DefKab
2012-11-13, 09:10 PM
Esteemed Playgrounders. I come to you because to my tiny mind, the Solaris7 Forums are incomprehensible... I wish to beg for help.
I am new to the Battletech Community, but my complete lack of experience with any of the fluff, or mechanics, did not stop me from starting a Campaign with two of my friends today... Because I'm so inexperience, I ask for help on almost all aspects. I have a vague outline of what I want to do, and I'll explained what I've already done. I would love feedback, and most importantly brainstorming on new ideas.
Here's the story so far...
In the year 3048 (Roughly two years before the Clan invasion, I gathered) two Mechwarriors from an unnamed Academy on a yet Unnamed Inner Sphere world started a Mercenary company in a major city on a growing nation. Dirk Steel and the one known only as John called on their friend Maximillian Mills to serve as their Intelligence Officer, and through some shadier contacts, got ahold of a fossil of a pilot, and a damned good technician who calls himself Bulldog. The four of them were in business. After a few successful operations (Not played out...) the crew felt confidant to expand, ordered two shiny new 40 Ton Chassis, and got ahold of experimental programming that could simulate live fire exercises in a training enviroment. With these, they could hire and train green recuits for very little overhead. They closed their warehouse doors that evening with high hopes. The next day, the returned to ashes.
An obvious sabotage had left all the own destroyed and unrecoverable, but a well planned insurance policy covered their losses, and netted them a 4,000,000 C-Bill balance. The gloom was further punctured by the arrival of their Chassis that they ordered. To cover the costs of outfitting viable mechs, the crew took out a 1 Mil C-Bill loan, and tested two loaded mechs using their new Training Programming. The simulation was... Glitchy. A simulated rear approached caused the Mech named Spartan to score an unprecidented critical hit. Soon the Nightblade's engine had failed, and a damaged Gyro taxed the system even more. The game refused to let Dirk to stand. When the Nightblade's heat levels started rising, the program went even further, and shut down the whole mech, essentially conceeding the match to John when only a couple of shots had been fired, and most systems were still, technically green. (Lucky/Unlucky dice rolls actually caused this match to happen this way. John got a snake eye to hit with a laser, cause three critical hits in the torso, and Dirk just couldn't make a piloting roll to save his life. Two failed stand attempts and one shutdown later, we declared the system 'glitchy'.) Nevertheless, the mechs ran smoothly, and the programming was functional for any greens they might recruit. Now, a week that started in misery ended in renewed hope for their company. As long as they can keep their bank account black...
As you can tell, I just ignored all Canon (because of my ignorance) and strove on with my own rendition... Now, gaming sessions will cover a whole week of in-game time, and will start with a Report which covers both Missions, and News...
Missions: The heart of the campaign, the Mission section will contain a list of all active missions. This section is sorted into three categories: Galactic, Planetary, and National, which is simply a cue of what kind of travel will be required. National missions require little cost as they are relatively close. Some sort of mass transit will be required for a Planetary mission, while nothing short of a dropship will allow Galactic missions. I'll include Location, Pay, Salvage Conditions, Enviromental Conditions, Expire Time, and any Special Rules.
Is there anything else that is pertinent in this part?
Also, any mission will progress one of three Tracks.
The first track is Financial. It is a high-gain, simple mission that is meant to increase the company's funding. Things from simple security runs to Arena Matches will move this track, which is monitored via their bank account. These missions have a short expiration date.
The Second track is Technological. My mechwarriors have the worst of the technology available right now. Lasers, ACs, and LRM's are all they can put on their mechs, but by completing these missions, they'll unlock new traders to deal with, and even become first in line to try out new, experimental tech. This track has low financial game, but can keep them competitive with the opposition. The missions will be varied, and difficult to plan, but might be the most fun to play.
The Third Track is the Story Track. A very low financial and technological gain will make these missions a hard choice to take, but the other, more subtle boons, plus the advancement of the actual plot line, will hopefully make these the mainstay of missions chosen. They have very long expiration dates, but some side stories might need haste to benefit from.
I wont give the players which track a particular mission is part of, but from the specifics, they should be able to guess. This will give the players more freedom on what missions they do, and how they play, I think. I would LOVE feedback on this...
The News!
Every week, the players will be informed of the most recent news from around the Inner Sphere. I'll give them a paper, with three headlines, one from each of the regions (National, Planetary, and Galactic). The headlines will be accompanied by a small excerpt, and the stories can either be useless red herrings ("House Davion Spy to be Prosecuted Monday"), or hidden plothooks and background elements ("Local Ammo Packer Union Strike Continues; Ammo at an All Time Low").
Along with these blurb will be a purely-for-fluff Editorial section that details anything from a war story to a rousing political debate, to even a critics review of the latest assault chassis. ("LRM 10s? Are you KIDDING me?")
I am scouring everything I can for inspiration, but I would LOVE some ideas that you experienced veterans might have. Anything can and will be used.
Also, every month, Mills, the Intel Officer will present John (the Commander) with a Monthly Report. This report should grow, but this is what I think will be on it so far.
The Crew: The Report will list all active members in the company, their positions, and their benefits/drawbacks.
There can only be one Intelligence Officer, one Technician for each Mech, Vehicle, and Aero/Space, one Merchant, one HR Manager, and one PR Manager.
Intelligence Officer: This guy is the guy with the Intel. Right now it is Maximillian Mills, and he's pretty good at his job. Plus, he's cheap. Being the one to talk the most to the Mechwarriors, his only real asset is being a helpful plothook. He'll provide all the information the Commander needs. He should keep his job, as long as John still likes him. Having different IOs wont change more than your Bank Account...
Technician: These dudes fix the stuff. Some technicians offer better returns for things like refits, installation, or monthly maintenance, but really, here you just want to trust the guy shoving the explosive warheads in your chest. Their Mech technician, Bulldog, is an old, grizzled veteran, who knows all there is to know about a Mech. But, unfortunately, he wont tell you of it. He's cheap, easy to please, and knowledgeable. He's also grumpy, old, and you don't even know his name...
Merchant: This is your money maker. Without a good Merchant, you're gonna get hosed on the market. Markups on purchases, and markdowns on sales will leave you in the red, so get a silver tongue to sooth the prices. The best negotiators will negotiate a large paycheck, tho, so beware of their cut...
Human Resources: This is the dude that hires the other dudes. Contract Negotiation can be a tricky ordeal, so pawn it off on some low-life who'll score you the vets for the cheapest. He's a necessity if you want to make a return on that cutthroat Black Market Merchant...
Public Relations: Sometimes a laser goes haywire, sometimes a Thunderbolt blows up the town hall, and sometimes the arena gigs just don't like you. When this happens, your PR Manager waltzes in to calm things down. They'll make sur you dont get sued, and try to give you better deals on your mission contracts. But they're not magicians, so dont go around shooting up the villagers...
Pilots: Someones gotta run all those Mechs, AeroSpace Fighters, and Lotus Tanks you've been recovering, so contract out some Pilots to fill the holes in your lances. These guys are only temporary, tho.
Are their any other important people you'd want in your company? I think I covered the basics...
Finances: Also covered in the monthly report is everything that deals with your money.
All your loans, their interest, and terms will be listed, along with the deductions from your crew, monthly maintenance, facility rent, insurance policy, and expenditures. It'll be compared along side last months expenditures and income, and culminate to predict an End of Month Balance. Hopefully, that number will rise every month, instead of fall...
So this is what I have planned, and some of it I even have implemented.
I ask you for your feedback. What would you add? What do you think? Do you have any neat mission/news ideas?
Also, I'd like to know if anyone would be interested in a game log that'll present each sessions events, along with all the Material created for it. I think it might help others, and it'll definitely help me to have a cloud-side resource to store all this crap... What do you think?
I am new to the Battletech Community, but my complete lack of experience with any of the fluff, or mechanics, did not stop me from starting a Campaign with two of my friends today... Because I'm so inexperience, I ask for help on almost all aspects. I have a vague outline of what I want to do, and I'll explained what I've already done. I would love feedback, and most importantly brainstorming on new ideas.
Here's the story so far...
In the year 3048 (Roughly two years before the Clan invasion, I gathered) two Mechwarriors from an unnamed Academy on a yet Unnamed Inner Sphere world started a Mercenary company in a major city on a growing nation. Dirk Steel and the one known only as John called on their friend Maximillian Mills to serve as their Intelligence Officer, and through some shadier contacts, got ahold of a fossil of a pilot, and a damned good technician who calls himself Bulldog. The four of them were in business. After a few successful operations (Not played out...) the crew felt confidant to expand, ordered two shiny new 40 Ton Chassis, and got ahold of experimental programming that could simulate live fire exercises in a training enviroment. With these, they could hire and train green recuits for very little overhead. They closed their warehouse doors that evening with high hopes. The next day, the returned to ashes.
An obvious sabotage had left all the own destroyed and unrecoverable, but a well planned insurance policy covered their losses, and netted them a 4,000,000 C-Bill balance. The gloom was further punctured by the arrival of their Chassis that they ordered. To cover the costs of outfitting viable mechs, the crew took out a 1 Mil C-Bill loan, and tested two loaded mechs using their new Training Programming. The simulation was... Glitchy. A simulated rear approached caused the Mech named Spartan to score an unprecidented critical hit. Soon the Nightblade's engine had failed, and a damaged Gyro taxed the system even more. The game refused to let Dirk to stand. When the Nightblade's heat levels started rising, the program went even further, and shut down the whole mech, essentially conceeding the match to John when only a couple of shots had been fired, and most systems were still, technically green. (Lucky/Unlucky dice rolls actually caused this match to happen this way. John got a snake eye to hit with a laser, cause three critical hits in the torso, and Dirk just couldn't make a piloting roll to save his life. Two failed stand attempts and one shutdown later, we declared the system 'glitchy'.) Nevertheless, the mechs ran smoothly, and the programming was functional for any greens they might recruit. Now, a week that started in misery ended in renewed hope for their company. As long as they can keep their bank account black...
As you can tell, I just ignored all Canon (because of my ignorance) and strove on with my own rendition... Now, gaming sessions will cover a whole week of in-game time, and will start with a Report which covers both Missions, and News...
Missions: The heart of the campaign, the Mission section will contain a list of all active missions. This section is sorted into three categories: Galactic, Planetary, and National, which is simply a cue of what kind of travel will be required. National missions require little cost as they are relatively close. Some sort of mass transit will be required for a Planetary mission, while nothing short of a dropship will allow Galactic missions. I'll include Location, Pay, Salvage Conditions, Enviromental Conditions, Expire Time, and any Special Rules.
Is there anything else that is pertinent in this part?
Also, any mission will progress one of three Tracks.
The first track is Financial. It is a high-gain, simple mission that is meant to increase the company's funding. Things from simple security runs to Arena Matches will move this track, which is monitored via their bank account. These missions have a short expiration date.
The Second track is Technological. My mechwarriors have the worst of the technology available right now. Lasers, ACs, and LRM's are all they can put on their mechs, but by completing these missions, they'll unlock new traders to deal with, and even become first in line to try out new, experimental tech. This track has low financial game, but can keep them competitive with the opposition. The missions will be varied, and difficult to plan, but might be the most fun to play.
The Third Track is the Story Track. A very low financial and technological gain will make these missions a hard choice to take, but the other, more subtle boons, plus the advancement of the actual plot line, will hopefully make these the mainstay of missions chosen. They have very long expiration dates, but some side stories might need haste to benefit from.
I wont give the players which track a particular mission is part of, but from the specifics, they should be able to guess. This will give the players more freedom on what missions they do, and how they play, I think. I would LOVE feedback on this...
The News!
Every week, the players will be informed of the most recent news from around the Inner Sphere. I'll give them a paper, with three headlines, one from each of the regions (National, Planetary, and Galactic). The headlines will be accompanied by a small excerpt, and the stories can either be useless red herrings ("House Davion Spy to be Prosecuted Monday"), or hidden plothooks and background elements ("Local Ammo Packer Union Strike Continues; Ammo at an All Time Low").
Along with these blurb will be a purely-for-fluff Editorial section that details anything from a war story to a rousing political debate, to even a critics review of the latest assault chassis. ("LRM 10s? Are you KIDDING me?")
I am scouring everything I can for inspiration, but I would LOVE some ideas that you experienced veterans might have. Anything can and will be used.
Also, every month, Mills, the Intel Officer will present John (the Commander) with a Monthly Report. This report should grow, but this is what I think will be on it so far.
The Crew: The Report will list all active members in the company, their positions, and their benefits/drawbacks.
There can only be one Intelligence Officer, one Technician for each Mech, Vehicle, and Aero/Space, one Merchant, one HR Manager, and one PR Manager.
Intelligence Officer: This guy is the guy with the Intel. Right now it is Maximillian Mills, and he's pretty good at his job. Plus, he's cheap. Being the one to talk the most to the Mechwarriors, his only real asset is being a helpful plothook. He'll provide all the information the Commander needs. He should keep his job, as long as John still likes him. Having different IOs wont change more than your Bank Account...
Technician: These dudes fix the stuff. Some technicians offer better returns for things like refits, installation, or monthly maintenance, but really, here you just want to trust the guy shoving the explosive warheads in your chest. Their Mech technician, Bulldog, is an old, grizzled veteran, who knows all there is to know about a Mech. But, unfortunately, he wont tell you of it. He's cheap, easy to please, and knowledgeable. He's also grumpy, old, and you don't even know his name...
Merchant: This is your money maker. Without a good Merchant, you're gonna get hosed on the market. Markups on purchases, and markdowns on sales will leave you in the red, so get a silver tongue to sooth the prices. The best negotiators will negotiate a large paycheck, tho, so beware of their cut...
Human Resources: This is the dude that hires the other dudes. Contract Negotiation can be a tricky ordeal, so pawn it off on some low-life who'll score you the vets for the cheapest. He's a necessity if you want to make a return on that cutthroat Black Market Merchant...
Public Relations: Sometimes a laser goes haywire, sometimes a Thunderbolt blows up the town hall, and sometimes the arena gigs just don't like you. When this happens, your PR Manager waltzes in to calm things down. They'll make sur you dont get sued, and try to give you better deals on your mission contracts. But they're not magicians, so dont go around shooting up the villagers...
Pilots: Someones gotta run all those Mechs, AeroSpace Fighters, and Lotus Tanks you've been recovering, so contract out some Pilots to fill the holes in your lances. These guys are only temporary, tho.
Are their any other important people you'd want in your company? I think I covered the basics...
Finances: Also covered in the monthly report is everything that deals with your money.
All your loans, their interest, and terms will be listed, along with the deductions from your crew, monthly maintenance, facility rent, insurance policy, and expenditures. It'll be compared along side last months expenditures and income, and culminate to predict an End of Month Balance. Hopefully, that number will rise every month, instead of fall...
So this is what I have planned, and some of it I even have implemented.
I ask you for your feedback. What would you add? What do you think? Do you have any neat mission/news ideas?
Also, I'd like to know if anyone would be interested in a game log that'll present each sessions events, along with all the Material created for it. I think it might help others, and it'll definitely help me to have a cloud-side resource to store all this crap... What do you think?