You'd be forgivenfor thinking that I want every game to be rules lite. While I love that style of game I can't deny the draw of crunchier systems, at least on paper.
The reality is
often a let down. When I'm craving a system that offers depth to explore,
variety of options, and surprise moments of delight and despair, I'm often met
with a ruleset that demands all of my attention just to keep it running, unable
to enjoy the fruits of the mechanical labour.
The context here
is that I've been making my first ventures into Battletech, with all its
sprawling record sheets, encyclopedic setting, and piles upon piles of modular
rules. Why would such a proponent of streamlining games be drawn to this a
mountain of crunch?
Because I like
it.
Generous Crunch
gives more than it takes. Even if it demands a lot from the players the overall
output is positive. For Battletech look at those famous Record Sheets. They
look daunting but they're actually quite simple. Armour dots are filled in as
you take damage. Weapons and other components are crossed off as they get hit
by Criticals. The Heat tracker looks terrifying but there's not really anything
complex to it. Together these make your Mech feel real and generate exciting
moments when you push too hard and overheat, or when your leg gets blown clean
off. Whatever house rules I'd be tempted to make to Battletech, I don't think
I'd mess with this part at all.
Parasitic Crunch
takes more than it gives. It can take the form of entire subsystems or even
just a writhing colony of tiny little rules that have wormed their way into the
system, taking up cognitive load while offering little to nothing positive in
return. In isolation it's easy to say "actually this rule really isn't
complicated" but that's just a distraction. Always ask "what is this
piece of crunch offering in return?" when you're considering whether it
should be cut loose. Of course, this is a matter of taste and experience. If
you make the push to internalise every part of the Battletech Introductory,
Standard, Advanced, and Experimental rules across a dozen books then you've
probably managed to wrangle those parasites into action, finally seeing them
pull their weight. The balance between accessibility for newcomers and depth
for enthusiasts is one that every game has to choose a position on. The
multiple tiers of rule in Battletech (not to mention the entirely different
system, Alpha Stike) could be a great compromise here.
And so I climb
the mountain.
The Quick
Start rules lie behind me. A great stripped-back intro but missing some of
the juice that comes with Heat and Critical Hits.
The Introductory
Rules from the box set are in my grasp, and seem to include a pretty
comprehensive core of the game. Some of the little rules challenge me, but I
think I can do this.
I picked up Total
Warfare in a moment of weakness. The full Standard Rules in an
unforgiving 300+ pages, covering the familiar mechs alongside buildings,
protomechs, vehicles, infantry, and aerospace units. No, I'm not exaggerating
by including buildings in there, as they get 14 pages devoted to rules for
entering, exiting, attacking into out of, and fighting within, all dependent on
unit type and building type. Also rules for when the building collapses and a
special basements table to randomly determine how far down a Mech falls
when they accidentally break through the floor. Whether the idea of this
delights or terrifies you will determine how you'd get on with this book.
I'm trapped somewhere in the middle. Like a Mech who rolled 10-11 on the Basement Table.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This post was originally sent as a reward to all Patreon supporters, and is released freely on this site the week after its original publication.
If you want to support my blog, podcasts, and video content then head over to my Patreon.
Favorite house rule for Battletech: When using missile pods (short or long range), for every one point you miss your target by, reduce the pod size by one and hit with it. (SR6 goes to SR4, LR20 goes to LR15, etc.) For every one point you beat your target number by, add one to your roll for number of missiles impacting. This gives missile pods a more forgiving "shotgun" effect, while mitigating the occasions when you max out your to-hit roll, but then botch the number of missiles impacting roll.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I'm compiling a list of houserules from various sources for my "Weeknight Battletech" doc and I'm trying out this one for speeding up missile resolution:
DeleteCluster Dice
Instead of using the cluster table, roll d6 for each cluster fired.
On a 3+ that cluster hits.
If all miss then a lone 2 damage cluster hits.
So an LRM 15 has 3 clusters of five, rolling 3d6.
If they get 2, 5, 6, then two clusters hit, each rolling for location and causing 5 damage.
If they get 1, 1, 2 then they only hit with a 2 damage cluster.
SRMs work the same way but you're effectively rolling d6 for each 2 damage missile, with at least one guaranteed to hit.
The spread of damage is pretty close to what's on the original cluster table.