VEHICLE AVAILABILITY MODIFIERS TABLE

*Do not apply this modifier if the player is seeking a specific ‘Mech or vehicle model.

†Minor damage refers to armor/structure damage that does not destroy a limb or section, or any damage that requires no replacement parts to restore, such as a single critical hit to a multi-slot system. Major damage requires replacement of a critical or vital system (weapon, cockpit, life support, engine, gyro or limbs/sections) in order to make the vehicle battle worthy. Salvage indicates the vehicle is missing two or more vital systems (cockpit, life support, engine, gyro or vehicle/fighter section) entirely.

RUNNING A MERCENARY FORCE

the price by 5 percent. CBT: RPG players may use an opposed Negotiation Skill Check to try to reduce this asking price, per the rules in the Classic BattleTech Companion, p. 246. Players not using the CBT: RPG method may instead choose to renegotiate the price with a third 2D6 roll as above, but the third result stands even if it is worse.

Once ordered, physical supplies take 7 – (1D6 + Vehicle Availability Modifier) months to arrive, multiplied by the number of vehicles purchased, divided by 4. This time may be modified by the logistical administrator’s Bureaucracy Skill Margin of Success (if using CBT: RPG) or experience (if using BattleTech) per the Supply Arrival Table shown under Purchasing Supplies. However, no matter the dice roll result, it takes at least a month for the new machines to arrive.

Vehicles purchased with pre-existing damage must have such damage randomly resolved. For minor damage, roll 2D6; the result is the number of five-point armor hits the vehicle has taken, distributed randomly and ignoring any critical hits that completely destroy a weapon system or piece of equipment. Apply major damage the same way as minor damage and then randomly roll 1D6 critical hits. For salvage, apply the same damage as for minor and major, and then make two 1D6 rolls. On a result of 1–2, the engine is destroyed; 3–4 means a destroyed gyro; 5 is a destroyed cockpit; and 6 represents the loss of three limbs (chosen randomly). For vehicles and aero- space fighters, replace a gyro result with a lost section and lost

limbs with lost vehicle sections. Battle armor that has sus-

tained minor damage has lost 1D6 armor points (to a minimum of 1 point); major damage is the same plus the loss of one weapon system. A salvaged battlesuit has 1 point of armor and is either missing two weapons or cannot move, requiring repairs at 50 percent of the battlesuit’s original cost.

Trey runs a mercenary command in a non- gamemastered BattleTech campaign. His command lost one BattleMech during its recent contract and needs to purchase a new one. Having returned to Outreach for a replacement, with 15 million C-bills to spend, Trey sets out in search of a new medium ’Mech. He wants a good ’Mech, but isn’t picky about the specific model. He decides to search for a medi- um-weight BattleMech that uses Star League-era (Level 2) technology and is in excellent condition. Trey’s mercenary commander—generated using the fast commander generation method—has the Contact and Well-Connected traits, as well as a high Negotiation Skill. However, he also has an Enemy Trait. The mercenary command has a Dragoons Rating of C (and a C Technology Rating as well), and boasts a logistical administrator. In consulting the table, Trey notes that Outreach’s location in the Chaos March applies a +1 modifier, and his desire for Star League tech adds +2. Because he is looking for a medium BattleMech, a +1 modifier applies (0 for

medium, +1 for ’Mech) and “excellent condition” adds another +1. The commander’s Contact and Well Connected traits add –1 each (for a total –2 modifier) and his Negotiation Skill adds another –1. His Enemy Trait adds +1, but is fortunately offset by the logistical administrator’s –1 bonus. The total modifiers to the 2D6 roll are +2, giving Trey a Target Number 8 to acquire a ’Mech that meets his criteria.

Trey rolls and gets a 6, failing to obtain the desired machine. Burning 1,000 C-bills, he makes a second roll and gets a 9, indicating he’s found a machine that meets his requirements. Because the mercenary com- mand is presently on Outreach, Trey rolls on the Random Unit Assignment Table for a medium ’Mech with a B Tech Rating (because he requested Star League-era technology). The roll result is 8, netting Trey’s command a KW1-LH3 Lineholder. This BattleMech features Star League-era weapons and is in excellent combat condition, meeting all Trey’s criteria. He rolls again to determine the price, applying the orig- inal +2 modifier to the result, and gets a final result of 6. This result is 2 points below the Target Number of 8, and so Trey finds the asking price is 10 percent higher than the base price (2 x 5 = 10). The cost of this model

Lineholder—normally 4,621,686 C-bills—thus becomes

5,083,655 C-bills (4,621,686 + 10 percent = 5,083,654.5, rounded to 5,083,655).

Because Trey was prepared to pay up to 15 million on his purchase, he takes the new Lineholder, a steal at just over five million C-bills!

Personnel

Occasionally, mercenary commands that are expanding or that have lost personnel to combat action, retirement or some other chain of events may need to recruit additional manpower. As with buying a new BattleMech or vehicle, this is not simply a matter of throwing C-bills around. Trained warriors, technicians and such are a rare breed, with most already happily employed by another faction, mercenary command or nation-state. However, a mercenary command that has earned a reputation has some advantages over less fortunate forces.

To recruit new personnel, the mercenary command typi- cally puts out Warrior Wanted ads that may draw a flood of potential applicants. To determine how many potential recruits show promise, the mercenary player rolls 2D6 after spending a month sifting through applicants. Add the appropriate modifiers from the Recruiting Modifiers Table below, based on the merce- nary command’s present hiring hall (the hall from which it took its last contract), its main force type, the desired recruit type, the mercenary command’s equipment or Dragoons rating and other factors as applicable.

Cross-reference the result of the modified 2D6 roll on the Recruits Table to see how many candidates made the cut. To

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determine the quality and equipment of these new recruits, use the identifying forces rules in Creating a Mercenary Force, p. 144. Hiring any or all of these recruits costs a mercenary com- mand two months’ worth of standard pay for the

new recruits’ quantity and type. New recruits

arrive one month after they are purchased.