Battletech Campaign #15: Old Dogs, New Tricks

A House Steiner Trebuchet I painted over 20 years ago, in desperate need of refurbishment and rebasing.

With the supplies of their Kurita employers dwindling, Razor's Raiders have been maneuvering for their final assault on Lyran positions across the ice world of Parakoila.

After their heartbreaking loss during their last mission, Captain Razor directed the final repairs on Sgt. Cooler's Locust and dispatched the recon lance on a final scouting sortie.

Battletech Campaign #14: Situation Normal

After our straightforward last battle, I decided to offer my son a different type of recon mission. It would be challenging and risky, but offered a hefty reward in intel.

As Captain Razor lead his battered but victorious lance back to base he received a communication from their aerospace allies who spotted unusual enemy activity. The Lyrans had dispatched a small force to the battlefield and were sifting through the rubble in search for something. If they acted quickly, a different lance could be dispatched from the mercenaries' hidden base to intercept them. If the Lyrans recovered any sort of communication cyphers or equipment they'd be loaded in an "HQ" transport vehicle. A mercenary lance would simply need to reach the HQ vehicle, pick it up and make a hasty getaway back to base.

Weighing his options Captain Razor decided to proceed with the mission. Disappointingly, his recon lance was still nursing a Locust with a shattered gyro. Rather than risking further damage to the mech, the mercenaries' main battle lance was given the green light to suit up and race to the theater of operations instead.

Battletech Campaign #13: Speed is Cover

After our last unsatisfying game of Battletech, my son and I were eager to get back to the Inner Sphere. We managed to sneak in an extra game this week, and it thankfully lived up to our expectations.

Battletech Campaign #12: We're on a Road to Nowhere

Resting and repairing after their latest victory, the jubilant mercenaries of Razor's Raiders received an additional bit of good news. A message from the Lyran defenders of Parakoila broadcast over open radio frequencies acknowledged their latest victory and opened the possibility of a prisoner and mech exchange.

“Gutan tag, pirate dogs. I am Leutnant-Colonel Wagner of the 19th Lyran Guards. We have two of your mechwarriors and their crippled battlemechs, captured during a previous sortie. We are willing to conduct a prisoner exchange for our mechwarriors and battlemechs in your custody, according to the rules of war.”

Battletech Campaign #11: Evacuate? In Our Moment of Triumph?

Once more Razor's Raiders took to the field, in the only available mechs they could cobble together. Having succeeded at securing vital supplies my son's mercenaries were able to get a few mechs in working order, patched together enough to mount another assault on a Lyran supply depot. Dropped behind enemy lines in the year 3002 though, none of his mechs were in perfect working order. The Phoenix Hawk had permanent damage to one of its arms, the Griffin was bearing battered armor from a previous sortie, and Captain Razor's Dragon was harboring a knocked out LRM launcher and half its armor across its torso. Only the Centurion of Sgt. "Snag" Exof was in pristine condition, a status that wouldn't last long once battle was joined.

Battletech Campaign #10: Nasty, Brutish, and Short

With supplies commandeered from a local garrison, my son's mercenaries — Razor's Raiders - began preliminary planning for a more direct strike at Lyran defenses on the ice world of Parakoila. Using the influx of armor and ammo to repair a few of his light mechs, the mercenary commander decided to send a scouting force on a reconnaissance mission to gather data on troop movements to make subsequent assaults less risky.