Touring the Stars (series)

Development

The Touring The Stars series - often abbreviated to TtS - is an e-book only series announced by Catalyst Game Labs on 24 Jul 2015. The Touring the Stars series was one of five e-publication miniseries to be announced simultaneously. The other four series were Milestones, focusing on putting players on the front lines of key Inner Sphere events of the late Dark Age and beyond, OpFor, a publication series dedicated to detailed small, specialised units of lance, Star or Level I size with more character and less randomness than randomly-generated opponents, Spotlight On, a series dedicated to providing a detailed look at specific units within the BattleTech universe, and Gladiator Gazette, close looks at individuals, equipment and locations associated with the various game worlds such as Solaris VII.

Overview

“	Touring the Stars It’s a whistle-stop tour of the universe! Every system and planet where mankind treads in the BattleTech universe has a story, for those with the drive to explore it. Take a tour of the stars humanity now calls home, experience awesome new worlds, immerse yourself in the local civilization, and prepare to do battle in exotic locales. From the peripheral Butte Hold to the game world Noisiel, to lost worlds like Jardine - join us on the tour!	”
	— Catalyst Game Labs, Upcoming Releases Announcement, 24 Jul 2015

Beginning with Touring the Stars: Lone Star, each Touring the Stars publication has followed a similar format. Priced at $2.99 each, a Touring the Stars volume consists of a colour cover depicting an orbital view of the subject planet, a short history section, a small number of RPG tracks tailored to the planet, a rules annex detailing optional rules for games and scenarios set on the planet, a colour world map and a hexed Battleforce 2 map. Each volume averages between 16 and 19 pages in total.

Chronology

Touring the Stars: Lone Star - Published 10 Feb 2016. Cold, desolate, long-abandoned and looted of any treasures centuries ago, Lone Star was once a crown jewel of the Terran Hegemony and bold achievement of terraforming. In Touring the Stars: Lone Star, players learn about Volgadon and the "Pond Cities" and their disparate and fabulous architectures, discover why Lone Star was a major agriculture and manufacturing center for the Terran Hegemony...and read how the horrors of the Amaris Civil War and the First Succession War set this once-great world onto the path towards oblivion.

Touring the Stars: Benet III - Published 27 Feb 2016. The mineral-rich planet Benet III served as a place of industry, a base for military forces and as a home to a hearty, stubborn populace — a people who survived the Succession Wars, the FedCom Civil War and the Jihad, only to be all but wiped out by the fickle planet itself. In Touring the Stars: Benet III, players learn about the planet's constant volcanic and seismic activity, as well as the infamous "Death Mists" that eventually led to the disastrous end of Benet III.

Touring the Stars: Bone-Norman - Published 11 Mar 2016. A stark world on the fringes of the Inner Sphere, Bone-Norman’s desolate, haunting geography can spook even the most experienced warrior. A sleepy backwater planet for most of its history, Bone Norman vaulted to the front lines of the Clan Invasion and Jihad. In Touring the Stars: Bone-Norman, players learn about the planet’s interesting flora and fauna, as well as the mysterious Föhnkrankheit, or “wind sickness” brought on by the planet’s unique geography.

Touring the Stars: Bob

Touring the Stars: Bob - Published 01 Apr 2016. It is a shadow world of dark woods and darker rivers, and so was it named - Dunklewälderdunkleflüsseschattenwelt. Alien predators roam the land, seas and air, named for creatures of folklore, while survivors of the once proud settlements eke out an meager existence. Dunklewälderdunkleflüsseschattenwelt suffered during the Succession Wars as many planets of the Inner Sphere did, but as detailed in Touring the Stars: Bob, the beginning of the end was unwittingly initiated by a vote to change the planet's name...

Touring the Stars: Manassas - Published 14 Apr 2016. The victim of a devastating cosmic impact and war, Manassas is still one of the Inner Sphere’s safest planets, except for the so-called “Dead Zones” dotting the world. In Touring the Stars: Manassas, players will learn about the famed Manassas Run, an annual world-spanning treasure hunt for valuable LosTech where anything goes and the prize of becoming Run Champion is all that matters.

Touring the Stars: Brownsville - Published 13 May 2016. Now a lifeless, dead planet, Brownsville was once a vibrant and discreet supplier of atmospheric processors and inexpensive water filters before the Amaris Coup. But political and diplomatic mistakes would turn the unassuming planet into another casualty of the Star League Civil War and early Succession Wars. Brownsville’s demise sealed the fate of dozens of other worlds.

Touring the Stars: Promised Land - Published 01 Jun 2016. Promised Land was not exactly as the colonization brochures described, but was settled nevertheless. A chance encounter during the early Star League saved the planet from abandonment, and the struggling colony remained. Long a border waystation between the Lyran Commonwealth and the Free Worlds League, Promised Land’s history is the story of overcoming the challenges of this strange world and thriving in its unique environment.

Touring the Stars: Inglesmond - Published 20 Jun 2016. A curious, albeit devastated, survivor of the First Succession War, Inglesmond was once a shining jewel of the Terran Hegemony. Though Inglesmond is now a planetary nature preserve in the Republic of the Sphere, it could easily be reinhabited and once again rejoin the Inner Sphere. Learn about the planet’s unique climate and equatorial-spanning ice belt, tribal survivor communities and salvage operations gone awry.