Re: [Battletech] What do people think of the beta?
I just picked it up a day or two ago, so I haven't had much time to read it. What I have noticed that that there doesn't appears to have much detail on the setting.
Just to say up front: I own all the old Mechwarrior core rulebooks, so I know the basics of the Battletech Universe. I don't keep up with novels, and I didn't pay attention to whatever WizKid did with the Dark Ages, and apparently I completely missed the Word of Blake religious thing happening in the setting. In short, I know about the Battletech and I know that I'm really out of date with what is going on with the setting.
So, I was really surprised to download the new book and notice all these new empires on the map, including in the Periphery*. It's neat to see that they exist, but my problem is that there is absolutely nothing about them in the book ... except for the entry on the map. According to the map, there is a Malagrotta Cooperative in what used to be the edge of Federated Suns territory. (I'm guessing there is a story about that...). I searched the PDF for Malagrotta and only the map page with that entry shows up. I looked on the Battletech Wiki and it doesn't even have an entry for the Malagrotta Cooperative, and the entry for the world of Malagrotta is pre-Word of Blake. So far all I found online was a discussion between Battletech fans that referenced the Malagrotta Cooperative in a Word of Blake book that probably came out last year.
I was hoping that the new RPG would incorporate all the new setting info, or at least provide something about it other than just that the name of the ruler of Malagrotta Cooperative is Voorzitter Gary Tiqualme and it comprises seven worlds. Intrestingly enough, the nearby Tortuga Dominions has a ruler that is named Gary Tiqualme. ... and that's about it for info. I can tell that there is probably more info about it out ther, but just looking at this book isn't enough to really know what the heck is going on... without just making it up wholecloth.
Now, do I like sandbox settings, but honestly, that's not why I'm interested in Battletech. I was hoping that the setting info would be updated and put in the RPG, as I'm not interested in picking up a bunch of novels or a bunch of game books to find out about it.
Still, it looks like a real nice game, and I'm looking forward to having more time to read it later this week.
*What I've always thought was interesting about Battletech was the Periphery. It always struck me as a great place for a group of player characters to be in. It's the fringes of known space, where you find more places like Mos Eisley than you do of Naboo. (Although to be fair, there aren't many Naboo's in Battletech.)
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Rev. Keith Johnson
keithalanjohnson AT gmail.com
GMing: Nightwatch (weekly nWoD crossover campaign)
GMing: Fading Æon (alternating weekly Trinity/Fading Suns campaign)
Playing: Hong Kong by Night (alternating weekly Kindred of the East campaign)
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle
Last edited by Reverend Keith; 11-04-2009 at 03:46 AM..
Re: [Battletech] What do people think of the beta?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reverend Keith
I just picked it up a day or two ago, so I haven't had much time to read it. What I have noticed that that there doesn't appears to have much detail on the setting.
Just to say up front: I own all the old Mechwarrior core rulebooks, so I know the basics of the Battletech Universe. I don't keep up with novels, and I didn't pay attention to whatever WizKid did with the Dark Ages, and apparently I completely missed the Word of Blake religious thing happening in the setting. In short, I know about the Battletech and I know that I'm really out of date with what is going on with the setting.
So, I was really surprised to download the new book and notice all these new empires on the map, including in the Periphery*. It's neat to see that they exist, but my problem is that there is absolutely nothing about them in the book ... except for the entry on the map. According to the map, there is a Malagrotta Cooperative in what used to be the edge of Federated Suns territory. (I'm guessing there is a story about that...). I searched the PDF for Malagrotta and only the map page with that entry shows up. I looked on the Battletech Wiki and it doesn't even have an entry for the Malagrotta Cooperative, and the entry for the world of Malagrotta is pre-Word of Blake. So far all I found online was a discussion between Battletech fans that referenced the Malagrotta Cooperative in a Word of Blake book that probably came out last year.
I was hoping that the new RPG would incorporate all the new setting info, or at least provide something about it other than just that the name of the ruler of Malagrotta Cooperative is Voorzitter Gary Tiqualme and it comprises seven worlds. Intrestingly enough, the nearby Tortuga Dominions has a ruler that is named Gary Tiqualme. ... and that's about it for info. I can tell that there is probably more info about it out ther, but just looking at this book isn't enough to really know what the heck is going on... without just making it up wholecloth.
Now, do I like sandbox settings, but honestly, that's not why I'm interested in Battletech. I was hoping that the setting info would be updated and put in the RPG, as I'm not interested in picking up a bunch of novels or a bunch of game books to find out about it.
Still, it looks like a real nice game, and I'm looking forward to having more time to read it later this week.
*What I've always thought was interesting about Battletech was the Periphery. It always struck me as a great place for a group of player characters to be in. It's the fringes of known space, where you find more places like Mos Eisley than you do of Naboo. (Although to be fair, there aren't many Naboo's in Battletech.)
There'll be a Battletech Universe Book out next year with huge amounts of setting detail.
[Battletech] What do people think of the beta?
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