ATOW book

[Degman]

Chances that I'll find regular RP gaming group for AToW are pretty slim, but I would still buy a book if it has enough  of other stuff in it. Specifically, I'm interested in how much room is there for the description of BT universe, description of life on various planets, more detailled insight on things that are not in the Handbooks, that kind of things.

Stories and fluff is also nice, but I've got that in pretty much every BT publication, so they're not a main reason to get the book.

How much of that stuff is in the book, enough to justify buying it (even if just a pdf version) or not?

Thanks!

[Lorcan Nagle]

The universe section ov the book is a really good read IMO, it goes into a lot of depth on what life is like for the average citizen of the Inner Sphere.  There's 5 planet profiles (Solaris, Arcturus, El Dorado, Annapolis and one more I can't remember right now) that are similar to the ones in the Handbooks but a bit more detailed.

As well as all that, there's the infantry combat rules so you can do squad level games.  And I know fiction isn't a priority, but the story in ATOW is very good.

Overall, I think the bits you're interested in will be worth the $15 for the PDF

[BirdofPrey]

It's a rulebook.  Beyond the (quite good) story between chapters and in universe commentary, there isn't all that much fluff.  There is a bit of stuff in the back describing how a few places have fared since the jihad.

The combat sections are good if you want to increase granularity of infantry engagements.  Also you don't have to go hard core RP, some of the stuff in there can add in some twists to campaign play if you want to track your characters more closely (though you're missing out in that case).

[Degman]

Thanks for the answers!

A few more questions:

How many pages are dedicated to the rules (both RPG and infantry) and how many are left for the fluff and other descriptions?

[Showers]

I'd say it is mostly rules. You can find some fiction, general background, and adventure seeds. There are some general templates great background on general life in the BT universe. For great fluff I would stick with the house sourcebooks or handbooks depending on the era you are playing.

[guardiandashi]

my (print) copy is ~405 pages not counting the adds at the back, I would guess there is ~50 pages of not rule info scattered through the book this may or may not include fluff descriptions of gear which could add a few more pages of not rules info

[Degman]

Thanks! Guess I'll pass, for now at least.  :(

[Bedwyr]

Thanks! Guess I'll pass, for now at least.  :(

Even the rules are worth just reading.  There's lots of opportunity to add RP elements to your game without having to go all out.  You could flesh out your pilots with some extra stats and use them in regular BT games for added effect.  Likewise there's RP stats for giving vehicles quirks and the like, just as you'd find in the (very well made) Starter Books.

And honestly it really is worth the $15 just for the fluff.  You'd pay about that much getting pdf stories and such from the Battleshop.

[guardiandashi]

THE FIRES OF HELL: GATHERING PLAYERS 6
THE UNIVERSE BEFORE YOU
Welcome to the BattleTech Universe 16
Starting Out 16
What is a Roleplaying Game? 16
What’s Needed to Play 17
A Universe at War 21
House Davion (Federated Suns) 21
House Kurita (Draconis Combine) 21
House Liao (Capellan Confederation) 21
House Marik (Free Worlds League) 22
House Steiner (Lyran Alliance) 22
ComStar 23
Word of Blake 23
The Clans 23
The Periphery 24
A Brief History of BattleTech 25
Colonizing the Stars 25
Age of War 25
Star League 26
The Succession Wars 26
Clan Invasion 26
Civil War 27
Jihad 27
The BattleTech Universe 31
Core Rulebooks 31
Techinical Readouts and Record Sheets 31
The Jihad 31
Handbooks 32
Historicals 32
Maps, Terrain and Miniatures 32
Fiction 32
BattleCorps 32
Choose Your Rules 33
Gamemaster Adjudication 33
Fiction vs. Rules 33
BASIC GAMEPLAY
Overview 34
Characters 34
Character Record Sheet 34
Attributes 34
Traits 36
Skills 36
Personal Data 37
Combat Data 37
Biographical Data 37
Inventory 37
Vehicle Data 37
Actions 38
Attribute Checks 38
Skill Checks 39
Opposed Actions 39
Basic Action Resolution 40
Edge 42
THE FIRES OF HELL: THE CALM BEFORE 44
CHARACTER CREATION
Overview 48
Choosing the Character Concept 48
Character Creation Basics 49
Points-Only Character Creation (Optional) 51
Prerequisites and Accumulating Experience 51
Choosing Life Modules 52
Stage 0: Affi liation 52
Stage 1: Early Childhood 52
Stage 2: Late Childhood 52
Stage 3: Higher Education (Optional) 52
Stage 4: Real Life (Optional) 53
Blue Collar 65
Trueborn Sibko 69
Stage 3 Modules: Higher Education 70
Overview 70
Choose Your Schooling 70
Age 71
Repeating Stage 3 71
Stage 4 Modules: Real Life 74
Age 74
Repeating State 4 74
Agitator 74
Travel 82
Purchasing Attributes, Traits and Skills 85
Determining Final Levels 85
Opposed Traits and Canceling Experience 87
Buying Additional Experience Points 89
Optional Points-Only Design System 89
Final Touches 91
Defi ning Features 91
Character Background 91
Purchasing Equipment 91
Sample Characters 93
MechWarrior 94
Tanker 95
Aerospace Pilot 96
Elemental 97
Scout 98
Faceman 99
Renegade Warrior 100
Battlefi eld Tech 101
THE FIRES OF HELL: THE MISSION BEGINS 102
TRAITS
Overview
106
Trait Descriptions 108
Alternate ID 108
Wealth 128
THE FIRES OF HELL: SECURING THE LZ 136
SKILLS
Skills Overview 140
Back Woods 65
3
THE UNIVERSE
BEFORE YOU
BASIC
GAMEPLAY
CHARACTER
CREATION
TRAITS
SKILLS
COMBAT
TACTICAL
COMBAT
ADDENDUM
SPECIAL
CASE
RULES
EQUIPMENT
GAMEMASTERING
GUIDE
INDEX
Available Skills 141
Administration 143
Zero-G Operations 159
THE FIRES OF HELL: RECON 160
COMBAT
Overview 164
The Combat Turn 164
Surgery 193
THE FIRES OF HELL: HEAVY ARTILLERY 196
TACTICAL COMBAT
ADDENDUM
Overview 200
Vehicular vs. Infantry Units 201
Miscellaneous Abilities 225
THE FIRES OF HELL: JOURNEY 226
SPECIAL CASE RULES
Planetary Conditions 230
Movement Modifi ers 230
Random Disease Eff ects 248
THE FIRES OF HELL:
STORMING THE OBJECTIVE 250
EQUIPMENT
Overview 254
Supply and Demand 254
Equipment Ratings 254
Acquiring Gear 256
Using Equipment 259
Equipment Data 259
Repairs 259
The Warrior’s Catalog 260
Melee and Archaic Weapons 260
Fuel 323
THE FIRES OF HELL: BURNOUT 326
GAMEMASTER’S GUIDE
Character Advancement 330
Rewards 330
Rank and Power 336
NPCs and Random Encounters 336
NPC Templates 336
NPC Types 337
Random Encounters 340
Gamemastering Tips and Suggestions 342
General Gamemastering Guide 342
Developing Stories 345
The Plot Approach 345
The Grand Plot 345
The Sandbox Approach 346
Combined Approach 346
Remember… 346
Adventure Seeds 346
Adventure Seeds 347
Political and Military Power 349
Roleplaying Power 349
Titles and Ranks Explained 351
Technology 360
MechWarriors and Their ‘Mechs 360
Solaris VII 382
INDEX
RECORD SHEETS
TABLES

that is a chopped up (edited) Table of contents
not sure that TPTB would like the whole TOC posted

MODERN MELEE WEAPONS
“Don’t carry a neural whip in Lyran, FedSuns or Capellan space;
they’re still illegal there. Well, unless you’re working for one of those
‘black ops’ units.” —KP
“Vibroweapons can be eff ective even against battle armor.” —JH
While archaic melee weapons blend practicality and style,
modern melee weapons focus on power and eff ectiveness.
Powered melee weapons have two main varieties: vibro weapons
and contact energy weapons. Vibro weapons rely on highfrequency
vibrations to produce a blade with a superior cutting
edge. The energy requirements of these weapons, however,
are enormous; most vibro weapons can last only a few minutes
under constant power. They are also harder to conceal than their
archaic counterparts, because their mechanisms are bulky and
produce an audible (and intimidating) hum when in operation.
The monowire, which brings vibro technology to a garrote, has
recently been miniaturized enough to leave the slaughterhouses
and enter the hands of the assassin.
Contact energy weapons, as the name implies, injure or stun
an opponent by delivering a jolt of energy on contact. The most
common are the stunsticks used by police and security forces on
any reasonably developed world. Most of these are not designed
for lethal force, but there are instances of them killing the victim.
Some stun weapons or contact energy weapons have been
modifi ed to deliver more than a simple “shock to the system.”
These specialty weapons might be found in crowd control forces

[Paul]

Actually, the TOC is the preview.

http://www.classicbattletech.com/downloads/AToW_Pages1-5.pdf

Paul

[guardiandashi]

to be honest paul I didn't stop to look.

but by reading through the table of contents you can get a feel for how much space is devoted to various items

also that snippit about modern melee weapons is a sample of a blurb on on the various weapons, and equipment, there is a similar block for various other gear, and then a table summarizing the game effects.

I will say I really liked some of the older weapon and equipment listings where they gave in a lot of cases a paragraph for at least one example of each type
example being the Man-Pack Particle Cannon from 3026 that got a whole ~1/3 of the page column for its writeup (altho I can understand why most equipment cannot afford to have that extensive of writeups in the core RPG book.  but honestly this is a flavorful universe a paragraph writeup for some weapons and equipment would be good.  As we all know "Information is Ammunition"  :P