Getting Caught up in Story

[coloradog1]

Hello all. I read that the story will be advancing (or already has). This seems to have the community pretty excited so I want to be a part of this excitement. However, before diving into the new stuff, I'm wondering what would be an efficient way to get caught up, starting at the beginning. Essentially, two overall questions/themes:

1. What would be the ideal sourcebooks and/or novels to read, preferably no more than 3-4 of for each "ERA", to get caught up? Is this something a few of the veteran players could help me with? Are sourcebooks the best way to go, or novels, or both?

2. What book(s) are advancing the story? I would like to also purchase these, but don't want to read them until I am caught up.

Thanks for any help provided.

[Papabees]

Hmmm. These are all novels.

1. Warrior Trilogy
2. Wolves on the Border
3. Heir to the Dragon
4. Blood of Kerensky trilogy

This gets you through the initial Clan Invasion and what made me fall in love with Battletech. 3025ish to 3057ish. I'll let others take it from here

[JPArbiter]

for the Word of Blake Jihad I would recommend the Jihad Hot Spots Sourcebooks, from Blake Ascending through Final Reckoning.  just keep in mind that the majority of the blurbs are from "Boots on the ground" in universe news stories.  so you WILL be thrown for a loop.

[Sartris]

1. What would be the ideal sourcebooks and/or novels to read, preferably no more than 3-4 of for each "ERA", to get caught up? Is this something a few of the veteran players could help me with? Are sourcebooks the best way to go, or novels, or both?

this is from a sourcebook perspective as i have no idea how to cut up the overarching narratives of the novels.

Age of War (to ca 2570)
Era Digest: Age of War
Reunification War

Star League (2570-2780s)
Era Report: 2750
Historical: Liberation of Terra v1-2
Field Manual SLDF

Clan Origins sideroad
Operation: Klondike
**the novel Betrayal of Ideals is really good and tells the true origins of Clan Wolverine, who had been vilified by the clans
Era Digest: Golden Century

Early Succession Wars (2880s-2900)
First Succession War
Second Succession War

Late Succession Wars (2900-3049)
Historical: Brush Wars
**The Warrior Trilogy Novels since there aren't modern sourcebooks that cover the 4th succession war... which is kind of a big deal.
Historical War of 3039

Clan Invasion (3049-3061)
Era Report: 3052
Era Report: 3062
***The Blood of Kerensky Trilogy if you really want a novel-driven story up to the end of 3052

FedCom Civil War (3062-3067)
FedCom Civil War (that was easy)

The Word of Blake Jihad (3067-3084)
Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents
Jihad Hotspots: Terra
Jihad: Final Reckoning

Early Republic of the Sphere (3085-3100)
Field Manual: 3085
Historical: Wars of the Republic Era

Late Republic (3100-3132)
Era Digest: Dark Age (besides the end of Historical: Wars of the Republic Era and the beginning of this, we don't have much going on here)

Dark Ages (3132-3150+)
Era Report: 3145
Field Manual: 3145
Shattered Fortress
ilClan (hopefully coming this fall)

2. What book(s) are advancing the story? I would like to also purchase these, but don't want to read them until I am caught up.

Currently Shattered Fortress is the forward edge of the narrative set in 3145-3150. ilClan is the next book coming hopefully this year that will both close the Dark Age and reveal the opening to the next era.

[Sigil]

To continue the *novel* thread through the end of the Clan Invasion and into the Civil War Era:

  1.  http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Twilight_of_the_Clans_(series) (8-part series)
  2.  http://www.sarna.net/wiki/The_Capellan_Solution_(series)  (Duology)
  3.  http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Patriots_and_Tyrants
  4.  http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Storms_of_Fate
  5.  http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Endgame

[Colt Ward]

While there are many side roads and tangents you can run down if you want to get the broad view to catch up to the current point, this is my suggestion.

Era Digest: Age of War
Era Report 2750
Warrior trilogy- released as ebooks recently
Blood of Kerensky trilogy- ebooks or Era Report 3052
     the trilogy gives the narrative from characters while the Era Report covers the same events from a briefer historical perspective
Era Report 3062
Era Digest: Dark Age
Era Report 3145 or Field Manual 3145
     written from two different character perspectives, FM3145 gives a more complete picture IMO due to the IC author

And finally, Shattered Fortress was the book released at GenCon that started the timeline moving forward again with the sequel expected to be released this Con season.

IMO that is the shortest list of books that gives you the quick version of events to bring you up to current story timeframe.  You COULD drop off Era Digest:  Age of War and Era Report 2750 because its history is discussed as part of the Warrior and Blood of Kerensky trilogies.  They were products that went back to flesh out the various lines about the history of battletech that had been mentioned in various products.

[Matti]

**The Warrior Trilogy Novels since there aren't modern sourcebooks that cover the 4th succession war... which is kind of a big deal.

Old ones still work

[Sartris]

i guess. i found the NAIS atlases about as compelling as dry toast (just like the historical military campaign books they ape). ymmv.

[Colt Ward]

Its also what is cheaply available, and all of what I suggested have PDF versions so no one has to go into bidding wars on ebay.

[Sartris]

https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-nais-fourth-successsion-war-military-atlas-i-pdf
https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-nais-fourth-successsion-war-military-atlas-ii-pdf

the NAIS atlases are actually scanned and up for $10 each on the CGL store (but obviously stripped of any unseen art).

asking people to go to the secondary market for oop stuff is ludicrous as prices have jumped substantially in the past two years. especially on the short-run CGL stuff 

[Colt Ward]

Sorry, I forget that all of them are now scanned in- to used to the past where it was hit or miss about finding them as PDFs.

[Sartris]

it is pretty hit and miss.

apologies if any of this has changed. i haven't checked in a hot minute. 'On the store' might not be on the CGL store but are on drivethrurpg. some things ghosted us in the transfer a few years ago and have never resurfaced (cough sword and dragon cough). i don't make the rules i just live here.

On the Store

Code: [Select]

1605 Tales of the Black Widow Company
1613 The Galtor Campaign
1616 Mercenary's Handbook
1619 Jumpships and Dropships
1620 House Kurita
1621 House Steiner
1622 House Marik
1629 The Periphery
1630 The Star League
1634 NAIS 4th SW Atlas Vol 1
1635 NAIS 4th SW Atlas Vol 2
1639 20 Year Update
1642 Wolf Clan
1643 Rhonda's Irregulars
1644 Jade Falcon
1645 Invading Clans
1653 Battle for Twycross
1654 The Fourth Succession War Scenarios Vol. 1
1655 Comstar
1665 Objective Raids
1669 McCarron's Armored Cavalry
1670 Mercenary's Handbook 3055
1671 MechWarrior Companion
1672 Null Set
1673 Intelligence Operations Handbook
1677 Day of Heroes
1678 Luthien
1679 Hot Spots
1681 Explorer Corps
1684 The Fall of Terra
1686 The Black Thorns
1687 1st Somerset Strikers
1688 Chaos March
1689 The Falcon and the Wolf
1692 The Periphery
1693 The Battle of Coventry
1697 First Strike
1698 Field Manual: Draconis Combine
1699 Field Manual: Free Worlds League
1701 Field Manual: Mercenaries
1704 The Dragon Roars
1706 Field Manual: Crusader Clans
1710 Twilight of the Clans
1711 Field Manual: Warden Clans
1712 Shattered Sphere
1714 Field Manual: ComStar
1717 Field Manual: Capellan Confederation
1719 Field Manual: Federated Suns
1721 Operation: Flashpoint
8603 Technical Readout: 3025
8613 Technical Readout: 2750

On the Store, but as a FanPro or CGL reprint

Code: [Select]

1701 Field Manual: Mercenaries (FP Update)
1715 MechWarrior, 3rd Ed (As BattleTech RPG)
8606 Technical Readout: 3026 (FP Printing)
8614 Technical Readout: 3050 (3050 Upgrade)
8619 Technical Readout: 3055 (3055 Upgrade)
8620 Technical Readout: 3057 (FP Printing)
8621 Technical Readout: 3058 (3058 Upgrade)
8622 Technical Readout: 3060

Not on the Store

Code: [Select]

1606 The Fox's Teeth
1607 MechWarrior, 1st Ed
1614 Cranston Snord's Irregulars
1617 Gray Death Legion
1623 House Davion
1624 House Liao
1627 Sorenson's Sabres
1631 Wolf's Dragoons
1641 MechWarrior, 2nd Ed
1646 Living Legends
1651 Rolling Thunder
1652 The Kell Hounds
1656 Unbound
1657 More Tales of the Black Widow
1659 Solaris: The Reaches 
1665 Bloodright
1676 Royalty and Rogues
1685 Tukayyid
1705 Battlepack: Fourth Succession War
1702 Northwind Highlanders
1709 The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky
1713 Operation: Stiletto
1716 The Mechwarrior's Guide to Solaris VII
1720 Field Manual: Lyran Alliance
1722 LosTech: The MechWarrior Equipment Guide
1724 Inner Sphere
1725 MechWarrior's Guide to the Clans
1726 Field Manual: Periphery

Edit: if you're looking to FASA books for info, the digital situation is better than the last time i checked in. most of the "not in the store" category are scenario packs.

The books that mostly deal with setting that still absent are
House Davion (80s 3025 setting book)
House Liao (80s 3025 setting book)
Wolf's Dragoons (80s sourcebook on jaime's mini house)
The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky (snapshot of clan society ca 3062-63)
Field Manual: Lyran Alliance (weird this one is not there)
Inner Sphere (companion to The Clans: WoK)
Field Manual: Periphery (weird since there was a fanpro reprint)

Solaris: The Reaches is a good source (the only major source?) of information on Solaris VII outside of Solaris City. It was designed to worldbuild in an MechWarrior, 2nd Ed campaign.

The trio of MechWarrior's Guides (Solaris VII, LosTech, and Guide to the Clans)  are geared toward MechWarrior, 3rd Ed/BattleTech RPG

[Elmoth]

Up to speed: sarna.net has a lot of articles and a timeline that will put you on a general footing on what has happened.

There are some posts in this same forum with resumes of the main events as well.

For general Battletech feeling I liked the 3 first gray death legion novels.

[coloradog1]

Thanks for all the responses. There’s seems to be a good representation for each Era. Would it matter whether I read the sourcebooks first or the novels first for each respective Era? Just want to minimize my chances that one ruins a surprise in the other.

[Matti]

If you want to be surprised, maybe novels first. If you want to know about the bigger picture novels take place in, then source books first.

[Major Headcase]

Also, maybe go to Sarna website and browse the full Battletech Timeline for bullet points. It's what I do for periods I'm not familiar with. 😁