Peoples thoughts on Classic Battletech RPG

rucdoc

Was thinking about running a classic battletech rpg for my local group and was wondering what peoples thoughts are on the system

Cheeseliker

It is awesome.

Super Namicchi

my thoughts? if you're talking the classic palladium game...

well, it's palladium. i personally think their games are garbage, but you'll find rabid fans as well. my best advice? try it out man, don't let other people dictate what you play.

rucdoc

I was speaking about the Catalyst game lab's game, not the earlier version. and it was more to get peoples opinions on how the system works before I buy the book, if it really sucks didn't wanna blow 2 months f gaming budget on the book.

mightyspacepope

I think you're thinking of Robotech, arc. Battletech was released by FASA, although Catalyst Game Lab is re-releasing it.

As far as I know, Battletech is only a miniature wargame based on relatively small squads. It seems like the best way to get started would be with the starter set, which seems to be a pretty good deal.
http://www.classicbattletech.com/index.php?action=products&mode=full&id=198

The roleplaying aspect of the game is actually Mechwarrior. There are several editions of Mechwarrior, of which 2nd ediiton seems to be regarded as the best. You can find it on the cheap pretty easily.
http://www.amazon.com/Mechwarrior-Battletech-Role-Playing-Game-2nd/dp/1555601294/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242179238&sr=8-1

The members of FeartheBoot popularized the idea of mashing the two games up (Mechwarrior for non-combat, Battletech for combat). You can get advice on doing this at their boards, but here's some introductory advice.
http://www.feartheboot.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1221&hilit=battletech

Apparently, the 3rd edition of the game integrated RP and combat rules better, but also made the game more complicated. I've never actually played either game, but I've considered it and actually have the 2nd edition rulebook.

Hahnsoo1

ArcanisTheImpotent wrote: »

my thoughts? if you're talking the classic palladium game...

well, it's palladium. i personally think their games are garbage, but you'll find rabid fans as well. my best advice? try it out man, don't let other people dictate what you play.

That's Robotech, not Battletech. It's a completely different game, although many early Battletech mech designs are blatantly ripped off from Robotech.

I used to run several Battletech campaigns as a GM. Basically, I would control all of the enemy units and terrain, and my gaming group would run the lances of a mercenary company. If they win, they get salvage and battle experience. If they lose, the survivors still get battle experience, but they give up some supplies and mechs. It was a lot of fun, especially since we have a lot of Battletech resources. We did "Clan versus Inner Sphere", too. It lead to a successful campaign where the group (as the Grey Death Legion) managed to successfully capture a Clan dropship and a not-so-successful campaign where a single light Clan star wiped out their whole Mech company (3 lances, or 12 Mechs).

Pretty much every single existing Mech design can be found online with a Mech Creator program, making it easy to mass produce Mech sheets.

I've also run a Mechwarrior 2/Battletech campaign with Mechwarrior 2 for non-combat engagements and Battletech for the 'Mech-based combat. One memorable moment was when a PC took an Inferno launcher and cooked off the ammo of the target Mech (I think it was a Battlemaster or Warhammer).

Super Namicchi

i honestly have no idea, but i think the point of my post is the same: if you think you might like it, give it a try.

but yeah, sorry about the mix-up. i don't know my battle robo mech warrior battle tech mech robo games :P

Hahnsoo1

ArcanisTheImpotent wrote: »

i honestly have no idea, but i think the point of my post is the same: if you think you might like it, give it a try.

but yeah, sorry about the mix-up. i don't know my battle robo mech warrior battle tech mech robo games :P

Battletech is a game by FASA (now defunct, although the IP has been picked up by Catalyst Games). While it involves large robots, it has a fully realized history and storyline, punctuated by multiple novels and gaming supplements. It's mostly a miniatures hex-board wargame. Most rolls are done with a 2d6 for hitting and 2d6 for hit locations afterwards (with some exceptions).

Battletech has spawned a lot of successful computer games, such as the Crescent Hawk's Inception, the Crescent Hawk's Revenge, Mechwarrior and its sequels (not to be confused with the Mechwarrior RPG system), and Mech Assault. It even spawned its own arcade cockpit game, where you can go to various Battletech centers to pilot a virtual simulation of a mech cockpit against others, even across the nation. It was fairly cool back in the day.

Robotech is based on the Anime of the same name. The RPG is a Palladium game, as you say. It's far better than 2nd edition DnD, and it introduces the concept of "Occupational Character Classes". In other words, where your character grew up and went to school influences the kind of skills and traits that he has when you create him. It also has much less of a disparity between levels (a level 1 character has a reasonable chance of killing a level 10 character), and introduces the concept of SDC (flesh wounds or inanimate structure damage) and MDC (heavy armor), which delineates armor/soak versus deadly wounds (much like a lot of old first person shooters would have Armor and Health).