Tooth and Claw
Tartarus Caldera, Crossing,
October 9, 3029

BattleTech Scenario

by Stefan-Paul Melin-Dempsey

The Hornet: Simulator Stats

Type: Hornet Tons
Tonnage: 20 Tons 20
Internal Structure: 2
Engine: Hermes 100 3

    Walking MPs: 5
    Running MPs: 8
    Jumping MPs: 5

Heat Sinks: 10
Gyro: 1
Cockpit: 3

Armor Factor: 64 4

    Internal Armor Structure Value
    Head: 3 8
    Center Torso: 68/4
    Rt/Lt Torso: 58/2
    Rt/Lt Arm: 3 6
    Rt/Lt Leg: 4 6

Weapons and Ammo
ItemLocationCriticalTons
LRM-5FT12
AMMO LRM-5: (24)LT11
Medium LaserLT11
Medium LaserRA11
Small LaserLA11
Jump JetsRL21
Jump JetsLL21
Jump JetsCT10.5

Background:

On October 9, 3029 the 5th Provisional Company of Wolf's Dragoons faced off against the 5th Galedon Regulars on the planet Crossing at the north face of an extinct volcano, Tartarus Caldera. The Dragoons were spread out over the caldera when the 5th Galedon (a regiment known for mountain fighting) came up the north face and penetrated their positions. This pushed Wolf's Dragoons into a forced modification to their perimeter, and gave the Kuritans an excellent foothold for the rest of the siege.

Defender Set Up:

Use 2 BattleTech maps end to end lengthwise. The maps should be considered all rough terrain and the defender may allocate 12 hexes as hard cover to be placed anywhere on the boards (but no more than two hexes together at any point). The defenders may then set up anywhere but within 4 hexes of the eastern side of the board.

Defender:

Elements of the Fifth Provisional Company, Wolf's Dragoons
Maj Patrick Chan: Piloting 2, Gunnery 1 Valkyrie, 2 pt armor missing from LT
Lt Thomas West: Piloting 2, Gunnery 3 Whitworth, +1 to hit because sensor hit taken; medium laser in head is inoperable
Trei Markai: Piloting 1, Gunnery 2 Rifleman-K (see insert) no damage
Donal Cameron: Piloting 1, Gunnery 2 Javelin, +2 to all piloting rolls due to gyro damage
Donald McDonald: Piloting 3, Gunnery 3 Hornet (see insert), perfect condition

Attacker Set-up:

The attackers are Shito's Company of the 5th Galedon Regulars. Their set up is as follows; the first lance up is the medium lance, which enters at the start of the scenario. Roll one D6. If a 1-4 is rolled, on the third turn one of the next two lances shows up. (Roll one D6 again: on a 1-4 the Recon lance will come first; on a 5-6, it will be the command lance.) If a 5 or a 6 is rolled on the initial roll, the unit does not enter: each turn the roll must be made again until a roll of 1-4 is achieved. Then the rolls must be made again until the third lance shows up, again on a roll of 1-4.

Each pilot must make a piloting skill roll of +3 as he enters to remain standing. He may choose to crawl over the edge, but then he must make a piloting roll to stand up. A backwards fall takes him off of the cliff and out of the scenario. In this simulation we need not consider a falling climber as possibly knocking others off the cliff. All attackers are fitted with 'lobster claws'; see special rules about these devices.

Attacker: Shito's Company

Command Lance (enters second or third)
Capt Hiro Shito: Piloting 2, Gunnery 3 Victor, perfect condition
Jason Marion: Piloting 4, Gunnery 3 Griffin, CT jump jet inoperable (jump mp 4)
Rdzic Treval: Piloting 2, Gunnery 5 Grasshopper, perfect condition
Zan Bengtsson: Piloting 2, Gunnery 4 Wolverine, engine damage (+3 to heat per turn)

Medium Lance (enters first)
Lt Jiro Hikaru: Piloting 1, Gunnery 1 Panther, perfect condition
Sgt Sara Cairns: Piloting 4, Gunnery 2 Wolverine, 2 heat sinks gone
Jasmine Rose: Piloting 3, Gunnery 4 Jenner, 3 pts of armor off RL, 4 pts off CT
Saito Namusson: Piloting 2, Gunnery 4 Jenner, perfect condition

Recon Lance (enters second or third)
Lt Eden Christensen: Piloting 3, Gunnery 2 Panther, perfect condition
Sergio "Reds" Redingsson: Piloting 2, Gunnery 4 Stinger, perfect condition
Betina Cason: Piloting 3, Gunnery 5 Panther much damaged +1 to hit, +3 heat/turn, 4 pt off CT
Clavell Jameson: Piloting 3, Gunnery 3 Wasp CTjump jet missing (jump mp of 5) 2 pts armor off LL

Victory Conditions:

Defender must hold position for 12 turns, then flee without losing more than 1/3 of their forces.

Attacker Must Wipe out defenders and hold cantured area at any cost

Lobster Claws:

These devices are specially created to assist 'Mechs in scaling cliffs that are too massive for their jump jets to get up. Basically, they are large spikes which are attached to the 'Mech's arms and feet; the 'Mech grinds them into the cliff face. The spikes themselves total up to 20% of the 'Mech's weight and are completely solid. When used to melee with (ie, to punch or to kick), they add +2 to damage; HOWEVER, because they are solid, they unbalance the 'Mech in any condition other than climbing. A piloting roll is necessary every time the 'Mech decides to move. If pilot is claw-trained (as the Fifth Galedons are), the roll is unmodified. If pilot has not received this training, the roll modifier is +3.

The claws can be removed by triggering explosive charges, thus allowing the spikes to fall. This takes no appreciable time, nor does it add measurably to heat calculations. It is a long cumbersome process to reattach the spikes, involving a pilot or tech to assist while another 'Mech, a tech vehicle, or a ship's shop facility aids in manuevering the tonnage. Under battlefield conditions, the claws are usually just abandoned.

Because of the high percentage of knee-joint breakage, Death From Above is not recommended while wearing lobster claws.

Rifleman-K Variant (Kurita Design)

This variant modified the popular Rifleman by dropping the two Autocannon-5s. The variant is then fitted with:

Weapons and Ammo
ItemLocationCriticalTons
SRM-4FT12
AMMO SRM-4: (24)CT11
Large LaserLA35
Large LaserRA35

And 7 additional heat sinks. This variant has the nickname of "Cool Head", as it partially makes up for the Rifleman's chronic overheating problem.


Back to BattleTechnology 9 Table of Contents
Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Magazine List
© Copyright 1990 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