8 Tracks

Commanders earn C-bills to spend on their forces through completing scenarios and accomplishing objectives. Scenarios are often be built to represent lore and objectives relevant to specific worlds in the Outworlds Wastes. Narrative based scenarios may include special rewards, such as recovering equipment from the 61^st Royal Jump Infantry Division so a commander can add advanced jump infantry units to their force.

8.1 Play Formats

Tracks may be played wish BattleTech or Alpha Strike. League organizers may use additional formats, such as BattleTroops.

Use the rules for the track format to define terms such as destroyed and crippled for the purposes of achieving objectives.

To convert a unit skill levels from BattleTech to Alpha Strike, take the average of the Piloting and Gunnery skills, rounded down (see p. 29, AS: CE).

8.2 Optional Rules

Tracks may use optional rules if each side agrees. Some common optional rules include

Alternate Munitions: BattleTech: BattleMech Manual p. 106-108, BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Units and Equipment p. 164, BattleTech: Alpha Strike Commander’s Edition p. 143-150

Forced Withdrawal: BattleTech: Total Warfare p. 258, BattleTech: Alpha Strike Commander’s Edition p. 127

Sprinting: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 16

Vehicle Lance Movement: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 22

Floating Criticals: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 75

Firing When Down: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 83

Machine Gun Rapid-Fire Mode: BattleTech: Tactical Operations Advanced Rules p. 100

Enhanced Flamers: BattleTech: BattleMech Manual p. 99

Multiple Attack Rolls: BattleTech: Alpha Strike Commander’s Edition p. 175

Front Loaded Initiative: If, prior to any pair of movement or attack declarations, one team has more units left to declare for as the other team, the team with more units declares for two units rather than one. If one team has at least twice as many units, it declares for three each time, and so on.

Fire For Effect: Weapon attack declaration and resolution occur simultaneously during the Weapon Attack Phase. Attacks are resolved in initiative order, per the usual rules. A unit destroyed during the Weapon Attack Phase will still fire.

8.3 Mismatch

8.4 Balancing

One of the goals of BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes is to foster a friendly and welcoming environment. A mix of experience levels between commanders is expected. Here are some options to help balance tracks so game play is welcoming while also staying fresh and challenging:

Setup: When setting up a track, slight preference should generally be given to the commander whose force has the lower total BV, including all units and pilots. For example, the commander with the lowest total BV could be offered the choice between attacking and defending. For a track with a terrain setup phase, the commander with the lowest total BV could be offered the first placement of terrain pieces.

2v2: Many tracks are described as 1v1; however, these tracks often support team play, such as 2 players on each side. When playing on teams, experience should be divided roughly equally between the two teams. Teammates are encouraged to collaborate on strategy for the track.

8.5 Casual Tracks

Narrative tracks are provided by the league organizers, but BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes also supports casual games between forces. Each side must agree upon the format, scale, turn limits, and optional rules before the track starts.

Some sample primary objectives are included below. These scenarios generally assume a Scale 1 force and 5-7 turns of play.

8.5.1 Primary Objectives

1. Reconnaissance: The map contains 15 buildings, 7 of which contain hidden objectives. Place the buildings randomly or each side takes turns placing the buildings. The defender secretly rolls to determine which buildings hold the objectives. Attacking units may search buildings during the End Phase if they are in the target hex (in base to base contact) and no enemy units are in the target hex. The search is successful on a 2D6 roll of 7+ for ’Mechs and ground combat vehicles or 5+ for infantry. An attacking unit with an active probe may instead search 1 building within range of its active probe on a 2D6 roll of 6+. The attacker earns 1 point for each objective they find and the defender earns 1 point for each objective remaining hidden.
2. Supply Raid: 3-7 supply depots are on the map, near the center. Each supply depot has 1-3 loads of supplies. Any unit with hands or cargo capacity can load supplies from the depot if they are in the same hex as a supply depot (in base to base contact) during the End Phase. A ’Mech with hand actuators must declare which hand is holding the supplies. For units with cargo capacity, a friendly infantry unit must load or unload the supplies during the End Phase. Units involved in loading or unloading supplies cannot make weapon or physical attacks during that turn. A ’Mech carrying supplies can’t fire arm weapons (does -2 damage). The supplies have negligible weight. There is no movement penalty and jumping units may still jump while carrying supplies. Carrying supplies does not decrease the infantry space in a combat vehicle, but all standard infantry mount and dismount rules still apply. ’Mechs carrying supplies in their hands may drop the supplies at any point during their movement. The supplies are automatically dropped if the carrying ’Mech falls or goes prone. Units with cargo capacity must be unloaded by a friendly infantry unit. Each side cannot retrieve more supplies from the same supply depot until the current supplies from that depot are scored. A unit carrying supplies earns 1 Victory Point for bringing the supplies to their home edge.
3. Zone Control: 3, 5, or 7 objectives are distributed on the map. The locations of the objectives dramatically changes the gameplay. The basic configuration is 3 objective along the center of the map and 1 objective halfway between the center and each home edge. A side controls an objective if only their units are in or adjacent to the objective (within 2"). During the End Phase, the side that controls the most objectives earns 2 Victory Point. If each side controls the same number of objectives and controls at least 1 objective, then each side earns 1 Victory Point for that round.
4. Base Defense: 7 buildings are on the defenders side of the map. Each building is medium with a construction factor of 60 (6) and 1-3 levels high (1"-3"), unless the players agree upon a different configuration. The attacker earns 1 Victory Point for each building destroyed and the defender earns 1 Victory Point for each building remaining.
5. King of the Hill: A hex in the center of the map contains a building with valuable files. The building is medium with a construction factor of 60 (6), unless the players agree upon a different configuration. The force earns 1 Victory Point for every turn that they have the only infantry units inside of the building at the end of the turn. Commanders may add additional bunkers to the center of the map.
6. Assassination: A VIP needs to be escorted across the battlefield. The defender selects a medium or heavy ’Mech from the Periphery General or Pirates list. The VIP is a Gunnery 5/ Piloting 4 (Skill 4) pilot and half of the adjusted BV/PV of the ’Mech counts against the defender’s BV/PV limit. The VIP’s ’Mech must cross the map from the defender’s home edge to the attacker’s home edge. The attacker earns 10 Victory Points if this ’Mech is destroyed or 5 Victory Points if this ’Mech receives crippling damage. The defender 10 Victory Points if this ’Mech does not receive crippling damage or 5 Victory Points if this ’Mech is crippled but not destroyed. The turn limit for this scenario is based upon the terrain and movement profile of the VIP’s ’Mech.
7. Extraction: Extract 1-3 hidden infantry teams. For each hidden unit, the attackers select a hex within 4 rows (8") of the defenders home edge and more than 4 hexes (8") away from the other edges of the map. A unit with at least 1 ton of cargo capacity can pick up the target by being in the same hex as a target during the End Phase. The target is not destroyed if the carrying unit is destroyed. The attackers earn 1 Victory Point for each team extracted and the defenders earn 1 Victory Point for each extraction prevented.
8. Recovery: 4-6 disabled ’Mechs are equally spaced along the map diagonal. A unit of equal or higher weight class can drag a target ’Mech. A friendly unit must be in the same hex (in base to base contact) as the target ’Mech during the End Phase to start dragging it. Units without hand actuators must use 1 turn securing the target ’Mech. The dragging unit has a 1/2 reduction in their walking MP and cannot jump. A target ’Mech cannot fire weapons in one arm (does -1 damage). A unit earns Victory Points based upon the Alpha Strike size category of ’Mech returned to their home map edge.

8.5.2 Additional Options

This list of casual objectives is not exhaustive. Commanders may develop and play alternative tracks as long as the tracks are not intended to cheat the spirit of the rules or otherwise give the commanders unfair advantages. Commanders are encouraged to develop tracks that match the lore of their forces. For example, a pair of commanders for Clan forces may agree to a Trial of Possession or a commander of a Solaris VII force may challenge another force to a televised duel.

These objectives may be adapted to best support the narrative the players are creating, as long as all commanders agree. Any additional restrictions or conditions for the track need to be agreed upon by all commanders before the track starts. The outcome of the track may result in transfer of SP, personnel, or units between forces if that is agreed upon before the track starts.

These alternative tracks may include an SP payment but do not have to. If the track includes an SP payment, it should stay close to the 100% Base Pay limit for the Scale. If the track is smaller than Scale 1, reduce the payment accordingly. For example, a duel between two 1,500 BV ’Mechs could have prize of 250 SP for the winner.

8.6 Instant Action

BattleTech: Instant Action is a custom scenario pack for BattleTech that is intended to add depth and variety to pickup games. BattleTech: Instant Action includes 15 tracks and rules for integration into BattleTech: Chaos Campaigns from the BattleTech: Mercenaries box set and Hot Spots: Hinterlands sourcebook. These missions can be used to expand the number of casual tracks available for BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes.

BattleTech: Instant Action is available as a free PDF to download online at

https://victorypointproductions.neocities.org/instantaction.

8.7 Narrative Tracks

Narrative tracks for BattleTech: Outworlds Wastes: Chaos Campaign are in development.