Author Topic: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG  (Read 3888 times)

boilerman

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MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« on: 17 December 2017, 00:07:48 »
So has the MechWarrior first version BattleTech RPG book ever been put out as a PDF?
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Bosefius

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #1 on: 17 December 2017, 02:43:18 »
So has the MechWarrior first version BattleTech RPG book ever been put out as a PDF?

As far as I know it's never been released.
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boilerman

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #2 on: 17 December 2017, 13:09:17 »
OK, thank. I guess that means I have to find my copy.  :-\
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SteelRaven

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #3 on: 17 December 2017, 13:24:46 »
Other than having a very simple thus quick character creation, It's very dated.

My bud finds it easier to run a BT RPG using BESM until we have have enough time to invest into AToW.
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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #4 on: 17 December 2017, 14:32:18 »
You could try find 2nd Edition MW RPG.  It's basically the updated version of the original, same basic method of playing if i'm not mistaken.
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guardiandashi

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #5 on: 17 December 2017, 16:21:51 »
You could try find 2nd Edition MW RPG.  It's basically the updated version of the original, same basic method of playing if i'm not mistaken.
you are mistaken in some ways.

2nd edition is much more streamlined.
as far as char creation I would say 2nd edition was the quickest and easiest, IMO.  it uses "priorities" to determine how many points you get for each category: race, attributes, skills, advantages etc. and then depending on what priority was set where it determines how many points you actually have to spend.

there were a few things I used from 1st edition when I played / ran 2nd edition but not much.  I still use (or would use) some things from 1st/2nd edition if I ran a atow game.

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #6 on: 18 December 2017, 01:04:29 »
.. it uses "priorities" to determine how many points you get for each category: race, attributes, skills, advantages etc...

... I'm going to regret asking this but considering there are no aliens in the BTU, what!?
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Liam's Ghost

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #7 on: 18 December 2017, 01:17:12 »
... I'm going to regret asking this but considering there are no aliens in the BTU, what!?

A higher priority on race let you play a clan trueborn of some flavor, with the requisite bonuses.
« Last Edit: 18 December 2017, 01:19:37 by Liam's Ghost »
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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #8 on: 18 December 2017, 03:06:38 »
Considering those who fail their Warrior trails become Scientist or fall to another cast (sometime going bandit/dark cast) that sounds more like a class type.
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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #9 on: 18 December 2017, 03:22:49 »
Considering those who fail their Warrior trails become Scientist or fall to another cast (sometime going bandit/dark cast) that sounds more like a class type.

You still get the bonuses for being trueborn, though. The race category covers those racial bonuses, like elementals being stupidly strong.
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Daryk

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #10 on: 18 December 2017, 08:03:54 »
Also, ability scores had a much heavier impact on target numbers, so those ability bonuses for phenotype were worth every point of priority you paid for them.  That said, I used that category as a dump stat as I always played Inner Sphere (with first priority going to ability scores).

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #11 on: 18 December 2017, 13:25:40 »
Yeah, chargen in second edition is easy to game. That edition also dropped a lot of miscellaneous stuff first edition had, like overland travel or faking spaceship IFF beacons.

OK, thank. I guess that means I have to find my copy.  :-\

Real interesting book, all things considered.

There's at least two printings of it, though I've yet to notice any major differences- the back covers are different, and one has a shorter list of priced 'Mechs with slightly different component pricing.
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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #12 on: 18 December 2017, 14:11:08 »
it uses "priorities" to determine how many points you get for each category: race, attributes, skills, advantages etc. and then depending on what priority was set where it determines how many points you actually have to spend.


How very Shadowrun. I wonder why....
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guardiandashi

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #13 on: 18 December 2017, 15:11:54 »
How very Shadowrun. I wonder why....
because at the time they used the same idea for chargen even though actual gameplay is different

Col Toda

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #14 on: 18 December 2017, 16:49:49 »
Talked to Walter Hunt a few years back . The first mechwarrior was done in about 6 weeks without play testing or a whole lot of feedback during the writing . A Time of War took time and had feedback from players like us on these boards . The original was amazing if you consider the time it took . A Time of War is far better developed product.

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #15 on: 19 December 2017, 01:41:12 »
because at the time they used the same idea for chargen even though actual gameplay is different
If you have a system that works, why not use it.
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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #16 on: 19 December 2017, 02:00:18 »
The combat system adapted the BattleTech rules to a certain extent - body armor degraded first, then penetrating hits on the character’s soft’n’squishy “internal structure” forced checks for critical hits, with results like “perforated spleen” instead of “engine hit”. 

You don’t want to know what the equivalent of ammo explosion was, other than that you’ll need a squeegee if you want to ever use that cockpit again.
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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #17 on: 19 December 2017, 04:40:23 »
If you have a system that works, why not use it.
As I recall, the complaints were in the vein that characters were too "cookie cutter".  Character stat generation took on the order of five minutes once you were familiar with the system, but pretty much every one was a 3/3 pilot (or better, if they were clan) with limited secondary skills.

The thing I like about the current system is that the modules help me flesh out backgrounds much more than before.  MW2 (and MW1) basically gave you no help, and MW3 life paths felt too confining (and arbitrary... it wasn't as bad as old school Traveler, but I had more than one MW3 character creation attempt end before game play even started).

Col Toda

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #18 on: 19 December 2017, 05:20:12 »
AToW permits a point buy system that does not start to penalize a character until either age 41 or 7,000 XP . So the best potential creation is about age 39 : 6,900 XP with 50 extra XP in dex so you lose nothing at age 41  .  If you buy the fast learner and the tough trait starting with at least 6 in Dex and Reflexes you can stay in a cockpit until the age of 71.

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #19 on: 19 December 2017, 06:41:45 »
The combat system adapted the BattleTech rules to a certain extent - body armor degraded first, then penetrating hits on the character’s soft’n’squishy “internal structure” forced checks for critical hits, with results like “perforated spleen” instead of “engine hit”. 

You don’t want to know what the equivalent of ammo explosion was, other than that you’ll need a squeegee if you want to ever use that cockpit again.

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #20 on: 19 December 2017, 07:21:38 »
"I don't even remember the guys' name anymore, around the hangar we just call him Mr. Raspberry Jam when we tell the story."

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #21 on: 19 December 2017, 07:48:55 »
You still get the bonuses for being trueborn, though. The race category covers those racial bonuses, like elementals being stupidly strong.

That always bugged me about second edition. Clan propaganda notwithstanding, I always felt the BTU background material favored skill over physical ability. (Consider all the octogenarian mechwarriors we see kicking butt in the source material.)

Not a major flaw, just a quirk.

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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #22 on: 20 December 2017, 07:32:03 »
That always bugged me about second edition. Clan propaganda notwithstanding, I always felt the BTU background material favored skill over physical ability. (Consider all the octogenarian mechwarriors we see kicking butt in the source material.)

Not a major flaw, just a quirk.

Yeah, but I would point out that physical ability is only a starting point. Then the skill comes into the picture. This explains why there are failed Elementals in the Clan Laborer caste.
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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #23 on: 20 December 2017, 09:14:08 »
Yeah, but I would point out that physical ability is only a starting point. Then the skill comes into the picture. This explains why there are failed Elementals in the Clan Laborer caste.

Well, not so much under the MW2 rules. Stats are king, skills are helpful.
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Re: MechWarrior - First Version BattleTech RPG
« Reply #24 on: 20 December 2017, 09:16:04 »
Even more specifically, Intuition was king...

 

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