"It's not my name... it's what I am. I am your role model Mr. Potty Mouth Name."
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| Solaris VII | | | Author: | | | IP: | ool-182fXXXX | | Date: | 03/09/03 09:03 | | Game Type: | Other | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 3, Max: 8, Min: 1
Lifetime Rating for Epoch71: 6.0000 |    |
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Welcome to my second Battletech BR. You might want to check out the introduction to my previous BR for more background info on the Battletech universe, but here's what's important for this BR.
The planet Solaris 7, also known as the "Game World" is located in the Lyran Commonwealth and is relatively close to Terra. Solaris is best known for the games it holds there, gladiatorial events - with Battlemechs. Using live ammunition and full-powered lasers, gladiators will duke it out in specially designed arenas in front of the eyes of thousands of observers, and then billions of people around the inner sphere in trivid shows and recordings.
Needless to say, Solaris is a hell of a tourist spot.
Going in to more detail, the battle BRed here will be between two 'Mechs, a Custom Hatchetman and a Ryoken, Prime Configuration. God knows how they got a hold of an Omnimech, but it was the only other really fun 'Mech in the weight class that I hadn't used before.
The Arena:
The Arena is a vital part of combat; its terrain will often help a Mechwarrior along to victory, or aid him in his fall (Sometimes quite literally).
This is a picture of the Arena. Its relatively small and limited, with no terrain to speak of. But, thanks to the joy that is a board game's flexible rule system, the Arena is coated in a thick layer of artificial and enhanced fog. This fog has several effects on the battle. First of all, it obscures vision and distorts sensors, giving a +1 modifier to all Gunnery Skill Rolls. Additionally, it diffuses lasers, reducing their damage at medium range by 1 and at long range it reduces damage by an additional 1, to a total of 2. This will hurt both opponents, but the Ryoken suffers from it more as its primary weapons are lasers.
Custom Hatchetman (45 tons):
Despite its name, the Hatchetman used in this battle wasn't too custom. It trades off the three Medium Pulse Lasers spread across the body, including one in the Hatchet arm for three ER Medium Lasers in its non-hatchet arm. The Medium Lasers do not have the Pulse Lasers' accuracy bonus, which would negate the fog, but they have a longer range than the pulsers so they will not diffuse as fast. Additionally, to allow the Hatchetman to fire all its weapons at once repeatedly without overheating too much, the Hatchetman's heat sinks have been upgraded to Double Heat Sinks. The Hatchetman's autocannon, an LBX-AC/10 loaded with standard rounds, remains unchanged from the 3050 variant.
However, the Hatchetman's coolest weapon and namesake is its Hatchet. The Hatchet, unlike other weaponry, deals damage based off its weight. Weighing in at 45 tons, the Hatchetman can normally deal a healthy 9 damage a whack. Normally. THIS Hatchetman is loaded with TRIPLE STRENGTH MYOMERS!
Triple Strength Myomers have a long history behind them dating back to the Fourth Succession War. You can read them by clicking HERE.
Anyways, thanks to the joyous power of the TSM the Hatchetman can deal 18 damage a swipe, which is quite devastating against the Ryoken who has very few locations with enough armor to hold against a hit that strong.
Omni Ryoken - Prime (55 tons):
The Ryoken Prime is a 55 ton almost-Heavy-but-not-quite Medium 'Mech loaded entirely with ER Lasers, a Large and Medium in each arm and a Medium in its head. However, thanks to the combined inconveniences of arena fog and the Hatchetman's TSM/Hatchet combo, the Ryoken can't really get in close enough to do full damage with its lasers without risking being chopped to death.
Still, the Ryoken is better armored, better armed (When the Hatchetman's TSM is offline) and faster than the Hatchetman (An extra 10 tons and Clan tech will do that to a 'Mech). Come to think, if the Ryoken can stay away from the Hatchetman this match could be rather one-sided :/.
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Turn 1
I'll try and cut down on boring and excessive damage detail this time. Anywho, on to the fight!
And one final note, the Hatchetman is coming in to play with five of its Double Heat Sinks offline to gain enough heat to activate the Triple Strength Myomers.
MOVEMENT:
The Ryoken wins the initiative, which is bad news for the Hatchetman, who now has to move first; the Ryoken can just walk away if the Hatchetman gets in melee range, denying the Hatchetman use of his uberHatchet.
Not surprisingly, the Hatchetman's pilot kicks his Mech up to a full run, attempting to close the distance between himself and the Ryoken swiftly so he can bring his deadly hatchet in to play next turn.
The Ryoken responds by walking out of the Hatchetman's ranged weapons's firing arcs; nothing a torso twist won't remedy, but close.
COMBAT:
The Ryoken swivels its torso around to bring its weaponry to bear on the Hatchetman, and lets loose with everything it has. The Hatchetman also twists his Mech's torso around to bring his ranged weapons into play and opens fire with everything but his hatchet, which is sadly out of range.
Everything but the head mounted Medium Laser on the Ryoken finds its mark on the Hatchetman. Additionally, the weapons are all at short range - full damage. Large Laser fire carves into the Hatchetman's right arm and right torso, leaving them with almost no armor left, while Medium Lasers burn armor off the machine's left leg and center torso. The Ryoken's efficient heat dissipation system leaves the 'Mech nice and cool, not accumulating any excess heat.
Strangely, the Hatchetman's only miss is a Medium Laser, just like the Ryoken :O. The BattleMech's lasers tear chunks out of both the Ryoken's arms while the LBX-AC/10 smashes into the Ryoken's right torso, although sadly, it fails to punch through the armor. Thanks to the five deactivated Heat Sinks, the Hatchetman's heat spirals up to 9 points, kicking the TSM in to gear. The Hatchetman's pilot switches two of the heat sinks back into gear to help it maintain its heat level.
Story:
Thousands of spectators listened as Mark Johnson announced the happenings of the battle to them, even though they could plainly see it themselves.
"Michael Ramirez wisely avoids the wrath of Joseph Cage's Hatchet and shoots at him with everything he has. Cage isn't holding back either." Johnson winced as the Ryoken's laser array burned most of the armor from the Hatchetman's right side and sizzled the bloodred paint elsewhere. "That has got to hurt!"
Cage's aim was impeccable and the missed shot could probably be accounted to a faulty weapon control servo. The more heavily armored Ryoken absorbed the fire better than the Hatchetman, though. Both of the skilled gladiators keep their 'Mechs upright and begin to align themselves for their next shots.
Johnson noticed a change in the Hatchetman's movements, and something clicked in his mind. "Cage's Hatchetman has been equipped with Triple Strength Myomer!" He spoke into the mic, as surprised as anyone else.
BATTLE PIC:
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TURN 2Wow, turns go much faster when you only have two 'Mechs.
MOVEMENT:
The Hatchetman gets lucky and wins the initiative, so the Ryoken moves first. At this point, the Clan Mech's only real choice of action is to run like hell, so he does.
Sadly, the OmniMech's pilot was seemingly unaware of the fact that TSM not only boosts strength, but speed as well; the Hatchetman manages to get close enough to bring its uberHatchet to bear.
COMBAT:
The Hatchetman attacks with two of its Medium Lasers, its LBX-AC/10 and, obviously, its uberHatchet. The Ryoken simply shoots with everything it has.
The Hatchetman's two Medium Lasers miss, but the LBX-AC/10 connects. The autocannon's devastating stream of bullets leaves the Ryoken's left arm with very little armor remaining.
One Large Laser and the three Medium Lasers from the Ryoken make contact with the Hatchetman. The large laser slices into the Hatchetman's left leg, taking out all the remaining armor on the location, while two of the medium lasers burn into the right leg and left arm; the last Medium Laser carves into the Hatchetman's head armor, rattling the pilot but leaving the cockpit relatively intact.
The uberHatchet rips into the Ryoken's right arm, shredding the armor still there and carving away most of the internal structure. A double heat sink mounted in the arm is destroyed by the blow. Unfortunately for the Hatchetman, the Ryoken has more than enough extras to make up for it :/.
The Hatchetman reactivates another two heatsinks, leaving only one of them offline.
Story:
Joseph Cage grinned in his overwarm cockpit as he maneuvered his bloodred 'Mech up to the Ryoken. At first he had been concerned about going in to battle with a Mech ten tons bigger than his, but when his stable had gotten hold of some of the Federated Sun's new Triple Strength Myomer, he felt that the advanced material evened the odds rather neatly. With a movement that had taken him years to master, he twirled the hatchet in his 'Mech's right hand around. The crowd cheered at his display of skill; not many Mechwarriors had the degree of coordination and that strong a connection to their 'Mechs needed to perform such a complex maneuver.
Fighting was only part of the political arena that was Solaris. The Game World was a little version of the Inner Sphere, with each Successor State represented by one of the areas of Solaris city. And like the Successor states, secret dealings of questionable ethics and legality were common. But most important of all on Solaris, was public relations. A Solaris gladiator lived to please the crowds.
Cage was no different than the rest.
As the 'Mech's opened fire at almost point-blank range, the croud's cheering grew louder. And when Cage's hatchet blurred into a swipe of bloodred-painted metal that crashed into the Ryoken's right arm and half-cutting, half-smashing, removed all of the armor their, the cheer grew louder still. After performing the well-practiced movements needed to keep his 'Mech upright from the damage it took from the Ryoken's lasers, Cage flipped two of his heatsinks in to gear to help maintain his heat level.
He had this down.
BATTLE PIC:
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TURN 3
MOVEMENT:
The Hatchetman wins the initiative, spelling more bad news for the Ryoken. The OmniMech pilot chooses to flee from the wrath of the uberHatchet. The Hatchetman's pilot realizes he cannot keep up with the fast OmniMech even though he has the power of TSM on his side, so he instead maneuvers out of the Ryoken's central firing arc while staying far enough away to allow for some diffusion of the Ryoken's lasers.
COMBAT:
The Hatchetman fires on the Ryoken with its ranged arsenal. While the Ryoken torso twists so it can at least fire with its right arm arsenal, and opens up with the Medium and Large laser mounted their.
Only one of the Hatchetman's lasers finds its mark through the fog, carving in to the Ryoken's right torso, on the thin rear armor. Not thin enough though; even without the diffusion from the fog the laser would not have pierced the ferro-fibrous armor there.
Although the Hatchetman's luck seemed abysmal, landing only one hit and not doing any substantial damage, the Ryoken beats him out when both of his hastily fired shots miss their target wide. (The Ryoken had an easier shot, too :P)
Story:
Mark Johnson watched as the Ryoken kicked into a full run, putting enough distance between it and the red Hatchetman to keep its opponent's namesake out of play.
As soon a each 'Mech's weaponry cooled, they opened fire. One of the Hatchetman's lasers hits the Ryoken's rear torso on the right side, while the Ryoken misses completely. Johnson restrained a laugh.
"And the Arena fog comes in to play," Said Johnson, "Ramirez misses completely and Cage only manages to score one hit with his laser!"
He doubted the crowd was paying attention to him anymore, but the few unlucky people left to listen on a radio only had his description of the match to go by.
Johnson watched intently as the Mech's resumed the dance to put themselves in the best firing position when their weapons were ready to fire once more.
BATTLE PIC:
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TURN 4
MOVEMENT:
The Ryoken wins the initiative, and the Hatchetman moves first. The BattleMech maneuvers to give itself a shot towards almost everything on the battlefield.
The Ryoken moves around to the center of the arena to keep itself from being cornered, where it would undoubtedly fall to the Hatchetman's uberHatchet.
COMBAT:
The Ryoken torso twists to bring its entire laser arsenal to bear on the Hatchetman, and fires it all. The Hatchetman also lets loose with all of its ranged weaponry; still, BattleMech's greatest weapon is kept out of the battle.
Unfortunately for the Hatchetman, the Ryoken's formidable collections of lasers all find their mark. The Large Lasers tear armor from the Hatchetman's left torso and arm, and one of the Mediums aids its stronger brethren against the BattleMech's arm. The appendage is left with no armor and a slightly damaged internal structure; the left torso is not as lucky, and a double heat sink is destroyed. The other two Medium Lasers tear into the Hatchetman's right arm, scoring the greatest blow the Ryoken could deal-the Medium Lasers cut through the little armor left there and burn away all the remaining internal structure; the power of the uberHatchet is lost. Despite the incredible damage done to the Mech, the skilled Solarian gladiator keeps it upright.
The Hatchetman's formidable laser array connects - with the Arena floor in front of the Ryoken. However, the stream of slugs from the LBX-AC/10 in the Hatchetman's right chest walks a trail of holes and cuts up the previously pristine armor on the OmniMech's left leg. Unfortunately for the Hatchetman, the damage to the Ryoken is spread relatively evenly.
The Hatchetman reactivates a heat sink to compensate for the one lost in the Ryoken's assault.
Story:
Michael Ramirez sighed in relief as the lasers on his OmniMech tore away the right side of the Hatchetman, removing the Hatchet from play. The Triple Strength Myomer had been a very unwelcome surprise that could easily make up for the weight difference between them, giving the Hatchetman the damage potential of a 90 ton 'Mech. If the Hatchetman had hit instead of his 'Mechs arm but the Center torso or the Ryoken's head for that matter, Ramirez would most likely be dead now.
His 'Mech shuddered as his gyro worked to compensate for the damage his left leg was taking from the stream of autocannon bullets spraying from the pillar of fire coming from the Hatchetman's chest. The other Mechwarrior's 'Mech was top of the line, with all of the latest Inner Sphere technology.
But Ramirez had better than Inner Sphere tech, he had something Clan. The 'Mech he drove now had been mostly responsible for his rise in the Solarian arenas; without the bonus the Clantech provided him, he would probably have sunk in to obscurity long, long ago.
The Hatchetman's main weapon was no longer a threat; Ramirez moved in to finish off the Inner Sphere 'Mech.
BATTLE PIC:
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TURN 5
MOVEMENT:
The Hatchetman wins the initiative, so the Ryoken goes first. The OmniMech's pilot brings his 'Mech into close range to finish the Hatchetman off.
The Hatchetman circles around and moves over to the Ryoken, bringing its arsenal to bear at close range.
COMBAT:
The Hatchetman and Ryoken both put everything they have into their attacks. At this range, neither is coming out of this unscathed.
Only one of the Hatchetman's lasers miss their mark; the light autocannon and the other two medium lasers connect. The autocannon's stream of hot metal rips apart what was left of the Ryoken's right arm, greatly reducing the Omni's damage potential and avenging the death of the uberHatchet, then shreds a good portion of the right torso armor on the OmniMech. The first of the two Medium lasers cuts into the Omni's right leg, not doing much to the previously untouched armor there. The other Medium Laser plunges into the Ryoken's Center Torso and finds its way through a kink in the armor to tear away some of the Mech's reactor shielding. The OmniMech's heat begins to rise.
The two Medium lasers from the Ryoken that connect burrow into the bloodred BattleMech's center torso and left leg; the left leg is nearly destroyed in the assault and a portion of the center torso armor is reduced to a puddle of ferro-fibrous goo. Luckily for the Hatchetman, only one of the Ryoken's large lasers finds its mark. Unluckily, the azure lance burns away the armor on the Hatchetman's Left Torso and slashes across the Center Torso armor as the Hatchetman's left torso disintegrates into a spray of internal structure and tattered armor bits, taking the Left Arm with its Medium Laser array and the ammo bin for the autocannon with it. The Hatchetman is now completely unarmed.
Story:
Sweat dripped from Cage's chin on to his cooling vest. It wasn't all from the heat of the cockpit though.
He lined his guns up and opened fire at the closing Ryoken. The faulty laser missed again, but it wouldn't have made too much of a difference anyway. What did make a difference was the Hatchetman's light autocannon. Hundreds of metal slugs exploded from the bloodred Battlemech's chest and traced a path of destruction up the arm partially destroyed by the hatchet, which now lay embedded in the arena wall over a hundred feet away. Cage's luck and skill also held out as one of the Medium Lasers plunged into the Ryoken's chest and the OmniMech's heat signature spiked.
He wouldn't have to worry about a faulty laser missing anymore though, as the Ryoken's large laser blew away his left torso and left arm, taking his lasers with it.
And his ammo bin.
Cage swore very, very loudly.
BATTLE PIC:
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Epilogue
Johnson looked down as the Hatchetman's last remaining weapons were tore from its body. The match was over, they had only to wait for Cage to surrender.
The communication didn't come. Cage kicked the Hatchetman's jumpjets into gear, flying high above the arena floor. It didn't take long for Johnson to realize what the hatchetman's pilot was doing.
"Joseph Cage is attempting a death from above attack!"
The Hatchetman's jumpjets cut out as it reacher the height of its flight. Michael Ramirez's Ryoken did not move out of the way. Time seemed to slow down as the Hatchetman began its fall, its legs bent to absorb impact. And then, the Ryoken went in to action, pulling its remaining arm and torso back to bring its lasers to bear.
The medium lasers seared armor from the 'Mech's legs, but once again, the Large Laser did the most damage. It cut up the Hatchetman's center torso and burned through the armor protecting the bloodred Mech's head, vaporizing the cockpit. "Cage's cockpit has been destroyed!" Johnson barely managed to finish his sentence as the burning hatchetman fell on to the Ryoken.
The Omnimech was torn off its feet by the burning wreckage that used to be a war machine, and skidded backwards into the arena wall. The Hatchetman's reactor, no longer held in check by the dampening circuitry contained in the cockpit, exploded.
A flash of bright white light filled the arena for a moment, and when everyone's eyes started working again, all that was left in the arena was a smoking hulk that used to be two Battlemechs.
"Both Battlemechs have been destroyed..." Said Johnson, "It's a tie."
The trivid of the match went on to be one of the best-selling of all time.
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And thats it. Hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to make non-flamey comments and suggestions.
Thanks goes to:
1. All the raters (In advance) ;D.
2. ClassicBattletech.com for the spiffy title image and all the infos.
-Epoch
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