Author Topic: Questions for A Time of War veterans  (Read 1797 times)

Leto_II

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Questions for A Time of War veterans
« on: 27 May 2015, 12:43:10 »
Hey, folks.  I wanted to know:

1) In preparing to run AToW, what has helped you the most in preparing, and what helped you the least?

2) What helps you in defining a sense of atmosphere and character unique to AToW and Battletech?

3) Do you find it runs best with players who are experts on the setting, casual players, or new players to the BT universe altogether?

4) How do players handle the deaths/lethality of the game? It seems this is a pretty deadly system, even with hero rules added on.  Do the players, if their characters live too long, stop taking the stakes to heart and think themselves too invincible?

5) what kind of stories have you run? What was the outcome and how did it play out altogether?

Any or all answers welcome!

Leto_II
The Clans can be beaten. On the tabletop, anyway.  (Posted as Rush Maguin on the MWO forums)

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/17379-the-battle-of-luthien-war-story-from-a-tabletop-veteran/

Lissette Woo

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Re: Questions for A Time of War veterans
« Reply #1 on: 01 June 2015, 16:12:05 »
1) most helpful :
- mostly Fieldmanuals (3060 to 3067) and other books like the 20yrs update and so but also of cause the basic/advanced rule books (both AToW and CBT:RPG)
- english, chinese and japanese dictionaries (last of them very helpful while we play mostly vs. Kurita enemies - using them on regular is another question, and this an good one  :-[ )
- if you got some fluff-park prepared (like stock civilian cars, trucks, trains, buildings, bases, and not to forget maps) depending on what world you're currently you just have to re-brand them
- lot of pencils and papers (90% checked one and 10% clean white one)
- dices and other accessories in your daughters favorite color (really, if not she tend to bust our gaming sessions - painting mechs in total purple), but not only for he - if you have e.g. red or blue dices for your group, gave them and they feel more comfortable and will open sooner and better toward the game and the rest of there mates
- at least some seasoned players if you got new ones on board
- open minded people
- while i plays mostly infantry/armor PCs/NPCs, some rounds of an action or ego shooter game gave you sometimes the right mood for what you have in mind for your mates. So my husband tend more to take some rounds on MWO, while i do CoD:Ghosts in Squad Mode - not everybodies favor but if it helps ?! sometime we both clash each other on Civ 5, also good for map building on planet level
- if we hosting an session : for the men, sleeping bags and bodycare items, and for us women : extra pillows for the bed, extra
raspberry pop tarts and enough dr. pepper supplies...

less helpful :
- an five years old daughter on an rampage, armed with brushes and purple paint (well pink is okay for me but not purple - love my epona prime in pink/white camo - was my first painted vehicle)
- conflicting book infos about locations/units/persons (you know the roll event from the merc tables of CBT:RPG "intel really droped the ball this time...")
- not open minded people
- munchies and/or ego botz (just a few words on that "breakdown events" helpful to catch them)

2) keeping intro speech not too long. So for seasoned players we keep it short, for newer or first-timer we tend to extend it some way (specialy for those players never been active in army, paramedics, fire department, disaster control or volunteer aide foundations - to gave them an short overwiev on protocols and day-to-day work and so on). Music is less an factor, but good figures of minis and locations (not complete BT play maps but parts of them).

3) Of cause, seasoned personal (like within the game setting) is your best pick, but work/family not always play with us in that favor so half our round is currently more or less on casual base. From time to time we found some new or introducing friends of our round or rarly like we can, our own children. Cause we got some boxed scenarios like boot camp, school, university and "the very unlucky", new players are always welcome and will not find themself aliened or overwhelmed. Best days on the table we've got with an mix of mostly seasoned and few new players, with last of them just past there boot camps/trainings sessions, and now been send on there first big field adventure. Mostly entertaining and teaching but not deadly.

4) So far, we got plenty of wounded PCs and NPCs, with until now only minor and major NPcs died. Banking Edge/XP for refresh (from PCs personal good-will missions) binding our PCs or NPCs for days and weeks to the sick bay or an intensive care unit because of multiple bone fractures, lung damage, multi-day coma and non-fatal head injuries, but they alive. So, we heavy encurage the use of edge to prevent fatalities. And hanging around, roped to your bed thanks to injuries, isn't an game breaker - most of our group use that time to gather infos about unit mates, current situation, starting romantic side quests, taking care of there buddies in unit, and so on.
Most of the group not playing Pcs in a relationship or marriage, started romantic adventures after first near death experience and also most started to put some money aside, for family or partners. Some times we let our PCs do some very risky stuff mostly with only minor injuries as result, but in 95% of all cases with the okay of all players (the other 5% are this cases in which an PC saves some buddy's bacon). So, most times edge rolls saved the day. If an major NPC died, we've sometimes problems to catch the PCs in the right moment to gave them an revenge or angel call, at least that this moment isn't too obviously. And yes this situations always came with consequences - mostly for the PC direct in first and the unit as a whole, but also directly for the whole unit. So its more or less character building. If they would start to feel invincble, there are much game elements which can bring them down to the dirt again. But thats mostly an situation with newer players and not with seasoned ones.

5) (CBT/RPG) Davion Mech Company during the war of 3039 and during the clan invasion been our groups first stories. 12 female pilots and 2 male techs. Most times only 4 to 6 mechs been operational, gaming was basic on battles and repair breaks between them, also the side quests had been realy basic compared to the ones we do today. Outcome was that we lost most battles, but the chemicals within the group started to work. Today we are 10 females, 3 males, 3 children and 2 cats. For 1-3 day sessions we only have 2-3 chances a year and atleast at one of them we also have our two away-sisters back onboard.

(CBT/RPG/AToW) Lohengrin/LCAF Special Forces Team training SPA cells in 3025 setting, had been our first realy hardcore gaming adventure. 4 lyrans + 7 rasalhagians civilians. Many language check rolls as well as many personal main and side quests - starts with stealing equipment and gear to crippling Kurita units, from soft demoralizing kurita troops to slaughter rapists and brigands. At the end we've got a lance of light and medium mechs stolen from kurita garrison and handed to SPA mech forces. Also two combat vehicles of medium size which the group keeped. All PCs and NPcs of that round had survived but all with scarred souls. First realy non-mech adventure, save for the vehicles, simple at the beginning but pro at the end. The whole group seasoned with it.

(CBT/AToW) Current adventure : Blizzard One Mercenary Command - a mixed company of pilots, crews and specialist infantry. Recruited from regular line unit leavers and veterans from both regulars and mercs, but all lyran loyalists. Long term retainer contract with the lyran gouverment is signed, first missions been pirate hunting : good salvage, moderate combat and many human side quests (liberating slaves, preventing human trafficking, reunification of families, returing of stolen shipments/ships, hostage rescue, small SLDF treasure hunts). The unit contains currently : 4 Mechs, 4 Tanks, 2 Special Ops squads (1 only lyrans lead by an ex-Lohengrin officer/1 lyran trained SPA operatives) and 1 modified Union for the transport. 8 Admins, 7 Mechanics, 6 Medics and 8 Technicians rounding the units total. All group members are currently active in the combat arm, with 2 new ones playing PCs in admin and medic branches starting this sommer. Next mission can be range from covered recon raid to extraction raid or relief duty, my husband wasn't that clear on the last hints. Current year in game is 3014.Due to the many "police" actions during the pirate hunting missions, the units heads (Mech commander CO/Tank commander XO/Special Ops commander) wrote themself an extanding order for the next 5 years which contains 2 squads of MP (Callisto Squad - Covered Ops and Valkyre Squad - Combat Search and Rescue) and at least 2 more squads of
Special Ops Infantry (Blue Dragons Squad - New Kyoto and kuritan refugees based Paratroopers and Hades Squad - Hardcore Shook Troopers).

Between this three main stories, we had some smaller ones : two with the Clans (Wolf and  sea Fox), an medium with an international armor regiment merc unit, two smaller ones with steiner units (one regular, one merc), and one each of Marik, Kurita and Liao (thats also the reseon for the dictionaries named in point one). To stay true, half of the smaller adventures had been played with CBT/RPG rules and not with AToW.

As an general we realy often use the CBT:RPG setting for PC/NPC building and than convert it to AToW settings. Using an mix out of planned and free character generation was best for us so far. If people don't want there PC too much into deep detailed out, they'll got the "10" (D&D players know). All other can choose between one and two events from the stage table, if the choosen event not totaly fitting the players concept for her/his PC they can edit it so it fits (but with same CP value). With AToW got no SOC, PCs and NPCs got an solid bank of XP to each, customizing skills and attributes or for save it to refresh Edge. Apart from that, if my husband is GMing we got a lot of "Good-Will" quests/missions for XP refeshing Edge and/or reputation building (mostly in a good way).

I guess not all of this was helpful, but maybe, even to show how it have to run not. But if further infos or hard numbers are welcome, feel free to PM me with specific questions or so.

regards,
Jennifer
« Last Edit: 26 July 2015, 09:08:45 by Lissette Woo »
Kommandant Lissette "Warhammer" Woo - 180th Attack Wing "Blue Dragons" - LAAF
Captain Vanessa "Ratatöskr" Berg - Creedy Squirrel Salvage Company - Mercenary Command
Star Captain Scarlette - Vehicular Binary Alpha - 13th Wolf Regulars
Sergeant Major Jaqueline "Jacky" Novakowski - Callisto Squad - Blizzard One - Mercenary Command
Sergeant Kelly Bekker - Blackdale Lancers - Mercenary Command
Staff Sergeant Sandrine Harkon - 92nd Arcturan Force Recon Regiment - LAAF


Leto_II

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Re: Questions for A Time of War veterans
« Reply #2 on: 02 June 2015, 13:54:02 »
Thanks for the reply, Jennifer.  I was starting to wonder if I'd alienated myself with questions no one wanted to answer. :P

How long has your game been going on? Any memorable moments? Favorite era?
The Clans can be beaten. On the tabletop, anyway.  (Posted as Rush Maguin on the MWO forums)

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/17379-the-battle-of-luthien-war-story-from-a-tabletop-veteran/

malk2651

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Re: Questions for A Time of War veterans
« Reply #3 on: 02 June 2015, 15:26:17 »
Thanks for the reply, Jennifer.  I was starting to wonder if I'd alienated myself with questions no one wanted to answer. :P

How long has your game been going on? Any memorable moments? Favorite era?

I think it has more to do with a lack of ATOW Veterans than you smelling funny.  O:-)

Not really a vet myself but I'll try my best.


1. A good amount of prep time.  I also tend to make a lot of visual aids for my group.

2. Not really sure how to answer this.  I've tried using music changes with mixed results.  Poor results usually because of technology problems.

3. I only have relative new comers to play with that I suckered in. 

4. I've learned to set up the campaign episodes so that serious injuries don't keep players out of the action for too long.

5. So far we've run a Merc garrison campaign(teaching campaign) and just finished an objective raid on a Kurita world.  We're moving from mercs to Ghost Bears and will be retracing the battles of the invasion corridor next.

Lissette Woo

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Re: Questions for A Time of War veterans
« Reply #4 on: 02 June 2015, 15:56:34 »
Favorite Era, clearly between 3025 and 3067. The current and the one with the SPA operatives had been the only ones so far which took place bevor 3050. All other between 3055 and 3067. But after this month i got massivly more free time (army time is over than), so there are still some ideas for one game at the Clans founding years.

With proper time available, the big games done by 1-2 years each. The one helping the later become (FRR army) KungsArms aka Scandinavians People Army went from beginning 2011 till end 2013. In game there are some more or less years gone too.

Moments to remember... some but best near death for one of my PCs was more like "you brought a knife to a gunfight". First time i used an combat knife as throwing weapon, yeah and missed. Too bad my Opponent got an pistol and shot one of my shoulders. High on QwikStim, i charged him while burning 25% of my Edge. Next 25% went away for an Tae-Kwon-Do kick, sending him down. The last two 25% had been burned for an Reflex check to recover the knife and an unaimed attack (mods had been so awful - no roll got an higher MoS than 2 or 3 ). Not sure by what margin, guess +1 or +2, my PC stabbed him. But other than Connery, one of my squad mates was nearby to save my PCs Bacon till medevac arrived.

During Training Scenarios we all had a lot of goofs like "tank set under power" which ended in sick bay with minor burnings. An mech Lance been painted not in green-brown-white camo, but in green-signal orange-White. Had been cooool bullet magnets (GM called that with +3 on the attack roll against them). On pistol got an breakdown in the worst possible Moment and all that been left, was an pile of metal and an very fast running PC. One of that moments your group bombarding one with Twinkies. Olver never again found that 30mins a day are too much time for cleaning and checking firearms.

Sorry for a bit shorter answers, 22:53 here so bed time for me. Have to catch any activity i can in my last month so,... you know, "severance pay and transitional allowance" are good.
Kommandant Lissette "Warhammer" Woo - 180th Attack Wing "Blue Dragons" - LAAF
Captain Vanessa "Ratatöskr" Berg - Creedy Squirrel Salvage Company - Mercenary Command
Star Captain Scarlette - Vehicular Binary Alpha - 13th Wolf Regulars
Sergeant Major Jaqueline "Jacky" Novakowski - Callisto Squad - Blizzard One - Mercenary Command
Sergeant Kelly Bekker - Blackdale Lancers - Mercenary Command
Staff Sergeant Sandrine Harkon - 92nd Arcturan Force Recon Regiment - LAAF