Story arcs for DLC (fan fun)

[Dmon]

So just for kicks imagine yoy found yourself in a position where HBS has asked you to contribute to an upcomming DLC in the form of a 5-mission secondary story arc to run alongside the main story.

Requirements would be:
*New Mechwarrior acquired in mission 3 or 4 of story piloting a Warhammer 6R.(reward)
*story arc must have a named villan and one other named mechwarrior who will showcase Raven 'Mech.
*story arc must not clash with or against main story.
*must use star systems already available in base game.

What would your story be?

 

[Chaon]

I get a message from a colleague working for a Marik lord that a company of pirates working from the Capellan planet of Sunnywood are raiding planets in the periphery. I have been offered an extended contract to track these pirates down and eliminate them and recover a prototype mech they have been using.

Villain: Former Cepellan commander named Warren 'Heavy Fist' Tsuzen, turned pirate after being given responsibility to test and evaluate a new scout/ECM mech called a Raven.

Raven pilot: Sarah 'Shadow' Paulson, followed Warren into piracy and rumoured to be his lover. A well trained and experienced scout mech pilot.

Story arc: A series of missions where you have to follow traces of the pirates from planet to planet, On the planets you will have to attack bases, defeat convoys or hunt down pirate members to get the next hint to which planet to go to. 5-6 planets in total and 1-2 missions per planet would be nice.

Planets would be between Sunnywood in the Capellan Confederation and the Free Worlds League. Renown, Repulse, Jacomarie, Andarmax, Sax, Pilpala.

Last mission: You encounter the pirate leader piloting an Orion with a lance of heavies/mediums in support and they are all protecting the Raven scout. You have to kill the leader and the Raven to complete the mission.

Secondary completion will be to kill all the pirate reinforcements.

 

[mjbroekman]

Just to ask for clarification on your first point:
- Are you referring to your team _hiring_ (acquiring) a new mechwarrior in mission 3 or 4? Or just that you are rewarded with a Warhammer 6R?
-- Is there a requirement to keep this new mechwarrior on your team?

- Or is it more like your team gets an NPC that joins your fights as an ally?

 

[Dheran]

I would do a Gray Death like story:

• Mission 1: You go to defend a planet against minor threat (the usual pirate bunch).
• Mission 2: Surprise attack by unknown opponent - trained, competent pilots. Something starting like a normal pirate clean mission, but during mission it turns into escort an evacuation effort. No option for repair or refit or fly away after previous one.
• Mission 3: Base defence with the convoy in base too. Except maybe second wave has more units but starts running if they get beaten too much. Which starts the 3rd wave with enemy commander appearing in Warhammer 6R with new reinforcements and raising the morale of other units. So you have to target the commander now. No option for repair or refit or fly away after previous one.
• Intermission. Some respite for refit, though should be time constrained. Enemy commander is on your ship and you can talk with him/her. Some dialog options that allow you different outcomes: recruit the commander, release her and possibly recruit randomly from hiring hall, or cause her to escape, damaging some stuff on the ship or one of the mechwarriors and obviously help the enemy in next battle. And some future battles - make her recurring villain .
• Mission 4: Enemy outpost infiltration. Scripted sort-of stealth mission if possible, with target being an intel cache of sorts, the enemy reinforcements being really heavy, so that you've got to run instead of fighting. Some small time for refits after the mission. Total refit time should allow you to repair the Warhammer for the final battle.
• Mission 5: Strike at the head of the snake. Base assault with one of the heavy enemies being the commander to kill in addition. Gain large rep with local faction, lose large rep with attacking one, which is discovered only after mission 4 (should be large house though).

Limited to no money and scrap from missions 2-4. but gain rep instead. Negotiation options for mission 5, with 3/12 max scrap and good money value.
Maybe add some dialog with crew to decipher the intel between 4 and 5.

EDIT: Raven and the other named pilot would be in the scout mission to be escorted. Especially useful if it is an ECM Raven.

EDIT2: Accepting the chain should be a choice after the first mission in a dialog. So that you can either wriggle out or follow through, depending on your choice.

 

[Dmon]

Just to ask for clarification on your first point:
- Are you referring to your team _hiring_ (acquiring) a new mechwarrior in mission 3 or 4? Or just that you are rewarded with a Warhammer 6R?
-- Is there a requirement to keep this new mechwarrior on your team?

- Or is it more like your team gets an NPC that joins your fights as an ally?

I was thinking you get a Mechwarrior NPC who fights alongside you for a bit and offers to join your team for free and brings his 'Mech, really though it is upto you. I am just trying to approach it in a way that if you where making a part of a DLC rather than a total free hand in order to provide a bit more challenge.

 

[NoDebate]

Minnesota Tribe shows up along the FS/Taurian Border, causing a small scale conflict between the three factions.

 

[kylania]

I would really love the ability to mod in new storylines.

 

[TheDarkestStig]

I would really love the ability to mod in new storylines.

From the Dev Q&A that's going on right now, it sounds like the campaign is in a clear text .json file that can be edited. So this might very well be possible....

 

[kylania]

Dev Q&A that's going on

Ugh, stuck in training and missed it all. Here's to the VOD later tonight, thanks!

 

[mjbroekman]

Title: Capellan Crosshairs

Location: New Roland, Capellan Confederation
Actors: CCAF, St. Cyr's Armored Grenadiers, the player's unit, pirates

Characters:
- Colonel Anastasia Feng Zi, CCAF
- Major Amy St. Cyr, St. Cyr's Armored Grenadiers (a mercenary unit employed by the CCAF on New Roland in 3025)
- Commander Dmitriy Valerianovich, local garrison commander
- Yuhan Arseni Denisovich, elite mechwarrior (has 3 skills, gunnery / guts specialist)
- Yu Shan Denisovich, regular mechwarrior (has ace pilot skill)

Background: Rumors have been circulating that the Capellan Confederation has been working on resurrecting Star League era electronic countermeasures and testing them on Battlemechs on and near New Roland. These rumors are more than confirmed when Darius receives a communique from an old enemy, one Colonel Anastasia Feng Zi. He explains that they had run into each other years ago when before the Aurigan bombing and the death of Commander Markham. She is honorable, but crafty and anything she says needs to be taken with a grain or two of salt.

Mission 0:
- Colonel Feng Zi is requesting mercenary assistance with a recon mission on New Roland. They were running field trials there and caught garbled communications suggesting a pirate attack before they lost contact with some units there. They should travel to New Roland and contact the local commander, a Major Amy St. Cyr of St. Cyr's Armored Grenadiers, for further details.

Mission 1:
- Major St Cyr informs the team that there were three outposts that were no longer responding on the radio, but two of them had radioed about being hit by laser fire from beyond sensor range.
- : The team drops in and has to investigate three waypoints, finding evidence of a surprise attack at one location and overwhelmed, but prepared units at the other two.
- : There are no survivors and no evidence that the attacking force suffered losses.
- : Near the third waypoint, the team catches up to a damaged mech that puts up one round of fighting before the pilot ejects (or dies).
- Reward: cbills, Liao rep. No salvage.

Mission 2:
- Major St Cyr admits that she hasn't heard from the commander of one of the garrison companies aiding the field trials and he wasn't among the dead. The commander of the field trial unit was among the dead and Major St Cyr wants answers. She authorizes you to conduct more recon of the area as no dropships have left New Roland. She identifies the missing commander as one, Dmitriy Valerianovich, who had been demoted several times for crimes against civilians and posted here as a garrison commander.
- : The team must hit waypoints to conduct the recon mission.
- : After the first waypoint is hit, the team gets a radio message taunting them and confirming that they will never find anything.
- : After the second waypoint, the team is hit by 4 mechs (a heavy, a medium, and 2 lights) with supporting medium tanks
- : As the final enemy is taken out, the team receives another radio message taunting them again.
- : The team finds nothing at the third waypoint.
- Reward: cbills, Liao rep, minimal salvage

Mission 3:
- Major St Cyr thanks you completing the mission and asks you a favor. One of her better mechwarriors, Yuhan Arseni Denisovich, has come to her with a request for assistance in locating his grand-daughter. Her last known location was New Roland.
- : The team meets up with the Yuhan, piloting a Warhammer (or Orion), and must escort him through several locations.
- : A force of 8 tanks attacks near one waypoint.
- : A force of 4 light mechs attacks near another waypoint.
- : Near the last waypoint, the team receives a radio message from the same person who taunted them in the last mission.
- : Yuhan responds demanding that she return home for the family's honor and the sake of her career.
- : There is a pause and then multiple large lasers strike at Yuhan before the mission ends.
- Reward: cbills, Liao rep, minimal salvage

Mission 4:
- Yuhan is shamed and admits that the person taunting the mercenaries is none other than his grand daughter, Yu Shan Denisovich, a talented mechwarrior, but still just a child. He insists that she has been misled by her commander or otherwise not responsible. Major St Cyr reprimands Yuhan and demands that he take responsibility for bringing her back in and authorizes him to use your help to do so.
- : The team drops near a spaceport.
- : The team quickly encounters a lance of medium mechs with Demolisher tanks and LRM / SRM carriers as backup. The one outlier is a sniper that stubbornly refuses to show up on sensors.
- : When 3/4 of the enemy mechs are incapacitated, a male voice shouts over the comms that everyone should get to the dropship because it's leaving and anyone left behind will be killed by the Capellans.
- : Another radio message from Yu Shan, taunting the team and telling Yuhan that she is leaving for her new family, comes in. More large lasers target Yuhan.
- Reward: cbills, Liao rep, moderate salvage.

- cut scene of a Raven running into a Union dropship as it takes off -

Mission 5:
- Colonel Feng Zi comes to you with an offer. This goes beyond the failings of Major St Cyr. Take out Valerianovich and Denisovich. No questions asked. No restraints. Yuhan will be at your disposal but the only mission requirement is the execution of the thief and her commander. Yuhan is saddened by the command. Colonel Feng Zi states that the mercenaries will find much more profit within Capellan space should they complete this successfully. The pirate dropship was last seen heading towards a lunar base on New Roland's moon.
- : The team deploys to the moon.
- : There, a heavy lance (an Orion, two Thunderbolts, and a Catapult) is entrenched with turrets (and a generator), sensor towers, and tanks awaits them. Additionally, the Raven is there, sniping at the team.
- : There is no retreat and no surrender. The Raven focuses on mechs that are taking fire from the heavies and tries to avoid coming within sight range of other mechs.
- Reward: minimal cbills, LOTS of Liao rep, LOTS of salvage.

If Yuhan survives, the team can hire him with his mech. If he dies, the team is able to salvage parts of his mech.

 

[GenTask]

Minnesota Tribe shows up along the FS/Taurian Border, causing a small scale conflict between the three factions.

I'd like some MT, but I think it would be more fun to play as Minnesota Tribe on their Exodus journey when they were first spotted in the IS and continued on past FS, Taurian, and Canopus space. It would also give a chance to play with Star League and early Clan Tech.

It would be even more awesome if it wasn't advertised as Minnesota Tribe at all and we only really find out who we are playing as from a mission or few in. Like you are playing as a scouting force, mainly recon and hit-n-run, grab-n-bag, perhaps some "Bargained Well" occurring in the dialogue, and eventually you report back to the commander on a massive Warship in space accompanied by other fleet craft, only to find out it is dun-dun-dun 'OvKhan' Star Colonel/saKhan Trish Ebon, "We must proceed with further caution, we are the last of our people... the loss of Karlan on Richmond is felt by all of us, but it will not have been in vein. The freeing of those... prisoners was not our main objective, but as isorla we may have use for them." A scarred woman reveals herself alongside Trish as Sarah McEvedy among the rest of the leadership, "You will be taking Karlan's place as Star Captain."

dun dunnn dunnn Clan Wolverine and 331st insignia close-ups.

Villian: Unknown pursuers, references to Kerensky, several Pirate Lords that get in the way
Main Player Character: (Depending on selected backgrounds) end up as Male or Female character with "Bloodnames" Artemev, Callahan, or Hennesy
Player Mechs: WVR-7H "Wolverine II" (possibility to acquire Stag II, Mercury II, later rewarded piloting of a Pulverizer or Kingcrab KGC-010) Other equipment available: Star League Royal variants of existing BattleMechs
Story arc: A series of missions of a mysterious group fielding advanced technology continually on the run of which you are a part of, revelations of who your group is will be built up and revealed; mainly recon, intelligence gathering, hit-n-run, securing "Isorla" missions (the objectives mainly emphasizing survival)

Mission 1: Arriving in system with large fleet, Point Commander (Player Character), ordered to reconnoiter nearby planet in system on star charts known as "Iron Land" (Objective: Remain Undetected, Eliminate hostiles if any, secure isorla)
Mission 2: Fleet jumps into system and orders PC, attached to Star Captain Karlan's Reinforced Company, to land on "Svelvik", avoid conflict with locals if possible and raid for supplies (enemy opponent identifies themselves as Draconis Combine militia, however your unit is ordered not to respond to their hails). Objective: Quickly secure isorla before local militia intervenes
Mission 3: Fleet jumps into system and orders Karlan and PC to Trondheim. Enemy opponent revealed as 20th Rasalhague Regulars. Objective: Hit and Run, Gather information in local town known as "Misby Flats", if any of your BattleMech or Vehicle forces are disabled eject pilots and destroy the unit, Destroy Mayoral Complex

Cutscenes - Coordinator Jinjiro Kurita is revealed as he is informed of unknown forces raiding Trondheim orders forces to shift to Periphery border fearing an invasion is imminent, referring to "the return of Kerensky" ; another scene cuts to Primus of ComStar Conrad Toyama disturbed by the sudden moves of Jinjiro, orders ROM to shadow and follow mysterious fleet

Mission 4: Fleet jumps next into system "Jarett" and Karlan and PC ordered to make landfall. Player receives unlimited support from massed Aerospace units. Objective: Secure the isorla
Mission 5: Fleet jumps next to Richmond Objective: Reconnoiter area and follow Karlan's orders (Internment camp located, local forces First Rasalhague Regulars and Fourth Pesht Regulars move to engage, Karlan thinks on what to do and eventually orders to free all the prisoners and retreat), Player force must not take any losses, battle moves into full retreat into a river mountain pass - Karlan orders PC and rest of your lance pilots to retreat immediately while he holds the pass

Cutscenes - PC gives mission debriefing to the fleet's leader, revealed to be Trish Ebon; cuts to end of battle on Richmond, forces are seen engaging a lone Mech destroying numerous vehicles and BattleMechs strewn across the battlefield, which eventually gets hit in the cockpit and remains still, Draconis forces move into to discover a nearly pristine Lancelot BattleMech and a male pilot sporting advanced full body cooling suit with insignia of the 331st Royal BattleMech Division and another showing a symbol of a Wolverine with bloodies fangs

Mission 6-12?: Further missions to the final jump point, ComStar cutscenes shows losing sight of unknown fleet at Valentina, your fleet engages forces in Outworlds Alliance region losing the "Zughoffer Weir", continuing to several worlds and backwater systems