Catalyst 35TP009 - Historical Turning Points - Luzerne [2012].pdf

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TM
A bAttletech historicAl sourcebooks compAnion
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Historical turning Points
BATTLETECH
TM
luzerne
TM
®
Under License From
®
35TP009
©2012 The Topps Company Inc. All rights Reserved. Historical Turning Points: Luzerne, Classic BattleTech, BattleTech,
BattleMech and ’Mech are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc. in the United States and/or
other countries. Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Production, LLC.
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Lawrence Pass, Luzerne
cLan smoke Jaguar occuPation zone
20 JuLy 3059
REDEMPTION
The smoke in the cockpit had gotten so thick it was making his eyes
water.
Went too far up the scale again,
Seymour thought. A sudden
coughing fit took his eyes off his heads-up display. Marshall James
Seymour was glad no Jaguar units were in firing range.
So very tired.
His aging body cried out to crawl back to bed. He rubbed his dry
and burning eyes, the product of forty-eight hours on zero sleep.
In fact, Seymour had left his cockpit seat only twice to stretch his
cramping legs.
He needed a few seconds to compose himself but the screaming
sensors from his secondary radar display indicated another three Clan
‘Mechs approaching at high speeds.
He keyed his comm. “Cobra Two and Four, intercept and delay, I’ll
move in afterward to support.”
Two ‘Mechs, a
Falconer
and a
Rakshasa,
immediately moved to
engage without voicing confirmation.
They’re just as exhausted as I
am.
Most of his remaining troops had fell into a sort of sleepless daze,
their verbal replies short—if anything was said at all.
The acrid smoke in his cockpit had cleared away. From a pouch in
his vest, he pulled out a bent cigarette and a battered lighter.
Dammit,
last one.
He watched his radar, the icons of his companions closing
with the oncoming Jaguars, as he flipped up his neurohelmet visor.
Two of the enemy’s symbols went dark as he inhaled a long drag from
the cigarette.
Absently, Seymour flicked the ash to his left. The ash and butts from
four packs littered the floor of his
Rifleman’s
cockpit.
Mich will kill me for having to clean this up.
He focused on the sole Jaguar ‘Mech that burst past his companions
and slapped his visor shut, the cigarette falling to the cockpit floor.
The computer’s warbook tagged it as a
Hankyu,
a light-class Clan
OmniMech. Its approach would have it clear the foot of the hill in
front of him. Kicking the throttle forward, he centered his lasers on a
distant spot, anticipating the
Hankyu’s
appearance. The boxy Jaguar
‘Mech appeared a few seconds later. Seymour squeezed the triggers
as the targeting dot pulsed on the enemy’s center torso.
Both arm-mounted lasers drilled the center of the smaller machine,
the damage done by his advanced weapons unbalanced the Jaguar
‘Mech and it tumbled to the ground. Heat blossomed once again
in the cockpit. Seymour smiled through the smoky blue haze, his
dangling cigarette burning out.
Not expecting that, were you?
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His
Rifleman
slowed as the rising temperature overwhelmed the
‘Mech’s damaged heat sinks. His Third Guards had netted quite a bit
of Clantech salvage early in the campaign; Seymour had swapped
out his standard lasers for some of the sleeker Clan versions. The
damage curve was worth his constant battle with the ‘Mech’s
overtaxed cooling system.
“Incoming fighters, low and fast from the northwest.” The voice
from the mobile HQ was haggard, unrecognizable. Who was on
watch now—Simms? Howard?
Seymour wrestled with the seemingly inane question as he
instinctively backed off from the unmoving
Hankyu,
raising his
‘Mech’s barrel arms and anticipating the approaching fighters.
His mind clicked through various scenarios as he brought up
an operational map on the HUD. The Jaguar fighters veered west,
angling for his supporting tank platoon. Seymour frowned as he
checked unit positions.
Seymour keyed his comm, “All units withdraw back to perimeter.
No breakthrough today.”
Unlike the last two times they tried to break the Jaguar line around
the LZ, there were no objections. He suspected everyone was as tired
as he was.
A pair of
Vandals
streaked in from the horizon. Cursing silently
for not keeping tabs on them, Seymour fired off all his weapons at
the lead
Vandal
as it started its attack run. Half the lasers connected.
The Clan aerospace fighter shook, the lasers tracing up the nose and
across the cockpit. The mottled gray fighter angled down, then in a
moment of self-preservation, clawed for altitude.
Too late. The
Vandal’s
wing clipped a thick tree as it leveled, forcing
the fighter into a flat spin that ended when it slammed into the
ground. The sleek machine spun apart as it skipped off the rocky soil.
The other
Vandal
broke off its attack run, roaring off before Seymour
could get a bead.
The
Rifleman’s
warning sensors screamed as the HUD’s
radar display painted more contacts. A swarm of incoming
fighters, straight at Seymour’s line.
We may not make it back to the perimeter.
He cued up his lasers, targeting the two lead
fighters. As they roared in close to the hardpan,
Seymour mashed on both triggers. A blast of
heat spiked through the cockpit. Beams of
energy shot out from his
Rifleman’s
arms,
scoring a single hit on their respective
targets. The fighters peeled off from their
attack runs, circling for another approach.
That’s right, focus on me.
“Cobra Actual will provide anti-air suppression during withdrawal,”
he said. “Everyone get behind me, I got your back.”
The Davion icons on his display began turning, pulling back as quickly
as possible. A private channel chimed. Major McCaffee, the last of
his majors.
“Jim, what are you doing?”
“I’m giving suppression fire while withdrawing.”
He could hear the frustration in her reply. “But you aren’t
withdrawing Jim. You’re staying in place. Pull back with the rest of us.”
He sighed, gritted his teeth. “Don’t argue. I’ll be fine. See you back
at base.”
McCaffee did not respond, knowing it would be pointless. Seymour
would not run from those willing to further hurt his boys.
Warning klaxons blared, signaling multiple target locks. He ignored
the two fighters that hammered his
Rifleman
with light autocannon,
squinting into the HUD. His body tensed, willing the Rifleman to
remain standing as his eyes found two more fighters downrange.
Painting them with his target reticules, he fired. The computer
indicated direct hits on both; they were too far away to visually verify.
The heat in the cockpit scorched his lungs.
Just like one of McCaffee’s
sour cigars.
The Jaguar fighters seemed to scream in protest. Seymour grinned.
He’d apparently broken their
zellbrigen,
just as he’d planned. All of the
approaching fighters vectored towards his unmoving
Rifleman.
Which meant his boys would make it back to the perimeter, under
the shelter of Davion DropShip guns.
Sucking in the heat, relishing the pain, Seymour raised his ‘Mech’s
arms at the closest fighter, a
Batu,
and fired.
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Historical turning Points
W
luzerne
TM
elcome to
Historical Turning Points: Luzerne,
a campaign designed to give players the opportunity to fight in one of the land-
mark conflicts of the Inner Sphere’s tumultuous history.
The general information contained in the
Atlas
and
Combatants
sections gives players the tools needed to fight an infinite
number of engagements on Luzerne, while the
Track
section gives details on some of the larger and more pivotal battles of the planetary
struggle. These can also be used with stand-alone games set in 3059.
The
Atlas
section presents a global view followed by some quick facts about Luzerne. Included in this section are terrain tables broken
into various categories. These tables can be used as a random chart to determine the maps used in the tracks, or simply as a guide to
provide ideas on the types of terrain found on the world. This section also contains a list of various additional terrain types, environment,
and other rules that can be used to enhance your game experience. All players should agree whether or not to use any or all of these
features before play.
The
Combatants
section gives details on the units who participated in the conflict and can be used by players who wish to add
authenticity to their game. While the units who actually participated in the battles are noted, in most cases the numbers on each side are
left undetermined. This allows the players to pursue the tracks with different forces as they wish. The rough ratio of forces on each side is
provided as a guideline. Players should feel free to balance the forces in each track as they see fit, whether by battle value, tonnage, total
number of ’Mechs, or whatever else suits them.
The
Tracks
section presents several key battles that occurred on the world, though they are not the only ones. Players wishing to
incorporate these tracks into their
Chaos Campaign
campaigns should use the Warchest Points (WP) listed in brackets. Optional points
are awarded only if the group achieves at least one Objective while using the selected option. Objective points are cumulative as they
are achieved unless otherwise noted.
The
Annex
contains two official Record Sheets. The first is the custom mixed-tech
Grasshopper
of Hauptmann Reynolds Allen, CO of
the Allen’s Animals raiding company, followed by the custom configuration
Ebon Jaguar
of Star Colonel Samantha Kotare, Commander
of the Smoke Jaguar’s Sixth Striker Cluster.
STAR LEAGUE ERA
CREDITS
Project Development:
Ben H. Rome
BattleTech Line Developer:
Herb Beas
Writing:
Nicholas Marsala
Production Staff
Cover Design and Layout:
Ray Arrastia
Evolved Faction Logos Design:
Jason Vargas
Maps and Logos:
Ray Arrastia
Record Sheets:
Johannes Heidler
Factchecking/Playtesting:
Rich Cencarik, Bruce
Ford, Joshua Franklin, Térence Harris, Ken’ Horner,
Stephen C. King, Jason Paulley, Michael Pfister,
Craig Reed, Andreas Rudolph, Eric Salzman, Sam
Snell, John Unchelenko, Chris Wheeler.
For more information on the Battle of Luzerne
and Operation BULLDOG, see
The Dragon Roars
sourcebook by Loren L. Coleman and Chris Hartford.
CLAN INVASION ERA
JIHAD ERA
SUCCESSION WARS ERA
CIVIL WAR ERA
DARK AGE ERA
NOTE!
The last four pages of this PDF are sized for 11” x 17” paper. Please keep
this in mind when printing out the document.
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