Battletech, Total Warfare.
By Fishy
A Little Introductory Preamble.
I have been playing BattleTech, on and off, since about 1986, shortly after the second edition of the game (and the first to bear the name, having been called Battledroids for the initial release). I still have in my possession original 3025 and 3026 Technical Readouts including the so-called "Lost 'Mechs" and so the following Thoughts cover the way in which the current "Total Warfare" release of the game fits into BattleTech history as well as looking at it as a stand-alone product. This is also a set of Thoughts on the current (Total Warfare) release of the game as a whole, not just the TW rulebook. That said, off we go...
What is BattleTech
Many readers will have seen "giant robots" in something, even if you don't watch Anime cartoons these lumbering metal hulks have found their way into plenty of mainstream sci-fi now - from the classic "Robot Jox" of the eighties to the more recent, and bigger budget, "Matrix Revolutions" and "Transformers". I'm going to assume, then, that we all have a clear idea of what a 12 meter humanoid combat walker would be like - a massive, man-shaped, tank. THAT is what BattleTech is about - it is a board wargame (with tabletop-miniature and roleplaying extensions) about giant robot combat in the 31st century.
BattleTech has a history going back 25 years and has been one of the few games to put real effort into maintaining the continuoty of the product line. As a result the "story" of the BT universe starts in the 28th century with The Star League and the invention of Battlemechs (giant war robots, also known as 'Mechs) and then jumps forward to the "standard" play era running from 3025 (the date on the Introductory Boxset) through to the 3070s where the current Jihad storyline is coming to an end. Courtesy of the spin-off "Mechwarrior: Dark Age" game from Wizkids we also have material available from an era some 60 years into the future of the mainstream BT universe and so there is a lot of timeline to play with in this game. Context is everything for BT players - not satisfied with just pounding each other's 'Mechs these guys generally want the scrap to be a part of something and, on this front, BT does not disappoint. Two centuries of war have given us a lot to play with.
For more information of the BT universe you can check out ClassicBattleTech.com (the official site) or the BT Wiki at sarna.net.
What is Total Warfare?
The TW project began, as I understand it, with FanPro taking over the BT license when FASA (the original publisher) folded and was replaced by WizKids (now sadly taken over ny Topps). The goal was to compile, errata and clarify the rules that had appeared in numerous books and supplements over 25 years. To quote from the back of the book...
Total Warfare is the single-source rulebook for people who play Classic BattleTech.
TW is not intended as an introductory book, there is a box set for that which does a good job of introducing the game and provides a number of plastic 'Mech miniatures which loook much better than the cardboard cutouts of previous eras but unless you enjoy painting do leave you wanting more.
In these Thoughts, however, i am also using the term to refer to the current range of BT rules releases, of which Total Warfare is just the first book. Not so much "Total Warfare" really as "Enough-to-keep-you-happy Warfare". Everything thsat you need to duke it out using 'Mechs, Vehicles (ie tanks, armoured cars, VTOL craft, etc.), Infantry and Aerospace craft (starfighters) is included int the book but later releases cover more advanced topics such as weather, space combat, strategic-level gaming, 'Mech design and more.
So, if it's not really "Total", is Total Warfare any good?
First Impressions.
The first thing I thought when I finally got a copy of TW in my hot, sticky little hand was "This looks nice". It's a 300+ page hardback book, nicely bound, in the common 8.5"x11"(ish) format that we're used to seeing from games companies. The pages are glossy and full-colour and you get the impression that a lot of what you're paying for is production-value. On the first flick through the book I found a lot of BT universe fiction, garnered from BattleCorps I presume, and a good may illustrations. Many of the illustrations are actually photographsof the available miniatures, set up in diaromas and looking very appealing.
The Meat: Reading The Book.
Total Warfare isn't a book that you really read, it's a reference that you use when playing. As such it seems to work perfectly well. There are plenty of tables duplicated in the back, and they have (very usefully) included a page reference on each table to guide you back to the rules section that it comes from. You can see these charts here, since Catalyst have provided them as a preview.
The style of writing is quite accessible, coming over in much the way that you would expect an experienced player to explain the rules to you if he were standing by when you had a query, but with the sheer volume of material included it can take a while looking up a specific rule. I would recommend bookmarking key rules, especially ones relevent to the current scenario but otherwise rarely used, before setting up the game. The tables are well presented and easy to read, and the illustrative examples are also clear. These are not presented using miniatures, which helps keep things simple to understand.
The Game.
Readers who have played BT before will find nothing really new in this book, that's not what it's for. For those not already familiar with Battle Tech I will say a few things abut the gameplay.
BattleTech plays in a simple turn-based manner and uses a hex-board to handle movement, firing ranges, etc. Rulers aren't necessary since you can count hexes whenever you need to measure a distance. Similarly all movement is measured in hexes,
'Mechs are represented, in this version, by plastic or metal miniatures but cardboard standees or flat 2D counters work just as well. For the infamous "Unseen 'Mechs" (which is a story I won't go into here) these are necessary, since they will never again grace our tables as official miniatures. Everything you need to get playing is included in the Introductory Box Set so that is worth looking around for. They seem to be produced in smaller numbers than demand would dictate, but it's worth hunting one down.
The game itself can take quite a long time to play, especially when learning the game, so it's best to start small and resist the temptation to fill your table with imperssive looking 'Mechs. Depending on the choice of 'Mech in a game you could be rolling To-Hit five or six times per 'Mech in every 10-second turn. A successful hit also requires you to roll for a Hit Location, and possibly for a potantial Critical, so there is a quite a lot of die-rolling involved in this game. Damage is marked off on the 'Mech's Record Sheet by crossing through little boxes (actualy bubbles) and, while this makes damage tracking simple, it can take a long while to fill in a Record Sheet so the pre-filled Sheets available to buy are always a good seller. These can be purchased as PDFs, however, so once you own them you can print as many as you need and recycle them as they get worn out.
There are enough fun toys, vehicles and variant 'Mechs available that it's difficult to get bored with the game, unless you have no interest in sci-fi wargaming, in which case why are you playing it at all? Althoug the 'Mechs are the focus of the game you can use it for more "standard" 6mm sci-fi wargaming, but other games will let you do that cheaper (or even free, check out Dirtside) so I can only honestly recommend BT is giant robots are sort of your thing. If they are, however, it's a lot of fun.
The Rest Of The Range.
TW may be the "definitive" rules source, and the Introductory Box Set the right place to get started, but here is a lot more to BT than just these products. A few highlights of the game are...
The Tech Manual provides you with all the rules needed to construct 'Mechs, Combat Vehicles, Infantry Units, Aerospace Craf, Battle Armour, Protomechs, Industrial 'Mechs and Support Vehicles. In other words pretty much everything that isn't a Dropship or Jumpship.
The book has the same production values as TW and is extremely well put together. The availability rules are great for detail-obsessed freaks like me and let you use only the right gear for the era in which you are playing. TW was good, but the TM is what really impressed me about these new releases and left me wishing I'd bought it much sooner.
The Technical Readouts are essentially big books of 'Mech and Vehicle designs. They are released by era, starting with the Technical Readout: 3039 but there are always oddities that get included wherever they will fit. This is especially true of the Star League Era 'Mechs, since they are historical data from an era not originally intended for play.
Each design is illustrates, as are many of the variants these days, and a full in-game design history is given for those interested in the setting as much as the gameplay.
The Novels and Stories. For many years now there has been a plethora of BT fiction being written. From early bestseller by Michael Stackpole (now a pretty famous name in both games design and fiction) to short stories publiched online through BattleCorps there is a lot to read if you are intersted. As with all such things the quality os variable, but it all helps to get a feel for the universe.
Conclusions.
This current incarnation of BattleTech is slick, well put together and a lot of fun. It's not cheap, but what is these days? I can recommend upgrading those tatty and well-thumbed old copies of the BattleTech Master Rules, and I doubt that there has ever been a better time for new players to get into the game.