The layout of Horstwald and the surrounding area is shown on the two maps included with this scenario. Map 1, showing the Horstwald grounds, is useful for planning and setting up the defense of the estate. Map 2 shows the wing of the Horstwald home where Horst has his offices, his personal quarters, and the vault. MAP 1: THE ESTATE GROUNDS Map 1 opposite shows the layout of the Horstwald Estate grounds. The letters and numbers on the map are coded to the following: A-G: These letters identify the six segments of the estate's alarm system. The estate walls are topped by photosensors which will sound an alarm when an invisible beam of light is broken. The letter G identifies the gate alarms, which sound if the locked gate is touched or opened. Each section of the perimeter is also overlooked by remote television cameras. Both the cameras andthe securityalarms are keyed to the House Security room in the main building. 1. Main Building: This is Horstwald, the mansion originally built by the Horst family over two centuries ago. Kelvin Horst is the family's only surviving member now. Except for those occasions when he throws lavish and somewhat notorious parties for visiting business associates, the main house is kept locked up. The characters will not be allowed to enter the building which, Horst insists, is sealed and fully protected by its own set of alarms. 2. West Wing: This structure is an obviously recent addition to the Horstwald manse. The passageway leading to the main house is kept locked and sealed. Horst himself--a man of relatively spartan tastes--prefers to stay in his quarters in this annex when he is on Port Moseby, close by his offices and files. The vault is located here, and this is the structure which Horst is hiring the characters to protect. 3. Servants Ouarters: Horstwald once supported a huge number of family retainers, servants, and employees. These and their families lived in a small village located on the far side of Horst Lake. Their numbers have been reduced now to the 20 men and women serving as Horst's bodyguards and personal servants. They live in the Servants Quarters, each of which is a modest but comfortable cottage of five or six rooms, large enough for a small family. Most are now closed, locked, and empty. 4. Garage: This building serves as garage for the entire estate. Inside are two commercial hovercraft and an expensive Zentra4000 ground car. The statistics for the Speeder and the Typical Air Car listed in the MechWarrior rule book can be used for these vehicles. Also in the garage are numerous tools, parts, and Tech devices for maintaining and repairing the vehicles. 5. Gatehouse and Gate: This is the only gate onto the estate property. The gatehouse isaone-room structure for use by the estate's security personnel. It is connected by a private phone line with the House Security room. TV monitors provide views from cameras mounted on either side of the gate-views which are repeated at House Security. An intercom system allows the guards to question visitors who approach the gate, and the cameras allow them to check IDs without coming out to the gate. A push of a button will unlock and open the gate for expected visitors. There are usually two guards on duty here at all times. 6. Estate Wall: The wall surrounding the estate is three meters tall and topped by the alarm system described above. It is nearly a meter thick, and set too deeply to allow anyone to tunnel underneath. Imbedded sensors set off alarms for the appropriate area in the House Security room if the wall is breached in any way at any point. L: Lake Horst: This man-made lake is part of the estate's landscaping. It is approximately 3 meters (Level 1) deep. P: Patio Pool: A patio area and swimming pool behind the main house, used by Horst in entertaining his associates. The pool is 3 meters deep at its deepest. W: Woods: The woods of Horstwald. They are considered to be light woods for all combat and sighting purposes. LIGHTING: Spotlights are set up along the house walls, designed to illuminate the grounds within 20 meters of the house. Fully lighted areas are shown on the map. There are still areas in shadows, however, where trees, shrubs, or odd angles to the building's walls create blind zones of deep shadow at night. The main gate and all of the inner wall is fully lit by lights set into the ground inside the wall. MAP 2: THE WEST WING Map 2 above shows the west wing of the Horst mansion, with views of the basement, first floor, and second floor. The letters are keyed to the following: First Floor: A. Entry Hall: An open foyer with marble floors and a broad, sweeping staircase leading to the second floor. Plants, tapestries, and paintings line the walls, and a line of coat closets is located beneath the stairs. Horst believes in calculated ostentation with which to impress his guests. B. Bathroom C. Conference Room: A room with a large table for use in business conferences at the estate. D. Dining Room: A formal dining room for meals, used only when Horst entertains business guests. E. Kitchen and Storage Pantry F. Offices: An office suite used by Horst's secretary and personal assistant when he is on planet. Each room has a desk, chairs, and computer terminals. G. Den: An old-fashioned library/den for relaxation, including sofas and stuffed chairs, shelves of books, a microfilm reader, holovision, and computer terminals. Second Floor: B. Bathroom F. Offices: An office suite used by Horst and his personal secretary for business when he is on Port Moseby. Each room contains a desk, chairs, and communications and computer equipment. H. Bedrooms: A suite of bedrooms. The largest is used by Horst himself when he is on-planet and will be occupied by him on the night of this scenario. Its walls are lined with bookshelves (with countless antique books-a hobby of Horst's) and objets d'art. The fireplace is a fake. Pressing a decorative knob on the mantlepiece causes the brick facing to swing open, revealing a hidden service elevator. The elevator leads to the Outer Vault in the basement. I. House Security Room: A small room nextto the second flooroffices consisting of an L-shaped desk and 12 television monitors. The monitors show continual and constantly changing views of various parts of the estate grounds and buildings. Alarms linked to the perimeter alarm system and to grounds guards (such as the Gate House and the various guards roving the grounds) sound here. A radio keeps the man here in touch with security personnel anywhere on the estate. Other radio equipment allows Horst to keep in touch with employees and officials elsewhere on the planet, including the local militia. An old and trusted Horst retainer is always at this position, watching the grounds. Basement: J. Wine Cellar: Racks holding bottles of very fine, old wines are stored here at the bottom of the steps from the pantry. One specific bottle is a dummy. Twisting it opens the back wall to give access to the house vault. K. Outer Vault: The outer vault is an empty room giving access to the vault itself. There are two ways in-from the wine cellar through a rotating wall operated by twisting a dummy wine bottle, and through an elevator from Horst's bedroom suite. L. Inner Vault: This is the vault proper, a small room sealed behind a .5-meter-thick door. It can be opened only by Horst's paImprint against a glass screen set in the wall next to the door. Some hundreds of thousands of C-Bill notes are stored here, as well as voluminous files containing hardcopy and computer files of Horst's business transactions over the past 20 years. Horst uses this vault to store especially valuable documents, as well as items such as the mysterious "delivery" which the characters must guard. More NightShadow: A MechWarrior Scenario Simulator Information Background Maps Time and Plan Running the Adventure The Intruder: Step by Step Character Stats Back to BattleTechnology 2 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com