I posted this on Big Purple as well.  I'd like thoughts and feedback, if anyone is interested.

So...
 
I've been running a long campaign in the Battletech universe. I've got 11 players, and the story has been pretty good. We're using the current A Time of War rules set - and it's not really pleasing to anyone. The book itself really doesn't "grab" folks with the background and atmosphere the way the old 1st Edition MechWarrior game did. Part of the problem is the current license holders, Catalyst, trying so hard to move forward into the 3100s and leave the original Battletech setting behind. A lot of us got into Battletech because it was Dune with Giant Robots - or, perhaps more modern-sounding, A Game of Thrones with Giant Robots.

Our campaign started with the players creating Houses Minor from the planet the campaign started on. Some of them grouped together to be members of the same House Minor, a couple were solo. We used a kitbashed version of the rules from the Song of Ice and Fire RPG, which we are currently looking at replacing with rules from Mongoose's Traveller : Dynasty book. Basically, our campaign embraces the original "MechWarriors and Knights" concept in a post-apocalyptic shattered empire more closely than any version of MechWarrior has since 1e. Even by the time of MechWarrior 2e in 1991, the 3050 timeframe had 'Mechs being more common, more readily manufactured, and armies started to get bigger and MechWarriors began being highly trained vehicle pilots as opposed to hereditary knights.
 
We *want* them to be hereditary knights.

The current lead GM of our campaign (we have six-month terms, this is the first term in which I haven't been lead GM in four years... Huzzah for me) and I are working on a vanity project that we'll never be able to publish but can damn sure use here for our next campaign. We're kitbashing together "OUR" version of MechWarrior, designed to embrace the feel of the original setting.
 
I have no idea how these concepts will mesh, but here's some of the things we want to include-
 
PENDRAGON
 •The focus on Knighthood. This is a game about playing MechWarriors just like Pendragon is about playing Knights. It will be unapologetic about that.
•Glory as opposed to XP - also very appropriate.
•Generating your immediate family, and the history of your parent and grandparent MechWarrior
•Passions and Loyalties
•Perhaps faction bonuses like the Religion Bonuses of Pendragon. Kurita favors pride, Davion favors Modesty, something like that.
•Skill advancement based on what gets used.
•One adventure equalling one time period - maybe a year, maybe more. A "Winter Phase" where the campaigning MechWarriors return to their holding to handle administration, age, have children etc.
•This allows MechWarriors to see their children become the new family MechWarriors.

 
MONGOOSE TRAVELLER
 •Lifepath Character Creation
•Mustering Out Benefits - all MechWarriors are more or less automatically noble, and therefore will use the rules from the Dilletente book.
•'Mech Ownership handled a bit like ship shares, with the ability to take an older, less functional 'Mech in order to get a bigger one.
•2D6+Mod vs 8 works GREAT for Battletech integration.
•The Dynasty book offers a complete system for faction generation, management and conflict.

 
MECHWARRIOR 1e
 •The Setting/Fluff
•The random event tables to determine what goes on in the world. This game will be independent from the published metaplot and will diverge into its own continuity.
•The concepts of MechWarrior households, with entourage/retinues, etc. Chief Tech, Planetologist, etc.

 
Other ideas:
 When generating your MechWarrior, you'll also generate the base stats of your personal 'Tech, your apprentice/squire (if any), your support troops (if any) etc.
 
Players will be noble MechWarriors, or members of a MechWarrior Household. Taking a page from Dune, characters like Duncan and Gurney would be possible, as long as they were likewise trained as MechWarriors. Dr. Yueh and Thufir would be NPCs.

The stories would be about these MechWarriors serving their lieges in the endless wars between the Great Houses (and sometimes Houses Minor) and will fully embrace the MechWarrior-as-Knight concept. In other words, most MechWarriors are land-holding figures who are responsible for providing military service to their immediate liege, who is likewise faithful to aid the MechWarrior in times of need. The MechWarrior family will rule their holding in the name of the superior noble, all the way up to the House Lord.
 
Thoughts?

This sounds awesome.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

I too, am disenchanted with how the Battletech universe has evolved. I prefer the 3025 era, with very limited Star League technology, and ignore the existence of the Clans entirely.

I prefer the old game, where mechwarriors are hereditary soldiers fighting over water on shithole worlds on the edge of space.

Yeah, I think you're on to something here.

I also think that whoever GMs this will have his hands full getting these three games to work with each other. But I applaud the effort. While not a big fan of the genre, I sometimes have the impression that mecha games, and milSF games in general, tend to be all about the giant robot blastin' and give the human factor little thought.

We tend to look at the BattleMechs as a combination of the steed, armor, sword and fundage a Knight needed to be a Knight.  They're the means by which the characters maintain their social status, not the end-all, be-all focus of the game.

I think that's a big difference between the way a lot of people play, and the way our group plays.

This sounds WAY more interesting to me than any other version of Mechwarrior I've seen.

RPGPundit

Well, this looks like a project we'll actually start putting materials together for over the next couple of weeks.  Character gen first, obviously.

Like Pendragon, it's going to have to be uber-focussed.  I hate to do it, but the initial booklet for our players may be focused on MechWarriors from a specific house, so that the history rolls for parent and grandparent might be tailored to specific events, like the Kentares Massacre, etc.

Also, the passions and traits will have to be altered for 2D6 resolution rather than D20 resolution.

Quote from: RPGPundit;594576This sounds WAY more interesting to me than any other version of Mechwarrior I've seen.

Ditto.

Quote from: colwebbsfmc;594256We tend to look at the BattleMechs as a combination of the steed, armor, sword and fundage a Knight needed to be a Knight.  They're the means by which the characters maintain their social status, not the end-all, be-all focus of the game.

I think that's a big difference between the way a lot of people play, and the way our group plays.

Not at all, not at all.

I would love to see this developed further and shared as you go (hint, hint!).

Here are some initial thoughts on character creation-

  First, the initial build of the game may end up being faction-specific.  For the sake of argument, we'll say House Davion because that's what I'm running right now.  I'm much more of a Lyran kinda of guy, but oh, well.

  The reason I say faction-specific is that by using some of the mechanics of Pendragon, we'll be needing to roll up the history for the parent and grandparent of each MechWarrior to see what Glory they amassed, how they lived and died, and wether the MW accrued any passions or traits from their ancestors.  For example, if we go with a Davion setting, perhaps one of the ancestors fought and died during the Kentares Massacre - the PC might inherit Hate (House Kurita) 3D6.  If the ancestors are loyal to the Hasek-Davion branch of the ruling family, their Love (House Davion) might not be quite as high as the default.  If Father or Mother died gloriously trying to protect Prince Ian Davion when he fell, there might be Glory and Hate to be had there, too.

  This presupposes we are going to scrap a standard XP system for the one used in Pendragon, which sounds good to me, BTW.  We will have something like the Winter Phase, but perhaps with a different time interval due to the vagaries of interstellar travel.  No matter what, lords are going to end up needing to let their knights return home at some interval to tend to their holdings and make babies etc.  Using this system will allow for aging and children to come into play, which will also very much enhance the Pendragon-style feel of the MechWarriors-as-Knights feel.

  After generating those histories, we will allow the players to choose a background social level.  Scion of nobility, MechWarrior (knight), or perhaps even MechWarrior Retainer.  I see the first as the child of a higher noble, the second as the default kind of knight one sees in Pendragon, and the third as someone like Duncan Idaho or Gurney Halleck serving something like House Atreides.  
(NOTE : Maybe I'm going about this all wrong, and like Pendragon, all PCs should be from the basic MechWarrior/Knight social class)

SCREECHING HALT.

  Waitamminute.

  Am I going about this wrong?  I kinda want to proceed from Character Gen with a Traveller-like lifepath system allowing the creation of older, more experienced knights from various social levels within knighthood/nobility.

  BUT - the more I look at Pendragon... the more I think about starting the group as basic knights...

  GRRRR.

Thoughts?

Either one is good, but you are combining them.  That means if you go the Traveller Lifepath route, as you extend the Lifepath, the character's history becomes larger and more needs to be filled in to a Pendragon level of detail.  If you let the Traveller Lifepath system do it's thing, you may very well end up with a rather mature knight PC who already has the next generation ready to take to the cockpit.

I'd probably stick with starting knights, or slightly older, to start with, that gives you less years to fill in, which means you can fill them with lots of detail.  Jumping in with both feet having one PC as an old established knight may be a bit much since you're mixing the whole thing yourself.

Quote from: colwebbsfmc;594734Am I going about this wrong?  I kinda want to proceed from Character Gen with a Traveller-like lifepath system allowing the creation of older, more experienced knights from various social levels within knighthood/nobility.

  BUT - the more I look at Pendragon... the more I think about starting the group as basic knights...

  GRRRR.

Thoughts?

Don't use the Lifepath system for generating PCs. Instead, use it for generating the Mechs. The Mech 'careers' are missions (bounty hunting, border patrol, raiding, invasion, ceremonial), with 'specialties' of Light/Medium/Heavy/Assault. You don't gain skills, you gain a reputation to live up to.

Quote from: Mytholder;594968Don't use the Lifepath system for generating PCs. Instead, use it for generating the Mechs. The Mech 'careers' are missions (bounty hunting, border patrol, raiding, invasion, ceremonial), with 'specialties' of Light/Medium/Heavy/Assault. You don't gain skills, you gain a reputation to live up to.

Awesome insight!  Perhaps also use it to generate some the character's illustrious forebearers who fought in that Mech.


-TGA

So...

  The Family Battlemech becomes something like Glamdring, Orcrist or Sting.  "This 'Mech belonged to my great-grandfather, who used it to hold off the 5th Amaris Dragoons so that General Kerensky's command element could take the Terran Capital without being flanked.  He died in that battle, but his 'Mech was salvaged and returned to service.  My grandmother requested it just before the Exodus, and christened it 'Bulwark' as it had shielded the Liberator of Terra from ambush.  Four generations of my family have died at the helm of Bulwark, each time defending innocents from those who would prey on them or opening the way for heroes like Kerensky to do what must be done.  Now that my elder brother has been entombed alongside our ancestors, it falls to me to pilot Bulwark into battle in the name of God and Prince Davion.  May it bear me to the honor and glory worthy of our House."

Quote from: colwebbsfmc;595050So...

  The Family Battlemech becomes something like Glamdring, Orcrist or Sting.  "This 'Mech belonged to my great-grandfather, who used it to hold off the 5th Amaris Dragoons so that General Kerensky's command element could take the Terran Capital without being flanked.  He died in that battle, but his 'Mech was salvaged and returned to service.  My grandmother requested it just before the Exodus, and christened it 'Bulwark' as it had shielded the Liberator of Terra from ambush.  Four generations of my family have died at the helm of Bulwark, each time defending innocents from those who would prey on them or opening the way for heroes like Kerensky to do what must be done.  Now that my elder brother has been entombed alongside our ancestors, it falls to me to pilot Bulwark into battle in the name of God and Prince Davion.  May it bear me to the honor and glory worthy of our House."

Damn skippy.