CLASSIC BATTLETECH CATALYST game labs

I've been playing 'round with this idea for a while now.  The issues that I've had thus far (not a whole lot of playtesting:  most of my games are in the pre-Clan era when "Life is cheap.  Battlemechs aren't," so take this with a grain of salt) are as follows:

1.)MP:  it requires 1 MP to pick up the BA and 1 MP to drop them (so make sure that your VTOL units have plenty of movement).

2.)Your BA can't actually do anything during the first round that they've been dropped off (make sure that they're near the action but under cover).  Ideally, they'll enter action during the second round...but, y'see, there was this guy named Murphy...

3.)VTOLs are relatively easy to break; assuming that an enemy actually manages to hit your VTOL, it's likely to go down (this becomes worse in the era of pulse lasers, LB-X autocannon, and targeting computers--a.k.a. the era when you'll be able to use battlearmor).

4.)There just aren't that many VTOL designs out there that have enough cargo capacity to carry a full squad of BA.  The Karnov is one, yes, but I can't think of a second one off of the top of my head.

Now, I'm not saying that it doesn't work.  It does; you've just got to choose your DZs, VTOLs, and targets wisely. 

Another way to do this is with omnivehicles and omnimechs; both can carry BA (heck, the pesky crunchies actually provide an erstaz "armor"...not that the BA troopers would really like to be viewed that way) and are likely to be better-armed and armored than a VTOL.  They're not usually as fast, though...

As with all tactics, your milage may vary.  I enjoy it for the sheer coolness factor, but, then, most of my games aren't really about winning...

You can get away with dropping into a hot zone, though your suits will probably take casualites without being able to reply for a turn.  As a rule your probably better off using air mobile troops to take and hold area of the field that will be important but arn't currently occupied by enemy forces.

Picking up from a hot zone is a whole different kettle of fish as your VTOLs will have to remain stationary for a turn.  You will take heavy casualities if you try this.  Though the alternative may well be worse.


The usual rules from VTOLs apply regardless.  Get in, get out, do not hang arround the LZ. 

Challenger

Our GM tried to airdrop a lot of troops on us...   I spotted the Anhur and warmed up the LB.  It was dead before he had a change to land and get the troops out.  Ahh, good times.

I love airmobile tactics. You do it right, and you gain the ability to place a sizeable force anywhere you want, just about anytime you want. There are some downsides to the stratagem though, but most are just things you have to be careful about, and can work around.

The ride: The weakest link in an airmobile deployment is most often the transport. Aircraft and choppers may be fast, but they're notoriously fragile, especially since the ones we're talking about have obviously given up a lot of mass to cargo space that could otherwise go to guns or armor. Durable troop haulers do exist, but most of them are very expensive, so it's difficult to bring one into a balanced fight without compromising the firepower of your fighting units(these haulers achieve this blend or durability and heavy price tag by being called DropShips). For smaller stuff, you're advised to either plan your route to avoid AA, or supress it first(difficult, when almost anything in the game can shoot at you).

The delay: The biggest threat to airmobile ops is during the drop-off phase. Choppers often have to land, which makes them horribly vulnerable to fire. Fortunately, jump troops can simply leap out at no risk to themselves, and with TacOps, any other troop that is also anti-'mech capable can do the same for very low risk. However, regardless of how you disembarked, there still remains the fact that infantry can do nothing during the turn they deploy, creating a window in which they are extremely vulnerable(especially since troops that had to get out of a landed transport will almost always be in clear terrain during this delay, which is just begging for a slaughter). The solution to this is to drop your troops off behind cover, be it hills, woods, or buildings. Even if the chopper is still airborne during the drop, bring it low enough to also be behind the cover. Getting onto the ground safely is moot if your squad has a burning chopper dropped on top of them before they have a chance to do anything. Also, seeing your ride home magically transform into a fireball is very bad for morale.

The troops: Unless you're using DropShips as your Huey stand-ins, odds are your airmobile forces will be composed almost solely of infantry or battle armor, with all the weaknesses of both. Sure they're a powerful force in sufficient numbers, but the Davion Assault Guards they ain't, so don't expect them to do the same jobs. Once on the ground, your troops will usually be slow, short-ranged, and individual units will likely be weak. Don't expect them to cross half the map, smash fortresses, or go toe-to-toe with Daishis. Your many weapons may include surprise, fear, and La-Z-Boys, but those won't drop a 'mech without intelligent tactics as well. Airmobile drops are best used to quickly grab and keep a hold of fixed objectives or strategic terrain, rapidly opening up new flanks in a battle, or for surprise assaults on targets with juicy, unprotected middles, liek supply bases, or open-air fortresses.

True, but remember that under the current ruleset, vehciles and 'mechs might be carried in empty cargo, but the time it takes to unsecure and offload them is far too long to take place in combat. I don't remember if TacOps or StratOps have optional rules that change this, but in TW, the only way you can offload a vee or 'mech during combat is if it was carried in specialized 'Mech or Vehicle bays, which are usually only found in DropShips.

My group does indeed use a house rule allowing the empty cargo to be used this way in combat, but for the sake of advising others I was sticking to official rules. After all, it's kind of hard to recommend tactics if they're based on house rules that another group may not allow.

No smacking is required, I'll be happy if I'm proven wrong. I was hoping to find a loophole around the must-be-in-a-bay rule, this just might be it. What are the rules for unloading said cargo, and do they supercede this?


And this?

Then read the Cargo Carriers part from page 261

I believe they can do both.

I love Airmobile infantry and BA tactics by the way. But with the Caveat that they just don't work on smaller maps/tables.

Interesting, though I'm  extremely leery of carrying anything externally if I can help it...

Is there anything prohibiting active combat units from being carried this way?

I recall aero units(even large support aeros) being prohibited from carrying external cargo, but I can see someone using large and fast support hovers or WiGEs to do this...

I'd tend to avoid weapons and just load on as much speed, armor and ECM as I could. Remember that your goal is not to expose your troop transports to direct fire if you can help it. So the design challenge becomes how much speed, and armor can you fit around a 4 ton cargo bay (or 6 if you're WoB).

Maybe. For Deterrent punch Rocket launchers are a good option.

How about this?


Like one that carries duke Ricol's Marauder in novel Decision at Thunder Rift? Not bad novel, but there are few things that can't be taken seriously: 'Mech shoulder rolls anyone?

Heh, ok... I'll get Vehicle Annex next friday and see what it has to offer

On a more serious note...

a tactic I like is to race hovers or VTOLs into an enemy's flank or rear and drop BA behind a hill, so that they are covered during the one turn.  If you're sneeky you can get pretty damn close, or you can drop a ways away and march in.  But especaly with hovers, doing things out of sight can be a nice trick. 

The best part is, the BA don't even really need to fight; just knowing that they are around can change enemy tactics enough for your line units to make headway, as the BA suddenly appear out of seemingly no where.