Kannik
Legend
Hahaha... we should form an association! We could have a website and hand out leaflets and hold conferences and...
Battletech Public Playtest Thread
- Thread starter payn
- Start date
payn
Glory to Marik
Hahaha... we should form an association! We could have a website and hand out leaflets and hold conferences and...
TheHand
Hero
Well, I’m convinced!
Kannik
Legend
Oh by the beard of Kerensky we're going to cause a/the jihad, aren't we?
Well, if it gets rid of RACs, small price to pay.
Kannik
Legend
(On a completely separate note, it's been 20+ years since I last released some alternate BattleTech rules... not sure how these will be received, but let's go for it! A trio of rules that aim (pun intended) to alleviate the main hitch of Classic BattleTech, that of game length, by postulating that it isn’t BT's complexity or specificity that drives the clock but rather something more fundamental: the low chances to hit a target.
)
)
payn
Glory to Marik
I'll take a look. Reminds me of DFA and their reduction of range penalties by half. Meaning, medium is +1 and long is +2. They had the same reasoning that folks either turtle or slug it out up close. The effect was nobody ever slugged it out becasue they didnt have to. So, it did change strategies but had the same singular effect of changing game play to one type. This is precisely why I was so adamant against the side torso playtest! So, im not sure what the answer is to opening up many startegies without making 1-2 the optimal path.
I wouldnt mind seeing some more weapon variety though. LRM for example I feel are kind of weak. Though, with the locking mechanism and min range (which clan absolutely should have!) I could see making LRMs +1/2 at medium/long to represent flight time arming and locking. ACs got a nice buff with being able to take a crit hit and keep on firing. I wouldnt mind seeing stability damage bonuses. Heck, energy have so few downsides (especially when double heat sinks enter) that making them cause no stability damage wouldnt seem like a bad idea.
Kannik
Legend
-nods- That's the thing I find too about trying to adjust values while keeping 2d6: because there's only 12 results each step between values is a big one. I've seen people play/suggest dropping the gunnery values as another "fix" and, again, it results in a big increase of to-hit chances that too greatly swings things in the other direction (ie, devalues close in work). By going to 2d8 (or 3d6) I think is a sweet spot, where because of the larger number of possible results the steps are such that it increases chances without grossly overshooting the mark and making hits automatic. Also I went for splitting them so it isn't as punishing as always +2/+4 but also not so lenient as making it always +1/2 only.
All that said, I'm with you on some additional tweaks to weapon systems as well. I did like how stability damage was handled in HBS's 2018 Battletech game with the differing values. I see even a laser as being able to unbalance a mech through the sudden loss of armour and the "steam explosions" that might happen from it, but for ease of accounting at the table I could see lasers being 0 stability, PPCs half, Missiles full, and maybe ACs 1.5. Or just give an additional "Stability" value to each weapon that you have to track alongside heat/damage on your mech. Then you could fine-tune the values as well as being easier math (as stability would be smaller numbers, like between 0 through 5, so easier than having to add 8 for this LRM strike plus 10 for this AC/10 hit plus etc). You could even do a stability chart like the heat chart that would 0 at the start of every turn, but like the heat chart it would list the piloting roll modifier in the chart for easier tracking.
Might be too big a chance for CGL to consider, though.
Other big thing I would want to see realigned is Pulse Lasers. Clan LPLs... are gods in the game, with their 20 hex range and that -2 which, again due to the 2d6 roll, is a huge bonus (effectively consider the weapon to have a medium range out to 20). At 9+ they almost keep pace with two Clan ERPPCs. (Double aside: This is why I love the Incubus/Vixen. 9/14 and a Clan LPL is amazing.) I've heard a common house rule is that you're only allowed to field Clan 1 LPL per mech, or even only 1 Clan LPL at all. Wild. At the same time, IS Pulse Lasers are anemic, with their shortened ranges meaning that even with the -2 they are not doing the damage to make them worthwhile. IS pulse lasers could use a range boost, and Clan pulse lasers need their ranges truncated. Or at least alter how they work so that it isn't a straight up -2 to hit.
Hmm, maybe I should write some more alternate rules... though next I want to update my quad rules from 20+ years ago and help my four legged friends.
TheHand
Hero
@Kannik thanks for sharing your alternate rules! I don’t think I would adopt them wholesale for my games, but they were well written. The 2d8 proposal is something I might consider trying.
When I used to run convention games I always made the base gunnery “3” instead of “4” to make hitting a little more frequent. Sped games up just a bit.
I like the idea of Autocannons doing stability damage. It might be easy to incorporate as a penalty to Piloting Skill checks. We’ve been playing with giving AC’s a bonus to inflict Critical Hits as a way to buff them a little.
When I used to run convention games I always made the base gunnery “3” instead of “4” to make hitting a little more frequent. Sped games up just a bit.
I like the idea of Autocannons doing stability damage. It might be easy to incorporate as a penalty to Piloting Skill checks. We’ve been playing with giving AC’s a bonus to inflict Critical Hits as a way to buff them a little.
payn
Glory to Marik
Yeah I think going away from 2D6 is gonna be a tough sell against tradition. On the pulse topic it’s always rubbed me the wrong way that they do all damage in a single location. For example a IS medium pulse should, imo, do 2 points to 3 location rolls. The other topic is clan stuff in general being better at everything. Though I’m sure it would be met with a lot of howling to rebalance any of it.-nods- That's the thing I find too about trying to adjust values while keeping 2d6: because there's only 12 results each step between values is a big one. I've seen people play/suggest dropping the gunnery values as another "fix" and, again, it results in a big increase of to-hit chances that too greatly swings things in the other direction (ie, devalues close in work). By going to 2d8 (or 3d6) I think is a sweet spot, where because of the larger number of possible results the steps are such that it increases chances without grossly overshooting the mark and making hits automatic. Also I went for splitting them so it isn't as punishing as always +2/+4 but also not so lenient as making it always +1/2 only.
All that said, I'm with you on some additional tweaks to weapon systems as well. I did like how stability damage was handled in HBS's 2018 Battletech game with the differing values. I see even a laser as being able to unbalance a mech through the sudden loss of armour and the "steam explosions" that might happen from it, but for ease of accounting at the table I could see lasers being 0 stability, PPCs half, Missiles full, and maybe ACs 1.5. Or just give an additional "Stability" value to each weapon that you have to track alongside heat/damage on your mech. Then you could fine-tune the values as well as being easier math (as stability would be smaller numbers, like between 0 through 5, so easier than having to add 8 for this LRM strike plus 10 for this AC/10 hit plus etc). You could even do a stability chart like the heat chart that would 0 at the start of every turn, but like the heat chart it would list the piloting roll modifier in the chart for easier tracking.
Might be too big a chance for CGL to consider, though.
Other big thing I would want to see realigned is Pulse Lasers. Clan LPLs... are gods in the game, with their 20 hex range and that -2 which, again due to the 2d6 roll, is a huge bonus (effectively consider the weapon to have a medium range out to 20). At 9+ they almost keep pace with two Clan ERPPCs. (Double aside: This is why I love the Incubus/Vixen. 9/14 and a Clan LPL is amazing.) I've heard a common house rule is that you're only allowed to field Clan 1 LPL per mech, or even only 1 Clan LPL at all. Wild. At the same time, IS Pulse Lasers are anemic, with their shortened ranges meaning that even with the -2 they are not doing the damage to make them worthwhile. IS pulse lasers could use a range boost, and Clan pulse lasers need their ranges truncated. Or at least alter how they work so that it isn't a straight up -2 to hit.
Hmm, maybe I should write some more alternate rules... though next I want to update my quad rules from 20+ years ago and help my four legged friends.
