Exploding Mechs on Solaris VII

 Battletech is the grand-daddy of Sci-Fi wargaming. Every hobbyist, at some point in their journey from newbie to gray-haired grognard, will have at least one mech in their collection. It is a classic, with solid mechanics and a lot of room for narrative customization. And, if there is anything I love in miniature gaming, it's good rules that can play out the weird stories I make up in my head. So, thanks to my buddy Jeremy, a group of us at Endgame have fallen face first into a Solaris VII campaign.

The Dead Crows (Enforcer, Griffin, Catapult, Zeus)

Solaris makes for a really fun and friendly setting. For the uninformed, Solaris VII hosts gladiator-style combat in various arenas. For this campaign, the players have each created a stable with mechwarriors and mechs that will compete against other stables for glory and credits. This has been setup as a summer campaign, and last night was our third meet-up as a group. My Dead Crows was matched up against David's Dat Boi Stables, and it was an instant classic. So, in order to capture the legendary battle, I decided to write a narrative battle report. Hope you enjoy it, and happy Friday!

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"Sweet Odin's Asshole!", screamed Thor Josefson as the Hunchback's AC-20 lit into his Griffin's chest. He returned fire with a beam of energy from his PPC and attempted to slink back into cover. Attempted being the operative word. The 55 ton machine's legs gave out and crashed through the woods and smashed into the perimeter wall. 

 "The bastard took out my gyro", Thor murmured after he caught his breath. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and stroked his braided brown beard as the machine picked itself up from the ground. All the armor on his right torso was gone. He could vaguely see the Hunchback sulking on the other edge of the wood. Thor saw his opportunity and ran into the open, hoping to catch his opponent unaware. The Griffin wobbled drunkenly into position. As he raised his PPC to fire, Thor's mech swayed and crashed into the wall. The energy beam caught the Hunchback in the left torso. Melted armor slagged off the mech as it fell to it's knees. But joy quickly turned to fear as Thor saw the red beam fly from the knocked-out Hunchback's medium laser.

It caught the Griffin in a large hole in the mech's torso. The ruby red energy burned through a thin layer of steel and hit the first of sixteen rounds of long-range missiles. 

Thor ejected high in the air, propelled by the massive explosion of his destroyed mech. The crowd cheered along with the massive explosion. Their eyes trained on the fireworks. Thor cared not for explosions. He had seen many in his glorious mercenary career. His joy came when he saw the Hunchback fall face first into the mud of the arena. Thor had escaped. With his life, and most importantly, another destroyed mech for the standings.