Waiting for A Time of War - BattleTech RPG

[korjik]

My problem is that what I really want from a Battletech RPG is a seamless merging with the Battletech miniatures game. I want roleplaying rules that let me use the miniatures game for combat resolution, and which help me structure a game around the things I love most about the Battletech universe- campaigns and salvage and mech upgrades and mech on mech violence.

This would probably require some adjustments of the Battletech rules, to get rid of some of the easier, completely random mechwarrior deaths. Its bad enough when your Warhammer walks onto the field for the first time and immediately takes a PPC shot right to the face that criticals into the cockpit, but its even worse when that was your PC inside.

I doubt that there is a way to seamlessly merge the RPG and tabletop games. The 'mech combat is just too deadly on the character scale. You are going to have to accept that occasionally someone is going to suck an AC/20 to the head.

I have always had the view that with Battletech, death is a fact that all mechwarriors have to live with. Someone is eventually going to have their character killed. That should be understood from day one.

On the onter hand, if you are playing Battletech as part of an RPG, it seems to me that the simplest fix is to simple turn the AC/20 hit from head to CT, and turn the occasional cockpit crit to a sensors hit. It worked for me pretty good.

 

[MerricB]

My problem is that what I really want from a Battletech RPG is a seamless merging with the Battletech miniatures game. I want roleplaying rules that let me use the miniatures game for combat resolution, and which help me structure a game around the things I love most about the Battletech universe- campaigns and salvage and mech upgrades and mech on mech violence.

I have a feeling that the new edition is built with that in mind. There's only one Gunnery/Mech skill (rather than the three there were before), and to convert one to the other is a simple linear conversion.

The "to hit" modifiers for man vs. vehicle combat are the same in both the RPG and the Board Game.

Damage is on a different scale, obviously, but it looks like the conversion is very easy as well.

This would probably require some adjustments of the Battletech rules, to get rid of some of the easier, completely random mechwarrior deaths. Its bad enough when your Warhammer walks onto the field for the first time and immediately takes a PPC shot right to the face that criticals into the cockpit, but its even worse when that was your PC inside.

Well, yes. It's amazing how likely head-shots are when you actually have a PC in the mech! I lost a character that way during the one short campaign I played of Mechwarrior over a decade ago!

That said, the changes to the regular BattleTech rules for partial cover - no longer a +3 penalty to hit and roll on the Punch table for location (Head 1/6); instead +1 penalty, and regular table (Head 1/36) with a leg hit hitting the cover instead. That helps somewhat.

Still, PPC to the head will still occasionally happen. I wonder if they have Fate Points or anything like that?

(Apparently, there are rules for abstracting Mech combat in the RPG; just not very many of them).

Cheers!

 

[Andor]

Fate points might be the way to do it. If it works for warhammer it should work for mechwarrior. *shrug* In both worlds sudden and senseless death is very much the norm for those at the pointy end of things. Players should have a real sense of that or you're not really portraying the world.

 

[Punnuendo]

Anyone picked up the $10 beta rules pdf yet?

 

[Marshall]

I have a feeling that the new edition is built with that in mind. There's only one Gunnery/Mech skill (rather than the three there were before), and to convert one to the other is a simple linear conversion.

Unless I missed an edition or two, gunnery(mech) has always been one skill, along with piloting. Then there was pistols, rifles, artillery, gunnery(vehicle)......

The "to hit" modifiers for man vs. vehicle combat are the same in both the RPG and the Board Game.

Damage is on a different scale, obviously, but it looks like the conversion is very easy as well.

Scale was always the problem. Mech based weapons are one-shot kills, personal weapons are irrelevant in mech combat. Personal ranges are one hex in mech ranges....

Well, yes. It's amazing how likely head-shots are when you actually have a PC in the mech! I lost a character that way during the one short campaign I played of Mechwarrior over a decade ago!

That said, the changes to the regular BattleTech rules for partial cover - no longer a +3 penalty to hit and roll on the Punch table for location (Head 1/6); instead +1 penalty, and regular table (Head 1/36) with a leg hit hitting the cover instead. That helps somewhat.

Thats actually the easiest to deal with. The "mech" is dead with a cockpit shot. The mechwarrior is just injured/unconscious. The Battletech version of unconcious is more like "stunned" anyway.

Still, PPC to the head will still occasionally happen. I wonder if they have Fate Points or anything like that?

(Apparently, there are rules for abstracting Mech combat in the RPG; just not very many of them).

Cheers!

They carried over Edge from 2e. Same thing.

 

[MerricB]

Unless I missed an edition or two, gunnery(mech) has always been one skill, along with piloting. Then there was pistols, rifles, artillery, gunnery(vehicle)......

You must have missed Third Edition: Gunnery/Lasers/Humanoid, Gunnery/Ballistics/Humanoid, Gunnery/Missile/Humanoid just to be able to fire all types of weapon on a Mech.

Cheers!

 

[Derren]

I tried the BT RPG once a few years ago. Problem was I didn't like the TT much and the DM on the other hand thought of the RPG just as a small break between mech battles.
You can imagine that I didn't played long. Especially as the DM somehow had the idea that we all had to perform like expert TT players who played this game since years when in fact most had the first contact with the rules a week ago.
I still remember the "training" battle he put us into where we were outnumbered, outgunned (because I dared not to take an assault mech at char creation) and had a bad starting position.
And then he got angry when we retreated after a few rounds....

The problem I see with the RPG is that the world is mainly made for Mech combat and when you remove that it looses a lot of appeal. Sure, you still have houses and intrigue but so has Dune and that RPG doesn't always try to nudge you into a Mech.

So I agree with Marshall. The problem with the Battletech RPG is the Battletech and everyone having to play a mech warrior. Just look at the Quick Start Rules. There are more Mech combat pictures than Personal combat pictures in there.
And when you don't play mech warriors then at least I would play Star Wars/Dune/Alternity/Fading Suns/Shadowrun/Dark Heresy over Battletech as the world simply lacks something without mechs.

 

[MerricB]

Anyone picked up the $10 beta rules pdf yet?

I've got it. (Hmm - it'll be upgraded to the final version for free. Nice!)

Can't say much yet about it. (Ooh, lots of tables of modifiers at the back).

Honestly, if you don't like Mechs or the tabletop game, BattleTech RPG is not the game for you! I'm beginning to plan a campaign/minicampaign, and we'll see how it goes.

Cheers!