Trial of Position Results

Round 0 – Stormcrow

Name: John vs Liam
Variants: Beta/Alpha
Terrain: Hilly river, snow map

Starting on the offensive, John went straight for the hills to cover his advance on Liam, allowing little time for him to use the Stormcrow A's long-ranged missiles and taking little damage from those that managed to hit him. Once battle was joined, John used his massive Ultra Autocannon 20 and split the left side of Liam's 'Mech, detonating the SRM ammunition bin and ensuring engine damage. Deprived of the bulk of his weapons, Liam tried to keep the fight at range through the next few turns and pick off armor with his remaining missiles until a solid round of fire punched through the center torso and finished off his engine shielding. Victory John!

Name: Dave vs Justin
Variants: Beta/Beta
Terrain: Featureless plains

Having witnessed the destructive power of the Ultra Autocannon 20, both combatants were eager to make use of this powerful weapon and move up in the rankings, meeting on a flat plain to ensure that no shot was wasted. The battle proved short, as Dave made early progress when his UAC 20 hammered both of Justin's arms and damaged his Autocannon. Several turns of laser fire saw Justin's arms amputated, leaving him with no weapons and a deeper understanding of why Dave is known as Plainsrider. Victory Dave!

Round 1 – Hellbringer

Name: Dave vs John
Variants: Prime/Prime
Terrain: Sunken snow base

Running hot headed Hellbringers, the two warriors met on a deserted ice base, sunken into the snow with ruined walls and towers for cover. Both raced to meet on the same side of the base and exchanged fire, leaving Dave's targeting computer a ruin and sending John crashing to the ground. John regained his feet, backing off in an attempt to drop his heat levels while Dave gave chase and pounded through the left torso of John's 'Mech. The battle turned into a ranged skirmish for the next several turns until Dave struck home with a well placed PPC. Victory Dave!

Name: Tommy vs NPC
Variants: Prime/Alpha
Terrain: Heavily wooded snow map

The battle began with the NPC racing into heavy woods, trading shots with Tommy and dealing armor damage but little else. Round two saw a savage exchange that left both 'Mechs in tatters. In a strange twist, round three saw the NPC's NARC ammo detonated and his right torso engine destroyed as he fell to the ground, while Tommy remained functional if horrendously injured. Victory Tommy!

Name: Paul vs Zack
Variants: Prime/Alpha
Terrain: Snowy crater map

The combatants started in a snowy plan, a large hill resting in the center of a giant crater and surrounded by woods. Starting in the shelter of the hill, both combatants raced along parallel to each other and into tree cover, Zack sniping Paul's left upper arm actuator. From there the battle shifted to the western corner of the map, where Paul ambushed Zack from heavy woods and damaged his engine. From there the two darted about and traded shots, each giving as good as he got. The battle culminated in an alpha strike from both combatants that left Paul shut down and crashing to the ground, along with Zack when his left leg was sheered off. Zack attempted to use his Ultra Autocannon to hit the shut down and immobile Paul, but failed to land the shots before Paul restarted and climbed back to his feet. From there, Paul finished off Zack's crippled machine when he hit the NARC ammunition. Victory Paul!

Name: Jeromy vs Keith
Variants: Alpha/Alpha
Terrain: Lava map
The battle started off badly for Keith as he jammed his Ultra Autocannon and Jeromy battered him with long-ranged laser fire. From there the battle become a game of heat control, as both warriors launched fearsome barrages and danced along the heat scale while they stripped armor from one another. It was not until Jeromy slashed through Keith's left arm that the battle swung into one warriors' favor, as Keith was reduced to his short-ranged weaponry and left riding high on the heat scale after a failed attack. Jeromy backed toward the edge of a lava pool and opened up with his weapons, knocking Keith to the ground and delivering seven center torso criticals—of which Keith's machine gun ammo was, strangely, not one. Victory Jeromy!

Round 2 – Mist Lynx

Name: Dave vs Tommy
Variants: Beta/Charlie
Terrain: Snow covered hills and river

The MechWarriors spent the first few turns trying to move into optimal position, their fragile machines leaving them cautious. Tommy sprang over the river first, firing as best he could but doing little to Dave's Mist Lynx with his lasers; Dave returned fire with his missiles. Despite his anti-missile system, Tommy was battered by missiles and tumbled to the ground, suffering further damage. As Tommy struggled to regain his footing, Dave dodged to the side and finished off both arms and the left leg on Tommy's machine while suffering little return damage. Victory Dave!

Name: Paul vs Jeromy
Variants: Beta/Beta
Terrain: Heavily forested crevice in a blizzard

The heavy blizzard made it difficult to bring the Mist Lynx's weapons to bear with anything even remotely resembling accuracy, especially with the heavy woods covering large sections of the map. The battle was very run and gun, with successful shots being hard won and rewarding given the thin armor of the combatants. Paul earned an early lead when he damaged Jeromy's right arm, but it did not take long for things to rebalance as armor was stipped in a surprising round of shooting that left Paul with some head damage and plenty of armor breeches. The battle ended in an alpha strike in heavy woods, with Paul losing an arm and Jeromy being deprived of weapons. Victory Paul!

Round 3 – Mad Dog

Name: Paul vs Dave
Variants: Beta/Prime
Terrain: Wooded canyon ridge

Paul and Dave both made for the center of the map, Paul taking up a position in the woods and firing his long-ranged weapons to little effect. Dave took cover, trying to close so that he could use his pulse lasers, as Paul shifted back toward a new set of woods. When Dave broke cover he let loose with an amazing barrage that stripped armor completely from Paul's center torso while the return fire battered armor all over, mostly focused on the left torso and right arm. The battle shifted to the open spaces behind the woods and Paul managed to damage Dave's right torso and LRM 20, but was knocked to the ground, damaging his own right arm. While Paul regained his feet, Dave put some distance between them and opened fire with his remaining weapons. Dave's right torso was finished, despite Paul's position in his left arc, but Paul took severe engine damage and a hit to the gyro that sent him back to the ground; two pulse lasers were shattered in the crash. Trying to get upright, Paul fell again and suffered further damage while Dave took up a new position further back. The two had one final round of shooting, which saw the end of Paul's engine and Dave's left arm armor. Victory Dave!

Kills and Honor

What counts as kill?

A 'Mech is considered a mission kill if...
It takes a third engine hit
It takes a second gyro hit
It loses it's 3rd limb
It loses the last internal structure point of the head
It loses the last internal structure point of the center torso.
It's cockpit is destroyed
It is immobile and has no weapons that it can fire.
The MechWarrior punches out.

A vehicle counts as a mission kill if...
It is immobile and can't fire any weapons...
Any one of the numerous critical hits that say "Tank destroyed"
The last internal structure point is removed from the hull or the turret.

Battle Armor and Infantry count as a mission kill...
When the last trooper is killed.

Is a light tank the same as killing an Assault 'Mech?

Nope...here is the kill value chart.

Mech = 1 kill
Assault Tank = 1 kill
Heavy tank = 3/4 kill
Medium Tank = 1/2 kill
Light tank = 1/4 kill
Battle Armor = 1/2 kill
Infantry = 1/2 kill

It is not necessarily the kill shot that I award the kill to (although most of the time I do). I will at times award bonus kills for mission completion or good role play or being aggressive or just having rotten dice. Kills will be awarded in the after action reports.

Honor points

After every mission you will be awarded honor points based on game play. Honor points are accumulated, and with every level achieved you unlock new features.

5 points = Random ‘Mech roll up. A chance for a better BattleMech.

10 points = Noticed by a bloodnamed warrior. Chance for a bloodname trial.

Bloodnamed warriors may customize their OmniMechs.

Ways to gain honor points.

Inner Sphere ‘Mech equal class than ‘Mech = 1/4 point
Inner Sphere ‘Mech 1 class higher than ‘Mech = 1/2 point
Inner Sphere ‘Mech 2 classes higher than ‘Mech = 1 point
Inner Sphere ‘Mech 3 classes higher that ‘Mech = 2 points
Clan ‘Mech equal class than ‘Mech = 1/2 point
Clan ‘Mech 1 class higher than ‘Mech = 1 point
Clan ‘Mech 2 classes higher than ‘Mech = 2 points
Clan ‘Mech 3 classes higher that ‘Mech = 4 points
Win a bidding and succeed in mission= 1/2 point
Star League era ‘Mech = 1/2 point

Other points may be awarded by me for aggressive play, staying in character etc.

If you die you lose all accumulated honor points.

MechWarrior Skills

All MechWarriors will start at 3/4 with one regular skill chosen below.

As the campaign goes on a MechWarriors may improve (reduce) his skill, 5 kills for piloting, 10 kills for gunnery. Gunnery and Piloting may never be more than 2 steps apart. Meaning you cannot be a 2/5 MechWarriors you would have to improve your piloting to a 4 before getting the 2 gunnery.

Also for every 5 kills you may select another skill from the list below. It adds a little bit of flavor to the campaign.

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--REGULAR SKILLS--
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Regular Skill is awarded to MechWarriors who reach the 3/4 skill level. An additional skill is awarded after each 5 kills.

Name: ER LASER
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit with all ER Lasers and Heavy Lasers.

Name: LIGHT 'MECH
Type: chassis
Description: +1 to all piloting checks when Piloting a Light 'Mech. -1 to all physical attacks when piloting a Light 'Mech.

Name: LIGHT AC
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit Ultra AC-2, and Ultra AC-5. +1 on the missile hit chart when using Ultra.

Name: MEDIUM AC
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit Ultra AC-10. +1 on the missile hit chart when using Ultra.

Name: SRM
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit with all SRM and Streak SRM’s, +1 on the missile hit chart

Name: SMALL ARMS
Type: weapons
Description: -2 to hit with Flamers and MG’s

Name: TOUGHNESS
Type: general
Description: -2 to consciousness checks.

Name: SENSOR BASIC
Type: general
Description: Can spot Active units out of LOS within 24”, Can use TAG to target for non-arty weapons (Remove movement modifier of the target).

------------------
--VETERAN SKILLS--
------------------
 
Available with the 3rd skill choice. (10 Kills)

Name: ATM
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit with all ATM’s, +1 on the missile hit chart.

Name: ENHANCED IMAGING
Type: General
Description: Follows all standard rules from MechWarrior

Penalty: All skills require one additional kill to achieve. Elite = 16, Ace = 22. Gunnery up 11 kills. Piloting up 6 kills

Name: ER PPC
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit with ER PPC.

Name: JUMP JET
Type: Close Combat
Description: +1 on piloting skill rolls when required for landing with a Jumping move. -1 for targeting.

Name: LRM
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit with all LRM’s, +1 on the missile hit chart.

Name: LB-AC
Type: Weapon
Description: -1 to hit with LB-2xAC, LB-5xAC, LB-10xAC. +1 on missile chart when using cluster.

Name: MEDIUM 'MECH
Type: chassis
Description: +1 to all piloting checks when Piloting a Medium ‘Mech, -1 to all physical attacks when piloting a medium 'Mech.

Name: SENSOR ADVANCED
Type: general
Description: Can spot Active units out of LOS within 36”, can tell if those units are Vehicle or BattleMech. Must have SENSOR Basic Skill. (-1 to lock on with TAG)

----------------
--ELITE SKILLS--
----------------
 
Available with the 4th skill (15 Kills)

Name: GAUSS
Type: weapon
Description: -1 to Hit with all Gauss Rifles.

Name: HEAVY 'MECH
Type: chassis
Description: +1 to Piloting skill rolls when piloting a Heavy 'Mech, -1 to all physical attacks when piloting a Heavy 'Mech.

Name: HEAVY AC
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit with Ultra AC-20, LB-20xACs. +1 on missile chart when using Ultra or cluster shot.

Name: JUST BRING IT!
Type: general
Description: Tough to knock over. +2 to piloting skill checks for taking damage…convert the normal -1 check to +1 to remain standing when checking for taking 20 points of damage.

Name: RANGE SPECIALIST

Type: General

Description: Choose a range (Short, Medium, Long) When at that range all weapons are -1 to hit.

Name: SENSOR VETERAN
Type: general
Description: Can spot Active units out of LOS within 48”, can tell if those units are Vehicle or BattleMech and can tell Weigh class. Must have SENSOR ADVANCED skill. (-2 to lock on with TAG)

Name: SPEED DEMON

Type: general

Description: Able to fire and sprint at a +4 to fire instead of the normal +2.

--------------
--ACE SKILLS--
--------------
 
Available with the 5th Skill (20 Kills)

Name: ASSAULT 'MECH
Type: chassis
Description: +2 to all piloting skill rolls when piloting an Assault 'Mech, -1 to all physical attacks when piloting a Assault 'Mech.

Name: CAN’T TOUCH THIS

Type: General

Description: +1 to be hit at all times. Must have a ‘Mech class skill and be in that class. Choose a ‘Mech, while in that ‘Mech receive an additional +1 piloting.

Name: PULSE LASER
Type: weapons
Description: -1 to hit with Pulse Lasers. Yeah this will be a total of -3.

Name: SENSOR Elite
Type: general
Description: Can spot Active units out of LOS within 60”, can tell what exact unit is.  Must have SENSOR VETERAN skill. (-3 to lock on with TAG)

Name: SNIPER
Type: weapons
Description: Can take aimed shots like having a “targeting computer” at a +4 to hit specific location.

Name: THAT ALL YOU GOT?
Type: general
Description: add +2 to all stand up attempts.

Autocannon Rules

Autocannons will work a differently for this campaign, compared to the rules presented in TotalWarfare. In order to keep these rules straight while we play, I have written them here.

Standard Autocannons can fire either a Single Shot or a Double Tap, much in the same way as an Ultra Autocannon under the standard rules of play. If a player wants to Double Tap then they must say so when they are declaring weapons fire for that unit. If the Autocannon hits on a Double Tap then roll on the two column of the Cluster Hits Table to see how many shots actually landed. A standard Autocannon can only pull ammunition from one bin at a time, so if an ammo location only has one shot left then that bin cannot be used to perform a Double Tap.

LB-X Autocannons can also fire either a Single Shot or a Double Tap, just like a regular Autocannon. However, they can also choose to perform a Single Shot or a Double Tap when firing cluster rounds in addition to doing so with slug munitions. If a unit is using scatter shot when it Double Taps then it gets a +1 when rolling on the Cluster Hits Table, as the nature of LB-X cluster shots are to spew a mass of metal at a target in a fragmented cloud.

Ultra Autocannons are designed to pump out even more shots than standard Autocannons or LB-X Autocannons, which means they have greater options when choosing how to fire. An Ultra Autocannon can fire a Single Shot or a Double Tap, just like a standard Autocannon. In addition, an Ultra Autocannon gains a +1 when rolling on the Cluster Hits Table to determine how many shots hit.

As a third option, an Ultra Autocannon can fire Full Bore, firing three shots. This works just like a standard Autocannon when it performs a double tap, except that the attacker rolls on the three column of the Cluster Hits Table to determine how many shots hit. If an Ultra Autocannon rolls a result of an unmodified 2 when determining whether or not it hits the target, then the weapon is jammed. Unlike Standard and LB-X Autocannons, Ultra Autocannons can pull shots from any ammo bin, as the feed mechanisms are better designed to supply the ammunition required for such high rates of fire.

The Touman

Each Clan has its preferred methods of combat and its own iconic war machines, the better to declare their presence as they crush their foes. Listed here are the most common BattleMechs fielded by Clan Smoke Jaguar, sorted by weight class and linked to Sarna for quick reference. The current list is accurate up to: 3050.

Light
Mist Lynx - A light workhorse OmniMech, we have easy access to X, Y, and Z variants.
Adder - A support design, we can expect to make use of the X, Y, and Z variants.

Medium
Stormcrow - A beast of a Medium, this is a staple of ours and all of the variants are available to us.

Heavy
Mad Dog - A classic fire support design, we can mix it up a little with access to all of the variants.

Assault
Warhawk - This design is a classic for our Clan, meaning we have all variants available.
Executioner - We snatched this bad boy from the Ghost Bears and can use the X, Y, and Z variants.
Dire Wolf  - The biggest and the baddest Assault OmniMech, this one is all ours no matter the variant.

Might Makes Right

Clan warriors all start as cadets, put through the ringer from a young age to weed out the weak and produce some of the strongest warriors to ever take to the field of battle. Since each of us is going to be playing a warrior who has already passed their training and succeeded in a Trial of Position to join the ranks of the warriors, we need another way to prove who is the biggest and the baddest. To that end is the single elimination Gunslingers match. Each round will see two MechWarriors going head to head, the winner progressing on to the next tier. The ultimate goal is leadership and first pick of the starting 'Mechs.

Round 0
John vs Liam
Winner: John

Dave vs Justin
Winner: Dave

Round 1
John vs Dave
Winner: Dave

Tommy vs NPC
Winner: Tommy

Paul vs Zack
Winner: Paul

Jeromy vs Keith
Winner: Jeromy

Round 2
Paul vs Jeromy
Winner: Paul

Dave vs Tommy
Winner: Dave

Round 3
Dave vs Paul
Winner: Dave

Star Captain: Dave
MechWarrior: Jeromy
MechWarrior: NPC
MechWarrior: Keith
MechWarrior: Justin

Star Commander: Paul
MechWarrior: Tommy
MechWarrior: John
MechWarrior: Zack
MechWarrior: Liam

Warriors of Clan Smoke Jaguar

Here they are, the honorable warriors of Clan Smoke Jaguar. This chart should make it easy to see how well your favorite warrior is doing and how he has chosen to upgrade himself as he crushes his foes and proves his worth.

Just Getting Started

All right, so I am still getting things down for the Blog, such as the look and color, but I think it is coming along well. With any luck it will be ready by the start of the campaign. Much like the blog Operation Bulldog, Dawn of the Jaguar seeks to catalog the missions that we will be running in the campaign. It is to be a place to celebrate victory and ponder defeat, with pictures and battle reports to keep everything organized.