Here’s some original Mechwarrior fanfic by Kevin Killiany hosted over on the Wizkids website. The short story is set in the Republic of the Sphere, primarily on Terra. The opening action takes place in 3135 in Germany and Geneva, and the writing seems pretty solid. I haven’t had a chance to read that much of it yet, but it seems like an enjoyable bit of fanfiction. I’m not a big fan of the Republic, but anything that gives me my Mechwarrior fix can’t be all bad, right?
Here’s a good resource for Mechwarrior: Dark Age roleplayers – a free online campaign set in the Dark Age. They’ve combined the rules for Mechwarrior RPG 2nd edition with the tabletop rules of Mechwarrior: Dark Age. . .
Here’s a quick introduction from the campaign designer:
”Our campaign begins on the planet Ingress. Ingress has a rich history which is fleshed out nicely on the Comstar Site here, and is also briefly featured in the Chaos March sourcebook which I conveniently own. . . I have already run two long term campaigns using Mechwarrior 2nd edition and the classic Battletech rules, one set on Solaris VII and one set on Outreach, so I had no worries about how the game mechanics would play out. Rather, I was concerned about running a game set in the new timeline and using the new Dark Age rules from Wizkids. . . I do not own the 3rd edition of Mechwarrior but from what I know of it the rules would have been much more difficult to incorporate into the Wizkids tabletop game, so I stuck to the 2nd edition rules which I know quite well and have served me faithfully for years.”
From what I’ve seen, it looks like a well thought-out and detailed campaign setting for Mechwarrior roleplaying. And I love how it incorporates Mechwarrior table top miniatures into the action. Check it out!
]]>The Clan Nova Cat spirit quest event for this year was hosted at the Origins 2007 convention in Columbus, OH. Players actually helped determine the outcome of in-story events by their play during the convention. Michael Miller helped referee the event for Wizkids, and has posted a recap of all the Mechwarrior action over at the Wizkids site. Here are a few excerpts:
The final war in the Nova Cats vision quest was actually more about House Kurita trying to call for help from another Clan. House Kurita had contacted the Rasalhague Dominion for help in pushing back the Nova Cats, but Clan Jade Falcon decided to scratch its claws on the Rasalhague world of Alrakis. DragonDawg tried his hardest to fight for the Dominion, and ended up winning the day, but his Bears just couldn’t push back the Falcons enough to help Kurita in its time of need. DragonDawg brought along a motley crew of units that worked very well together: Phelan in his “Vengeance” and Mila Mazur and Scott Graves running around in Bannson’s Raiders Solitaires. He also brought some Combat Techs, Thunderbird Battle Armor, Thunder Launchers, a Bishop, a certain mercenary Kelswa we all know and love, and a few other units such as a Bannson’s Sprint. All of his wins helped out the Bears, but in the end Clan Jade Falcon defeated the Ghost Bears 11 wins to 10.So, after following their vision quest, the Nova Cats have sent a clear message to House Kurita: The Dragon throne has been corrupted, and only they can help the true heir ascend and take her rightful place. Emi Kurita will return with the Nova Cats, and the false Dragon will fall. Only with the Nova Cats at their side can the Dragon be whole and pure once more!
For more information, contact http://www.MechCorps.com/Invy2007
What is Battletech: Firestorm? Here’s a quick overview from the website:
“
VGCORPS presents the ultimate giant robot simulation experience!For the first time at A-Kon, you can be the pilot of a multi-ton armored behemoth. Come play Battletech Firestorm™ in our completely immersive Virtual World Battlemech™ combat simulator pods. Engage your friends and computer opponents for explosive head to head combat in the most realistic Battletech cockpit simulators ever produced. Prospective mechjocks should report to the PODBAY on the third level (convention side) in the San Antonio B ballroom. Missions run 24 hours a day. While you are there, check out our exclusive line of Battletech™ merchandise. Uniformed VGCORPS personnel will be roving throughout the convention to answer questions and pose for pictures. For more information, vist us online at www.vgcorps.com.” . . . When seated in the Tesla IITM System cockpit for your BattleTech: Firestorm game, you will be amazed. The BattleTech game is like nothing you have experienced before. The main screen is a window, your view from your giant 'Mech. Five surrounding monitors display your 'Mech's systems. A secondary radar screen helps you hunt down your opponents. The throttle, foot pedals and military-style joystick help you pilot this massive fighting machine. At your fingertips are enough weapons to destroy anything in your path. Or so you think.
The depth of the BattleTech game is unparalleled in location based entertainment. As your skills progress in the game, you discover more advanced systems and controls. You are responsible for the 'Mech's wear and tear. You control how much use you get out of the 'Mech. There are over thirty different 'Mechs to choose from. Each has a variation on size, speed, weapons and controls. Choose from more than twenty different battlefields, including cities, swamplands, canyons, and more.”
I did some checking at Dropship Command and found a thread on Mechwarrior 5. There's certainly a lot of interest out there for a new Mechwarrior game, perhaps even an MMO game. However, the word is that no Mechwarrior video game projects are currently under development. Sorry. . .
]]>Here's the blurb from Geekend:
The LandWalker, a real-world functional battlemech. It's 11 feet tall, weighs over a ton, and is armed with sidemounted airguns capable of spraying your enemies with sponge bullets, who will flee in terror at your Gundam-esque fury. . . You can't put a price on that kind of fun. Oh, wait, yes you can, as inventor Masaaki Nagumo is selling the Land Walker for a paltry 36 million yen (around $300,000).]]>
It turns out, it was a quality-control issue:
Over the past few months there has been plenty of speculation, email, and pleas for information regarding the future of the PC MechWarrior franchise, namely MechWarrior 5. Although an exceptional effort was made by an extremely creative and talented development team, we have decided not to continue the development of the project at this time. There were several factors in this decision, but most prevalent was our concern that we were not advancing the genre enough to meet and exceed our customer's expectations. Please know that this was a very difficult decision, but one we felt was in the best interests of our customers.]]>
"The very framework of organized play is currently Competitive in nature. There is a prize for First and Second. Before it wasn't so dramatic as there was a participation prize (which is apparently being reintroduced, ala IT) And as with most games there is a winner and a loser. They're called VICTORY conditions, not, casual conditions, or social conditions. It doesn't mean that good sportsmanship shouldn't be applied, but it does mean that at the end of every game there needs to be someone who "lost."
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Trevor the Great has a solid Mechwarrior strategy article up over at Wizkids focusing on the implications of the new Solaris VII rules. I’m not crazy about Solaris VII, personally, thinking that this could easily turn dull. So long as the Solaris stuff doesn’t eclipse standard Mechwarrior combat, however, I’ll keep an open mind about it.
For those of us still digesting the ways in which Solaris differs from standard Mechwarrior, Trevor does a good job laying it out:
” The Solaris arenas lend themselves well to a certain type of ’Mech. Though the combined-arms Age of Destruction game tends to favor ’Mechs with high defenses that can slug it out with vehicles and infantry, the Solaris VII game demands a ’Mech that is more mobile, with enough range to make its opponent pay when it wins initiative. In fact, this writer is of the mind that the single most important special equipment on Solaris is Jump Jets. This allows your ’Mech to take full advantage of abrupt elevated terrain on the board”
In his opinion, Clan Wolf’s Warwolf is a good choice for fighting Solaris VII style. With the proper Mechwarrior piloting it, the Warwolf is a very potent ‘mech in one-on-one combat. And given the way in which high mobility is rewarded in Solaris VII, the 9 standard speed of this mech is pretty sweet. As he puts it:
” By virtue of Fell’s Jump Jets and range, you’ve gained a substantial advantage over most heavy ’Mechs, and you should be able to gain that advantage on any map with abrupt elevated terrain. If the map you’re fighting on has no abrupt elevated terrain, you can still use Jump Jets to outmaneuver your opponent and stack defensive modifiers through hindering terrain.”]]>
The Clan formerly known as Clan Diamond Shark, Sea Fox are kind of the Ferengi of the Mechwarrior ‘verse. They travel around, gypsy-style, and are all about trade and the art of deal-making, more merchants than Mechwarriors, in a very un-clanlike way.
Wizkids has made very few mech miniatures for Clan Sea Fox so far, but they still manage to win matches at tournaments. I imagine that has a lot more to do with the mercenary and unaffiliated mechs that get recruited for them than it does the actual Sea Fox mechs Wizkids has made. . . Either way, here’s a bit of history on Clan Sea Fox from the Wizkids website:
” The Sea Fox Clan has come a long way since its foundations, nearly four centuries ago. United under the principles of the Kerenskys, yet divided into roaming sub-Clans and a handful of clearinghouse enclaves, they swim the deep black seas of space, rarely knowing the luxury of unrefined air or the warmth of natural sunlight for more than a week or two. . . This has kept the Clan small, yet pure, and free to move about at will. Indeed, millions of Foxes know only the artificial confines of DropShip and JumpShip bulkheads as their true sanctuary. And yet they remain united by common bonds, and the common, never-ending goal to survive, to expand, to evolve, and to always come away with the upper hand in any deal.Another sure sign of their success are their CargoShips and ArcShips. Not only do they move freely across every House and Clan OZ, but the time and financial stability needed to create these vessels is a testament to the Foxes prosperity. Following the word of Blake Jihad and the destruction of so many WarShips, the Foxes took note of the writing on the wall and began a massive revamping program that continues to this day. Taking their own WarShips—and salvaging discarded hulks where they can—the Foxes stripped away weapon systems, and armor, expanded the internal bays and quarters to accommodate freight and passengers, for long-term voyages. These dedicated CargoShips became roving, long-term habitats and mobile supply stations that formed the backbone of the new Khanates, while the more heavily-modified, ultra-massive ArcShips became societal points of congress and core governmental structures for the entire Clan.”