I have AToW, now what?

[OpsCon]

A while ago I got A Time of War on a whim in the summer, and I have been reading it off and on since. I used to play Battletech back in the days when FASA still was in operation, and always loved the visual style and universe details, but finally sold the stuff I had because the mini's wargame was not my thing.

I love that AToW is focused on the RP side of the setting, but it seems like you need some more details on the mecha, vehicles, and spacecraft than that book provides.

I was looking at the website freebies, and was wondering if the Battlefroce rules in Strategic Operations would be a wide enough variety in detail to work with the RPG side of things. I want there to be some differences between mechs and the like, but more abstract so as to allow focus on the RPG side of the setting. The BTQS Intro Mech Cards seem like just the right level of detail, but I want to be sure that the book in question (and any related cards) will work well with the RPG.

If not, what is the better suggestions that people have. If it helps, my favorite eras of play (at this point) would be the classic Succession Wars period (as that was what was going on back when I played) or the Jihad era (just because the details on it from AToW sound interesting).

Thanks for any advice.

[Cannon_Fodder]

For 'Mech and Vehicle combat you are going to need Total Warfare which is the core rule book for BattleTech.


I like AToW but it's only for RPG and personal combat.

[Moonsword]

If you're just looking for the BattleForce stats, they're available on the Master Unit List.  Comparing that to some of the descriptions on Sarna should be a good way to start figuring out if that's the level of detail you want.

[BARNESGN]

Battletech can be very overwhelming in the beginning, just start slow and pick an era. It will make your purchasing decisions much easier. For example if you like the Succession wars era pick up a few novels like the Warrior trilogy by Michael Stackpole. Also TRO 3025.

Battletech isn't just about minis, the novels alone are a separate universe full of surprises.

[Lost_Heretic]

For 'Mech and Vehicle combat you are going to need Total Warfare which is the core rule book for BattleTech.


I like AToW but it's only for RPG and personal combat.

If you're running ATOW in Succession Wars, the Introductory Boxed should suit you just fine. It contains most of the 'Mech rules and simplified rules for tanks and infantry. Plus a new shipment should be hitting the streets in January!

[OpsCon]

If you're running ATOW in Succession Wars, the Introductory Boxed should suit you just fine. It contains most of the 'Mech rules and simplified rules for tanks and infantry. Plus a new shipment should be hitting the streets in January!

Does it have counters or something for tanks and infantry? I know it has minis for mechs, but saw nothing in the listings about tanks. How abstract can you run Total Warfare?

[Moonsword]

Extremely abstract.  All you really need to know is what a counter represents and which direction it's pointed in.

[guardiandashi]

and frankly as I remember the rules, infantry do not care about (have) a facing

units with facings:
mechs
vechs
fighters
dropships (sort of) unless its an aerodyne

emplaced weapons
infantry WITH support weapons (the weapons are deployed with a facing the infantry aren't)

[OpsCon]

If you're just looking for the BattleForce stats, they're available on the Master Unit List.  Comparing that to some of the descriptions on Sarna should be a good way to start figuring out if that's the level of detail you want.

After looking at that and the QSR for BattleFroce, I think that level of detail would work great on the RPG focused campaign (though I might need to adjust the stats for personal weapons vs mech/vehicle and vice versa).

I'll look around in the BattleForce forums too.

It's too bad there is not a book for AToW that focuses on simpler mech and vehicle stats (like generic L/M/H/A stats for Mechs, Tanks, Aerospace, etc) so you can just get into the RP without having to invest in all the other books.