6 Scenario Conversion
There are a large number of official and unofficial published scenarios. These scenarios can be used with BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes with the following conversion rules.
6.1 General
In order to use a existing scenario with BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes, force restrictions and allocation of payments should be identified.
Scenario forces should generally match the units available to commanders in the Force Construction rules. For example, a scenario that relies upon a squadron of aerospace fighters would require additional modifications as a commander’s DropShip typically has a maximum of two aerospace bays.
Rewards should generally match the guidelines found in the Scenario Scoring rules. For scenarios with victory points, Supply Points, Warchest Points, or other metrics of gradated success between commanders, award the primary objective payment based upon the level of success of each side. For example, if one side earned 8 victory points and the other side earned 13 victory points out of a total of 25 possible victory points, then award 2,240,000 C-bills to the first side and 3,640,000 C-bills to the second side.
If the scenario has a secondary objective that each side can achieve without preventing the other side from achieving the objective, then award this objective 3,000,000 C-bills. This payment maybe partially awarded if it is possible to achieve different levels of success for the secondary objective. If the scenario does not have a secondary objective, then select a secondary objective for the scenario.
League organizers may make adjustments to these guidelines as desired.
6.2 Chaos Campaign
BattleTech: Chaos Campaign provides campaign rules that have lower complexity than BattleTech: Campaign Operations and is available as a free PDF. The Chaos Campaign rules are used for campaigns in BattleTech: Chaos Campaign: Succession Wars as well as BattleTech: Spotlight On and BattleTech: Turning Points publications and Shrapnel, the BattleTech magazine. The Hot Spots: Hinterlands sourcebook or the BattleTech: Mercenaries box set adds a contract system for the BattleTech: Chaos Campaign system.
BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes can be used as the logistics system for BattleTech: Chaos Campaign with the BattleTech: Mercenaries box set extension.
6.2.1 Contract Terms
1,000 Supply Points for Mercenary Chaos Campaign is worth 3,500,000 C-bills in BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes. A standard 10,000 BV BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes force is equivalent to a Scale 2 force in Mercenary Chaos Campaign. These conversion rules assume one scenario per month for the ease of computing logistics costs.
These following contract terms in Mercenary Chaos Campaign interact with BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes as described below.
- Base Pay: BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes assumes the employer or supporting faction covers 100% of the base operating costs for the force. When using the Mercenary Chaos Campaign system, the base operating cost for a BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes force is 3,500,000 C-bills. If the contract provides lower than 100% Base Pay, the commander must pay these operating costs after each scenario. For example, if the contract has 80% Base Pay, the commander pays 700,000 C-bills after each scenario as basic operating costs. Similarly, if the contract has higher than 100% base pay, the commander earns extra C-bills after each scenario.
- Straight Support: Reduce the repair and recruit costs by the percentage of Straight Support in the contract. For example, if the contract offers 80% Straight Support, the commander only pays 20% of the repair and replace costs.
- Battle Support: Reduce the replace costs by the percentage of Battle Support in the contract. For example, if the contract offers 10% Battle Support, the commander only pays 90% of the replace costs. Note that a contract with Battle Support also grants 100% Straight Support, so the commander only pays the remaining portion of the replace costs and none of the repair or recruit costs.
- Salvage Rights: Only collect the percent of the revenue from salvage granted by the Salvage Rights. For example, if the contract offers 60% Salvage Rights, then the commander only earns 15% of the C-bill cost when selling salvaged units instead of the typical 25% of the C-bill cost. Also, the Salvage Rights limit how many units the commander may salvage and add to their force. Multiply the number of enemy units destroyed by the Salvage Rights percentage and round down to determine how many units may be salvaged and added to their force. A minimum of 1 unit can always be salvaged and added to their force. For example, if a commander destroys 5 enemy units and has 60% Salvage Rights, then they may add up to 3 of those units to their force. If a commander destroys 2 enemy units and has 40% Salvage Rights, then they may add only 1 of those units to their force.
- Command Rights: The specific scenarios determine what effects, if any, Command Rights have on the scenario.
- Transportation Terms: If using transportation costs, use the 1,000 Supply Points to 3,500,000 C-bills conversion to compute transportation costs. The employer or supporting faction covers the negotiated portion of the C-bill cost. If not tracking transportation costs, then Transportation Terms must be set to 100% (step 9).
League organizers may allow a limited set of contracts or may allow commanders to negotiate contract terms per the rules in the BattleTech: Mercenaries box set. Reputation cannot be used to modify contract terms unless allowed by league organizers. League organizers set the frequency at which contracts may be renegotiated. If the renegotiation occurs while the force remains on the same planet, then the Transportation Terms cannot be renegotiated.
6.2.2 Default Contracts
Two typical contracts for BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes are given here. As described in the BattleTech: Mercenaries box set, commanders may negotiate to adjust the terms of their contract.
The first default contract replicates the BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes system. Commanders have 100% Base Pay (step 7), Independent Command Rights (step 11), 100% Salvage Rights (step 13), no Support Rights (step 1), and 100% Transportation Terms (step 9). Force maintenance works as described in the Force Maintenance section.
The second default contract significantly reduces the maintenance cost for commanders while also reducing salvage and transportation payments. Commanders have 100% Base Pay (step 7), House Command Rights (step 7), 40% Salvage Rights (step 7), 10% Battle Support Rights (step 7), and 50% Transportation Terms (step 7). Force maintenance works as described in the Force Maintenance section with the following modifications.
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Replace: Pay 45% of the C-bill cost, rounded up, to replace a destroyed unit.
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Repair: Pay 0% of the C-bill cost, rounded up, to repair all internal damage and critical components for a unit that has not been destroyed.
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Recruit: Pay 0% of the C-bill cost, rounded up, to replace troops in an infantry or Battle Armor unit that was not destroyed.
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Salvage: Recover enemy units that were destroyed in a scenario. You may add up to 40% of the destroyed enemy units to your force, rounded down, with a minimum of 1 unit. Pay 50% the C-bill cost, rounded up, to add salvaged enemy units to your force. Also, sell components from any destroyed enemy unit that was not added to your force to earn 10% of the unit’s C-bill cost.
6.2.3 Scenario Scoring
Organizers may score scenarios by using the Supply Point payments given in the Mercenary Chaos Campaign and using the 1,000 Supply Points to 3,500,000 C-bills conversion. This scoring only provides three possible payments for the primary objective in a scenario, 50%, 100%, or 150% of the 3,5000,000 base pay for a Scale 2 force.
For a more granular scoring for any BattleTech: Chaos Campaign scenario, award the 7,000,000 C-bills payment for the primary objective proportional to the victory points or supply points earned by each side. For example, if one side earned 8 victory points and the other side earned 13 victory points out of a total 25 possible victory points, then award 2,240,000 C-bills to the first side and 3,640,000 C-bills to the second side.
If the scenario has secondary objectives, the maximum secondary objective payment should be 3,000,000 C-bills.
League organizers may make adjustments to these guidelines as desired.
6.2.4 Time Between Tracks
BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes replaces the Supply Point (SP) costs for the activities in the Time Between Tracks section of Mercenary Chaos Campaign with the BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes Force Management rules. The following adjustments apply to the standard BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes rules for Force Management.
- MechWarrior Wounds: MechWarrior wounds heal at a rate of one box per month. At the start of each month, remove one hit from each injured MechWarrior. For example, if a MechWarrior had taken 3 hits, it would take 3 months to fully heal; they would be back to 0 hits at the start of the third month following their injury.
- Repair Time: Repairs are completed at the start of the month. If two or more scenarios are played in the same month, repairs and replacements from previous scenarios in the month are not completed before the later scenarios.
- Training Time: Training is completed at the start of the month. If two or more scenarios are played in the same month, training started after previous scenarios in the month is not completed before the later scenarios.
- Purchase and Sell Time: Purchases and sales apply immediately. If two or more scenarios are played in the same month, purchase or sales made after earlier scenarios immediately change the unit availability for later scenarios.
- SPAs: New SPAs earned by units apply immediately. If two or more scenarios are played in the same month, SPAs earned after earlier scenarios immediately apply to units for later scenarios.
6.2.5 Scales of Play
The BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes rules correspond to Scale 2 in Mercenary Chaos Campaign. All of the standard and agreed upon optional rules for BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes apply at this scale.
To play at Scale 1, use modified BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes Event rules. Your force has a modified Leopard dropship with 4 configurable bays. Your initial force has up to 3,000 BV in ’Mechs and 2,000 BV in infantry and combat vehicles. Commanders may use any Battlefield Support: Strikes but may only use Battlefield Support: Assets for units in their force unless league organizers state otherwise.
6.3 Hot Drop