Hey guys. Since Catalyst holds the rights to both Shadowrun and BattleTech, I thought I'd start here. I love the universe and read a lot of the novels, but I have no idea where to start with the pen & paper. Does the game function on multiple scales, or something?

Thanks.

What do you mean exactly?

Start with the introductory boxed set.

Or are you talking about the BattleTech RPG?

I would suggest looking into MegaMek first. It handles all the record keeping for you, so you may find easier to get started. Plus, it gives you examples of most things, since all l the dice rolls are broken down on a phase by phase basis for study.

Yeah, MegaMek is an idea. Me and i think some other people around here are playing it.
Big bonus is, that you need not buy all the Battletech Books, Miniatures, Map-Sheets and Dice until after you have decided if you actually like playing it. If you can get that stuff at all <.<
Also, plan in MUCH time . . A Game of Battletech can take up as much time as a good Shadowrun. I've been in Games of company against company with Mines and double blind. we started at 4 o clock in the afternoon . . at 4 o clock in the morning we decided to take a nap break . . then we played until 4 o clock in the afternoon . .

I would start here http://www.classicbattletech.com/ and I would buy some of the rules from here http://www.battlecorps.com/BC2/index.html. On the Battletech forums ( http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/ ) there is a consensus that the CBT (Classic Battletech) figures use Z scale. Metal figures tend to be better then the cardboard you get in the intro box. You can also play CBT on MegaMek ( http://megamek.sourceforge.net/ ) (though I will admit that is isn't the same as the physical figures).

If your willing to create your own figures I would suggest getting the Quick Start Rules ( http://www.classicbattletech.com/downloads...Start_Rules.pdf ) and start having fun.

Would like to echo most of the comments provided so far. I think, ultimately, your experience with Battletech is very much a function of what kind of game you're looking for. In effect, it's a boardgame that has been adapted to use minis (either as a true mini game w/ terrain or on map boards). It's not complex per se, but is does have a lot of detail and options. You might want to check out the scenario book "Sword and Dragon" which provides a great expansion to the boxed set and starts introducing some of more advanced rules/equipment/detail within Total Warfare. The existing RPG is probably the weakest element of the system, but is currently going though a major overhaul - pretty sure that the latest blog talks about this.

Once you've done a little more research, my suggestion would be to invest in the boxed game and scenario book - shouldn't be much more than $50/$60. These should give you more than enough insight into the game and help guide your next steps.

Regards,

AJC

Sorry for the ambiguity. I was referring to the line of stuff that Catalyst sells. I don't know how that relates to the rest of the products in the universe.

I'll check all this out, thanks all.