Note to Gamemaster This is a complex scenario; do not plan to finish it in one afternoon. The players do not know that there is another force working in competition with them, though there are plenty of clues along the way. You have a timetable for the Rom agent, and another for the ComStar forces. You may wish to resolve this scenario with roleplay, or with limited force. An optional company of Ilyrians is included for this purpose. If you'd rather do a grand battle, stats for all of Ellingsen's expedition and the full ComGuard force will be given in the next issue of BattIeTechnology. If you wish to do this scenario using a unit that exists in your campaign, simply replace the equivalent unit among the player forces with your own. Mechs should not be allowed to enter the Castle Brian until either 1) the party has found some trace of the ComStar presence or 2) the tunnels below the surface have been found and traced to allow entry. Resolving the Scenario If the players do not find the Solaris Games Scores on the computer screen, give them the clipping so that they have a chance to solve the computers' lock. If they don't have any chance at all they will feel that the scenario is unfair. If the Com Guard is not allowed to examine the memory core they will commit all of their forces to capturing or destroying it. If the Com Guard is allowed to examine the memory core, they will discover that it duplicates much of the information that the Grey Death Legion has already uncovered. They will then be willing to share the information with the player expedition. IF THE PLAYERS NEGOTIATE WELL, ComStar forces will allow the PCs to keep a copy of the core, and whatever loose items including THE BRIAN and (if anyone really wants it) THE MONSTER. This is a good place to let your unit stock up on spare parts. IF THE PLAYERS NEGOTIATE MAGNIFICENTLY, they maybe able to keep the archeologists and even their employer Ellingsen out of an Illyrian jail. IF THE PLAYERS CHOOSE TO FIGHT, they may be able to defeat this ComStarforce. They will then have 1 D6 days to loot, that is explore the Castle Brian. Then the main ComStar force arrives. If your group chooses that option, they must wait for next issue, when we print the table of organization of all the units involved in BattleTech and BattleForce terms. It is an overwhelming force, so unless they have discovered and blocked the tunnels early on and can 'hole up' in the Castle Brian itself, the player group hasn't much of a chance in a fight. If player group manages a negotiated settlement, you may give them as much of Technical Readout: 2750 as will not unbalance your campaign. This is technical specs only; they will still have to raise the C- bills necessary to construct the items desired! Pedro Ellingsen Pedro Ellingsen, citizen of the Free Worlds League, made a big Lostech find in the mid 3020's. For awhile, he was a media darling, not because he was so flamboyant, but because he was unspoiled by all his sudden wealth. Thousands of people sent him requests for money. He answered all of their letters, and is rumored to have sent several thousand C-bills out in response to their pleas. During the Fourth Succession War, he dropped out of sight. It was rumored that he had joined various forces as a scout, that he had married Teela Jeffries, Lead Singer of the Bonzo Brickbats, that he was living the life of a pasha on Galatea, etc. In truth, he has probably never fired a shot except when hunting, prefers classical music from the Madrigal Revival of the 2450's, and has only recently become engaged to an accountant named Shauna or Sheena McGuillicudy. He has also been rumored to be studying archeology and memory retrieval techniques with Professor Ullerson... For further information on Ellingsen, consult House Marik published by the FASA Corporation, and the State of the Periphery Report in BattleTechnology # 12. ComStar Agent Unknown to the player characters, a joint ComStar-Illyrian scouting party found the Castle Brian before this party arrived. They left one agent in place to do mapping. He is: BODY 8 DEX9 LRN 9 CHA5 Piloting-1, Tech-4, Mappng-3, Pistol-3, Brawling-3, Interrogation-3, Computer-2. He will spend one day per floor. He has been there 1 d6 +3 days when the players arrive. He entered on level 3, where the tunnel comes in. He set up his camp there. He has found the elevator near the commandant's office, his special ComStar training allowed him to trigger the lock. This elevator goes to floor 2,4 & 6. He has explored levels 3,3A, 2, 1, & 0 as of players day 1. After that he intends to explore: Day 2: Floor 3 Day 3: Floor 6 Day 4: Break into commandant's quarters to find elevator he suspects exists to Floor 5. Day 5: Begin to explore Floor 5. Day 7: ComGuard reinforcements due. His commitment to ComStar is total. If he finds the PCs first, he will hide and spy on them. He will hide his com gear even better. He will avoid battle. If cornered, he will fight to the death. He will resist interrogation to the end. They will never even find his name. Notes on levels 0 and 1 are on recorder in his pocket. Level 0: "I had to learn by trial and error what triggered the security robots. Now they mostly leave me alone. I disabled five by jamming their positronic brains, blanking their memories and abilities totally. I hated to do it because their memories would have given valuable info. The mission must not be compromised!" Level 1: "Rooms 110 I-L. Rooms I and J seem locked. The locks have been welded shut. Rooms 110 V-Y have one bed each. These are officer's rooms. X is the commandant's room. Pacing it out, I've found that the room extends far into area J and is finished off with an oversized closet. Room 110 Yis a sitting room. 1 paced the area out and found a room sized space (1104) with no visible access to it. " Every day he has also put in four hours on his hobby: tinkering. He has put together a Mech from salvaged partially assembled pieces. This is not a great piece of Mech design, but it will work according to the chart. If found in partial condition, PCs with Tech skills may roll to advance his timetable and complete the Mech. All materials have been brought to his workshop. Each step in the building will take the PC 4 hours of game time. A Tech level of 4 or above can shorten this time by one hour per level: minimum of 1 hour. Stats for this Mech if completed are listed as THE MONSTER. ComStar Timetable If nothing happens to alert ComStar (practically impossible), they will arrive in seven days, planning to set up camp in the box canyon where the player characters are camped. Their air recon will spot the scouts before this happens. Scouts may also spot them. If the agent fails to report, or if his report arouses his superiors' suspicions, from then on they will speed up the timetable, leaving their archeologists and non-military personnel behind, and working their drivers as long as the Mechs can march. They will arrive as follows. All times are calculated from the date of a bad report. Day players begin is day 1. If bad report occurs Air Recon Air Forces Ground Recon Main Force Day 1 Day 7 Day 7 Day 7 (late in day) Day 8 Day 2 Day 6 Day 6 Day 6 Day 7 Day 3 Day 5 Day 5 Day 5 Day 6 Day 4 Day 4 Day 4 Day 4 Day 5 Day 5 Day 5 Day 5 Day 5 (afternoon) Day 5 (late evening) Day 6 Day 6 2hrs Day 6 2hrs Day 6 5hrs Day 6 5hrs All of these are times when they could arrive; Com Guard commander may bring them in as he chooses. In all cases where they are alerted, Com Guard will approach though tunnels, and will not be detectable by the scouts from the air except by a roll of 2 on 2 d6 when they are within 1/4 day of entering. In such case, they will either spot air cover, or later, the main forces entering entrance to tunnel # 3, 10 kilometers west of the Castle Brian. They will have had the Rom agent's report on the box canyon entrance used by the players, and may use that in their battle plan. A Lust for Lostech A Scenario for MechWarrior Background Information for Players: The Briefing Information for Players: Computer Screen Info Information for Players: The Monster Information for GM: Pedro Ellingsen Information for GM: Castle Brian Information for GM: The Levels Part II A Lust for Lostech A Scenario for MechWarrior Note To Gamemaster/Referee Ellingsen Expedition, Davies' Rockers, Morgan's Ghosts, Corman's Dragons, Castle Brian Explorers Attacking Force (ComStar et al) Maps: Ground Level, Levels 1,2,3,5 Buzz Bombs Back to BattleTechnology 13 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1990 by Pacific Rim Publishing. 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