" ... AND THE FACE OF WAR, AS CREDITS Writing WE KNOW IT WILL BE FOREVER Randall N. Bills CHANGED ... " Bryan Nystul That's right. The rules of war have been changed to Development protect the innocent (but, the guilty ain't getting away either). Randall N. Bills The document you are holding now ushers in a new phase Bryan Nystul in the development of MechForce. There is a wealth of new information included here that will change the way you com­ BattleTech Line Developer pete with the entire MechForce world. Bryan Nystul But as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The purpose of these changes is to make Editorial Staff your enjoyment of the game richer. The nature of man is Editorial Director within conflict and struggle. And "conflict" would be so much Donna Ippolito easier without having to "struggle" through a bunch of clum­ Managing Editor sy rules. But the point is still the same: to have a system Sharon Turner Mulvihill where MechForce members may compete with each other, Associate Editors no matter their location. You will still be able to do so. All Diane Piron-G elman we have done is expanded the theatre of combat to the Rob Cruz world. A future supplement will list 'Mech designs from the other international organizations. This will further demon­ Production Staff Art Director strate the international scope we are now embracing with the club. • Jim Nelson So with this publication, all rankings across the face of Assistant Art Director the planet are reset to 1000. The "Top Dog" slot is open to Joel Biske anyone on Earth who can take it. The competition will be Cover Art hard and heavy. There will be many casualties, and only Doug Chaffee (front cover) the strong will survive. But only the best MechWarriors will Tom Baxa (rear cover) dare take this challenge. There. You have been warned. Illustrations Take up the gauntlet and read further if you feel worthy. If Loston Wallace not, then stop here, and allow cowardice to rule you for the Brad McDevitt rest of your days. I will await your answer. .. .. Dave MacKay Mike "Skuzzy" Nielsen Good. You have decided to walk upon the path of glory. i Jeff Laubenstein Scott Johnson As a MechWarrior, you have the right to voice your Chris Moeller ideas, opinions, and views on the course of this organiza­ Layout tion. Please exercise this right. If you don't, then we will not Beryl J. Turner Ill have any way of knowing what is important to you as a member of MechForce. Many people have labored to bring Special Thanks To : this organization to its current form. But those labors are Stacy Rieckermann for her work on the previous useless unless you communicate with us, sharing your MechForce Manual. input, your ideas. This is your club. You still make the Tracy Kannarr and L. Ross Babcock Ill, for their invalu­ wheels go around and the ball bounce. able help on the Battle Value system. The questions and the comments go to the same place, so keep 'em coming, 'cause we're here to help you. BATTLETECH ®, 'MECH ®, BATTLEMECH ® MECHWARRIOR ®, CITYTECH®, AEROTECH®: So fight hard and play even harder, and most of all, BATTLEFORCE® and MECHFORCE ® are Straight Shootin'. Registered Trademarks of FASA Corporation. Precentor Epsilon I Copyright © 1997 FASA Corporation All Rights Reserved. Beryl J. Turner Ill Printed in the U.S.A. MechForce Operations HQ Published by FASA Corporation 11 00 W. Cermak Road Suite 8305 Chicago, IL 60608 MechForce Operations can be reached on America Online at FASA MNA. FASA Corporation can be reached on America Online (E. Maii­ FASALou (Earthdawn), FASABryan (BattleTech), FASAMike (Shadowrun), FASAinfo (General Information) or FASA Art (Art Comments) in the Online Gaming area (Keyword "Gaming") . Via InterNet use <AOL Account Name>@AOL.COM, but please, no list or server subscriptions. Thanks! 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 RANKED BATTLE SCORING 3 BATTLE VALUE SYSTEM 6 BATTLE REPORT MASTER 12 MECHFORCE RANKS & RANKING SYSTEM .. 13 INTRODUCTION THE MECHFORCE UNIVERSE 16 MECHFORCE & FASA TOURNAMENT RULES 18 This is the second edition of the MechForce Manual. BattleTech Tournaments Overview This book still is your guide to achieving the highest possi­ BattleTech Open ble rank as a MechWarrior. We have changed many things Gunslinger Tournament in this printing to make competition between MechForce Trial of Bloodright MechWarriors much easier than before. Grand Melee The Ranked Battle Scoring section provides all the MF REGIONAUINTERNATIONAL 21 information needed for calculating the results .of your bat­ DISTRICT MAP tles. The Battle Value System replaces the· Combat Value MF REGIONAU INTERNATIONAL LISTINGS 22 System and provides the formulas used to generate the CONVENTION SUPPORT FORM 23 Battle Value for the 'Mechs and vehicles found in this book, BATTLE VALUE TABLES 24 and also allows you to calculate the Battle Value for your 'Mech List 24 own designs. The revised Battle Report Master allows Vehicle List 35 players to send in their final battle results to MechForce for STANDARDIZED MAP SHEETS 38 ranking. MechForce Ranks & Ranking System and The BATTLETECH COMPENDUM ERRATA 43 MechForce Universe, brings a new level of participation to BATTLETECH FAQ SHEET 44 you, the MechForce member. MFQ SUBMISSION GUIDELINES 47 The new MechForce & FASA Tournament Rules BATTLETECH LICENSEES 49 section explains the different types of tournaments for MF UK MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 51 MechForce competition and the levels of sponsorship a MF G MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 52 player may receive for his tournament from either FASA or MF S MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 53 MechForce. The BattleTech Tournaments Overview MF MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION BACK provides the "official" overall Battle Tech rules to be used in all tournaments and now supercedes any previous rule list­ ings. The Battle Tech Open, Gunslinger Tournament and Trial of Bloodright and Grand Melee sections provide BattleTech rules that are applicable to those specific types of tournaments. The MechForce Regional/International District Map and Listings show MechForce members the locations of their districts. The Convention Support Form offers players support for their tournaments from either MechForce or FASA. The updated 'Mech List and Vehicle List provide MechForce numbers, official MechForce-approved Battle Values, tonnages and sources for all 'Mechs and vehicles published by FASA that are legal for use in MechForce ranked battles. The listings for the International organiza­ tions' 'Mechs and vehicles wi ll be released in a future sup­ plement. The Standardized Map Sheets depict all 24 in-print BattleTech maps to allow for easy adjudication. The BattleTech Compendium Errata provides cor­ rections for the BattleTech Compendium: The Rules of Warfare, as of the third printing (softcover). The BattleTech FAQ Sheet-Frequently Asked Questions- provides players with answers to the most common BattleTech questions. Finally, the Manual provides official MechForce Submission Guidelines. a complete list of BattleTech Licensees and a MechForce Membership Application form each of the international organizations, for those inter­ ested in joining MechForce wherever you are. 2 Battle Scoring This scoring system is a way to measure the relative suc­ Time Limits cess of the two sides in a scenario, taking into account the rel ­ Most tournament games will have a time limit for each ative strength of each side's forces at the start of play. It is very game. It is possible that the victory conditions will not have been important to note that simply inflicting damage on the oppo­ reached by the end of the allotted time limit. In this case, the nent's forces will not resu lt in a higher score. Points are scored winner is determined by which side destroyed or crippled more only for achieving mission objectives; namely destroying or crip­ of the opposing forces , as modified by the relative BV totals of pling enemy units, and claiming victory by seizing the battlefield each side. See Time Limit Scoring below for more information for your side. These are your goals, and should be kept in mind on how to determine this. during play to achieve the highest score. It is important to note th at when the time expires, the battle These ru les can be used in conjunction with the BattleTech is over. The 'Mechs involved stop fighting and begin to make Tournaments Overview (p. 18) to score ranked battle games their way back to base. This is important because it points out for MechForce members as well as scoring BattleTech Open why units that have taken significant damage but are not crip­ tournaments. Guidelines are also provided for playing non-tour­ pled or destroyed are not worth points to the other side. nament ranked battles. It should be noted that these ru les are provided here for Leaving the Map your reference only, so don't worry if they appear to be compli­ A unit may only intentionally leave the map through its cated. The actual calculation of scores is handled by MechForce home map edge. If it does so , it is not worth "kill" points fo r the Operations. Simply follow the scenario rules, then fill out the opponent. If the unit was considered crippled when it left the Battle Report Master properly, and the rest of the work will be map, it still counts as crippled for calculating both players' done for you. scores. A unit may be involuntarily forced off any map edge by SCENARIO RULES Push, Charge or Death From Above attacks, or Skidding. In this Here are some add itional guidelines for scored scenarios. case, it is considered crippled for the purposes of scoring. In both cases, a unit that leaves the map for any reason BASIC VICTORY CONDITIONS may not re-enter the scenario.