Mechstorm

A while back I wondered what a Donald Featherstone Mech Combat ruleset would look like. I give you Mechstorm. The smaller Mechs are painted and based pieces from Risk 2210AD, the larger mechs and flyers are from EM4 (you probably already recognised them). For the rules the smallest of the Risk Mechs I named ‘Pups’, the medium ‘Dogs’ and the largest ‘Wolves’, any EM4 Mech is a Titan, and the flyers are split into Fighters and Bombers depending on what seems most appropriate for the mini. This evening I played out a game between two faction the Ventauran Rebels (in camo) and the Hadradyne Corporation (purple).

So, on to the first iteration of the rules, with lots of room for development:

MECH STORM

UNITS

Units are organised in the following way:

Pups come in units of 5.

Dogs in units of 3.

Wolves, Titans, Fighters or Bombers in units of 1.

Figures in a unit must remain within at most 1” of another member of the same unit.

THE BATTLEFIELD

The game board should be divided up into 1’x1’ sectors. Each sector should have at least 1 terrain item in, and one objective. Each objective must be at least 9 inches away from each other objective. Players then roll off and the higher roller decides which board edge is their ‘Home’ edge, and the opposing player takes the opposite edge. No figures begin the game on the board.

PLAYING THE GAME

At the start of the game decide which player is the red player and which player is the black player. Then shuffle a deck of standard playing cards including the jokers and place it face down. Then flip the top card. If it is a number card the corresponding player (red or black) can activate a single unit. If it is a face card the corresponding player can activate 2 units, or gamble and activate D3 units. If it is an ace the corresponding player can activate 3 units, or gamble and activate D6 units.

ACTIVATIONS

When unit activates – Pups, Dogs, and Wolves can do one of the following:

• Jump move up to 12”.
• Move up to 6” and Shoot.
• Recharge Shields.

Titans can:

• Move up to 6” and Shoot.
• Recharge Shields.

Fighters can:

• Move 12” and Shoot.

Bombers can:

• Move up to 12” and Shoot.
• Perform a Bombing Run.

MOVING ON TO THE TABLE

When a unit activates for the first time it comes on from its controlling player’s home board edge.

MOVING

When a unit makes a ‘jump move’ it ignores intervening terrain and figures as if it were flying. When a unit makes a 6” move it must move around terrain and intervening figures, other than friendly figures which can be moved through. Fighters and Bombers always ignore intervening figures including other fighters and bombers, and terrain. Figures cannot finish their moves on top of other figures.

SHOOTING

When unit shoots first check the range and line of sight, and then if you need to roll for the number of shots roll for each figure in the unit individually for its number of shots. Then roll for each shot to see if you damage the target.

			Damages Target:
Shooter	Range	Shots	Pup	Dog	Wolf	Titan	Fighter	Bomber	Cost PU
Pup	12	1	4+	5+	6+	6+	6+	6+	3
Dog	18	D3	3+	4+	5+	6+	6+	6+	5
Wolf	24	D6	2+	3+	4+	5+	6+	6+	6
Titan	48	2D6	2+	3+	4+	4+	5+	5+	22
Fighter	18	D6	3+	4+	5+	6+	4+	4+	6
Bomber	18	D3	2+	3+	4+	4+	5+	5+	7

First a unit takes damage to its shields – each unit begins the game with 6 shields, other than Titans which begin with 12. Each point of damage removes 1 shield and when shields are reduced to 0, each point of damage removes a figure.

If the target is in some form of cover then the number to damage them is increased by 1 up to a maximum of 6+. Fighters and Bombers never count as having cover.

BOMBING RUNS

When a Bomber performs a Bombing Run it moves up to 12” in any direction in a straight line. Any unit under the path of the Bomber (including friendly units) as it moves suffers D3 damage. Bombing runs do not affect other Fighters or Bombers.

RECHARGING SHIELDS

When a unit recharges its shields the unit regains D3 shields, a unit can never have more than its starting number of shields.

FINISHING ACTIVATIONS

Place a counter next to a unit to show it has activated, the unit cannot activate again until its activation counter is removed. Once all units in play on one side have activation tokens all activation tokens on all units on both sides are removed. This also occurs when a Joker is drawn from the deck.