Author Topic: Newbie to A Time of War  (Read 5350 times)

tcabril

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Newbie to A Time of War
« on: 22 March 2016, 14:35:08 »
I used to play Battletech back 30 years ago or so when I was in High School - I actually got into Battletech because of Robotech and an RPG called MechWarrior.

I have recently come back to Battletech after a decades long hiatus - and I am starting to play the boardgame with my son.  I am thinking about using the RPG rules to round out the experience.

As I have not yet ordered ATOW yet - can some of you let me know how it plays and it it the best version to play an Battletech RPG - I see there is a version more to how I used to do it on DriveThruRPG but not sure which is the best - or what people think is the best.

Thanks
Todd

Atlas3060

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #1 on: 22 March 2016, 19:13:18 »
As I have not yet ordered ATOW yet - can some of you let me know how it plays and it it the best version to play an Battletech RPG
In the context of "Here's how I manage and build a company" like the old MW1 (and MW2) then AToW might be lacking to you.
AToW's main focus is on the Roleplaying side of things, much like MW3 (CBT:RPG it was also called) or even Shadowrun.

The game's scope isn't one of managing a Merc unit, but how the people interact with the Universe.

With that said, there's going to be a Campaign Companion one day that should give us a book geared towards that.
http://bg.battletech.com/books/upcoming-releases/
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Campaign Companion
.....
The Campaign Companion contains rules for generating and running any type of force within the BattleTech universe. From a single pirate BattleMech all the way to regimental combat teams, players can scale to their own taste. Additional rules cover running campaigns, from battlefield roles and force-building, to missions and the Chaos Campaign system......
So what do we do until then? Well the Chaos Campaign system is an abstract way of dealing with the ups and downs of running a force.
Plenty of the recent productions are using Tracks (missions that the system uses) to help folks build their gaming experience.

Total Chaos is the book that has the rules built to handle nearly every unit available in game.
A  bare bones, but free, version was prototyped before that book and is available on the main site's download section (here)

Free downloads sampling nearly every scale of Battletech game here.

Now if you are more interested in exploring the universe and found the previous Mechwarrior iterations a bit lacking, then AToW might be useful.

The character creation system no longer is focused on "Are you a Mechwarrior/Aeropilot? No? Tech? Why are you even here?" mentality.
It is possible to create characters that don't fit into classic archetypes, thus providing a unique game.

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- I see there is a version more to how I used to do it on DriveThruRPG but not sure which is the best - or what people think is the best.

Thanks
Todd
I'm assuming you mean the MW 1st edition PDF, or possibly the 2nd edition pdf? If I'm wrong I wouldn't mind being corrected.
As for which is better, it depends on the needs of the game and your tastes.
I've gone on record with others on this board saying that MW1/2 both are fine campaign tools, but limited as RPG systems go.
Meanwhile the reverse can be applied to AToW.
However since the current publications support AToW, I'm happy to use Chaos Campaign to handle the war side of my game and AToW for the people side.

My tastes don't invalidate those who just want to plunk down with a Mech-centric experience, but incorporating new tech (post Clan era) in with the old rules requires some home brewing if you're okay with that.
However if you simply wish to play within those time frames those book provide, then have fun. After all that's all that matters.
It's not about winning or losing, no it's all about how many chapters have you added to the rule books after your crazy antics.

tcabril

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #2 on: 23 March 2016, 07:49:41 »
Thanks your response was great!
As I move into my later 40s I find that when it comes to roleplaying my tastes are moving more away from the strictly adventure based gaming to more of the immersion style of roleplaying - just being a person in a particular time, place or genre and adventures happen as needed.

I think A Time of War is a nice fit for me!

Atlas3060

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #3 on: 23 March 2016, 08:16:31 »
You're very much welcome.

If that's the case, I recommend a few products.

A Time of War (naturally)
A Time of War Companion (filled with expanded rules and stuff covering how social rank benefits/hurts you in situations)
The Handbook series (Handbook House Davion, Kurita, etc) these give great detail on the civilian side of the universe.
Masters and Minions, one big book on the movers and shakers of the Jihad Era. Also some of those characters impact the early Republic Era.
Era Report/Digest series (2750, 3052, etc) these skirt more towards overviews of military events for their time frames. They do provide some rules on bonuses that the big time players use within these eras as well. Plus they provide suggestions on how to trim AToW to their Eras.
Most of the character creation rules for AToW assume a time frame close to 3067-early 3070.

Any of the old novels for fun story ideas, especially since they're coming back as electronic reprints now.
New novels, like Embers of War as of this posting.
« Last Edit: 23 March 2016, 08:18:37 by Atlas3060 »
It's not about winning or losing, no it's all about how many chapters have you added to the rule books after your crazy antics.

tcabril

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #4 on: 23 March 2016, 08:37:38 »
I will do just that!!!
I hope you work on commission!  LOL!

You don't happen to live in Mass do you?

Atlas3060

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #5 on: 23 March 2016, 08:45:15 »
You don't happen to live in Mass do you?
Nope, my group is not East Coast.

There is a Challenges and Gatherings board here on the forums that might help you coordinate a group: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?board=48.0
It's not about winning or losing, no it's all about how many chapters have you added to the rule books after your crazy antics.

monbvol

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #6 on: 24 March 2016, 00:42:26 »
Some advice to help you wade through AToW:

-When you start making your own characters I heavily recommend using the point buy method at first, module isn't what I would call complicated but certainly can be daunting with a lot of information overload potential until you get used to it.

-There are a few threads around this board that could prove useful, examples of how to make module method characters(not in my signature), examples of damage mechanics(do have a link to this in my signature), and more than one attempt to help automate the character generation process as well as a few other resources here and there(I don't plug mine too much anymore since I've lost all motivation to update/fix it further but I do have a couple other resources in that thread that you could possibly find useful).

VictorMorson

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #7 on: 25 March 2016, 18:42:16 »
First question:  Are you planning to play the RPG aspect of the game much?  If not, ATOW is not for you.  IMO ATOW is a very unfriendly RPG system; my group plays BattleTech games with other systems as a result, using AtoW only as reference.

That said, if you're looking for "I want to build a merc unit and play campaigns with persistent characters and units" I'd say you actually want Handbook: Mercenaries or the same 3055, some TROs from your chosen era of play (maybe a field manual if you want to play for a specific faction) and then possibly later on worry about stuff like TacOps/StratOps.

Again I'm not trying to knock on the system but AtoW is loaded with -insanely- difficult mechanics, esp. if your goal is just to play some BattleTech with a nice evolving army.  Books like that will get you started towards that end very fast.

Now if you actually want to play the RPG aspects - as in quite a bit of stuff not in a 'mech at all - then you'll want AtoW regardless.  It has too much info in it, and is a very useful resource towards that end.  But how deep you want to get into them might vary; books like the Mercs Handbook I mentioned fluff out the experience with a lot of detail but it's all towards the end of a persistent campaign.

Anyway just throwing it out there if you're looking for light RPG aspects for BattleTech, rather than merging the full RPG experience in (which can be great, too).
« Last Edit: 25 March 2016, 18:44:43 by VictorMorson »

Acolyte

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #8 on: 26 March 2016, 03:31:06 »
On the other hand, there are those of us who play the RPG aspect heavily with absolutely no problems with AToW. In fact, it's our groups go to for modern/postapocoliptic/sci fi settings.

I highly recommend AToW be used for RPG BattleTech. There are no insanely difficult game mechanics at all for our group, it all runs just fine.

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Jewelfox

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Re: Newbie to A Time of War
« Reply #9 on: 01 April 2016, 14:06:40 »
I'm just going to chime in here with the links in my sig, which are meant to help streamline AToW character creation to the point where it's actually fun.

I also recommend Fate as a free universal rules-lite system, although AToW is still a great sourcebook for what the BattleTech universe is like at ground level. (And if you're more into the "immersion provided by impartial rules and a GM" school of RPG thought, as opposed to "immersion provided by collaborating on a narrative," Fate may not be to your liking anyhow.)