C G
United States
Wisconsin
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I'm looking for a Mech rpg. How does this game run as an rpg? Are there rules for it in this edition? And if not, anyone have any suggestion for a good mech based rpg(meaning a rpg where there pc's are pilots of Mechs? Thank you.
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Thomas P. Felder
Germany
Munich
Bavaria
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They (FASA) used to have their own RPG which has been called "MechWarrior".
They had some campaign rules in it, so that you could play a whole mercenary units, doing management, commando operations, negotiations and such in the RPG mode, and switching to the board game whenever battle action occurs.
The fun depends on if your groups like to play with a military hierarchy; also the players can discuss what their characters should do, suobordiniates would have to follow orders of their commanders in play.
In Warhammer 40,000 (fourth edition), there is a mechlike thing, the Titan, and, AFAIK, a RPG.
Edit: Look at this Classic Battletech RPG
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Simon Hilsdorf
Germany
Mannheim
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We played MechWarrior for a short time: while the universe is not bad the game surely was. I can't remember exactly why we didn't like it (around 10 years ago) but in comparison to the stuff we were playing at that time like Palladium, Rifts, Merp, AD&D and Shadowrun it had no chance.
Simon
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Jim Patterson
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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The Classic BattleTech RPG is scheduled for an overhaul. It's tentatively scheduled for release in late 2008, but I'd say that's pretty tentative.
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Niko Ruf
Germany
Kaiserslautern
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Zopper-Alf wrote: We played MechWarrior for a short time: while the universe is not bad the game surely was.
We also tried the game and didn't like it very much. The character creation system meant that your character could be not be remotely competent in an area, unless you neglected all of his other abilities. I vaguely recall a PC with a Battlemaster mech and average piloting and gunnery skill who otherwise was a complete wimp. OTOH, if you went with a balanced character concept, you'd end up with skills like have Gunnery 6, Piloting 7, and a weak mech.
And this was the second edition of the Mechwarrior rules. I think I still have first edition rulebook somewhere among my old stuff and that was truly horrible. Above all, the rules had a lot of holes. There were rules for looting mechs and keeping stockpiles of parts, but the neglected to tell you how to repair internal structure damage.
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Tome Loh
Singapore
Singapore
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Well, besides MW, four other titles come to mind.
1) Jovian Chronicles by Dream Pod 9, is space-based and very similar to the Gundam anime series. There is a wargame version called Lightning Strike that can handle the mecha and ship actions.
2) Heavy Gear, also by Dream Pod 9 is similar to Mechwarrior in terms of background (mostly land-based mecha), but with faster action. Ditto with this game-world there is a tactical boardgame version to resolve mecha battles.
3) Yet another mecha RPG, also by DP9 (do you begin to see a trend here?), is Gear Krieg. From the title, it may be obvious that the background is an alternate universe where mecha were used during WWII. There is no board game for this line, but the core rulebook provides rules for miniature games as well as the RPG.
4) Finally, there MektonZeta, by R. Talsorian Games. It's quite an old system, but I have very fond memories of it. You might have problems getting a copy of the rules, but there is a free version called Mekton Alpha which has very stripped down rules. There is a supplement for the line called Invasion Terra which gives maps and scenarios for this game.
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Neil Ikerd
United States
Lakewood
Colorado
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Mechwarrior suffered from 2 problems, the rules and the production values. The binding on my book fell apart within weeks of buying it. The rules also assumed you wanted to be Clan, which didn't work in a 3027 campaign. What irritated me the most was that all combat resolved just like Mech combat. When my group infiltrated a weapons development plant to steal plans for a new mech, the whole thing went to hell becuase the rules couldn't adequately support non-Mech actions and behaviors.
I would like to see a new RPG that has better skill development for characters that are not Mech jockeys.
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Jim Patterson
United States
Iowa City
Iowa
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Sounds like the new version should be out in 2009 still. It'll be in hardcover format like the other core rulebooks (Total Warfare, et al). There have been some threads in the CBT: RPG forum ( http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php/board,21.0...) on the official CBT board about the changes to the new version. I gather than it'll be d6 based to bring it better in line with the board game. I'm not competent to talk about the other changes, having barely played the RPG.
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Hans Brouwer
Netherlands
Utrecht
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IMO the RPG-system you use is not important, the GM and the world you play in is. A good GM/storyteller makes you forget what rules you need to follow. A good GM also uses the rules of a system as a guideline, not as a lawbook.
I have played several campaigns with Mechwarrior many years ago as a DM, and later in GURPS. I like GURPS because is it skill-based instead of class-based
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