I was reminded about awarding unit replacements in the wake of the end of this Mission. So, I'm going to start with the awarding of units and then explain my rationale and thoughts on things moving forward. The unit has the following in its reserves:
Guillotine GLT-4PDS
CPLT-C1 Catapult
RFL-5M Rifleman
Wolverine WVR-6M
CRB-27 Crab
PLG-3Z Pillager
Phoenix, having sustained the heaviest losses is awarded the Pillager. Bright, Ice and Reaper will each be awarded a single mech of the remaining. Ideally they will come to an agreement. Priority will be given to a lance who will field the unit. If two or more will be using a unit for the same purpose, we'll randomly determine and go from there.
Explanation
I will start this by saying that in reviewing the status of member lances post mission/contract and before opening unit stores, the only lance that is questionable on being able to deploy is Phoenix. Two of Ryan's 4 mechs are crippled/being repaired, the Spartan needing a few more parts to be fully functional. Hopefully the Marauder is salvageable. It is repairable, but includes the loss of a torso with an XL engine in it, so we'll see. Phoenix also only has 4 pilots now, his PC, 1 heavy and 2 light. Assuming 4 functional units, Phoenix is deployable, but may suffer from weight mismatch penalties. Every other lance on mission (Bright, Freya, Ice, Reaper) I believe could be deployed at the start of a new contract given that would be at least a couple of months out with at worst the same mismatch of weight. I am not claiming that all or any of those lances would be BV optimized or running in ideal conditions. They'd be playable though.
I am going forward with providing each lance that lost 2 Mechs 1 in compensation for 3 reasons. First, the unit has 6 mechs in stores and they are kept for when they can help. Second, the BLC on this contract is 10% which make the losses harder to swallow. Third and the strongest reason is that the end left a bad taste in some people's mouths.
That said and having been told more of these deadly missions are coming, don't necessarily expect the same next time. I know we all play the game with different expectations and different things we look to get out of it. Mech losses should probably be more common than they've gotten at least without folks actively withdrawing units from the field or at least from the fighting. That's perhaps mitigated by being able to recover from 2 gyro or 3 engine hits. Sometimes it happens by bad luck. The culmination of a contract though, reaching that critical battle, should probably have more losses expected at least in equipment. At the very least it should feel more dangerous. It sounds like Rob will be ampping up the risk of loss. If that's a problem, I'd talk to him. I would hope it isn't. I also take him at his word that the risk will be spread around, and the next really dangerous mission with destroyed mech expectations of 2 will hit other folks.
I'm in it for the story, the challenge and the fun of playing with the rest of you. Despite all of Ryan's losses he enjoyed the game. My first inclination is still going to be looking at managing the unit through in character eyes - and Kato is different than me. That does not make me unwilling to take suggestions or find IC justifications if my initial plans don't sit well with folks. That doesn't guarantee though I'll see it your way. If you have concerns or issues with how I'm managing things, tell me.
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Topic: Operation SOVNYA Mission 5 - 6-25-54 (Read 1180 times)