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[Derek Icelord]

I apologize in advance for my rather rambling writing style.

So, yesterday was Free RPG Day. I sauntered on down to my local game store for the weekly Deadlands game I run, and in the downtime before we started I noticed one of the free offerings was the quick-start rules to A Time of War. I was intrigued. I'm not much of a tabletop miniature gamer, but I do love the BattleTech universe. I also love RPGs. I picked it up and read the inside of the front cover.

Quote

A Time of War: The Battletech Role-Playing Game™ is the one-source reference for rules governing the role-playing aspect of the Battletech universe. It includes a new system, designed from the ground-up for both maximum flexibility and compatibility with the Total Warfare series and its companion volumes, Tactical Operations and Strategic Operations.

I flipped to page 2 and read the first section, written in-universe, giving a brief backdrop of the BattleTech world and how the "self-important MechWarriors" are nothing without the support crew. "Off to a good start," I thought. I love games that take an existing universe, and put you in the role/viewpoint of someone other than the main attraction (like Star Wars: Battlefront where you were a ground pounder with a blaster rather than a Jedi). Then I read the second section. First line, "The year is 3077. The Word of Blake Jihad now raging is just..." Cue flying booklet and rant about the Jihad era. However, a friend suggested, "You could always change the time to something in a previous decade. You know, sometime with less 'suck'." My brain chewed on this for a moment, and agreed. So I picked the booklet from where it landed and read on.

Upon first glance, the system felt very Shadowrun-y (and hey, both games are published by Catalyst!), especially when I got to the Edge attribute description. Further reading, however, showed a system that was more like a blend of Shadowrun's system of attributes, qualities, and skills with the BatleTech mechanics of 2d6.

• There are 8 Attributes: STR (Strength), BOD (Body), RFL (Reflexes), DEX (Dexterity), INT (Intelligence), WIL (Willpower), CHA (Charisma), and EDG (Edge). Attributes are typically scored from 1 to 8, "with truly exceptional specimens occasionally reaching as high as 10". A score of 4 represents the "average person."
  
• Unique character qualities are called traits. Traits are described in a broad overview, as the quick-start only details the Traits given to the 4 pre-gen characters. Basically these function like Shadowrun's Qualities and Savage World's Edges and Hindrances and can be positive or negative.
  
• Skills represent what they do in pretty every other system. They are scored from 0 to 10, with 0 representing a character having completed the Skill's 101 course, and 10 being a grand master.

Actions are done by determining which skills and/or attributes apply, rolling the 2d6, then adding the skill/attribute score to the dice total. If the total meets or exceeds the target number after modifiers are applied, the action is successful. Exceptionally low or high attribute scores affect rolls for skills linked to that attribute. An attribute score of 1 inflicts a -2 penalty, scores of 2-3 inflict a -1 penalty. Attribute scores of 7-9 grant a +1 and a score of 10 grants a +2.




One thing I found interesting is that opposed actions are not the usual roll-off with the highest number winning. Rather, there is a set target number and it's the roll that exceeds that number by the widest margin that wins. If neither character's roll meets the target number, both fail the action.

Combat is handled like numerous other systems. Every participant rolls 2d6, and acts from highest to lowest. Ties go to the character with the highest Reflexes attribute. Combat turns come in 5 second intervals. Actions fall into 1 of 4 categories: Incidental, Simple, Complex, and Movement. If you're familiar with Shadowrun, this part is almost a straight copy/paste.

• Incidental Actions are essentially free actions that are in every system. However, A Time of War allows characters up to 5 Incidental Actions per turn.
  
• Simple Actions are actions that require some concentration, but are resolved quickly such as pulling a trigger. A character may perform up to 2 Simple Actions per turn, but cannot combine them with Complex Actions.
  
• Complex Actions require the character's full concentration and serious effort. They may take 1 or more turns to complete. A character may only take one Complex action per turn, and my not combine it with any other action, except Incidental.
  
• Movement Actions are moving (big shock). A character may only take one Movement Action per turn, and it may be counted as an Incidental, Simple, or Complex action depending on the type of movement.

Overall, I think it's an interesting system for role-playing in a fantastic universe (though the time needs to be jumped back by 2 decades, at least). If I can find a copy of the rule book, I'd like to thumb through the character creation rules (which were not included with the quick-start booklet), and maybe some of the vehicle section. The Free RPG Day quick-start rules are available in downloadable PDF format. It includes the basic rules, 4 pre-generated characters, and a small adventure to run through.