YPU's Weaseltech campaign.

[YPU]

I’m going to try something different. I don’t have much time on my hands but some space left over where I might be able to run some rounds of solo games. Nordic weasel’s Weaseltech mech solo campaign game has caught my eye of late and I’m planning to record my campaign here.
Now bear in mind that at least half the charm of weaseltech is the drama that happens between the pilots and crew when they aren’t on the battlefield, though the actual combat does also look to be fast and entertaining as well. The “radar blips” system is maybe more suited to fighter jets but in dense environments, it should make for some tense uncertain situations I’m thinking. And hey, dense environments are exactly where mechs should shine!


Like any good Mecha show, we start with some establishing shots and drama…

Somewhere on a backwater military town, the 32nd frame patrol division “white bats” is taking their leave. We hear the sound of laughter as we zoom in on a pair of them. “No no, you see back during the western hostilities the bat squad was doing night patrols, hence the name right? But they let so many enemy forces through that they got called the blind bats and it stuck but we still paint our suits white cause of the official name.” A bearded man in a colourful Hawaiian shirt explains then takes a long drag of his spiff.
“Figures you would let people slip by on  your watch Manny, I know I’m blazing with you but I swear you are high on duty all the time you old hippy.” His companion jokes. Their jacket marks them as a pilot though it's hard to spot between all the patches they've added, and the spiky colourful hair definitely isn’t regulation.
“Hey now Lee, I wasn’t with the Bats back then, I heard some grim stories bout what happened to the previous guy.”

The camera zooms through the wall they are sitting against and into a dingy military bar. A bulky woman in overalls slams down her drink and hiccups. Besides her a a man with dreadlocks over his labcoat grins at her “Damn Roxelena drunk already? I’d figure a mechanic could hold her drink better than that!” Roxelena shrugs. “ Eh, I figured I’d get drunk today so why not get to it? Eh, little else to do in this town, Rhaman.” Rhaman laughs but counters “That's not true at all! I specifically requested I’d be transferred to the Bats when I heard about it from my nephew. I actually have time for my own work out here, heck I’m developing some stuff that might even make your job easier ‘Roxy”
They both squint for a second as the door opens and bright daylight pierces the gloom of the bar. A prim tall woman in full uniform enters, the bars on her collar freshly polished and gleaming. “Ah, chief engineer Michael and professor David. I’d ask how you are doing but it seems obvious. Mind if I join you for a spell?” The woman strides in without waiting for an answer.
Rhaman David answers her anyway - “sure, but we are off duty and I ain't calling you by your rank and title over a drink, ‘Lady lieutenant colonel Perpetua Lissette Szerkeres the third’” The commanding officer of bat squadron jerks her head up a few degrees in a suppressed sneer and sits down beside the two, ordering a mixed drink. Before it arrives Roxelana slams down her empty glass and stands up “welp, like I said I was planning to get drunk today and I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten there, so I’m heading out to see what the day brings, who knows might find something fun to do yet!” She calls over her shoulder as he swaggers out the bar.

Perpetua sips her drink for a moment while gazing at her companion. “Any luck with your newest project than David? I think it's cute that you keep yourself engaged with these pet projects here in the back end of nowhere, I think we both know there is little chance of anything useful coming from your experiments prof. Otherwise, why would you be assigned to the Bats right? But I commend you for trying” She raises her glass to him.
David raises an eyebrow at her.
“Sure sure, the big shots in RnD don’t like my style and we're happy to have me out of their hair when I requested my transfer. But people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, if the bats are a sinking shit ship you are its captain, so who of us has the most crap on their name eh?”

We don’t learn The Colonel’s reply as the camera switches to Roxelena who is happily swerving through the park outside the bar, sure she just dodged a bullet. She staggers to a halt as a pair of shoes come in to vieuw in front of her. She tracks them up across a pristine pilots uniform fit on a severe looking woman. Her patch reads Bat 1-S. Fidib.
“Afternoon Michael, you wouldn’t happen to know where I can find the lieutenant colonel would you? I have some paperwork I would like to go over with her. I think it would save her a bunch hof time but I do need her to sign of on it.” and indeed she is carrying a stack of dry looking forms on a clipboard.

Roxy sways on her feet for a second then hooks her thumb over her shoulder “Sure! She is back in that dive bar over there, souring up the place. I’d say you ruin the mood with the paperwork but the big sourpuss already did that herself.”

Sonal didibs expression darkens. “That is no way to speak about your commanding officer deck chief! I know you are on shore leave but really you should strive to show the proper decorum at all times.”

Roxy spits to the side “yeah yeah, who knows maybe I’ll learn one day, stranger things have happened. Now frack off with your fracking paperwork you are ruining my buzz.”

Before things can get any more heated outside the bar, or in, an old rusty air raid alarm kicks in and all the crew's communicators give a sharp beep. Combat situation, return to battle stations at once. This is not a drill. This is not a drill.



Establishing shot, bridge of the landcarier wayward wanderer, home of the white bats. Perpetua is still looking grim but speaks trough her comms with confidence. “We have received reports of an attack by unknown forces at multiple key locations nearby. Foremost is the Dumaresq Valley airstrip just up north. Bat squadron is to deploy at once and asses and engage any forces present. Officer Pottinger, report.”
Herman’s voice betrays some of his previous recreational activities, but then it always does with Manny. “Bujold radiation is high in the target area, likely from Frame generators. Either way, it's screwing with our sensors so we don’t have any accurate reads from the target location, but I’ve pulled security footage from right before the attack.”



“We have 3 mission targets in the area. The HQ building at the airstrip is sending out an SOS, we believe that most noncom personnel is pinned down in there and we need to clear the area of any hostels before they can evac.



“Second the network hub at the airstrip needs to be put into bastion mode, to prevent any enemy infiltration of our systems if they haven't already.”



“Lastly region command has charged us with scouting the ammo depo at the airstrip, they want a full spectrum detailed sweep of them.”



Inside the launch hangar, Sonal Fidib is strapping into her Frame’s cockpit and switching on her squad communications. “This is bat one in X-1 Fauchard, squad sound off.”
“Bat 5, Johnnie Dimitriou in B-1 Pike, all systems nominal.”
“Bat 6 Lee P. McKenny in X2-1 Spontoon, ready. Hey Manny, whats that sensor sweep about? High up afraid these guys are stealing some surplus ammo or something?”
Comms officer Ruzicka cuts in. “We have no further info from command, they seem seriously concerned something was taken though. Could be some off the books weapon storage. Nuclear? Nanite, maybe even biochem.” They nearly whisper the last few words.
Jonnie comes back “What?! All that stuff is forbidden by the unification disarmament ain't it?!”
The hangar siren honks once. “Bat wing one cut the chatter and launch when ready!” The colonel  barks, then aside to herself “This might actually be a golden opportunity, we can prove I’m above this dead-end assignment yet.”



This is Bat-1 we are entering the mission area. Sitrep. “Sensors are still screwed but I’m triangulating the holes in the sensor network that are deepest and resonating their radiation profiles together so I’ve got a rough idea of where their forces are operating at the moment.”
Rahman has to nearly pick his jaw of the floor “Herman, that is fracking brilliant.”
“Aw chucks. Anyway, it seems enemy forces are focused on the other end of the runway. I’m tracking one response patrolling around the network hub and three responses around the depo, two mobile and one holding position.”



Perpetua grins in her captain's chair, things are going better than expected. “Good work intel officer Pottinger. Bat one sweep south and secure that HQ building before you are detected. Bat five and six, keep north of the runway and stick to the jungle, try to reach that network hub before you are detected.”


Next episode: First contact, who is this enemy?
Will our pilots survive their first real combat experience? Who are they even fighting? What nasty surprises are hidden among the jungle trees? Tune in text time to weaseltech.

[Seal]

You’ve got my attention. Great write-up. Fantastic looking table, too.   

[Spinal Tap]

I'm not keen on mecha based games usually but you've really got my attention with this.

Looking forward to reading and seeing some action.

[YPU]

Thanks, both! I have a couple of game turns played and ready to write up, but it got a bit away from me there and I had to call it a night XD

A little peek behind the screen. I'm going to try and use these quote boxes to explain some of the rules efects that are happening bheind the story. In weaseltech you start out with 6 pilots and 6 support staff. The rules demand you give all a name otherwise they can't earn xp. During the campaign there will be social interactions between the crew, but before the first mission we also roll for 3 social interactions. From this Pilot Lee and intel officer Herman are now friends, as are our chief engineer and researcher. Our commander and researcher have started a rivalry as have a pilot and engineer.
This has a couple of effects. If they were to interact again we roll on a different table. But having a friend or rival also gives xp. Having a rival makes a character plot important, making their survival in battle more likely. Having friends doesn't cause losing friends is part of war I guess. Pilots being friends or rivals with support staff also gain increased or reduced effects from the staff's abilities during battle.

As suggested by the rules I've also done a simple list of personality traits for all members of the crew, which helps suggest the way their interactions might do down a bit more.

We also start with 8 mechs in stock.
Bat-1, Sonal  Fidib is piloting a X - 1
 “Fauchard” is a main line unit. Average speed and defences but capable of short jump and can carry 2 weapon systems into battle. It is currently equipped with PL-b beam weapon, which has reduced accuracy on the move but increased firepower when stationary. It also carries a shoulder-mounted RPG-5 rocket launcher as secondary weapon for snapshots. It is also carrying a Comms package which helps with resolving objectives in the field.

Bat-5 Johnnie Dimitriou, is in a B-1 Pike, a lite scouting Mech. It has superior movement and defences compared to the X-1 but isn't as tough and only caries one weapon. It is currently equipped with a AC-3 autocannon which has increased accuracy allowing it to snipe at range. It is also equipped with another comms package and a shield to compensate for its thin armour.

Bat-6, Lee P. McKenny is operating the X2-1 Spontoon, a variant of the X-1 originally intended for scouting but its legs proved unsuited for jumping. It now operates as a fast strike unit. It is equipped with a MG-5 machine gun, well suited for blasting large groups of enemies but prone to gaming. It is also equipped with a scanning pod that allows it to determine the nature of radar blips at a distance.


Each operation in the game has 3 missions. Mission A is always easiest, Mission B has larger enemy numbers and mission C has more powerful enemies. As we move from operation to operation all missions will get harder. The special rule for this first operation is that mission C has to be completed first before A or B, though pilots can participate in all 3 if I want. (other operations might limit pilots to 1 or 2 missions meaning I might want to spread my xp gain a bit early on)

The 3 main objectives for the missions were sweep, requiring the destruction of all enemies in an area and captube by my own forces, this is the HQ building. Scout, which requires a scanning action by a mech, this is the ammo storage. This requires a roll and the comms package should help here. And finally, a Capture objective can be completed at the objective if there are no enemies within 6 inches.

Objectives are spread in 3 quarters of the table with my forces deploying from the corner of the empty quarter. This scenario starts with 4 enemy contacts on the table, which by random selection start 1 at the communication network and 3 at the ammo storage. I also got to pick one enemy contact as being "on guard" instead of wandering. I got lucky and rolled good intel for this mission meaning I set up all enemy forces before deploying my own units and get to deploy up to 9 inches from the corner. mediocre and bad intel are also options for later missions which will swap the order of deployment and deploy distance. Herman "Manny" Pottinger is the staff crew responsible here, as he gains levels we should start to get more accurate intel regularly.
Anyhow, on to round one of the game.

With the enemy still at a distance, our pilots put their Frames into booster mode and rush towards their targets hoping to grab the element of surprise yet. Bat-1 heads for the main entrance encountering a pair of destroyed tanks, the first real sign of conflict.




Pottering chimes in with a status update. "Enemy patrols are moving away from you... Ah! contact at the network hub is moving towards bat 5 and 6. Not sure if they have been detected yet, be careful guys."

Turn one, bunch of "power slide" extended moves, but no contact yet. radar blips either move randomly or towards the nearest unit, the ammo depo blips are wandering towards the table edge while the network hub target creeps 3 inches closer towards our mechs.

"I'm detecting a bunch of radio signals from the contact at the hub, prediction logorythms gives high chance that it's either a command unit or some sort of relay for their closed network."

"Pilots, destroy that unit if possible, but don't lose sight of our targets." Perpetua commands.

"well, it's between us and our objective so we are going to have to go through it one way or another" Lee remarks while boosting forwards further.



"McKenny you are out of formation, enemy contact is closing fast, prepare for combat!" Comms officer Ruzicka shouts right before five tall alien figures come bounding out of the jungle and over the hill.



"Hang in there Lee, I'm coming!" Johnnie shouts while rushing forwards to join his companion. his 40mm machinegun opening up the moment it enters optimal range. Two of the long-legged warmachines burst into fire and crash face forwards into the jungle mud.





"Manny, what are these things? I've never seen machines like them before." Lee exclaims. "Herman scratches his head back at the command bridge. "Their profile matches nothing in the database, and they display no recognition symbols. This is something new, Lee. Be careful, friend."

"Cut the chatter and engage! Bat-1 there is an energy spike near you, how did we miss it before, an ambush!?"

Turn 2, excitement! First off we roll for a side objective and the unit at the hub is detected as command unit, destroying it will give bonus XP and reduce the number of enemy reinforcements at the end of that round.The turn order became interesting here. It goes 1 player mech, enemy elites (none present atm) player mech. Enemy swarms and blips. Then player mech again. The contact at the network hub rolled a 6 towards the nearest player unit and came into LOS and 12 inches meaning it gets revealed. Luckily it doesn't get to activate this turn and Johnnie still got his turn coming just to effective range of machine guns and rolls ok ish without jamming his machinegun. You roll randomly to see what enemy a blip turns out to be, and in this case, it was a group of 5 swarm mechs, the largest unit you can encounter. I only have one type of enemy painted that much yet, and it's the Canary type enemy, the fastest and best-defended swarm type in the game! Luckily those stats only matter against beams and rockets, but the 2 mechs facing them are carrying machine guns that only care about range. Machine guns can target multiple enemies but you must divide your dice between them before you roll. There is a limited spread distance for the targets. Johnnie has 5 dice and spreads them evenly among the targets, hitting 2. We also get a enemy re-enforcement closing in at the far end of the table. One of the ammo dump blips wanders off towards the table edge and the other one goes on guard mode staying in place.
Ending the turn we move to turn 3 and roll for a random event. An unexpected defence turret pops up scattering from the table centre and then gets placed in LOS of the nearest player mech, so Bat-1 at the gate suddenly encounters problems! I have turrets printed but not painted and it was past 12 so I decided to call it for the night. I have a pair of turrets drying on my desk as we speak though...

[Daeothar]

Cool! This is developing into quite the tale!

It feels like these rules could actually be used for low level battletech engagements too. The whole scanning for blips, coms, etc certainly feels like they'd be adaptable to BT. The only discrepancies I can think of is that there is no overheating and the relatively small weapons loadout. other than that; I'm pretty interested in these rules...

Oh; and your setup is pretty dang sweet too! I still have one of those trusses/supports you printed and gave to me at Poldercon; I see you used them here too and they're right at place! 

[YPU]

Thanks, Daeothar!

I tried to fit as much of my 6mm scenery on the table as made sense and would fit, I tend to be restrained about these things but mech skirmish is better with denser terrain and who knows when I'll get round to putting it all down again! Its missing my big river but I'm sure that will feature in the next mission.

Yeah the trusses do well in all sorts of scales! I should note the watchtowers are actually sangenarus work, though I imagine he might have taken some inspiration from my previous truss obsession. 

[zrunelord]

Nice setup Ypu.
Thanks for sharing.

Z

[YPU]

Cheers Z, well, I played a bunch of turns today and called quits right before things got dangerous. 

In front of Sonals Frame an unassuming bush burst open as a turret deploys from below its camo netting!



But before we learn how that plays out we switch to the other 2 mechs, already engaged in combat! "They've got beam weapons, take evasive action into the trees for cover!" And he does just that, while laying down more fire from his machinegun. Another 2 chicken walkers bite the dust.




Lee has other plans though, they drive their Frame into top gear and boost to the far side of the enemy, taking cover next to the network hub. They let loose a salvo of terribly aimed shots, the lone remaining target is unable to dodge while caught in the crossfire and goes down as well.

Weaseltech makes you roll for move distance when boosting, or rather power sliding. Nice and tense. Lee rolled snake eyes on her attack but when you crossfire an enemy you can re-roll ones and they got plenty of hits in after that. Destroying the secondary objective, this is bonus xp for lee and a reduced reinforcement roll at the end of this turn.

Taking a deep breath and regaining focus Lee realizes they are now right next to the Network hub and starts uploading the software that will cut the system off from the rest of the network. "This is Bat 6, network hub secured."



"well-done pilot McKenny. Network shutdown confirmed. I've lost the enemy command signal, what are you observing on the ground?" - "oh yeah we smoked those guys, enemy unit neutralized I mean."

"Very nice Lee, but be advised enemy contact is moving into combat area on the west end of the runway. Contact at the other side near ammo depo also seems to be moving back your direction, don't get caught between them."




We switch back to Bat-1 facing down the twin barrels of a surprise pop up turret.



Without hesitating Sonal sends her Frame driving forwards in a zig-zagging evasive manoeuvre, hoping that quickly closing the distance will give her the advantage of the turret. While swerving she unleashes a volley of rockets at it from her shoulder launcher. Five rockets are fired. Four find their target. Three only dept the armour plating of the fortification, but the last one bites into the exposed joint and cleanly blows the lid off.



"This is bat-1, enemy fortification neutralized, continuing towards HQ."

"copy that bat flight, I am not reading any enemy chatter in the area it seems we've disrupted their network for the moment."

We move into turn 4, many shots fired but not a single one against our pilots! No reenforcements due to destroying the command unit as well. We are doing very well today but let's roll a random event for turn 4... Ah, a rivalry between them flares up and they can't shoot at the same target this turn. cool...

Johnnie scowls into his headphone. "what the heck was that McKenny? I don't outrank you but I'm your senior in the squad. When I tell you to dodge left you dodge left and say thank you and please! bloody punk kid."

Before Lee can return the onslaught of verbal abuse and expletives they have undoubtedly lined up Sonal replies. "Stand down Dimitriou! Who the frack are you to berate someone in my flight?" -"But Fidib-" "NO, stow it and stay in target pilot, the both of you!"

Sonal activates her boosters to full and dashes towards the HQ building, opening a signal on the common armed forces emergency channel. "This is Bat-1 to airbase HQ, immediate area secured, go for evac now!"  Almost immediately a group of uniformed clerks and other non-com personel start streaming out guided by the few remaining ground troops present.



"Bat-1 Sonal Fidib, reporting HQ building secured and evacuated."

Bat-5 moves towards the final objective, keeping cover from smouldering craters on the runway.




"This is Bat-6, I'll use the scanner pod, see if I can make out what they are doing over there." McKenny activates her scouting system while moving behind another smoking crater. Four shapes appear on their sensors. Strange tall tripod machines guarding what appears to be a sensor system of their own deployed next to the flight command tower.
"reading heavy beam weaponry on these... things, keep your shielding up."

using the scanner pod to resolve the closest guarding blip. Guards are always 4 swarm enemies plus a random item. In this case we get a tech stash. If a unit claims it we get a bonus to researching new tech later! Sadly I only have 3 tripods fully painted so one is a die, sue me. No new enemy contacts this turn, lucky because every objective completed increases the number of dice rolled. On to turn 5, we get another secondary objective. In this case "investigate" which means we get a random spot we can scan, if we do we generate another actual side mission close by. hmm it ends up on top of the hill

"I am getting strange readings from the top of that rocky peak. Regional command system has flagged it, they want to know its source, seems like it could be an unknown enemy communication system."

"Well, guess I didn't bring that comms package for nothing!" Sonal thinks to herself. She switches her frame back to full speed and boosts towards the peak, and the enemy pulling up when the tripods come in to view. Tapping her comms software with one hand the other locks her rocket pod onto target and let's fly. Again five missiles leave the launcher, but two get shot down by interception fire from small turrets on top of the tripods. one flies wide trying to avoid the tracer fire but the other two claim their price each. On the other side of the cockpit the comms pings. "Looks like it was part of the enemies communications clipping the peak and scattering back down."
"Regional says catch them in the act with a full spectrum sensor reading if you can."

Weaseltech has a different way of resolving each type of weapon, beam, machine gun and rocket. Rockets have a chance of getting intercepted and these tripod "finch type" have a high intercept rate (why I gave them the turrets on top) but their roll was poor. The investigate action resolved, resulting in the "get footage" side mission. If completed we get a bonus to our intel roll next mission, so could be worth it?

"Roger that, guess it was good thinking we both equipped that comms package." Johnnie says while zigzagging behind another smoke plume, giving him a small opening to the looming tripods. "Starting sensor swee.... ah ok got it and done."

[roll required for this objective was 8+ rolled double six with a +1, thats done.]

"Thanks for the data, idiots, time to go now." Johnnie shouts before opening up with his machine gun. The tripods had only just turned towards the rocket salvo that struck them and the heavy machinegun slugs pierce through their bulbous 'heads' in a shower of shrapnel sending the towering machines tumbling to the ground.

Another good use of the crossfire bonus, hadn't even thought about it until I rolled a pair of 1's here

"Bat-5 stay on guard, more enemies are closing in on you, coming around the tower now!"
a trio of tripods lugging their own machineguns under their tall heads frame a new profile. An eery floating machine dangling below a large flat head.



"o frack, I don't like the look of this, that thing is giving off some seriously creepy vibes." Johnny laments.

"sensor contact at the west end of runway have split into 2 groups now, try to stay clear. Remember your objectives, we aren't here to destroy all hostiles, just get those scanner sweeps of the ammo storage asap"

"Keep moving Johnny, don't freeze!" Lee spouts while boosting past him. " I'm going to try and make a dash for those storage bunkers, back me up!" They let loose with their autocannon, aiming for the floating machine and catching one of the tripods in the burst, which goes down in flames.



The camera swivels up from the explosions, and we see four more chicken walkers in the distance, guarding a slow transport vehicle of some kind.



"Bat flight, looks like that truck is carrying stolen ammo, nothing crazy but regional would like you to retrieve it if possible. Talking about ammo, Bat one you are almost standing on a small secondary ammo dump, grab some rocket canisters they should fit your shoulder pack. Thank dog for standardized ammo eh?.. Oh crap we have another two contacts closing in from the network hub area, you guys are getting corralled in if you don't move."

woof. So the enemy blip moved into LOS and turned out to be 3 swarm enemies AND an elite enemy, the worst roll on the chart. This is a Viper type elite, carrying a medium rocket pod. Fast with a jump pack, but lightly armored, in fact Lee just blew off all its armor in one turn! The other blip didn't move but split into 2 blips, not good. And 2 more blips are on the table edge now just behind the network hub. These things go random with a scatter die, which just pointed at the same place twice. cool. But hey, for turn 6 we roll a random event and I can restore 1 armor or refill rocket ammo, so that is what bat-1 got. This was how far I came today, and things will be rough next time by the looks of it! But hey we are 2 for 3 on objectives and I havn't used a HQ support option yet, high time to do so next I think.

[Malebolgia]

Awesome thread Tim, loving this! And also fantastic to see those 6mm buildings you bought from me being painted and used in games.

[YPU]

Awesome thread Tim, loving this! And also fantastic to see those 6mm buildings you bought from me being painted and used in games.

Thanks, Marijn! Yeah, those buildings came in super handy! I'd been thinking about picking them for ages but shipping was a bit of a deal-breaker so getting them second hand from you was perfect. The tall building in particular always reminded me of the HQ building at Torrington base in gundam so it was ideal for a mech scenario.

[arshak]

I will need some time to read all the background (what a work!) but wow, the table looks great, inspiring!!

[YPU]

Thanks arshak! Yeah I'm going full ham with the storytelling aspect of this game. And I'm back at it. What follows is a report of my pilots absolutely rocking it, aka making some amazing rolls. I'm going to start this turn trying to get a HQ support option. you have a bunch of these available, from repair and restock to deploying an extra mech and jamming enemy blips. It's a roll though, and I fail this one.

We open this episode looking over the battlefield. Multiple targets are standing in between our heroes and more are closing in. "This is bat 1, HQ can you try to jam those closing contacts? Things are getting crowded here." "Comms officer Ruzicka reedy voice pipes in. i i can't their system uses other protocols, I can't get in, sorry bat one..."
We crash zoom from the top-down view, with Johnnie staring down at a pair of tripods and the floating elite enemy. This is it, either he takes them out or that creepy machine was bound to wreak havoc on him and his teammates. He brings up his machine gun and lets rip. The Tripods both go up in balls of fire, but the floating vehicle just bounces backwards, knocked prone but still moving. Then, as it regains height its trusters suddenly blow and the reactor burns itself out, crashing down again, for good this time.

"bat 5, try to avoid the radar contacts at the west end of the strip, they are very close to your position."



Johnnie takes evasive manoeuvres and stops behind the air control tower.

"This is Bat-1, taking the initiative to the enemy, Let's get this job done! before we get surrounded." Sonal pipes up and zig-zags forward on the hill. Just around the corner, she locks on to the chicken walkers guarding the ammo transport truck and lets fly her newly refilled rockets. Again, 5 missiles fly, two get shot down but the remaining 3 find home and topple the tall targets. One remains, hidden behind the cliff and an airport guard tower...



"Lee, get in there with your scout Frame and see if you can get those scans!" - "easier said than done, you guys hardly leave any room. Firing trusters!"

Lee's Pike frame ignites its jump jets and jumps over her teammate and the fuel tank blocking her path. Her scanners sweep over the ammo storage bunkers, but it is slow going. "ah frak, it's like they designed these things to block sensors or something."  Lee quips while taking aim at the nearby chicken walker. Still off balance from their jump her shots fly wide. The lone target however decides discretion is the better half of valour, and retreats into the jungle, leaving the battle area. "Huh, that works. Enemy removed. I've secured the ammo truck they were stealing, that should keep regional happy for now."

Jump jets! Don't think I used those before this game. Does give a firing penalty though. This objective requires a roll and I failed that badly. Luckily I realized lee was now within 2 inches of the minor objective the chickens were guarding, with no enemy within 6 inches. Score 1 bonus xp for Lee.

"Enemies are closing in from both sides! I am tracking one contact keeping guard at the end of the runway but the other is right on top of you."

another trio of tripods strides through the smoke of their fallen companions, these seem to be carrying rocket packs.

"I am tracking a bunch of radio chatter on their network, but no further contacts for now"

3 dice for reinforcements but nothing, and the 3 swarm enemies is maybe the best result I could have had, besides the "oh oops it was nothing" option. lucky and lucky.

"Bat 6 would you get a move on with those scans, I'd like the white bats to make a good impression for once." Perpetua pouts over the comms.

"yeah yeah, you try scanning through twelve feet of shielded carbon-concrete. but.... There got it! Full scan done! Let's deal with these idiots and get out of here!."

Lee's frame makes a graceful pirouette while pulling back and lays down on the new tripods, taking one down.

"Johnnie, what are you doing?" Sonal suddenly asks. But before we get a reply Bat five zig zags towards the two enemies, emptying his machinegun on full auto and draining his remaining ammo. when his weapon stops both targets are smouldering wrecks and we hear the last end of him shouting over the radio, then panting. "heh, heh. There, enemy sensors system secured, see I can pull my weight in a mission too!"



Sonal sighs, mostly relieved that Johnnies stunt worked out in the end. "This is bat-1, all targets cleared and retreating, requesting immediate pickup from combat zone. Take us home mother bird."

and that was the first mission! Not a shot landed on my units, which was rather lucky. I think I had a lot of advantage in where the enemy blips appeared, as well as low re-enforcement numbers. My table was full enough but very few bottlenecks allowed me to stay out of the 12-inch detection range, almost turning it into a stealth game of sorts. One of the random personality traits I generated for Johnnie was ambitious (this is outside of the game engine but suggested) so I figured he'd pull something stupid like this. You can go gunzerk, emptying your machine gun for 3 extra attack dice, it worked well here!

 Now we move into the post-mission procedure, which is quite a bit of admin, but the fun story creating kind? Let's hope so.

First, off pilot survival, we have no wounded so we can skip that. Next XP! Any pilot that was present and destroyed at least one enemy target gets 1 XP, well they all did. Lee and Johnnie both cleared a secondary objective, which lands them another xp each. Lee further also grabbed the minor objective ammo transport gaining a final xp for that. Johnnie destroyed an Elite, which he gets a xp for if he rolls over his level on a d6, he is level 0 so that is another xp for him.

I also get to pick one pilot I think performed particularly well, and see if they get a favourable mention or commendations. Lee and Johnnie are doing well on the xp front already, but Sonal did great on her first combat mission! She never fired her charge laser but boy did those rockets do their job and she evacuated the HQ building. I roll a 9, with a +1 from having cleared at least one objective. at 10+ Sonal does indeed get a Commendation for her first combat command. and 2 xp!

Now, this is where  I feel stupid. You only need 1 xp for lvl 1. Lee and Sonal both had one xp from their social interactions before the mission, so they already were lvl 1 had I just checked! You need 3xp for lvl 3 which all my pilots have, so they all reach that level. The biggest use of levels is that you get a evade for each level, which ignores a hit each. Basically plot armor like real protagonists have, making it harder to damage our pilots. (this system is bound to change into a roll I hear, but this is it for now)

Another optional system I am totally using though, is skills! At each level I roll 2d6+lvl and at 9+ the pilot gets a skill. Thats 2 opportunities to get a level for each pilot fielded today.
Sonal picks up the conserve ammo skill, allowing her to count the ammo of one rocket weapon as 1 higher. Makes perfect sense to me, she managed to use hers throughout the fight here!
Johnnie picks up Guardian mode, this action allows him to increase the defences of a nearby ally for the turn.
Lee gets the rugged survivor skill, making them more likely to hang in there should her Mech go down during a fight.

All skill have 3 levels to them, starting at 1. you simply roll a d20 on the table and get one level in the skill rolled. I'm quite happy with the spread so far. They all got nothing on lvl 1 and just rolled a 10 on lvl 2 which means there were no skills the 2 with previous xp might have had during this mission that I didn't know about. good.

Command staff also all get XP! they get a simple d6 each but need a lot more xp to gain levels. There are 6 staff roles and each has a specific effect. The commander provides re-rolls during the game, engineer will repair mechs faster etc. With only a d6 nobody gets a level yet. In fact, I roll so poorly that only engineer Roxelena is likely to gain a level next mission at all.

Next there is a fun little subsection. We roll a d20 and if it's equal or lower to the number of Elites in this game, that one comes back as a Vilain, an upgraded elite which will be harder to put down permanently who might recieve further upgrades during the campaign. I roll a 3, I almost feel sad. I'm looking forwards to learn who the Char Aznable of my game will be.

And now, another pair of random social encounters! After that, I get to do a "steered action" where I pick a character and let them do something with the social system... But I'm saving that for later, something to tie me over until next mission.

[zrunelord]

Another great read Ypu.

you are a good word smith also

I like the way Nordic Weasel writes his rule sets ( light hearthed not grim - well war is grim but I think you understand what I mean )..

Again thanks for sharing...

Z

[YPU]

Thanks again Z.

I've found that with Solo games, I have this strange thing. I need to write it down and publish it publically, and play keeping that in mind for me to be engaged, even if just for one friend. And I need a story to develop at least partially through the system. I love writing these silly character moments but if weaseltech didn't provide those drama moments and plot beats, it would work for me.


I've been packing up this scenery and having a hard think what is still missing. For one, I really would like some sort of concrete slabs to put the buildings on. Having them on the green fields is a bit jarring to me. The runway is roofing material which is nice, but heavy and thick so I'm looking at textured plasticard or maybe placemats to use as a base material. Hopefully painting it won't cause it to warp.

The other is that I would very much like to have more small scatter material that shows the scale. Utility vehicles and piles of material, barrels and stuff like that.

[Grah]

Some way of doing perimeter fencing, although the scale might be challenging. Those buildings sat on that grass perhaps should have some sort of fences/walls. No impediment to Frames but just to deliniate the compound around a building.

How would you model this sacle of fences? Going to have a think/google search.

Big Lee's offering isn't a bad start

https://www.blmablog.com/2014/10/6mm-terrain-wire-fencing.html