Rule selection and 3025-3050 era products

[Lorcan Nagle]

5.  What's the best way to buy BT products?  I seem to be having problems sourcing BT items here in the UK, what stores carry BT stuff has limited selection.  I know there is BattleCorps or DriveThruRPG but I prefer having physical copies so even if I bought the PDFs, I'd still print them out so I'd just rather buy the hardcopies.  Anyone in the UK/EU know of a reliable store for physical copies?

If your LGS is any good, they'll do custom orders if you ask them about it.  BattleTech's distributor in the UK is Esvedium games, which most shops will be buying from anyway. Aside from shops, there's always eBay or Amazon.

[Scotty]

I'm just starting to revive BattleTech in the KC area (or at least in the Overland Park/Olathe part), and aside from the intro box set and Total Warfare, Sword and Dragon is going to be the first thing I recommend the shop owner make available.  It's a very good tool for new players, as it has a built in simple campaign, an introduction to an easy campaign system, and perhaps most importantly it gives a good bridge between introductory rules and tournament legal tech.  The next awesome thing about it is the lance packs that IWM carries that are specifically of the unique variants featured.  Starterbooks are pretty much the only aces yoh can get all that at once.

[-Ice]

Hmmm... my very friendly LGS is listed under Esdevium.  I'll go have a chat with the lady minding the store.  I usually order from IGUK but they don't have physical copies of TRO 3039, Tech Manual, Strat Ops... much less the FM Mercs books I am looking for.

I do have Sword and Dragon and War of 3039... Sword and Dragon is too warchest-y for me though I do realize I can use it to get ideas.  War of 3039 is an interesting read though I cannot seem to get inspiration from it.  I guess I just don't appreciate the abstraction done in the Warchest system for a mercenary unit game.  If we were playing House army or as a part of a bigger merc unit, I'd use it, but not for a "personal" merc unit.

Perhaps I should ditch the mercenary unit idea for now and go with the warchest system.  Easier accounting, more mechs for him to play with, and easier for me to find things for it as well.  However, I fear that it'll make it less "personal" for him --- I'd like him to be smart and take care of his mechs, think tactically and not treat the mechs or units just as "items" to be spent to win.  We have Warhammer 40K for that. :)

[Lorcan Nagle]

FM: Mercs is long out of print, so Esvedium probably won't have it in stock.  Ral Partha Europe have a stock of FanPro era books they're selling off cheap, so check them out too.

[DarkISI]

3039 is the go-to for Succession Wars designs.  It replaces TRO: 3025 and 3026, and includes both the unseen (without artwork) and the downgraded Star League designs from the 90s reprints of 3025.  IIRC the Record Sheets 3039 Unabridged PDF doesn't contain the unseen sheets as they're in RS: 3085 Project Phoenix.

It may have been cleared up at some point, but I still think it worth correcting you here. :)
RS 3039 Unabridged contains the unseen Record Sheets for the 3039 era unseens. RS 3085 u Phoenix contains only the more modern versions of said units.