Tactical Operations
BATTLETECH TACTICAL OPERATIONS TM • CATALYST GAME LABS • ES/RH The Fifth Free Worlds Guards battle the Second Donegal Guards in the blasted ruins of a factory complex. INTRODUCTION 8 Advanced Rules Tactical Operations Strategic Operations Interstellar Operations Choose What You like Player Adjudication fiction Fiction Vs. Rules Fiction Vs. Art Components Support Vehicles Mobile Structures Record Sheets Large Naval Vehicle Record Sheet Satellite Record Sheet Structure Record Sheet Advanced Rules Record Sheets Additional Record Sheets and Templates 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 13 taCtiCal analysis 14 ADVANCED GROUND MOVEMENT18 Movement Modes Standing Still (Expanded: Movement Mode) Sprinting (Movement Mode) Evading (Movement Mode) Shielding (Movement Mode) Physical Defense (Movement Mode) Crawling (Movement Mode) Hurried Movement Hull Down Backward Movement (Expanded) Climbing and Leaping Stacking (Expanded) 18 18 18 18 19 20 20 20 21 22 22 22 Skidding Piloting Skill Rolls Fumbles Taking Damage Leg Damage Falling (Expanded) Attempting to Stand Vehicles Movement Infantry Squad Deployment Movement on Pavement Fast Movement Climbing Movement Dice (Tips and Suggestions) Planetary Conditions Expanded Movement Cost and Planetary Conditions Rules Base Terrain Types Buildings Gravel Piles Half Levels Heavy Industrial Zone Jungle Level 1 Foliage Magma Planted Fields Rough (Ultra) Rubble (Ultra) Sand Sheer Cliffs Tundra Woods (Ultra-Heavy) Terrain Modifications Black Ice Bug Storms Deep Snow Extreme Depths Fire Smoke Geyser 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 24 24 27 27 27 27 27 27 28 28 30 30 30 31 31 31 36 36 38 39 39 39 39 40 40 40 40 40 41 42 43 47 48 Hazardous Liquid Pools Ice Mud Rapids Rails Roads Swamp Thin Snow Torrent Water Flow Terrain Conditions Atmospheric Pressure (Density) Earthquake Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) High/Low Gravity Meteor Showers Tainted and Toxic Atmospheres Weather Conditions Fog Hail Light Rain Snow Wind Misc. Blowing Sand Extreme Temperature Bog Down Rules Careful Movement Heat Scale Modifiers Terrain Factor Rules Planetary Conditions Tables glanCing blOW ADVANCED COMBAT General Rules Expanded Critical Hits and Damage Fumbles Floating Critical Rule Advanced Hit Locations Engine Explosions Called Shots Weapons Attacks Line of Sight and Dead Zones Glancing/Direct Blows Missed Shots Damage Advanced Firing Partial Cover Physical Combat Weight Class Physical Attack Modifiers New Physical Attack Weapons New Attack Types Charging Death From Above Intentional Falls From Above Picking Up and Throwing Objects Picking Up Inanimate Objects Throwing ’Mechs and ProtoMechs Picking Up and Throwing Vehicles Picking Up and Throwing Battle Armor Dropping or Setting Down Inanimate Objects Dragging a ’Mech Other Combat Weapons and Equipment Active Probes Anti-Missile Systems Autocannons ECM Suites Energy Weapons Gauss Weapons Machine Guns 49 50 50 50 51 51 51 52 52 52 54 54 55 55 55 56 56 57 57 57 58 59 60 61 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 68 70 74 74 74 75 77 77 77 78 78 79 80 81 83 84 87 88 88 88 88 91 91 91 92 92 95 96 97 98 99 99 99 99 100 100 102 102 102 Missiles Particle Projector Cannon (PPC) Retractable Blade Heat Avoiding Shutdown Rerouting Heat Sink Coolant (’Mechs only) Heat Sink Coolant Failure Vehicles Firing Arcs Vehicle Effectiveness VTOL Special Attacks Infantry Digging In Conventional Infantry Squad Deployment Using Non-Infantry Units As Cover Battle Armor Infantry Weapon Resolution Dice (Tips and Suggestions) 102 103 104 104 104 105 105 107 107 107 107 108 108 108 108 108 109 bOOM 110 ADVANCED BUILDINGS ADVANCED GROUND MOVEMENT ADVANCED COMBAT 114 Structure Record Sheet Advanced building Classifications Building Classifications Standard Rules Expansions Moving Through Advanced Buildings Advanced Building Critical Damage Armored Buildings Attacking Buildings From Within Construction Factor (Expanded) Building Collapse (Expanded) Scaled Damage building Construction Building Basics The Design Process Step 1: Establish Superstructure Step 2: Add Armor Step 3: Install Components Step 4: Complete the Record Sheet Advanced building Equipment Automated Weapons Power Generators Liquid Fuel/Chemical Storage Tanks Environmental Sealing Heavy Metal Superstructure High/Low Ceilings Industrial Elevators Large Doors Open Space Construction Subsurface/Underwater Structures Tunnels Castles brian Complexes 114 114 116 118 118 120 121 121 121 123 126 128 128 128 128 130 131 133 133 133 133 134 136 137 137 137 138 138 140 141 141 blOOdy diVidEnds 144 ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLES148 Satellites Movement (Outside of Game Play) Movement (During Game Play) Rail Movement Carrying Units Combat Charging Rail Vehicles Accidental Falls From Above large Naval Vessel Support Vehicles Movement Stacking Carrying Units Flight Decks INTRODUCTION 148 148 148 149 149 150 153 154 154 154 154 156 156 156 ADVANCED BUILDINGS ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLES GENERAL RULES ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION ADVANCED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT INDEX RECORD SHEETS 3 Naval Tractors Combat Critical Damage Electronic Equipment Unit Destruction large Airship Support Vehicles Movement Stacking Carrying Units Flight Decks Combat Electronic Equipment Accidental Falls From Above Mobile Structures Movement Facing Collisions Buildings Stacking (Ground Mobile Structures) Carrying Units Flight Decks Combat Critical Hits Destroying a Mobile Structure Unit Displacement 156 157 159 159 159 164 164 164 164 164 164 164 164 165 165 167 167 167 168 170 170 171 172 172 173 Morale Morale Checks Broken Morale Recovering Nerve Rearming Under fire Rolling Maps Simultaneous Movement Plotting Movement Movement Taking Control of A Unit Abandoned Units Swarming Transport bays (Expanded) Vehicle Crews Crew Numbers And Abilities Zip lines Concealing Information Record Sheets And Set-Up Available Information Scanning Double-blind Rules Sequence of Play Initiative Phase Movement Phase (Spotting Phase) Weapon Attack Phase Underwater Combat 211 211 212 213 213 214 215 215 215 216 216 217 217 218 218 219 219 219 219 219 220 220 220 220 224 224 intO thE FirE 174 unsung tEChnOlOgiEs 226 GENERAL RULES Advanced Scatter Advanced Altitude Bombing Scatter Artillery Sequence of Play Artillery Not Directly on the Playing Area Targeting Damage Direct-Fire Artillery Counter-Battery Fire Planetary Conditions battle Armor Weights battlefield Wreckage boarding Actions (Non-Infantry) Mounting Through A Bay Door (Into a Cargo Bay) Weapon Attacks in Cargo Bays Fire Due to Weapon Attacks in Cargo Bays Command-level (Tactical) Comms Commanders Satellites Ejection and Abandoning Units ’Mechs Vehicles Naval Vessels fatigue Improved Positions Infantry Vs. Infantry Actions Boarding Actions (Infantry) Infantry Vs. Infantry Action Inside A Building Resolving Infantry Vs. Infantry Actions Re-Converting Marine Points Score Crew Losses and Crew Hits Using A Captured Unit/Building Minefields Conventional Minefields Command-Detonated Minefields Vibrabomb Minefields Active Minefields Combined Minefields Weapon-Delivered Minefields Clearing Minefields 178 178 178 179 179 179 180 182 185 186 186 186 187 188 188 188 190 191 191 193 196 196 197 197 198 198 199 199 201 201 205 206 207 207 208 209 209 209 210 210 210 ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION 236 The basics of Advanced Unit Design Unit Type Technology Base Weight Designing Advanced Support Vehicle Units Step 1: Design the Chassis Choose Advanced Support Vehicle Type Choose Technology Base Choose Weight Allocate Weight for Internal Structure/Structural Integrity Step 2: Install Engines And Control Systems Install Engine Determine Fuel Capacity Determine Structural Integrity (Airships Only) Add Lift/Dive Equipment Determine Jump Capability Add Control/Crew Systems Special Enhancements Step 3: Add Heat Sinks Step 4: Add Armor Step 5: Add Weapons, Ammunition And Other Equipment Step 6: Complete The Record Sheet Support OmniVehicles Designing Mobile Structures Step 1: Establish function Choose Mobile Structure Type Choose Technology Base Choose Class, Size, And Shape Construction Factor and Internal Weight Capacity Step 2: Install Power, Motive, And Control Systems Install Power System Install Motive System Determine Fuel Capacity Add Crew Special Enhancements (Enviro Sealing, Modular Structure Linkage) Step 3: Install Armor Step 4: Install Weapons, Heat Sinks, And Equipment Step 5: Complete The Record Sheet 236 236 237 237 238 238 238 239 240 242 245 245 248 249 249 249 249 251 251 252 254 258 258 259 259 259 260 261 261 262 262 263 263 264 265 266 266 269 thE EFFiCiEnCy OF rOME 270 ADVANCED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT Equipment Notes Active Probe Actuator Enhancement System (AES) Angel ECM Suite Armor Armored Components Armored Motive Systems Artemis V Fire-Control System Artillery Artillery Cannons Autocannon Battle Armor Mechanical Jump Booster Battle Armor Myomer Booster Battle Armor Detachable Weapon Pack BattleMech HarJel System BattleMech Melee Weapons BattleMech/ProtoMech Motive Systems Beast-Mounted Infantry Blue Shield Particle Field Damper (PFD) Booby Trap C3 Systems CASE II Chaff Pod Chameleon Light Polarization Shield (LPS) Cockpit Systems Collapsible Command Module (CCM) Combat Vehicle Chassis Modifications Coolant Pod Disposable Weapons Docking Hardpoint (Docking Collar) Docking thrusters Drone (Remote) Systems Energy Storage Batteries Engine Systems Ejection Systems Electronic Warfare (EW) Equipment 275 278 279 279 279 283 283 283 284 285 285 286 287 287 288 288 292 295 296 297 297 299 299 300 300 301 302 303 304 304 305 305 306 307 309 310 Field Guns/Field Artillery Flamers Flight Deck/Helipad Fluid Gun Gauss Rifles Grav Deck Grenade Launchers, Vehicular (VGL) Handheld Weapons Heat Sinks Infantry Armor Landing Deck Lasers Laser Anti-Missile System Laser Insulator Light Sail Lithium-Fusion Battery Mass Driver ’Mech Mortars Mechanized VTOL Infantry MechWarrior Aquatic Survival System Mine Dispensers Minesweeper Missile Launchers Mobile Field Base Mobile Hyperpulse Generators M-Pod MRM “Apollo” Fire Control System Naval Autocannons (Capital AC) Naval C3 Naval Comm-Scanner Suite Naval Gauss (Capital Gauss) Naval Laser (Capital Laser) Naval PPC (Capital PPC) Naval Repair Facilities Naval Tug Adaptor Null-Signature System AVANCED BAT TLE VALUES Satellites Rail Vehicles Large-Sized Airships Large-Sized Naval Vessels Mobile Structures Step 1: Calculating Defensive Battle Rating Step 2: Calculating Offensive Battle Rating Step 3: Calculate The Final BV Advanced Infantry Step 1: Calculating Defensive Battle Rating Step 2: Calculating Offensive Battle Rating Step 3: Calculate The Final BV Advanced Weapons and Equipment Actuator Enhancement System Armor Armored Components Battle Armor Mechanical Jump Booster Battle Armor Myomer Booster Battle Armor Detachable Weapon pack BattleMech Mechanical Jump Boosters BattleMech/ProtoMech Partial Wing BattleMech UMU System Blue Shield PFD CASE II Chameleon Light Polarization Shield Cockpit Systems—Torso-Mounted Cockpit Combat Vehicle Chassis Modifications Coolant Pod Engine Systems 378 378 378 379 379 379 379 379 379 379 379 379 379 380 380 380 380 380 380 380 380 380 380 380 381 381 381 381 381 381 311 312 312 313 313 315 315 315 316 317 319 319 322 322 323 323 323 324 324 325 325 326 326 330 330 330 330 331 332 332 333 333 333 334 334 336 274 Power Collector and Microwave Transmitter PPC Capacitor ProtoMech Melee Weapon Recon Camera Rifle (Cannon) Satellite Imagers Specialized Infantry Structure Sub-capital Weapons Sub-Compact K-F Drive System Supercharger Taser Thunderbolt Missile Launcher Turrets Vehicular/Battle Armor Dropchute Vehicular Jump Jets Void-Signature System VTOL Jet Booster VTOL Mast Mount Xenoplanetary Condition-Trained Troops Alternative Munitions Autocannon Munitions Artillery Munitions Bomb Munitions Flamer/Fluid Gun/Sprayer Ammunition Grenade Launcher Munitions Mines Missile Munitions ’Mech Mortar Ammunition Remote Sensors Advanced Construction Options Fractional Accounting Mixed Technologies Patchwork Armor Super-Heavy Vehicles Ultra-Light BattleMechs Handheld Weapons Laser Anti-Missile System Laser Insulator Laser—Variable Speed Pulse Null-Signature System Patchwork Armor PPC Capacitor Shields Structure Supercharger Turrets Vehicular Jump Jets Void-Signature System VTOL Jet Booster VTOL MAST Mount Constructing A battle force (Addendum) Alternative Munitions (New) Target Acquisition Gear (Expanded) Command, Control and Communications (Expanded) External Stores (Expanded) Skill Ratings (Expanded) Force Size Minefields (New) 336 337 337 337 338 338 340 342 343 344 345 345 347 347 348 348 349 350 350 351 352 352 353 357 360 363 364 367 373 375 376 376 377 377 378 378 381 381 381 382 382 382 382 382 382 382 382 382 382 382 382 386 386 386 386 386 386 386 386 INDEX 387 RECORD SHEETS 391 TABLES 404 INTRODUCTION ADVANCED GROUND MOVEMENT ADVANCED COMBAT ADVANCED BUILDINGS ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLES GENERAL RULES ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION ADVANCED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT INDEX RECORD SHEETS 5 CREDITS Project Concept Randall N. Bills Project Development Herbert A. Beas II Randall N. Bills Writing Fiction Randall N. Bills Jason M. Hardy Mike Miller Steven Mohan, Jr. Jason Schmetzer Rules Herb A. Beas II Randall N. Bills Additional Rules Ken’ Horner Nick Marsala David McCulloch Mike Miller Jim Rapkins Ben Rome Product Editing Diane Piron-Gelman battleTech line Developer Herbert A. Beas II Production Staff Art Direction Randall N. Bills Cover Art Michael Komarck Cover Design Adam Jury BattleTech Logo Design Shane Hartley, Steve Walker and Matt Heerdt Graphic Presentation Adam Jury David M. Stansel-Garner Troy Stansel-Garner Layout Adam Jury (Rules) Matt Heerdt (Fiction) Illustrations Doug Chaffee Chris Lewis Duane Loose Matt Plog Klaus Scherwinski Franz Vohwinkel Miniatures Painting & Photography Ray “Adrian Gideon” Arrastia William “sounguru” Burt Chris “Pendragon” Dolega Paul “DarkMarauder” Eckes Dave “Hauptmann” Fanjoy Joel “Psycho” Hardwick Ross “Savage Coyote” Hines David “DAK” Kerber Frederic “Foxbat” Lagoanere Steve “MadDoc” Livingston Mark “Hyena” Maestas Ryan “B1BFlyer” Peterson Lance “Jal Phoenix” Scarinci Ed “Captain of the Watch” Smith Terrain Iron Wind Metals, Herpa Miniature Models, GHQ Miniatures, Ground Zero Games, William Burt and Steve Satak (2007 Diorama), Dwin Craig (for Dave Fanjoy) Map of the Inner Sphere Øystein Tvedten Record Sheets David L. McCulloch Index Rita Tatum Additional Design and Development The following people have been involved in the creation and development of BattleTech rules, either by writing material that was assimilated into the main body of the rules, serving as the BattleTech line developer in the past, or otherwise contributing to the game in a major way. Samuel B. Baker, Herb Beas, Randall N. Bills, Forest G. Brown, Chuck Crain, Chris Hartford, Clare Hess, Scott Jenkins, J. Andrew Keith, James R. Kellar, Dale Kemper, L.R. “Butch” Leeper, Bryan LiBrandi, Jim Long, David McCulloch, Jim Musser, Bryan Nystul, Mike Nystul, Blaine Pardoe, Boy F. Peterson Jr., Rick Raisley, Ben Rome, Jerry Stenson, Christoffer Trossen, Wm. John Wheeler. Acknowledgements To Mike Miller for constantly answering my “So, how does the science of this game play rule work?” questions. To Paul Sjardijn for coining the phrase “yeah, we’ve got a rule for that.” Blame him. To Joel Bancroft-Connors, Paul Sjardijn and Eberhard “Rote Baron” von Massenbach for going above and beyond in catching the little things and for allowing me to constantly ping them in IM to test a new rule. To Herb Beas for tackling the hideously complex Equipment and Construction rules, as well taking on the Advanced Building section at the last minute. To the core group of people who, to one extent or another, have significantly contributed to transferring BattleTech to its new home, and to taking it to a new level: Ray Arrastia, Herb Beas, Loren Coleman, Warner Doles, David M. Stansel-Garner, Diane Piron-Gelman, Jason Hardy, Chris Hartford, Jason Knight, Chris Lewis, David McCulloch, Ben Rome, Matt Plog, Paul Sjardijn, Peter Smith, Scott Taylor, Christoffer Trossen, Øystein Tvedten, Jason Vargas, and the fanatic core of fact-checkers and playtesters who often worked under “urgent data requests” more often than we’d like to admit. To Ray Arrastia, whose diagrams have made all of these rules books so much easier to understand…and raised the bar for how great an example can look. To Diane Piron-Gelman for helping turn my text into solid prose and for editing two books in one. To Adam Jury for putting up with the layout of these massive and incredibly complex layout jobs and doing it with a relatively low expletive count. To all the Demo Team members for their ongoing stalwart support! Hope you all get a lot of use out of this book. To the camospecs.com team that keeps raising the bar and going “there” to create new and jaw-droppingly-cool dioramas for these rulebooks. To Bryn Bills and Kristian Frosig, who “forced me” to start running a campaign for them (giving me the chance to remember how much I love to still play the game) and who came up with several concepts that are now rules in the book. Your constant and Infectious love of the universe and game helped me through several of the darker times of this book. Playtesters/Proofers/fact Checkers Joel Agee, Ray “Adrian Gideon” Arrastia, Joel BancroftConnors, Ron Barter, Paul “Blackhorse” Bowman, Brent Dill, Dan Eastwood, Dave Fanjoy, Bruce Ford, Anthony Hardenburgh, John “Worktroll” Haward, Glenn Hopkins, John “Bleusman” Hudson, David “DAK” Kerber, Rodney Klatt, Michael “Konan” Koning, Alan “Brainburner” Kreilick, Edward “Tenaka Furey” Lafferty, Edward Lott, Nick Marsala, Eberhard “Rote Baron” von Massenbach, Brian McAuliffe, Tim McAuliffe, Don “Ismar” McCalmon, Mike Miller, Jeff Morgan, Darrell “FlailingDeath” Myers, Andrew Norris, Jason Paulley, Michael Pfister, Aaron “Gravedigger” Pollyea, Jim Rapkins, Rick “Rick Steele” Remer, Eric “Mendrugo” Salzman, Björn “Keiran” Schmidt, Christopher K. Searls, Chris Sheldon, Paul Sjardijn, Jeff Skidmore, Peter Smith (played by Peter Smith), Sam ‘Wasp’ Snell, Joel Steverson, Geoff “97jedi” Swift, Roland “Ruger” Thigpen, Jason “Panzerfaust 150” Weiser, Chris “Chinless” Wheeler, Paul ‘Weasel’ Wolf, Patrick Wynne; Steel City MechWarriors: Rich Cencarik, Rich Darr, Brian Golightly, Dave Lang, Drew Martin. Additional Thanks To the following on-line players that provided great suggestions, off of which many of the rules in this book were built: 3rdcrucislancers, abandon, adept dave Baughman, agen, aparbiter, asano, atlas3060, auren, awprime, axeman89, bean2213, bedwyr, Blackhorse 6, blacksheep, bluedragon7, bluetiger, boilerman, bored_lyron, boyscout, bryanc, bulldog79, cache, cannonshop, captainjohn, casper, chaos cat, charlie tango, chrisxa, cobrausn, coelacanth, daemion, dark jackal, dark jaguar, dark_falcon, darkstar2011, Davion, death-knight69, Deathrider6, demi-precentor worktroll, diplominator, dukeroyal, elsni, failure16, fireangel, foxes teeth, freak, gaiiten, gbscientist, general308, geoff watson, ghost0402, glitterboy2098, gojira01, gomi, goose, gracus, greywolfactual, gus, Harvey, hunterada, ice_trey, idea weenie, istal devalis, jackmc, jedibear, jeyar, jibbajabbawocky, jimdigris, jink rum, jmiles2, jungle boy, kit_desummersville, kobra, kojak, kuttsinister7, Leon_Shirow, lissette woo, lyonheart, mad malefactor, malakar, martius, mattlov, max francis vard, minchandre, mock26, mostro_joe, mystic, nan, nightlord01, nikita, oldfart3025, omaharenegade, panzerfaust150, perkinsc, peter smith, praetorian, prometheus fire, purpledragon, rage, redshirt, revanche, rexor-k, Rick Raisley, rommel_twee, shadow slayer, shadow_walker, shadow6, shatara, shijima, shockwave, sierra_gulf, skiltao, sldf_spector, snake_eyes, sudedei, sushi, talz, teamnutmeg, tel hazen, torrent, truegrit, truetanker, twycross, urgru, vandal, vega_obscura, vorpal, wantec, warchicken, wasp, weirdguy, weirdo, welshman, werewolf, whistler, wildfire, wolf lancer 4, wolfspider, wrangler, zone of alienation. Special Thanks To David Stansel-Garner and Loren Coleman for not yelling “too” loudly as I overwrote by a mere 200k and allowing me to insert another one of these giant tomes into the Catalyst Game Labs production schedule. Dedication To Tara Suzanne Bills for allowing me to continue playing in the sand box that I love even as I’m supposed to be “moving on.” If you love this book, give her a giant thanks the next time you see her. ©2008-2010 The Topps Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. BattleTech Tactical Operations, Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech, BattleMech and MechWarrior are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Copyright Owner, nor be otherwise circulated in any form other than that in which it is published. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Productions, LLC. Published by Catalyst Game Labs, an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC PMB 202 • 303 91st Ave NE • G701 • Lake Stevens, WA 98258 fIND US ONlINE: [email protected] (e-mail address for any BattleTech questions) http://www.classicbattletech.com (official BattleTech web pages) http://www.CatalystGameLabs.com (Catalyst web pages) http://www.battlecorps.com/catalog (online ordering) INTRODUCTION ADVANCED GROUND MOVEMENT ADVANCED COMBAT ADVANCED BUILDINGS ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLES GENERAL RULES ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION ADVANCED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT INDEX RECORD SHEETS 7 The Total Warfare (TW) and TechManual (TM) rulebooks present the core game and construction rules for BattleTech (BT), otherwise referred to as the standard rules. These two volumes encompass eight core unit types—several of which contain numerous subunit types—and a host of weapons and rules, as well as covering many different game situations. However, despite the breadth of play covered, many game situations still fall outside those rules, not to mention a plethora of more advanced equipment, as well as a few advanced units. Beyond the standard rules, a legion of advanced rules exists, allowing players to expand their games in any direction they desire. In an effort to bring these rules to players in the most logical form possible, the advanced rules are contained in three core rulebooks, each one staging up and building off of the previous rules set. Additionally, each one focuses on a particular “in-universe time frame” that will allow players to easily grasp where a given rulebook will “plug into” their existing game play. Building on Total Warfare and TechManual, Tactical Operations conveys numerous advanced rules for movement and combat across various units, while expanding core rules such as those for buildings, and implementing a host of advanced terrain and weather rules. Rules for the construction and use of advanced Support Vehicles are presented, as well as advanced and prototype construction options and weapons for use by almost every unit. This book contains a number of rules changes from previous editions. We feel confident that these are the most complete, clear and concise advanced rules for BattleTech ever presented. These rules supersede all previously published rules, including the BattleTech Manual, BattleTech Compendium, BattleTech Compendium: The Rules of Warfare, BattleTech Master Rules (standard and revised editions), Combat Equipment, Tactical Handbook, Maximum Tech (standard and revised editions) and Unbound. To use the construction rules, designers will need paper and pencils, as well as copies of the Blank Record Sheets found at the back of this book. Due to the complexities involved with the construction of the Advanced Support Vehicles, a calculator will be handy as well. TACTICAl OPERATIONS STRATEGIC OPERATIONS ADVANCED RULES SitRep: forces on-world. Conflict expected to last mere hours to achieve object. Tactical Operations (TO) is the rulebook you are holding in your hands, and is the first in the “staging” Advanced Rulebooks. Its focus is during game play, and applies directly to a game as it unfolds on a world in the BattleTech universe; its rules represent hours in-universe, the time frame it takes for a single, moderatesized battle to play out on a gaming table. SitRep: forces in solar system. beginning burn to planet. Conflict expected to last weeks to achieve object. Strategic Operations (SO) is the second “staging” Advanced Rulebook. It stages a player up to the next logical area of play, focusing on “in a solar system” and multi-game play; its rules represent weeks within the BattleTech universe, the time frame needed for several battles to conquer an entire solar system. Strategic Operations contains advanced movement and combat operations emphasizing the importance of aerospace units, while extensive rules cover combat drops of numerous troop types into any situation. Linked scenarios and comprehensive maintenance, salvage, repair and customization rules provide an easy format for players to turn multiple games into an interconnected campaign to capture a target system, where the support crew of technicians and doctors and their skills can be just as important as any warrior. Complete game play and construction rules for advanced aerospace units are also included. Finally, a complete game system—BattleForce— allows players to use their existing miniatures and mapsheets to play quick, fast-paced BattleTech games, from small-scale skirmishes to large-scale planetary invasions. INTERSTEllAR OPERATIONS SitRep: forces marshaled. flotillas assigned to target solar systems. Conflict expected to last months to achieve objects. Interstellar Operations (IO) is the third and final “staging” Advanced Rulebook. Players are staged up to the final level of play, where they can assume the roles of a House Lord or Clan Khan and dominate the galaxy; IO rules represent months in the BattleTech universe, the time frame for conquering numerous star systems. Interstellar Operations contains complete rules for generating and running any type or size of force. Additionally, a comprehensive rules set governs the running of an entire faction’s military as a player tries to conquer (or defend) numerous solar systems. More importantly, the system contains rules that allow players to stage any portion of a given conflict back through the various rule sets, as they desire–from the simple, easy-to-use rules of conflict at the largest scale, down to BattleForce, or all the way back down to a standard BattleTech game as presented in Total Warfare and Tactical Operations. Players have complete flexibility for any type of conflict in which they wish to engage. CHOOSE YOUR RULES Tactical Operations encapsulates a myriad of advanced rules. In effect, all the rules and weapons/equipment in this volume are optional. This means you can use as many or as few of the rules in this book as you want. (In fact, this book contains so many new rules that we recommend you try them out a few at a time, rather than attempting to use them all at once.) Furthermore, most of the new rules and equipment here can be added individually to a standard game. You can add rules and pieces of equipment to your game one at a time—most of the rules do not rely on other rules in this book to work in existing BattleTech games. This allows you to tailor your BattleTech game to your taste by including only those rules that you find make the game more interesting or fun. Use whatever new rules and equipment you want and disregard the rest. Given the scope of the rules and the fact that they are optional, all players in a group should read through and agree to the use of any of these rules and weapons/equipment. PlAYER ADJUDICATION An advanced-rules book for any game is, almost by definition, more complex. In a game system with such a long and rich heritage as BattleTech—this rulebook alone draws from dozens of different sources across a large number of years— that complexity is even greater. Developers and writers have gone to great effort to make these rules as comprehensive as possible—not only from one section to the next in this book, but in how such advanced weapons and rules interact with the core game and construction rules as presented in Total Warfare and TechManual. However, the sheer scope of Tactical Operations and the plethora of options provided (both in advanced rules and in the more than 100 pages of advanced weapons and equipment) means that it is not possible to cover all potential situations. Once this product reaches the players’ hands, they’ll envision scenarios and create situations on a game board that never crossed the minds of the developers or the legion of authors and playtesters that thoroughly worked over this product. With that in mind, when players encounter situations not covered in the rules as they integrate the contents of Tactical Operations into their playing group, they are encouraged to adjudicate each situation appropriately; make up the rules that work for you. If in the process a playing group runs into an argument, feel free to let a die roll resolve any disputes so you can return to playing the game and having fun. Finally, the forums on www.classicbattletech.com are an excellent resource. Players can join a strong and vibrant online community, tapping a wide selection of players for different ideas on how best to adjudicate a particular situation. FICTION As described in Total Warfare and TechManual, fiction plays a pivotal role in bringing the BattleTech universe to life. Whether “story fiction” that places readers inside the heads of the characters in that universe, or “sourcebook fiction” that places the reader in the universe as though living among those characters, both work hand-in-hand to immerse players in this vibrant milieu. Total Warfare concentrated on story fiction, while TechManual concentrated on sourcebook fiction. Tactical Operations covers something of a middle ground, with various story and sourcebook fiction sections found throughout the book. fICTION VS. RUlES It is important to remember that regardless of the critical role fiction plays in immersing players in the BattleTech universe, such fiction should never be construed as rules. As with Total Warfare and TechManual, to eliminate confusion about which sections are fiction and which are rules, the fiction sections have a unique look, compared to the uniform presentation of the various rules sections. All fiction sections are italicized in the table of contents. As with TechManual, the exception is the Equipment section, which includes sourcebook fiction as well as rules. In this case, the sourcebook fiction entries for each piece of equipment are set apart in a distinctive graphic presentation, allowing readers to tell at a glance what is fiction and what are rules. INTRODUCTION ADVANCED GROUND MOVEMENT ADVANCED COMBAT ADVANCED BUILDINGS ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLES GENERAL RULES ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION ADVANCED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT INDEX RECORD SHEETS 9 fICTION VS. ART Tactical Operations follows the graphic design format established by Total Warfare and TechManual, wedding art to the book’s visual presentation in order to enhance the players’ experience. In this case, the graphic presentation represents a computer from House Davion’s New Avalon Institute of Science, one of the Inner Sphere’s largest and most advanced universities for the study and development of new technologies (see A Time of War, p. 17, TW). As with fiction, while art plays an important role in bringing the BattleTech universe to life, it should never be construed as rules. COMPONENTS Page 26 of Total Warfare (as well as p. 13 of TM) discusses several Support Vehicles that exist in the BattleTech universe, but fall outside the purview of the standard-rules game and construction rulebooks. Those units are discussed here. SUPPORT VEHIClES In addition to the Support Vehicles described on page 25 of Total Warfare, the BattleTech universe also includes Satellites and Rail systems. Note: Game and construction rules for Large Airships and Large Naval Support Vehicles are not covered in Total Warfare or TechManual— though the Small- and Medium-sized classes of both unit types are covered in those volumes— but instead appear in this rulebook. Satellites Used for communications, surveying and information-gathering—and often for spying during battles—Satellites rely on stationkeeping drives and lack the powerful propulsion systems that would make them true spacecraft. Rail Systems Rail systems transport cargo and passengers over land. Standard Rail requires little technology to produce or maintain, but advanced maglev systems (which require a much higher level of technology) achieve far greater speed by suspending the train above the track and propelling it with powerful magnetic fields. MObIlE STRUCTURES An exceptionally rare sight in the BattleTech universe, Mobile Structures represent superlarge units and mobile buildings. Such unique constructs are usually reserved for wealthy planets that can afford such extravagance (such as super-large wet-navy container ships, or DropShip transports), or specialized planetary environments, where the costs of construction and maintenance are outweighed by the needs of survival, or the desire to plumb harsh environmental locations for rare minerals and so on. RECORD SHEETS Players use the following record sheets to track various types of information while playing BattleTech. Each type of unit (JumpShips, WarShips, Space Stations, Satellites, Mobile Structures and Large Naval Support Vessels) uses a unique record sheet, while Rail and Large Airship Support Vehicles use Combat Vehicle Record Sheets appropriate to the unit type. Blank Record Sheets are provided at the back of this rulebook for all unit types. How they work, and which record sheets should be used for each unit type featured in this book are outlined below. Satellite Construction As noted in TechManual, at the end of the design process for any construction rules presented in this volume, each designer must translate his or her unit from its raw statistics to an appropriate record sheet in order to use it properly in a game of BattleTech. lARGE NAVAl VEHIClE RECORD SHEET The Large Naval Vehicle Record Sheet has much in common with the Naval Vehicle Record Sheet. Therefore, only those sections unique to the Large Naval Vehicle Record Sheet are discussed below. Rail System Critical Damage In addition to the standard critical damage tracked by Small- and Medium size-class Naval Vessels, the Large Naval Vessel includes the various turrets that can be mounted on such a unit. Armor Diagram While a standard Naval Vehicle divides its Armor Diagram into five sections (Front, Right, Left, Rear and Turret), a Large Naval Vehicle has six locations (Front, Left Front, Right Front, Left Rear, Right Rear and Rear) as well as the potential for eight turrets (see Tables, below). Tables In place of the standard tables displayed on all vehicle record sheets, the bottom left of the record sheet includes the armor and internal structure for the eight turrets that a Large Naval Vessel can mount. Mobile Structure ARMOR DIAGRAM BAR: ARMOR DIAGRAM Front Armor ( ) Standard Scale BAR: LARGE NAVAL VESSEL RECORD SHEET VEHICLE DATA CREW DATA Type: Flank: Tonnage: Template: Clan Engine Type: Inner Sphere 1 2 3 4 Type: 5 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 Thrust: Station Keeping Only 6 Incp. INTRODUCTION Tonnage: Tech Base: Clan Inner Sphere Weapons & Equipment Inventory (hexes) Loc Dmg Min Sht Med Lng Standard Scale CRITICAL DAMAGE Right Front Armor ( Qty Type Driving Skill: Modifier Movement Type: Weapons & Equipment Inventory Life Boats: Gunnery Skill: Hits Taken Tech Base: Nose Damage Threshold (Total Armor) ( ) SATELLITE DATA Crew: ) Movement Points: Cruising: SATELLITE RECORD SHEET Sensor Hits +1 +2 +3 D Turret 1 Locked Turret 3 Locked Turret 2 Locked Turret 4 Locked Turret 5 Locked Turret 7 Locked Turret 6 Locked Turret 8 Locked Left Right Rear Turret 1 Turret 2 Turret 3 Turret 6 Turret 4 Turret 7 Turret 5 Turret 8 Qty Type (0–6) (6–12) (13–20) (21–25) Loc. Ht SRV MRV LRV ERV ADVANCED GROUND MOVEMENT Structural Integrity: 1 ) Stabilizers Front Left Front Armor ( Engine Hit NOTES ) Right Rear Armor ( Turret 1 Armor ( ) BV: Turret 2 Armor ( ) Turret 3 Armor ( ) Turret 4 Armor ( ) Left Damage Threshold (Total Armor) ( ) Right Damage Threshold (Total Armor) ( ) CRITICAL DAMAGE CREW DATA Gunnery Skill: Hits Taken Modifier Ammo: Turret 5 Armor ( ) Turret 6 Armor ( ) Turret 7 Armor ( ) Turret 8 Armor ( ) Cost: BV: 1 Piloting Skill: 2 3 NOTES DEPTH TRACK Turn 1 2 3 4 5 Crew: Marines: Passengers: Elementals: Other: Battle Armor: / 6 Incp. Avionics +1 +2 CIC +2 +4 D Sensors +1 +2 +5 Life Support +2 +5 ADVANCED BUILDINGS Thrusters Left +1 +2 +3 D Right +1 +2 +3 D HEAT DATA 5 6 7 8 9 10 Depth Turn 4 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 Life Boats/Escape Pods: Rear Armor ( ) 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Depth © 2010 The Topps Company, Inc. Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech and BattleMech are trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Catalyst Game Labs and the SATEllITE RECORD SHEET The Satellite Record Sheet has much in common with the Aerodyne DropShip Record Sheet. Therefore, only those sections unique to the Satellite Record Sheet are discussed below. Unit Data A satellite does not have a Safe or Maximum Thrust, but only a Station-Keeping Thrust, which is why no Velocity Track appears on the record sheet. Critical Damage Only critical damage that applies to a Satellite is included here. STRUCTURE RECORD SHEET The Structure Record Sheet is for use when constructing a building (see Building Construction, p. 128), or when using the expanded Construction Factor rules (see p. 121) with standard buildings. This record sheet is also used when dealing with Mobile Structures (see p. 165). Structure Map In advanced-rules play, several rules options require tracing specific building hexes vertically and horizontally. Additionally, the Structure Map is designed to help players create truly large structures using multiple record sheets. For example, Record Sheet A could track Levels 1 to 6, while Record Sheet B could track the same horizontal area from Levels 7 to 12. On Record Sheet C, the players may add a “right side” to the sheet to show that the horizontal locations of these building hexes are conjoined exactly to the right of Record Sheet A, and so on. ADVANCED COMBAT Aft Damage Threshold (Total Armor) ( ) ) Left Rear Armor ( Cost: Heat Sinks: ( ) Heat Generation Per Arc Single Nose: Aft: Double Left: Right: ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLES © 2010 The Topps Company, Inc. Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech and BattleMech are trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Catalyst Game Labs and the Structure Data The Structure Data block is located in the upper left corner of the record sheet and includes the total levels of the structure, what technology base was used when constructing the building, and the Weapons Inventory for tracking what weapons a building may mount; weapons of identical types and location may be combined on a single line to conserve space (ammunition is noted on a separate line). The Cost and Battle Value of the building can also be noted in this location. For Mobile Structures, this section also tracks the MP, Movement Type and Powerplant Type. Cf and Armor The CF & Armor block is located in the bottom left of the record sheet and includes a double column for tracking the Construction Factor and Armor of various hexes. Note that this section is not designed to track all hexes (the Structure Map accomplishes that task), but to track those specific hexes that have been damaged during play. Crew Data This block lists the number of crew and their Gunnery Skill. GENERAL RULES ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION ADVANCED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT INDEX RECORD SHEETS ADVANCED RUlES RECORD SHEETS The following record sheets are modifications of standardrules record sheets found in TechManual. The changes allow a player to more easily track the many new weapons/equipment options and rules during game play. This section only covers changes made to the record sheets. 11 TM ARMOR DIAGRAM Head ( Left Torso ( ) STRUCTURE MAP STRUCTURE RECORD SHEET 0101 STRUCTURE DATA Description: MP: Movement Type: Powerplant Type: Levels: Tech Base: Clan Inner Sphere Weapons & Equipment Inventory Qty Type Dmg Hex/Loc (hexes) Min Sht Med Lng 0102 0103 0104 0105 0106 0107 0201 0202 0203 0204 0205 0206 0101 0102 0104 0105 0106 0107 0203 0204 0101 0104 0105 0107 Cost: Hex CF Armor 0203 0204 0102 0103 Hex CF Armor 0104 0105 0106 0107 0204 0205 0206 0102 0103 0104 0105 0106 0203 0204 0101 0102 0103 0105 0106 CREW DATA Crew: Gunnery Skill: 0107 0202 0205 0207 0304 0305 0203 0206 0302 0303 0403 0404 0302 0303 0305 0307 0504 0402 0604 0502 0503 0505 0506 0507 0705 0706 0602 0603 0605 0606 0803 0804 0805 0702 0703 0705 0706 0707 0805 0807 0904 0802 0806 0901 0905 0803 0804 2 5 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 Dead Cockpit Type: Dual Cockpit Standard Command Console 1-3 4-6 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Level: 0901 0902 1-3 Turret Ferro-Lamellor (FL) Light Ferro Fibrous (LF) Reinforced (R) Heavy Ferro Fibrous (HF) Composite (C) Stealth (ST) Industrial (I) Hardened (H) Gyro Type: Reactive (R) Standard Laser Reflective (LR) Compact Heavy Industrial (HI) Heavy Duty Industrial (I) XL Commercial (C) Single Compact Double Laser 0907 Level: © 2010 The Topps Company, Inc. Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech and BattleMech are trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Production, LLC. Permission to photocopy for personal use. Note: Despite the best efforts to provide as much information as possible for the advanced-rules record sheets, the sheer scale of options found in Tactical Operations makes it virtually impossible to provide a sheet that can cover every possibility. Players can use a Notes section of a given record sheet, or simply use the back, to track any options in use not covered on the record sheet. Advanced ’Mech and four-legged ’Mech Record Sheets The following describes the changes made to the standard ’Mech and Four-Legged ’Mech Record Sheets. ’Mech Data: Includes notes for tracking a ’Mech’s Sprinting MP and whether it utilizes a Mixed technology base, and allows for tracking of whether or not an LRM is hot-loaded. Warrior Data: Includes data for two warriors, as well as boxes for tracking the status of the auto ejection system. Critical Hit Table: Additional critical slot items are gray-scaled to show that a ’Mech may be constructed without those items. Additionally, boxes to note the mounting of turrets or a full head ejection system are also noted, as are circles next to every critical slot, for use when using the armored component rule. Heat Data and Heat Scale: These items have been expanded to increase the Heat Scale from 30 to 50. Notes: In place of the cockpit illustration (or blank Notes section), a host of equipment options are noted for ease of tracking during construction and game play. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Right Leg ( ) Center Torso Rear ( ) Right Torso Rear ( ) Life Support Sensors Cockpit 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Engine Engine Engine Gyro Gyro Gyro 1. 2. 3. Gyro Engine Engine Engine 4-6 4. 5. 6. INTERNAL STRUCTURE DIAGRAM Scale Turret 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Full Sensors Life Support Head Ejection System Right Arm 1. 2. 3. 1-3 4. 5. 6. Shoulder Upper Arm Actuator Lower Arm Actuator Hand Actuator Left Torso ( Right Torso Turret 1. 2. 3. 1-3 4. 5. 6. Damage Transfer Diagram Left Leg ) Right Leg ( ) HEAT DATA Heat Sinks: ( ) 1. 2. 3. 4-6 4. 5. 6. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. ) Right Arm ( ) ( Right Leg Hip Upper Leg Actuator Lower Leg Actuator Foot Actuator Overflow Right Torso ( Center Torso ( ) 5. 6. Engine Hits Gyro Hits Sensor Hits Life Support Head ) Left Arm ( ) 1. 2. 3. 4-6 4. Left Leg 0905 0906 Left Leg ) ( Left Torso Rear ( ) Heat Sink Type: 0903 0904 Right Arm ( ) Armor Type: Ferro Fibrous (FF) Endo-Steel (ES) Endo-Composite (EC) Center Torso Left Torso 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Center Torso ( ) Left Arm ( ) Torso Mounted Heat Head Shoulder Upper Arm Actuator Lower Arm Actuator Hand Actuator 5. 6. 0902 0801 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 4-6 4. 0903 0906 BV: 1. 2. 3. Level: 0907 0701 0704 0904 0905 0801 0806 1-3 0903 0802 0807 0601 0604 0607 0704 0902 Hot Loaded CRITICAL HIT TABLE Left Arm 0901 0906 Standard Cost: Level: 0907 0701 1 3 Consciousness# 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 Dead Auto Eject: 0902 0801 0802 0702 (hexes) Min Sht Med Lng 0901 0905 0804 0703 Dmg Small LRM Status: DA Piloting Skill: NOTES 0904 0803 0806 Loc Ht Level: 0906 0805 Name: Gunnery Skill: Hits Taken Qty Type 2 5 Internal Structure Type: Standard (S) 0903 DC Piloting Skill: 1 3 Hits Taken Consciousness# Standard (S) 0907 0807 0707 0501 0504 0704 0705 0603 0605 0805 0806 0706 0602 0606 0804 0702 0601 0607 0401 0405 0407 0502 0503 0802 0701 0707 0501 0505 0403 0406 0606 0506 0404 0604 0605 Tonnage: Tech Base: Clan Inner Sphere Mixed 0904 0803 0703 Movement Points: Walking: Running: Sprinting: Jumping: UMU: 0905 0801 0807 0601 0602 Type: Name: Gunnery Skill: 0902 0906 Right Torso ( ) WARRIOR DATA 0903 0907 0701 0706 0603 0803 0702 0901 0801 0802 0806 0705 Level: 'MECH DATA Weapons & Equipment Inventory 0804 0704 0903 0904 0905 0906 0805 0703 0902 0907 0807 0707 0607 0507 0301 0306 0504 0505 0402 0407 0304 0502 0506 0405 0605 0503 0401 0406 0604 0501 0507 0301 0201 0204 0404 0405 0704 0705 0706 0603 0606 0806 0702 0601 0607 0401 0402 0406 0306 0505 0805 0703 0602 0802 0803 0804 0701 0707 0501 0504 0403 0603 0604 ADVANCED ’MECH RECORD SHEET 0901 0801 0807 0601 0606 0506 0706 0605 0503 0703 0704 0705 0602 0502 0702 0707 0607 0507 0407 0307 0207 0104 0304 0305 0202 0205 0405 0302 0201 0206 0404 0303 0307 0101 0403 0301 0306 0504 0505 0506 0402 0406 0606 0502 0401 0407 0201 0202 0207 0107 0305 0605 0501 0507 0301 0304 0203 0403 0404 0602 0603 0604 0503 0701 0601 0607 0401 0406 0306 0506 0405 0303 0503 0504 0505 0402 0302 0502 0507 0407 0307 0101 CF & ARMOR 0304 0305 0202 0206 BV: 0302 0201 0207 0406 0306 0205 0405 0301 0307 0207 0402 0403 0404 0303 0501 0401 0407 0201 0206 0106 0306 0205 0103 0303 0304 0305 0202 0102 0302 0307 0207 0103 0301 DA ) DC Hip Upper Leg Actuator Lower Leg Actuator Foot Actuator Heat Level* Effects 33 +5 Modifier to Fire 32 Pilot Damage, avoid on 8+ 31 –6 Movement Points 30 Shutdown, avoid 12+ 28 Ammo Exp. avoid on 8+ 26 Shutdown, avoid on 10+ 25 –5 Movement Points 24 +4 Modifier to Fire 23 Ammo Exp. avoid on 6+ 22 Shutdown, avoid on 8+ 20 –4 Movement Points 19 Ammo Exp. avoid on 4+ 18 Shutdown, avoid on 6+ 17 +3 Modifier to Fire 15 –3 Movement Points 14 Shutdown, avoid on 4+ 13 +2 Modifier to Fire 10 –2 Movement Points 8 +1 Modifier to Fire 5 –1 Movement Points Heat Level* Effects (cont.) 50 SHUTDOWN 49 –9 Movement Points 48 +7 Modifier to Fire 47 Pilot Damage, avoid on 12+ 46 Shutdown, avoid 20+ 45 AMMO EXPLOSION 44 System Failure. avoid on 10+ 43 –8 Movement Points 42 Shutdown, avoid 18+ 41 +6 Modifier to Fire 40 Ammo Exp. avoid on 12+ 39 Pilot Damage, avoid on 10+ 38 Shutdown, avoid 16+ 37 –7 Movement Points 36 System Failure. avoid on 8+ 35 Ammo Exp. avoid on 10+ 34 Shutdown, avoid 14+ 50* 49* 48* 47* 46* 45* 44* 43* 42* 41* 40* 39* 38* 37* 36* 35* 34* 33* 32* 31* 30* 29 28* 27 26* 25* 24* 23* 22* 21 20* 19* 18* 17* 16 15* 14* 13* 12 11 10* 9 8* 7 6 5* 4 3 2 1 0 © 2010 The Topps Company, Inc. Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech and BattleMech are trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Production, LLC. Permission to photocopy for personal use. Advanced Ground Vehicle and VTOl Record Sheets The following describes the changes made to the standard Ground Vehicle and VTOL record sheets. Crew Data: Includes data for tracking crew size. Armor Diagram: The Armor Diagrams have been expanded, as appropriate. Areas for tracking armor and internal structure for additional turrets have also been added. Hit location and Critical Hits Table (VTOl Only): Appropriate information has been added for tracking damage and critical hits against a turret. Advanced Conventional Infantry Record Sheet The following describes the changes made to the standard Conventional Infantry Record Sheet. Range Modifier: This section has been expanded significantly to track many of the different weapon options available to advanced-rules infantry. Skills: This area also now tracks Experience, and includes a notes section. Armor: Armor Type (including a unit’s Damage Divisor, if greater than 1) can now be tracked on the sheet. Tables: The Morale and Recovering Nerve Tables are found on the sheet for ease of use during a game. ARMOR DIAGRAM ADVANCED CONVENTIONAL INFANTRY RECORD SHEET Range Range Modifier 26 0 25 1 24 23 2 22 3 21 4 20 5 19 6 17 16 14 13 12 11 10 9 RANGE IN HEXES (TO-HIT MODIFIER) 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 8 7 15 16 6 17 5 28 27 Range Range Modifier 26 0 25 1 24 2 23 22 3 21 4 20 Disposable Weapon: Ammo: Ammo: Disposable Weapon: 5 Ammo: 19 6 18 17 16 CREW DATA Type: Crew: Weapons & Equipment Inventory Qty Type 14 13 12 11 10 9 RANGE IN HEXES (TO-HIT MODIFIER) 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 8 7 15 16 6 17 5 18 4 3 19 2 20 Gunnery Skill: Tonnage: Tech Base: Clan Inner Sphere Movement Points: Cruising: Flank: Movement Type: Engine Type: 1 Driving Skill: Commander Hit +1 Modifier to all Skill rolls +2 Driver Hit Modifier to Driving Skill rolls CRITICAL DAMAGE (hexes) Loc Dmg Min Sht Med Lng Divisor: 15 Ammo: Disposable Weapon: Ammo: Ammo: Disposable Weapon: Ammo: Movement MP: DAMAGE vs. CONVENTIONAL INFANTRY 2D6 1D6 2D6 3D6 2D6 4D6 BATTLE ARMOR DAMAGE vs. CONVENTIONAL INFANTRY 1D6/2 (round up) 1D6 2D6 3D6 1D6 2D6 2D6 1D6 1D6 1D6/2 (round up) 1D6 NON-INFANTRY WEAPON DAMAGE AGAINST INFANTRY TABLE WEAPON TYPE* Direct Fire (Ballistic or Energy) Cluster (Ballistic) Pulse** Cluster (Missile) Area-Effect (AE) Burst-Fire Physical Attack†† Heat-Effect Weapons VEHICLE DATA Front Turret Locked Rear Turret Locked Sensor Hits Motive System Hits Stabilizers Front Left Rear Ft. Turret Engine Hit +1 +2 +3 D +1 +2 +3 Right Rr. Turret NOTES 21 Type: NUMBER OF CONVENTIONAL TROOPERS HIT† Damage Value / 10 Damage Value / 10 + 1 Damage Value / 10 + 2 Damage Value / 5 Damage Value / .5 See Burst-Fire Weapons Table Damage Value / 10 See Heat-Effect Weapons‡ *See Combat, p. 113 in Total Warfare, for weapon terminology. **Except for Small and Micro Pulse Lasers, which are treated as Burst-Fire Weapons. †This equals the number of conventional infantry troopers hit and eliminated, regardless of armor protection. Attacks by non-infantry weapons against mechanized infantry double the number of troopers eliminated; round all fractions up. ††Unless the physical attack weapon has a stated anti-infantry value (like the Combine), treat any physical attack as a Damage Value/10. ‡Each Heat-Effect Weapon has specific damage against conventional infantry, as noted on either the appropriate Weapon and Equipment Tables or in Other Combat Weapons and Equipment (see p. 129 in Total Warfare). INTRODUCTION ADVANCED GROUND MOVEMENT ) Disposable Weapon: ’MECHS, PROTOMECHS AND VEHICLES WEAPON Light Machine Gun Machine Gun Heavy Machine Gun Flamer Light Recoilless Rifle Medium Recoilless Rifle Heavy Recoilless Rifle Light Mortar Heavy Mortar Automatic Grenade Launcher Heavy Grenade Launcher 21 Type: BURST-FIRE WEAPON DAMAGE VS. CONVENTIONAL INFANTRY TABLE WEAPON AP Gauss Rifle Light Machine Gun Machine Gun Heavy Machine Gun Small/Micro Pulse Laser Flamer 20 1 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Field Gun Type: *Damage is always applied in 2-point Damage Value groupings 19 2 Ammo: Movement MP: 29 3 ) Rear Right Side Armor ( Disposable Weapon: 30 4 18 CONVENTIONAL INFANTRY: PLATOON/POINT 2 Armor Type: Experience: Gunnery Skill: Anti-’Mech Skill: Max Weapon Damage* Notes: ) Divisor: 15 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Field Gun Type: *Damage is always applied in 2-point Damage Value groupings 18 Front Left Side Armor ( 27 ) 28 Rear Left Side Armor ( 29 Front Turret Armor ( ) Front Right Side Armor ( 30 Front Armor ( ) SUPER-HEAVY VEHICLE RECORD SHEET CONVENTIONAL INFANTRY: PLATOON/POINT 1 Armor Type: Experience: Gunnery Skill: Anti-’Mech Skill: Max Weapon Damage* Notes: BAR: Rear Turret Armor ( ) BV: Cost: Rear Armor ( ) MORALE TABLE Experience BattleMechs* Level Morale Target Green 4 Regular 2 Veteran —§§ Elite —§§ Combat Vehicles† Morale Target 6 4 2 —§§ Infantry‡ Morale Target 9 6 4 2 Support Vehicles§ Morale Target 10 7 5 2 * Includes ProtoMechs and aerospace fighters. † Includes military conventional fighters, Small Craft and DropShips. ‡ Includes military Support Vehicles. § Includes IndustrialMechs (unless piloted by a military MechWarrior, in which case treat as a Combat Vehicle) and all civilian aerospace units. §§ See Infernos and Cruise Missile Attack (p. 211). SPECIAL SOURCE MODIFIER (ALL) Inferno Cruise Missile +1/+3* +2 *The modifier to the left of the slash is for all non-infantry units, the modifier to the right of the slash for infantry. ATTACK SOURCE MODIFIER (INFANTRY ONLY) BattleMech in LOS +1 Artillery +2 Flamer or Fire +3 OTHER MODIFIERS MODIFIER (INFANTRY ONLY) Broken Morale +1 Cumulative Modifiers Light or Medium Battle Armor Unit –1 Heavy or Assault Battle Armor Unit –2 Anti-’Mech Skill of 5 or less –1 Conventional Infantry with Armor (see p. 317 317) –1 Unit in Building –2 RECOVERING NERVE TABLE NOTE: These modifiers only apply if a friendly unit/commander is within seventeen hexes of the unit attempting to recover its nerve. COMMANDERS* Sub-force Commander in LOS Force Commander in LOS –1 –2 INFANTRY ONLY Friendly non-’Mech, non-infantry unit in LOS Friendly ’Mech in LOS Another Routed Infantry Unit in LOS Another Routed Non-Infantry Unit in LOS Routed Unit –1 –2 +1 +2 +3 *Only applies if Commanders (see p. 191) are in use. © 2010 The Topps Company, Inc. Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech and BattleMech are trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Production, LLC. Permission to photocopy for personal use. Super-Heavy Vehicle Record Sheet The Super-Heavy Vehicle Record Sheet allows players to construct and play with Combat Vehicles in excess of the standard-rules weight restrictions. Details on the game play and construction of such units are found on p. 378. The SuperHeavy Vehicle Record Sheet has much in common with the standard-rules Ground Vehicle Record Sheet. Therefore, only those sections unique to the Super-Heavy Vehicle Record Sheet are discussed below. Armor Diagram: While a standard Ground Vehicle divides its Armor Diagram into five sections (Front, Right, Left, Rear and Turret), a Super-Heavy Vehicle has six locations (Front, Left Front, Right Front, Left Rear, Right Rear and Rear) as well as the potential for two turrets. Tables: The Super-Heavy Vehicle Hit Location Table takes into account the additional hit locations for such a vehicle. SUPER-HEAVY VEHICLE HIT LOCATION TABLE 2D6 Roll 2* 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12* FRONT Front (critical) Right Side† Front† Front† Front Front Front Front† Turret Turret Turret (critical) ATTACK DIRECTION REAR FRONT SIDE Rear (critical) Side (critical)§ Left Side† Front† Rear† Side† Rear† Side Rear Side Rear Side Rear Side (critical)* Rear† Side† Turret Turret Turret Turret Turret (critical) Turret (critical) REAR SIDE Side (critical)§ Rear† Side† Side Side Side Side (critical)* Side† Turret Turret Turret (critical) *A result of 2 or 12 (or an 8 if the attack strikes the side) may inflict a critical hit on the vehicle. For each result of 2 or 12 (or 8 for side attacks), apply damage normally to the armor in that section. The attacking player then automatically rolls once on the Ground Combat Vehicle Critical Hits Table below (see Combat, p. 194 in Total Warfare for more information). A result of 12 on the Ground Combat Vehicles Hit Location Table may inflict critical hit against the turret; if the vehicle has no turret, a 12 indicates the chance of a critical hit on the side corresponding to the attack direction. †The vehicle may suffer motive system damage even if its armor remains intact. Apply damage normally to the armor in that section, but the attacking player also rolls once on the Motive System Damage Table at right (see Combat, p. 192 in Total Warfare for more information). Apply damage at the end of the phase in which the damage takes effect. §If the attack hits the front right or left side, all Front side results strike the front armor, while Rear Side results strike the rear right or rear left side armor. If the vehicle has no turret, a turret hit strikes the armor on the side attacked. MOTIVE SYSTEM DAMAGE TABLE 2D6 Roll 2–5 6–7 8–9 10–11 12+ EFFECT* No effect Minor damage; +1 modifier to all Driving Skill Rolls Moderate damage; –1 Cruising MP, +2 modifier to all Driving Skill Rolls Heavy damage; only half Cruising MP (round fractions up), +3 modifier to all Driving Skill Rolls Major damage; no movement for the rest of the game. Vehicle is immobile. Attack Direction Modifier: Hit from rear +1 Hit from the sides +2 Vehicle Type Modifiers: Tracked, Naval Wheeled Hovercraft, Hydrofoil WiGE ADVANCED COMBAT +0 +2 +3 +4 *All movement and Driving Skill Roll penalties are cumulative. However, each Driving Skill Roll modifier can only be applied once. For example, if a roll of 6-7 is made for a vehicle, inflicting a +1 modifier, that is the only time that particular +1 can be applied; a subsequent roll of 6-7 has no additional effect. This means the maximum Driving Skill Roll modifier that can be inflicted from the Motive System Damage Table is +6. If a unit’s Cruising MP is reduced to 0, it cannot move for the rest of the game, but is not considered an immobile target. In addition, all motive system damage takes effect at the end of the phase in which the damage occurred. For example, if two units are attacking the same Combat Vehicle during the Weapon Attack Phase and the first unit inflicts motive system damage and rolls a 12, the –4 immobile target modifier would not apply for the second unit. However, the –4 modifier would take effect during the Physical Attack Phase. If a hover vehicle is rendered immobile while over a Depth 1 or deeper water hex, it sinks and is destroyed. ADVANCED BUILDINGS SUPER-HEAVY VEHICLE CRITICAL HITS TABLE 2D6 Roll 2–5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 FRONT No Critical Hit Driver Hit Weapon Malfunction Stabilizer Sensors Commander Hit Weapon Destroyed Crew Killed LOCATION HIT SIDE REAR No Critical Hit No Critical Hit Cargo/Infantry Hit Weapon Malfunction Weapon Malfunction Cargo/Infantry Hit Crew Stunned Stabilizer Stabilizer Weapon Destroyed Weapon Destroyed Engine Hit Engine Hit Ammunition** Fuel Tank* Fuel Tank* TURRET No Critical Hit Stabilizer Turret Jam Weapon Malfunction Turret Locks Weapon Destroyed Ammunition** Turret Blown Off *If Combat Vehicle has ICE engine only. If Combat Vehicle has a fusion engine, treat this result as Engine Hit. ** If Combat Vehicle carries no ammunition, treat this result as Weapon Destroyed. ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLES © 2010 The Topps Company, Inc. Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, ’Mech and BattleMech are trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Production, LLC. Permission to photocopy for personal use. ADDITIONAl RECORD SHEETS AND TEMPlATES The following additional record sheets are also found at the end of this rulebook, but are described elsewhere in this volume. Double blind Turn Record Sheet This record sheet is for use with the Double-Blind Rules (see p. 220). large Naval Template This is not a record sheet in the normal sense of the word, as it is not used to track unit information during game play. Instead, it is a template used in conjunction with Large Naval Vessel Support Vehicles (see p. 154) and grounded Large Airship Support Vehicles (see p. 164) during game play. line of Sight Chart This record sheet is for use with the advanced Line of Sight and Dead Zones rules (see p. 79). Mobile Structure Template This is not a record sheet in the standard use of that word in the BattleTech game system. Instead, this record sheet is provided as a way to easily photocopy and cut out whatever sized Mobile Structure template a player desires for use on the playing area (see Mobile Structures, p. 165). GENERAL RULES ADVANCED SUPPORT VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION ADVANCED WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT INDEX RECORD SHEETS Simultaneous Movement Record Sheet This record sheet is for use with the Simultaneous Movement rules (see p. 215). 13
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