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BATTLETECH TM

ALPHA STRIKE TM

PREVIEW 1udson order #4927772

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IntroductIon 6 

Alpha Strike Basics 6

Alpha Srike vs. toal Warare 7

Wha’s Needed o Play Alpha Srike 7

Alpha Strike at a Glance 8

Addiional maerial 8

Introductory AlphA StrIke 10

Components 11

 the Uni Card 11

Setup 11

Choosing Ary Liss 11

Placing terrain 12

Playing the Game 12

Sequence o Play 12

Vicory Condiions 13

Movement Phase 13

 terrain 13

Juping 14

Combat Phase 14

Resolving Weapon Aacks 15

Resolving Physical Aacks 19

Overheaing 20

End Phase 20

Daage 20

Hea 20

Special Abilities 21

Special Abiliy Descripions 21

StAndArd AlphA StrIke 22

Components 22

Addiional Gae ters or Sandard Alpha Srike 22

Setup 23

Choosing Scenario types 23

Choosing Forces 24

Placing terrain 25

Playing the Game 25

Sequence o Play 25

Vicory Condiions 26

Forced Wihdrawal (Opional) 27

Movement Phase 27

Unequal Nuber o Unis 27

 terrain 28

Addiional moveen Rules 32

Combat Phase 33

Resolving Weapon Aacks 34

Resolving Physical Aacks 42

Overheaing 44

End Phase 44

Daage 44

Hea 44

Special Abilities 45

Special Abiliy Descripions 45

C3 Neworks 49

AbStrAct AeroSpAce SyStem 52

Conrol Rolls 53

Aerospace Setup 53

 the Radar map 53

Placing Aerospace Forces on he Radar map 54

Abstract Aerospace Gameplay 54

Absrac Aerospace moveen 54

Abstract Aerospace Combat 55

Resolving Aerospace Air-o-Ground Aacks 55

Resolving Aerospace Air-o-Air Aacks 58

Resolving Ground-o-Air Coba 60

End Phase 60

Ending Air-o-Air Engageens 61

Aerospace Daage 61

AdvAnced optIonS 62

Advanced Movement Modes 62

Clibing 62

Evading 63

Leaping 63

Inenional Falls ro Above 63

Sprining 63

 transporing Non-Inanry Unis 63

Advanced Terrain 64

Bridges 64Buildings 64

Deep Snow 64

Gravel Piles 65

Hazardous Liquid Pools 65

Heavy Indusrial 65

Ice 65

Jungle 65

maga 66

mud 66

Planed Fields 66

Rails 66

Rough, Ulra 67Rubble, Ulra 67

Sand 67

Swap 67

 tundra 67

Waer (Expanded) 67

Woods (Expanded) 69

Bogging Down 70

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3

introduction

introductory

alpha strike

standard

alpha strike

abstract

aerospace system

advanced options

alpha strike

campaign rules

era setting:

the clan invasion

the battletech

universe

Aerospace Units on the Ground Map 70

Aerodyne Unis 70

Spheroid Unis and Airships 71

Landing Rolls 72

Aerospace Uni transpors 72

Parial Cover 73

Artillery 73

On-Board Arillery vs. O-Board Arillery 73

Resolving Arillery Aacks 74

Alternate Munitions 76

Alernae Arillery muniions 76

Alernae Auocannon muniions 78

Alernae Bob muniions (Bobs/Aerospace

missiles) 78

Alernae Narc/iNarc Pods 79

Alernae LRm/SRm muniions 79

Battleeld Intelligence 82

Baleeld Inelligence Raio 82

Baleeld Inelligence Benes 83

Buildings 83

Building types 83

moveen Eecs 84

Aacking Buildings 85

Walls 86

Capital and Sub-Capital Weapons 86

Airborne targes 86

Ground targes 87

Concealing Unit Data 87

Blip Couners 87

Concealing Record Shees 89

Coordinate System 89

Creaing a Coordinae 89

Dropping Troops 90

General Dropping Rules 90

High-Aliude Drops 90

Low-Aliude Drops 90

Zipline Drops 91

ECM/ECCM 91

Ejection/Abandoning Units 91

Environmental Conditions 92

Aospheric Densiy 92

Darkness 92

Earhquake 92

Elecroagneic Inererence (EmI) 93

Graviy 93

 teperaure 94

Wind 94

Oher Condiions 95

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Exceptionally Large Units 96

Line o Sigh 96

Facing Sides and Firing Arcs 96

mobile Srucures 96

Bay Doors and transpor Special Abiliies 97

Boarding Acions 98

Expanded Ground Ranges 99

Exree Range 99

Horizon Range 99

Fire and Smoke 100

Fires 100

Soke 101

Hidden Units 102

Hiding on he Ground 102

Surprise Aacks ro Hidden Unis 102

Mineelds 102

mineelds a Seup 102

mineeld types 102

Targeting and Tracking Systems 103

Terrain Conversion 104Special Abilities 104

Special Abiliy Descripions 104

Converting Alpha Strike to Hex Maps 110

Convering moveen and Disances 110

Line o Sigh 110

 terrain Levels and Uni Heighs 111

Inervening terrain on Hex maps 111

AlphA StrIke

cAmpAIgn ruleS 114

Setting up the Campaign 115Force Creaion 115

Capaign turns 115

The Total Chaos Campaign System 116

 tracks 116

Siuaion 116

Warchest Point System 118

Geing Sared 118

Warches Poins Beween tracks 118

Skill Advanceen 119

Warchest Campaign Record Sheet 119

Tracks 121

meeing Engageen 121

Breakhrough 122

Assaul 123

Couneraack 124

Pursui 124

Deense 125

erA SettIng: 

the clAn InvASIon erA 126 

 the Clan Invasion 126

 the Bale o tukayyid 127

 the marik-Liao Oensive 127

 the Reusal War 127

 the Second Sar League 128

 the S. Ives War 128

 the Firs Cobine-Doinion War 128

Key Conicts and Campaigns 129

 the Clan Invasion 129

 the marik-Liao Oensive 129

 the Reusal War 130

Operaion BULLDOG 130

 the S. Ives War 130

 the Firs Cobine-Doinion War 131

Factional Overview: Clan Invasion Era 132

Special Alliances and Eniies 132Special Rule: Clan Honor 132

the bAttletech unIverSe 142

A History o War 142

Colonizing he Sars 142

 the Age o War 143

 the Sar League 143

 the Succession Wars 143

 the Clan Invasion 143

Civil War Era 144

 the Word o Blake Jihad 144

 the Dark Age 144The Realms o Power 145

House Davion (Federaed Suns) 145

House Kuria (Draconis Cobine) 145

House Liao (Capellan Conederaion) 145

House marik (Free Worlds League) 146

House Seiner (Lyran Alliance) 146

CoSar 146

Word o Blake 146

 the Clans 147

 the Periphery 147

Universe ters 148

BattleTech Resources 154Core Rulebooks 154

 technical Readous 155

Plo Sourcebooks 155

Hisorical Sourcebooks 155

maps, terrain, and miniaures 155

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5

introduction

introductory

alpha strike

standard

alpha strike

abstract

aerospace system

advanced options

alpha strike

campaign rules

era setting:

the clan invasion

the battletech

universe

Project DevelopmentHerber A. Beas II

WritingHerber A. Beas IIJoshua FranklinJason SchezerPaul Sjardijn

Based on Original BattleForce 2 Rules by Bryan Nysul

Strategic Operations BattleForce and Miniatures Rules

Kirk AldererRay Arrasiama murrayRick SardinasJoel Severson

Product EditingHerber A. Beas II

BattleTech Line DeveloperHerber A. Beas IIAssistant Line Developer 

Ben H. Roe

Production Staf Art Direction

Ray ArrasiaCover Art 

Alex IglesiasCover Design

Ray ArrasiaBattleTech Logo Design

Shane Harley and Seve WalkerEvolved Faction Logos Design

Jason VargasLayout 

Ray ArrasiaMap Diagrams

Ray Arrasia 

Map of the Inner SphereØysein tveden

Alpha Strike Data CardsRay Arrasia

Miniatures Painting & Photography

CamosSpecs Online: Ray Arrasia,

George Bluoin, Willia Bur, Roy Carl,

Chris Dolega, Paul Eckes, ma Edwards,

Dave Fanjoy, todd Farnholz, ma

Frederiksen, Joel Hardwick, Phil Hays, Ross

Hines, michael Holzapel, David Kerber,

Frederic Lagoanere, Seve Livingson,

mark maesas, Seve mcCarney, Ryan

Peerson, Brian Plunki, mike Raper,

Ben Roe, Lance Scarinci, Paul Sjardijn,

Edward Sih, Allen Soles, Drew Willias,

and Peer Wor.

Additional Design and Development

 the ollowing people have been involved in he creaion and

developen o Classic Baletech rules, eiher by wriing aerial

ha was assiilaed ino he ain body o he rules, serving as he

Baletech line developer in he pas, or oherwise conribuing o he

gae in a ajor way.

Sauel B. Baker, Herber A. Beas II, Randall N. Bills, Fores G. Brown,

Chuck Crain, Chris Harord, Clare Hess, Sco Jenkins, J. Andrew Keih,

Jaes R. Kellar, Dale Keper, L.R. “Buch” Leeper, Bryan LiBrandi, Ji

Long, David mcCulloch, Ji musser, Bryan Nysul, mike Nysul, Blaine

Pardoe, Boy F. Peerson Jr., Rick Raisley, Jerry Senson, Chrisoer

 trossen, W. John Wheeler.

Acknowledgements

 to Bryan Nysul, or pioneering he original rules. to Randall N. Bills,

or agreeing wih e ha his would ake a grea core book addiion.

 to Ray Arrasia, who—in addiion o aking he elevenh-hour

eors o ake all o hese words look prey on a page—has likewise

chapioned he idea o aking Baletech sronger, aser, and beer,

even i he couldn’ have a ore direc hand in he wriing phase, to

Joshua Franklin, or being hree seps ahead o us in acually having

he rules copiled and ready while we debaed he nal or. And, o 

course, o he Baletech couniy, or is endless suppor!

The BattleTech Review Team

Army List Support: Joel Bancro-Connors, Joshua Franklin, Willia

Gauhier, Chris mari, Willia Penningon, Peer Wor

Playtesters: Peer m. Andrew, Jr., Ray Arrasia, Sa Barnes, Henry

“truegri” Chen, Nick Connor, “Dropkick”, Willia “madCapellan” Gauhier,

Keih “Xol” Hann, térence “Weirdo” Harris, John “Workroll” Haward,

Chris “Alex Knigh” mari, Rober mcKirick, Willia J. Penningon,

max “medron Pryde” Prohaska, Sa “Wasp” Snell, Colin “Charlietango”

 toenjes, Ji “Raboy” Williason, Peer “wackrabbi” Wor

credItS

©2013 the topps Copany, Inc. All Righs Reserved.

 Alpha Strike, Classic Baletech, Baletech, ’mech,

Balemech, mechWarrior and topps logo are regisered

radearks and/or radearks o the topps Copany,

Inc. in he Unied Saes and/or oher counries. No

par o his work ay be reproduced, sored in a

rerieval syse, or ransied in any or or by any

eans, wihou he prior perission in wriing o he

Copyrigh Owner, nor be oherwise circulaed in any

or oher han ha in which i is published. Caalys

Gae Labs and he Caalys Gae Labs logo are

radearks o InmediaRes Producions, LLC.

Prined in USA.

Published by Catalyst Game Labs,

an imprint of InMediaRes Productions, LLC.

PMB 202 303 91st Ave NE E502

Lake Stevens, WA 98258

FIND US ONLINE:

precenor_arial@caalysgaelabs.co

(e-ail address or any Baletech quesions)

  hp://bg.baleech.co/

(ofcial Baletech web pages)

  hp://www.CaalysGaeLabs.co

(Caalys web pages)

  hp://www.balecorps.co/caalog

(online ordering)

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The mercenary unit Ronimwas formed from the Draconis Combine Tenth Ghost Regiment, after refusing orders they deemed a “suicide mission.” 

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11

introduction

standard

alpha strike

abstract

aerospace system

advanced options

alpha strike

campaign rules

era setting:

the clan invasion

the battletech

universe

introductory

alpha strike

Damage value: the nubers shown in his par of he

uni card indicaes he aoun of daage poins he uni can

deliver a each range bracke—S (+0), m (+2), and L (+4). these

range brackes, respecively, are Shor, mediu, and Long. If 

a uni canno deliver daage a a range bracke, i ay have

eiher a 0 in ha bracke, or a dash (“—”).

Oerheat value (Ov) and Heat Scale: For Balemech unis,

he Overhea Value indicaes he nuber of daage poins he

uni can add o is aack, in exchange for suffering an equal

aoun of hea. Overheaing is racked in he four boxes under

he hea scale, wih each poin of overhea given is own box. If 

he uni suffers 4 or ore poins of overheaing, i will shudown

(indicaed by he “S” in he fourh box of he Hea Scale).

Armor and Structure (A/S):the whie bubbles in his par

of he uni card indicae how any poins of exernal aror

he uni possesses, while he gray-shaded bubbles rack how

any poins of inernal srucure i possesses. When a uni

is daaged, hese bubbles are crossed off. A uni ha has

had all of is srucure bubbles arked off is considered o

be desroyed.

Special Abilities: In  Alpha Strike, unis ha possess special

balefield abiliies beyond oveen, daage, aror, and

srucure, will noe hese abiliies as Special Abiliies. thesefeaures are described on he uni card using abbreviaions,

and are furher described laer in his book.

ID: In he even ha uliple unis of he sae design are

used in a given Alpha Strike scenario, players ay differeniae

hese unis wih soe for of handy idenifying inforaion,

recorded on he reverse side of he uni card.

Setup to begin seup, he conrolling player for each side rolls

2D6. the player wih he highes dice resul is he iniiaive

winner, and hus ay choose his desired ary lis firs (seeClan Invasion Army Lists, pp. 135-141). the player wih he

lowes iniiaive roll selecs his ary lis las (see p. 115).

CHOOSING ARMy LISTS this rulebook includes a lis of forces appropriae o he

various ajor facions of he Clan Invasion era. For he

purposes of hese rules, hese forces are called ary liss.

Before saring play, each player should choose one of hese

ary liss o serve as his force. (For quicker gaes, players ay

choose o play wih a porion of heir chosen aries.)

As long he nuber of unis—and he oal Poin Values

of hese unis—are equal for all players’ aries, he bale

will be even.

Unit Tpe Restrictions

For he purposes of Inroducory  Alpha Strike, players

us resric all uni selecions o Balemech-ype unis only

(Bm). For your convenience, he saple ary liss provided

in his book are all of he Balemech uni ype, bu on-line

suppleens and resources will offer a greaer range of uni

ypes ore suiable for he sandard Alpha Strike rules.

 the following inroducory-level rules are designed o

failiarize new players wih he basics of he  Alpha Strike 

gae syse. As such, hey focus enirely on ground warfare

beween Balemechs (’mechs), as hey are he priary (and

os flexible) of Baletech’s coba unis.

componentSInroducory  Alpha Strike uses iniaures, six-sided dice

(D6s), ape easures and ableop errain. these ies were

described in brief in he previous chaper (see pp. 6-9).

Uni cards, which rack he vial saisics and condiions of 

each uni in play, are also required. the daa hey presen is

described below.

THE UNIT CARD the following ies appear on he Uni Card for Balemech

unis:

Unit: In  Alpha Strike, he er “uni” refers o any single

eleen or group of eleens ha can be fielded in aBattleTech gae. Even when a uni represens uliple

eleens, he uni oves, aacks, and racks daage as one.

Tpe (TP):the type field on a uni card indicaes he general

classificaion of a uni in wo-leer codes. the Balemech

(Bm) is he only uni ype covered in Inroducory Alpha Strike.

Point value (Pv): A uni’s Poin Value easures is approxi-

ae balefield srengh, based on is coba capabiliies.

Size (SZ): On he uni card, he uni’s size is a nuerical

value indicaing is weigh class. Balemechs end o coe

in four sizes, in increasing weigh: 1 (Ligh), 2 (mediu), 3

(Heavy), and 4 (Assaul).

Moement (Moe): On he uni card, he move field

indicaes he nuber of inches he uni ay ove during a

urn of gaeplay. When a leer appears afer his nuberof inches, i indicaes a special ode of oveen he uni

igh possess, such as he abiliy o jup (see Juping,

p. 15).

Skill: this blank area on he uni card is where he player

can indicae he base o-hi nuber for he uni’s aacks. (A

regular-raed mechWarrior coonly has a value of 4, while a

value of 1—or even 0—indicaes an elie-raed mechWarrior.)

TM

 AlphA strike stAts

TP: SZ: MOVE: SKILL:  

S (+0) M (+2) L (+4)

 

SPECIAL: 

 A:S:

OV: | HEAT SCALE 1 2 3 S

PV:Unit

nAme

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plAyIngthe gAme

 this secion provides an overview of he Alpha Strike gaeplay

sequence. For sipliciy, hese rules presue ha each gae is

ade up of wo sides, conrolled eiher by wo players or by woeas of players. Whenever he rules refer o a player, ha er

can ean a ea of players as well as an individual.

SEqUENCE OF PLAyAn  Alpha Strike gae consiss of a series of urns. During each

urn, all unis on he able will have an opporuniy o ove and

fire heir weapons or ake physical aacks. Each urn consiss of 

several saller urn segens, called phases. During each phase,

players ay ake one ype of acion, such as oveen or coba.

 the players execue he phases in a given order. Specific acions,

oveen, effecs of daage and so on are fully explained in

separae secions laer in hese rules.

Each urn includes he following phases, perfored in he

following order:

Step 1: Initiatie Phase

Each player rolls 2D6 and adds he resuls ogeher o deerine

Iniiaive; re-roll ies. the player wih he higher resul wins he

Iniiaive for ha urn.

Because oveen and coba are considered o occur

siulaneously in he course of an  Alpha Strike gae urn, he

Iniiaive winner acually execues uni oveen and coba

acions after  he player(s) wih he lower Iniiaive roll. this

siulaes a greaer awareness of he acical siuaion.

Step 2: Moement Phase

 the player wih he lowes Iniiaive roll oves one of his unis

firs. Presuing an equal nuber of unis on he wo sides, heIniiaive winner hen oves one of his unis, and he players

coninue alernaing heir uni oveens unil all unis have

been oved.

If he nuber of unis per side is unequal, he player wih he

higher nuber of unis us ove ore unis in proporion o

ha of his opponen. See he Unequal Number of Units rule (see p.

27) for a helpful guide o handling unequal force nubers.

Step 3: Combat Phase

As wih he oveen phase, he player wih he lowes

Iniiaive roll acs firs in he Coba Phase, bu—raher han

alernaing acions—his player declares and resolves all  of 

his unis’ coba acions a his ie, followed by he Iniiaive

winner.In he Coba Phase, each uni ay execue one aack.

Daage fro hese aacks is resolved iediaely, bu he

effecs do no ake place unil he urn’s End Phase. this eans

ha a desroyed uni will norally have a chance o reurn fire.

Preparing Unit Cards

 the daa presened in each ary lis provides he full  Alpha

Strike sas for he unis in ha ary lis. these saisics us

be faihfully copied ino he appropriae fields on he players’

uni cards.

When ranslaing a uni’s Ar/Sr values o a uni card, exra

aror and srucure bubbles (respecively) beyond hose of 

he uni’s sas us be blacked ou prior o play, leaving he

reaining bubbles unouched. (For exaple, he Ar/Sr values

for he AWS-9m Awesome are given in he Capellan Confederaion

Ary Lis as 8/4. this eans ha, when ranslaing he Awesome’s

sas o a uni card, all bu 8 of he Aror bubbles us be blocked

ou, while all bu 4 of is Srucure bubbles us be blocked ou.)

Alternatie Arm Lists

Beyond he liss presened in his book, players ay purchase

downloadable suppleens on-line ha presen larger and ore

varied ary liss appropriae o any desired era of  BattleTech 

gaeplay. Players coforable wih he rules ay even creae heir

own cuso ary liss by eiher convering sandard Baletech

unis o  Alpha Strike play (using he rules found in our Strategic 

Operations advanced rulebook), or by ranslaing he uni’s “Quick-

Srike” sas as found on he Baletech maser Uni Lis (www.aserunilis.info).

PLACING TERRAINIn  Alpha Strike play, any available errain is usually seleced by

he agreeen of boh players. If he errain feaures are odular,

he players can even alernae urns adding eleens o he

errain able, seing up any hills, waer feaures, woods, and so

forh suiable for play.

Once he errain is placed, he iniiaive winner ges he firs

pick in declaring an edge of he able area o serve as his ary’s

“hoe edge”—he side of he balefield where his unis will

ener. the opposie edge hen becoes he hoe edge for he

player wih he lowes iniiaive roll.

In os scenario ypes, a player’s unis ay only exi he apsafely hrough ha player’s hoe edge, bu soe scenarios ay

allow (or even require) a player’s unis o escape he ap via oher

ap edges—perhaps even he hoe edge of he opposing force.

Starting Positions

Generally, unis begin play off he board, and ener he

balefield area only during he firs urn. A he players’ opion,

unis ay insead begin play already placed on he board wihin

heir deployen zones (defined as he whole ap area wihin 10

inches of he unis’ hoe edge).

In his laer case, he player who ade he higher Iniiaive

roll during se-up ay choose wheher o begin seing up his

unis firs or second. Once his is decided, each player akes urn

placing one of his unis on he ap wihin his ary’s deployenzone unil all unis have been placed. Unis ay be placed wih

any facing direcion desired.

If he opposing aries have an unequal nuber of unis, refer

o he Unequal Number of Units rule (see p. 27), o deerine how

any unis us be placed by each player in urn.

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13

introduction

standard

alpha strike

abstract

aerospace system

advanced options

alpha strike

campaign rules

era setting:

the clan invasion

the battletech

universe

introductory

alpha strike

movement phASeEvery uni has a base move lised on is uni card. this value

is he axiu nuber of inches he uni ay ove during

is urn. A uni ay ove in any direcion and—a he end

of is oveen—ay face in any direcion. Unis need no

ove heir full aoun; in place of oving, a uni ay siplysand sill. A uni ay ake uliple urns, during he course

of is oveen, o aneuver around obsacles, so long as

he inches raveled are wihin is axiu move raing.

(Using a flexible ape easure, o correcly easure his

indirec disance, is highly recoended.)

 terrain ay prohibi or ipede a uni’s oveen, as

shown on he moveen Cos table.

Minimum Moement

As long as a uni is obile (eaning ha is move has no

been reduced o zero hrough daage or hea effecs), i can

always ove 2 inches in any direcion, regardless of he errain’s

oveen coss (unless he errain in quesion is prohibied).

Facing

’mech unis are considered o be facing he sae way as he

fee of he iniaure represening he uni.

A uni’s facing affecs coba resoluion (see Combat Phase,

below), and can only be volunarily changed during he

moveen Phase.

Stacking

During he moveen Phase, a uni ay ove hrough a

space occupied by oher friendly unis, bu ay no ove

hrough unfriendly unis a he sae elevaion. If he unis

occupy differen elevaions during a uni’s oveen (such

as when a ’mech uni wih juping capabiliy uses i o ove),

he unis are considered o be a differen elevaions and ay

pass hrough he sae space.

Regardless of how hey arrive a heir desinaion, unis

in Alpha Strike ay no occupy he sae space on he

gae able, regardless of any differences in elevaion.

TERRAIN terrain ay ipede oveen, cosing an exra nuber of 

inches o ener or pass hrough. these exra coss are shown

on he moveen Cos table. Noe ha uliple errain

condiions ay cobine for higher oveen coss (such as

when changing elevaions while oving hrough waer).

Water: ’mech unis enering waer us pay he cobined

cos of he oveen, plus he exra oveen coss for

waer errain and any level change coss.

Leel Change: ’mechs ay clib ono and over errain as

seep as 2 inches high (per inch of horizonal ravel). Doing so

coss 1 exra inch of oveen per inch of elevaion changed.

(For an excepion, see Jumping, p. 14). Level changes greaer han

hese are considered prohibied errain in  Alpha Strike, oo sheer

for he ’mech o raverse. If he uni does no have enough move

allowance reaining o clib o he desired level of errain, i

us reain a he previous level, and canno ove any furher.

Step 4: End Phase

Boh players ay coplee he End Phase siulaneously.

In his phase, each player execues any iscellaneous

acions reaining for he urn, such as reoving desroyed

unis, or resaring unis ha shu down fro overheaing in a

previous urn. the specific rules for such acions sae wheher

or no hey ake place during he End Phase.

Afer resolving all End Phase acions, he urn ends and he

players reurn o Sep 1, repea all hese seps unil one side

ees is vicory condiions for he scenario.

vICTORy CONDITIONSIn Inroducory  Alpha Strike, vicory is os coonly

achieved when one player’s ary desroys all of he opposing

players’ unis.

Alternatie victor Conditions

Players ineresed in ore variey ay assign alernae

vicory condiions for heir  Alpha Strike gaes as hey wish.

Exaples of his include “breakhrough” scenarios, where one

side’s goal is o ove a cerain nuber of is unis across he

ap and off he opposing edge wih inial casualies, or a

“capure he flag” ype of scenario, where a player’s force igh

clai vicory by oving is unis o a pre-designaed poin and

surviving in ha posiion for a cerain nuber of urns.

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Maximum Jump Height: For a jup o be legal, he juping

uni us also be able o clear any errain i is aeping o pass

over. A juping uni can jup over any errain ha is lower in

heigh han is jup move raing, so a uni wih 6 inches of juping

move ay jup over any obsrucions less han 6 inches all.

Downward Jumping:When juping downward (such as off a cliff or building), a juping uni ay safely jup down fro any heigh.

Water: Unis wih juping capabiliy ay jup ino waer

errain, bu no ou of i.

combAt phASeIn he Coba Phase, each uni ay deliver one aack agains

anoher uni, be i a physical aack or a weapon aack. If a uni is

unable or unwilling o ake an aack in he curren urn, i ay

be skipped for ha urn.

 to ake an aack, he conrolling player declares which uni

is aacking, wha uni i is aacking, he naure of he aack (weapon or physical), and—if applicable—how uch of his uni’s

Overhea Value he aack will use (see Overheating, p. 20). the

player hen resolves coba for ha uni, applies any daage o

he arge, and hen oves on o anoher available uni o repea

he process unil all of his unis have ade heir aacks. If he

player wishes a uni no o ake an aack, or if a uni is unable o

ake an aack for any reason, he player ay pass for ha urn.

In the Movement Basics Diagram at right, the Vulturehas 10

inches of Movement. To move to Point A, it spends 6 inches of 

the its available Move to get to the hill, 2 inches to move up the

hill, and then 2 more inches to move across the hill . As it has run

out of Move, the Vulture stops there, and its controlling player 

can choose any facing for it to end with.

The Vulture cannot move to straight to Point B. The 4” elevation change is more than the 2” allowed for elevation

changes per 1” travelled.

If the player wishes instead to avoid ending up on top of 

the hill, the ’Mech can move around the hill to reach Point C.

In this case, it spends 6 inches to move below the hill, and its

remaining 4 inches are spent moving up the gap between the

hill and the woods.

The Vulture can also move to Point D and end its movement 

in the Woods. For that, it spends 7 inches of Move to get to the

edge of the Woods. Because Woods cost an extra 1 inch per 

inch traveled through such terrain, the Vulture can only move

1.5 inches into the Woods before running out of Move.

If the player would rather place his Vulture in the water,

he can move the ’Mech 4 inches to the water’s edge, spend  2 inch es of Move for the elev atio n chan ge into the water,

and then 4 more inches of Move to push through 2 inches

of water terrain.

 JUMPINGAny uni wih a “j” lised in is move saisic is a uni ha

possesses he abiliy o jup over inervening obsrucions. the

disance such unis can jup is given as he move value beside

he “j”. Juping is an alernaive oveen ype ha canno be

cobined wih noral ground oveen by he sae uni in he

sae moveen Phase. Unis wih juping abiliy do no always

have o jup, and soe ay even have a shorer move while

 juping han he sae uni can ove on land. (For exaple, he

JR7-K  Jenner , wih is move of 14”/6”j, can use 14 inches of moveon he ground, or jup for 6 inches.)

A juping uni ignores errain coss for he purposes of 

oveen, and ay jup in any direcion, regardless of is

original facing. Juping oveen always follows he shores

pah possible; he player siply chooses an end poin (up o

he uni’s juping move allowance), and he uni lands a ha

locaion, wih any desired facing direcion.

MoveMent Cost table

Terrain Type Movement Cost

Clear 1”

Rough/Rubble +1”

Woods +1”Waer +1”

Level Changes (up or down)

Per 1” elevaion+1” (ax 2” per 1” ravelled)

• movement basics diagram •

WOODS

4” HILL

2” HILL

2” DEPTH

WATER

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15

introduction

standard

alpha strike

abstract

aerospace system

advanced options

alpha strike

campaign rules

era setting:

the clan invasion

the battletech

universe

introductory

alpha strike

In the Line of Sight diagram, BattleMech A wants to target 

BattleMech B. From the perspective of BattleMech A, the only 

thing the controlling player sees between the two units is a

woods template. Using a measuring tape drawn between the

two units to find how many inches of Woods terrain intervene,

the player finds that he is trying to target a unit through 7 

inches of light woods intervene. Because this is more than 6

inches, LOS between the two BattleMechs is actually blocked;

BattleMech A therefore cannot attack BattleMech B.

The controlling player decides instead to  target Ground 

Vehicle C. Unfortunately, when he leans down to  the mini’s

level to check LOS, he finds that Vehicle C is actually hidden

by the low ridge between them. This leaves only VehicleD, a VTOL currently flying at an elevation level of 5 inches

above the table, as the only target that BattleMech A can

see from its vantage point. BattleMech A’s player notes that 

even this LOS passes over the woods terrain between them,

and verifies with a straight-edge that the attack will pass

through some wooded terrain.

Once a player has resolved (or skipped) coba acions for

all of his unis, he opposing player ay hen do so for all of 

his unis.

In Inroducory  Alpha Strike, he only valid arges for an

aack are oher unis.

RESOLvING WEAPON ATTACKS

 the sequence for resolving weapon aacks is as follows:Sep 1: Verify line of sigh (LOS)

Sep 2: Verify firing arc

Sep 3: Deerine range

Sep 4: Deerine o-hi nuber

Sep 5: Roll o hi

Sep 6: Deerine and apply daage

Sep 7: Roll for criical his (if applicable)

Step 1: verif Line of Sight

Line of sigh (LOS) in  Alpha Strike is deerined by wha

a uni can “see” fro is vanage poin on he able. Unis

can usually be sighed by siply going o he eye level of 

he aacking uni and looking a he arge iniaure. If he

arge iniaure can be seen, hen he unis have LOS o one

anoher. When his is no possible, players ay deerine

line of sigh by running a sraigh easuring ape or a au

sring fro iniaure o iniaure, or perhaps even by using

a laser poiner.

If less han one-hird of a iniaure is visible behind solid

errain (such as hills or buildings), hen he line of sigh is

considered o be blocked.

Non-solid errain—such as woods—does no auoaically

block LOS in he sae fashion. In he case of such errain,

line of sigh is only considered o be blocked when i passes

hrough 6 inches or ore of such inervening non-solid

obsrucions. Woods ha inervene, bu do no block, LOS will

ipose a odifier o he aack’s o-hi nubers (see he To-

Hit Modifiers Table, p. 16).

Adjacent Ground Units: Unis in base-o-base conacalways have line of sigh o each oher.

Interening Units: Inervening unis are no reaed as

errain, and hus have no effec on LOS or aacks.

Partial Coer: If ore han one-hird (bu less han wo-

hirds) of a arge is hidden behind blocking errain, LOS is

no considered blocked. Insead, he arge is said o possess

parial cover, and he aacker will apply a odifier o his

aack o-hi nuber as a resul (see he To-Hit Modifiers Table,

p. 16).

Woods: Unis do no receive parial cover fro woods errain.

Water: ’mech unis ha are sanding in Waer errain a a

deph (negaive elevaion) level of 1 inch will receive parial

cover benefis fro he waer. Because he waer surrounds he

’mech, his parial cover applies even if he aacker is sandinga a higher level han he arge and would ordinarily be able

o see he arge’s legs. If a uni is copleely suberged

wihin waer (such as a ’mech uni sanding in waer feaures

2 or ore inches deep), LOS o (and fro) he suberged uni

is considered o be blocked.

LIGHT WOODS

TEMPLATE

2” HILL

ELEVATION 5”

• line of sight diagrams •

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Step 2: verif Firing Arc

Every uni in  Alpha Strike 

has a paricular field of fire

ino which he uni ay ake

aacks. these fields of fire,

based on he uni’s ype and

is facing, are known as firing

arcs. A ’mech uni’s firing arcs

exend o he edge of he

balefield in he direcions

indicaed by he diagra.

If ore han half of he

arge uni’s base lies ouside

he aacker’s firing arc, hen

he aack canno be ade.

Step 3: Determine Range

 Alpha Strike uses fixed range brackes for all weapon ypes. to

deerine a uni’s range, easure he disance fro he edge of 

he aacker’s base o he edge of he arge’s base, and copare

his nuber o he Alpha Srike Range table, o deerine wha

range bracke he arge lies in.

A uni’s successful aack will deliver a cerain aoun of daage o he arge a each of he indicaed ranges, bu no

all unis can deliver daage a every range bracke. If a uni’s

daage value in a given range bracke is given as a 0 or a dash

(“—”) on is uni card, he uni canno ake a weapon aack a

ha range.

Base-to-Base Contact: Unis ay no ake weapon aacks

agains arges wih which hey are in base-o-base conac.

Agains such unis, he aacker ay only deliver a physical aack 

(see Resolving Physical Attacks, p. 19).

Step 4: Determine To-Hit Number

Once a player has deerined ha he has LOS o his arge,

ha he arge is wihin he aacking uni’s firing arc, and wihin

a range bracke i can deliver daage o, he us deerine he

o-hi nuber. the player’s dice roll us equal or exceed his o-

hi nuber in order o score a successful aack agains his arge.

 the base o-hi nuber for all aacks is he uni’s Skill Raing. this nuber is hen odified based on he aack’s range

bracke, he arge’s oveen capabiliy, errain feaures,

and oher iscellaneous siuaions. the odifiers applicable

o Inroducory  Alpha Strike are shown on he to-Hi modifiers

 table. Unless oherwise saed, all odifiers are cuulaive,

which eans hey are added o he uni’s base o-hi nuber o

find he final o-hi nuber.

alPHa strike range table

Distance Range

Up o 6” Shor

Over 6” and up o 24” mediu

Over 24” and up o 42” Long

RANGE MODIFIERS

Range Distance Modifier

Shor Up o 6” +0

mediu >6” o 24” +2

Long >24” o 42” +4

TARGET MOVEMENT MODIFIERS1

Target’s Available MP Modifier

0-4” +0

5”-8” +1

9”-12” +2

13”-18” +3

19”-34” +4

35”+ +5

Jup Capable +1

TERRAIN MODIFIERS

Terrain Modifier

Woods +22

Parial Cover +2

PHYSICAL ATTACKS MODIFIERS

Physical Attack Type Modifier

Charge +2

Deah Fro Above +3

melee +1

Sandard +0

TARGET MODIFIERS

Target Modifier

Is Shudown/Iobile –4

MISCELLANEOUS MODIFIERS

Attacker Modifier

Fire Conrol Hi +23

Overheaed + Hea Level [1-3]4

to-Hit Modifiers table

1Modifier Modifier is based on the unit’s available movement, modified by heat

levels and critical hits (if applicable). For units with multiple movementmodes, apply the modifier from the mode that has the highest modifier. Inches

actually moved by the unit are irrelevant.2Modifier applies if terrain is intervening or occupied by target.3This modifier may apply multiple times, but does not apply to physical attacks.4Heat modifiers do not apply to physical attacks.

• alpha strike firing arcs diagram •

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17

introduction

standard

alpha strike

abstract

aerospace system

advanced options

alpha strike

campaign rules

era setting:

the clan invasion

the battletech

universe

introductory

alpha strikeHeat Special Abilit: Soe unis have a preponderance of 

hea-generaing weapons. Unis wih his feaure will reflec

his in he uni’s sas via he Hea special abiliy (Ht#). the Hea

special abiliy will also include a nueric raing (for exaple,

Ht1), which will indicae he nuber of addiional hea poins

ha will be applied o he arge in he End Phase of he urn

when he aack his. (this hea applies in addiion o he

indicaed aoun of he uni’s noral weapon aack daage,

so a uni ha can deliver 3 poins of daage and has he Ht1

special will deliver 3 poins of daage plus 1 poin of hea.) Auni ay be sruck by uliple aacks ha deliver hea, bu no

uni ay gain ore han 2 poins of hea per urn in his fashion.

Appling Damage

 the following quesion-

and-answer process covers

he recording of daage fro

a successful aack.

question 1: Does he arge

uni have aror (Ar) bubbles

reaining on is uni card?

Yes: Check off one aror

bubble for every poin of 

daage delivered agains heuni, unil all daage is applied

or all aror is desroyed. then

proceed o Quesion 2.

No: Proceed o Quesion 3.

question 2: Is here aack daage reaining?

Yes: Proceed o Quesion 3 o allocae reaining daage.

No: the aack is finished.

question 3: Does he arge uni have srucure (Sr)

bubbles reaining?

Yes: Check off one srucure bubble for every poin of 

daage delivered, unil all daage is applied or all srucure

is desroyed. then proceed o Quesion 4.

No: Proceed o Quesion 4.

question 4: Is here daage reaining?Yes: the arge uni is desroyed.

No: Go o Quesion 5.

question 5: Does he arge uni have srucure bubbles

reaining?

Yes: Roll once on he Deerining Criical His table (see

Step 7: Roll for Critical Hits, p. 18). the aack is finished.

No: the arge uni is desroyed.

Shutdown Units: Shudown unis do no receive a

oveen odifier for arge’s available oveen.

Occuping and Interening Terrain: terrain is occupied if 

any par of he uni’s base is in conac wih he errain. terrain

is inervening if he Line of Sigh passes hrough i before

reaching he arge (see Verify Line of Sight , p. 15).

In the To-Hit Roll diagram, Alice’s CTF-3L Cataphract

stands at Point A and is attacking a n ANV-3MAnvilat Point 

B. Alice’s ’Mech has a Skill rating of 3, establishing her base

to-hit at 3. She then applies the following modifiers:

The Anvil is 2 inches away, and thus at short range

(no modifier).

The Anvil’s available Move is 10”/4”j. The 10” ground 

movement provides a target movement modifier of +2,

while the 4”j provides only +1 (+0 for the 4” movement, +1

for jump capability = +1 total). As the ground movement 

modifier is higher, +2, is used.

Next, Alice adds 2 because the Anvil is in water that 

 provides partial cover.

This makes the final, modified to-hit number 7 (3 [Skill 

Rating] + 0 [short range] + 2 [target movement] + 2

[partial cover] = 7). Alice will need to roll 7 or higher on 2D6

to successfully hit her target.

Step 5: Roll to Hit

 to execue an aack, he conrolling player rolls 2D6

for each uni and copares he oal o he odified o-hi

nuber idenified in he previous sep. If he dice roll equals

or exceeds he odified o-hi nuber, he aack succeeds.

Oherwise, he aack fails.

Step 6: Determine and Appl Damage

When an aack is successful, is daage is applied

iediaely, bu daage effec will no ake place unil he

End Phase. Before daage can be applied, he aack direcionand aoun of daage us be deerined.

Attack Direction: When an aack his a uni, i us be

deerined wheher or no i srikes he arge’s fron or rear. to

deerine his, lay a sraighedge fro he cener of he aacker’s

base o he cener of he arge’s base. If he aack eners hrough

he rear hex side of he arge’s base, he aack direcion is o he

arge’s rear. Oherwise, he daage applies o he fron of he

arge. If he sraighedge crosses a he inersecion of wo hex

sides, he arge chooses which side is hi by he aack.

Amount of Damage:the base aoun of daage delivered

by a successful weapon aack is equal o he aacking uni’s

daage value a he appropriae range bracke. If he arge is

a shor range, he base daage is ha lised in he aacking

uni’s S value. For a arge a ediu range, he m value isused. For a arge a long range, he L daage value applies.

Add 1 poin of daage o any successful aack ha srikes

is arge in he rear.

Unis ha rack hea ay inflic addiional daage on heir

arges a he expense of overheaing. the decision o overhea

for addiional daage poenial us be ade when he aack 

is declared, bu before i is resolved (see Overheating, p. 20).

• to-hit roll diagram •

1” DEPTHWATER

• attack directiondiagram •

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Ammo Hit: Unless he uni has he CASE, CASEII, or ENE special

abiliies, he uni is desroyed. If he uni has CASE, i suffers 1

addiional poin of daage (roll again on he Deerining Criical

His table if his daages srucure). If he uni has he CASEII or

ENE special abiliies, apply no addiional daage and rea he

resul as No Criical Hi.

Engine Hit: the uni’s power syse has been daaged. the

engine hi will cause he uni o generae 1 hea poin any iei fires is weapons wihou delivering any exra daage fro

overheaing. (the uni ay sill use overheaing o add daage

o is aacks, bu his hea will add o he 1 poin generaed by

he engine hi.) A second Engine Hi criical will desroy he uni.

Fire Control Hit: Soe echanis for conrolling he uni’s

weapons has been daaged. this could represen anyhing fro

ar acuaor daage o sensor his. Each Fire Conrol Hi adds

a cuulaive o-hi odifier of +2 for all subsequen weapon

aacks by he daaged uni. (this odifier will no apply o

physical aacks.)

MP Hit: Soehing relaed o he uni’s abiliy o ove has

been daaged. the affeced uni loses half of is curren move,

rounding norally (o a iniu move loss of 2 inches). If a uni

is reduced o a move of 0 inches (or less) in his fashion, he uniay no longer ove.

No Critical Hit: the hi causes no criical effec.

Unit Destroed: the uni has suffered faal daage and is

eliinaed fro he gae.

Weapon Hit: this hi represens he desrucion of a nuber of 

weapons on he affeced uni. All daage values are reduced by

1 (o a iniu of 0). Weapon His do no affec a uni’s physical

aack values.

Kevin’s RFL-3N  Rifleman begins the turn undamaged,

and so it has 4 points of armor and 5 points of structure. This

Combat Phase, the ’Mech is hit by weapon attacks from a

STK-5S Stalker and a BSW-X1 Bushwacker. After checking the

attack directions, Kevin’s opponents find all shots will strike his

Rifleman on the front. The Stalker is attacking from medium

range and will thus deliver 3 points of damage. Kevin marks

off 3 armor bubbles, leaving 1 armor and 5 structure circles

for his Rifleman. Because the damage has not marked off any 

structure bubbles, there is no Critical Hits roll.

The Bushwacker , also attacking from medium range, also

delivers 3 points of damage. Kevin marks off the last bubble of 

armor on his Rifleman and 2 points of structure, leaving it with

no armor bubbles, and 3 bubbles of structure.

Kevin informs his opponent that the attack has hit his

structure. This means there is a chance for a Critical Hit. His

opponent rolls 2D6, getting a 10 result, and consults the

Determining Critical Hit Table. This means the Rifleman has

taken a Fire Control Hit. In future turns, the Rifleman will suffer 

an additional +2 to-hit modifier to its weapon attacks.

Step 7: Roll for Critical Hits

Any ie a hi daages srucure, criical daage ay occurha furher weakens or ipairs he arge uni. to deerine

wheher a uni suffers a criical hi—and he naure of such

daage—he aacker rolls 2D6 and consuls he Deerining

Criical His table. Criical His us be clearly arked on he

uni’s card. the effecs of all criical his are peranen.

If he given criical hi effec does no apply o he uni in

quesion (for exaple, a weapon hi on a uni ha has already

had all of is daage values reduced o zero), apply 1 addiional

poin of daage o he uni insead, bu do no roll for addiional

criical his as a resul of his exra daage.

Critical Hit Effects

 the following describes he effecs of each criical hi ype

described in he Deerining Criical His table.

deterMining CritiCal Hits table

2d6 Roll Effect

2 Ao Hi

3 Engine Hi

4 Fire Conrol Hi

5 No Criical Hi

6 Weapon Hi

7 mP Hi

8 Weapon Hi

9 No Criical Hi

10 Fire Conrol Hi

11 Engine Hi

12 Uni Desroyed

This Sunderhas clearly taken a Weapon Hit, and likely an MP Hit.

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