Scenarios and Promotion Points

Introductions: Sanctioned battles may have battle modes, but Skirimishes have scenarios -- a preset premise for the battle that extends the objective beyond beating your opponent into a massive, bloody pulp. Below is a list of Skirmish Scenarios. Note that each Skirmish Scenario designates if it can be attached to a given battle (explained in greater depth below) and what effect it has on the battle or the participant factions as a whole depending on the outcome. The Scenario also designates how many factions can participate (often limited to two) and the rewards for the winners and the penalties for the losers. One states which Scenario is being used in place of the Battlemode in statement of skirmish conditions. If there is no stated scenario, it is assumed to be a Standard Skirmish.

Attachment: Much like a file to an email, a Skirmish can be attached to given battle such that the outcome of the Skirmish affects the outcome of the battle, with the effects of the scenario on the battle explained in the scenario’s description. How does one attach a scenario to a battle? The World GM (me) will keep a running list of battles (pinned!) between factions in the Daily News section of the forum. If the factions of all participants of a given skirmish are involved in a given battle, you may attach a skirmish to that battle. You must inform the judge that you wish to attach the skirmsh to the battle in the M/D/T. Note that most battles have fixed terrains, meaning that you partially lose control of the T in the M/D/T (ie: it may be plains, tundra, mountains, desert, ect.). If there are any restrictions on attaching skirmishes to battles, it will be noted in the “List of Battles” thread. After the skirmish is completed, its outcome will be factored into the outcome of the battle.

Promotion Points: Sanctioned battles have their Rank Points, and unsanctioned battles have their Notoriety. Skirmishes instead have promotion points. As you’re probably aware, in the factional system you character doesn’t receive funds directly from a battle. Instead, he or she receives “Promotion Points”, which go towards an increase in factional pay grade. The higher your factional rank, the greater your requisition limit for your Zoid -- and higher rank, specifically officer standing, bring added rewards and new interesting possibilities. Now, promotion points can be rewarded in factional missions (non-skirmishes led by the factional leader or appointed representative) or be rewarded in small quantities directly by the factional leader for non-battle contributions to the faction. However, you primary source of promotion points will probably be Skirmishes. Now, traditionally, skirmishes mainly consisted of the standard “patrol battle” skirmish -- that is, meeting the enemy in the middle of the boonies and starting the battle. However, there are many other kinds of skirmishes that can be fought... at different levels of risk, to be sure, but also with different potential Promotion Point payoffs. Also be it noted that Promotion Points aren’t the only reward of Skirmishes (the factional as a whole can benefit or suffer from the outcome) -- read on, below. Also below is the default chart of promotion points to rank.

Note that you should inform your factional leader when you reach OF-1 and can only be promoted to OF-6 or higher by special permission from the factional leader and the world GM.

Mercenaries:
Mercenaries are PC characters (NPCs cannot be mercenaries without permission from me directly) who are fighting for monetary gain rather than promotion and the good of the faction. Mercenaries sign a contract with a factional leader, meaning that their character does receive direct payment for services to the faction, negotiated directly with a factional leader or squad leader, with their payment counting against the faction’s overall funds or squad requisition limit (which will be explained in greater depth with the squad section). Mercenaries gain 0999 notoriety from their battles instead of promotion points (as they can’t be promoted) and do not hold factional rank. Mercenaries stay with a faction for a period of time specified in their contract before becoming “free agents” who can be picked up by any faction.

Skirmish Scenarios

Standard Skirmish “Patrol Battle”: Can Be Attached -- Any Number of Sides

A Standard Skirmish, also known as a patrol battle, is when two combat patrols from any two or more warring factions meet by chance. This can occur on land, air, or sea -- anywhere, any time during the war. The battle ends if one side has CSFed all enemy Zoids and captured or killed all enemy pilots or if one side surrenders to the others. The battle is a draw or unresolved if all Zoids are CSFed or all pilots are dead, if the combatants end the battle in a draw by mutual consent, or if one side withdraws from the battle.

Dues: Each combatant on each side gains half a promotion point for each Zoid captured and half a promotion point for each pilot captured (1 for each Zoid/Pilot combo), to a minimum of half a point for each member of the victorious side (if any). If neither side was victorious, there is no minimum. You can’t lose promotion points as a result of loss in a skirmish, but you can be taken as a prisoner of war. Even if you are taken as a POW, you still get the promotion points you’re due as a result of the battle.

Effects: The number of Standard Skirmishes won or lost influences the “tide of the battle” and how much momentum each side has. Victories have small impacts on your faction’s progress and morale, while losses have the opposite effect. Draws actually have an “effect” insofar as that they represent time spent but no progress for either side, effectively prolonging the battle.

Convoy Raid: Can Be Attached -- 2 Sides (1 Attacker, 1 Defender)

A Convoy Raid is much like it’s twin brother found in the 0999 scenarios, except instead of raiding the trade routes for personal profit, one instead seeks to strengthen one’s own faction and weaken one’s opponent’s. As such, destroying the elements of a Convoy is a viable way of achieving victory in this scenario. In a Convoy Raid, one side is attacking and one side is defending. Each defender controls a single Gustav modified only with Cockpit Armor (if the battle is terrestrial). The attackers should focus on destroying or disabling these Gustavs, as they control the valuable cargo that you seek to capture. If you damage or destroy the cargo, you have still partially accomplished your task. The defenders can successfully defend the convoy by defeating all attackers, forcing the attackers to withdraw, or leading the convoys to safety (which means having the Gustavs withdraw from the battle in the direction of the attackers’ starting location -- you have to get past the attackers to get to your final destination, even if you can’t defeat them).

Note that the Gustavs each have a crew of two, one pilot and one armed guard riding shotgun (important if the battle should leave the cockpits of the Zoids), but they will surrender if the attackers have functional Zoids at the end of the battle but the defenders do not have any functional combatant Zoids or AZ weaponry. The attackers depend on the surrender of the Gustavs to capture the supplies -- they are behind enemy lines (attacking supply lines) and cannot depend on larger factional transports to extract them. If they have no capacity to “tow” the Gustavs and accidentally CSF the Gustavs, the Gustav should be treated as destroyed rather than captured. The Gustavs may not be used to rearm.

Kicker: Instead of multiple Gustavs, the defenders control one Hover Cargo. The penalties for destroying, capturing, or defending the Hover Cargo are doubled. The Hover Cargo may not be used to rearm the the defenders. Only use this kicker if there are at least two defenders.

Dues: The attackers gain half a promotion point for each Gustav destroyed and a full point for each disabled and captured, even if the attacker is himself ultimately captured and taken as a POW. Attackers also gain half a promotion point for each pilot captured, though the attackers are concerned with capturing or destroying the supplies and have no capacity to capture enemy Zoids other than the Gustavs. They gain no promotion points for killing enemy pilots.

The defenders gain half a promotion point for each Gustav preserved (not CSFed or captured), a half-point for each enemy pilot captured, and a half-point for each enemy Zoid captured. Once again, if a Gustav is CSFed and the defenders win, it is not counted as preserved.

Effects: Successful convoy raids cut enemy supply lines -- destroyed convoys deprive the enemy of crucial supplies, food, weapons, and munitions while captured convoys provide your faction with what would have gone to the enemy. If a faction loses enough convoy raids (depending on how easy it would be to supply a force in that area) attached to a given battle, that faction’s forces go without supply and their ability to fight deteriorates rapidly.

Assassination: Can Be Attached -- 2 Sides (1 Attacker, 1 Defender)

There comes a time in the affairs of a faction in which they must order an assassination. This is a scenario in which the subject is of absolutely no use to them captured -- he or she is either worthless as a prisoner, too dangerous to risk escaping, or too difficult to extract from the site of would-be capture. As a result, this person is only good to the faction dead. There are two sides in this scenario -- an attacker (the assassins) and a defender, who are the target’s bodyguard. The defending side, as a whole, controls in addition to their own Zoids the target’s Zoid.

All assassination targets are officers from OF-1 (Second Lieutentant equivalent) to OF-5 (Colonel equivalent). The target’s level is the number after the OF. The attackers get to set what level they want their target to be (the higher the level, the more dangerous the target!). The defenders get to specify what the target’s Zoid and modifications are, which is bounded by the requisition limit of the OF-Level rank for the target’s faction. (IE: A Helic Second Lieutentant, OF-1, has a requisition limit of $40,000). As a result, an assassination target is often very dangerous game, bodyguards totally not withstanding. Please note that the assassins not only need to kill the target, they also need to escape...

Kicker: The attackers have to capture rather than kill the target. They still have no capacity to capture anyone but the target -- they’re here for one person only. The rewards for capturing the target are doubled, as are the rewards for saving the person’s life.

Dues: The defenders each get the officer’s level divided by the number of defenders in promotion points, rounded to the nearest 1/2, to a minimum of 1/2, if the target lives, plus 1/2 promotion points for each assassin captured, plus 1/2 promotion points for each assassin’s Zoid captured. They get the rewards for the capture of the assassins and their Zoids even if the target dies.

The attackers each get the level of the target as a reward, even if they are captured as POWs later. They have no capacity to capture the defenders or their Zoids and hence cannot get rewards for them.

Effects: Assassinating or capturing officers can have devestating effect on an enemy faction’s ability to make war. If multiple officers are assassinated, the factional leader can experience trouble or delays in issuing orders, and morale of the force will drop.

King of the Hill: Can be Attached -- Any Number of Sides

It’s no secret that on a battlefield, there are locations of strategic, tactical, or operational importance. Often, it is imperative that you control this location to control the battle. When multiple factions try to occupy the same location at once, the colloquial name “King of the Hill” is most appropriate.

In this battle, all sides start equidistant from a “hill” (not necessarily a literal hill), a location that all sides wish to occupy. This “location” is a square of size designated by the combatants, with 100 by 100 meters being the default. To achieve victory, one side must have exclusive control of this location for a number of rounds designated at the start of the battle (must be between 1 and 5), along with the scenario type and M/D/T. Exclusive control means that the side has a non-CSFed Zoid within this region and no enemy Zoids are non-CSFed within this region. (The exact reason that one needs to do this are varyied -- maybe it takes that long to set up a reinforcements beacon or invade an underground bunker -- you can make something up for flavor if you like but it’s not necessary.) Please note that only the winning side will have capacity to capture pilots -- even if another side CSFs all enemy Zoids, they are still considered losers for this battle if another side secured the hill.

Variant: Instead, there is one attacking side and one defending side -- the defenders start in the “location”. The defenders gain promotion points equal to the number of rounds it took to force them from the hill (rounded up), while the attackers gain promotion points equal to the number of rounds it took (rounded up) minus 5 to force the defenders from the hill. No points are given for captures of pilots or Zoids on either side, and neither side has the capacity to capture.

Kicker: Each side controls a cockpit-armored Gustav with a platoon of soldiers inside its lone trailer. The hill is in fact an abandoned bunker. Control of the hill now means having your Gustav inside the hill region, while the other Gustav is not inside the hill region. The battle’s winner captures the bunker.

Double Kicker: Coming Soon!

Dues: Each member of the winning side gains points equal to the number of rounds it took to seize the hill. No additional points are given for the capture of enemy pilots or Zoids (seizing the hill is the important thing), and only the ultimate winner has the capacity to capture enemy pilots or Zoids.

Effects:

Scouting: Can Be Attached -- 2 Sides (Scout and Defender)

This battle is a heck of a lot like any other, if you take out the battle part. There are no extra Zoids under the control of either party and only a single requirement: the Scouts must escape The mission is simple -- the Scout must escape the defenders to achieve victory, while the Defenders must catch the Scouts before they can relay scouting information to achieve victory. There is little middle ground here. The scouts must cross to half the distance between the starting locations of the two sides (the initial distance is still set by the pilots in M/D/T -- note that longer distances favor the defenders). If the scouting Zoids are terrestrial, they must then defeat their attackers or turn around and escape their attackers. Scouting Zoids are only considered to “have the information” if they breach the give threshold -- otherwise they are meaningless as targets.

Kicker: The pilots in the battle may set an “escape radius” -- a range beyond which the scout can transmit its findings back to its faction (maybe it’s escaping jamming or is on the edge of communications range), and only one of the scout Zoids must cross to half the distance. After that threshold has been breached by any one scout Zoid, all scout Zoids are considered to “have the information”. The defenders each get an additional promotion point if they are successful in stopping all the scouts.

Dues: Each Scout gets a number of promotion points equal to the number of defenders if even one of them escapes with the information. The Scouts have no capacity to capture pilots or Zoids in this scenario. The defenders, on the other hand, get no points at all in this battle if even one scout escapes. If no scouts escape, the defenders get half a point for each scout captured, half a point for each Zoid captured, and a one point bonus.

Effects: The scout’s faction gains more information about the force composition and deployment of the opponent if the scout accomplishes his mission.

Jailbreak: Cannot be Attached -- 2 Sides (Attacker and Defender)

Jailbreaks are scenarios where you really are fighting for something other than your own promotion points, though they certainly are involved. In this case, you’re fighting for the freedom of your POWs. While POWs are usually freed in the course of mutual agreements by sides in the war, it’s not exactly something one leaves to chance, and from time to time, you have to “bust them out”.

You can rescue a one or multiple POWs, but the sum of their ranks must less than or equal to the sum of the ranks of the defenders. Please note that in this scenario you may want to consult your factional leader before agreeing to a jailbreak with a particularly important or high-rank POW.

Now, for the specifics. The attackers control only their own Zoids, and the defenders control their Zoids plus a single Hover Cargo (which starts at standard transport starting position, 200 meters behind the defenders. The Hover Cargo is a POW transport. The purpose of the attackers is singular: get their pilots out of the Hover Cargo by any means necessary. The purpose of the defenders is equally singular: stop the attackers. The Hover Cargo can rearm the defenders.

Anyway, the attackers extract their pilots by disabling the Hover Cargo and forcing entry into one of its bays, the way one would normally rearm. Instead of rearming, the attacker emerges six seconds later carrying the pilots. After that, the attacker must withdraw carrying the pilots to complete the attackers’ victory. Similarly, the defenders achieve victory if the Hover Cargo successfully withdraws.

If the defenders insist on firing on their own Hover Cargo to prevent the escape of the prisoners, the crew of the Hover Cargo may mutiny (at the discretion of the judge), in which case control of the Hover Cargo switches sides.

Kicker: Each attacker’s Zoid is carrying an army fireteam on board in addition to the pilot, and the defender’s Hover Cargo is carrying the disabled Zoids (cannot be used in this battle) of the prisoners. When the attacker boards the Hover Cargo, instead of picking up the prisoners, the fireteam storms the cockpit of the Hover Cargo in the intervening six seconds and gains control of the Hover Cargo, which switches sides to the attackers. The attackers must escape with the Hover Cargo operational. (Please note that this means the attackers cannot CSF the Hover Cargo to board it).
Attackers gain an additional .5 for each Zoid captured on the Hover Cargo, and the defenders lose an additional .5 for each Zoid lost. Defenders still have no capacity to capture attacker pilots or Zoids.

Dues: If the attackers successfully escape with the prisoners, then each attacker gains promotion points equal to the number of defenders divided by the number of attackers, rounded to the nearest .5, to a minimum of .5. Attackers have no capacity to capture the defenders or their Zoids in this mission.

The defenders each gain .5 promotion points for each new pilot captured and plus .5 promotion points for each Zoid captured, minus .5 for each prisoner allowed to escape (to a minimum of 0). If no prisoners escape, each defender gets a bonus of 1 promotion point. The people rescued by the attackers are no longer POWs.

Effects: Attacking faction gets its pilots back if they suceed. This mission is not attachable and has no direct bearing on a battle.