Omegawolf
02/28/13 08:49 AM
71.94.220.96
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Okay so I am starting a new Time of War game and we are focusing the characters towards being 'Mech pilots (stating this because Time of War allows for a wide array of character types). For me this is fine for the most part because I have everything needed for that type of campaign; 'mech miniatures/standups, maps, buildings etc.
However, I am looking at running an IS group starting at 2048 with the Clan invasion looming in the near future. About 4 out of 5 of my players are unfamiliar with the setting so I am hoping to spring the Clan invasion as a major plot twist and have them thrust into the middle of it.
Thing is, I have 5 players. A lance is 4 'mechs. So how do I make it so that they are a legal lance in terms of the BT setting? I could make an NPC to go with them and have two 'mechs be light/recon based 'mechs as an 'auxiliary intelligence retinue' attached to the lance, but would that work and be true to the setting?
Really need some advice and/or direction on this. Thanks in advance.
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Col_Green
02/28/13 11:11 AM
99.9.128.106
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You could start them in Comstar in the Comguard. They use 6 mech lance configurations. If that doesn't suit your needs I would let them roll off and the 4 highest players be mech pilots and have the 5th be a tanker or even aerospace pilot. That is how I would run it. However the Comstar bit is the better choice plus it allows YOU as teh GM to really control the flow of the game.
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Omegawolf
02/28/13 06:45 PM
71.94.220.96
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Unfortunately they all wanted to be part of a Merc company, so that's the agreed upon format. Is it plausible that a Merc unit might have a slightly different configuration? Maybe if their commander is ex-Comguard?
And if I were to go the route of having someone be an Aerospace pilot, how easy/hard would that be to integrate into regular 'mech battles once we go tactical? Though I have the rules for them (even have the original boxed set), I've never actually used Aerospace fighters in BT before.
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Cray
02/28/13 08:49 PM
184.88.162.114
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Quote:
Thing is, I have 5 players. A lance is 4 'mechs. So how do I make it so that they are a legal lance in terms of the BT setting? I could make an NPC to go with them and have two 'mechs be light/recon based 'mechs as an 'auxiliary intelligence retinue' attached to the lance, but would that work and be true to the setting?
You've got several options.
First, you can just say, "screw it," and run a slightly over-sized lance. BT isn't going to send the game police to your house if you have an off-sized number of troops in your lance. There are things like "heavy companies" (4 lances versus 3), "light battalions" (2 companies versus 3), command lances (and extra lance attached to a regular battalion of 9 lances for 10 total) and other variations. If you're playing a merc unit, no one's going to think twice if you can only bring 5 'Mechs to the table - they'll be happy to have the extra 'Mech.
Second, you can run two lances filled out with 3 NPC MechWarriors, or even run a company of 3 lances. After all, your 5 players should already be supported by a bunch of NPCs, like a team of 1 tech and 6 astechs per 'Mech (which would be 28 NPCs to keep the 'Mechs working). Adding 3 more NPC MechWarriors (or 7 more, for a company) who show up for 'Mech battles and then disappearing during roleplaying periods is pretty common.
I mean, plenty of folks play with merc units having a battalion or even a regiment of combatants. There aren't player characters for all those units, or even most of them. Usually, there's just 3-5 players and then dozens or hundreds of NPCs. Players that run in a typical government Regimental Combat Team will have about 120 MechWarriors, over 1200 vehicle crewmen, and over 3500 infantry and they're all NPCs except for the handful of player characters.
And, no, you don't need a detailed character sheet for each NPC. Some generic notes on combat skills (Gunnery / Piloting) or tech skills will be plenty. If you want to put full names and stats to them, more power to you. But it's hardly necessary.
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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Omegawolf
02/28/13 11:08 PM
71.94.220.96
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@Cray - Thanks for the input. I know that I can run my games how I want and BT won't send men in black to stop me (or will they...), I just prefer to run as authentic a game as possible. I will definitely take what you suggest into very heavy consideration. I may just add a second Lance and have the players control the 'Mechs in combat (I don't like running NPCs that take away from the players in combat if I can help it), or just have an 'odd' Lance formation. I was thinking of having the commander be a Clan infiltrator anyway, so it may make sense that he would use the Clan Star formations. It would just be immediately suspicious once the Clans invade and I don't necessarily want the players immediately accused of being Clanners because they use the Star... though that would be a good plothook...now that I think of it...this could be awesome! Thanks again!
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Cray
03/01/13 12:06 AM
184.88.162.114
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Quote:
@Cray - Thanks for the input. I know that I can run my games how I want and BT won't send men in black to stop me (or will they...), I just prefer to run as authentic a game as possible. I will definitely take what you suggest into very heavy consideration. I may just add a second Lance and have the players control the 'Mechs in combat (I don't like running NPCs that take away from the players in combat if I can help it), or just have an 'odd' Lance formation.
Sure, let the PC run the spare 'Mechs. It's quite common for individual players to run quite a few 'Mechs in the board game.
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I was thinking of having the commander be a Clan infiltrator anyway, so it may make sense that he would use the Clan Star formations.
Speaking of authenticity, that would not be authentic. The only Clan infiltrators prior to the Clan invasion were the Wolf Dragoons and they stuck closely to Inner Sphere military organization. They only tried Clan formations - without converting entirely - in the 3050s and 3060s.
Further, Clan warriors are ill-suited for covert operations. The Clan intelligence agency, the Watch, was basically non-existent prior to 3050 and a complete joke throughout the latter half of the 31st Century. After all, they come from a society where military intelligence is gathered by sending a combat force to a target and asking the target what defending forces it had.
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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Omegawolf
03/01/13 04:21 AM
71.94.220.96
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Yeah, it was the Wolf Dragoons I was thinking of on the Clan infiltrator bit, wasn't sure what they used formation-wise. Think I'll just run with the suggestion of having the extra mercs run with the players and have them play the extra 'Mechs as it seems to be the simplest solution.
Speaking of Clan infiltrators, is it possible that there were any (mainly of the Warden Clans) that possibly 'ran away' from the Clans before the invasion? One of my players wants to play an 'ex-Clanner' for role-playing reasons and I already told him his tech would be at the same level as everyone else's, so I know his intentions are true (that and he is notorious about getting deep into character). This is where my idea of their commander being one of the infiltrators, possibly sent to find the PC. I personally would think it'd be okay, only because the characters are supposed to be unique and the stars of their story, just wanted to get a 'pseudo-official' take on it so to speak.
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Col_Green
03/01/13 08:29 PM
99.9.128.106
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Quote:
Yeah, it was the Wolf Dragoons I was thinking of on the Clan infiltrator bit, wasn't sure what they used formation-wise. Think I'll just run with the suggestion of having the extra mercs run with the players and have them play the extra 'Mechs as it seems to be the simplest solution.
Speaking of Clan infiltrators, is it possible that there were any (mainly of the Warden Clans) that possibly 'ran away' from the Clans before the invasion? One of my players wants to play an 'ex-Clanner' for role-playing reasons and I already told him his tech would be at the same level as everyone else's, so I know his intentions are true (that and he is notorious about getting deep into character). This is where my idea of their commander being one of the infiltrators, possibly sent to find the PC. I personally would think it'd be okay, only because the characters are supposed to be unique and the stars of their story, just wanted to get a 'pseudo-official' take on it so to speak.
Not likely..in Caln training you were either Warrior and exceled at it or were put into a Sohhama unit or however you spell it lol....Clans just don't "defect".
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Cray
03/02/13 11:21 AM
97.101.96.171
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Quote:
Speaking of Clan infiltrators, is it possible that there were any (mainly of the Warden Clans) that possibly 'ran away' from the Clans before the invasion? One of my players wants to play an 'ex-Clanner' for role-playing reasons and I already told him his tech would be at the same level as everyone else's, so I know his intentions are true (that and he is notorious about getting deep into character).
The only way you'd reasonably pull that off - since there were NO JumpShips running between the Inner Sphere and Clan space before 3049 - is to have him be a former, original member of the Wolf Dragoons. The Dragoons were meant as scouts and infiltrators to sound out the Inner Sphere.
Having one of the Dragoons' members discharged, perhaps with a friend or two, is much more likely than another group of Clanners coming to the Inner Sphere. There's just too many restrictions on travel in Clan space for even warriors to grab a random JumpShip and spend a year reaching the Inner Sphere.
And, to be clear, the Wolf Dragoons stuck rigidly to Inner Sphere 'Mechs and formations prior to 3050. They brought in some late Star League oddballs (e.g., the Annihilator) and realized they nearly blew their cover. Even so, oddities like that got the entire Inner Sphere very, very interested in the Wolf Dragoons and had just about every intelligence agency unleashed on them.
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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Omegawolf
03/03/13 04:36 AM
71.94.220.96
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Awesome, thanks Cray! That will do nicely. Ex-Dragoon it is. I think he'll be fine with that.
And thank you both for the input. It really is appreciated. I was really into BT and MW about 15 years ago, and I got a new gaming group and we've been doing everything else up until recently when I decided to pick up the new stuff put out by Catalyst and Fanpro. So it has been a long time and I am slowly but surely brushing up on my familiarity with the setting since I haven't done anything with it up until two months ago when I started reading through the newer stuff. So glad they brought the classic game back.
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Reiter
03/04/13 12:03 PM
142.11.67.185
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OFF TOPIC INTERJECTION!!!!
You said 2048 in the first post, probably ment 3048. And then mention a guy wants to be ex-clanner, yet you also mention most of the guys you know don't know much about the dragoons. Only problem I see, is that the Dragoons appeared in 3005 and the clans don't appear until mid 3049 in the Periphery and the actual IS (Lyran, DC, and Rhas League) about 9 months later....how do you get to be an ex clanner? As mentioned, the Dragoons but then if you were still alive after 44 years of combat you would still be pretty loyal and not excatly abandon the Dragoons (outside one documented guy that betrays the Dragoons in the 3020s).
Just some musings. Maybe be a Periphery merc company that was beaten and retreated back to Outreach after suffering heavy losses against pirates (aka Phelan's story, without meeting the clans) leaving you as just a reinforced lance of 5 mechs, nothing says you cannot have more then 4 mechs (Mercenary's Star, second Gray Death Legion novel has the unit hired as 7 mechs for their very first contract)
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Omegawolf
03/06/13 09:52 AM
71.94.220.96
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I did indeed mean 3048, it was a simple typo.
As for what my players know, what I said was that a majority of my players (4 out of 5 being the majority) were unfamiliar with the setting. As for what's plausible for the game and being an ex-Dragoon/Clan, I will take what Cray says will work and run with it, as he seems to know what he's talking about (along with my suspicion that he's one of the game designers).
I personally don't know if the Dragoons still managed to continue to use the genetic programs of their people to create more offspring after they came to the IS and somehow kept it secret, so maybe that's a possibility or maybe not. I don't know if this has ever come up in the novels (I have read a handful of them, and that was roughly 12 years ago), and if the information is in the game books, I have yet to run across it.
As for the Gray Death Legion using a different set up of 'Mechs, that is very useful information, so I thank you for that and I very much appreciate it. I have made note of it along with all the other information and advice given here. If nothing else I am here to learn/relearn the setting 
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Cray
03/06/13 07:33 PM
184.88.162.114
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Quote:
I personally don't know if the Dragoons still managed to continue to use the genetic programs of their people to create more offspring after they came to the IS and somehow kept it secret,
They did not. The Dragoons "went native," started families, and did the freeborn thing very quickly.
But it's your game, so feel free to do what keeps your players happy.
3048 is a perfectly fine time to run. The ex-Dragoon, ex-Clan player(s) might be in their 60s, but - as noted in JHS:Terra, A Time of War, and Warriors of Kerensky - BT humans lean toward long lives. The average in the Inner Sphere is 89 years, while planets with advanced technology (Terra, New Avalon, El Dorado) see lifespans over 120 years. For Terrans, 80-90s are equivalent to the 40s today.
Clanners have much shorter lives (per Warriors of Kerensky), but that's because the Clans don't waste advanced medicines on extending the lives of civilians and warriors tend to die young in battle.
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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Omegawolf
03/08/13 05:42 AM
71.94.220.96
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Oh, the player in question has no problems with being a Freeborn, so that works. Though I did look up the Dragoons, and it states that there are Inner Sphere raised Trueborns on the wiki page here.
Regardless of this, the information I couldn't find was how the viewed the Clans during the invasion. I know that they fought against the Clans (and even saved the Combine even though they hated them), but ultimately how did Jaime Wolf and the others honestly feel about this? Did they wish to rejoin and couldn't find an honorable way to do it since they owed so much to the Great Houses (specifically the Federated Suns), or did they honestly have no interest in rejoining at all? And on the reverse end, how did the Clans view them? This is all stuff that me and my player want to know so we know how his character will react and what he will likely do when it comes to that.
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Cray
03/09/13 11:56 AM
97.101.96.171
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Quote:
Oh, the player in question has no problems with being a Freeborn, so that works. Though I did look up the Dragoons, and it states that there are Inner Sphere raised Trueborns on the wiki page here.
Take Sarna's wiki with a grain of salt unless it's giving an exact title and page reference.
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Regardless of this, the information I couldn't find was how the viewed the Clans during the invasion.
The Dragoons opposed the Clans, and did not agree with the invasion - they had "gone native" and opposed the invasion. In 3050, they gathered the leaders of the Inner Sphere together on Outreach, revealed the Dragoons' origins, and told the Inner Sphere how to deal with the Clans.
You can probably pick up the "Blood of Kerensky" trilogy pretty cheaply on eBay. It's the introduction of the Clans and contains the Dragoons' response.
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or did they honestly have no interest in rejoining at all?
They had none. The Dragoons could've gone home at any time.
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And on the reverse end, how did the Clans view them?
The Dragoons had been sent into the Inner Sphere as part of a great compromise. Around 3000AD, the Crusader Clans wanted to invade. Wardens argued for a scout mission first, and won. The Dragoons - mostly disposable freeborns with no Bloodnames (except a handful like Natasha Kerensky) - were sent to the Inner Sphere in 3005. They sent home several reports, ran into the Periphery on supply runs a few times, and then stopped sending reports home around the 3020s.
By the time the Clans arrived, the Dragoons had been silent for decades, which didn't impress the Clans - dereliction of duty, basically. Further, they were acting as mercenaries, which the Clans think are scum - real warriors don't fight for money, they fight to protect the Clans.
I don't think there was strong antipathy toward the Dragoons, but they weren't well-received by Crusader Clans.
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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Omegawolf
03/10/13 06:02 AM
71.94.220.96
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Awesome, thanks for the information! Now we have a solid foundation for how things will go down. Now, do you think that the Dragoons might call back even an ex-member to that meeting? I think it would be interesting to have the characters there for that, and if the ex-member got called in that would be a way for me to have them there for it.
Edit - And seriously, thanks for your time in this thread, it really is helping me out.
Edited by Omegawolf (03/10/13 06:03 AM)
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Cray
03/10/13 11:32 AM
97.101.96.171
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Quote:
Now, do you think that the Dragoons might call back even an ex-member to that meeting?
Probably not. His bridges would be burned upon departure from the Dragoons.
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I think it would be interesting to have the characters there for that, and if the ex-member got called in that would be a way for me to have them there for it.
Though if it works for your game, go for it.
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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Omegawolf
03/17/13 03:42 AM
71.94.220.96
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Great! I'll probably find a way for them to be there somehow. Thanks again for all the help and input so far. Sorry my response has been so long in coming. I came down with a nasty form of bronchitis (that honestly I am still trying to get over) so my game planning kind of went onto the back burner for a bit there.
Now I am doing well enough that I can have thoughts other than how much I want to just curl up into a ball and sleep the suffering away, so my planning has begun anew.
Last order of business that I need to deal with here is equipment. I know that anything marked as (Clan) is off limits obviously, and I know how to read the charts in the AToW book, so no worries there for personal equipment.
My question is in TW. Obviously Battle Armor is out (I checked on that because one player wanted to train in it and I had to sadly inform him that it didn't exist yet), and I have a Tech readout for the era(ish), but I don't necessarily want to flip through every sheet to see what everything has so that I will be informed on what is available equipment wise (honestly it would be tedious an boring to do that). I know what weapons (mostly) are and aren't available, but I have a few that I am not sure on:
Targeting Computers
Artemis IV FCS
ECM Suites
BAPs
NARCs
MRMs
ER PPC (IS version)
ER Lasers (IS versions)
Pulse Lasers
Streak SRMs
Inferno Missiles
Edit - Thought of a few others:
Endo-Steel Structures
Ferro-Fibrous Armor
C3 (and C3i) Computers
and LB-X weapons
Also how do I gauge an appropriate challenge 'Mech-wise for the players when it comes time for that? Is the BV system a good measure for that?
Edit: How available would equipment from the more recent previous eras be? Like in this case equipment from the earlier Succession Wars? Or should I just keep it simple and only allow things from the current era?
Edited by Omegawolf (03/17/13 07:28 AM)
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Cray
03/17/13 12:55 PM
184.88.162.114
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If your game is in the year 3028, then the answer is "none of those are available." If the year is 3048, then the following are available to the Inner Sphere:
Targeting Computers: Not available. Introduced 3062, inspired by captured Clan gear.
Artemis IV FCS: Available since 3035
ECM Suites: Plain Guardian ECM suites available since 3045
BAPs: Available since 3045
NARCs: Available since 3035
MRMs: Not available; introduced in 3058
ER PPC (IS version): Introduced in 3037
ER Lasers (IS versions): The large laser was introduced in 3037; the small and medium not available until 3058
Pulse Lasers: Available since 3037
Streak SRMs: Streak-2 introduced in 3035; Streak-4 and -6 not available until 3058
Inferno Missiles: Available in all eras
Endo-Steel Structures: Available since 3035
Ferro-Fibrous Armor: Available since 3040
C3 (and C3i) Computers: Not available; C3 introduced in 3050, C3i in 3062
LB-X weapons: LB10X available since 3035; others not available until 3058
Incidentally, all those introduction dates (and Inner Sphere extinction dates) are provided in Tech Manual.
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Also how do I gauge an appropriate challenge 'Mech-wise for the players when it comes time for that? Is the BV system a good measure for that?
The primary intent of BV is establishing challenges so, yes.
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Edit: How available would equipment from the more recent previous eras be? Like in this case equipment from the earlier Succession Wars? Or should I just keep it simple and only allow things from the current era?
CASE was re-introduced in 3036.
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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Omegawolf
03/18/13 03:43 AM
71.94.220.96
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Awesome! Thanks again, that should do it. Already have the first mission planned and a portion of the first arc prepared. Again Cray (and anyone who posted), thanks for the input and thank you especially for your time.
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Omegawolf
04/02/13 01:40 AM
71.94.220.96
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So we've started our game and have had two sessions so far. At this point we are learning the system still but we're having a ton of fun with it. If anyone is interested I've been keeping an updated blog on our game and what happens in it. The site is (and I hope this is allowed) - www.alteredrealities.net
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