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TM CORE RULEBOOK PRIMER BATTLETECH CORE RULEBOOK PRIMER DF CD/PW A Stone’s Revenant’s Axman takes the war to the Word of Blake during the battle of Cairo on Terra. BattleTech is an epic, ongoing universe with a game simulating com- The Introductory, Standard, and Advanced BattleTech rules are dis- bat between various military vehicles in the thirty-first century. The cussed below. In addition, the covers for the various Technical Readouts kings of the battlefield are the 30-foot tall humanoid titans known as are shown, providing a quick look at how these sourcebooks match up BattleMechs. However, a myriad of other military units bring additional with the different levels of rules. Some Technical Readouts (such as Tech- fun to any game, from Combat Vehicles to Support Vehicles, infantry to nical Readout: 3075 and Technical Readout: 3085) include some advanced/ aerospace units and more. experimental rules, but even in those cases, the vast majority of the units The current award-winning BattleTech core rulebooks take a “kitchen detailed in those books are fully useable with the standard rules. sink” approach, meaning they provide a vast smorgasbord of rules and options from which each player group gets to decide what they’ll use each QUICK-START RULES time they play. However, even though each rulebook (and by extension, Players new to the BattleTech game system should first read the the rules it contains) has been made as easy as possible to plug into exist- Quick-Start Rules, available as a free PDF download. (also found in the ing games, the sheer depth and scope can be intimidating. Introductory Box Set — see below). The Quick-Start Rules lay out the The following Primer is designed to quickly and easily walk you through basic rules of the game and allow players to jump right into playing everything the BattleTech game system has to offer and how each core after only minutes of reading. Once players have tackled the Quick- rulebook can be of interest to your gaming group. (Much of this informa- Start Rules, they’ll be ready to move onto the introductory rules of the tion is found in various sources, but is compiled here for ease of reference.) Introductory Box Set. Note: This discussion specifically refers to the “BattleTech” Quick-Start Rules. As discussed in the following pages, there are quick-start rules for additional “scales” of play. quick-start, iNtrODUCTOrY, Want to get right into the action? You can check out and download the Quick-Start Rules for Battletech STANDarD & aDVaNcED ruLEs for free by clicking here. BattleTech divides its rules into quick-start, introductory, standard and INTRODuctORY RULES advanced levels, making it easy to transition from a “newbie” to the full The BattleTech Introductory Box experience of all the universe and game system have to offer. Set is the introductory rules for Bat- Technical Readouts: Technical Readouts are the “toy books” of tleTech. The introductory rules use BattleTech. They include full-page illustrations, game statistics and “in- technology available in the year universe” write ups for a host of the war machines that populate the 3025, including all ’Mechs and weap- universe, including the 8- to 14-meter-tall metal avatars of war, the Bat- ons described in Technical Readout: tleMech. A full line of Technical Readouts exist, covering a wide range 3039. While the current “in-universe” of military units, as well as time periods and technology. time frame is set around 3078-3085, 2 BATTLETECH CORE RULEBOOK PRIMER the rules in the Introductory Box Set apply to BattleTech before 3050, cOrE ruLEBOOks when a technological renaissance swept the universe; this keeps the The following provides a more in-depth description of what’s in the rules easy to digest and use. BattleTech core rulebook (and further clarifies where the rules divisions The Introductory Box Set is the noted above apply). best place to start when jumping Total Warfare, TechManual, Tactical Operations and Strategic Operations into the BattleTech universe and are current releases; A Time of War is at the printer and will be available game (the 25th Anniversary Box Set in December 2010. The final rulebook discussed in this primer, Interstellar is currently at the printer’s and will Operations, is still in development; its publication date has not been set. be available in Winter 2010). It contains everything players need to start a game, including rules, record sheets, game boards, dice and more! TOTAL WARFARE A free universe primer is available here. Total Warfare—the core game rules book—is the single-source rulebook StanDARD RULES for people who play BattleTech. It is The rules presented in Total not intended to teach new players Warfare—and its companion the game (though it can be used in construction rules volume, Tech- that capacity), but rather to serve as a Manual—are considered the reference work for people who know standard rules of BattleTech. They the game from the Introductory Box expand on the rules in the intro- Set, while introducing more technolo- ductory box set by adding various gies and expansive rules than appear advanced technologies and addi- in that box set. tional rules for infantry, vehicles For those who have played Bat- and so on, as described in the rest tleTech at some point, Total Warfare of the Technical Readout series has been carefully reworked from beyond 3039. They represent all previous BattleTech rules editions to tournament-appropriate rules; clarify confusing or contradictory the “big” BattleTech tournaments information, folding in many years of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), run directly by Catalyst Game playtesting and game play. In addition, for the first time in well over a Labs at the Origins International decade, all the various rules sets that directly affect BattleTech ground war- Games Expo®, any Gen Con Game fare—including aerospace rules covering units that can enter a planet’s Fair® and many other conventions, atmosphere—appear in a single volume, woven together to make sure as well as world-wide events run that all the rules function seamlessly with one another. by Catalyst Demo Team members Total Warfare also includes additional material to expand and enhance in various gaming stores, all use the rules presented in Total Warfare. game play. Along with the rules of BattleTech, this book contains an easy- ADVANCED RULES to-use scenario creation system, as well as a painting section that will have players quickly painting the plastic miniatures in the BattleTech Introduc- Beyond the standard rules is a tory Box Set, as well as priming them for the complete BattleTech line of legion of advanced rules found in metal miniatures from Iron Wind Metals. Tactical Operations, Strategic Op- For a preview of the Table of Contents, click here. erations and Interstellar Operations (see below) that allow players to TECHMANUAL expand their games in any direc- TechManual—the core construc- tion they desire. Some of the most tion rulebook—continues on the recently published Technical Read- path set down by Total Warfare. If outs include some “advanced/ you want to build or modify your experimental” equipment. In an own battlefield units, this is the effort to bring these rules to play- book. TechManual presents players ers in the most usable form, the with a single rules source devoted to advanced rules are contained in the creation of battlefield units that the three core rulebooks men- adhere to standard BattleTech rules: tioned above, each one building BattleMechs, IndustrialMechs, Pro- on the previous rules set (see Core toMechs, Combat Vehicles, Support Rulebooks, below). Additionally, Vehicles (non-military/para-military each core rulebook focuses on a units, from ground vehicles to air- particular “in-universe” time frame ships to fixed-wing craft and more), that allows players to easily grasp conventional infantry, battle armor, where a given rulebook can plug into their existing game. 3 BATTLETECH CORE RULEBOOK PRIMER DF DK/CSO Overwhelming firepower denies Coalition forces much of this Word of Blake militia Warhammer. conventional and aerospace fighters and DropShips. Combining the STRATEGIC OPERATIONS construction rules from more than ten years’ worth of BattleTech products, SitRep: TechManual revises and clarifies the construction of BattleTech units, and Forces in solar system. unifies many that have become isolated in various products over the years. Beginning burn to planet. TechManual also includes an extensive “Equipment” section, providing Conflict expected to last weeks a thorough, in-universe overview of the various weapons and equipment to achieve objectives. mounted on battlefield units, a section on costs and availability, and fi- Strategic Operations is the sec- nally a battle value section for balancing forces. ond advanced rulebook. It stages For a preview of the Table of Contents, click here. up to the next logical area of play, focusing on action in a solar sys- TACTICAL OPERATIONS tem and multi-game play; its rules SitRep: represent weeks in the BattleTech Forces on-world. universe, the time frame needed Conflict expected to last mere for several battles to conquer an hours to achieve objectives. entire solar system. Tactical Operations is the first Strategic Operations contains of the advanced rulebooks (see advanced movement and combat Advanced Rules, p. 3). Its focus is on operations that emphasize the im- a game as it unfolds, and its rules portance of aerospace units, such represent hours in the BattleTech as capital-scale WarShips, along universe: the time frame it takes with extensive rules covering com- for a single, moderate-sized battle bat drops of numerous troop types to play out on a gaming table. into any situation. Linked scenarios and comprehensive maintenance, Building on Total Warfare and salvage, repair and customization rules provide an easy format for play- TechManual, Tactical Operations ers to turn multiple games into an interconnected campaign to capture a contains numerous advanced target system, where the support crew of technicians and doctors can be rules for movement and combat just as important as any warrior.

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