5 Scenarios

Commanders earn C-bills to spend on their forces through completing scenarios and accomplishing objectives. Scenarios are often be built to represent lore and objectives relevant to specific worlds in the Outworlds Wastes. Narrative based scenarios may include special rewards, such as recovering equipment from the 61^st Royal Jump Infantry Division so a commander can add advanced jump infantry units to their force.

5.1 Scenario Formats

Outworlds Wastes forces are created and tracked using Battle Value (BV), but scenarios may be played in many formats. Common formats for the scenarios include

• BattleTech: Scenarios for this format will primarily focus on medium scale combat, with each side controlling approximately one lance with supporting assets.
• Alpha Strike: Scenarios for this format will primarily focus on large scale combat, with each side controlling approximately one company with supporting assets.

Regardless of the scenario format, force maintenance and improvement costs are always calculated per the Force Management rules. Use the rules for the scenario format to define terms such as destroyed, internal damage, and critical damage for the purposes of calculating repair, replacement, and salvage costs.

Alpha Strike cards for all units are available on the Master Unit List. To convert a unit skill levels from BattleTech to Alpha Strike, take the average of the Piloting and Gunnery skills, rounded down (see p. 29, AS: CE).

League organizers may use additional formats, such as BattleTroops. The scenario format must define terms such as destroyed, internal damage, and critical damage for the purposes of calculating repair, replacement, and salvage costs.

5.2 Scenario Forces

Both sides should agree upon a BV (or Point Value, PV) and unit count limit before starting the scenario. A typical BV limit would be 6,000 BV per side for 1v1 or 10,000 BV per side for 2v2 with BattleTech. A typical PV limit would be 150 PV per side for 1v1 or 250 PV per side for 2v2 for Alpha Strike. A typical unit limit depends upon the format but would be approximately 7 units per side for 1v1 or 10 units per side for 2v2. Additional limits on specific unit types, such as 2 infantry/Battle Armor units per side, can be imposed as well.

Scenario forces should include all applicable adjustments in their BV/PV calculations, to include TAG, C³, and pilot skill adjustments. See Force BV Adjustments (p. 230) for a summary of the most common adjustments. See BattleTech: TechManual p. 202 and all relevant errata for full details on calculating BV.

Scenarios can be played with higher BV/PV limits, but the C-bills awarded should be adjusted if the limits are more than 25% above or below the typical limits. For example, an Alpha Strike 300 PV per side 1v1 scenario would have its C-bill payments doubled compared to the standard Alpha Strike 150 PV per side 1v1 scenario. A Total Warfare 4,000 BV per side 1v1 scenario would have its C-bills payments scaled by 2/3 compared to the standard Total Warfare 6,000 BV per side 1v1 scenario.

Alpha Strike scenarios may be played with BV limits instead of PV limits. Commanders would select units to meet the BV limit but use the Alpha Strike cards and rules for the scenario.

5.3 Mismatch

5.4 Optional Rules

Scenarios may use optional rules if each side agrees. Some common optional rules include

Forced Withdrawal: BattleTech: Total Warfare p. 258, BattleTech: Alpha Strike Commander’s Edition p. 127

Sprinting: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 16

Vehicle Lance Movement: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 22

Floating Criticals: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 75

Firing When Down: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 83

Multiple Attack Rolls: BattleTech: Alpha Strike Commander’s Edition p. 175

Front Loaded Initiative: If, prior to any pair of movement or attack declarations, one team has more units left to declare for as the other team, the team with more units declares for two units rather than one. If one team has at least twice as many units, it declares for three each time, and so on.

Fire For Effect: Weapon attack declaration and resolution occur simultaneously during the Weapon Attack Phase. Attacks are resolved in initiative order, per the usual rules. A unit destroyed during the Weapon Attack Phase will still fire.

5.5 Battlefield Support

By default, BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes assumes commanders are using the full rules for combined arms from BattleTech: Total Warfare and Alpha Strike: Commander’s Edition. League organizers may allow Battlefield Support: Strikes rules (p. 75, BMM and p.55, AS: CE) to provide simplified aerospace and artillery support and off-board artillery rules for Alpha Strike (see p. 151, AS: CE). League organizers may also allow Battlefield Support: Assets rules (BattleTech: Mercenaries box set) to provide simplified non-’Mech units, such as combat vehicles and infantry.

5.5.1 Battlefield Support: Strikes and Off-Board Artillery

Each side for a scenario must agree to use Battlefield Support: Strikes or off-board artillery rules. When using Battlefield Support: Strikes rules, each side receives the same number of Battlefield Support Points (BSP). Consult the Battlefield Support rules in Alpha Strike: Commander’s Edition or BattleTech: Mercenaries box set, as appropriate, to help determine the number of BSP and the cost of each support type. Each side may also agree to use any unused BV from force selection to purchase additional BSP, where 1 BSP costs 20 BV. Commanders may increase their BSP by up to half of the BSP limit.

The following additional rules apply when using Battlefield Support: Strikes or off-board artillery.

• The commander’s force must have a unit capable of offering the support.

  Support Type	Required Unit
  Offensive Aerospace Support (BSP)	Attack or fire-support aerospace unit
  Defensive Aerospace Support (BSP)	Dogfighter or interceptor aerospace unit
  Artillery Support (BSP)	Corresponding artillery unit
  Counter-Battery Support (BSP)	Artillery or aerospace unit
  Minefield Support (BSP)	Any unit
  Off-board Artillery (AS)	Artillery unit
  Counter-Battery Fire (AS)	Artillery or aerospace unit

• The commander must declare which off-map unit in their force is offering support during the scenario before using the off-map support rules. The same unit must be used to provide this type of support for the rest of the scenario, unless this unit is destroyed.
• Commanders declare what Battlefield Support they are using this turn at the start of the Weapon Attack Phase while declaring attacks.
• The first successful use of Defensive Aerospace Support or Counter-Battery Support/Fire damages the attacking unit. The second successful use destroys the attacking unit.

Counter-Battery Support is a new form of Battlefield Support for BattleTech that mirrors the Counter-Battery Fire rule from Alpha Strike.

Counter-Battery Support: Counter-Battery Support costs 14 BSP and can only be used once enemy Artillery Support has been used. The Target Number for Counter-Battery Support is 7. Reduce the Target Number by 1 for each use of enemy Artillery Support where a friendly unit had LOS to the point of impact. Reset the Target Number to 7 if the enemy artillery unit is destroyed by 2 successful Counter-Battery Support attacks.

5.5.2 Battlefield Support: Assets

Each side for a scenario must agree to use Battlefield Support: Assets rules. Commanders may agree to only use Battlefield Support: Assets rules for some types of units, such as conventional infantry units. Commanders should use the same rules for every unit of the same type in the scenario, BattleTech: Total Warfare or Battlefield Support: Assets.

When converting a unit in a force to an Asset, first compute the Asset skill level by taking the average of the Gunnery and Driving skills, rounding down, and adding 2. Only BV values for skill 5 and skill 6 are provided on the Asset cards, so unit skill levels may be temporarily degraded for a scenario to a higher skill level. Use the BV cost of the Asset at the computed skill level.

For BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes, an Asset is considered damaged if the Destroy Check Target Number is reduced to (base Destroy Check Target Number + 4) / 2, rounded down. For example, the Manticore Heavy Tank Asset is considered damaged when the Destroy Check Target Number is reduced to (10 + 4) / 2 = 7 while the Warrior H-7 Asset is considered damaged when the Destroy Check Target Number is reduced to (5 + 4) / 2 = 4.

If the BV of the Asset at skill 6 is lower than the BV of the unit at Gunnery 4/Driving 5 under Total Warfare rules, scale the repair and replace costs to account for the unit being less combat effective. For example, a Manticore Heavy Tank Asset is 420 BV at skill 6, while the Manticore Heavy Tank under Total Warfare rules costs 993 BV. The Manticore Heavy Tank Asset has 42% of the BV, so it only costs 279,196 C-bills to repair or 558,392 C-bills to replace instead of the 660,100 C-bills to repair or 1,320,200 C-bills to replace the unit using full Total Warfare rules. Do not apply any modifiers for quirks or DropShip modifications when repairing or replacing Assets.

5.6 Scenario Balancing

One of the goals of BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes is to foster a friendly and welcoming environment. A mix of experience levels between commanders is expected. Here are some options to help balance scenarios so game play is welcoming while also staying fresh and challenging:

Setup: When setting up a scenario, slight preference should generally be given to the commander whose force has the lower total BV, including all units and pilots. For example, the commander with the lowest total BV could be offered the choice between attacking and defending. For a scenario with a terrain setup phase, the commander with the lowest total BV could be offered the first placement of terrain pieces.

2v2: Many scenarios are described as 1v1; however, these scenarios often support team play, such as 2 players on each side. When playing on teams, experience should be divided roughly equally between the two teams. Teammates are encouraged to collaborate on strategy for the scenario.

5.7 Scenario Scoring

Scenarios award C-bills through completing objectives or receiving base pay. The C-bills awarded in a scenario will tend to follow these guidelines:

Objectives: Forces earn C-bills for completing primary and secondary objectives. This C-bill payment represents bonus pay in a mercenary contract and the value of resources or technology acquired by completing mission objectives. Objective payments should be proportionally adjusted if the BV limit for the scenario differs from the typical limit.

• The primary objective is typically worth 7,000,000 C-bills and is split between the two sides based upon the portion of the primary objective completed.
• The secondary objectives are typically worth 3,000,000 C-bills and each objective is awarded to each side separately.

Base Pay: If the force did not complete any objectives, then the force earns 2,000 C-bills for every 10 BV for the scenario, with a minimum of 600,000 C-bills. For example, a 6,000 BV vs 6,000 BV scenario will have a base payout of 1,200,000 C-bills. This C-bill payment represents the baseline cost of a mercenary contract or supplies sent by a faction.

These guidelines may be adjusted as needed, such as to accommodate the format. For example, Alpha Strike tends to favor larger games and the units are easier to damage or destroy. League organizers could designate 200 PV or 250 PV with double the payouts listed above as the default for scenarios. All modifications should be agreed upon and communicated to all commanders.

Scenarios do not typically require a Game Master to run additional third party forces. If there are third party forces that require an additional person, this person may receive C-bills for one of their Outworlds Wastes forces. This C-bill payment should not exceed the maximum C-bill payment for the scenario, and it should be close to the average of the payments that the players in the scenario received. The exact conditions for the payout should be agreed upon before the scenario starts.

5.8 Scoring Scaling

The average unit cost can vary greatly between eras. BattleTech: Campaign Operations provides scaling for force budgets based upon the time period. These optional payment scaling charts map the budget scaling from BattleTech: Campaign Operations to the eras from the Master Unit List and rescale for the expected technology level in BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes. These charts can be used to adjust the payments for primary and secondary objectives based upon the era. League organizers may use or adjust these scaling factors as desired.

5.9 High Risk, High Reward

A force can come close to destruction due to combat losses or bankruptcy. The commander may stage a ’last stand’ to save their force from ruin. League organizers may authorize this optional rule for scoring.

For every 5% of the full force’s BV above 70% that a commander brings to a scenario, they earn an extra 5% C-bills payout. For example, if a commander brings 90% of their force to a scenario, they earn an extra 20%. The commander would receive 120% of the C-bills earned in the scenario.

This rule may only be used when the force is under the starting BV limit of 10,000 BV and the starting balance of 3,000,000 C-bills. This rule generally should not be used when the scenario BV/PV limit is 25% or more above the standard limits of 6,000 BV for Total Warfare or 150 PV for Alpha Strike.

5.10 Casual Scenarios

Narrative scenarios are provided by the league organizers, but BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes also supports casual games between forces. Each side must agree upon the format, force limits, turn limits, optional rules, and scoring before the scenario starts.

Some sample objectives are included below. These scenarios generally assume a 6,000 BV/150 PV limit, 5-7 turns, 7,000,000 C-bills for primary objectives, and 3,000,000 for secondary objectives.

5.10.1 Primary Objectives

1. Reconnaissance: The map contains 15 buildings, 7 of which contain hidden objectives. Place the buildings randomly or each side takes turns placing the buildings. The defender secretly rolls to determine which buildings hold the objectives. Attacking units may search buildings during the End Phase if they are in the target hex (in base to base contact, Alpha Strike) and no enemy units are in the target hex. The search is successful on a 2D6 roll of 7+ for ’Mechs and ground combat vehicles or 5+ for infantry. An attacking unit with an active probe may instead search 1 building within range of its active probe on a 2D6 roll of 6+. The attacker earns 1,000,000 C-bills for each objective they find and the defender earns 1,000,000 C-bills for each objective remaining hidden.
2. Supply Raid: 3-7 supply depots are on the map, near the center. Each supply depot has 1-3 loads of supplies. Any unit with hands or cargo capacity can load supplies from the depot if they are in the same hex as a supply depot (in base to base contact, Alpha Strike) during the End Phase. A ’Mech with hand actuators must declare which hand is holding the supplies. For units with cargo capacity, a friendly infantry unit must load or unload the supplies during the End Phase. Units involved in loading or unloading supplies cannot make weapon or physical attacks during that turn. A ’Mech carrying supplies can’t fire arm weapons (BattleTech) or does -2 damage (Alpha Strike). The supplies have negligible weight. There is no movement penalty and jumping units may still jump while carrying supplies. Carrying supplies does not decrease the infantry space in a combat vehicle, but all standard infantry mount and dismount rules still apply. ’Mechs carrying supplies in their hands may drop the supplies at any point during their movement. The supplies are automatically dropped if the carrying ’Mech falls or goes prone. Units with cargo capacity must be unloaded by a friendly infantry unit. Each side cannot retrieve more supplies from the same supply depot until the current supplies from that depot are scored. A unit carrying supplies earns a portion of 7,000,000 C-bills for bringing the supplies to their home edge based upon the total number of loads of supplies available.
3. Zone Control: 3, 5, or 7 key points are distributed on the map. The locations of the key points dramatically changes the gameplay. The basic configuration is 3 key points along the center of the map and 1 key point halfway between the center and each home edge. A side controls a key point if only their units are in or adjacent to the key point (within 2", Alpha Strike). During the End Phase, the side that controls the most key points earns 1,000,000 C-bills. If each side controls the same number of points and controls at least 1 point, then each side earns 500,000 C-bills for that round.
4. Base Defense: 7 buildings are on the defenders side of the map. Each building is medium with a construction factor of 60 (6, Alpha Strike) and 1-3 levels high (1"-3", Alpha Strike), unless the players agree upon a different configuration. The attacker earns 1,000,000 C-bills for each building destroyed and the defender earns 1,000,000 C-bills for each building remaining.
5. King of the Hill: A hex in the center of the map contains a building with valuable files. The building is medium with a construction factor of 60 (6, Alpha Strike), unless the players agree upon a different configuration. The force earns 1,000,000 C-bills for every turn that they have the only infantry units inside of the building at the end of the turn. Commanders may add additional bunkers to the center of the map and split the 1,000,000 C-bills between the number of bunkers.
6. Assassination: A VIP needs to be escorted across the battlefield. The defender selects a medium or heavy ’Mech from the Periphery General or Pirates list. The VIP is a Gunnery 5/ Piloting 4 (Skill 4, Alpha Strike) pilot and half of the adjusted BV/PV of the ’Mech counts against the defender’s BV/PV limit. The VIP’s ’Mech must cross the map from the defender’s home edge to the attacker’s home edge. The attacker earns 7,000,000 C-bills if this ’Mech is destroyed or 3,500,000 C-bills if this ’Mech receives crippling damage. The defender 7,000,000 C-bills if this ’Mech does not receive crippling damage or 3,500,000 C-bills if this ’Mech is crippled but not destroyed. The turn limit for this scenario is based upon the terrain and movement profile of the VIP’s ’Mech.
7. Extraction: Extract 1-3 hidden infantry teams. For each hidden unit, the attackers select a hex within 4 rows (8", Alpha Strike) of the defenders home edge and more than 4 hexes (8", Alpha Strike) away from the other edges of the map. A unit with at least 1 ton of cargo capacity can pick up the target by being in the same hex as a target during the End Phase. The target is not destroyed if the carrying unit is destroyed. A unit earns a portion of 7,000,000 C-bills by exiting their home edge while carrying a target.
8. Recovery: 4-6 disabled ’Mechs are equally spaced along the map diagonal. A unit of equal or higher weight class can drag a target ’Mech. A friendly unit must be in the same hex (in base to base contact, Alpha Strike) as the target ’Mech during the End Phase to start dragging it. Units without hand actuators must use 1 turn securing the target ’Mech. The dragging unit has a 1/2 reduction in their walking MP and cannot jump. A target ’Mech cannot fire weapons in one arm (BattleTech) or does -1 damage (Alpha Strike). A unit earns a proportion of 7,000,000 C-bills for each ’Mech returned to their home map edge.

5.10.2 Secondary Objectives

There are three ways to select secondary objectives. First, a single secondary objective that both sides share could be selected, randomly or by mutual agreement. Alternatively, each side could randomly roll a secondary objective in secret. Finally, each player could randomly roll a secondary objective in secret.

The selected secondary objectives must be achievable by the forces selected for the scenario. If a secondary objective is impossible to accomplish based upon the scenario, map, or enemy force, determine a new secondary objective before play begins.

1. Cripple or destroy a ’Mech.
2. Cripple or destroy a ProtoMech.
3. Cripple or destroy a Combat Vehicle.
4. Cause critical or motive damage on a VTOL or aerospace unit.
5. Kill at least half of the troops (remove all armor, Alpha Strike) in an infantry unit.
6. Swarm a ’Mech or Combat Vehicle with an infantry unit.
7. Successfully complete a Death from Above attack.
8. Damage an internal section of an opponent’s highest BV/PV unit.
9. Capture a vehicle crew or ’Mech pilot.
10. Extract a hidden unit from within 4 hexes (8", Alpha Strike) of the far map edge.

5.10.3 Additional Options

This list of scenario objectives is not exhaustive. Commanders may develop and play alternative scenarios as long as the scenarios are not intended to cheat the rules or otherwise give the commanders unfair advantages. Commanders are encouraged to develop scenarios that match the lore of their forces. For example, a pair of commanders for Clan forces may agree to a Trial of Possession or a commander of a Solaris VII force may challenge another force to a televised duel.

These objectives may be adapted to best support the scenario format or the narative the players are creating, as long as all commanders agree. Any additional restrictions or conditions for the scenario need to be agreed upon by all commanders before the scenario starts. The outcome of the scenario may result in transfer of C-bills, personnel, or units between forces if that is agreed upon before the scenario starts.

These alternative scenarios may include a C-bill payment but do not have to. If the scenario includes a C-bill payment, it should stay close to the guidelines provided in the Scenario Scoring section. For example, a duel between two 1,500 BV ’Mechs could have a maximum of 1,750,000 C-bills as a primary objective payment, if there is a primary objective payment.

5.11 Narrative Scenarios

The following narrative scenario packs are available:

• Renorsal: Scenario pack (Succession Wars or later)
• Linden: Scenario pack (Succession Wars or later)
• Antallos: Scenario pack (Blakist Jihad 3067)