Tales of the Black Widow Company

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Tales of the Black Widow Company
Product information
Type Scenario pack
Development Jordan K. Weisman
L. Ross Babcock III (Editor-In-Chief)
Donna Ippolito (Editor)
Primary writing L. Ross Babcock
Patrick L. Larkin
Richard Meyer
J. Andrew Keith
William H. Keith, Jr.
Pages 48
Cover Artwork Jim Halloway
Illustrations Dana Knutson
Todd Marsh
Jane Bigos
Publication information
Publisher FASA
Product code 1605
First published 1985
ISBN-10 0931787653
ISBN-13 978-0931787652
MSRP 8.00 US $
Content
Era Succession Wars era
Timeline 30153022
Followed by More Tales of the Black Widow

Description

Tales of the Black Widow Company is the first scenario book that was published for the BattleTech boardgame. It was apparently designed with the earlier Battledroids rules, as the unique BattleMechs featured in the book comply with Battledroids construction rules but violate BattleTech construction rules.

The book focuses on the legendary Natasha Kerensky and her Black Widow Company. It details the unit's pilots and 'Mechs during the period that their parent unit, Wolf's Dragoons, were in the service of the Draconis Combine (3023 to 3028). A separate scenario is set in 3022, when the Dragoons were in service of the Lyran Commonwealth. The book gives a brief history of Wolf's Dragoons, and their leader Jaime Wolf, before going on to detail the history of the Black Widow Company itself. It then gives information of all twelve pilots in the company and their 'Mechs, including details of mechanical foibles and failures that the 'Mechs suffer from.

After the information on the unit, the book presents eleven stand-alone scenarios and a short four-mission campaign to challenge the Black Widow Company. Each scenario has a short piece of fiction to set the scene before going on to detail the set-up for the mission, with information on which members of the Black Widow Company are involved in the battle and how they are deployed, details of the opposing units and their deployment, victory and loss conditions for each side as well as any special rules for the scenario.

From the back cover

This supplement is packed with descriptions of one of BattleTech's most elite fighting companies: The Black Widow Company of Wolf's Dragoons. Selling their services to the highest bidder, this mercenary unit is well known throughout the Successor States. Included is a history of the Black Widow Company and her commander, Natasha Kerensky, details of the units that make up the company and the MechWarriors who do the fighting, plus 15 scenarios of actual engagements fought by the Black Widow.

Contents

  • Introduction
    • How To Use The Scenarios Presented
  • Wolf's Dragoons
  • Lady Sings The Blues
  • Queen's Gambit
  • Scavenger Hunt
  • Spider Trap
  • The Lady And The Tiger
  • Leave No Survivors
  • Dawn Patrol
  • Fog Of War
  • The Bounty Hunter
  • Lady's Man
  • Ghost Unit
  • The Battle For Hoff
    • Scenario I
    • Scenario II
    • Scenario III
    • Scenario IV

German Version

Biss der Schwarzen Witwe, der.jpg
Der Biß der Schwarzen Witwe
Product information
Language german
Contribution Reinhold H. Mai (translation and scenario design), Werner Fuchs (Editor & Layout), Robert Simon (Editor) and Harry Kaltenbach (Setting)
Pages 48
Publication information
Publisher Fantasy Productions
First published 1989
ISBN-10 3890649017
ISBN-13 978-3890649016

The German language version of the scenario pack was released by Fantasy Productions in 1989.

Alteration

The german version vastly matches the original one, with only slight variations:

  • The BattleTech scenario "Spider Trap" is not included, instead a new scenario "Heisse Gemüter" (Quick Temper) by german translator Reinhold H. Mai is added.
  • The back cover text variates,
    • the original's sentence "Selling their services to the highest bidder," is left out in german translation
    • the back cover shows illustrations of the Black Widow Company's Mechs, next to them is a text suggesting to cut them out for using them in game play
Die nebenstehenden Mechs können ausgeschnitten und als BattleTech-Figuren für diese Einheit benutzt werden.
    • the back cover lists some of the scenarios included.

Notes

  • In 1985, FASA provided a scenario named Bitter End: The Defense of Connor's Pass to the Game News magazine, who published it in their #8 (October 1985) issue. The scenario was described as an excerpt from the Tales of the Black Widow Company scenario pack, which was also advertised on the same pages in the magazine, and presented in a similar style, but it does not actually appear in this book.

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