BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat

BattleTech Player Boards => BattleTech Roleplaying => Topic started by: drkrough on 23 July 2012, 19:02:57

Title: Mechwarrior- 25 Years of Darkness
Post by: drkrough on 23 July 2012, 19:02:57
Hello All,

I'm running a Battletech game on another website.  The game is Play by Post and set in the Battletech universe, but other game systems for rules.  I am in need of a few more players and have had, in the past, some success in looking for players outside of that website's normal community.

If you are vaguely (or more) interested, I'd ask that you read this post before applying.  It will help determine if this game is one you would be happy playing.  I am ultimately looking for 2 to 3 players and will take the best of the applications (should I actually get more than 3).

Summary

The game is called Mechwarrior- 25 Years of Darkness (MW25YoD).  Set on Solaris VII in 3157, the game setting is outside of the established Battletech timeline.  This is intentional as it allows us a lot of flexibility in storytelling, and by having it during the Dark Ages, it allows us to try to get a grittier feel to the game.  The players currently in the game are playing down-on-their luck Mechwarriors who, thanks to an armed robbery, have just managed to get into some 'Mechs.  As I write this, they're running around doing figure 8s in a 'Mech-based demolition derby, both to get some cash and to test out some rules.  At some point I'm sure the folks they robbed will have some sort of unfortunate influence on them.

For the near future, the players have formed a new mercenary unit and are probably going to head off-world... if they can afford the travel expenses.

What this game is.

Hopefully, this game is a chance to play in the Battletech universe, pilot your own mech, and explore the growth and development (and possibly death) of a character.  There are limitations on what characters are allowed to play, and this is a function of my desire to keep the group together.  The focus is on Mechwarriors, not the myriad of other forces available in the tabletop game.

The game is more about roleplay than rollplay, but both have a place in the game.

There are railroad tracks, but they point in the direction the group wants to go in.  This is mostly to keep things moving and to keep single characters from running off on their own and taking an unfair portion of my time.

What this game is not.

Sometimes you can tell if a game is what you want by knowing what a game is not.  It is not a tactical board game.  We won't be counting hexes or ensuring that we've torso-twisted everything this turn, nor will we be worried too much about a lot of the minute details of the game. 

It also is not a great fit for rules lawyers as I tend to favor rules-lite and creative deeds.

See the thing about drama in the next section too.

How good is the GM?

Honestly, not the greatest.  My strength is more reliability over skill and, as long as I have players who post fairly regularly, I am good at keeping games going.  If my players can post 3-4 times per week, then the game will tend to stay strong.  Right now I have a couple that post several times per week, and a couple that don't post that often.

Play by post gaming, in my experience, lives and dies by the number of posts per week.  During combat, the game moves at the pace of the slowest player (unless I NPC them) and that can be brutal on a game's survival.  I'm looking for an infusion of new players to combat the dreaded slow-monster.  Ideally, we'd have 2 rounds of combat per week (where each player posts once per round) plus multiple posts per week during conversation/downtime.  Also ideally, I'd want about 75% of the group to post before "moving on."

I post roughly about a 15 times per weekday on the website, across multiple games.  I don't post on weekends.

I am not a serious dramatic writer, and prefer my games avoid high drama.  If you're looking for a GM to help you delve into your character's abusive childhood, drinking habit, cutting tendencies, and general desire to mope about the place, then please look elsewhere (there are other games on the website that actually do get into that stuff).  I prefer a laugh over a frown, which in emoticon talk is actually a (:) I suppose, and just entirely too confusing to consider.

What website, and what is their definition of play-by-post?

The website is myth-weavers.com.  It is free to play, but requires an account for posting.

Play-by-post on myth-weavers varies by gamemaster, actually.  For my game, it means, generally, a paragraph for most posts, maybe two or three paragraphs sometimes.  Sometimes less, sometimes more.  What I do not want is a lot of one-line posts unless you're having an In-Character conversation that lends itself to that.  On the flip side, 5000 word posts are way, way, overkill.  Save those for elsewhere.

Why myth-weavers.com instead of X (X being anywhere including here)?

Mostly because that's where I am now.  But also, because myth-weavers.com has awesome dice rolling tools built into the forums with some fairly decent anti-cheat mechanics built in.  Really, it's because I'm already there and vested in the website.

What sort of gamer is needed?

I want to say, "the same type every GM is looking for," but I've long since realized that we're no more the same than the players are.


What Rules or Game Systems is MW25YoD using?

I'm using 2 systems for the game.

For out-of-'mech situations, we're using house ruled Fuzion rules, available freely on the web.  It's the d10+Attribute+Skill ruleset some folks may recall from Cyberpunk and Mekton.  The rule's open-source availability, grittiness, and extensive equipment lists were the main reasons.  In testing the house rule versions, a single bullet has been able to take a character out of a fight, and I like that threat affecting the player's decision making process.  There are other good rules out there that are as gritty, but I like this one.  Plus, I have the books it is based on.

For in-'mech situations, we're using a very simplified version of the also open-source Fate rules.  Fate has a not-totally-intuitive-but-easy-enough dice mechanic that, mathematically, works out to 4d3-8 + Something.  Dice rolls are from -4 to +4 with most hovering around -1 to +1.  Fate rules encourage roleplay and descriptive combat.  I want people to describe what their 'mech is doing, more than just saying, "I shoot my PPC, I got a 7."  While Fate does allow folks to do just that (and sometimes in PbP a player just doesn't have the time/desire to put effort into a post), when someone does put some effort into a post, the system allows them to be rewarded for their effort.  Plus, I have the Spirit of the Century and Dresden books based on it (Notice a trend there?).

That said, both rulesets are house rule simplified, and there are a lot of holes in them at this time.  The rules a player needs are on the website in the forums.  I ask that players in the game realize that there are going to be rules conflicts and they be the sort of person that can argue their point, and accept whichever outcome, er, comes out.

Blah, blah, how do gamers apply?

Awesome.  You've read all that above (or skimmed for the highlights) and you want to know how to actually apply for the game?  Fair enough.  I'm looking for 2-3 gamers, and will generally take any applicants who put enough effort into their application that I figure they actually read most of this.

First, FYI, should I somehow get more than 3 applications, I'll take the applications I deem best up to 3.  I won't take 4.  5 is right out.  I can't handle a 12-man group, and the game would die if I tried.  Nor can I handle 2 groups.  Sorry, I have my limits and know most of them.

Next, if you don't have an account on myth-weavers, you will need to create one there in order to post into the game application thread.  The game application thread is located at:
MW25YoD (http://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=165669)
(You can see the thread without creating an account.)
Just type in your post in the standard reply box.  And then you can forget the password and ignore the account until such time as you might need it.

C, your application should consist of answering the following questions; the more detail the better.  Personally, well, I'd look at the other apps as well and just make sure my app is competitive to theirs.  No need to write Shakespeare if the other apps are best qualified as "forum trolls."  (Note- I have a forum troll in one of my other games- he's an outstanding player truth be told.)

The application questions (and statement) are:

The criteria for choosing will be, in no particular order, how I feel you'll do for posting, the tone of your posts on the Battletech forum (if any), the style you write with and how close it is to mine, and how cool your avatar is (okay, maybe not that last one).  Play by post gaming isn't a science, and a guess is often as good as a feeling.  Good luck!


If you have any questions, I will answer them here.

Thank you for your time,
Regards,
DRK