Factory Terrain, Part #3

Slowly but surely making progress on the Factory terrain project.  See the above video for a progress report.

Rules: Booby Traps / C-Bill Awards / Crates / I-Beams

Some Arenas like to spice things up a little bit with some interactive obstacles and terrain. These may be Pop up turrets, hidden pits, moveable crates, Or something we will call a Treasure flare.
Here is where you will find the basic rules for these terrain pieces.

Terrain Coins:
First up we will be using the 2" terrain pieces to represent where these items (other than the crates) are located on the map. You can see a couple rows of these in the image below (Being used as straffing makers for an aerospace attack). We will call these "Terrain Coins" for lack of a better term.


The exact number of Terrain Coins is randomly determined prior to each match and depends upon the arena and number of constants. If there are 6 or fewer competitors then roll a d6, if there are more then 6 players then roll 2d6. These will be placed at least 12" from any starting position, and no closer than 4" from another terrain coin. The terrain coins should be placed before players pick their starting positions.

Terrain Coins are used in the following Arenas:

• Ishiyama: The Iron Mountian (Kurita) - Additional Rules on for see Ishiyama Arena rules page
• The Jungle (Liao)
• Boreal Reach "Devils Bath" (Davion)
• Hartford Gardens (Unaffiliated)
• King of the Mountian (Unafilliated)

Exactly what the "Terrain Coin" has will be randomly determined at the time it is stepped on by a mech, not all the results are bad. Jumping over a terrain coin will not activate it, you have to touch it for it to activate.  Each Arena will have a different d6 chart to use.  The chart for each arena is made up from the items on the list below with the treasure flares taking the 5 and 6 slots on each chart.  The exact chart for each arena can be found on that specific Arena Rules page (Still need to write those)

• Minefield - 7 Point Minefield, remains in play,  May be removed using Minefield removal rules.  Activating mech may continue it's movement.
• Minefield - 10 Point Minefield, remains in play,  May be removed using Minefield removal rules.  Activating mech may continue it's movement.
• Quicksand! - 1 Level Deep. Cost 4MP to move through.  Requires a +3 piloting check to move through, failure indicates the mech is stuck and ends it's move.  Stuck mechs may attempt to get out the next movement phase at a +4 Piloting check (as they have settled deeper in the quicksand).
• Hidden Pit! - The mech falls into a 2 level deep hidden pit, taking falling damage from a 2 level fall.  The activating mech may use any remaining movement to attempt to stand and climb out of the pit and continue their movement. 
• Medium Laser pop up turret. A turret pops up touching an edge of the terrain coin, and remove the coin. If possible it will be placed in the front arc of the activating mech. If the front is not possible then either of the side, then finally the rear arc. Once placed the activating mech may continue their movement phase. The Turret has Gunnery skill of 5 and is considered an immobile target. The Turret can take 8 points of damage before deactivating.  There is no CP, C-Bill or Fame awarded for taking out a turret.  As the turret is considered an enemy unit you may not move through the turret and must move around it.  The Turret will shoot in the firing phase at the closest target.
• One Shot SRM4 pop up turret.  A turret pops up touching an edge of the terrain coin and remove the coin. If possible it will be placed in the front arc of the activating mech. If the front is not possible then either of the side, then finally the rear arc. Once placed the activating mech may continue their movement phase.  The Turret has Gunnery skill of 5 and is considered an immobile target. The Turret can take 8 points of damage before deactivating.  There is no CP, C-Bill or Fame awarded for taking out a turret.  As the turret is considered an enemy unit you may not move through the turret and must move around it.  The Turret will shoot in the firing phase at the closest target.  Once the turret has fired you may remove it from play.
• Nothing. Open space.  Remove the coin. The activating mech may continue it's movement.
• Lesser Treasure Flare.  Remove the coin. The activating mech is awarded 50,000 C-Bills.  The activating mech may continue it's movement.
• Greater Treasure Flare.   Remove the coin. The activating mech is awarded 100,000 C-Bills and may roll the Die again.  If the result of the new roll is a 6 the Mech gets another 100,000 C-Bills.  The player keeps rolling getting another 100,000 C-Bills for every 6 that is rolled, but stopping when the first non-6 result is rolled.  The activating mech may continue it's movement.

Crates:
Some arenas will have some Crates that are moveable and destructible.  These can be used as partial cover.  Crates have a CF of 5 and will take 5 points of damage before it is destroyed.

Crates are used in the following arenas.

• The Factory (Marik)
• The Scrapyard (Unaffiliated)

Crates are placed on the board before players choose their starting positions.  Details on where the crates should be place are located on the Specific Arena rules page.

These crates may be moved from their original starting position.  Though bulky they only weigh 1 ton so they are easily moved. 

• Walking mechs may kick a crate or stack of crates out of the way of a walking mech.  This does not require a piloting check or hinder movement in any way.  Just push the crate to one side or the other, moving units choice which side the crate is moved to.  You may not push the crate along in front of you.
• Running mechs will blow right through the crate destroying it.  You must make a piloting check for each crate you wish to run through in this manner.  It does not cost you any movement to blow through the crate, you just have a chance to fall over.  Remove any crate from play that when the mech attempts to run through...the crate is destroyed if the pilot makes or fails the piloting check.  The debris left behind is scattered and not substantial enough to be considered rough or rubble.
• Picking up crates is possible.  (Though I can't see why you would want to.)  You must be walking and have 2 working hand actuators.  It takes 1 MP to pick up a crate, it takes 1 MP to set down a crate intact.  You may Drop the crate for 0 MP, destroying it.  Just a standard piloting check will let you pick up the crate.  While carrying the crate...You may only use Walking movement, you man not fire any arm or front facing torso located weapons.  You do not have "Partial cover" carrying a crate, but any shot that hits one of your front torsos will hit the crate first.  Once the crate has taken 5 points of damage it is destroyed. 

I-Beam Scrap Pile:
An I-Beam scrap pile is just that, a pile of I-Beams were a battlemech can automatically find a re-usable Club.

I-Beam are used in the following arenas.

• The Factory (Marik)
• The Scrapyard (Unaffiliated)

The Club rules are in the Total Warfare Rulebook.  Normally you have to search a building, then roll to see if you find one.  But with these piles it is automatic.  All the other rules for picking up clubs and the use of Clubs we will follow right from the rulebook.  You may not keep you club for future events and must turn it in after the battle.

Update, Odds and Ends, Random rules.

Getting closer to the launch of this campaign and I have had a couple of things to share.  I've ether mentioned these before and they got lost in the shuffle or this is the first time you are hearing them.

1) All of the Stables and Sponsors are now on the blog.  The Sponsors are in a link on the top of the page.  The Stables are also listed on the top so you can compare them, but the detailed links are to the right.  Each Stable has it's own entry.  Not all the details / benefits of each Stable are listed in the link up top, you will have to check the link to the specific Sponsors for all the abilities the sponsor offers.          

2) Mechwarrior Deaths.  It will happen.  If your mechwarrior dies, you may restart just as a new mechwarrior.  You do not have to take the same faction.  The down side is your Fame will be at 0.  Your mech goes to the mechwarrior that fired the killing shot.  This is the only way a mech may be salvaged from an opponent.  Their is a down side though...You get -10 Fame for firing the killing shot.  Which is why you see some of the better stables offering abilities to avoid head shots.  Remember Fame is what will determine the overall winner of this Campaign.


3) Selling mechs to the market or to other players.  Yes you may do it (At a profit to other players even).  There are some restrictions. 

• Clan Mechwarriors (other than Clan Diamond Shark) will not sell Clan tech to anyone...even other clanners.  Clan Diamond Shark are salesman first and foremost...mechwarriors second, so they are fine with spreading their Technology.  See the 75% rule below.
• Some Sponsors offer 50% discount on mechs, these are known as "Sponsor Mechs" and may not be sold to other players.  When you sell a Sponsor Mechs back to the marketplace you get your purchase price in return.
• The lowest price you can charge a player for a fully repaired mech is 75% of the base price of the mech.  You may charge any price you wish to another player for an Arena damaged battlemech, leaving them new owner to pay for the repairs. 
• The Market will buy back a mech at 75% of  base price.  This is unless you were able to purchase the mech at less than a 25% discount.  If your purchase price was under 75%, then the market will offer you your purchase price.  (This is to prevent an infinite money making loop).

4) Bounties and Side Betting.  Yes you may place a bounty on another players mech if you wish.  This can be for a certain match or an ongoing bounty until you remove it.  You may not drop a bounty during a battle, but you may offer one up.  Bounties are for the elimination of a mech not for the killing of the mechwarrior.  You may offer up a killing bounty on the mechwarrior, but your mechwarrior will take a -20 Fame hit.  You may make side bets with another player if you wish.  First to drop an enemy, Who lasts the longest, First to score a hit with a physical attack, etc.

5) Comms.  Each mech has a public broadcast ability, and the frequencies of all the other mechs in the battle.  If you wish to send a private message to one of the other mechs, just write them a note or step off to the side where no one can hear you.

6) I'm up to 5 Arenas that are mostly ready to go.  The Factory (Marik), The Jungle (Liao), Ishiyama - Tunnels (Kurita), Hartford Gardens (Unaffiliated), and Boreal Reach (Davion).  The Davion Arena in the Box set and the map pack was originally a field of Icy wasteland.  The fiction about Boreal Reaches is that it is the most impressive holographic system in the inner sphere capable of creating nearly any environment.for the mechs to do battle in.  Rather than doing up an Icy piece of terrain, I'll be "Adjusting the Holomatrix" and Boreal Reach will be using the Rocky Pillar terrain that I already have made up.  You should remember it from the Nova Cat Battle in the last campaign, Scott and I fought on it.  I'm planning on doing up the Steiner arena as well (with the raising and lowering walls), but I'm not sure it will be ready for the start of the campaign.  Each of these maps will  be on a 6' x 4' table...though I have enough Slate now to make the Kurita one on the 8' x 6' table.  I got the first coat of paint on the Factory and it is mostly set up for you to see at our Final Operation Bulldog game.

That' s all for now...

    

Stable: The Hangmen

Name: The Hangmen

Faction:
Any Periphery
Mercenary

Rating: F

Mechs Lists Available: 
Unaffiliated

Minimum Fame Required: 3

Character Point (CP) Cost: 5

C-Bill Entry Fee:   500,000

Special Abilities:  Relatively new Stable, eager to make a name for itself.

• Initiative Bonus. If more than 3 active mechs are on the battlefield, this mechwarrior cannot be 1st to move.  If their card is flipped first, place to side and flip another initiative card.  If that card also has the "Initiative Bonus" ability also place it to the side, flip until a card without Initiative Bonus is flipped.  Once one mech has moved all Initiative bonus mechs whose cards have been flipped move in the order they were originally flipped.  If there are 3 or fewer mechs remaining the Initiative Bonus ability has no effect. If all remaining mechwarriors have the Initiative Bonus ability, the ability has no effect.

Stable: The Dispossessed Cooperative

Name: The Dispossessed Cooperative

Faction:
Any Periphery
Mercenary

Rating: D

Mechs Lists Available: 
Unaffiliated
Mercenary "Other"

Minimum Fame Required: 4

Character Point (CP) Cost: 10

C-Bill Entry Fee:   850,000

Special Abilities:  A community of Mechwarriors sworn to help each other in a time of crisis.  Many have seen time having lost their mech and not having a replacement.  Train each other on how to disable an opponent and still still claim victory.  The dispossessed do not wish to add to their ranks through their own actions.

• May Aim "low" at a +2 to hit penalty with ranged attacks.  If a hit, may use the "Kick" chart to assign damage to the legs of the target.
• May purchase from the Mercenary "Other" mech list.

Stable: Renegade Cooperative

Name: Renegade Cooperative

Faction:
Any Periphery
Mercenary

Rating: C

Mechs Lists Available: 
Unaffiliated
Any Periphery

Minimum Fame Required: 2

Character Point (CP) Cost: 5

C-Bill Entry Fee:   250,000

Special Abilities:  Band of Periphery mechwarriors with agreements to share technology and spare parts.

• May purchase Mechs from any periphery list.
• -5% to final repair costs.

Stable: Huntsmen

Name: Huntsmen

Faction:
Any Periphery
Mercenary

Rating: A

Mechs Lists Available: 
Unaffiliated
Solaris mechs

Minimum Fame Required: 4

Character Point (CP) Cost: 11

C-Bill Entry Fee:   1,250,000

Special Abilities:  When originally founded this Stable was know for carrying out duels to the death.  Though they will never surrender, Huntsmen mechwarriors are now willing to accept the surrender of an opponent.  They are currently feuding with Banshee Stables and have been for the last year.    

• May not Surrender
• May purchase Solaris Mechs
• May use Solaris technology for upgrades.
• -10% to final repair costs.
• -1 To Hit for any Banshee stable mech at the cost of 1 extra heat per weapon or physical attack.

Stable: Blake's Castaways

Name: Blake's Castaways

Faction:
Any Periphery
Mercenary

Rating: A

Mechs Lists Available: 
Unaffiliated
Mercenary
Word of Blake (10 Fame)

Minimum Fame Required: 3

Character Point (CP) Cost: 9

C-Bill Entry Fee:   1,350,000


Special Abilities:  Founded by a group of underdog mechwarriors who felt unappreciated when compared with the major stables and house mechwarriors.  Has gotten some backing from the Word of Blake as of recent. 

• -1 To Hit (Shooting and physical attacks) any other Stable mech.
• May Purchase from Word of Blake mech list once the mechwarrior has at least 10 Fame.
• 25% discount to purchase cost of Medium or Heavy Inner sphere mech.