d20 future = Mechwarrior d20

[The Goblin King]

Heh, my friends and I have had this discussion about a hundred times over the past 10 years. As you are aware the reason some things don't make sense is because BT is not the future of now. It is the future of the 1980's. I am not trying to critize you. I understand you are re-imagining BT. I think that is cool. But you might be limiting yourself with BattleTech. There is no reason to 'stay inside the lines'. Just go wild. Make up better, cooler stuff. I think you would like the results more.

But if you go read the original printing of the TR3025, you get just that. Dropkick Darvin, and a host of others that are nearly making thier mechs flip out.

The purpose of a 'Mech is to flip out and kill people.

 

[jester47]

Ank-- you seem to be making the assumption that I am saying how I think it is and not how I think I am going to do it in a different way. I agree with you. That is how battletech IS NOW. But it was not that way when originally concieved. And it is not the way I am going to use it because like CP2020 it leaves out huge branches of technological innovation. Originally the designers did not have it the way it is now. I don't want to get into an agrument. But I will make some points about the battletech universe as it originally stood:

1. If you have the original Mechwarrior RPG (the one with the cockpit of the Warhammer and the Rifleman in the gunsite on the cover) take a look at page 51. "The key to piloting a BattleMech is correct use of a neurohelmet. Which enhances impulses from the pilots body to produce the desired action in the mech." If you read on about what is called the "unlocking sequence" you find that neurohelmets were (in thier original format) very sensitive and powerful pieces of equipment capable of tracking the motions of whoever was wearing it also. Thats some pretty heafty computing power. Seems to me they would have a system that does away with some of those buttons and switches. and the footpedals are moot.

2. The MID unit. Page 31 of the same book. This is the Myomer Implantation Device. This is a device that repairs or replaces human muscle tissue with myomer fibers. This indicates a high level of automation and microsurgery. To mass produce somthing like this I would think that it would help if those who made it had access to enough biotech and nanotech to make sure that the patient did not reject the graft 100% of the time.

But hopefully you understand that I am not mistaken about the technology of the battletech universe and only rethinking it. Here are the facts:

A. 1 battlemech is more destructive than a 20th century tank battalion
B. Technological development has slipped back to that of the early 21st century.
C. Neurohelmets do a lot more than act as an inner ear for mechs.
D. Life is cheap, battlemechs arn't.

Now things that I am extrapolating based on modern real world technologiocal advancement:

1. Nanotechnology was a major part of the materials production durring the SL and is a technology that is rapidly fading from the innersphere.
2. Because the Average human lifespan was 120 years durring the SL, and the clans picked it up pretty quick, one can suspect that Bioengineering was quite available. This too is gone from the innersphere in any large form of deployment.
3. Jump Point calculations take a lot of smarts to do. Quantum computers and as a result AIs would have been on board. The SL had automated Orbital Defenses on some worlds. Automation would have been everywhere. All AI capable of calculating a jump would be more than 200 years old. Computers capable of helping a human make the calculation would be avail but still rare. Automation would still be everywhere.
4. Neurohelmets kicked ass. Mechs can breakdance and carry out kung fu.

These assumptions would put society back at 21st century tech with a few relics (battlemechs, mechwarroirs descended from MWs bred for the job included) of an age gone by. And there would be strange places. AIs on worlds run amok, strange fauna (digesters!), and places where there are odd things from the days of the starleague.

I hope you understand I am making my own Battletech universe using d20.

Aaron.

 

[jester47]

Heh, my friends and I have had this discussion about a hundred times over the past 10 years. As you are aware the reason some things don't make sense is because BT is not the future of now. It is the future of the 1980's. I am not trying to critize you. I understand you are re-imagining BT. I think that is cool. But you might be limiting yourself with BattleTech. There is no reason to 'stay inside the lines'. Just go wild. Make up better, cooler stuff. I think you would like the results more.



The purpose of a 'Mech is to flip out and kill people.

I know you are not, and yeah, I could, but I think I would like a BT that is "the way it otta be" than somthing completely cut from whole cloth.

Mechs can step on whoever they want, and don't even think twice about it!

Aaron.

 

[Aeric]

About ten years or so back, there was a Japanese edition of Battletech released, complete with redesigned mechs that were really awesome looking. It inspired me to run a Mechwarrior game using the Mekton Zeta system. Luckily I had a friend who was good at math, and he converted all the mechs, vehicles, and ships to MKZ stats. We even came up with some house rules to simulate the lower-maneuverability of the battlemechs. Just thought I'd share.

 

[d4]

About ten years or so back, there was a Japanese edition of Battletech released, complete with redesigned mechs that were really awesome looking. It inspired me to run a Mechwarrior game using the Mekton Zeta system. Luckily I had a friend who was good at math, and he converted all the mechs, vehicles, and ships to MKZ stats. We even came up with some house rules to simulate the lower-maneuverability of the battlemechs. Just thought I'd share.

Mekton Zeta is awesome. and uses the same character rules as CP2020.

 

[jester47]

About ten years or so back, there was a Japanese edition of Battletech released, complete with redesigned mechs that were really awesome looking. It inspired me to run a Mechwarrior game using the Mekton Zeta system. Luckily I had a friend who was good at math, and he converted all the mechs, vehicles, and ships to MKZ stats. We even came up with some house rules to simulate the lower-maneuverability of the battlemechs. Just thought I'd share.

I was thinking about using the Mekton Zeta rules, but I just got done reading the d20 Mecha SRD. If WotC has used anything remotely close to this in d20 Future then I think I have found my system. If not, then I have found my system in the d20 Mecha SRD and d20 Future. With this system though, I can actually rebuild the mechs with their quirks, somthing you don't actually get to see in BT. Like the fact that the griffin is supposed to be more maneuverable for its weight.

 

[Ranger REG]

If WotC has used anything remotely close to this in d20 Future then I think I have found my system. If not, then I have found my system in the d20 Mecha SRD and d20 Future. With this system though, I can actually rebuild the mechs with their quirks, somthing you don't actually get to see in BT. Like the fact that the griffin is supposed to be more maneuverable for its weight.

While it would be nice if d20 Future does feature material from the Mecha d20 SRD, which governs all vehicle creation, I doubt they would include it. Although if they had, it would be the second time they used actual rule material (designated OGC) from a third-party source (the first being Unearthed Arcana).

If you don't like what is presented in d20 Future, we should at least count our blessings that GOO gave us the material for use with any d20 System products. And thank be to Ryan Dancey for his involvement in the d20/OGL movement.

 

[jester47]

We will see.

Dancy rocks.

Right now I am working on converting the weapons to d20 Mecha rules.

Armor converts pretty easily. Everything else goes well also. The range increments are easy to do though. I also need to come up with the list of traits that are common to all mechs. Then building them will be a breeze. Missiles I suspected to be the hardest.

What I originally set out to do with the weapons was make sure the damage dice bell curves worked WRT the supposed power of the weapon and the mechs it was hitting. There was a fundumental mathematical problem. The DR was not cooperating with the bell curves. When you got the right chance to do damage to an atlas with a Medium Laser, statisticly medium lasers were clobbering the light mechs light no ones business. This didn't work as even the locust could hold off one Medium Laser hit.

It was back to the drawing board.

Then I came at it from a different approach. Weapons in BT seem to come in four sizes like the mechs. Light, medium, heavy, and assault. SRMs only show up on the heavy. So, looking at the ranges of the weapons, I decide that d12s work best for mechs. Assault weapons (AC20s, LRM 20s, PPCs) all do 4d12. Each grade lower does 3d12, 2d12 and 1d12 respectively. This seemed to work, except for one thing... The lighter mechs would have a hard time even scratching the heavier mechs. I dont care who you are a medium laser is going to do some damage! Then it sruck me. The Alpha Strike. That unique thing to Battletech. Fact that you could fire several weapons off of one trigger. Thus, it made sense that a mech could combine weapons. Our locusts could use both machine guns with the medium laser to get 4d12 damage! That way they can at least get some shots on on the more heavily armored mechs. This also solved the missile problem, and will speed up game play and plays into the abstaction could of probability that is d20 combat.

I plan on adding some heat rules to keep everyone from alphastriking all the time. Cause its not BT without the heat.

Anyone notice that the d20 Mecha SRD could really use some formatting?

Aaron.

 

[mmu1]

Heck, BattleMechs and JumpShips and such in BT use fusion power. Not some imaginary futuristic new power source, but plain old fusion reactors, though more advanced than our own, but still quite susceptible to everything that troubles fusion systems today.

I think fusion reactors are pretty futuristic and imaginary, considering that none exist yet - aside from some experimental setups that use a lot more energy to initiate a moment's fusion than they put out.

Existing nuclear reactors are based on fission.

 

[Thanee]

All that said it seems that CP 2020 would be ideal for a Mechwarrior RP system.

Do you know Mekton Zeta? Guess not...

However I am interested in seeing how D20 handles it. So far in my opinion it looks good.

As long as they make decent classes this time, unlike modern.

Bye
Thanee