Inselhüpfen
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 | Apocryphal This article's subject is only mentioned in apocryphal sources, i.e. official BattleTech products which are not clearly Non-canon but do not meet the current Canon criteria either. For more information, check the Canonicity section. |
| Inselhüpfen | |
|---|---|
| Product information | |
| Type | Campaign scenario |
| Author | Hartwig Nieder-Gassel Thomas Brendel Frank Lenzer |
| Pages | 3 |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | FanPro (Wunderwelten magazine issue #22) |
| First published | 1994 |
| Content | |
| Era | Succession Wars era |
| Universe Date | 3029 |
Contents
Overview
Inselhüpfen ('Island Hopping') was a strategic campaign scenario for BattleTech that was published in FanPro's house magazine Wunderwelten issue #22 (July 1994).
Using the "Strategic Double Blind" campaign rules as previously laid out in issue #20 of the Wunderwelten magazine (see Schwarzer Tag), this campaign adds a new facet by pitting BattleMech forces against (primarily) submarines, ships and hovercraft in a maritime warfare scenario.
Story
During the Fourth Succession War, House Steiner's Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces, namely the 26th Lyran Guards, attacked the Draconis Combine-held world of Engadin but got bogged down. The arrival of the mercenary St. Cyr Heavy Assault Group to reinforce the defenders made things worse, leading to a drawn-out conflict on Engadin that would eventually result in a narrow Steiner victory.
Inselhüpfen postulates that a small part of the fighting took place on Engadin's water-rich moon Muddy, a vitally important strategic location as it is rich in oxygen. Muddy's surface is largely water, with some small swampy islands. There is only one single landmass that is solid enough for DropShips to land on, Draaken Island, and the swamps also generally preclude the use of BattleMechs heavier than 'medium' weight class. Elements of the 26th Lyran Guards were sent to Muddy, but have largely been defeated by the St. Cyr HAG in a counterattack and sent into full retreat at the onset of the scenario.
For the Steiner side, the scenario objective is to find the hidden enemy submarine base on Draaken Island so that an inbound Lyran DropShip can land nearby, destroy the base with its guns, and evacuate any Lyran 'Mechs that can reach the DropShip.
The Kurita side meanwhile gets to decide the secret location of the base and sets up a number of hidden fortifications on and around Draaken Island in addition to moving around their mobile forces; their objective is to destroy all enemy 'Mechs before they can locate the base.
The scenario includes a strategic map of 31x31 hexes centered on Draaken Island (each hex representing 10 kilometers) and includes rules for the creation of maps for tactical combat whenever encounters happen. Only a small percentage of the playing field will generate as islands of level 1 "heavy woods" hexes, surrounded by clear level 0 sand beach hexes; the rest will be water of increasing depth (dropping 1 level per hex distance from the next level 0 beach hex). Special rules govern the use of depth charges by the defenders' surface vessels (equivalent to an underwater crossover of minefield and artillery attacks), jet ski infantry, and heavy rainfall that will reduce strategic sensor range and halve weapon ranges etc. in tactical combat (stopping or resuming on a 2d6 roll of 11-12 at the beginning of each Double Blind round).
Featured Units
Featured BattleTech
BattleMechs
Vehicles
Other
- Jet ski infantry (following the rules for motorized infantry, but capable of moving on water only)
Canonicity
Published exclusively in an apocryphal magazine, the Inselhüpfen scenario must be considered apocryphal as well.
Wunderwelten was the house magazine of FanPro, who were the German BattleTech licensee at the time of publication and later even held the complete BattleTech license. While Wunderwelten does not technically meet the current criteria for canon, its BattleTech-related content does therefore still have a claim to being an official publication under a valid license.
Notes
- The vehicles used by the St. Cyr HAG for House Kurita in this campaign are noteworthy insofar as several of them would not normally be available to House Kurita at the time under normal circumstances, but would be available to House Steiner; conversely, typical Steiner 'Mechs are absent from the roster of the 26th Lyran Guards company which instead includes some units typically associated more with House Kurita than House Steiner. The respective unit rosters, while still plausible (if unusual), would therefore be a better fit if the attacking and defending party were switched around.
Other Wunderwelten Scenarios
Other BattleTech scenarios published through the Wunderwelten magazine include
- Cargo Queen
- Der erste Kontakt
- Drachentrick
- Operation Zitadelle & Operation Striker
- Réunion
- Schwarzer Tag
- Testfall
Bibliography
- Wunderwelten, issue #22 (July 1994), pp. 58-60