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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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 Posted: 11-Mar-2007 10:53 Post subject: Trying to balance things out. |
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A few summers back, I was running a small BTech group. Depending upon whether or not I can get peoples' schedules to line back up again, I'd like to restart it.
The two players I had in the group were both mercenaries. One piloted a Savanah Master, while the other had a 2D Commando.
The players had a strategy going: the Savanah pilot would act as a spotter, going on ahead to identify any potential targets. Once a target was spotted, he'd call back to the Commando.
Thing is, this limits me in regards to what types of targets I can have them go up against; anything heavier than a Vedette or a Thorn would have resulted in the party getting slaughtered as both players were beginners.
Even if it means cooking up some new NPCs, the party needs to be expanded by at least two units.
By virtue of this being a hunter-killer unit, these units need to be fairly fast (4/6 minimum) and have a decent amount of firepower for their size. But by virtue of being mercenary, this means I'm limited to 3025 and 3026 tech.
Any recommendations?
Thanks.
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Warhammer: 3025
Freelance
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)
Joined: 29-Jan-2005 00:00
Posts: 1856
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| Posted: 11-Mar-2007 11:02 Post subject: |
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A Thorn/Valkyrie and a Condor/Drillson sound like good candidates to me.
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Seraph
Blighted Sun Battalion
2nd Company
"Seraph's Slaughter"
Major
Joined: 11-Mar-2004 00:00
Posts: 1744
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| Posted: 11-Mar-2007 12:27 Post subject: |
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What is their rough affiliation? By that i mean what House do they generally look for a contract from and which do they avoid working for? It could help.
Jenners, Valkyries, Clints, Locusts, Javelins, Cicada(3C), etc.. are nice designs that combine speed with some fire power, either long or short.
Most hovertanks would work as well. Also Galleons, Hunters, Strikers, etc.. are good tanks that move faster than 4/6.
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AWAD
Draconis Combine
Chu-sa
Joined: 06-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 766
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| Posted: 11-Mar-2007 14:14 Post subject: |
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First are you running RPG or just Tabletop?
Doping it RPG is a little more work, but allows you to add all kinds of angles. Yeah he has that bad ass verison Jenner (Laser Only) but comes with a ton of baggage.
But in general the unit has to be at least 4 units? Who is going to hire one Mech and a Vehicle? Some minor little lord needing a body guard or some nasty work done? Maybe a medium size Mech unit wanting to fill a temporary hole?
So if no additional people add 1 extra vehcile to pair with the Savannah Master and one Mech to pair with the Commando. A J Edgar Hover or Harrasser for the Tank. For the Mech a Thorn has been mentioned, also the Valk or Firestarter. Staying really light a good old Wasp.
AWAD- My group is 5 players- 4 major NPCs and hordes of no namers.
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Sleeping Dragon
Draconis Combine
Tai-i
Joined: 06-Apr-2005 00:00
Posts: 4820
Location: Czech Republic
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| Posted: 11-Mar-2007 14:21 Post subject: |
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Maybe the SRM/LRM carrier moving to position. You may let the enemy crawl through difficult terrain and the PCs are sent to stop them. Savannah should be able to stay out of range, or keep the modifiers high and the Commando would be firing indirectly.
Artillery with infantry escort would also be good, just let the Commando pack some ammo to deal with this.
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Seraph
Blighted Sun Battalion
2nd Company
"Seraph's Slaughter"
Major
Joined: 11-Mar-2004 00:00
Posts: 1744
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| Posted: 11-Mar-2007 19:34 Post subject: |
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i disagree on the missle carriers...they are too slow.
As for the Wasp...too thin armor. At least a Locust or Cicada has 4 tons and they are a bit faster overall. The Cicada 3C, while only moving 7/11, mounts a PPC which would be the big gun. And it mounts a full ton of armor more than the Wasp.
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Mar-2007 00:16 Post subject: |
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| AWAD wrote: | First are you running RPG or just Tabletop?
Doping it RPG is a little more work, but allows you to add all kinds of angles. Yeah he has that bad ass verison Jenner (Laser Only) but comes with a ton of baggage.
But in general the unit has to be at least 4 units? Who is going to hire one Mech and a Vehicle? Some minor little lord needing a body guard or some nasty work done? Maybe a medium size Mech unit wanting to fill a temporary hole?
So if no additional people add 1 extra vehcile to pair with the Savannah Master and one Mech to pair with the Commando. A J Edgar Hover or Harrasser for the Tank. For the Mech a Thorn has been mentioned, also the Valk or Firestarter. Staying really light a good old Wasp.
AWAD- My group is 5 players- 4 major NPCs and hordes of no namers. |
The plotline is this.
A group of bandits has been hitting all the factions stationed on Caph. Lindon's Battalion, who are serving as peacekeepers under the orders of the Star League (by way of the Combine, who they had contracted to), has been given the task of finding these bandits and stopping them before they get the factions on-planet to start shooting at each other.
However, LB is still attempting to recover from some significant losses they had sustained under their last contract. In desperation, Lindon authorized one of her top officers to go recruit some smaller mercenaries so that she could temporarily plug the gaps in the roster. The party represent merely two of the mercs the guy dredged up.
Right now, the party is simply running patrols to spot any bandits. However, the plot I had it called for them to stumble across a bandit officer and capture him; thing is, he'd be in a fairly decent sized vehicle such as a Maxim. The two players would not be able to beat his vehicle by themselves, and so they'd have to call on some sort of support to defeat him. This is a problem, as the two PCs would take this as a blow to their egos that they couldn't win a battle w/o help.
_________________
"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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Sleeping Dragon
Draconis Combine
Tai-i
Joined: 06-Apr-2005 00:00
Posts: 4820
Location: Czech Republic
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| Posted: 12-Mar-2007 02:51 Post subject: |
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| Seraph wrote: | i disagree on the missle carriers...they are too slow.
As for the Wasp...too thin armor. At least a Locust or Cicada has 4 tons and they are a bit faster overall. The Cicada 3C, while only moving 7/11, mounts a PPC which would be the big gun. And it mounts a full ton of armor more than the Wasp. |
The missile carrier would be the enemy. It's too large for Commando to engage head on, so the players would need to even the odds by terrain and indirect fire. I chose slow vehicles, because Kraken wanted a target for beginners piloting a Commando and Savanah Master...
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Warhammer: 3025
Freelance
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)
Joined: 29-Jan-2005 00:00
Posts: 1856
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| Posted: 12-Mar-2007 09:08 Post subject: |
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While a mercenary or house officer would indeed be likely to ride around in a Maxim, I think a bandit would probably be in a converted APC, maybe with another APC and it's infantry as point protection.
_________________
Evil is like a bowl of oranges. Only one, instead, is an orange of DOOM. That orange has a fate to rule over the other oranges with an iron fist. That orange is me.
Because sometimes, there are many guards in the castle.
Ya Rl'yeh!
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mud
Draconis Combine
Tai-sho
Joined: 23-Jul-2002 00:00
Posts: 1618
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| Posted: 12-Mar-2007 15:44 Post subject: |
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I'd add something with a bit of brawn to the lineup; how about a Griffin and a Saladin?
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Warhammer: 3025
Freelance
Captain, AFFC (Ret.)
Joined: 29-Jan-2005 00:00
Posts: 1856
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| Posted: 12-Mar-2007 15:58 Post subject: |
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I'd go along with the Saladin, but I think the Griffin is too much. One Griffin alone could eat both vehicles the players have easily.
_________________
Evil is like a bowl of oranges. Only one, instead, is an orange of DOOM. That orange has a fate to rule over the other oranges with an iron fist. That orange is me.
Because sometimes, there are many guards in the castle.
Ya Rl'yeh!
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Kraken
Federated Suns
Marshal
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2755
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Mar-2007 16:51 Post subject: |
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| Warhammer: 3025 wrote: | | I'd go along with the Saladin, but I think the Griffin is too much. One Griffin alone could eat both vehicles the players have easily. |
Unless a character got enough points in the Vehicle trait during the life path, I wouldn't let them start the game in one unless they spent the points to boost the trait highly enough.
And I think we all know what that would entail.
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"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat." -Edgar Allen Poe"I knew there was something special about you, but I never realized you were really a cat." Wolfwood to a random cat (Trigun)
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mud
Draconis Combine
Tai-sho
Joined: 23-Jul-2002 00:00
Posts: 1618
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| Posted: 16-Mar-2007 14:16 Post subject: |
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| Kraken wrote: |
And I think we all know what that would entail. |
I don't play mechwarrior, so I really don't actually ; )
worse piloting and gunnery skills i'd guess
my suggestion was meant to round out the lance, not go against it.
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Warhammer: 3025
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| Posted: 16-Mar-2007 14:26 Post subject: |
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| Kraken wrote: | | This is a problem, as the two PCs would take this as a blow to their egos that they couldn't win a battle w/o help. |
This raises an interesting alternative. Why not give the players some offmap assets to work with? 3 rounds from a Thumper, a single pass from an ASF, etc. The force multiplier would help them complete their objective, and they would still feel like they did all the work.
_________________
Evil is like a bowl of oranges. Only one, instead, is an orange of DOOM. That orange has a fate to rule over the other oranges with an iron fist. That orange is me.
Because sometimes, there are many guards in the castle.
Ya Rl'yeh!
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mud
Draconis Combine
Tai-sho
Joined: 23-Jul-2002 00:00
Posts: 1618
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| Posted: 16-Mar-2007 17:56 Post subject: |
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that's a very good idea.
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"The enemy's gate is down."
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