Old Battletech Lostech

[ASSASSINAWOKEN]

I asked my fiance to grab a box of my old Battletech stash out of storage. I love opening this box for all the treasure it contains. I'm glad I never sold it, for some reason I could never put a price on it. I thought it would be cool to give you all a quick peek.



Technical Readouts are off to the right in the photo.

With some luck I might be able to start using this stuff again.

AA

[Hushrong]

That's a lot of good stuff you have there. I never got a chance to immerse myself with the Battletech universe due to lack of getting my hands on the materials...but when I try to educate myself on it I am overwhelmed by how much more content it has than my bible.

[Zink]

I haven't played Battletech in a lot of years but still have all the stuff that my best friend and I bought. I've been thinking about digging it out and playing with my kids but haven't. I've also thought about buying some of the newer rules and models but don't. We never had very many models and mostly used the paper cutout from the old rules when we played 20 years ago. I don't game much and Battletech's been down on the list of things we're into now. Kind of sad because I still have a lot of good memories from playing it.

[iamfanboy]

Actually, the ONLY thing that has changed from the old rules to the new rules is simple:

When rolling against a 'Mech that's behind partial (level 1) cover, instead of a +3 TN and rolling on the punch table, you get a +1 TN, roll against the regular table, and anything that hits the legs actually hits the HILL (or water) and does no damage.

Gawd, that's why I love Battletech. It may be a horribly complicated rules-set, with crap weapons like the AC/5 littering its history, but its core doesn't change.

Though one really great thing about the newer record sheets is how they're organized; makes using a paperclip to keep track of heat easy, and has a spot for a picture of the 'Mech, like so:



Well, what I'd recommend is using the Quickstart rules to teach kids - I've literally been playing them with kids as young as six and they're simple enough for them to grasp, but still have all the tactical complexity that I likes. Basically, one uses the Battleforce stats (not the OLD 1st edition Battleforce that you've got, mind you, that thing was... bad...) for each individual 'Mech.

Boils that record sheet down to:



And I actually turned my old 3rd Edition Battletech box into a mini case.


The newest boxed set (the 25th Anniversary box) comes with 24 minis; of them, only 2 are utterly awful, and I'd say only 4-6 are borderline bad (and one of the borderline bad ones, the Catapult, converts very nicely into a Raven); the rest are actually really good and some of 'em are essential 'Mechs, like the Awesome and Whitworth. Plus, it has some high-quality plastics of the Summoner and Hellbringer.

[Zink]

I've been reading old Battletech novels and that's what's got me thinking of playing again. I like the data sheets and the quickstart rules sound interesting. I'd mostly be playing with my 8 year old son so simpler is good although he has handled Renegade Legion games with me ok. Yet another thing on the wish list.

[iamfanboy]

I've been reading old Battletech novels and that's what's got me thinking of playing again. I like the data sheets and the quickstart rules sound interesting. I'd mostly be playing with my 8 year old son so simpler is good although he has handled Renegade Legion games with me ok. Yet another thing on the wish list.

Then how would you like to know that the basics of the game are free?

http://www.pryderockindustries.com/dl_game_aids.php#BFC

http://battletech.catalystgamelabs.c...leForceQSR.pdf

Oh, for the more fancified rules you can go to the Strategic Operations book, but the stuff is right there.

One nice touch that a fan created was a set of pilot mechanics that add basic (but not game-breaking!) abilities to the MechWarriors; it adds a lot without slowing the game down. They fit on a card the same size as the 'Mechs, so a lance with the pilots slots into a standard baseball card 3x3 sheet nicely.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9027821/Stri...%20V%202.0.pdf

[Zink]

Thanks for that. I've downloaded a bunch of stuff now.

[Zink]

Do you know if there's anywhere I could get just the plastic mechs from the new starter set? I was digging through the old collection and found 11 mechs and even more books than I remembered. I'm on a pretty limited budget for gaming right now and I was thinking of just grabbing more mechs as cheaply as possible. Maybe I shouldn't be that cheap though as the box is only $50 and I'd get 24 mechs. I know they aren't great quality but it's still better than $10+ per mech.

[ASSASSINAWOKEN]

I know ebay is a source for old stuff. Plus local shops some what. Plastic mechs may be the toughest to find though. I agree metal mechs are a lot.

If anyone wants to collaborate and get something going I am all for it. Even if it is simple stuff.

[iamfanboy]

I actually think the new boxed set is worth it; so much so that I'm buying a second one this month.

Like I said before, from a mini-standpoint only about half of them are great (the Panther is spot-on, as is the Whitworth and a healthy proportion of the others), but the box also includes a full-color foldout map of the Inner Sphere, a brief history book on the Inner Sphere from 2100 to 3068, cardstock-thick maps, and really high-quality minis of the Thor/Summoner and Loki/Hellbringer. Oh, and it has the newer style of record sheets for all the 'mechs inside.

It ain't all beer and skittles, but the only minis that were positively worthless were the Hunchback and Trebuchet - they were just TOO THIN. The Catapult was obscenely small, as was the Hermes II (being more light 'Mech sized than Heavy/medium), but a few gunbarrels and the Catapult became a Raven, and I've always preferred the original Hermes to the Hermes II anyway.

Plus, the plastic in the newest boxed set is a DREAM to work with and convert. When I compare to the Plastech stuff, or the Citytech 2nd Edition... *shudder*

Another nice thing (from my point of view) is that very few of the minis overlapped with minis from previous boxed sets; the BT 3rd has all Robotech/Dougram/Crusher Joe derived 'Mechs so obviously no overlap, the Citytech has very different minis, and the Plastech ones - well, the Panther in the IBT LOOKS like a Panther, and the Catapult/Hunchback/Trebuchet from the Plastech box are definitely better than the IBT set, so minimal overlap.


The only thing I TRULY hated were the little half-hex bases they put the 'mechs on. Thankfully it was easy to cut them off the half-hexes and put them on REAL hex bases (made from Sculpey), but still... ugly.

[Zink]

Sounds good. I have a metal catapult so converting the plastic one to a raven wouldn't be bad. My birthday's coming soon and I may grab the box as a present to myself.

[gjnoronh]

I just realized Adepticon (Chicago USA) is running battletech events with the new battleforce (or quickstrike?) rules which I would love to try. I'm not making the trip to Adepticon this year but thought others who were on the fence (and reading this thread with interest) might be interested.

http://bg.battletech.com/forums/inde...c,15151.0.html


The hardest part of BT compared to GW products is finding an opponent. . .well that and somewhat clunky rules IMO but the new rules streamlining might fix that.

[Easy E]

I just picked up the boxset, and it is a good deal. here are some pics of what you get....

[iamfanboy]

Question: Could you snap a pic of the Trebuchet and Hunchback in profile?

Because the ones I bought (a while ago, admittedly) came like this:



And... well, that's pretty unacceptable.

[Bloodknight]

Heh, that is some serious shrinkage.

well that and somewhat clunky rules

I don't know, the basic stuff is so simple an 8 year old can get to playing in an afternoon. It only gets clunky when you start adding the high tech stuff and lots of the optional rules. Getting good at it, however, is a whole different kettle of fish.

[ASSASSINAWOKEN]

I like the Quick start rules, but I do not get the slimmed down versions at all. I am trying to get back into Battletech, but just a small amount at a time to not overload on rules.

Do you think using the rules from the 3rd edition box set or the rules from the master rules book would suffice for now? I have those books.

[ASSASSINAWOKEN]

Question: Could you snap a pic of the Trebuchet and Hunchback in profile?

Because the ones I bought (a while ago, admittedly) came like this:



And... well, that's pretty unacceptable.

I found this for you.

http://bg.battletech.com/forums/inde...c,16789.0.html

A replacement form for bad models, maybe, but definitely for broken or missing models.

[Bloodknight]

Do you think using the rules from the 3rd edition box set or the rules from the master rules book would suffice for now? I have those books.

Sure. For 3025 mech/mech combat there were hardly any changes between Master rules and Total Warfare, apart from the way partial cover is handled (not +3 and punch table, but +1 and hits to the legs are lost) and that physicals now use the pilot skill. The great thing about BT is that the rules really are a slow evolution, and if you know the old basic rules it will take only a couple of minutes to get used to the changes.

[ASSASSINAWOKEN]

Sure. For 3025 mech/mech combat there were hardly any changes between Master rules and Total Warfare, apart from the way partial cover is handled (not +3 and punch table, but +1 and hits to the legs are lost) and that physicals now use the pilot skill. The great thing about BT is that the rules really are a slow evolution, and if you know the old basic rules it will take only a couple of minutes to get used to the changes.

Thanks Bloodknight

I think starting at 3025 with the basic rules and not anything advanced beyond heat, pilot, etc is a great start. If this goes well I'll purchase total war.