BattleTech

So, I've played the MechWarrior games, and the 'verse they're set in looks really appealing. Thing is, I don't play tabletop games (probably can't afford them, either), so I'm only interested in the fiction- novels, maybe the fluff sections of the rulebooks (if it's anything like Warhammer 40000) and such.

Any suggestions for a newcomer on where to start?

The official site here has a few free PD Fs. http://bg.battletech.com

There are around a hundred novels (most of them are one shots) though the usual starting place is The Warrior Trilogy by Stackpole (you can buy it as an omnibus relatively cheap on PDF or E-reader).

The best fluff books aren't the main rulebooks but the Handbooks, Historicals, Era Reports and the like.

What parts of the universe interest you the most? Which factions and eras do you like? There is a lot stuff to go through and its best to pick a segment and start from there.

There is also the RPG aspect of the game if you have a gaming group that would be into that, but that might get costly. The Core RPG book isn't that bad price wise (and also serves as a great fluff source, although its set rather ahead in the timeline) but if you want to do any sort of vehicular combat you are going to have to shell out for Technical Readouts.

edited 4th Feb '12 7:01:34 PM by Rationalinsanity

Looking at everything I've read; a great start (in terms of fluff books) would be Historical: Reunification War. Its near the start of the timeline, details a lot of the major factions, puts a lot of the focus on the limited war VS total war issue, prevents a rose tinted view of the Star League (and puts a lot of characters view on it in a different light) and is all around well written.

Thanks for the suggestions. I looked at the website you linked to and downloaded the intro PDF.

Does the Battle Tech 'verse have an ongoing story? Or is it like Warhammer 40000 where there is just a backstory and the setting remains in stasis?

I've never played Battletech-the actual tabletop game I mean.

Maybe I should start a Battletech campaign online. Maptools have hexmap options!

The setting is still adding to the plotline, with the Jihad storyline just being wrapped up. The plotline is now in the 3080s though new stuff covering previous eras is always coming out. For instance I'm pumped for the coming 2 part Historical: Liberation of Terra and that involves stuff that took place in the late 2700s.

The sourcebooks tend to be far more fluff than crunch than 40k books. Most of the non TR Os/Main rulebooks are about 80% story with the chapters at the end detailing the new vehicles/weapons/named character abilities/etc and even those have fluff justifications.

I like it, but not else seem to play it

Its a relatively small niche and while the small scale games, like lance to company battles (4-16 mechs on each size), are dirt cheap compared to 40k there just aren't many places to play and buy this game. I live on the east coast of Canada and the closest retailer that officially carries Battletech, and thus has a player base,(there are a few places nearby but I'd have to order everything and pay shipping) is in Ontario.

Play online: MegaMek.

edited 7th Feb '12 6:13:36 AM by Night

I've done several Mechwarrior chronicles; because of all the "fluff", there is a lot of potential for different chronicle types. I've run military adventure (duh), political intrigue, exploration and even horror. There's something for everyone if one is willing to dig enough.

So I just finished reading through Historical: Operation Klondike and I ran into possibly the biggest source of High Octane Nightmare Fuel and the worst Tear Jerker in an RPG. This is the kind of stuff other settings don't go into, what happens after you beat the Evil Overlord and start going through the ruins. Sure its mundane compared to 40k or Call Of Cthulu but I think the fact that things like this can and do happen in real life just makes it more effective.

Figured I share this to see if anyone else had a similar reaction; despite how awful the situation is it really is effective at getting the tone of the story across. Be warned this is very gruesome. And a wall of text.

Death is far too merciful an end for Amaris and his followers. Even throwing them into the piles of rotting corpses we dig up every day and burying them alive is too good for them. Hell is too merciful for them!

Every single day... It’s almost... We come across something new every day. Sometimes it’s horrible. Today we found... I was there when they opened the mines. We thought that Amaris had buried billions in stolen goods—artwork, sculptures, jewelry, silverware and the like— in a series of abandoned mines in [the old North American province of ] Pennsylvania. The first few chambers were just what we expected. There were rooms and rooms full of valuables obviously stolen from citizens of the Terran Hegemony, all meticulously organized and cataloged. I didn’t stay long. This wasn’t the first of these caches that we’d found, and General Surrt had the site under control.

Three days later, Surrt’s aide called. That was 0300 this morning. [General Surrt] needed me back at the site ASAP. There was no explanation, but I could tell from [Major Ander] Locke’s voice that whatever they found was horrible. I had no idea.

The minute I landed, I could feel the... the horror. There’s no other way to put it. And then the smell... Even outside of the mine you could... It wasn’t there before. I knew that this would be worse than anything we’d seen yet. I wish I was wrong...

Even the environment suit wasn’t enough protection. [Amaris’ troops] had hidden the entrance to the lower levels behind a ferrocrete plug made to look like just another rock wall. We went through half a dozen more plugs and descended hundreds of meters. No pit of hell... How could anyone? This was the work of no human being.

There must have been thousands of them to begin with. Tens of thousands. All cultures, all ages. Men, women, children. Convicted murderers and rapists. Animals. They just shoved them down there in the dark and cold. There were a couple of hundred left... We had to use infrared light to see. They couldn’t take the light anymore. Their screams were like... Like death ripping your chest open and clawing at your heart.

And those sonsabitches watched and laughed. They kept records. They took notes. Fuck them. A quarter died in the first week at the hands of the criminals. But then... They... The rats. The insects. Those... Goddammit, they did it to them. And when they got bored, or when the stench got too bad, they sealed them up and forgot about them. They didn’t even have the common goddamn decency to put them out of their misery.

Best anyone could figure, those that managed to survive four murderous waves, the predations of animals and vermin, the diseases, the dark, the cold, the moisture and the insanity... How could... They fed off of the dead while they dug. They literally worked their fingers to the bone... They survived more than a decade on themselves along with the water and the fungi they could harvest.

By the time we got to them... These weren’t human. They couldn’t talk. They just lashed out at us... The doctors are already saying they will never again live aboveground in society. It would be better to put them down now. More humane than letting them live another minute.

How the Hell?

-—General Aaron De Chavilier, Personal Diary, 23 May 2780

Thread necro! I have finally met someone else in person who has played BattleTech. Of course, I had to go all the way to Pennsylvania for a film shoot to meet him (I live in New York), which I suppose proves the point that the game has somehow become obscure despite lasting for 20+ years.

I've seen some models for sale at brick and mortars in my city, but never actually seen people playing them.

Which is a shame, because the company in charge of the franchise has a nice laissez faire attitude to the models that people are allowed to use to play the game (to my understanding, anyway), which is a massive breath of fresh air these days.

Hell, you don't have to use models. The game is actually designed for a hex-based counter-using approach.

edited 27th Feb '13 1:07:17 AM by Night

That's even awesomer.

I play MegaMek, which is as close as you can probably get on the computer.

Fairly certain that MegaMek is a direct translation of the tabletop rules.

Meanwhile, there's MechWarrior: Tactics, which is pretty nice overall, although I do have a few issues with it (mainly the art style, which diverges from just about everything BattleTech related that has ever come out before, and the double blind movement system).

The art style is kinda cartoony, yeah, and weirdly angular. I think how they seem to have implemented double-blind is somewhat interesting, though.

A beef I have with MegaMek is that combat vehicles seriously don't work like they're supposed to.

edited 27th Apr '13 1:26:01 PM by RocketDude

WISE FWOM YOUW GWAVE

So, I've been thinking of running A Time of War game.

I want to do this MGS/Splinter Cell-style game featuring a team of special forces operators.

The basic plot is that [INSERT HOUSE HERE] is preparing for an invasion of [INSERT PLANET HERE].

And part of those preparations is the sending of special forces to the surface of the planet.

Down there, the operators have the mission of gathering intel, performing demolitions, and neutralising high-value targets.

Would this actually work or am I just full of shit?

Sounds like a perfectly plausible set up. You certainly don't need to drowned your player in backstory just give them clear motivation. Are are your players the aggressors in the war? If so why.

I was looking at A Time Of War myself of late as the baseline system titanfall conversion. The infantry versus Mech elements is already there along with the general a backstory of the setting. Plus got to love a RPG that uses 2D6 modifier rollover for it's accessible.

edited 5th Apr '14 2:59:05 PM by joeyjojo

I might have it be a struggle between Houses for a planet that has a stockpile of lostech.

How volatile are the relations between Houses?

Also, are there jump jets for non-Battle Armor infantry?

Regular infantry can get jump packs, but I think they have fuel restrictions and require specialized training. They aren't as effective as the jump jets on Battle Armor.

As for House relations; depends on the era. When are you planning to set this?

I dunno.

I was thinking of setting it after the Jihad.

Jump Infantry is an entire class, along with Foot and Motorized, and has been in the game a long time.

IIRC Elementals is a unit of Jump Infantry design for simply for dog pilling mechs. à la Attack On Titan

edited 7th Apr '14 3:24:01 AM by joeyjojo