I was wondering whether anyone out there playes these 2 fanpro games as well as shadowrun.

And what is the latest edition in mechwarrior?

Yep! I've played BT and MW for longer than I've played SR. MW3 is the latest incarnation of the Mechwarrior rules and it's met with some opposition, but I like it more than the previous versions...

MechWarrior 3 is now called Classic Battletech RPG, and it has a new companion which allows players to create PCs with points, rather than the controversial Life Path system. MechWarrior 2 is what I still use, when I play in the odd blue moon during the summer solstice.

And of course, gotta throw out favourite 'mechs. Mine was the Wolverine-M, 3025.

Yep, Play em both when i can, Havent got the Classic Battle Tech RPG Compendiumbook yet though. Favorite mech... WR-DG-02FC War Dog

if i could get the books in australia i'd play

What are the core books you need to play them?

mechwarrior 3rd edition or this new battletech classic rpg

Heretics! Battletech is the only incarnation of the game! You'll all cower under the might of my ARC-3R's LRM barrage!

if thats the case then i know where to get MW3 for $50 AUSTRALIAN.
sweet.
but then id have noone to play with.

FROWN.

As it is noone plays anything like this in my town the closest thing was dnd when tim was in town but hes gone now to i rely on net games.

Well, I'm currently running a MechWarrior campaign for two players. It's actually just battletech matches with some out-of-mech interaction and vague story development slapped on before and after the match. Since it's in the context of a GM-Player dynamic it allows to us to play with some fog of war, team dynamics, and other factors in addition to an opposing tactical battle. It's also set in 3030, 'cause we're just that old school.

kewl.

what is the system like ?

hard to learn (i'm talking about mechwarrior 3)

MW3 is a very simple system mechanically. It uses a 2d10 system in which the GM assigns a TN and the player rolls his 2d10, adds his appropriate skill bonus and compares to the TN. The degree of success or failure is a factor in the actual result. The TNs are largely fairly arbitrary with a table that provides guidelines for GMs on what sort of things to apply and how much to apply as a modifier. Combat becomes much stricter in the sense of modifiers, but not as complex as shadowrun. Up to this point, it's pretty simple.

Stock character creation uses a life path system in which a player moves through stages of his character's life picking up attributes, skills, and traits through the type of life they choose at each stage, and through random events rolled at each stage. I think it's fascinating and quite fun to see what you come out with. Turning this life-path into a character requires some convoluted mathematics in translating skill points into actual skills bonuses, balancing traits and the nine (!) attributes with everything required during the life path. With something like 120+ seperate skillls listed in the mainbook, it requires a fair bit of number crunching. It takes some time to get used to, but it's fun to see how characters turn out. Adds some very interesting quirks along the way, while still being sufficiently flexible enough to give player lots of room. I haven't tried the point system yet, but I think I will pick up a companion and give it a shot.

The combat system is straight-forward until someone gets hit. Then a great deal of numerical gymnastics are required to figure out the damage dealt, which is then translated into the wound received. The optional rules are a blast, but absolutely insane. We have never had a game in which all players left with all limbs still attached while using the optional rules.

The system is largely free-flowing and fairly straightforward, but the final stages of character creation and the first dozen times you handle combat damage bog down quite a bit. I happen to like the system quite a bit though.

sounds interesting,

when ive payed back dad for my Ati Radeon 9600XT video card i'll buy the core rule book.

Just as a last check thats "Mechwarrior 3rd Edition" right?

Yup. Or "The Classic Battletech RPG." Both are completely identical except for the name. I don't know why they changed the name, but I presume it was because of the way FASA's copyrights got divied up.

Daishi gave a good summary of MW3. Pay attention to his closing comment about chargen bogging down, though - it can be a shock after making characters with quick point-based systems like SR.

So when's this CBT set? I read a few BT novels years ago, and I loved Hanse Davion and Co. (pity he died during the Clan invasion).

Are you able to simulate old mechs _and_ the new ones? I mean, suppose I want the players to be Inner Sphere guys and the OpFor are Clan mechs... will the difference be visible?

Then I might have to mobilize the 43 Guards Motorized Rifles to contest you, and we don't want that to hppen.

lol its kinda funny what this thread has turned into rofl

I gave up on getting new BT stuff after Tech readout 3067 came out. Some of the mech designs just seemed silly or redundant. Most of the IIc mechs are interesting, but in particular I hate the drawings of most of the clan vehicles, none of which seemed terribly realistic or even futuristic. The exception being the Epona. My favorite book is still the old 3025 or the 2750 readouts.

I used to have the 43rd's TOE listed on CBT.com but it seems to have disappeared. I probably don't go there as much as I should, but OTOH I don't get many chances to play anymore - so my rules knowledge is a little dated. You probably won't find anyone else who has the hit charts memorized though. I still love the old heavies and employ them whenever I get the chance. TDRs, WHMs, ARCs and CRD with the odd GHR for fun.

Dumpshock character: Lodestar

Relevant skills: English (Battletech jargon) 4 (6)

Already ahead of you.

You scare me

I Try.

The 43rd is only the largest unit I can field with BT minis being of regiment size (1Mech Btn, 1Tank Btn, 2Infantry Btns with attatched recon, arty and AA companies not to mention a heli assault company) Unfortunately space and time are never available to use it en masse, its more of a work in progress - touching up the paint and what not. Most are lead minis too if that gives you an indication of how long I've had most of them. I also have a few stars of Ghost Bear, Nova Cat and Diamond Shark marked mechs, and a few other independent lances and companies for whatever gaming situation might arise. Once again I just don't have the time to dedicate to the collection anymore and more than a few are in various stages of being painted and assemled.

what have i started ;(

Actually in most one on one duels ( at least when some cover is avaliable ) due to its superior manouverability a Wolverine will outdo a Banshee.

Wrong thinking there. The battle will be in infight distance.
- if the WLV has the initiative it jumps into the BNCs back
- if the BNC has the initiative, the WLV jumps behind the next hill ( into level 2+ water, behind some woods .. ) and waits for the next turn.
Believe me this works. Of course in a mass battle the BNC S is superior to any other 3025 mech

Boombastic: Any self-respecting BNC pilot is going to force at least some dead ground between himself and proper cover. Five hexes is sometimes a lot, and sometimes not much at all. The best the WLV pilot can do is stay at large laser range moving from cover to cover with maximum movement and try to work the BNC into a closer position that he can try to flank him. The BNC pilot can typically largely play a holding action and maintain himself at an optimum distance.

The hit and run scheme requires very specific terrain to pull off. I've done it quite effectively with a Jenner eliminating a medium battle lance with only some cover fire from a Wyvern. (That was a good day.)

Cray: LAMs? *hissssss*
Also, if the BNC pilot is using a 4/6 Banshee, then he does deserve to fail. So flawed. BNC-3S: So awesome.

gknoy: Glad to see I"m not the only one who idled away class time designing 'mechs. Most of my high school math notes have series of numbers with cryptic notations beside them that specced out designs for a variety of 'mechs. I only ever knew 3025 weapons by heart, and maybe 10 fusion engine ratings. (300 is 19 tons, and 250 is 12.5. Those came up a lot.)

@ Cray the BNC S is a 3/5 Mech
@ Daishi you need cover ( like I said in my first post on this subject )

@ all even if the WLV can only jump 5 hexes this is enough on most standard maps. Like Daishi said the hit and run tactic allowed him to destroy a medium lance with a Jenner. This means it worked against a quicker opponent with a mech that can absorb a lot less damage and can only jump 5 hexes.