BATTLETECH: ALPHA STRIKE

CAMPAIGN SYSTEM
Based on the Chaos Campaign: Succession Wars Module
 death from above wargaming
credits

WRITING PLAYTESTING
Aaron Falcone, Kevin Peters Aaron Falcone, Thom Berg, Kevin Peters

GRAPHICAL LAYOUT
Aaron Falcone

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campaign system
CAMPAIGN SETUP
The campaign can be setup using the following
steps:
[1] select location and factions
[2] set skill thresholds
[3] set unit type thresholds
[4] set formation limits
[5] set mission average point value
[6] calculate total force point value
[7] select forces
[8] calculate campaign support pool
LOCATION & FACTIONS
First, players decide on where their campaign
takes place, and which factions are involved.
This has no bearing on the mechanics of the
campaign but serves as a backdrop for the
action and can inspire terrain and objective
choices throughout the campaign.
SKILL THRESHOLDS
Agree to a preset minimums and maximums for
skill levels of units to balance gameplay.
Example: Aaron and Kevin agree that each force
is allowed a maximum of one heroic (skill: 1),
two elite (skill: 2), two green (skill: 5), and
unlimited veteran (skill: 3), with a minimum of at
least four non-infantry regular (skill: 4) pilots.
UNIT TYPE THRESHOLDS
Determine the maximum number of units each
force can bring to the campaign, and further
broken down by thresholds by unit type. Typically
combat vehicles are grouped together, though
some players may agree to further limit by
movement mode as well (e.g., VTOL, hover,
jump infantry, etc.).
DFA Tip Our campaigns have a maximum
of 26 units, broken down to:
12 BattleMechs
8 Combat Vehicles (Any)
2 Aerospace Fighters
4 Infantry Units (Conventional or BA)
This roughly coincides with an Inner Sphere
‘mech company with supporting elements.
Remember these numbers are maximums;
Clans will typically field less units.
FORMATION, SPA & SCA LIMITS
Determine if formations, special pilot abilities
(SPAs) and special command abilities (SCAs) will
be allowed, and what limits exist, such as the
number of formations allowed in a mission, or
SCAs per force. This may also forbid these
special rules and formations entirely or limit
them to units of a specific type.
DFA Tip We do not allow infantry to
participate in formations and limit the number
of formations per mission to two per force.
We do not use SPAs granted outside
formation or allow forces to select SCAs due
to implications to mission balance.
MISSION AVERAGE POINT VALUE
Determine the average point value for each
mission in this campaign. This is called MPV.
DFA Tip We typically average 250 PV
games of Alpha Strike.
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TOTAL FORCE POINT VALUE Note: units do not need to be assigned to

Set the total maximum point value for each specific formations at this point unless the
force. This can be determined by multiplying players optionally agree to do so. However, any
the average mission point value (MPV) and pilot-specific SPAs (those not granted by
multiplying it by the minimum number of games formations) must be assigned now and cannot
to win the campaign. change during the campaign. Any SCAs are
also assigned now to the force (or forces, if a
Example: Aaron and Kevin have agreed that they player is running more than one) and cannot
will play a campaign with an MPV of 235, and change during the campaign.
an expectation that it can be won in a minimum
of 3 games. This means the total force PV CAMPAIGN SP POOL
would be 235 x 3 or 705 PV SP, or support points, represent a forces
sustainability over the course of the campaign -
DFA Tip We focus on being able to techs, spare parts, supply lines, and so forth -
complete campaigns in 3-5 games, but this is all of which are limited commodities in battle.
a matter of player preference. This framework SP can be spent between battles to repair
holds up over longer campaigns as well but damaged units, purchase new hardware, and
adjust the total number of units accordingly. hire mercenaries.

To help find the right number of units, you can
divide the Force PV by an average unit value -
we find that 27 PV is a solid range that works
in the succession wars and clan invasion eras
for a combined arms forces – in this example
705/27 = 26 units (rounded).
SELECT FORCES
Each player selects their forces and assigns a
skill level to each unit, usually in the form of a
pilot. This skill level remains attached to this
unit until the unit is destroyed, the pilot is killed,
or the player decides to replace the pilot (see
the downtime section).
When a player picks a unit, that choice includes
a variant or configuration type - this cannot be
changed during the campaign. The only
exception is units with the OMNI special rule,
which will be covered on page 3.
Instead of earning support points through
victory, forces have a prefixed pool of points
that help to put a "timer" on the campaign.
Once a force runs low on SP, they will be hard
pressed to stay in the fight.
Players should agree on an amount of SP that
each force will receive. In tournament play, this
amount should be identical. In narrative play,
the SP values may vary to suit the backdrop of
the campaign.
DFA Tip You can use the following formula
to determine SP:
MPV / 2 (round down)
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OMNIMECHS
Players may choose up to two OmniMech Example: Aaron can select two configurations
for his Avatar since it is an OmniMech. Aaron
configurations for a single unit selection but
must list the chosen configurations on the decides he wants to select the Prime and A
roster. When tallying the force PV, use the configurations. Since the Prime configuration
is the most expensive at 38 PV, he uses this
most expensive configuration modified by skill.
to determine the total cost of the Avatar
An OmniMech configuration may be changed (at (adjusted to 54 PV using a skill 2 pilot).
no cost) during downtime. See the section on
unit repair for more details.
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campaign system
CAMPAIGN BASICS
TRACKS & MISSIONS
Tracks represent the flow of the campaign
based on the wins and losses of each force.
The DFA campaign system expands on this by
abstracting missions from tracks and allowing
the attacker to select a tactically advantageous
mission at each track.
ATTACKER VS. DEFENDER
In the DFA campaign system, the terms
"attacker" and "defender" are relevant to the
mission and not the overarching campaign.
From a narrative perspective, one for is typically
the invader, aggressor, etc.… but that does not
mean the opposing force will not go on the
offense if the tides turn. In that respect, always
consider these terms with respect to the
mission currently being played.
TRACK FLOW
FORCE A VS. FORCE B
Players can either agree or randomly determine
who will be Force A and Force B.
Force A is always the attacker in the Contact
track, but in subsequent tracks, the victor of
the prior track becomes the attacker. A win
for Force A always follows the red lines on the
Track Flow chart, and a win for Force B always
follows the blue lines. If the outcome of the last
track was a draw, players can roll off to
determine which force's line to follow next.
Example: Aaron and Kevin agree that in this
campaign, Aaron's forces will be assaulting
Kevin's territory. Thus, Aaron's force plays the
role of Force A and will be the attacker in the
Contact track. Aaron then would pick a mission
from the Contact track. If Aaron wins, he
remains on the offensive, and would play the
role of the attacker in the Breakthrough track.
Conversely if Kevin wins, he will become the
attacker and pick a mission in the Pursuit
track.
MISSION ESCALATION LEVEL
Missions come in a variety of types, and those
types are further differentiated by an escalation
level - low, moderate, or high. For example, an
"Escort/Low" and "Escort/High" are the same
mission, but feature different mission
parameters such as MBV modifiers and
objective CF.
MBV modifiers affect MPV in Alpha Strike.
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OBJECTIVES & OBJECTIVE POINTS [2] DROP DECLARATION

Each mission has a unique set of objectives. Each player declares the units they are fielding.
These objectives are keyed either to the mission It is acceptable to field damaged units and a
attacker, the mission defender, or both. total battle value less than the adjusted MPV.
Damaged units use their full adjusted PV. If
When a player achieves an objective, they score players are fielding unequal force sizes, there is
the objective points (“OP”) associated with that no force multiplier or other benefit given to
objective. either force.

MARGIN OF VICTORY [3] SELECT HOME EDGE

When the mission is concluded, tally up the The mission defender selects their home edge
objective points accumulated by both players. first; the attacker is assigned the opposite edge
The player with the most objective points is the unless the mission parameters specify
victor unless the mission states otherwise. The otherwise.
victor score an amount of campaign victory
points (“VP") depending on the margin of [3] PLACE OBJECTIVES
success: Follow the mission instructions for placing any
objectives.
A minor victory awards the victor 1 victory
point. [4] DEPLOY
A major victory awards the victor 2 victory The defender deploys the first unit, and then
points. each player alternates placing/moving units
When a draw occurs, neither player scores any onto the battlegrid, unless the mission
victory points. parameters specify otherwise.

See the mission briefing for details on achieving [5] ENGAGE

minor and major victories. Begin the mission and track mission objectives.

COMBAT DFA Tip Remember that any reference to

Combat missions are the focus of campaigns BV or MBV in the mission documentation can
and are resolved by following the parameters simply be replaced with PV or MPV.
described in the mission description.

[1] ADJUST MISSION BATTLE VALUE

To determine the Adjusted MPV, players
multiply the MPV and the mission’s MPV
modifier based on the chosen escalation level.
MPV is the value established in the set mission
average point value step of campaign setup.
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MISSIONS BY TRACK
At the conclusion of each mission, the victorious force becomes the attacker of the next track and
has the benefit of selecting the mission and escalation level. As noted, if the last mission was a
draw, each force rolls 1d6 and the winner of the roll off becomes the attacker.

Missions and escalation levels are restricted by track, so use the table below to determine which
are available to select based on the current track:

Example: Kevin, playing the role of Force B, has just defeated Aaron in the Breakthrough track.
This moves the campaign to the Counterattack track. Kevin decides he wants to do a high
escalation Conquest mission.
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RETREATING Note that the DFA campaign system does not

During a mission, one force may want to consider being immobile through damage,
withdraw certain units from the battle. Any unit critical, and/or motive hits substantial enough
may retreat as long as the distance to their to trigger forced withdrawal.
home edge (ignoring all obstructions) is less
than the distance to the closest enemy. Missions sometimes specify objective points for
crippled units versus destroyed units. In the
A unit must declare it is retreating at the end of case a crippled/withdrawing unit moves off
the movement phase. It cannot shoot or make their home table edge, they are treated as
physical attacks for the remainder of the turn – “destroyed” for purposes of calculating objective
but may be attacked normally. If the unit is not points in the mission.
destroyed, it is removed from play in the end
phase. Units removed in this way are treated Abandoning a ground vehicle does no additional
as “destroyed” for purposes of calculating damage, however, any vehicle that is airborne
objective points in the mission. when abandoned is automatically destroyed
(crashes) and is unsalvageable.
Units can only retreat if:
• the unit has more than 0” MV (maximum) See the DFA Alpha Strike House Rules
• the unit is not immobile documentation for rules on morale.

FORCED WITHDRAWAL AUTOMATIC MISSION TERMINATION

When units take a certain amount of damage,
that unit will begin to fall back towards their
home edge. If a unit is in forced withdrawal, it
is also considered crippled.
The following damage will put a unit into forced
withdrawal:
If the mission terminates automatically (usually
from a turn timer, or if a specific objective is
triggered), any units belonging to the defeated
force immediately retreat, regardless of
distance to enemy units as long as they meet
the other retreat criteria (not immobile, not
unconscious, etc..).

• no armor remaining and only has 50% of If the mission automatically terminates and a
structure remaining (round up) 'mech does not meet these criteria, the pilot
surrenders the unit, and it can be claimed as
• no armor remaining and only one point of
salvage by the victor (see Battlefield Salvage).
structure remaining
• medium and long range damage are both
reduced to 0 (does not apply if the
undamaged unit has a 0 for these stats)
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BATTLEFIELD SALVAGE
At the end of the mission, the victor is able to
claim spoils of war by salvaging reusable
components or entire units in some cases.
When a unit is destroyed on the battlegrid, the
victor can salvage spare parts from that
chassis. In the case of a draw, each force can
salvage their own units only.
INFANTRY
All forms of conventional infantry and battle
armor are unsalvageable.
AIRBORNE UNITS
Any aerospace fighter or combat vehicle that is
destroyed or abandoned while airborne will
automatically crash and is considered
unsalvageable. If they are grounded/landed
when destroyed or abandoned, follow the
normal rules for determining salvage.
SALVAGING ENTIRE UNITS
An entire unit may be salvaged under the
following circumstances:
• the pilot was forced to eject
• the pilot/crew abandoned the vehicle
• the unit suffered enough engine critical hits
to destroy the unit
• the unit suffered a “unit destroyed” critical
hit
• the unit suffered a “crew killed” critical hit
Aerospace fighters can never be salvaged in
this way, unless they were already grounded
when the above criteria were met.
SALVAGING SPARE PARTS
When a vehicle or ‘mech is reduced to zero
remaining structure or is destroyed via an
ammo critical hit, the victor can salvage spare
parts from that chassis. In the case of a draw,
each force can salvage their own units only.
When the victor can salvage a unit for spare
parts, use the following formula to determine
how much SP is gained.
SP gained =
Unit Size
+TMM (current/remaining)
+Armor (undamaged pips, if any)
+Structure (undamaged pips, if any)
+Highest weapon value (remaining)
+1 if the engine has not been damaged
+1 if the unit has suffered no fire control hits
Ammo Explosions
When a unit is destroyed via an ammo explosion
and does not have CASE or CASEII, the victor
only gains the units size in SP for salvage
purposes.
Units with CASE or CASEII are salvaged
normally.
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Example: Aaron is the victor, and during the
battle he destroyed Kevin’s COM-5S Commando:

1 1

Aaron would salvage 1 SP for the size rating, 2

SP for the TMM, no SP for remaining armor or
structure, 1 SP for the highest weapon value, 1
SP for an undamaged engine, and no SP
because the unit has suffered at least one fire
control hit. In total, Aaron would salvage 5 SP.

Note: Remember victors may salvage parts

from destroyed 'mechs in their own force.

“SCRAP IT” SALVAGE OPTION TOTAL DESTRUCTION

In some cases, it may be more cost effective for
the victor to simply salvage spare parts instead
of facing the burden of repair. Instead of
claiming the unit, the victor has the option of
salvage spare parts.
This option must be decided before next track
begins.
If this option is chosen, follow the rules in the
Salvaging Spare Parts section.
When any unit is reduced to zero remaining
structure or is destroyed via an ammo critical
hit, it cannot be repaired.
Notes: A unit destroyed, crew killed, or
multiple engine critical hits does not result in
total destruction. This is intentional.
Also remember that while there are only 1 or 2
engine pips on a card, it requires an additional
hit to disable the unit (e.g. a ‘mech has one
engine pip, but requires two hits to be disabled).
This means when repairing an engine-killed unit,
players must repair this “extra” pip.
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DOWNTIME UNIT REPAIR

During downtime, forces may repair their units
Campaign downtime represents the time
by spending support points. Any unit that
between tracks where forces repair & rearm.
undergoes repairs beyond armor and non-
Downtime occurs after salvage and after the
critical motive hits is not available for use in
next mission is selected by the victor.
the next track. This is called “down for repair”.

RESOURCE TRACKING Support points (SP) can be spent based on the

All players should review their force roster and Unit Repair Table with the following rules:
note any destroyed units and KIA pilots/crews.
Any salvaged units are added to the roster now, • structure must be repaired before armor
and any SP gained through salvaging spare • structure must be repaired before non-
parts is added to the forces SP pool. critical motive hits
• structure must be repaired prior to
MEDICAL TREATMENT repairing any critical hits
Any pilots/crews that were not assigned to the • non-critical motive hits must be repaired
previous mission immediately heal three boxes before motive critical hits
on the condition monitor. Pilots/crews can be • OmniMechs must be fully repaired before
healed further through spending SP (see Unit switching configurations
Repair Table).
UNIT REPAIR TABLE*
When a pilot/crew is healed in this way, the Repair Type SP Cost
damage on the condition monitor is removed Armor 1
immediately. Structure 2
Non-Critical Motive Hit 1
Engine Critical 2 x TMM x Size
Fire Control Critical 4
Weapon Critical (S+M+L)/3 round up
Motive Critical TMM+Size
*applies to all unit types

Example: Aaron's ZEU-9S Zeus has lost 7 pips

of armor, 2 pips of structure, and taken a fire
control critical hit. In order to repair the critical
hit or armor, Aaron would need to repair the
structure. The cost would be as follows:

Structure (2 pips) 4 SP
Fire Control (1 hit) 4 SP
Armor (7 pips) 7 SP
________________________________________________________
Total Repair Cost 15 SP
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FORCE MANAGEMENT Example: After mission 1, Aaron's Cyclops has

Sometimes forces can quickly become depleted, taken 2 engine hits. Aaron decides the Cyclops
and victory is nearly impossible without will be too costly to repair, and instead decides
reinforcements. This campaign system allows to purchase a VND-1R Vindicator with a
for three kinds of reinforcement – pilot/crew Veteran pilot.
management, unit purchases or mercenary
hires. The VND-1R has a base PV of 27, and with a
Veteran (skill 3) pilot, the cost of the Vindicator
PILOT/CREW MANAGEMENT increases to 32 PV. The final cost of the unit
As mentioned in the select forces section, will be 32 SP, and the 'mech will be delivered in
pilots/crews remain attached to their unit for time for the beginning of mission 3.
the duration of the campaign. However, in
some circumstances, force commanders may MERCENARY HIRES
need to replace them. In the case a pilot/crew Sometimes the cost and time associated with
is replaced, a new pilot/crew can be hired at purchasing a unit is too costly. Alternatively,
a cost of 5 SP. mercenary units can be hired at an SP cost
equal to the unit's adjusted PV divided by 2,
Once a pilot/crew is replaced, it is permanent, rounded up. These units are available
and the old pilot/crew is removed from the immediately.
roster. A pilot/crew hired in this way are
always regular [4/5] skill level. Pilot/crew Mercenary units do not need to be repaired and
hires occur instantly and can be done during the are simply removed from the campaign after
drop declaration step. the mission. New mercenary units can be hired
in successive missions.
UNIT PURCHASES
Forces may opt to buy new units at an SP cost DFA Tip High skill mercenaries will be very
equal to the unit's adjusted PV. These units expensive, so we recommend a skill 3 cap on
are permanently added to the roster. mercenaries. Typically, the available SP will
prevent outrageously skilled pilots in very
Purchased units do not come equipped with any powerful mechs.
crew, which means the player can opt to move
an existing pilot/crew into the new unit or
purchase a new pilot/crew as described in the
Pilot/ Crew Management section. If an
existing pilot is moved, the move must be to a
unit of the same type (e.g., mech, combat
vehicle, etc..) and the move is permanent.

Purchases take one entire track to complete.

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VICTORY & DEFEAT
VICTORY
When once force reaches the Victory track or
accumulates 5 VP, that force wins the
campaign.
SURRENDER
At any point in the campaign, a force
commander may surrender. In this case, the
other force wins the campaign.
ATTRITION
If only one force has no available units (either
destroyed or down for repairs), then the other
force wins the campaign.
DRAW
In the case that both forces have no available
units on their roster (and lack the SP to repair
them), then the campaign is a draw and there
is no winner.
CEASE FIRE
In the case that both forces have no available
units on their roster but have SP for repairs,
the campaign will move into a cease fire.
Forces may also voluntarily agree to a cease fire
round. In a cease fire, the campaign is
advanced as if a mission was played without
changing the track. Then immediately move to
downtime and proceed as normal; essentially, a
cease fire allows for back-to-back downtime.
After the cease fire is over, the last winner
picks the next mission and escalation.
Example: Kevin (force B) won the Escort mission
in the Pursuit track, and the campaign has
advanced to the Secure track. All the
remaining units are badly damaged, and the
forces agree to a cease fire.
Another downtime occurs, and repairs from the
prior downtime are completed; all units are
back in action.
The campaign is still on the Secure track, and
because Kevin won the last played mission, he
picks the Battle Lines mission and high
escalation.