Battletech Combat modified to a D20 System

Welcome Soldier!  You have just graduated from Mech Academy with… enough points to pass, and have been assigned a 40 Ton killing machine!  It is your job to go where needed, as directed by the Mercantile Cooperative of Planets (known as MCoP for short) and keep order in the Universe.  They have chosen you, above many others, for your skills, talents and willingness to destroy that which needs to be destroyed.

Here is a summary of some of the things you learned in school, but can use a refresher on.

First, you may want to choose a Class and a Race.  You don’t have too yet; Classes have absolutely no effect on you until after your first mission, and Races similarly don’t give you a significant boost until you are higher level.  If you know what you are doing, choose away; if not, wait until you know the game a bit better.  Let’s just say you’re hiding your talents to surprise the enemy later on.

Second, we need to teach you the basics of combat.  Battletech is run in Phases – sort of like other games, where everything happens in a specific order in the round.  Unlike other games, everything happens simultaneously in Battletech, meaning you get to do several things in the same round.  Here’s a brief summary:

1. Everyone rolls initiative, to see who goes first and last.  The roll carries over through all phases; so if you moved first, you’d also fire first.
2. Everyone moves their Mechs.
3. Artillery is fired, if anyone has any.
4. Everyone fires their weapons at each other.  Unlike other games, everyone who started the round gets to attack that round, even if they know they blew up that round.
5. Damage is dealt, and Mechs blow up.
6. End of round, and dead Mechs are turned into piles of debris.

We have a more detailed of the phases on the Phases section; it is a must read for understating Battletech.

Third, we need to teach you the basics of understanding a Mech’s sheet.  You’ll find a guide to your Mech’s stats in our Piloting a Mech section, and a bunch of Mechs ready to go in our Premade Mechs section.

Fourth, if you think you know what you’re doing, you can build your own Mech in our Build-a-Mech section.

And last, now that you are ready for combat, visit http://www.meetup.com/NJGamers and find a game to show off your Mech Command skills!