Fortune Squadron 2 - Operation Rapid Mazarin 02 - "The Long Patrol"

Previous Mission: Assault on Riccorluvio

Mission 2

No doubt prickly from Ingvar's criticisms, Captain Levi Keller made sure that Lunar Lance (Nora Davies, Ceredig Clough, and Fatimah al-Hassan) were vested with very accurate information before their mission.

In WeaselTech each Operation comes with its own "complication"; for Rapid Mazarin, I rolled that any pilots involved in Mission 1 would be unavailable for the next two. Which meant that Lunar Lance would have back-to-back missions to run.

 

Lunar Lance was being deployed to the outlying regions of the city of Montorano; their aim was simple and disruptive search-and-destroy. And their first target was an industrial town. Sectors 2 and 4 were designated to be be cleared of any belligerents, while HQ wanted information about possible friendly insurgents in Sector 1.

Thanks to Captain Keller's intel, Fortune Squadron knew ahead of time that Sector 1 and 4 would be protected by two enemy Blips on patrol, while Sector 2 was guarded by a single stationary Blip.

The trio from Fortune Squadron would drop into Sector 3 with cover.

Left to right:

• Honeymoon Phase, a B-1 "Phoenix Hawk" mounted with a PL-a beam, piloted by "Fortune-4" Nora Davies
• Grim Herculean Task, an X-1 "Rifleman" mounted with AC-3 and MG-5 autocannons, piloted by "Fortune-5" Ceredig Clough
• A Mother Knows, a B-1 "Jenner" mounted with RPG-5 missile racks, piloted by "Fortune-6" Fatimah al-Hassan

A Mother Knows and Grim Herculean Task immediately headed north towards the town; Fatimah al-Hassan drew two swarms of "Sparrow"-class mechs towards her, putting them directly in Ceredig Clough's gunline. Grim Herculean Task's autocannons tore through most of the first swarm of Sparrows.

The Sparrows were armed with rocket pods-- a major boon for Fortune Squadron, as each of their mechs mounted ECM Suites to help coordinate missile-intercept fire. Despite the volume of incoming rockets, neither A Mother Knows or Grim Herculean Task took more than nominal damage.

On her own, heading towards Sector 4, Nora Davies found herself in less ideal circumstances; Honeymoon Phase was interdicted by a "Mamba"-class Elite and a trio of Sparrows. Despite her ECM Suite helping shoot down the Sparrows' rockets, Honeymoon Phase took a solid hit from the Elite Mamba's beam battery.

Nora Davies hurled her mech into desperate evasive maneuvers-- though they saved her life, the Elite Mamba's beams still tore into Honeymoon Phase and punched through the last of its armor. Nora found herself without her jump-jets, still in sight of the relatively unscathed Elite Mamba.

Thankfully, Grim Herculean Task had broken off from Sector 1 with admirable speed-- his AC-3 fire slammed into the Mamba, drawing off its attention for the moment.

The desperate circumstances were not abated when Honeymoon Phase's magscan confirmed a sizable host of Sparrows just north of Sector 4's objective.

Unwelcome though the enemies were, they were also closely clustered together; a prime target for a strafing run from Fortune Squadron's air support.

Even as one swarm of Sparrows evaporated under a plume of dropped ordinance, Honeymoon Phase slipped north. Their PL-a beam scythed through a second swarm with the ease of a hot knife through butter.

Grim Herculean Task, having drawn the Elite Mamba's attention, now slugged it out with the enemy. Streams of depleted slugs flew one way, flashes of azure lightening the other. Both took as much as they gave; but while Grim Herculean Task's armor ran like melted wax, it was as quickly repaired by an emergency drop of armor-repair drones. The Elite Mamba began to fall apart under the steady stream of MG-5 fire.

Ceredig's magscans revealed an unwelcome truth, however. Another Elite--an "Adder"-class mech--was quickly approaching.

In what was quickly becoming a pattern, Honeymoon Phase's magscans revealed yet another swarm of enemies-- four squads of battle armor protecting the landing pad in Sector 2. The beleaguered Honeymoon Phase was too focused on avoiding volleys of rockets to snap off more than a nominal shot to the north.

Even after putting the Elite Mamba down, Ceredig Clough was faced with an unenviable choice. The armor-repair drones had kept Grim Herculean Task operational, but only just, and the Elite Adder bearing down on him was at full strength. If he withdrew, he'd cede Sector 4's objective back to the OpFor. If he didn't, he risked being torn apart.

Ceredig Clough decided that his obligations to Fortune Squadron, to the mission and the cause, were more important than his safety.

Grim Herculean Task dumped its entire MG-5 ammo bin into the Elite Adder; the barrel of the weapon warped and locked up, becoming unusable for the remainder of the mission.

The Elite Adder came apart under the furious and Grim Herculean Task stood battered but defiant.

The mission's end was somewhat anti-climactic. A Mother Knows, having secured the town in Sector 1 with commendable ease, swept in to support Honeymoon Phase; between their weaponry and another air strike, Sector 2 was cleared of OpFor.

Lunar Lance formed up for extraction.

Aftermath & Social Scenes

Nora Davies and Fatimah al-Hassan both advanced to Level 1 after the mission, while Ceredig Clough's stellar performance vaunted him to Level 3. Further, his bravery in the face of stern odds saw him receive a commendation in the form of the Distinguished Service Star.

On base, Ingvar's sulking in the mech bay saw a chance encounter with Master Chief Sarah Butler. The eccentric technician chattered at length about her interests and hobbies-- in particular horticulture and how it (apparently) resembled mechanical engineering. t was her intention to submit some of her own cultivations in a local competition in order to prove, among other things, that 'tulips are the tri-catalyzed fusion chambers of the flower world'.

At a local park, Dr. Florian Blucher chanced on Fatimah al-Hassan in the middle of her mid-day prayers. Fatimah felt that the doctors lingering and unwelcome observation--treating her religiosity as a quaint curio--was disrespectful. Dr. Blucher blithely disagreed, and the two parted ways as Rivals.

Eftichios Tolotis met Dr. Adriana Kemp at a restaurant to discuss their upcoming check-up. It was a dry and formal meeting with none of the drama happening elsewhere.

And that's it for Turn 2!

Stay tuned for Mission 3, which will conclude Operation Rapid Mazarin!

Fortune Squadron 1 - Operation Rapid Mazarin 01 - "Assault on Riccorluvio"

 Operation "Rapid Mazarin"

The 13th Havenite Volunteers had been deployed to the embattled Eparchy of Velania, to the "Faithian Corridor". This swath of territory was tenuously in control of local insurgents-- the "Free Faithian Legion" which had been violently resisting the Prime Ascendency for years.

The operation called for the 13th Havenite Volunteers and 23rd Margravite Guard to expand the Faithian corridor; combined operations were aimed at the cities of Campi and Monagosco to the south, and Foialattilet and Jenti to the north.

Additionally, part of the operation's aspirations were to drive a wedge between the 6th and 8th Riofria Regiments.

To that end, Fortune Squadron had been dispatched for special operations.

"Solar Lance" --Ingvar Ragnarsson, Farquhar Ascenso, and Eftichios Tolotis--were to drop on Riccorluvio, aiming to disrupt the mech repair facilities there.

"Lunar Lance"--Nora Davies, Ceredig Clough, and Fatimah al-Hassan--were going to deploy closer to friendly lines, harassing the enemy held city of Montorano.

Mission 1

This mission was being made on "sketchy intel", which in WeaselTech impacts deployment. The better your intel, the better/more forgiving your deployment. I would be facing four initial "Blips", which represent enemy contact. In WeaselTech, you have to reveal enemies which may range from a gaggle of mooks to an ace pilot with a grudge to bear.

Solar Lance would be dropped into Sector 3, with three objectives. To the north-west (Sector 1) was an administrative building and to the south-east (Sector 4) a religious center, both of which were to be cleared/captured. To the north-east (Sector 2), the mech repair facilities which needed to be destroyed.

Left to right:

• Kell of Kells, an X-1 "Archer" mounted with MRL-4 and RPG-5 missile launchers, piloted by "Fortune-2" Farquhar Ascenso
• Hobson's Choice, an X-1 "Nieru-C" mounted with PL-a and PL-b beam cannons, piloted by "Fortune-1" Ingvar Ragnarsson
• The Human Condition, a B-1 "Shadow Hawk" mounted with an AC-3 autocannon, piloted by "Fortune-3" Eftichios Tolotis

Solar Lance dropped right on top of a patrol of four "Macaw"-class mechs, who barely had time to react before a flurry of missiles and an azure beam turned their frames into wreckage.

Kell of Kells provided overwatch as Human Condition made a beeline for Sector 1's objective; a prudent choice, as it turned out to be protected by an Elite pilot in a "Python"-class mech. Though Farquhar's missiles stripped the Elite Python of armor, Eftichios was unable to finish the enemy off with his autocannon.

Hobson's Choice squared off against a second patrol of Macaws, which proved as unwise the second time as during the landing. The brilliant flash of the PL-a beam vaporized myomer-fiber and ablative armor alike.

Eftichios' attempts to kill the Elite Python were further hampered by a new swarm of Macaws-- though the plucky pilot was able to avoid the worst of their incoming fire, his own AC-3 salvoes were also spoiled.

Not to be denied, Eftichios eventually outpaced the Macaws and cornered the Elite Python near Sector 1's objective. A trio of depleted slugs tore through what precious little armor remained on the mech, and a plume of reactor-flames signaled the enemy's end.

In Sector 4, Ingvar had little opposition securing the religious center-- even managing to extract a religious icon for return to the Faithian revolutionaries.

Similarly, Farquhar's advance on Sector 2 and the important mech bay were only nominally contested.

 By the time Farquhar emptied his missile racks into the mech bay, Eftichios had secured Sector 1's objective and skirmished the pursuing Macaws to exhaustion.

With all objectives complete--and little OpFor remaining--Solar Lance was able to exfiltrate without complication.

Aftermath & Social Scenes

In the wake of the mission Ingvar and Farquhar would advance to Level 1, while Eftichios would advance to Level 2.

The first two Social Scenes (the part of the game in which you explore the melodrama of these pilots and command staff) both occurred at a concert; I imagine some celebration being held back in Fortune Squadron's home base of Fonza.

Ingvar Ragnarsson--an impetuous and ill-tempered young man--got into a spat with the Intelligence Officer, Captain Levi Keller. Undoubtedly, Ingvar felt that their job had been made more difficult due to some deficiency in pre-op intelligence analysis. The two would become Rivals.

Farquhar Ascenso, seeing an opportunity to ruin his own rival's reputation, attempted to badmouth Ingvar to Fortune Squadron's commanding officer-- Major Ragnar Magnusson. He might have made a better decision had he recognized the patrynomic surnames, and realized that the Major was in fact Ingvar's father. The two would become Rivals.

Not everything was hot-blooded drama, however. The young and optimistic Ceredig Clough invited both Eftichios Tolotis and Nora Davies to meet up at a bar, with the aim of resolving their differences. Ceredig's relentless desire to find common ground (and at least two bottles of Fanza Reserve) would eventually settle the matter. Eftichios and Nora were persuaded to put their rivalry to an end.

And that's that for Turn 1! I'm already finding this game to have a lot more moving parts than 5 Parsecs; from the movement and revealing of Blips, the impact of staff officers during and after missions, the social system. But it's all a lot of fun and I can't think of any part which is particularly onerous.

Mission 2: The Long Patrol

Fortune Squadron 0 - Setting Up The Campaign

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm going to start up a solo campaign of Nordic Weasel Games' WeaselTech. I'm doing this for two reasons:

1. I have largely replaced my gastrointestinal functions with the purchasing and painting of miniature mechs; they sustain me, body and soul, in a way mere food cannot.
2. Global fucking pandemic. I am so tired.

The first step is contextualizing the campaign. With a lot of Nordic Weasel games, the context is very nearly presumptive; in Gang Warfare you are a gang engaging in warfare, in Salvage Crew you are a crew of salvagers, you get the idea.

But the devil is always in the details.

For this campaign I'm borrowing liberally from a Lancer mini-campaign I ran; that Lancer is also deeply invested in mechs and inspired by some anime means it shouldn't be hard to smush them together.

Welcome to Golgos Prime

(This unnecessary amount of detail to contextualize shoveling resin miniatures at one another is brought to you by Azgaar's Fantasy Map Generator)

Some time ago, the Golgos World Administration--a global administrative organization which originally united the planet's various work syndicates and mining collectives--met a slow and unseemly end. A rising tide of anthrochauvinism (take the worst tenets and practices of nationalism, writ large on the galactic scale) would eventually see an internal coup. The GWA was dissolved.

In its place, the Prime Ascendency asserted planetary control. Because all tyranny breeds its own end, the Ascendency's violent push for global hegemony eventually blossomed on one of the continents in the form of the Free Golgos Confederation. Local militias and revolutionaries managed to pool their efforts, along with a sizable defection of Ascendency military.

I'll probably write more about the planet and its history of problems, but that certainly seems enough for now.

WeaselTech helpfully includes some random tables for broad context; I rolled "an uprising against an oppressive power or regime" and "located at a military instillation on the frontiers". That meant to me that this campaign would not take place in the front lines of contested territory (the diagonally-hatched zones on the above map) but in one of the brushfire revolts on the Ascendency's mainland (the red zones).

For the flavor of the squadron, I rolled "volunteers eager to do their part" which actually didn't initially point me anywhere. But I did notice one of the red zones snaking towards the heart of the Prime Ascendency-- towards the planetary capital of Golgos Prime, High Haven.

That led me to the "13th Havenite Volunteers"; a regiment of mech-pilots drawn exclusively from those who had either defected or been driven from High Haven. Young recruits--maybe from High Haven's war college--eager to test their mettle against the anthrochauvinists.

Meet "Fortune Squadron"

Now WeaselTech includes, as I mentioned, a whole sub-system for the soap opera melodrama of young pilots butting heads; I wanted Fortune Squadron to be particularly involved with one another from the outset. The dice were happy to oblige.

Ingvar Ragnarsson and Farquhar Ascenso were Rivals, as were Eftichios Tolotis and Nora Davies. The outliers were Ceredig Clough and Fatimah al-Hassan, who ended up as Friends. I liked the idea that they were the youngest and oldest pilots in the squadron-- not having been in the same war college class, they had very little friction with their fellows.

The pilot tokens were made using RetroGrade Minis, which I've leaned on heavily for my Lancer RPG campaign. I cannot stress enough how useful and thorough the digital support for Lancer is-- from its free rulebook, active Discord, and excellent liveplays to the Comp/Con character generator/character sheet and RetroGrade's Lancer-oriented pixel tokens.

Mission 1: Assault on Riccorluvio

WeaselTech - All Systems Radical, Dude

 Occam's Laser

If you're exceedingly clever and/or can read, you may remember the campaign log I was keeping of a Star Wars Solo Wargame using Nordic Weasel's "Five Parsecs From Home". I do intend to get back to that sometime! But I am a man ("man", really) of varied and sundry tastes. I'm the hedonism-bot of gaming; novelty, inventiveness, new things please! This is, I am certain, entirely unconnected to my ADHD.

I apologize for nothing

Anyway-- continuing the trend of this veering dangerously close to a Nordic Weasel Fanboy Blog, I am going to leap right into Ivan's newest product. WeaselTech!

Apparently the poor man has been hounded for a mech game about as long as Mitch McConnel has been hounded by the Collections Department of Hell. But unlike Lucifer the Prince of Darkness, Ivan's fans look to finally be getting what they wanted!

In any case, I have been somewhat bitten by the mech bug lately and hopefully Ivan has just given me a particularly robust and long-armed scratcher with which to itch.

Glancing At The Weasel

I'll start with a quick run-through of the rules; not a proper review (which may come later, once I've gotten some hands-on experience with the system). This is just to get some context for the later AARs.

The game makes no bones about its influences; Macross, RoboTech, and a host of other Large Big Robot Battle Pow Pow anime with which I'm personally unfamiliar. This has two notable impacts on how the game plays:

1. Rather than the plodding land-battleships of BattleTech, these are the fast-and-furious laser-belching type of mech.

2. There is an entire sub-system for tracking the rivalries and romantic entanglements of your mech pilots.

The broad structure of play is mostly recognizable if you've played a Nordic Weasel game before (most especially the 5 X from the X series); you have a wargaming-scenario which impacts a downtime procedure which itself wraps back into a wargaming-scenario. Where WeaselTech departs from the formula is in the downtime procedure more than the wargaming-scenario.

Each wargaming-scenario is a "Mission" and three Missions constitutes an "Operation". The downtime is then split between stuff you do between Missions (gain XP, roll for commendations, see who has gotten in a love triangle) and stuff you do between Operations (research new equipment, check on the status of the overall conflict, roll for promotions).

That might sound like a lot of homework, but let's not pretend that you've got something better to do. You're playing a solo-wargame! Somewhere my high school bully's hackles are up; they do not know why, but they know in their bones they have to shove someone in a locker. Even most normal wargames marinate in loneliness and math, why would this be any different? Don't act like you're better than me. You're not better than me! I'm not crying you're crying! Loser! You're the loser not me--

I'm okay I'm fine I'm okay

Sorry, lost the thread there a little.

Taken altogether, my impression is very much that WeaselTech is deservedly distinct from the 5 X from the X series-- though it is also solo-oriented and campaign focus, both the scenario-wargaming mechanisms and procedural structure give it a very different texture.

Keep your eyes peeled as I set up for a solo campaign of my own using this system!

I'm out.