size, each Com Guard and Word of Blake
ration service has used Terra as its home base . Over the years, unit uses a Greek letter to indicate a unit's composition of
the Explorer Corps has extended Com Star's knowledge of the BattleMechs, armor, artillery, aerospace fighters and infantry.
universe well beyond the established boundaries, until the Com Generally, units with letters earlier in the Greek alphabet con-
Guard's desperat e need of funds following the battle of tain a larger number of BattleMechs, while those nearer the end
Tukayyid forced ComStar to severely curtail the Corps' opera- contain more infantry or support elements. Word of Blake units
tions . With minimal funding, the Corps might have ceased to contain more BattleMechs compared to Com Guard units; in
exist had not Theodore Kurita, Coordinator of the Draconi s fact, BattleMechs often make up as much as 75 percent of a
Combine, proposed a compromise. The Dra coni s Combine Blake Militia division , but less than 40 percent of a typical Com
wo uld help fund the Corps in exchange for their efforts toward a Guard unit.
single goal-discovering the location of the Clan homeworlds. The lowest rank within both militaries is cadet, used for
Primus Mori, herself a former member of the Explo rer Corps, anyone undergoing basic training who has yet to officially
agreed without hesitation. become part of the Com Guards or Word of Blake Militia. In the
With Combine vessels joining the Corps, the numerous Com Guards, cadet rank applies to all trainees in the first six
shipyards in th e Terran'system worked to capacity providing months of basic training, after which they advance to the rank
maintenance and upgrades. The recent loss of most of the of acolyte. Personnel undergoing the full three-year military sci-
Terran yards to the Word of Blake may hamper Explorer Corps ence course designed for training officers at Sandhurst, the
operatio ns in th e long run , but for the moment Draco nis Ecole Militaire in Paris, and the War Academy of Mars, retain
Combine yards are managing to carry out the essential work. the rank of cadet for the first two years , advancing to acolyte in
Currently, the fate of the JumpShip and WarShip yards at their third year . Upon graduation, these cadets automatically
Titan remain s un known. Though the deployment of capital gain the officer rank of adept rather than the enlisted rank of
ships should keep the Word of Blake from seizi ng control of the acolyte .
facility, the possibility of a raid-in-force prevents the shipyards ACOlyte is the lowest active-service rank, used to designate
from going back to business as usual. The Com Guard forces Level I personnel. The next rank is adept, a hybrid rank given to
at the shipyards are reportedly considering expanding the secu- junior officers and senior troopers. Adept is the lowest com-
rity cordon around the yards, or dismantling the Titan facility mand rank.
and Shipping it piece by piece to Rasalhague or the Draconis The next rank, demi-precentor, was informally in use for
Combine. Neither option has much support, however. The for- years but only offiCially recognized after the Reformation. Both
mer would req uire a majo r naval commi tment by the Com the Word of Blake and the Com Guards use this rank to signify
Guard that Precentor Martial Focht seems unwilling to make. a Level III command position. In the Word of Blake, however,
The second option would requ ire at least five years to ca rry out the title of demi-precentor is not the officer's true rank. A Word
and would prevent any work from being done in the yards dur- of Blake demi-precentor is officially either a senior adept (ten or
ing that time. more years service) or a junior precentor (less than five years
of service) .
59
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
TERRA IN 3058
Castles Brian
North America
Hilton Head, South Carolina
Gunnison, Colorado
Tacoma, Washington
Port Alfred, Quebec
South America
Manaus, Brazil (Amazonia Administrative District)
Curitiba, Brazil (Parana Administrative District)
Tinogasta, Argentina
Europe
Sandhurst, British Isles
Bochum , Germany
Sverdlovsk, Russia
Africa
Cairo, Egypt
The highest field rank in both militaries is precentor. A pre- Magadi, Kenya
centor commonly commands a Level IV (Division) or Level V Thabana , Lesotho, Azania
(Army) unit. They may also command Level III units, especially
wi th in the Word of Blake Militia where the preceding rank of Asia
demi-precentor is not officially sanctioned. Promotion in rank T'ienchen , China (Heibei Administrative District)
occurs following the recommendation of a superior, or automati- Takayama, Japan
cally after 25 years of service at a given rank. Ipoh, Malaysia
Both organizations designate overall command positions Katmandu, Nepal
with the ranks of demi-precentor martial and precentor martial. Columbo, Sri Lanka
Demi-precentor martials oversee particular service branches Australasia
such as infantry, armor, special forces and so forth . The pre- Glen Valley, Australia
centor martial is the supreme commander of the military, White Cliffs, New Zealand
responsible only to the Primus (ComStar) or Ruling Conclave
(Word of Blake). ComStar 's current Precentor Martial is
Anastasius Focht; Precentor Martial Trent Arian serves the
Word of Blake.
All ranks are designated with a Greek letter and a Roman
numeral. The numeral signifies the number of years of service
at that rank, while the letter signifies the service branch. The
Com Guards and the Word of Blake Militia use the following
Greek letters for various service branches:
Epsilon: MechWarrior
Pi: Aerospace pilot
Iota: Infantry
Xi: DropShip crewman
Lambda: Ground armor crewman/pilot
Theta: JumpShip operations/crewman
Zeta: Military technician
GO
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
I'HE FALL OF I'ERRA
NEW EBUIPMENT
This section provides background information and rules for Type: Flatbed Truck
new 'Mechs and vehicles used in this scenario pack. Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Tonnage: 10
FLATBED TRUCK
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure: 1
Mass: 10 tons
Engine: 30 2
Movement Type: Wheeled
Type : ICE
Power Plant: Generic 30 Internal Combustion
Cruising MP: 5
Cruising Speed: 54 kph
Flank MP: 8
Maximum Speed: 86 kph
Armor: Lightweight steel body panels
Heat Sinks: o
Armament:
Control Equipment: 5
None as standard
Lift Equipment: o
Communications System: Various
Power Amplifier: o
Targeting and Tracking System: None as standard
Turret: o
Armor Factor: 8 .5
OVERVIEW
Armor Value
This standard flatbed truck is used for small-scale hauling of
goods on planets throughout the Inner Sphere. The spacious
Front 2
armored cab carries the driver and six tons of cargo, while the
R/L Side 2
Rear 2
flatbed trailer can accommodate up to ten more tons of unprotect-
ed cargo. Loading up the trailer significantly reduces the vehicle's
Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
speed .
Cargo Body 6
VARIANTS
[Cost: 26,250 C-Bills; Combat Value: 172]
Though the standard truck is unarmed, in war zones such as
the Chaos March or the Clan front some trucks mount defensive
weapons. The simplest and most common variant sacrifices one-
third of the internal cargo space for a forward-firing SRM 2 launch-
er and fifty reloads. Other truckers have attempted to beef up the
truck's poor armor plating , usually without much success as the
frame cannot support heavy armor.
81
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
NEW EQUIPMENT
BCN·3R BUCCANEER
Mass: 55 tons
Chassis: Standard
Power Plant: Vox 330 XL
Cruising Speed: 65 kph
Maximum Speed: 97 kph
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: None
Armor: Kallon FWL Special Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
1 Irian Weapon Works 60mm SRM 6 with Artemis FCS
1 Diverse Optics Sunbeam Extended Range Large Lase r
4 Diverse Optics Type 18 Medium Lasers Centauri Lancers before taking their place as part of Operation
1 Starflash Medium Pulse Laser Odysseus.
Manufacturer: Gibson Federated BattleMechs The 'Mech's first real test came during the Terra campaign,
Primary Factory: Gibson with several deployed in Task Forces Steel, Silver and Brass.
Communications System: Easy Talk 2 The most notable was piloted by Adep t Will Cl a rk in the
Targeting and Tracking System : RCA Instatrac Mark XIII with Sandhurst campaign; Adept Clark accounted for three Com
Artemis IV system Guard BattleMechs in the twenty-two hours of near-conti nuous
fighting that rag ed across the southern British Isles.
OVERVIEW
After their arrival on Gibson , the Word of Blake had far Type: Buccaneer
more pilots than 'Mechs. To solve this problem, Precentor Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Martial Trent Arian called for the mass production of several Tonnage: 55
new 'Mech designs using materials produced in the Fre e
Worlds League . Equipment Mass
One design rushed into production was the Buccaneer, a Inte rnal Structure: 5.5
prototype ComStar 'Mech that had yet to be manufactured on Engine: 330 XL 12.5
Terra. After a swift redesign to accommodate League-produced Walki ng MP: 6
parts, the 'Mech went through an accelerated trial program and Running MP: 9
entered production in late 3055. Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 10 [20]
CAPABILITIES 0
Built around a compact Vox 330 XL engine, the Buccaneer Gyro: 3
has above-average maneuverability for its size and is capable Cockpit: 3
of speeds up to 95 kph. When forced by weight restrictions to Armor Factor: 179 10
choose between jump jets and additional weapons and armor, Internal Armor
the designers chose the latter option, and so the Buccaneer is a Structure Value
sturdy opponent on the battlefield. Head 3 9
Intended for close combat in cities or other restricted ter- Center Torso 18 27
rain, the Buccaneer was designed with a hatchet in its left hand. Center Torso (rear) 9
This wicked weapon, built around an ultra-dense core of deplet- -AIL Torso 13 19
ed uranium, allows the Buccaneer to severely damage oppo- R/L Torso (rear) 6
nents within arm's reach. A battery of lasers and an Irian R/L Arm 9 17
Weapon Works 60mm SRM launcher provide additional close- R/L Leg 13 25
in support. As long as the Buccaneer does not use its major
long-range weapon, a Diverse Optics Sunbeam exten ded- Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage
range large laser, it can easily manage its heat output. The Hatchet LA 4 4
Sunbeam laser makes overheating more of a problem, but SRM 6 LT 2 3
compensates for this with its ability to do damage at long dis- Artemis IV FCS LT 1 1
tances. Ammo (SRM ) 15 LT 1 1
ER Large Laser RA 2 5
DEPLOYMENT Medi um Laser H 1 1
The Word of Blake has given several Buccaneers to the 2 Medium Lasers CT 2 2
Free Worlds League as part of an ongoing technology Medium Laser RT 1
exchange, but the majority of these 'Mechs remain in service Medium Pulse Laser LT 2
with the Word of Blake Militia. The first units saw action in the
Nestor campaign, in which the Blake Militia defeated the 21st [Cost: 11 ,622,520 C-Bi lls; Combat Vaiue: 3,285.]
82
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
NEW EQUIPMENJ'
83
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
NEW EQUIPMENI'
TYM·1A TOYAMA
Mass: 75 tons
Chassis: Endo Steel
Power Plant: 300 VLAR XL
Cruising Speed: 43 kph
Maximum Speed: 65 kph
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: None
Armor: Durallex Heavy
Armament:
2 Diverse Optics Sunbeam Extended Range Large Lasers
1 Doombud LRM 20
3 Magna Mark" Medium Lasers
1 Imperator Code Red LB 10-X Autocannon
Manufacturer: Gibson Federated BattleMechs
Primary Factory: Gibson Type: Toyama
Communications System: Basix 200 Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Targeting and Tracking System : Garret a99 Tonnage: 75
DEPLOYMENT
To date, the Toyama has only been deployed with the
Word of Blake Militia . Plans to ship several to t he Atrea n
Dragoons were postponed when the Word of Blake launched
Operation Odysseus, an ope ration in which the Blaki st forc es
are known to have used at least four Toyamas.
84
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
NEW EQUIPMENt'
85
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
THE FALL OF TERRA
PERSONALITIES
TREN T A R IAN
WORD OF BLA KE
PRECENTOR MARTIA L
Age: 57
Birthplace: Otho, Draconis Comb ine
'Mech Type: GRN-D-01 Grand Crusader
Attributes
BLD 4 (8+)
RE F 5 (7+)
ITN 6 (6+)
LRN 6 (6+)
CHA 5 (7+)
Characteristics
Athletic 9+
Physical 7+
Mental 6+
Social 7+
88
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
PERSONA,.r.ES
',. ; ':.
COM GUARD 201ST DIVISION,
ALPHA AND BETA BATTALIONS
', . .,
"' . ;. 0
.
'
.
Age: 31
.. ,',
Attributes
BLD 3 (9+)
REF 6 (6+)
ITN 5 (7+)
LRN 3 (9+)
CHA 5 (7+)
Characteristics
Athletic 9+
Physical 7+
Mental 10+
Social 8+
Advantages:
None
Skills
Gunnery/BattleMech 4 (3+)
Leadership 3 (5+)
MedTech 1 (9+)
Negotiation 2 (6+)
Perception 2 (8+)
Piloting/BattieMech 3 (4+)
Seduction 3 (5+)
Small Arms 2 (5+)
Strategy 1 (9+)
Survival 1 (9+)
Tactics 2 (8+)
Edge: 1
Recruited into the Com Guard in 3048, Edelle Kea rny saw
ComStar as a means of getting away from home and seeing
the glories of the Inner Sphere. Unfortunately for her, the Clan
juggernaut arrived just as she was completing her basic tra in-
ing. On Tukayyid she fought under the command of Trent Aria n
in the 85th Division, and received the Star of Honor for her Slim and petite, Edelie Kearny looks nothing like the "typi-
actions against Clan Diamond Shark. Severe injuries kept her c al" M ec hWa rri or . H e r viva c io us n atu r e , combined with
from resuming her duties until May 3054, when she transferred s parkling green ey e s , long red hair and a c harming Iri sh
to the 201 st Division on Terra. brogue, have earn ed her a long procession of suitors (and th e
With her red hair, green eyes and distinctive accent, she callsign "Heartbreaker" ). Her quick smile hides a cold, calculat-
broke several hearts at the Salina base on Terra and became ing mi nd, and she is not afraid to use her ch arms to get what
adept at manipulating people . A natural tactician and leader, she wants.
Edelie rose to command a Level II unit within six months of her The only fl aw in her appearance is a faint scar that runs
arrival, and by late 3056 regularly acted as force commander in down the left side of her face fro m he r temple to the base of her
small unit engagements . Many of the 201 st's officers died in the jaw. She usually arran ges her hair to con ceal the scar, which
Word of Blake's initial assault on Terra, and Edelie found her- was inflicted du ring the fi erce fi ghting on Tukayyid .
self unexpectedly in command of an ad-hoc unit of survivors ,
fighting a running battle against the Shadow Lancers.
87
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
PERSONA,.".rs
SUZANNE MULVANERV
COMMAN DER, SHADOW
LANCER S
Age: 42
Birthplace: Tatlawiksuk, Federated Commonwealth
'Mech Type: GHR-5J Grasshopper
Attributes
BLD 3 (9+)
REF 4 (8+)
ITN 5 (7+)
LR N 6 (6+)
CHA 5 (7+)
Characteristics
Athletic 11+
Physical 9+
Mental 7+
Social 8+
Advantages:
Combat Sense
Title: Baronet
88
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
PERSONAL,."ES
DEMI · PRECENTOR
SHARON GARDBAUM
ACTING COMMANDER.
SANOHURST TRAINING
REGIMENT
Age: 28
Birthplace: London , Terra
'Mech Type : CHP- 1N Champion
Attributes
BLD 3 (9+)
RE F 5 (7+)
ITN 5 (7+)
LR N 6 (6+)
CHA 5 (7+)
Characteristics
Athletic 10+
Physical 8+
Mental 7+
Social 8+
Advantages:
Natural Aptitude: SIiLinguistics
Skills
Bureaucracy 2 (6+)
Sl/Linguistics 4 (3+)
Gunnery/BattleMech 5 (3+)
Leadership 2 (6+)
MedTech 1 (6+)
Piloting/BattieMech 4 (4+)
Protocol 2 (6+)
Small Arms 1 (7+) While on Tharkad , Sharon met and become romantically
Strategy 1 (6+) involved with John Christopher, a fellow Terran native and a
Tactics 1 (6+) Com Guard MechWarrior. Christopher's defection to the Word
Training 3 (5+) of Blake in 3054 shattered her world , and after numerous minor
assignments, Sharon Gardbaum returned to Terra in mid-3057
Edge: to take up a lecturer's post in languages at the Sandhurst acad-
emy.
Note: Sharon Gardbaum is left-handed. Despite her MechWarrior training, Sharon Gardbaum was
not part of the military chain of command at Sandhurst, and so
Born on Terra to a German fath er and an English mother, was not a target in the assassinations carri ed out by the Word
Sharon Gardbaum was a natural linguist, speaking German , of Blake. As the highest-ranked surviving member of ComStar
French and Japanese as well as he r native English from a with military training, she took charge of the Sandhurst Training
young age . She entered service with the Branch of Terran Regiment and evacuated the base. Gardbaum and her troops
Affairs diplomatic staff at the age of 17, and after three years of made a fighting retreat across the English countryside, desper-
hopping from post to post found herself on Tharkad during the ately seeking escape from their Word of Blake pursuers.
Clan invasion. Tall and slim, Sharon Gardbaum rarely smiles, seeming to
Following the battle of Tukayyid, she worked closely with take life a little too seriously. Her straight black hair falls to her
both the Com Guard and the AFFC, acting as a military liaison shoulders and a long fringe in front often falls across her large
officer. With the nominal status of demi-precentor, the post dark eyes. She has an almost compulsive habit of sweeping her
required at least minimal ability to operate a BattleMech, and so hair back with the back of her hand. She also uses her long,
Sharon underwent se veral trai ning courses to qualify . graceful hands a great deal when talki ng, gesturing emphatical-
Surprisingly , she showed con siderable apt itude , and earned ly and causing her numerous bracelets to jingle. Other pieces of
Epsilon-grade qualifications in 3053. jewelry she regularly wears are a pair of diamond stud-earrings
and a pendant with the ComStar logo.
89
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
PERSONA""'ES
PRECENTOR
.JOHN CHRISTOPHER
COMMANDER, WORD OF
BLAKE TASK FORCE STEEL
Age: 27
Birthplace: Nottingham , Terra
'Mech Type: WHM-7M Warhammer
Attributes
BLD 4 (8+)
REF 5 (7+)
ITN 5 (7+)
LRN 4 (8+)
CHA 4 (8+)
Characteristics
Athletic 9+
Physical 8+
Mental 9+
Social 9+
Advantages:
Well Connected (Word of Blake)
Ambidextrous He had heard stories of Primus Waterly's removal and the
pact between Precentor Martial Focht and Primus Mori, but had
Skills dismissed them as Word of Blake propaganda. But the rumors
Administration 1 (8+) persisted, and his position as garrison commander allowed him
Gunnery/BattleMech 4 (4+) access to information not generally available. He could not dis-
MedTech 1 (8+) prove the ComStar version of the events surrounding former
Leadership 3 (6+) Primus Waterly's downfall , but he became increasingly suspi-
Piloting/BattleMech 4 (4+) cious .
Protocol 2 (7+) In mid-3054 one of his father's former colleagues, Daphne
Small Arms 2 (6+) Chrysler, defected to the Word of Blake . The defection of some-
Strategy 2 (7+) one Christopher had known since childhood, and in whom he
Tactics 2 (7+) had great faith , removed the last vestiges of doubt in his mind.
Unarmed Combat 2 (7+) In October of 3054, he too switched allegiance to the Word of
Blake.
Edge: 2 Arriving on Gibson, he met with Daphne Chrysle r, who
introduced him to Precentor Martial Trent Ar ian . With the
Born and raised on Terra, John Christopher grew up with Precentor Martial's approval, Chrysler offered Christopher a
ComStar as an inescapable part of daily life. His father was a battalion command position in the Second Division of the Word
junior officer in the Com Guard, seNing first as a MechWarrior of Blake Militia. Though it was technically a lesser command
with the Terran garrison and later as a survival instructor at position than the one he had held on l h ar'Kad, Christopher
Sandhurst. gladly accepted .
Following in his father's footsteps , Christopher joined the When Operation Odysseus began, Arian selected John
Com Guard in 3048, graduating from Sandhurst in time to serve Christopher to command Task Force Steel, the force assigned
on Tukayyid. Fighting with the 282nd Division against Clan to pacify the Sandhurst Military Academy. Having been raised
Wolf, he destroyed two Wolf Spider OmniMechs, and was sub- on the island of Britain, his knowledge of the terrain was a
sequently granted the Star of Honor. major advantage. His knowledge of more than the terrain ulti-
Following the battle, he assumed command of the Com mately influenced the outcome of the war for Terra.
Guard force on Tharkad, where he became heavily involved in John Christophe r is always immaculately groomed , from
the exchange of military intelligence regarding the Clans. This his slicked-back brown hair to his spotlessly shining boots. His
brought him into contact with Demi-Precentor Sharon bearing is precise and elegant, his diction clear and crisp. He
Gardbaum, whom he helped to gain 'Mech piloting qualifica- wears a neatly trimmed mustache and beard, which do not con-
tions. The two became close friends , and eventually began a ceal the V-shaped scar that runs across his right cheek. He
covert love affair. During this period ; however, Christopher parades the scar as a badge of honor, claiming it comes from a
began to have doubts about Com Star. duel in his allegedly misspent youth. A few people know better.
70
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
8ArrLErECH
71
Tyron Butson (Order #37627400)
(Please use a pen and print clearly)
Name: _______________________________________________________________
Street Address: _____________________ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __
City: State: Zip: _ _ _ _ __
Phone: C'-_----L-)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Country ________________
Send To:
FASA Corporation
Attention: MechForce
1100 W. Cermak, 8305
Chicago, IL 60608
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FASA CORPORATION
in United States dollars only
(please a/low 4 to 6 weeks for Initial kit delivery)
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