Author Topic: Talk to me about A Time of War  (Read 15499 times)

abou

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #30 on: 08 August 2016, 08:14:17 »
That is a major concern. I don't know why so many of you are jumping on Panthros.  Sure, his tone could have been better, but he does raise a good point.

Back in the land before time, TSR found out very quickly that Dungeon Masters as a whole wanted adventure modules and preferred them. Pointing out Necromo Nightmare and Empires Aflame -- one which is 3 years old and another that takes place in another universe -- doesn't do much to argue against Pantrhos' point. And as someone new to the system, having a bit more of a guiding hand than adventure seeds and hooks would be nice.

Conversely, I understand where Catalyst is. They have a small staff of mostly freelancers that go where the money is. That is a tough situation; and taking someone off of a book such as ilClan or a Historical could mean less profit. I don't envy either party.

Save your time/money and play something else.  A Time of War is not properly supported by Catalyst.  0 modules/adventures have been released for the game!  Unless you want all of the work to create the everything lol.  Sorry, I have a family and a day job.  I want a RPG that is supported.  At least 1 module per quarter should not be asking too much even if community written.

Wrangler

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #31 on: 08 August 2016, 08:20:14 »
Necromo Nightmare, Empires Aflame, the Free RPG day downloads floating around the internet, the adventure seeds in the Touring the Stars releases, and the RPG hooks that the Handbooks provided.
These show signs of support, so the notion that "0 modules/adventures" is wrong.

Now do they provide-absolute-granular-level-30 grues will eat you on THIS part of the map? No, but then as always CGL has steered from that way in most of their products.

I think the issue is there is no canon adventures (in same universe or were not considered to be canon.) that don't have allow for the player to go on without having been removed/killed off from the universe. The GM can certainly house rule it, but aside from that. Their dead by the end of the adventure, they still are awesome scenarios for one-off adventures campaigns.

Touring the Stars are nice supplements that offer very couple of potential stories for ATOW and Total Wafare players to latch on and do and be able to say "Yay! It's not the no-win scenario!".

Hopefully there will be more adventures beyond touring the stars.  TtS can be great if your LosTech hunter which used to rein during the ye-olde late Succession Wars era.
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HABeas2

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #32 on: 08 August 2016, 12:30:59 »
The Free RPG Day adventures are not one-way trips, like the Halloween offerings are all meant to be. Their function is to serve as a neat entry-level adventure for the players.

Now, it's worth noting that we HAVE been considering and working on adventure modules since...well, since a year or so after A Time of War came out. In fact, I know there are two full-length AToW adventures that were completely WRITTEN before my promotion to ex-Line Developer; the author of both would probably like to get paid for them sometime, but CGL contracts are based on publication dates.

The trouble, as always, is cost. By far, the majority of BattleTech's tabletop players favor the war game over role-playing, and RPG adventures by their very nature tend to have higher art needs than any BT product short of a TRO or core rulebook. We can only recycle so much, after all. As art tends to be one of the biggest costs in producing a BT product, well... it tends to be a deal-breaker. CGL is not a charity, and "love of the game" alone isn't enough to drive sales.

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monbvol

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #33 on: 08 August 2016, 14:56:37 »
*nod*

It is a bit of a catch 22.  Catalyst has put out a few things here and there that do support AToW but as noted they are mostly seeds.  So stuff you do need to work on to make grow into something more.  I understand that this is can still be a lot of work to do for GMs and some people do need more detailed/developed adventures.  There are a couple of those as well but certainly not much.  So the frustration is understandable even if there are some unfair/overly negative accusations made.

PurpleDragon

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #34 on: 08 August 2016, 16:40:59 »
*nod*

It is a bit of a catch 22.  Catalyst has put out a few things here and there that do support AToW but as noted they are mostly seeds.  So stuff you do need to work on to make grow into something more.  I understand that this is can still be a lot of work to do for GMs and some people do need more detailed/developed adventures.  There are a couple of those as well but certainly not much.  So the frustration is understandable even if there are some unfair/overly negative accusations made.

indeed.  Which is why I still try to keep hold of the scenario books I got back in the late 80s.  Most of them are not set up for RP, but the main character stats and the forces are written up.  so, easily modified to include some RP.
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Stallion12

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #35 on: 08 August 2016, 18:07:45 »
I c as nt find the free rpg day modules besides the one added to the quickstart rules.

HABeas2

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abou

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #37 on: 08 August 2016, 20:47:53 »
Herb, how integral is new art to these modules? Is this mostly side are for flavor or are they character portraits? If it is a PDF-only release, is it possible to skip most of the illustrations just so they can be published?

jackson123

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #38 on: 09 August 2016, 07:15:25 »
Have to say I am fan of older rules. But the age of war game is not bad.

Panthros

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #39 on: 09 August 2016, 23:53:54 »
The Free RPG Day adventures are not one-way trips, like the Halloween offerings are all meant to be. Their function is to serve as a neat entry-level adventure for the players.

Now, it's worth noting that we HAVE been considering and working on adventure modules since...well, since a year or so after A Time of War came out. In fact, I know there are two full-length AToW adventures that were completely WRITTEN before my promotion to ex-Line Developer; the author of both would probably like to get paid for them sometime, but CGL contracts are based on publication dates.

The trouble, as always, is cost. By far, the majority of BattleTech's tabletop players favor the war game over role-playing, and RPG adventures by their very nature tend to have higher art needs than any BT product short of a TRO or core rulebook. We can only recycle so much, after all. As art tends to be one of the biggest costs in producing a BT product, well... it tends to be a deal-breaker. CGL is not a charity, and "love of the game" alone isn't enough to drive sales.

-

Sorry for my tone earlier but I am extremely frustrated with ATOW.  I bought the two books and gm screen and they are sitting on my shelf collecting dust.  Yes I know there are hooks but I want adventures.  I had no interest in the zombie mechs or non canon modules.  The adventures in the quick start guides are extremely short.  I want ATOW to succeed.  The only way any RPG truly succeeds in my opinion is by having adventures for people to play.  I could care less about art work personally.  I want to spend an hour or two reading and preparing for an adventure, sit down with friends and spend 2-4 hours playing a RPG in the rich Battletech universe.  I and others I know work full time and do not have time to create adventures.  All you have to do is look at the DnD Adventure League for an example.  You can look at the free stuff Ash Law puts out for 13th Age by Pelegrane which is likely smaller than Catalyst.

That is great to hear two adventures are done.  Make them available to Battlecorp subscribers.  Put them in the Battlecorps pdf store for $9.95.  It would be interesting to know what the cost is to create one so the community can come together and financially help. Are we waiting on art?  Sometimes I think Catalyst is too worried about art.  I wonder how much smaller and even better the Total Warfare or Alpha Strike rules would be to offer a second trimmed down option with no art but that is a separate topic.  If Catalyst wants Battletech to succeed, they have to find other revenue streams and I think RPG could absolutely be one with some attention.

Catalys can get the help of the community content through a contest. Everyone submit theirs, the winners are announced and the top 3, top 5 winners not only get their content published through pdf but also the recognition that goes along with it.  I am sure there some budding game developers out there.  Perhaps you throw in a Battletech book or two that costs almost nothing for Catalyst to give out.  You could even tie the RPG adventures with the Harebrained game that will be released next year.  Set the timeline for 3025.

 
« Last Edit: 10 August 2016, 00:14:20 by Panthros »

monbvol

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #40 on: 10 August 2016, 00:52:03 »
I find myself pondering how possible it would be for us fans with the time and some GM chops in terms of creating adventures to perhaps create adventure modules.  Obviously certain steps would have to be taken on our part to minimize potential IP issues but unless I'm missing something for IP rights if we do it should be possible in the same vein that we can write fluff for custom mech designs.

Obviously they'd have to go in the Fan Design forums but I think I might take a stab at this once I get some of my other writing projects finished up unless told it'd be just a little too much.

Acolyte

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #41 on: 10 August 2016, 01:02:40 »
Sorry for my tone earlier but I am extremely frustrated with ATOW.  I bought the two books and gm screen and they are sitting on my shelf collecting dust.  Yes I know there are hooks but I want adventures.  I had no interest in the zombie mechs or non canon modules.  The adventures in the quick start guides are extremely short.  I want ATOW to succeed.  The only way any RPG truly succeeds in my opinion is by having adventures for people to play.  I could care less about art work personally.  I want to spend an hour or two reading and preparing for an adventure, sit down with friends and spend 2-4 hours playing a RPG in the rich Battletech universe.  I and others I know work full time and do not have time to create adventures.  All you have to do is look at the DnD Adventure League for an example.  You can look at the free stuff Ash Law puts out for 13th Age by Pelegrane which is likely smaller than Catalyst.

That is great to hear two adventures are done.  Make them available to Battlecorp subscribers.  Put them in the Battlecorps pdf store for $9.95.  It would be interesting to know what the cost is to create one so the community can come together and financially help. Are we waiting on art?  Sometimes I think Catalyst is too worried about art.  I wonder how much smaller and even better the Total Warfare or Alpha Strike rules would be to offer a second trimmed down option with no art but that is a separate topic.  If Catalyst wants Battletech to succeed, they have to find other revenue streams and I think RPG could absolutely be one with some attention.

Catalys can get the help of the community content through a contest. Everyone submit theirs, the winners are announced and the top 3, top 5 winners not only get their content published through pdf but also the recognition that goes along with it.  I am sure there some budding game developers out there.  Perhaps you throw in a Battletech book or two that costs almost nothing for Catalyst to give out.  You could even tie the RPG adventures with the Harebrained game that will be released next year.  Set the timeline for 3025.


These are all excellent points. I really like the idea of dovetailing with the new HBS game - Fantastic Idea!

I, too, do wish for more AToW support and was a little disappointed not to see any in the 1st SSW book (I'd have liked to see how the Life Path modules work in this era) but am thinking that they may not differ that much from the Star League. Hopefully the 2nd SSW book will have something in it.

A number of PDF adventures might be the way to go on this. They aren't free to produce, I know, but there's no printing to be done. AToW isn't the most popular way to play in the BT universe, so printing a bunch of books may be financially risky. I can do without much art, myself, and really don't mind recycled images if it gets more stuff out.

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Atlas3060

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #42 on: 10 August 2016, 02:06:05 »
I find myself pondering how possible it would be for us fans with the time and some GM chops in terms of creating adventures to perhaps create adventure modules.

I'd think it is no different than the alt universes people make, scenarios, designs, etc.
If you're a fan, not charging for anything, having fun, then I don't think there's a problem.
Then again I'm not one of the big beemers, but I know that trboturtle has a fan blog with AToW related stuff and he's not taken out back and shot....well for this he's not.  ;) http://thebattletechstate.blogspot.com/
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Ghost cub

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #43 on: 10 August 2016, 21:12:49 »
I would love to see more ATOW material out there. If anyone would like to collaborate on a module or adventure path of modules I am happy to contribute to the amount of material out there.

HABeas2

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #44 on: 10 August 2016, 22:36:02 »
I, too, do wish for more AToW support and was a little disappointed not to see any in the 1st SSW book (I'd have liked to see how the Life Path modules work in this era) but am thinking that they may not differ that much from the Star League. Hopefully the 2nd SSW book will have something in it.

Oooo! No! No new Life Modules, please! There's a reason the Life Modules were written as generically as they are; by the time MW3rd/CBTRPG ran its course, the Life Paths were scattered among dozens of books and suffered from serious power creep as new Path--ostensibly just specialized versions of standard paths--became bloated with ever more complicated modifications as the various authors tried their darndest to outdo each other or merely differentiate themselves. It was so bad that a player could create a character that was simply superior in every way from his fellow players by simply using the latest rulebook--regardless of faction or subject.  (Fun Fact: The time period covered by the MW3rd system's various Life Paths technically ranged from about 3060-3067, and yet a Steiner character made using just the Core Rulebook and the same number of life paths would almost certainly SUCK next to... a Periphery character made using the rules found in Field Manual: Periphery.)

The Era Books/Era Reports were the target product for any character creation expansions--and mostly then to deal with the changing nature of factions as measured across broader swaths of time. And THEN barely much more than making tweaks to the existing Affiliation rules, Economics, Equipment, and Vehicle tables. Because I didn't want to render the core rules useless.

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Acolyte

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #45 on: 10 August 2016, 22:56:26 »
Oooo! No! No new Life Modules, please! There's a reason the Life Modules were written as generically as they are; by the time MW3rd/CBTRPG ran its course, the Life Paths were scattered among dozens of books and suffered from serious power creep as new Path--ostensibly just specialized versions of standard paths--became bloated with ever more complicated modifications as the various authors tried their darndest to outdo each other or merely differentiate themselves. It was so bad that a player could create a character that was simply superior in every way from his fellow players by simply using the latest rulebook--regardless of faction or subject.  (Fun Fact: The time period covered by the MW3rd system's various Life Paths technically ranged from about 3060-3067, and yet a Steiner character made using just the Core Rulebook and the same number of life paths would almost certainly SUCK next to... a Periphery character made using the rules found in Field Manual: Periphery.)

The Era Books/Era Reports were the target product for any character creation expansions--and mostly then to deal with the changing nature of factions as measured across broader swaths of time. And THEN barely much more than making tweaks to the existing Affiliation rules, Economics, Equipment, and Vehicle tables. Because I didn't want to render the core rules useless.

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NONONONnonono no new life modules! I agree with the bloat there! What I meant was the adjustments made to mainly the Affiliations - like you see in Era Report 3062, for example. Actually the bolded section is more in line with what I'd like. Maybe if there's another product for that time period?

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monbvol

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #46 on: 10 August 2016, 23:23:01 »
Well with the XP system of AToW where what you put in is what you get out(at least for the most part) it is a lot easier to keep things in check power wise in AToW for creating new modules then MW3ED/CBTRPG and the real imbalances I found were really in the random event tables.

Now don't get me wrong I don't think we need tons of new modules but yeah maybe a few to show some more faction flavor and how things change over the eras could be included as nice little highlights here or there.

HABeas2

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #47 on: 11 August 2016, 02:20:36 »
You get the majority of your Faction flavor from the Stage 0 Life Modules (which cover Affiliation/Sub-Affiliation). These help guide players in what the core values and traditions of their factions are, including their native languages, and basic skills or traits that define dominant realm-wide cultural values and weaknesses (wealth over honor; survival over status, and so forth). But it's important to remember that, in the end, your character is still an individual, and that the broad-stroke descriptions of the factions are often only skin deep (Draconis Combine is not "space Japan" all the way through, any more than the Lyrans are "space Germany", or the Capellan Confederation is "space China"). This is where you, the player, make the call about what your character considers important.

It was a conscious decision we made to stop micromanaging our players when it came to their role-playing choices.

And, again, the books specifically identified as Era Reports or Era Digests cover just what you're after.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention something else: Although the Campaign Tracks featured in various products from the start of the Jihad to present are largely put together with the tactical war game in mind, they make no assumptions about the size and nature of the players' forces, and they very deliberately try to avoid anchoring any such details down. This was done so that clever players and GMs could use those Tracks as fodder for role-playing adventures as well as battlefield events.

A speedy, random example of this (seriously, I just flipped open the book and turned pages until I saw a Track): The Track "Scrap Iron" in Jihad: Final Reckoning, describes an attempt by the fledgling Republic of the Sphere to capture or destroy Precentor Berith, the new leader of the Manei Domini, before he can escape to parts unknown. At face value, the event can be played as a straight battlefield scenario, in which the player's force fields 150% of Berith's force in terms of numbers, with that additional 50% being supplemental spec ops troops of veteran quality sent to help out with the capture--one of whom is the enigmatic agent "Damocles". In the special rules for the Track, both Damocles and Berith are described briefly in terms of skills and capabilities, many of which would have no impact in a Mech battle at all (such as Damocles' +2 Skill modifier on all Action Checks related to Covert Ops and Intelligence on the worlds inside the Republic's nascent boundaries--aka the former Word of Blake Protectorate; as well as a full listing of Berith's implants and prosthetic augmentations). This entire event, although "historically" played out as a Mech battle in a field of rubble-strewn badlands, could be played out instead as a deadly game of cat and mouse by dismounted characters amid the ruins of a war-ravaged town.


Stallion12

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #48 on: 11 August 2016, 02:41:48 »
That's an interesting idea.

Acolyte

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #49 on: 11 August 2016, 04:27:29 »
So Era Report 2750 is what I'd be looking for when running a 1st SSW game? Makes a lot of sense. BTW, that's a really cool idea about the Track Scrap Iron.

Will there be something similar for the 2nd SSW or is that a little too niche?

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #50 on: 11 August 2016, 07:18:29 »
So Era Report 2750 is what I'd be looking for when running a 1st SSW game? Makes a lot of sense. BTW, that's a really cool idea about the Track Scrap Iron.

Will there be something similar for the 2nd SSW or is that a little too niche?

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The First Succession (source book) came out, it has stuff in there you can use. Era Report: is more the "before the war" stuff.
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HABeas2

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #51 on: 11 August 2016, 09:29:56 »
So Era Report 2750 is what I'd be looking for when running a 1st SSW game? Makes a lot of sense. BTW, that's a really cool idea about the Track Scrap Iron.

Will there be something similar for the 2nd SSW or is that a little too niche?

Since the First War was fought basically on the heels of the Star League, ER:2750 should be suitable for the period. I mean, you'd even still have Terran Hegemony and Rim Worlds citizens running around through that entire period, people who remember the Star League days because they were born before it died.

Originally, I'd planned for a two-stage set of books covering the Succession Wars era. The first stage was to cover the First and Second Succession Wars in a single Historical, followed by an "Early Succession Wars" Era Report book. The second stage would have dealt with the Late Succession Wars (likely across two Historicals--one just for the Third War, and another for the Fourth War and War of 3039), followed by a Late Succession Wars Era Report.

But that was before my promotion to ex-Line Developer.

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monbvol

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #52 on: 11 August 2016, 14:19:21 »
You get the majority of your Faction flavor from the Stage 0 Life Modules (which cover Affiliation/Sub-Affiliation). These help guide players in what the core values and traditions of their factions are, including their native languages, and basic skills or traits that define dominant realm-wide cultural values and weaknesses (wealth over honor; survival over status, and so forth). But it's important to remember that, in the end, your character is still an individual, and that the broad-stroke descriptions of the factions are often only skin deep (Draconis Combine is not "space Japan" all the way through, any more than the Lyrans are "space Germany", or the Capellan Confederation is "space China"). This is where you, the player, make the call about what your character considers important.

It was a conscious decision we made to stop micromanaging our players when it came to their role-playing choices.

And, again, the books specifically identified as Era Reports or Era Digests cover just what you're after.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention something else: Although the Campaign Tracks featured in various products from the start of the Jihad to present are largely put together with the tactical war game in mind, they make no assumptions about the size and nature of the players' forces, and they very deliberately try to avoid anchoring any such details down. This was done so that clever players and GMs could use those Tracks as fodder for role-playing adventures as well as battlefield events.

A speedy, random example of this (seriously, I just flipped open the book and turned pages until I saw a Track): The Track "Scrap Iron" in Jihad: Final Reckoning, describes an attempt by the fledgling Republic of the Sphere to capture or destroy Precentor Berith, the new leader of the Manei Domini, before he can escape to parts unknown. At face value, the event can be played as a straight battlefield scenario, in which the player's force fields 150% of Berith's force in terms of numbers, with that additional 50% being supplemental spec ops troops of veteran quality sent to help out with the capture--one of whom is the enigmatic agent "Damocles". In the special rules for the Track, both Damocles and Berith are described briefly in terms of skills and capabilities, many of which would have no impact in a Mech battle at all (such as Damocles' +2 Skill modifier on all Action Checks related to Covert Ops and Intelligence on the worlds inside the Republic's nascent boundaries--aka the former Word of Blake Protectorate; as well as a full listing of Berith's implants and prosthetic augmentations). This entire event, although "historically" played out as a Mech battle in a field of rubble-strewn badlands, could be played out instead as a deadly game of cat and mouse by dismounted characters amid the ruins of a war-ravaged town.

-

Mostly what I'd like to see is that there is a difference between the Neglering on Thrakad and the Davion Training Battalions and maybe see the Academies morph a bit as training programs become implemented and go away due to the gain and loss of unit types.

Even then I grant it could be easily done as a couple lines of existing module modifications so it's not like it is a huge sticking point for me.

HABeas2

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #53 on: 11 August 2016, 16:23:02 »
They were the very first place where the bloating started, to be honest. But, hey, I hear talk that someone in CGL is considering a line of PDF-exclusive products that focus on academies, so maybe you'll get your wish. It's not my call to make any more.

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monbvol

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #54 on: 11 August 2016, 17:46:20 »
I do understand that you have to be careful about bloat but one of the things I like about AToW is to make a character better at something the XP still needs to be paid so it is a lot harder to get objectively better characters in comparison to older editions.  Which to me suggests it can tolerate the bloat a lot better.  I also take it as a sign that an RPG is doing well when it can get all those kinds of supplements though.

Of course I say this as my current writing project is to create new modules for my AU/House Rules.  The upside is it is giving me a lot of perspective that is helping me say "Yeah that's good enough, I don't need to monkey with it anymore or do a variation of this for every faction".

So it is not like I want a whole lot and I do realize even with AToW's safeguards the bloat could get out of hand.

HABeas2

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #55 on: 11 August 2016, 18:46:45 »
Well, you DO have a point that the bloat can be contained in large part by the fact that the modules cost points that must be paid either way, so a "better" module would cost more XP.

But, again, the bottom line really comes down to: What does it add that a player can't do better on his own using his remaining XP?

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Acolyte

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #56 on: 12 August 2016, 02:02:06 »
The First Succession (source book) came out, it has stuff in there you can use. Era Report: is more the "before the war" stuff.

Granted and absolutely. I use the lore from all the books I have. What I was talking about was the nuts and bolts of character creation.

Well, you DO have a point that the bloat can be contained in large part by the fact that the modules cost points that must be paid either way, so a "better" module would cost more XP.

But, again, the bottom line really comes down to: What does it add that a player can't do better on his own using his remaining XP?

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I'm a big fan of the more generic, more GM control that AToW took over MW3rd. Just looking for the tweaks - mainly in the Affiliation Stage Life Path - that more reflect the time period. I'll have to see if I can still get a DT version of the Era Report 2750. I'll get the PDF in any case.

   - Shane
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My teeth acquire stains
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guardiandashi

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #57 on: 12 August 2016, 10:25:45 »
Well, you DO have a point that the bloat can be contained in large part by the fact that the modules cost points that must be paid either way, so a "better" module would cost more XP.

But, again, the bottom line really comes down to: What does it add that a player can't do better on his own using his remaining XP?

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I am not even thinking it really needs much "tweaking" per say, possibly a list of adjustments to what is provided in the different "schools"

just as an example standard academy provides: basic and academy level skills, and has x negative, and y bonus traits.
the Davion training battalions are considered academy level education, however they have the following perks instead of the normal academy perks.

and a similar blurb that makes minor "optional" tweaks from other institutes.  not really any difference in the point costs, but some slight tweaks in how the points are allocated.  like an aerospace oriented academy might have a "LAM" track for mechwarriors where they get aerospace training instead of the standard tech training, or instead of one of the normal advantages they get an option to choose equivalent xp worth of other training.

things like that.

monbvol

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #58 on: 12 August 2016, 11:33:03 »
*nod*

I did grant right off the bat that for me it would be a matter of maybe a few lines and maybe some minor tweaks to the modules to give me what I want.

If there is a full outright module that I feel is missing it would be a Stage 4 module that feels a bit more like the character is doing prison time.  None of the existing ones quite seem right.

HABeas2

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Re: Talk to me about A Time of War
« Reply #59 on: 12 August 2016, 16:01:19 »
If there is a full outright module that I feel is missing it would be a Stage 4 module that feels a bit more like the character is doing prison time.  None of the existing ones quite seem right.

You know, I think you actually HAVE something there!

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