Tiebreaker
 
Rescue

Bidding

'Rescue' is a conflict between two sides: the Rescue party and the Guards.

The players bid to see which one of them will play each side. After both players have read the scenario, they flip a coin to decide who'll bid first. Starting with that player, they take turns bidding total numbers of tons with which they propose to attempt the scenario as the Rescue party. The players bid back and forth, going lower each time, until one of them decides to drop out of the bidding. The player who drops out plays the Guards. His opponent plays the Rescue party. Each time a player has the chance to bid, he must either drop out of the bidding (and play the Guards) or bid at least five tons less than his opponent's most recent bid. The final bid one player makes before his opponent drops out is the Winning Bid. It is the maximum tonnage of 'Mechs that the Rescue party can deploy (see Rescue party below).

Guards

The Guards deploy first.

They deploy a force of 'Mechs with a combined tonnage of 240 tons or less. Each 'Mech must be a Standard Design or come from the player's Tournament Reserves. As usual, the Guards may deploy multiple 'Mechs of the same Standard Design if they want to (or even multiple 'Mechs of the same custom design if they have the necessary number of copies in their Tournament Reserves).

A MechWarrior with Piloting 5, Gunnery 3 pilots each 'Mech.

They then choose one or more of their 'Mechs, as they see fit, to mark as Command 'Mechs.

The Guards deploy each Command 'Mech wherever they want along the east edge of the east map, facing whichever way they like. They deploy each 'Mech not marked as a Command 'Mech wherever they want along the west edge of the west map, facing whichever way they like.

Rescue party

The Rescue party deploy second.

They deploy a force of 'Mechs with a combined tonnage equal to or less than the Winning Bid. Each 'Mech must be a Standard Design or come from the player's Tournament Reserves. As usual, the Rescue party may deploy multiple 'Mechs of the same Standard Design if they want to (or even multiple 'Mechs of the same custom design if they have the necessary number of copies in their Tournament Reserves).

A MechWarrior with Piloting 5, Gunnery 3 pilots each 'Mech.

The Rescue party deploy each 'Mech as they see fit anywhere within two hexes of hex 0909 on the middle map, facing whichever way they like.

Later in the game, the Rescue party may have the chance to deploy an extra 'Mech, Shemyazaz, in hex 0405 on the west map. See Hole in the sky, below.

The Rescue party now write down a sequence of ten letters secretly, called the weather plan (see Weather plan below). Each letter has to be either 'C' (for clear) or 'R' (for rain). The Rescue party can choose any sequence that:

• contains exactly five Cs,

 

• contains no more than three Cs in a row, at any point, and,

 

• contains no more than three Rs in a row, at any point.

Special rules

Hole in the sky

At the start of the game, there is a hole in the sky on the west map in hex 0405. It has no effect on Line of Sight or Weapon or Physical Attacks. While it remains, hex 0405 is Prohibited Terrain (see Classic Battletech Introductory Rulebook page 13).

At the end of each turn, if no 'Mech on either side is within three hexes of it, remove the hole in the sky from the mapboard permanently. The Rescue party then deploy a new 'Mech, Shemyazaz, in hex 0405, facing whichever way they like.

They cannot substitute a 'Mech from their Tournament Reserves.

Weather plan

During their deployment, the Rescue party choose secretly a sequence of ten letters that shows the turns on which rain will limit the Range of Weapon Attacks (see Rescue party above). The first letter shows the weather for turn one, the second, the weather for turn two, and so on.

The Rescue party count the turns. The first is turn one, the second, turn two, and so on. During each of turns one through ten, at the start of the Weapon Attack Phase, they reveal the letter they chose for the current turn. This is the first letter on the first turn, the next one in the second turn, the one after that in the third turn, and so on. The Rescue party only reveal the letter for the current turn. They keep the rest of the sequence, if there is any of it left, secret.

In the first through tenth turn, during any Weapon Attack Phase at whose start the Rescue party revealed a letter 'R' (for rain), no 'Mech (on either side) may make a Weapon Attack from a Range of more than six hexes.

During the eleventh and later turns (if the game goes that long), the weather is always clear.

Command 'Mechs

No Command 'Mech can move more than four hexes during its Move in the Movement Phase. This does not restrict the total number of Movement Points each can spend during its Move in the Movement Phase nor how it might move due to Displacement (see Classic Battletech Introductory Rulebook pages 36-37), Physical Attacks it makes, or other circumstances in the other Phases of the turn.

Operative 'Mechs

For the purposes of the Victory Conditions (below), a 'Mech is operative if and only if: (a) it has been deployed; (b) it has not been destroyed; and (c) it still has at least one leg that has not been destroyed.

Victory conditions

The Guards win, if at the end of any turn, the Rescue party have no operative 'Mechs on the mapboard. The game ends immediately.

The Rescue party win, if at the end of any turn, they have at least one operative 'Mech on the mapboard and the Guards have no operative Command 'Mechs. Only the Command 'Mechs matter. And it makes no difference whether the Rescue party have rescued Shemyazaz.