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[Riegien]

As the 3140s began, it looked to be a time for the Suns to truly rise ascendant over the madness consuming the Inner Sphere.  The Successor States lay in disarray, taken up in internal disputes and petty warmongering.  The League struggled against the Lyran Commonwealth as it attempted to reform its once great nation.  The Commonwealth itself was taken up in near civil war, until their new allies the Wolves turned on them and they were beset on all sides.  The Falcons have proven themselves to be the barbarians we knew them to be, forming a great horde and killing all who stand in their way.  The Draconis Combine lay bloodied, with their pet clan turning against them and the once great line of Hohiro Kurita snuffed out by squabbling warlords.  The Capellan Confederation had been beaten back from the walls of the Republic, and was injured and exposed.  The Suns were the bulwark of order and justice in the Sphere, bringing freedom to those who were being oppressed by the numerous bandit kings taking over the Republic Remanent.  We were even preparing to make good on Hanse Davion’s legacy to end the threat of Liao to humanity.  We saw this, and knew that we were destined to prevail over the chaff that was our enemies.

We were wrong.

The conflicts began simply enough.  The long fought over Draconis Reach, an area squabbled over by Duke Sandoval and the Combine, was conquered in short order by the Dracs and their Wolf’s Dragoons.  They resisted all attempts by the Draconis March to uproot them from their newly held positions.  Most worryingly, the pleas for assistance from that March fell on deaf ears.  Dutchess Hasek declined, citing the threat of the Capellan Confederation.  First Prince Caleb Davion ignored the requests, focusing on the upcoming invasion of the Confederation.  I failed to send troops as well. Most of our offensive units were pledged to the First Prince’s efforts, and I did not wish to send our best and most noble to the meatgrinder that the Reach had become.  Perhaps it is my folly that has lead to our Realm being in this state.

The Combine was not content with simply ending the long struggle for the Reach.  Soon they struck into our coreward most March, gutting it ruthlessly.  By the end of 3144, Robinson had fallen, and Duke Sandoval had died heroically in defense of our freedoms. Shocked into action, our gallant First Prince relocated to Palmyra to begin a devastating counterblow to the Drac menace.   The blow never came.  His entire command, nearly 13 Regiments, were put to the sword by attacking DCMS forces.  The Dragon still surges forward, reaching into the heart of the Suns towards New Avalon.

Into this chaos, the cowards along our anti-spinward border have leapt at the chance to harm us. The Capellan Confederation razed their way through the Capellan March.  New Syrtis burns now, and the Duchess Hasek has been murdered in retaliation for her will to oppose the Liao. 

So, what now?  We of the Periphery march are alone untouched of the provinces of the Federated Suns.  We can simply turn our backs on our fellows in the other Marches.  We can steel ourselves for the coming storm, in hopes that the vipers ignore us once they reach the heart of the Suns.  Often we have been considered the little brother of the other Marches, not worthy of attention nor of chances to prove ourselves, and none expect us to rise to this calling.  We can match these expectations and simply fade into the shadows. 

Or we can do what none anticipate.  Let us seize this opportunity in defense of our Realm, to prove ourselves equal to those who would disparage us as ‘The Outback’.  We stand in a place to show that the toughness of our worlds and of our lives shines through in our mettle as well.  Our forces are preparing to take this fight to our enemy, to hold back the hordes that threaten the Suns.  And we are not alone.  Julian Davion and his cadre are rushing to aid us in our struggles in a treacherous journey from the Lyran Commonwealth.   Our cousins in the Filtvelt Coalition stand with us, sending their greatest forces to see to our defense.

I call now for volunteers to drive forth into the storm beyond our March’s borders, to see that both our friends and our foes know that we are not simply to be ignored.  We will show that the light of the Suns shines not only from its golden worlds, but throughout every world that its freedoms touch.

-Duke Bernard Marsin Addressing the AFFS on June, October 3145

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Welcome to Suns Descendant, a Cincinnati Battletech Campaign.  The Players will be a combined combat group of volunteers from the Periphery March forces and the Filtvelt Coalition forces assigned to the defense of the Federated Suns in 3145.  This is a time when the Suns are beset on all sides and the defenses to the heart of the realm are crumbling.

The Players represent the First Allied Periphery Combat Group, a short battalion assigned a newly refurbished Magellan Jumpship, the FSS Gorkha and deployed via an old modified ‘82 Refit Triumph Dropship, the FSS Orca (known to its crew as the Distressed Whale).  The mission of the 1st APCG is to act as pathfinder for the main forces, be a fast response unit, harassing forces, and generally being a pain.  The force will be regularly cut off from the main supply lines and is expected to be able to support itself as needed.

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Rules: 
This campaign will use the expanded Warchest Point system as presented in Era Report: 3145.  Each track (mission) will cost a particular number of warchest points to start, and reward warchest points based on objectives reached.  There will be additional bonus points provided or penalties assessed depending on options which are available at track selection.  Warchest points may be converted to Supply Points and spent to improve pilots, repair and rearm units, and purchase new units or pilots.

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Forces: 
The Player forces will be a pool of units that the players will choose from for each mission.  All units will have a 4 gunnery / 5 piloting pilot, with the exception of ASF and WIGE, which will have a 5 Gunnery / 4 Pilot.

The main constraint on the player force is their modified dropship. 
The FSS Orca has room for the following:
Mechs                                   x 20
Heavy Vees (up to 100tons) x 6
Light Vees (up to 50 tons)    x 2
ASF                                      x 4
Battlearmor                 x32 tons

Other Limits:
Maximum of 4 tubes of artillery.

Starting units must come from the MUL Republic Or Darkage era for Filtvelt Coalition, Federated Suns, and IS General Lists.  TRO3145 Federated Suns is also available, as are any units in any of the other TRO 3145 entries that are fluffed to be appropriate.  The following exception applies to the MUL:  If the unit is fluffed to be available for one of those groups but is not on the list yet, we can discuss it being included.  The MUL team may not have caught up with it yet.

BV Limit: 1800 per unit

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Player Roles:
There will be 3 positions that will need to be filled by the players.  These titles do not have to have any grand meaning inside of gameplay, but are shorthand for use out of game.  These may change from player to player if they decide they no longer wish to have this responsibility.

Commander (CO): Final decision maker on Tracks, Track Options, and Forces taken on Tracks.
Executive Officer (XO): Backup decision maker if CO is unavailable for any reason.
Logistics Officer (LO): Tracks how and what Warchest Points are spent, converted to SP, or gained.  Ensures that the GM is notified of these events.

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Warchest System Explained:
The Warchest system is designed to power logistics for a player force through missions.  The Warchest System uses Warchest Points(WP) to handle costs and rewards as the unit advances through the campaign.  These WP represent the logistical power of the unit.

The campaign is broken up into Tracks.  Each Track represents an individual mission, with objectives and possible incidents that are occuring during the completion of the mission.  Each Track has a WP cost associated with it, and specified objectives have a set reward for their completion.  There are options that can be taken that can increase the reward of the track but make it more difficult, or reduce the reward but make it easier to accomplish.  At the end of the day WP are only rewarded if you succeed in your objectives.  Each track only permits a certain number of forces to be present, the rest of the players force being utilized elsewhere offscreen. 

Track Example:
Mission: Headhunting
Attacker enters on their home edge at the start of the mission.  The Player force may be up to 50% of their total force.
Cost: 200WP
Optional Bonuses:
 +50 Inclement Weather: Roll once on the general/weather table in TO and apply the effects to the track
 +125 Known Unknowns:  Opfor publicly designates 2 units as their commander, but only one actually is the commander.

Objectives: 
     Collateral Damage: Cripple/Destroy at least 75% of the opposing force (reward: 150WP)
     Dog Eat Dog: Cripple/Destroy the opposing Commander (reward: 75WP)
     Well Played, Sir!: Players designated commander survives and remains on the battlefield to the end of the track (reward: 75WP)

Assuming the players are successful, they spend 200 WP and will gain 300 WP out of the mission, + any bonuses from the options.  Optional Bonuses are gained so long as at least one objective is reached.

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Spending Warchest Points:
Other than for going on missions, the other big expenditure of Warchest Points is to repair and rearm your units, as well as improve pilot abilities.  To do this you must convert WP to Supply Points(SP). 

Each warchest point can be turned into 10 supply points  Once converted to SP, a warchest point cannot be converted back.  Up to 100 WP may be converted to SP between each track.  SP may be maintained from track to track, not all of them have to be spent immediately.  SP may then be spent as on the table in the Repair and Upkeep Rules thread to maintain the player forces. 

SP may also be spent to improve pilot scores.  These costs are reflected in the second table in the Repair and Upkeep Rules thread.  When advancing skills for personnel who were not included in the previous track, costs are multiplied by 4.

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Renown
As the unit is more successful and gains fame (or infamy) as a competent command, certain barriers to training and logistics will start to fall away.  To reflect this, there is a sliding scale of unit renown.  The scale runs from -5 to 10.  There are a variety of ways to gain fame and fortune for the unit.

Gaining Renown:
  Each successful Mini Campaign - 1pt
  Possible Mission Reward - variable
  Impressing the GM - 1pt
  Spending 300WP to smooze and bribe your way into better circles - 1pt

Losing Renown:
  Outright Failure of a Mini Campaign -1pt
  Depressing the GM - variable
  Possible Mission Penalty - variable

Renown Rewards:
   -5: Once per game, on a 10+ on 2d6, a pilot/crew is reassigned from your command and replaced with a Green pilot/crew
   -4: -300BV2 to current purchase limit
   -2: -300BV2 to current purchase limit 
    0: Nothing
    2: +300BV2 to current purchase limit
    3: Ace Pilot
    4: +300BV2 to current purchase limit
    5: Ace Pilot, Logistics and Repair Upgrade
    6: +300BV2 to current purchase limit
    7: Ace Pilot
    8: +300BV2 to current purchase limit
    9: Ace Pilot
    10: +300BV2 to current purchase limit, Unit Special Ability

Rewards Explaination
   BV Boost or Penalty - Increased faith in your unit's abilities opens up opportunities for equipment that was previously earmarked for other more prestigious units. This amount is added to your current BV limit for purchasing new units from the Federated Suns/Filtvelt Lists.  If you fall below this level after attaining it, the benefit is lost.  Units already purchased will remain.

   Ace Pilot - Increased training and field experience allow one pilot to gain a SPA or Edge point.  This may stack.  If a pilot is killed during a mission, at the end of the current Mini Campaign another pilot may be chosen for this ability.  SPAs with non SPA requirements may be chosen.  If a pilot is already an Ace Pilot, they may use their existing SPA to fulfill a requirement for another SPA. 
Example: Melee Expert > Melee Master.

  Logistics and Repair Upgrade - Removes the doubling of repair and purchase of Advanced IS tech.  Repair and purchase is done at the same rate as Standard tech units.  Clan level tech remains at the elevated rate.

  Unit Special Ability:
    See most examples of units having specialization related abilities.  List to be generated later.