----- Ten Days Later -----
Date: June 5, 3025
Location: N/A
Title: Technical Readout: 3025
Author: Blaine Lee Pardoe, Boy F. Petersen, Jr., Anthony Pryor, Dale L. Kemper, and Shaun Duncan
Type: Sourcebook
Synopsis: This sourcebook is introduced in an “in-universe” fashion as “the latest in a series of reference books describing the equipment and material of war in the Inner Sphere.” It covers 55 different ‘Mech classes, as well as LAMs, AeroSpace Fighters, DropShips, and a few vehicles. Every entry contains an Overview, giving the design’s purpose and history, a rundown of the design’s Capabilities, a Battle History detailing notable actions in which the design was involved, a brief description of Variants, and profies of notable ‘Mechs and MechWarriors.
Notes: The introduction doesn’t state outright who the authors are, but later TROs imply that this is a ComStar publication. Interestingly, the editors go out of their way to excuse any errors or contradictions, citing the deteriorating level of technology, Successor State secrecy, biased sources, and outright lies and fabrications.
The mention of this as the “latest in a series of reference books” implies there were many other TROs prior to 3025. We certainly know the later ones (all the way up to the forthcoming XTRO Most Wanted), but it would be interesting to see what they were putting into TRO: 3000, or TRO: 2850. (We’ve seen some of the designs that would have been featured with the Succession Wars and Primitives-themed TROs in recent years, of course.)
This volume, of course, relied heavily on designs that later became "Unseen," necessitating revised editions later on. The PDF issued on BattleCorps has the forbidden images painted out, which is actually preferable to alternatives - such as versions that just cut them altogether, shortening the book, or introduced nerfed low-tech versions of select TRO:2750 designs to fill the slots.
I personally think the format was absolute genius. Not only did it provide FASA an opportunity to introduce a wide range of ‘Mechs beyond the original 16 from the 2nd Edition Boxed Set, but it let them do a substantial amount of universe building through the thumbnail descriptions of battles on a hundred worlds, and protrayals of various heroes and villains of the Succession Wars. The beginning of each section also provided new players with an overview of each class, and its general role on the battlefield.
Today we have official rules for “Quirks,” but TRO: 3025 went into such detail that it was possible to envision rules variants for various designs based on the fluff text. Dragon Magazine #166 even contained an article by Mike Speca giving unofficial guidelines for each design’s quirks. (D2j targeting systems were treated more or less weight-free targeting computers.) So many of BattleTech's core modern elements stem from concepts first floated herein.
Since this was one of the earliest sourcebooks, the dates therein have frequently been contradicted by subsequent source material. However, the caveat from the introduction suffices to explain any irregularities – such as the claim that Redjack Ryan attacked Alkalurops in 2801, roughly 100 years before his birth. (Most of the histories and notable warriors are from factions featured in the MechWarrior 1st Edition rulebook, meaning Redjack Ryan played an outsized role in the book, given his relatively minor importance in the overall Succession Wars.)
This was one of the books that first attracted me to BattleTech. I grew up in a small town in New Mexico, and usually twice a month we’d drive to Albuquerque (bright lights, big city) to shop at specialty stores – an artifact of the pre-Internet era. Later on, I’d get my gaming fix at Wargames West on Central (which several times hosted book signings by Mike Stackpole and Liz Danforth), but around the time TRO:3025 came out, we’d go to the mall and split up, with instructions to meet back up in two hours. Having little pocket money and less interest in most mall offerings, I always gravitated to the mall’s Waldenbooks, which had a gaming section, and would while away many a happy hour leafing through TRO: 3025, TRO: 3026, TRO: 2750, and several of the Renegade Legion equivalents. The various Renegade Legion gravtanks and space fighters were interesting enough, but the visuals of the giant robots drew me in far more, prompting me to buy the TROs even before I had a rulebook for the game. I’m not exaggerating too much when I credit this book as being my gateway into 30 years of fun.
More than anything, this TRO demonstrated that the BattleTech universe has a deep, rich history, and the potential for nearly unlimited stories within the setting. Heroes and villains, ancient rivalries, bureaucratic incompetence, poor decisions, tragedies, triumphs…and above all, character. Rather than just collections of stats, each unit ended up having a personality - whether by reputation, association with storied individuals, or by being absolutely quirky and adorkable (lookin' at you, UrbanMech).