Core Campaign Act 3

interlude

DO NOT READ UNTIL YOU FINISH MISSION 7. Each team makes an upgrade choice then answers the story questions.

Leaving a small scientific attachment at the ancient refineries you begin the trip back to the sunken sites. Your convoy is loaded down with resources and the new Rillium material.

Along the way a corrosive storm overtakes you without warning, it is much more severe than usual even for the wastes. Fortunately, your scouts had already identified potential underground shelters on the trip out and marked them.

In the wasteland one is prepared or one is dead.

Taking haven in the caverns you begin to wait out the multi-day tempest. Somewhere out there, you suspect your enemy is doing the same; if they found shelter at all.

UPGRADE CHOICE

To keep your teams busy more than anything else you order a full maintenance overhaul of all equipment as well as tactical drills. The research teams are eager to try to adapt the data and materials you recenlty harvested. Do you have the teams focus on the infantry or on the mechs?

Experimental Infantry Tactics: you may select one new support unit upgrade to try during the next mission. Afterwards, you can permanently exchange it for a support upgrade you already own.

OR

Did you complete one of the Retrieval Raid Secondary Objectives from Mission 4: Sieze the Capital?

No. During a lull in activities an emissary from a minor faction that is working with your technical teams requests to see you. “Commander I have not had a chance to thank you for protecting our interests back in the capital. During those final days many took advantage of the chaos to seek revenge or raid the minor factions. Your integrity in not doing so is what convinced us to make the crossing and join you. We would like to offer a contribution to your team. Here are some of the schematics that the raiders never found. Coupled with our research into these new materials I believe we can give your mech’s an edge.

You may purchase one Refined Rillum Spike for half price. This purchase can be made before any remaining mission of the campaign.

Yes. While waiting out the storm there is massive explosion in one of the caverns. A detachment of support unit personnel and their vehicles are lost to a cave in. Your investigators believe it to be sabotage but do not know who the responsible party is.

Your team only has 5 support units available during the next mission rather than 6. Which color this is subtracted from is your choice.

Mech Salvage You may scrap one item you own to apply its full purchase value towards any other standard item. You must make this purchase now.

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COMMAND RTSCore Campaign Act 3

Core Campaign ACT

Did at least one team complete 7 scans in the last mission, #7 Minefield? If so then the table may read the following flavor text:

A technician comes to you with a pile of data tablets. “Commander, sir, I... “ he spills several tablets onto your desk and floor then busies himself picking them up. “There is something very strange about the local networks here. The software is extremely sophisticated; but we could not locate the physical hardware that was running them. They appear to be linked to a system at the sunken sites. We could only see a few levels into the network and then our tablets would go inert. Every one of them”, he says as he shows you blackened and fused device after device.

3

A New world

“I do not understand how that is even possible to do to a remote device... But before it did, each time it would... allow us... to see other geographic locations on the network.

Also, one last thing. The data packets that directed us to the locations were encoded with the source I.D. of the sending server; its signed Data Broker XY but we could also see it has the internal user-tag of “Aigent”. Strangely that user-tag has been logged conducting network operations for over 200 years...”

You thank the technician, tell him to keep you apprised, then tag him and his team for commendation.

Several are located under the city ruins you fought the enemy in during the journey from the Capital. It shows there are active systems there, life support, water treatment plants and they all appear to be powered and functioning. But there are more locations sir, half a dozen more, at least, deeper in the wastes, beyond anything we could survive in.

Turning one of the blackened tablets in your hands you cannot help but wonder where the original data caches that set the war into motion came from. Why now, after centuries were they ‘discovered’?

You shake yourself out of the reverie and order a quiet recon back to the city ruins. Some larger underground facilities could be vital to the growing civilian population.

Now, back to work, we have a war to win.

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MECH COMMAND RTS Core Campaign Act 3

Mission eight briefing

Commander, in your absence continued exploration and extraction has halted. While initializing some of the sunken cities’ production plants and reactors using salvaged Rillium, our advanced teams have awoken automated defenses that killed thousands. Now the enemy has returned in force as well. Our priority is to eliminate these threats so we can return to extracting resources and technology from the sunken cities. Kill the enemy and if possible, secure the sites to take control of the automatons. Be careful! We have sent the bulk of our civilian support away for their protection, thus there is only limited respawn available for your mechs.

Setup: Use the photo from the end of mission 6 to determine what buildings to place, including base buildings. Base buildings are equipped with 2 missile turrets as before, (medium range: 6, damage: 3). Note that a single turret token may be used to mark a building that has turrets (in case you are short turret tokens.).

Place a LOCUST mech miniature (or any available mech if being used) in the center hex of the sunken cities. The double stack buildings have infinite health as usual. You can use behemoths if owned, track movement with the right foot. It can pivot 360 degrees freely each time it completes a boost.

Mission Overview: There is limited respawn! Complete 1 of the following victory conditions:Military Suppresion: Kill 4 enemy mechs.AI Dominance: Have both AI Mechs adjacent to the enemy’s colored base hexes during recharge.

special Mission parameters

AI Rampage. During the damage phase, uncontrolled AI mechs cause 5 damage to all units within short range and LOS and can hit support units at range. (Still only 1 damage cube.) It does not attack between elevations. The rampaging mech then boosts 3 hexes towards the closest base building or base hex. If there is a choice between possible hexes, the team with the non-target base decides which one it moves to. For exact ties between bases, it boosts towards the team with most victory points.

AI Hack. Control and operate a sunken city to take control of its AI mech for the next round. Place a color token on the site when you operate it, remove your token if you did not. If you remove your token you lose control of the AI and it begins the next round wherever it was left, rampaging or in the control of the opposing team if they sucessfully operated its sunken city. Destroyed AI mechs respawn using the light mech space.

Controlling an AI Mech. AI mechs have 15 health, 2 energy gems, a 3 hex arial boost and a short range, 5 damage attack. Boosts and attacks cost 1 gem each. To operate the AI mech any team-mate may declare its action and place a gem next to its miniature then complete its action. Track its unspent gems and any damage its taken by storing them on hexes in its sunken city. AI gems recharge every round. The AI’s attack requires line of sight, but can target support units at range, (support units only take 1 damage cube as usual.)

Note that controlled AI mechs do not have the rampage attack just singular attacks for 1 gem each. They are considered allies in all aspects, (movement, controlling objectives etc...), but can still be attacked by the controlling team if they choose to.

Limited Respawn. Like in Mission 5: Ruins, players can only respawn with mechs from their inventory that have not been destroyed yet. The respawn rate is determined by the new mech’s weight.

Secondary Objective: Bolster the Defenses. Have both base build sites constructed at the end of the mission. As in mission 6, all non-base buildings on this map are resource collection points. Spend 12 resources during the recharge phase to construct a base building with defensive turrets. (Review mission 6 if necessary.)

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If a team has only 2 victories read the following: Greetings Commander, its your Spec Ops liaison. The capital has gone to hell, even for me. So I made the crossing in your absence. We got bored waiting for you so my teams infiltrated one of these sites and I’ve got this big fellow all dialed in. Enjoy!

Begin the mission with an uplink point of your choice under control and thus its AI mech. 2 of your support units may start on any hex adjacent to the uplink.

COMMAND RTSCore Campaign Act 3

awakened mission 8

x 2

Place 2 mech models in the center of the sunken sites

Base buildings come equipped with missile turrets.

x 3

5-6 Player games only use 2.

Mission objectives

Rewards

AI Dominance: Both AI mechs adjacent to enemy base. Victory Point, Any mech half price.

Military Suppression. Kill 4 enemy mechs.

Victory Point, 15 Credits (5-6 Players Kill 6 mechs).

Bolster the Defenses. Have 2 base buildings present at end. Any item half price.

Deployment Pay: 45 Credits (60)

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MECH COMMAND RTS Core Campaign Act 3

Mission nine briefing

The sunken cities have finally been tamed if not completely dominated. Now more and more factions are assembling in the area. As they arrive the civilian component suffers more and more as attrition to the wasteland is high despite the lower storm intensity here in the valley. Our political leaders are pushing for a more permanent civilian center and logisitical hub. Interestingly, the nearby ruins where you first battled the enemy mechs during our passage must be connected to the sunken sites as they are now partially powered. The ruins have turned out to be relatively intact undeground with clean water sources. This could become the capital of the new era. But first the underground sanctuaries must be supplied and fortified to create a hospitable foundation to build this new city on. Salvage the ancient tech centers above-ground to create survivable havens below.

Setup. Randomly mix 8 retrieval, 8 salvage and 8 mine tokens together. (Shuffle these well.) Place 8 tokens face down on each of the double stack buildings. Prepare the two wall stands to be placed horizontally.

Mission Overview. Control and operate the double stack buildings to produce objective tokens. Deliver these tokens to the sanctuaries. Deliver 10 tokens to achieve victory. Alternatively take control of the sanctuaries themselves and any delivered tokens. Control 12 delivered tokens in this way to achieve victory.

special Mission parameters

Extract Materials. The double stack buildings represent ancient tech centers with rich sources of material, if somewhat unstable. Control and operate a tech center with at least one support unit during the recharge phase to extract one of its random face-down tokens. Objective tokens may be immediately loaded onto an adjacent valid unit or placed on an empty adjacent hex. Units may not end their movement on these buildings.

Mine Tokens cause an immediate two damage blocks to one of the support units that operated the site. This damage occurs during the recharge phase and unless the support unit has reinforced armor, it is immediately removed (note that this is a little different timing than normal for applying damage).

Victory 1: Deliver Materials. Deliver the objective tokens to one of the sanctuaries represented by the alternate corners of the map. You will receive 5 bonus credits for each token your team delivers. Mark each delivery on the secondary objective space with a player cube. The first team to deliver 10 tokens achieves victory. (Keep the delivered tokens next to the sanctuary.)

Victory 2: Sieze Stockpiles. Control and operate an uplink building to take ownership of its sanctuary and its stockpile of delivered tokens. This will last until the enemy controls and operates the uplink building. Control 12 tokens in this way, either through one or a combination of both sanctuaries, to achieve victory. If both teams have the same number of units adjacent to an uplink building no one will control it, and the current occupant loses control (and removes the shield wall and their missile turrets).

Shield Walls. When an uplink is successfully controlled and operated place a horizontal wall as shown. Only allies can cross over or through the shield wall and do not count the hex when doing so, i.e. mechs can skip a shield wall hex with regular movement while boosts and support units do not count the first shield wall hex they cross when passing through. (Only one shield wall hex may be skipped like this at a time.)

Missile Turrets. Upon operating an uplink building, place your team’s missile turrets on top and remove them if you lose control. Support units may enter and operate these as normal. (Range 6, Damage 3) Support units in missile turret emplacements still count towards controlling and operating the building. Units cannot end their movement on top of an enemy missile turret. If they are on top or in the sanctuary hexes when an enemy takes control of the building, move the unit to the closest empty hex outside of the sanctuary (their choice).

Building Health. The double stack and uplink buildings have infinite health. Other buildings have 15 health. The corner hexes serve as repair and reload stations as usual.

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COMMAND RTSCore Campaign Act 3

sanctuary mission 9

x 8

rEtrieval

x 8

Salvage

x 8

Mines

x 4

x 3

Mission objectivesRewards

5-6 Player games only use 2.

Sieze Stockpiles. Control 12 Delivered Tokens.Victory Point, Any mech half price.

Deliver Materials. Deliver 10 objective tokens.Victory Point, Any item half price.

Civilian Affairs. Bonus for each objective token delivered.5 Credits per token delivered.

Deployment Pay: 50 Credits (60)

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MECH COMMAND RTS Core Campaign Act 3

Mission 10 briefing

The stage is set. All forces have gathered in the valley in a final showdown to see who will control its resources. Destroy the enemy fortress.

While the mission objective is the same for all, the amount of victories you have collected so far will determine the type of campaign victory possible for your team, any advantages you have as well as the consequences for losing this final mission. Read the section pertaining to your team’s victory level at the start of mission 10:

Victory Points

6

5

4

team BriefingVictory Type

defeat Type

You have come far commander and exceeded our highest expectations and hopes. You and your teams have positioned us to dominate this era entirely. Unfortunately, your success has engendered envy and fear, uniting the surviving factions against us. We will be at a disadvantage but we trust you to overcome. One more battle, commander. Destroy them here and the future is ours and ours alone.

Domination Victory / Truce (Enemy VP: 2 or less) / Minor Defeat (Enemy VP: 3)

The war that began less than a year ago with the discovery of a data cache has all come down to this moment. Much has changed since then, including you commander. Our technology and arsenals have improved by leaps and bounds. Just imagine what we will be able to accomplish once we have exclusive and peaceful access to these bastions of technology rather than fighting over each and every scrap. That is why the future will belong to whoever can occupy this valley, uncontested, once and for all. It is the gateway to a new era of human civilization. We will most likely never be rid of our opponents and their allies altogether, but win here and we will be in ascendence for a generation to come.

Campaign Conclusion: Major Victory / Major Defeat

3

The enemy is ascendant commander, and poised to dominate human civilization. Your tireless efforts and minor victories have not gone to waste however. You have bought us a chance at some semblance of victory. We have gathered the aid of most of the remaining factions to help even the odds. Destroy the enemy presence here to deny them the power and technology of this valley and to position ourselves at the head of any future coalition.

Campaign Conclusion: Minor Victory / Major Defeat

Superior Deployment: May deploy and spawn units in the alternate corners of the map in addition to your base as long as the hex is unoccupied.

2 1 0

The enemy has beaten us commander. But we still breathe, as do our allies in the minor factions. We have rallied every surviving force not aligned with the enemy. We have one last chance to prevent our opponents from utterly controlling humanity’s future by denying them the power and technology of this valley. Win here and we will neutralize the enemy’s ambitions and gain an equal footing in this new era that is opening before us. Lose, and you and everything we have ever stood for will become a footnote in history.

Campaign Conclusion: Truce / Annhilation

Superior Deployment: you may deploy and spawn units in the alternate corners of the map in addition to your base as long as the hex is unoccupied.

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COMMAND RTSCore Campaign Act 3

Sunken City Occupation: you are always considered to have at least one support unit adjacent to the sunken city closest to your base, as well as the central uplink building. (The sunken city on the bottom half of the map in reference to your base.)

showdown mission 10

x 2

Place 2 mech models in the center of the sunken sites.

x 3

Mission Parameters

5-6 Player games = 2.

Each base building has 2 missile turrets and 25 health each.

x 3

Shield Wall: We have incorporated our new technology and energy source to construct impenetrable shields on our fortifications. Control at least two of the uplink buildings during the recharge phase to bring down the enemy’s shield wall for the next round. Only while it is deactivated will you be able to damage their base buildings. The base buildings and shield wall cannot be boosted over, through or onto by enemy units. Allies can move through their own shield wall, skipping over one wall hex for free with boosts or regular movement.

AI Hack: We have learned much about the advanced defense systems of the sunken cities. Control and operate a site to activate an AI mech during the next round. AI mechs have 20 health, 2 energy gems, a 3 hex arial boost and a short range 5 damage attack that can also penetrate the enemy defenses and damage their base buildings even while their shield wall is active. Boosts and attacks cost 1 gem each. This attack can target support units at range. To operate the AI mech declare its action and place a gem next to its miniature. Track its unspent gems and any damage its taken by storing them on hexes in its sunken city. AI gems recharge every round. If using Behemoth models count movement with the right foot.

Place a color token on the site when you control and operate it. If a team does not operate a sunken city during the recharge phase, remove their token and they lose control of the associated AI. The AI begins the next round wherever it was left, either dormant or in the control of the opposing team if they sucessfully operated its sunken city. Destroyed AI mechs respawn as light mechs. Either team can target an AI mech at any time even if they control it. Controlled AI are considered allies for movement and uplink control.

Destroy the enemy base buildings, 25 Health Each.

Campaign Victory! The victory type is determined by the number of Victory points.

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MECH COMMAND RTS Core Campaign Act 3