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Vampire
Free Worlds League
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 917
Location: Spain
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 Posted: 12-Feb-2022 03:51 Post subject: Battletech - Technical Readout 3005 - Level 9 Rules |
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Introduction:
I loved Battletech in my wasted youth, but was frustrated by its shortcomings and stupid simplistic rules, and think all the post Succession Wars storyline is a mess and unplayable and a betrayal of what made the original game great, the idea of Mad Max meets the Middle Ages and giant robots in space, and the notion that yesterday technology was best than the present.
So over a decade, as an amusement for myself and my friends, I fixed the problems with the basic game and in particular the “one size fits all” standard ‘Mech template which made half the ‘Mechs in the game useless and didn’t account for some ‘Mechs unique qualities or non-humanoid construction. Using rules and concepts found in Maximum Tech and my own ideas, I built a coherent, realistic, playable, and fun system that has withstood the test of many years of gaming and make Battletech again an enjoyable game without bogging it with complex rules or an excess of new weapon tech.
My goal was to re-design the 55 Battlemechs from Technical Readout 3025, and also make new rules for armored vehicles and Aerospace fighters,hopefully I might still complete the ‘Mechs before I die, only a few left.
I am computer illiterate and all these sheets were done by hand with MS Paint copy pasting from scans of the original FASA record sheets. I did this all alone and by myself, with the only outside contribution of Spanish players from the Kearny-Fuchida club that later joined the Punto Nadir message board, that donated their record sheets with customized silhouettes for the ‘Mechs, which were incorporated into my re-designs. To clarify, they did a revised edition of the control sheets in Battletech reinforcements, but they were standard sheets, just with different drawings for each ‘Mech instead of the generic silhouette and a different layout. I grabbed the ‘Mech outlines and added them into my rules revision. I worked with the Spanish edition of the game by Diseños Orbitales and never thought of making an English version.
I have decided that since whatever company has the rights to Battletech, they aren’t interested in hiring a rules designer to sort out the mess, and after so many years and changes of property nobody understands what the original designers of the game intended, and no one else is doing the reverse engineering I did. So it’s a pity that all this work dies with me, so I have decided to take down some Americans with me... err I mean that I want to share it with English speaking gamers in the hope somebody actually gives it a try and haves fun with these rules.
Since I can’t be arsed to rewrite everything in proper American, and I want to recycle as much as I can of the Spanish edition templates you will notice some items in the control sheet are slightly different than in the original FASA sheets. For example, all the stuff and gear your ‘Mech has is under the header “Equipment module” instead of the lame “Critical Hits Table”, and some items have different names , like “Reactor” instead of “engine” and “Radiator” instead of “Heat Sink”, because it sounds more “technical” and cool, I am sure you will be able to figure out, and if you don’t like it, well, you can use Paint or whatever to erase and retype to taste.
The “Configuration” header is just an info box with a summary of the special rules that deviate from the standard template, like a ‘Mech not being of humanoid shape, being armless, or lacking a head because the ‘Mech has a torso mounted cockpit, or sporting a turret, or other features such as the “Mech Quirks” , advantages and flaws. The rules are described up in full in the revised rules to be added to your copy of the basic rulebook.
About the name, what exactly is this junk?
It’s not really a readout, it’s actually a redesign of the Battletech reinforcements box for the ‘Mechs described in the Technical Readout 3025, which customized ‘Mech sheets that reflect some minor changes to the basic rules, mostly about weapons, hit locations, damage, and mostly systematic construction rules that simplify the various “’Mech Quirk lists” and whenever possible turn them into design choices rather than special rules for each and every ‘Mech .
As for the background I changed the date 20 years before to 3005 to make it clear it’s Succession Wars game material, and in my opinion that gives you a wide margin to re-write the Battletech universe in your games and throw the novels and everything post 3025 into a bonfire. Keep what made the game great, five great states warring locked in a balance, and each faction with its own followers, without falling into a simplistic and boring “good guys vs evil ones”, and when ‘Mechs were precious heirlooms and secret keeping a spare gyro was a court martial offense.
ROM is not coming to arrest you for playing your own Battletech history line and using these rules if your gaming group agrees. I might get into trouble due to copyright infringement, but they will not take me alive.
The “Level 9 Rules” tag is a tongue in cheek joke to underscore these are completely unofficial rules and that they bring every quirk of these walking tanks to the ninth degree.
And you might wonder, “who in the name of Blake is this freak?”
I am not even American and English is the only foreign language I was able to learn, so I apologize in advance if there are spelling errors or some words are weird. Be thankful you don’t have to hear my horrible accent.
I escaped a ROM reeducation camp in Terra. In my wasted youth while I attended college I posted during the late 1990s early 2000s posted in the Mordel’s Blacknight Battletech board bar and grill, that amazingly continues to exist today, under the user name “Vampire”, nothing to do with the World of Darkness game, which I didn’t know until much later, I just wanted a name that had some bite.
I was a regular poster at Mordel’s until I was kicked out of university into this cruel world for wasting too much time in the internet and playing Battletech. I also managed to make an infamous reputation and many enemies at other Battletech message boards like Sarna.net and the CBT forums, that’s probably why I have never got job offers from game companies despite my talents as a rules designer and background writer.
During the good times of the Depression years (2008-2014, after 2014 to present they are the War years) me and the few friends that can bear with me turned back to Battletech, as RPGs take too much time and involvement and too many friends, or at least people that will show up for a game, and I posted my designs and rules in the Spanish Battletech board Punto Nadir, under the nick Redjack Ryan.
Naming myself after a bloodthirsty pirate, a sexual sadist and a drunkard is a display of my twisted sense of humor, though my remaining surviving friends believe it’s very proper and apt description of my character and morals. That probably explains why I could never get a date. Though being a Battletech gamer, history buff and worse things didn’t help either.
I am sure that by now you are sorry you asked. Turn to the next post to see the revised Battletech design and perhaps try it in the next game. I promise it will not be painful.
_________________
Memento audare semper
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Vampire
Free Worlds League
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 917
Location: Spain
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| Posted: 12-Feb-2022 04:11 Post subject: Battletech - Technical Readout 3005 - Level 9 Rules |
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Questions and comments:
If you are interested and need some explaining of how to use the revised ‘Mechs in the game, or don’t understand something in the sheet, just reply or send me a private message, I will open separate threads in the forums where I post this, or blog entries in my tumblr, dealing with each rules change, don’t be afraid, the game is the same, you just need to pay attention to facing / firing arcs, and some weapons and damage mechanics are different but not overly complex and everything has been streamlined to be fast and playable. I attempted to write everything you need into the record sheets, when I have the time I will edit the reference card at the end of the rulebook to give you a printable version, but the only changes are:
- Weapons table.
- Expanded missile hits table
- Revised ammo explosion table (like critical hits, but with fire in addition to explosions)
- Hit location table , altered to take into account the expanded facings and the oblique hit rule
NOTE
The 'Mechs will be posted under the design submission area of this board
_________________
Memento audare semper
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chihawk
Clan Blood Spirit
Master Bartender
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 8081
Location: United States
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| Posted: 12-Feb-2022 05:48 Post subject: Battletech - Technical Readout 3005 - Level 9 Rules |
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Welcome back...
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www.210sportsblog.com
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Vampire
Free Worlds League
Lieutenant Colonel
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 917
Location: Spain
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| Posted: 18-Feb-2022 13:16 Post subject: Battletech - Technical Readout 3005 - Level 9 Rules |
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Sorry for not following up. There's a war going on, unfortunately and I have a lot to deal with these days.
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Memento audare semper
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Raven!
Clan Snow Raven
Galaxy Commander
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 1326
Location: United States
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| Posted: 22-May-2022 14:45 Post subject: Battletech - Technical Readout 3005 - Level 9 Rules |
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Hey Vampire, long time no talk! I absolutely loved your autocannon rules from back in the day.
If you intended to post a link to some material, I'm not seeing it? Have you also considered making this your own system? I'm thinking kind of like how various additions of Dungeons and Dragons have been rereleased under the Open Game License (i.e. BFRPG, OSRIC).
If you want some help with this project I'm happy to contribute where I can. Like you, I've been tinkering with a new system (working title is "Iron Stars"). Basic concept is five major powers, all at war - no good guys, no real bad guys, realpolitik, with numerous minor powers. Incorporating some ideas of Scythe. Be happy to talk more.
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-Mud
ex-Jade Falcon
Bounty Hunter
Joined: 04-Nov-2003 00:00
Posts: 1082
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| Posted: 12-Dec-2022 10:44 Post subject: Battletech - Technical Readout 3005 - Level 9 Rules |
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| Well I'll be damned. Look who it is. Ole Mr. RFL-3N Rifleman himself.
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Jade_Dragon
8th Sword of Light
Sho-sho
Joined: 05-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 1326
Location: United States
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| Posted: 31-Jan-2023 22:19 Post subject: Battletech - Technical Readout 3005 - Level 9 Rules |
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Just proves BattleTech players never die, just fade away and them ambush you from water cover!
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The JadeDragon
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Mordel
Mordel.Net
Administrator
Joined: 03-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 6086
Location: United States
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| Posted: 03-Feb-2023 12:16 Post subject: Re: Battletech - Technical Readout 3005 - Level 9 Rules |
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| Jade_Dragon wrote: | | Just proves BattleTech players never die, just fade away and them ambush you from water cover! |
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Mordel Blacknight - Site Administrator
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