Nightwatch house rules
Digested from Bellevue Dark Age Mercenary Campaign packet v1.3
The Bellevue packet is the primary source for campaign-specific rules. Players will be notified of errata; a change history is maintained by organizers.
Players
Track pilot skills, SPAs, XP, C-bills, and equipment on the provided trackers (and later, in this app). Report unit Battle Value and mark attendance for scheduled events.
Organizers
Mission briefings, opposing force design, running OpFor at events, and assisting with campaign operations.
Conduct
Treat others with respect and follow the event location’s policies.
Use the most recent published rules including errata; exclude playtest material.
Selected advanced/optional rules replace basic rules where listed in the packet.
Players are not required to purchase rules materials.
Tables run the same operation; max 5 players + 1 OpFor per table (split at organizer discretion).
No play in absentia.
Merc event ~3 times per month; other weeks open for pickup / community play.
Mark attendance via event signup or the official Discord event page.
Advanced / optional rules in use
Floating Criticals, Advanced Munitions, Modular Armor, Handheld weapons, Careful Stand, Sprint, Weather, Zero Gravity, Flamethrowers, Advanced Probes, Advanced Weapons*, Advanced Buildings.
*Availability based on organizer campaign guidance.Pilots receive 3 XP per operation/week. OpFor players receive the same rewards as mercs. XP is spent on skills, SPAs, and chassis weight-class training. Skills cannot be skipped; skill gap may not exceed 2; skills may not be reduced for C-bills.
Piloting XP (cost to improve to that skill)
| Target skill | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XP cost | 16 | 25 | 36 | 49 | 64 |
Gunnery XP (cost to improve to that skill)
| Target skill | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XP cost | 19 | 29 | 41 | 55 |
Special Pilot Abilities
XP price (what you spend): ability weight 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 → 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 XP. Example: Cluster Hitter (weight 2) costs 20 XP.
Ability budget (how much weight you may equip): skill average 4→max weight 2, 3→3, 2→4, 1→5, 0→6 (hard max 6). Dropping an SPA refunds its XP and frees its budget weight; buying another still costs XP. SPA list from Campaign Operations.
Chassis training
Medium 20 XP · Heavy 40 XP · Assault 60 XP. Weight classes may be skipped if the XP for each required class is paid.
Payouts are per operation; secondary objectives may add bonuses. Spend C-bills on repairs, refits, and new mechs. No salvage rewards.
Repair baselines (before weight multiplier)
| Type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Standard armor | 0 C-bills (specialty armor: 10% of per-ton cost) |
| Ammo | At cost (see armory) |
| 1 structure section | 3,000 |
| 3 structure sections | 8,000 |
| Full mech structure | 12,000 |
| Weapon with 1 crit | 0 (2+ crits: replace at cost; gyros/engines/actuators excluded) |
Weight multipliers: Medium ×2 · Heavy ×3 · Assault ×4. Structure is tracked in 8 sections; beyond 5 damaged sections use full-mech pricing rules as in the packet.
Refits
Standard: buy equipment at cost + 50% install fee (including reinstalling previously removed gear). Omni: pods cost equipment + 25% to create; swap pods at 10% of pod equipment; remount gear into a pod at 25%. Fixed equipment on Omnis cannot be swapped.
Purchases
Pay chassis price in C-bills. Sell-back optional at 50% value. Restricted to Dark Age Mercenary General list on the Master Unit List; Super Heavy and Heroic named mechs banned.