During my initial ponderings on Battletech over on my Tales From Farpoint blog, several folks commented on the fact that the Battletech universe is rather intimidating as there are 35 years worth of background material to wade through. Coupled with the various eras, powers, forces and campaigns, it can be a bewildering game to try and get into.
In this post, I hope to share my initial thoughts on delving into such a setting and how I begin my Battletech journey!
I also got the Battletech Quick-Start Rules, which are from the previous edition but the rules themselves are unchanged and it has the basic rules for the game which will allow you to get playing pretty much straight away, especially as it contains record sheets for four mechs and a map sheet you can print out. I'll be using these to trial the game in the morning!
There's also the BATTLETECH HOMEPAGE which has free downloads of the new edition Quick-Start Rules. This is very similar to the previous edition but you get record sheets for two mechs and a different colour map sheet. It's one of the best things about the game, the basics haven't changed much in 30 years!
I do like that the core rules are free and they even include gaming counters and whatnot to get you going. In fact all you need to supply is some D6's and a pencil and you're ready to rock!
These resources are invaluable in getting going with the game and finding out a bit about the lore and as they are free, it literally costs nothing to try out, other than printer ink.
I must admit that the more I explore the game, the more I realise it is all scalable. The basic game allows you to play with giant stompy robots with a brief outline of the different combatants but you can ramp it up with advanced rules, delve into the background and incorporate so many different elements to the game that it can make your head spin. But it also encourages you to pick and choose what you want.
For example, the more advanced rulebooks run to several hundred pages of dense text but much of the contents are options to add extra elements such as Aerospace combat, advanced movement and new tech. Essentially you can choose how far you want to develop the game.
Just want to shoot up your enemies and stomp around? Play the basic game! Want to run interstellar campaigns with all sorts of extra elements? Battletech has got you covered as it can literally be as granular as you want it to be. I feel that there is a sliding scale of complexity within the game itself that allows you to go for the level you feel suits you best.
It's the same with the background, you can choose one of the many powers and run a generic force or delve into individual unit histories with named pilots and mechs with all manner of quirks but there is absolutely nothing to stop you from creating your own forces, nations or whatnot. The Inner Sphere is vast and there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to make your own force!
As I am just starting out with Battletech, I have settled for using the basic Quick-Start rules for my first few games and have got the action taking place in 3025, a period of minor border raids and the calm before the next great conflict. Technology is at it's low ebb with mechs being rare and civilisation crumbling but with the glimmering hope of improvements brought about by rediscovered Lostech.
As I get used to the game, I hope to move to more advanced options and may move to different eras or regions of space but for the time being, I'll be sticking with the barbarous Periphery region with all it's ne'er do wells, cutthroats and down and out mercenaries.
Tomorrow I hope to try out the game using the materials I have sourced so watch this space!
In the meantime, All the best!
Scalability, that's exactly what I like so much about Battletech. You can play it all from a single man's actions with the RPG, up to a full scale system invasion with space ships and all.
ReplyDeleteI also like the Chaos Campaign system, though I wish they kept acquiring resources a lot simpler, with only Warchest Points like in
the Sword and Dragon campaign.
I've download the Death From Above Wargaming take on the Chaos Campaign system and it looks pretty interesting.
DeleteI took a peek at the Campaign book the other day and was somewhat intimidated by just how much detail you can put into it, down to how much you need to spend a month on admin clerks!
Again it seems to be the scalability of Battletech where some folks just want to play a fairly straightforward campaign whilst other really want to delve into every facet of it.