Ranryu
01/31/11 07:24 AM
75.164.76.70
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I'm in the middle of attempting to form a Battletech league from fond memories of my teenage years getting my rear handed to me at one back at Slaughterhouse comics back in Killen, TX. I won't go into the backstory, but I was wondering if there was any kind of a quasi-official rule template that most use. If nothing else I could use some people to bounce ideas off that know the game well.
Right now we're looking at starting in the 3025 era, this will allow the older players that haven't been in the game a while and any new players to learn the game and get proficient before we start adding in new technology. The real issue I'm having is how to organize what they have to purchase their starting m
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Karagin
01/31/11 11:38 AM
178.76.138.173
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Core Rule books will give you all the rule sets you need. Two comic stores left in Killeen, TX now America's Heroes and Stan's.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Cray
01/31/11 02:39 PM
147.160.136.10
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Quote:
I'm in the middle of attempting to form a Battletech league from fond memories of my teenage years getting my rear handed to me at one back at Slaughterhouse comics back in Killen, TX. I won't go into the backstory, but I was wondering if there was any kind of a quasi-official rule template that most use. If nothing else I could use some people to bounce ideas off that know the game well.
The rules in the book "Total Warfare" (combat) and "Tech Manual" (construction) constitute the "tournament" level rules. Subsequent rule books (Tactical Operations, Strategic Operations) are outside BT's official tournament rules.
You might also look into the free "Total Warfare Quickstart Rules," officially available here:
http://www.classicbattletech.com/index.php?action=downloads#Rules
That site also has quite a few other freebies, like old House Sourcebooks and an introduction to the setting, which might help any new players:
http://www.classicbattletech.com/downloads/CBTUniverse.pdf
There's also the upcoming boxed set that might be handy for tournament games:
http://www.classicbattletech.com/index.php?action=products&mode=full&id=198
Quote:
Right now we're looking at starting in the 3025 era, this will allow the older players that haven't been in the game a while and any new players to learn the game and get proficient before we start adding in new technology. The real issue I'm having is how to organize what they have to purchase their starting m
There's several approaches.
One way would be to specify the "battle value" available to each player. 'Mechs and other units are now scored according to their battlefield threat through a rather lengthy equation (detailed in Tech Manual), judging armor, firepower, speed, heat sinks, etc. 1000-2000 points would give each player 2-3 light and medium 'Mechs, or one well-made assault 'Mech (from the 3025 era; later eras see individual 'Mech BV scores over 2000).
Another would be to assign C-bill values and see what they can buy based on unit prices, but that really calls for more roleplaying effort. (The current roleplaying edition is "A Time of War," aka "Mechwarrior 4th edition.")
You could script a scenario, assign forces to both or all sides, and let players pick what they want, if they'll go along with your "gamesmastering."
Mike Miller, Materials Engineer
Disclaimer: Anything stated in this post is unofficial and non-canon unless directly quoted from a published book. Random internet musings of a BattleTech writer are not canon.
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Ranryu
01/31/11 08:09 PM
174.18.174.82
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Thank you both so much for the information. I have most of the old books, so I should be able to find the rules mentioned. Likely, I'll go the BV route for a bot of ease of use. I've thought about doing a little bit of League "gamemastering" though such would likely need to be discussed with those that will be participating.
Now I just hope I've improved since the old days of getting myself blown up every Saturday.
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Karagin
01/31/11 11:40 PM
178.76.138.173
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Keep us informed and I hope all works outs.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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