Mecha Borg: Operation Outback Echo
A scenario expansion for Mecha Borg: Under Falling Skies
1. Introduction
Premise: In the aftermath of the war, the conflict's detritus litters the Earth. In the Australian interior, among the rust-red mesas and ruined airbases, small remnants of the original antagonists continue to fight in disconnected skirmishes—conflicts without orders, purpose, or hope.
Satellite communication is dead. Supplies are gone. Both sides fight out of inertia, not ideology. Somewhere above, a derelict orbital defense platform begins to decay from orbit, promising the same ending to everyone below. At OCC 20 the hulk crushes the engagement zone, and the fight is over with no winners.
2. Factions
Continental Defense Force
Line Breaker
HP 6 | Armor -d4 | AGI +0 | PRE +1 | STR +2 | TOU +2
Weapons: Particle Cannons (d10), Rocket Pods (d8)
Special: If stationary this round, +2 to Defense rolls.
Shock Frame
HP 4 | Armor -d2 | AGI +2 | PRE +0 | STR +2 | TOU +0
Weapons: Rocket Cluster (d8), Gun Pod (d8), Melee Fists (d4)
Special: Once per round, may reroll a failed Melee attack. On success, both sides take damage.
Sky Guard
HP 5 | Armor -d4 | AGI +1 | PRE +2 | STR +1 | TOU +1
Weapons: Twin Autocannons (d8, Long Range)
Special: Can target enemies one zone farther with –2 to attack.
Siege Relic
HP 8 | Armor -d6 | AGI -2 | PRE +1 | STR +3 | TOU +3
Weapons: Heavy Cannons (d12, Long Range, reload 1 round), Missile Pods (d10, Long Range, reload 1 round)
Special: When destroyed, OCC +2 (the blast draws orbital attention).
The Titan Legion
Swarm Pod
HP 3 | Armor -d2 | AGI +2 | PRE +1 | STR +1 | TOU +0
Weapon: Plasma Autocannon (d6)
Tactics: Rush, fire, die. Spawn in pairs.
Command Node
HP 8 | Armor -d6 | AGI +1 | PRE +3 | STR +2 | TOU +2
Weapons: Beam Cannon (d10), Arm Guns (d8)
Special: If destroyed, all Swarm Pods suffer -2 rolls next round.
3. Scenario Setup
Operation Code: Outback Echo
Theater: Australian Northern Interior
Objective: Hold defensive positions for 6 rounds, then attempt extraction before OCC 20.
Complication Roll (d6):
- Dust storm – AGI checks +2 DR.
- Communications failure – all PRE rolls -1.
- Munitions shortage – reroll one successful damage roll per round.
- Micro-meteorite strike – OCC advances +1 per round.
- Faulty sensors – ranged attacks DR +2.
- False reinforcement signal – Cohesion -1 at start.
Enemy Composition:
- Round 1: 2 Swarm Pods, 1 Command Node
- Round 3: +2 Swarm Pods
- Round 5: +1 Command Node
OCC Behavior:
- +1 per round.
- +1 per failed test.
- +1 per destroyed unit (on either side).
- At OCC 20: Orbital re-entry event begins. Game over.
4. Play Notes
Atmosphere: Play in near silence. Desert wind, distant thunder, occasional radio chatter. No heroic music. No command oversight. Every tick of the OCC should be audible.
Tone: No one wins. Both sides are executing programming and ghosts of orders long invalidated. The battlefield is not ideological—it is gravitational.
Ending Options:
- OCC < 15: Survive and extract; Earth remains hostile but quiet.
- OCC 15–19: Survive, but communications intercept shows the platform's descent; you have minutes to live.
- OCC 20: Impact. The entire theater is wiped from orbit.
Optional Rule: Survivors may carry the call signs of fallen pilots into the next scenario. Their stats remain the same, but the Cohesion pool is permanently reduced by 1 for each previous loss.
Closing Note:It doesn’t matter which flag you paint on the wreck.At OCC 20, everyone looks the same from orbit.