Hiya People,

I finally got the change to dig through an absolute PILE of Mechwarrior/Battlemech sourcebooks and what in hell did I find?

Apart from the rather chunky "Mech bash other Mech with PPC, you overheat and die" gameplay, the actual Mechwarrior character creation (3rd edition, but there was quite a mix in there.) was great fun!

Yes, even the sometimes bewildering number crunching.

(And yes, the in-book graphics looked to be VERY familiar. No unhappy smiley faces on the rigger's nipples though.)

I've got to ask, after digging through very defunct sites and links, was there ever a Mechwarrior 3rd edition character creation program ala' NSCRG?

After 3-4 characters (VERY broken characters) , I finally got the hang of things and am now able to knock up something believeable and playable in, oh, an hour. (As opposed to 15 minutes on SR)

But since the people I'm trying to persuade can have limited attention spans (Ohh, something shiny, I think it's a candy wrapper!) I'd like to find a MechNSCRG.

And to answer SOME questions, yes, most of them love Shadowrun, and have played WarHammer 40K or it's ilk, so we know about models, etc. Hell, we've even got our hairy mitts on a rather battered "Beginners Battlemech" set with models and maps.

Apart from that, I also intend to run the game like a very mechanised Shadowrun OP with the occasional Mechwarrior going head-to-head for salvage and glory, the trusty techs ripping the gooey goodness from within the shattered metal shells and the ever-shifty Spec-Op types passing along a handy contract or two.

Comments, Questions, links?

Thanks.

Tir

Yes the character creation is a little odd (especially as in later books they change it from a 2d6 roll to a 2d10 roll for the lifepaths to give you a bit more options). Unfortunately there isn't a NSRCG type character generator out there, most people I know use an Excel sheet, though there is someone working on one Here but I believe its still in the testing/input phase. Unfortunately the guy that does the licensed Battletech programs for FanPro (Rick Raisley) has decided to hold off on a character generator program for a while.

I will point out that the BT Companion (Which in typical FanPro "release, and then reprints whenever," and thus might not be as available as anyone in their right mind would like) has a point based system thats much easier to use, though will build "average" characters, compared to if you roll well on a lifepath. It also has a ton of extra life paths, and compiles alot of the lifepaths that have appeared in various places over the years.

As for the type of game...I would suggest the premade adventure in the back of the Solaris book, its a good combination of mech combat and out of mech action. The solaris book also has rules on RPing mechcombat if you want to be more detailed, or you can stick with regular battletech rules (rules for converting piloting/Gunnery are in the main rulebook)

The Guide to Covert ops also sounds like something that would be fun, but the book apparently skipped editing completely, whoever did layout was asleep or on crack, any playtesting that actually happened wasn't incorporated into the book before it was released, and rates up there with perhaps the worst RPG product I have ever bought (yes, it is that bad). Every couple of months when I open the book I usually find another error, and am constantly amazed that anyone let the book go to print in this condition.

LosTech which I believe was recently reprinted (or was on the list to be reprinted and was lost along the way, and I just checked, Alliance Games still lists it as NYA, so hell), is a good supplement to pick up as its mostly useful guns and gear.

Combat Equipment is another LosTech book, but not as useful in my opinion, and whose value depends on whether or not you like being able to build support vehicles (kinda like Rigger 3's rules on Aircraft carriers IIRC..you either loved it or hated it). There are also new Battlearmor units and protomechs which can make or break campaigns, so its really something to flip through first and decide if you really want it or not.

Guide to the Clans is useful if you're running a game in Clan space or if you just want to know more about them. Again, I'm not sure on the availability of it, but it isn't needed really.

Interstellar Players is an odd book. Its done much in the same way Threats books for Shadowrun are done, but you can't trust all the information, but it is useful for giving some ideas for games. (The info is presented from an IC perspective, so can be wrong, misinformation, or just fiction. Take everything you read in the book with a grain of salt. I really doubt the Illuminati exists in the BT universe, but the Word of Blake 6th Of June is very much real, even if all the conclusions drawn in the narrative aren't).

Hrrm, thats about it for now.