Arena Prizes, and the "Engaged" rule

There will be times where it will be tempting to hide behind a rock and let the other battlemechs whittle themselves down.  While I don't want to take away from the tactics of light mechs, the fans are here to see you fight.

To encourage aggressive play...there are a couple of incentives.  First is a monetary award, for bad luck.  If you get out there, mix it up and are one of the first to fall, you will be compensated.
We will call this "Murphy's Reward"



Murphy's Reward:
In games of 10 or more players...

• The First player eliminated will receive a 4 million C-Bill award.  
• The Second will receive 3 Million
• The Third will receive  2 million
• The 4th will recieve1 million.  

Obvious suicide maneuvers will Disqualify you from receiving this award.  (Walking and turning your back to the only opponent you can see so he has short range numbers to hit with his AC20...for example,  If a majority of the players determine your maneuver was a "Suicide" you will not get the award.).  Should two players be eliminated in the same phase, then the awards are combined and split by them (1st and 2nd players fall in the same shooting phase, then they each would get 3.5 million)

In games of 5 or more players but less than 10.

• The First player eliminated will receive 3 million
• The 2nd player will receive 1.5 million. 

In games of 4 players...

• The First player eliminated will receive 2 million

In games of 3 or 2 mechs - there is no Murphy award.

Engaged Rule:
Hiding in a corner and waiting for the field to dwindle down is not an option, get out there and fight.  This will be a three strike system to determine when you are disqualified.  Every turn you are deemed not "Engaged" you will get a strike.  Every turn you are "Engaged" you will not get a strike, and some engaged actions will remove strikes that you have earned.  Strikes are assigned at the end of every game turn.  If you get three strikes your surrender flare automatically fires and you are out of the match.  Any disqualification due to the three strikes removes you from consideration for any Arena Prizes (Murphy's Reward or Contest Winners prizes).  Also if you receive your 3rd strike, you will take the penalties for surrendering (See the Surrender rules)  Double these penalties if you are a member of a Clan Faction or are a member of a Stable that prohibits surrendering.

To be "Engaged" you must do one of the following during the turn

• Attempt to Move closer to an active enemy mech. You do not have to make a move that will force you  to take a piloting check. (If all the remaining mechs are in the position where they must make make a piloting check to move then ALL the remaining mechs must move or the one's that do not move receive a strike)
• Fire any weapon at an enemy, or be shot at. **Remove a strike**
• Attempt a close combat attack, or be the target of one.  **Remove all strikes**
• Unconscious warriors do not accumulate strikes.
• Move toward an unclaimed "Terrain Coin"...running around trying to collect the treasure flares is a valid tactic.
• Mechs missing a leg are always considered Engaged.  **Remove all strikes**     

• There are circumstances where a majority vote of the players can overrule this Disqualification.  If the majority of the players that were part of that battle feel the last strike should not be issued, the strike is not issued, and the mech remains in play.

 Contest Winner Awards:          
 For Games of  10+ players, there is a reward for the last 3 players on the table.

1. The 3rd mech left standing will receive random mech one class lighter than the heaviest mech in the battle.  They can choose to take the roll from the lowest possible chart on their factions random mech assignment tables or from the Arena's Faction "F" chart.  Clan players must take the roll from the Arenas Faction table if the heaviest mech in the battle is an Inner Sphere medium or lighter. They will also receive 1 Fame.
2. The 2nd mech left standing will receive a random mech the same weight class as the heaviest mech in the battle.  They can choose to take the roll from the lowest ranked chart on their factions random mech assignment tables or from the F column from the Arena's faction mech table.  Clan players may take the roll from the Arena's faction or from their clans second line mech table.  Remember Clan mechs are considered one weight class heavier, so the clan player must roll on the chart that is one weight class less than the heaviest. They will also receive 2 Fame.
3. The Last remaining mech and winner of the battle will receive a random mech the same weight class as the heaviest in the battle from the "A" column of their Faction or the Arena's faction mech random tables.  Clan players may take a roll on their Front line Light mech table, rather than the Free Worlds League. Winner in the Grand Melee receive 3 Fame for their Win.  

 In games with 5+ but less than 10...The final two players will receive the bonus mech reward.

1. The 2nd to last mech left standing will receive random mech one class lighter than the heaviest mech in the battle.  They can choose to take the roll from the lowest possible chart on their factions random mech assignment tables or from the Arena's Faction "F" chart.  Clan players must take the roll from the Arenas Faction table if the heaviest mech in the battle is an Inner Sphere medium or lighter. Receive 1 Fame.
2. The last mech left standing will receive a random mech the same weight class as the heaviest mech in the battle.  They can choose to take the roll from the lowest ranked chart on their factions random mech assignment tables or from the F column from the Arena's faction mech table.  Clan players may take the roll from the Arena's faction or from their clans second line mech table.  Remember Clan mechs are considered one weight class heavier, so the clan player must roll on the chart that is one weight class less than the heaviest.  Receive 2 Fame for the win.

In games of 4 mechs

• The last mech left standing will receive a random mech the same weight class as the heaviest mech in the battle.  They can choose to take the roll from the lowest ranked chart on their factions random mech assignment tables or from the F column from the Arena's faction mech table.  Clan players may take the roll from the Arena's faction or from their clans second line mech table.  Remember Clan mechs are considered one weight class heavier, so the clan player must roll on the chart that is one weight class less than the heaviest. Receive 1 Fame for the Win.

In games of 3 or 2 mechs there are no Contest winner awards.

• All of these rolls will use the tables found in back of the "Field Manuals - Update" book.
• If a mini for the rolled mech is not available the player may roll again.  They can take the chassis without the mini if they wish and we can proxy another mini for it.
• Arena Faction means the faction that owns the arena that the battle took place in.  For example the first night our battle will take place in "The Factory" which is the Free Worlds League (House Marik) arena, so the players can roll on their own faction tables or on the Free Worlds League tables for mech selection.
• Sometimes, Clan mechs are listed on inner sphere random lists and vice versa.  The Draconis Combine tables for example have the Ryoken clan mech, listed on the Medium "A" table.  Should a player roll a clan mech on when rolling on an inner sphere chart, they may keep the roll and the Clan mech.  However, should a Clan player rolling on the Clan chart roll and Inner Sphere mech, they may choose to re-roll if they wish.  Where the clan player has already moved down a weight class for the roll, it would be unfair to then stick them with an inner sphere chassis. 

Finally if there is more than one player eligible for an award, there will be a roll off to determine finishing position and who will get the award.  Meaning if the game is down to 4 players and 3 of them fall in the shooting phase.  The last remaining mech is the winner, and the other three must Roll 2d6 with the highest getting the 2nd place award, the next getting 3rd place, and the last getting nothing for 4th.