The Refusal War

Star Commander Roshak, you and your star fought as skilled and honorable warriors. The reason you failed is that we fought as a pack.

Star Commander Roger Vickers to Star Commander Alister Roshak

In 3057, ilKhan Ulric Kerensky was accused of treason and genocide by the Crusader faction of the Clans. The Clan Grand Council found him guilty, but he initiated a Trial of Refusal against the verdict. Then, he bid all of Clan Wolf in the trial against all of Clan Jade Falcon. The resulting trial became known as the Refusal War as the two clans fought across their occupation zones in the Inner Sphere.

The Forces

Clan Jade Falcon, Delta Galaxy

• Star Commander Alister Roshak (3/3), Turkina Prime
• Moira Pryde (2/4), Summoner C
• Boris (3/4), Black Lanner Prime
• Stewart (2/4), Kit Fox A
• Benjamin (3/4), Fire Falcon Prime

Star Commander Roshak’s Turkina Prime is a slow assault ’Mech but it carries a lot of long-ranged firepower and has jump jets that can help it in rough terrain. Moira Pryde’s Summoner C is maneuverable for a heavy ’Mech and carries a devastating Ultra AC/20 backed up by a large laser and a streak launcher. Boris’s Black Lanner Prime is a fast medium ’Mech with a flexible weapons loadout. Stewart’s Kit Fox A is a sniper that carries a powerful gauss rifle. Benjamin’s Fire Falcon Prime is very fast with a lot of mid-to-short range firepower.

The Clan Jade Falcon force has a battle value of 14,829.

Clan Wolf, Beta Galaxy

• Star Commander Roger Vickers (3/4), Timber Wolf D
• Bogdan (3/4), Gargoyle C
• Gina (3/4), Nova Prime
• Iosif (3/4), Ice Ferret Prime
• Katia (3/5), Adder Prime

Star Commander Roger Vickers’ Timber Wolf D carries a dangerous mix of ER PPCs and steak missiles. Bogdan’s Gargoyle C is quite fast for as assault ’Mech and carries a half dozen medium lasers and a big Ultra AC/20. Gina’s Nova Prime is the star’s only ’Mech with jump jets and has a dozen medium lasers even though it lacks the cooling capacity to use them all. Iosif’s Ice Ferret Prime is the star’s fastest ’Mech and it carries an ER PPC as its main weapon. Finally, Katia’s Adder Prime is a light sniper with two ER PPCs linked to a targeting computer.

The Clan Wolf force has a battle value of 14,987.

The Battle

While crossing a rocky alpine region, Star Commander Roger Vickers’ star picked up enemy contacts closing in. Moving towards the sensor contacts, they ran between high ridges eager to earn honor in battle.

As the two stars came into visual contact, they began to issue challenges. Benjamin broadcast a challenge to Iosif and then opened fire hitting the Ice Ferret with two of his medium lasers. Iosif reacted faster than he had anticipated though, and a particle cannon blast from the Clan Wolf ’Mech destroyed his Fire Falcon’s left arm.

With his Kit Fox perched on a ridge, Stewart challenged Katia and opened fire. The gauss slug slammed into a hill, but he melted away some of her Adder’s armor with a medium laser hit. She returned fire, but the particle cannon shot went high above the small Kit Fox.

As Gina jumped over a ridge line, Boris accepted the broadcasted challenge and fired a salvo of lasers as the Nova landed. His Black Lanner dodged all of the beams and then he managed to score a glancing hit against the Nova with his large laser as long range missiles missed and blasted debris into the air.

Spotting Moira’s Summoner, Roger issued a quick challenge to her then pummeled the Summoner with both of his particle cannons and a dozen streak missiles. As her armor was blasted away, she tried to return fire but her large laser went wide and her own streak system failed to get a lock.

Jumping to the top of a ridge line, Alister looked over the battlefield from his Turkina’s cockpit and challenged Bogdan. They exchanged long range fire, but all of their shots went wide as Bogdan started charging his Gargoyle towards the Turkina.

Recovering from the loss of his Fire Falcon’s arm, Benjamin tried to run past Iosif’s Ice Ferret. As he reached a small stand of trees, Iosif’s particle cannon blasted apart a nearby tree and then a small laser melted away some of the Fire Falcon’s rear armor. Benjamin twisted around and fired his own lasers back at the heavier ’Mech melting away some of its armor with two medium lasers and a small laser.

Katia circled around Stewart in order to put her Adder beyond the Kit Fox’s torso twist range so that he couldn’t bring his gauss rifle to bear. He managed to hit with just one medium laser and then Katia’s two particle cannons blasted off the Kit Fox’s right arm and through its torso armor.

Boris used his Black Lanner’s speed to maintain distance from Gina’s Nova. He hit it with several long range missiles but his large laser beam went wide. In return, Gina’s lasers melted three deep lines in the armor of Boris’s ’Mech.

Knowing that she needed to close quickly to make use of her Summoner’s heavy autocannon, Moira jumped towards Roger’s Timber Wolf. Her autocannon burst and large laser missed as she landed, but her streak launcher locked and six warheads exploded against the Timber Wolf’s armor. Roger tried to fail back, but Moira’s jump had thrown off his aim and his particle cannon missed and his own streak launchers failed to get locks.

Bogdan continued to run towards Alister’s perched Turkina. He fired everything, but only a single laser hit his target. Then Bogdan was rattled when an LB-X cluster munition impacted his Gargoyle’s head and a particle cannon blasted away chunks of his armor plating.

Iosif tried to keep chasing Benjamin, but the Jade Falcon Warrior threw him off and managed to get behind his Ice Ferret. As Iosif ran between two ridge lines and into a small stand of woods, Benjamin got a lock with his streak launcher and hit Iosif’s Ice Ferret with four warheads.

Between the dueling assault ’Mechs, Stewart managed to outmaneuver Katia and get behind her Adder. One of his lasers scored a glancing hit on her right leg and then the other punched through into the internals of the Adder’s torso.

Gina jumped to the top of a ridge as Boris stayed out of short range of the Nova’s lasers. Only one laser hit his Black Lanner and he fired back and melted armor on the Nova’s right leg with his large laser.

Moira jumped her Summoner again and this time blasted away the Timber Wolf’s armor with two bursts from her autocannon and six missiles from her streak launcher. Roger managed to hit back with one of his particle cannons and one of his own streak launchers, but then lost his footing under the barrage and his Timber Wolf fell to the ground.

Bogdan continued to rush towards Alister’s position, but his Gargoyle was slowed by the heat he built up with his last salvo. He landed another laser hit on Alister’s Turkina, but then took hits back from Alister’s paired particle cannons and autocannons. His Gargoyle’s right arm was stripped of its armor taking damage to its shoulder actuator and one of its lasers.

Katia positioned her Adder in the cover of heavy woods. Stewart still managed to melt away some of her armor with a medium laser beam aimed between the trees, but then she hit back with both of her particle cannons. One punched into his Kit Fox’s center torso to damage the gyro and the other vaporized its left arm. After losing the last of his weapons along with his ’Mech’s arm, Stewart broadcast a surrender and started to power down his reactor.

Boris continued to circle his Black Lanner around Gina’s Nova, but Gina managed to get within 150m to be in optimal range for the Nova’s lasers. 5 of those lasers melted away armor from the Black Lanner including one that left a deep scar across its head. Thrown off by that damage, Boris only managed to hit the Nova with several long-range missiles while his own laser beams went wide.

Roger pushed his Timber Wolf back to its feet as another burst of heavy autocannon fire and a laser beam from Moira’s Summoner ravaged his armor. He managed to stabilize his ’Mech despite the barrage and then hit back with a particle cannon shot that broke into the internals of the Summoner’s torso to damage its engine and gyro. Thrown off balance by the gyro damage, Moira lost control and her Summoner fell to the ground as streak missiles flew from the Timber Wolf’s shoulder. Somewhere between a missile jostling her cockpit and the hard impact with the ground, Moira blacked out.

Benjamin continued to pursue Iosif’s Ice Ferret. In one exchange of fire, only one of Benjamin’s small lasers hit. Then the next time their weapons were ready, Benjamin managed to hit the Ice Ferret’s back with medium lasers and a flight of missiles. After the explosions cleared, both of the Ice Ferret’s arms had fallen to the ground. Seeing his opponent without weapons, Benjamin radioed to ask him to admit defeat and Iosif obliged by powering down his reactor.

Gina moved into a dense stand of trees for cover, but Boris managed to circle fast enough to be out of the Nova’s firing arc. Then he hit his target with a flight of long range missiles and one of his medium lasers. Wanting to get a chance to fire back, Gina jumped the Nova to the top of a ridge and fired a series of laser beams, but they only managed to scorch tree trunks as Boris moved into a wooded area. Then Boris scored a hit back with his large laser.

Bogdan continued to run towards Alister’s Turkina with his Gargoyle’s armor absorbing punishment. As Bogdan got close to climbing the ridge, Alister fired his jump jets in order to maintain some distance. Heavy autocannon fire stripped away most of the armor on the Turkina’s left arm, but Alister’s return fire took out the Gargoyle’s right arm and damaged its engine.

Roger finished off Moira’s downed Summoner with an aimed shot to destroy the last of its center torso. Then he turned and broadcast a challenge to Benjamin as the Fire Falcon ran into view. Roger’s particle cannon shot went wide of the fast-moving ’Mech, but one of his streak launchers locked and missiles blasts away chunks of its armor. Benjamin twisted around and fired back with his lasers. One beam scored a deep scar in one of the Timber Wolf’s rear-facing missile launchers, but Benjamin knew that would only help him if he managed to get behind the heavy ’Mech.

As Bogdan tried to get closer to Alister, the Turkina jumped backwards again. In their exchange of fire, only one of Alister’s autocannons managed to hit. Then suddenly two particle cannon blasts hit the Turkina as Katia broke the rules of zellbringen to help Bogdan take down the Jade Falcon assault ’Mech.

Enraged at the dishonorable tactics of the Wolf warriors, Alister jumped his Turkina towards Katia’s Adder, but she managed to duck out of sight before he could bring his weapons to bear against her light ’Mech. Bogdan tried to keep up, but his Gargoyle couldn’t climb fast enough to get over the ridgeline to see the Turkina again.

Roger pursued Benjamin’s much faster Fire Falcon while the light ’Mech made high speed firing passes. In the first pass, Benjamin pelted the Timber Wolf with a salvo of streak missiles while Roger held his fire to cool off. Then in the second pass, Benjamin hit with two of his lasers and more missiles. One of the warheads took out one of the Timber Wolf’s particle cannons, but Roger blasted away torso armor with the other and damaged the Fire Falcon’s engine.

Boris and Gina continued their duel nearby. Boris’s high speed let him avoid most of Gina’s shots while slowly whittling away the Nova’s armor with his own lasers. Then he engaged his MASC system and ran along a ridge line to fire down at his target. Another laser and a pair of short range missiles hit, but then Gina got a lucky shot and a laser beam vaporized the Black Lanner’s head.

Bogdan reached the top of the ridge and fired his second-to-last autocannon burst at Alister, but missed as the Turkina jumped into a stand of trees. Katia re-emerged and fired both her particle cannons again. One only blasted apart a tree, but the other destroyed one of the Turkina’s autocannons. Raging at the breach of zellbringen, Alister leveled both of his particle cannons at Katia’s Adder and blasted away at it. He then turned back to Bogdan’s Gargoyle to fire the rest of his weapons, but only managed to hit with one flight of missiles that blasted away more of its armor.

Benjamin made another high speed pass at Roger’s Timber Wolf, but missed with his laser shots as Roger surprised him by circling behind the Fire Falcon. The Timber Wolf’s particle cannon and a dozen streak missiles then obliterated the Fire Falcon.

Overheating, Alister found himself facing three opponents after Gina’s Nova jumped to join the fight. He blasted again at Katia’s Adder blowing off one of its arms and knocking it to the ground despite the barrage of particle cannon and laser fire hitting his own ’Mech. Then he turned his firepower on Gina’s Nova. One particle cannon shot went wide, but the other and his missiles blasted away armor, damaged one of the Nova’s leg actuators, and knocked it to the ground. As the Nova fell, Gina hit back with a few lasers, and then Roger joined the fight with one of his streak launchers peppering the Turkina. Bogdan tried to help, but his last autocannon burst went wide.

As Gina stood back up, Alister blasted off its left arm. Then he turned his attention towards Roger’s Timber Wolf with all thirty long range missiles blasting away armor and knocking the heavy ’Mech backwards. The return fire from the Clan Wolf ’Mechs was cataclysmic. Two particle cannon blasts, a half dozen lasers, and a dozen missiles tore apart the Turkina. As the weapons fire ripped through its internal structure, its fusion engine was destroyed and its gyro damaged. Without power, it crashed to the ground and Alister blacked out from the impact.

The Outcome

With the destruction of Alister’s Turkina, Roger’s Clan Wolf star secured victory in this battle. Unfortunately, the rest of the Refusal War would not go as well for Clan Wolf. Their push into the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone would be halted and their clan broken in half after Clan Jade Falcon emerges victorious from the Refusal War.

Clan Jade Falcon Damage Report

• Star Commander Alister Roshak’s Turkina is completely destroyed. He has suffered 3 points of damage.
• Moira Pryde’s Summoner is completely destroyed. She has suffered 4 points of damage.
• Boris was killed when his Black Lanner’s head was destroyed. Other than the destroyed head, the Black Lanner has suffered damage to its armor and internal structure.
• Stewart’s Kit Fox is missing its right torso, right arm, and left arm. It has also taken damage to its armor on its center and left torsos.
• Benjamin’s Fire Falcon is completely destroyed. He has suffered 2 points of damage.

Clan Wolf Damage Report

• Star Commander Roger Vickers’ Timber Wolf has suffered extensive damage to its armor and internal structure. It lost a particle cannon and a rear-facing missile launcher, and its engine and gyroscope have both been damaged. Roger has suffered 1 point of damage.
• Bogdan’s Gargoyle lost most of its armor and its right arm. Its engine is damaged. He has suffered 1 point of damage.
• Gina’s Nova had its left arm destroyed and took significant damage to its armor and internal structure. Its left leg has a damaged actuator and its engine shielding is cracked.
• Iosif’s Ice Ferret had both of its arms destroyed. Other than that, it has only taken light damage to its armor in other locations.
• Katia’s Adder had its right arm destroyed and has taken damage to armor and internal structure.

Thoughts on the Battle

I had a lot of fun playing this game. With it being my first battle with Clan forces in a while, I wanted to have the warriors fight according to zellbringen at least initially. I think it was fitting to have the Wolves break the rules once they started winning the initial set of duels since they aren’t as strict about it as the Clan Jade Falcon warriors.

’Mech Reviews

Turkina Prime: The Turkina’s weapons pack a lot of power at long range with both the big penetrating hits from ER PPCs and crit-seeking LB-X cluster munitions and LRMs. Even though it is slow, the jump jets meant it was able to keep away from the Gargoyle in the rough terrain.

Summoner C: I really liked the Summoner C in this battle. Its 5/8/5 movement profile meant it could close quickly, and the Ultra AC/20 is a devastating weapon. I’m convinced that the only reason it didn’t take out the Timber Wolf is that each autocannon burst ended up hitting a different location.

Black Lanner Prime: The Black Lanner is nice and fast which gave it an advantage over the Nova it was dueling even though its weapon mix is a bit odd. It lacked the heat sinks to fire everything, so I ended up alternating between the large laser and the pair of mediums depending on range. I think I’ll experiment with one of the other variants next time I use it.

Kit Fox A: The Kit Fox only managed to shoot its gauss rifle once this battle and missed that shot. It made for a disappointing performance, but I’m not going to hold that against the design. Not being able to torso twist was a noticeable disadvantage when dueling up close.

Fire Falcon Prime: This battle, the Fire Falcon was definitely punching above its weight. Its speed made it a difficult target and then it had enough firepower to take out the Ice Ferret and threaten the damaged Timber Wolf. And that was all despite losing one of its arms right at the beginning of the battle.

Gargoyle C: I’m not a big fan of the Gargoyle Prime, so I wanted to try out one of the other configurations this game. I picked the C in part because it was featured in a recent novel (The Price of Duty). I think it is a decent design, especially playing with quirks since the Gargoyle then has a reduced attack penalty for running. The rough terrain I used took away its speed advantage though, and then the shoulder crit on its laser arm really reduced its effective firepower. It ended up being no match for the Turkina Prime.

Timber Wolf D: The D configuration is my favorite Timber Wolf. It has two ER PPCs for powerful long range attacks and then its streak launchers work well since they don’t build up excess heat unless they actually hit. The rear-facing streak launchers didn’t end up coming into play this game, but with different initiative rolls, they could have been useful since the Fire Falcon could have ended up running into its rear arc pretty easily.

Nova Prime: The Nova Prime is such an oddball design. Even with the Battle Computer quirk giving it more cooling capacity, firing all of its lasers results in crippling heat levels. Most rounds I was only firing 7 or 8 of the 12 to avoid overheating since slowing down would have been a big problem against the much faster Black Lanner.

Ice Ferret Prime: The Ice Ferret’s speed was great to have since the rest of my Clan Wolf star is fairly slow. Losing initiative a few rounds in a row let the Fire Falcon maneuver to limit the effectiveness of the Ice Ferret’s PPC. Next time I use one, I think I’ll try a config that has more weapons like the B or D.

Adder Prime: I like the Adder Prime, but I still recognize that it has some big flaws. The positive is that its two PPCs and targeting computer give it a lot of firepower. The downsides are that it overheats a lot when firing both PPCs, isn’t that maneuverable for a light, and only has light ’Mech durability despite its heavy firepower. At times in the battle, I was wishing I had a Pouncer instead to be able to jump over the ridges.