RPG Design – Spinning On The Axis Of Evil

   Does a game really need any kind of an “alignment” system?    Evil isn’t always easy to recognize, although many gamers and game masters seem to have it confused with psychotic madness, which usually is.    Lets say that we have a ruler, who’s chief delights lie in exterminating his enemies and destroying their countries, [...]

Battlemech Conversions

   Since it looks like the Battletech Universe may be a repeated stop, there are some general rules for converting Battletech Mechs to d20 statistics:    Hit Points: A basic human being in Battletech (Mechwarrior, at least in the edition I happen to be looking at right now) can take 10-40 human-scale hits – about [...]

Battletech Level Four: Aerospace Fighters

   Well, for today I’ve finally gotten the next chapter of the Level Four Battletech Rules – Sample Aerospace Fighters and an assortment of rules on Munitions and Bombing – converted into something that will display (more or less) properly in current browsers. Only one or two more chapters to go, depending on whether or [...]

General Chaos

   Well, thanks to some confusion – and a rather large number of things to be linked – there won’t be any major updates today. Fortunately, the last few chapters of the Level Four Battletech rules hould be up shortly, as well as some additional information on Lycanthropic Law and its history for Champions and [...]

Battletech Level Four: Battlemech Designs

   For today we have Chapter Seventeen of the Advanced Battletech Rules – a selection of sample Level Four Battlemech Designs.  As usual in level four play, most of these were unique to one or another player, since they incorporated their favorite technological advances. 

Common LAM Designs.

   For today we have Chapter Sixteen of the Level Four Battletech Rules – Common LAM Designs. While the original rules only provided a couple of LAM designs, such a versatile concept seemed likely to attract a good deal more attention than that. Hence players in level four campaigns may opt to take any of [...]

Battletech Level Four: Standard Installations

   Well, here’s the next chapter in the Level Four Battletech rules – a short one on Standard Installations, the basic military structures you can find scattered over hundreds of planets and a thousand years of history. Of course, there’s a reason for that: they’re cheap and effective.

Battletech Level Four: Space and Surface Naval Units

   Well, first up for today we have Chapter Fourteen of the Level Four Battletech Rules – Space and Surface Naval Units.  After all, the 300-ton limit on surface naval vessels is hardly very realistic – and, in the right situation, a battleship or aircraft carrier can make quite a difference.

Battletech Level Four: Chapter 13, Advanced Vehicles

   Well, for today we have chapter thirteen of the advanced battletech rules – Advanced Vehicles.  This covers conventional fighters, carpet bombing, spaceplanes, hybrid fusion-combustion fighters, classical combat helicopters, exotic aerospace fighters, orbital travel times for various amounts of fuel, and assorted advanced vehicle and hybrid designs.

Battletech Level Four: Chapter 12, Battlecards

   The Battlecards chapter of the Battletech Level Four rules has, at last, been converted (OK, mostly redone) in a format that current programs will handle. Unfortunately, since the blogging software doesn’t hold page formatting for printing well, the cards themselves are in .PDF format. The directions are online, and are also included in the .PDF.

File Conversions

   Well, thanks to old file problems, the Battlecards file will have to be delayed for a bit: the original format simply will NOT convert reasonably.

Battletech Level Four: Chapter Eleven

   Well, chapter eleven is up: this one covers Mini-Units – drones, smart missiles, combat armor, small combat vehicles, scout vehicles, cruise missiles, ICBM’s, nuclear warheads, patrol boats, rescue helicopters, infantry support systems, and similar units. While manned units in this category these do suffer from morale penalties when they’re up against the big stuff, [...]

Battletech Level Four: Chapter Ten

   First up for today is Chapter Ten of the Level Four Battletech Rules – Failed Technologies. This chapter is about weapons that didn’t work out – but which may still be useful in specialized situations or designs. Protomechs, the Graff Thunderer, the Ball Ightning Generator, the Ion Lance, and the Steam Cannon – as [...]

Battletech Level Four: Inventions

   Well, for today we have the ninth chapter of the Battletech Level Four Rules – Sample Inventions.  Thus, when your research teams manage to come up with something new, there are some rules for what. As usual, these are only samples: if you want to come up with something else, discuss it with the [...]

On to the New Technology

   First up for today is chapter eight of the Advanced Battletech Rules – Exotic Systems.  This chapter covers the new technologies which are either presumed to be widely available or which may be purchased as special resources during game setup.

And more for today:

   Next up for today we have Ilthulsin the Outcast – a renegade horror from the underworld now accompanying the party in the Federation-Apocolypse game and yet another d20 point-buy example for Eclipse: The Codex Persona.    Secondarily, here’s the next chapter in the Level Four Battletech Rules - Technical Improvements.

And Back to the General Warfare

   First up for tonight is Chapter Six of the Battletech Level Four Rules – the Battle Setup tables. I’ll try to get the next section of the Champions log up a little later on and the L5R log updates before friday.

Continued Warfare

   First up for today is Chapter Five of the Level Four Battletech Rules – the strategic tables for the Economy, Espionage, Explorations, Politics, Trade, and Alliance Benefits and Costs.

Our Items for Today:

   So far today it’s last weeks Champions Campaign Log Update (Below) and the next chapter of the Level Four Battletech Rules: the Turn Structure and Strategic Options. I’m reconstructing and re-editing the file on running Eclipse: The Codex Persona d20 games without using Experience Points: the original dates back to the playtest groups and the [...]

Up for today:

   First up for today is the next chapter of the Battletech Level Four rules: creating the starmap and setting up the initial player domains. Those 20-year-old files are proving more of a bother to convert than I’d hoped.    If there’s time later on, I may try to get some other material up. There [...]