9 replies to this topic

[ArcFade]

Hi there,

I've only -very- recently became interested in playing the Tabletop of Battletech/Mechwarrior, but here's a little bit of background for sakes of understanding where I'm sitting.

My first introduction to Battletech came in the form of Mechwarrior 2 on my parent's Windows 95, I was just a kid, so I wasn't very interested in the story so much as I was in the giant robots blowing the everloving **** out of eachother.

I then got my hands on a copy of Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries, and for whatever reason decided to ditch story for gameplay. My only other experience with the Mechwarrior franchise was Mechassault, which I'm not sure if it counts or not.

Now, here I am, several years later, being smacked in the face with MWO, and suddenly my interest skyrockets into Battletech. One of my good friends, now lets me play a match on Battletech for the first time... -yesterday-. Apparently he and his father have had these things for YEARS. And years.

So now here I am, 25 years old, and I can barely get into a game at all if I can't get my head around a roleplay concept, and the community here is -very- loyal to the franchise (which I find great).


My main concerns are these (the TL:DR part)

-- This game has 25 years of built history and lore. Am I going to have to dig through all of this to be able to understand what the hell people are talking about here? I -want- to learn, I just need to know how much I'll have to put on my plate.

-- A lot of people seemed to mention Lostech and Clantech as sort of the turning point in Battletech for them. This was -years- ago, so if I decide to get into Battletech NOW, am I kind of SoL and missing out on the "glory days"?

There's a local gaming shop that does Battletech meetings on weekends, but with the last question I asked, is the current game worth playing compared to old Battletech?

I guess what the REAL point of it all is, I'm a bit intimidated by how expansive the lore is, being as long-written as it is, and don't want to offend some purist with my lack of knowledge.


Thanks so much for your time!
-Arc

Edited by ArcFade, 15 September 2012 - 09:12 AM.

[WolfeCanada]

Well, the Clan invasion is yet to come....it's happening in the Periphery right now, but is not common knowledge in the Inner Sphere....so you haven't missed out on clan tech. Lostech is a term that references the technology lost during the Succession Wars (the 5 Great Houses beating the crap out of each other to see who can be First Lord of the Star League). I would recommend reading the Blood of Kerensky trilogy, which has the first appearance of the Clans.

[Propnut]

Here you go, this is an official Catalyst games publication that gives a primer on the Battletech universe from the Star League to the FedCom civil War. It is about 50 pages with about half being graphics.

It is posted free by Catalyst games.

http://bg.battletech...iverseGuide.pdf

Edited by Propnut, 15 September 2012 - 09:58 AM.

[Dymitry]

Buy some novels and have a read. Most of them are short and interesting. That should take your lore up to speed

[Mad Axe]

Congrats! The tabletop edition is fantastic and very accessible for a new player. Even if you have no idea what you're doing at first, you'll enjoy it and learn fast. Most of the long-time players love introducing new blood and giving them some pointers.

As for the lore, as others have suggested try reading some of the novels for an idea of the backstory. They are all enjoyable, but the earlier novels are much superior to some of the ones that got churned out towards the end, IMO. I found a direct correlation between font size and quality!


http://en.wikipedia....ttleTech_novels

As a personal recommendation, my favorites are the Warrior trilogy by Stackpole, the Saga of the Gray Death Legion by Keith, Main Event and D.R.T. by Long, Close Quarters, Hearts of Chaos (particularly good) and Black Dragon by Milan, and my personal favourite, Double-Blind by Coleman.

In terms of LosTech and the Clan Invasion, I didn't personally find it unbalacing at all, and gave the game a slightly different flavor. The Clan Invasion was an epic storyline, and once the major events of The Great Refusal are settled the game gets back to more of the flavor that it had pre-3048, The one thing I didn't like was that HUGE formations like Regimental Combat Teams became sort of standard, and replaced the lance and company-sized engagements that had dominated the lore up to that point. I really enjoyed the athmosphere that you got with the idea of a half-dozen unique warriors, each a character in their own right, settling the fate of a whole planet.

[Warmonger2600]

The current battletech game is better than the original, due to 25 years of play-testing, and well worth it.

There is a ton of Lore. I've played the game almost from the day it started and have kept up, off and on, but I'll admit I just haven't read many of the novels. Once you have a rough idea of what's going on, that's good enough, and run with it.

Imagine you are a new Mechwarrior fresh out of school and suddenly you are thrown into a politics heavy universe and need a bit of a refresher on what is going on. The best way to do this is to pick something you are most interested in...say ComStar, the Clans, or House Kurita and read some Lore on that instead of trying to wrap your head around all of it at once.

[Kell Pryde]

Howdy Arc,

Glad you got into the online game, and are now taking interest in the lore aspect of the universe. I don't believe you have any need to worry about your lack of knowledge when it comes to lore. Most folks will be happy to bring you up to speed on any topic you have specific questions on, and there is a vast amount of information on the web to help you find out what your favorite factions have been up to at any given time period. To give you a bit of an easy introduction (in my opinion) you need to think of Battletech with regards to three different time periods; 3025, 3050, and then 3060+.
3025 is the classic era with the Inner Sphere being the only players. Mechs only fight around company sized battle, have standard engines, and no double heat sinks.
3050 is the clan invasion era where the Inner Sphere is threatened with the return of Kerensky's children. The fights can occur in much larger scales, the clans have vastly superior equipment (but much less numbers), and the Inner Sphere is VERY slowly catching up technology wise.
3060+ is the clan occupation / ***** era where the clan invasion has been stalled, and now a group of terrorists have been running around causing mayhem. Technology is almost even, and everyone is now playing the game of thrones essentially to claim leadership over the Inner Sphere / control of Terra.
I know I left a LOT out, but most of us started heavily in the 3025 era. Personally I most prefer this time period. The mechs are not huge gunboats, the pilot & gunnery skills are not traditionally super low, and you have a lot of latitude to do whatever the heck you want as most of the universe has pretty crappy technology. The time period reminds me a lot of Firefly actually (which is probably why I like both so much).
Anyhow, I digress. I hope this helps figure out the universe a bit, and helps you figure out who your favorites are, and when / what they happen to be doing.

[Uyama Kurita]

Welcome to the BT-TT family Arc. I recommend that you get into a regular battletech/mechwarrior TT gaming group to maximize your enjoyment of the game. Nothing is more immersive for a new player being introduced to the game than to read the novels and play in a mechwarrior (now called A Time of War) RPG that uses the universal timeline as a backdrop.

If you happen to be in Perth, Australia, we run such a group. You're welcome to join us!

Uyama

[ice trey]

Don't fret too much about learning about the fluff right from the get-go. They've got a nice little fluff-primer in the introductory boxed set (or just read the PDF version of same said book - Universe at a glance: http://bg.battletech...iverseGuide.pdf ). Beyond that, mostly focus on the rules of the game and the fluff that relates directly to the tabletop, like who has what 'mechs.

Beyond that, there are sourcebooks, but some can find them very dry. There should be a wealth of ePub versions of the novels available online, and in a pinch, you should be able to pick up some of the books second hand.

If I can offer suggestions, great ways to start are the Warrior Trilogy, Decision at Thunder Rift, and Wolves on the Border. There are some new books being made now (there was supposed to be one just released recently on the 12th of this month), but they are all short-story collections. If that's your bag, all power to you, but it doesn't do much to improve your understanding of the fiction.

[Swiftfire]

Don't worry about all the 'stuff' associated with BT, Arc. BT TT is very good for bringing new players along at their own pace. Start with the Introductory Box Set. Use those rules and minis and don't worry about anything else for a while. Since there is a group in your area I'm sure they would be more than happy to play using that ruleset and helping to get your feet wet. Welcome.