News from the Front #9 – Battletech, the New Starters Campaign part 1

Long-time no write, but I have a good excuse this time!  In the midst of real life and failing to build decent terrain, I have somehow managed to get 2 people enthusiastically embracing the game of Battletech.  It started as a few small scenarios and now it appears to be close to a full role-playing campaign.  Whilst I unfortunately don’t have any pictures, I do have a bit of a write up for you, you’ll note that I’m using the lore created by the Battletech PC game here as well:

Prelude –

Our heroic band of mercenaries, chiefly Brynjar Holmstrom and Julian Delacroix (played by friends Callum and James, respectively), didn’t start out as heroes.  It’s 3045 and we begin on the world of Independence.  Long-time members of Bannon’s Bashers, a mercenary group of 2 Lance’s of battlemechs, they were under contract to provide protection to a major manufacturing conglomerate.  However, within the first few days Bannon’s Bashers were beset upon by a pirate group that utterly devastated the mercenaries.  So much so that Bannon, the mercenary commander, had his mech’s legs ripped apart and his cockpit crushed by a Dragon ‘mech.  The only survivors of this savage attack were Brynjar and Julian.

Most of the unit’s support staff fled, either fearing for their lives or looking for better work. But a few loyal members stayed, chief mechanic Ady Hotch, medic Lucy Crane, administrator Isabelle Oscar, and 4 junior mech techs.  Living out of tents in a makeshift camp, eating rations and having more spare mech parts than personnel meant for some really poor morale.  The company accounts were still accessible but plundered by the deserters.  With only a few months’ worth of cash left to pay everyone, Brynjar and Julian needed work.  It just so happened that the local government was in need of some desperate mechwarriors.

Episode 1 – A hole in the ground

For several weeks one of the government’s main mining pits for weapons production had been raided for supplies and materials, and agents had been finding the loot for sale on the black market.  It was time for this to stop, and strangely enough the raiders were keeping to a schedule.  Brynjar and Julian strolled in to the battlefield with their Centurion CN9-AL and Blackjack BJ-1, respectively, to find the raiders already attacking the facility.  Our “heroes” set about attacking the 2 Locusts, Jenner and Panther with a modicum of professional fire control.  Obviously still disoriented from their company’s colossal defeat, they managed to eventually ruin a Locust (thanks to it almost constantly being on its back) and destroy a Jenner with a few lucky albeit late game shots.  The Panther bugged out leaving the remaining Locust pilot to surrender.  A job well done, sorta.

More to come!

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