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Revision as of 06:02, 9 July 2017

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BattleMech Manual - Cover.jpg
BattleMech Manual (Open Beta)
Product information
Type Rules Book
Development Keith Hann
Randall N. Bills
Ray Arrastia
Mary Kaempen
Primary writing Keith Hann
Randall N. Bills
Chris Hart
Pages 150
Cover Artwork Marco Mazzoni
Illustrations Jeff Porter
Marco Mazzoni
Ray Arrastia
Doug Chaffee
Matt Cross
Ken Fairclough
Mark Hayden
Alex Iglesias
Alex Immerzeel
Michael Kormarck
Florian Mellies
Neil Roberts
Anthony Scroggins
Florian Stitz
Franz Vohwinkel
Publication information
Publisher Catalyst Game Labs
Product code E-CAT35010
First published January 19th, 2017 [Beta]
Content
Content Game Rules
Series Core Rule Books
Preceded by Campaign Operations

Description

BattleMech Manual is a rulebook which covers only the rules for using BattleMechs.

The BattleMech Manual is intended as a self-contained rulebook for players who wish to focus on BattleMech combat, with an emphasis on tabletop gameplay (as opposed to being a reference manual like previous core rulebooks). While it thus leaves out large numbers of other unit types, and was deliberately written to be as concise as possible and to eliminate previous vagaries in the rules, it is not intended to be a purely introductory product. It contains many pieces of equipment taken from Tactical Operations, as well as a few of the optional rules found in that book and Strategic Operations. No construction rules are included. In terms of product progression, it is meant to slot in between the beginner's 25th Anniversary Introductory Box Set and the full tournament ruleset of Total Warfare.

New rules appearing in the book are limited to simplified rulesets for fire, smoke, artillery, mines, and airstrikes. Additionally, the BattleMech Manual features a Design Quirks section that brings together all Mech-based quirks published to date, updates them, adds nine new ones, and then applies the result to an included list of all 'Mech units in the game released prior to Technical Readout: Prototypes (when quirks first began being added to each Technical Readout). As such, the BattleMech Manual provides an official quirk listing for all 'Mechs that were published prior to TRO: Prototypes (though it only covers the base quirks present on every example of machine; those that might apply only to select variants were left out).

While the rules were rewritten and the layout changed, the base ruleset included in the BattleMech Manual matches the fourth printing of Total Warfare (plus all errata through to the 2017 errata release). The rules were not altered beyond the (optional) simplifications mentioned above.

From the back cover

“
  • Standing from seven to sixteen meters tall, and weighing from twenty to one hundred tons
  • Powered by an armored and shielded fusion reactor
  • Skeleton of honeycombed, foamed aluminum core wrapped with stressed silicon carbide monofilament and sheathed by a rigid, titanium-steel shell
  • Locomotion generated via bundles of polyacetylene-fiber myomer muscles
  • Protected by aligned-crystal steel over a layer of boron nitride impregnated with diamond monofilaments
  • Mounting a swath of powerful weapons from charged particle beams to lasers, missiles to rapid-fire autocannons
  • All at the command of the noble elite, the MechWarriors

The modern BattleMech is the end result of more than three thousand years of battlefield technology development. Combining awesome destructive power and unparalleled maneuverability, the BattleMech is perhaps the most complex machine ever produced. The undisputed master of thirty-first century warfare, the BattleMech seems destined to reign supreme for centuries to come.

—Excerpts from a promotional pamphlet originally distributed by Defiance Industries of Hesperus, Lyran Commonwealth, 3007

Using the most up-to-date rules text, the BattleMech Manual has been designed from the ground up to cater to the BattleTech player wanting to engage in an all-’Mech battle. Includes a variety of optional rules, terrain and more.

Welcome to the most table-usage-friendly BattleTech rulebook ever published!

”

Contents

  • INTRODUCTION
      • Vs Total Warfare
      • Optional Rules
    • Game Terms
      • 'Mechs
      • Four-Legged 'Mechs
      • Target
      • Target Number
      • Modified Target Number
      • Attacker Movement Modifier
      • Target Movement Modifier
      • Margin of Success/Failure (MoS/MoF)
      • Armor Value
      • Damage Value
      • Location
      • Slot
      • Level
      • Mapsheet
      • Playing Area
      • Scenario
    • Components
      • Counters
      • Dice
      • Mapsheets
      • 'Mech Record Sheet
    • Scale
      • A Note on Realism and Scale
      • Level
    • The MechWarrior
      • Skill
      • Damaging A Warrior
  • PLAYING THE GAME
    • Deploying 'Mechs
    • Sequence of Play
      • Initiative Phase
      • Movement Phase
      • Weapons Attack Phase
      • Alternate Initiative
      • Moving Multiple ’Mechs
      • Segmented Fire
      • Physical Attack Phase
      • Heat Phase
      • End Phase
    • Victory Conditions
    • Unequal Number Of 'Mechs
  • MOVEMENT
    • Movement of Modes
      • Standing Still
      • Walking
      • Running
      • Pilot Skill Rolls
      • Movement Dice
      • Jumping
      • Sprinting (Optional)
    • Movement Basics
      • Facing
      • Movement Directions
      • Moving Between Hexes
      • Level Changes
      • Stacked Terrain
      • Minimum Movement
      • Immobile
    • Prone BattleMechs
      • Dropping to the Ground
      • Moving While Prone
      • Standing Up
    • Reckless Movement
    • Movement in Water
    • Movement on Pavement
      • Road Movement
      • Bridge Movement
      • Skidding
    • Stacking
    • Other Actions
      • Hidden 'Mechs
      • Lifting Items (Simplified)
      • TAG Designation
  • COMBAT
    • Line of Sight
      • Levels and Height
      • Intervening Terrain
      • Intervening 'Mechs
      • Water Hexes
    • Firing Arcs
      • Forward Arcs
      • Left Side Arc
      • Right Side Arc
      • Rear Arc
      • Arcs and Torso Twists
      • Arcs and Reversing (Flipping) Arms
    • Attack Declaration
      • Reversing (Flipping) Arms
      • Expended Arm Flipping (Optional)
      • Torso Twists
    • Firing Weapons
      • Making the Attack
      • G.A.T.O.R.
      • Base Attack Number
      • Target Number Modifier
      • Combat in Water
      • Prone 'Mechs
      • Specialized Attacks
      • Rolling to Hit
      • Ammunition Expenditure
    • Hit Location
      • Attack Direction
      • Determining Hit Location
      • Damage Resolution
    • Physical Attacks
      • Making A Physical Attack
      • Different Levels
      • Physical Attacks and Prone 'Mechs
      • Physical Attacks and Water
      • Charge Attacks
      • Club Attacks
      • Death From Above Attacks
      • Kick Attacks
      • Physical Weapon Attacks
      • Punching Attacks
      • Push Attacks
      • Damage Resolution
  • DAMAGE
    • Damage Resolution
      • Step-By-Step Damage
    • Damage Timing
    • Hull Integrity And Breaches
    • Location Destruction
      • Transferring Damage
      • Head Destruction
      • Leg Destruction
      • Torso Destruction
    • Critical Hits
      • Floating Criticals (Optional)
      • Applying Critical Hits
    • Critical Hits
      • Ammunition
      • Arm Blown Off (Arm)
      • Cockpit (Head)
      • Engine (Torso)
      • Foot Actuator (Leg)
      • Gyro (Torso)
      • Head Blown Off (Head)
      • Heat Sinks
      • Hip (Leg)
      • Jump Jet/UMU
      • Leg Blown Off (Leg)
      • Life Support (Head)
      • Lower Arm Actuator (Arm)
      • Lower Leg Actuator (Leg)
      • Sensor (Head)
      • Shoulder (Arm)
      • Upper Arm Actuator (Arm)
      • Lower Leg Actuator (Arm)
      • Weapons and Equipment
    • Destroying A 'Mech
  • HEAT
    • Heat Points
      • Building Up Heat
      • Dissipating Heat
      • Recording Heat Building-Up
    • Effects Of Heat
      • Movement
      • Weapons Attack
      • Shutdown
      • Ammunition
      • Damaging To MechWarriors
  • OTHER ACTIONS
    • Piloting Skill Rolls (PSR)
      • Making Piloting Skill Rolls
      • Piloting Skill Roll Timing
    • Displacement
      • Domino Effect
    • Falling
      • Determining Location After a Fall
      • Facing After a Fall
      • Facing Damage to a 'Mech
      • Facing Damage to a MechWarrior
      • Accidental Falls From Above
    • Damaging a MechWarrior
    • Dumping Ammunition
    • Tag Designation
  • THE BATTLEFIELD
    • Planetary Conditions
    • Terrain Types
      • Clear
      • Jungle, Light
      • Jungle, Heavy
      • Pavement
      • Rough
      • Rubble
      • Sand
      • Water (Depth 0)
      • Water (Depth 1)
      • Water (Depth 2)
      • Water (Depth 3+)
      • Woods, Light
      • Woods, Heavy
    • Terrain Modifications
      • Ice (Simplified)
      • Mud (Simplified)
      • Smoke, Light
      • Smoke, Heavy
      • Snow, Deep
      • Swamp (Simplified)
    • Weather Conditions
      • Extreme Temperatures
      • Fog
      • Light
      • Rain
      • Snow
      • Wind
    • Fire and Smoke (Simplified)
      • Wind Direction
      • Starting a Fire
      • Effects of Fire
      • Spreading Fire
      • Extinguishing Fire
    • Underwater Combat
      • Attacking Underwater
      • Hull Integrity and Breaches
  • URBAN COMBAT
    • Building Types
      • Construction Factors
      • Building Levels
      • Basements
      • Simplified Buildings
    • Movement Effects
      • Moving into Buildings
      • Changing Levels in Building
      • Skidding
    • Combat Effects
      • Attacking Building
      • Attacking 'Mechs Inside Buildings
      • Combat Within Buildings
      • Collapse
  • SPECIAL CASE RULES
    • Battlefield Support
      • Before Play Begins
    • Dropping 'Mechs (Simplified)
      • Drop Times
      • Arrival
    • Ejection (Simplified)
    • Forced Withdrawal
      • Crippling Damage
      • Broken Moral (Simplified - Optional)
    • Hidden 'Mechs
      • Point-Blank Shots
    • Design Quirks
      • Positive Design Quirks
      • Negative Design Quirks
      • BattleMech Quirk Listing
      • Master Unit List
  • WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT
  • WEAPONS & EQUIPMENT TABLES
    • Weapons Types
  • COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
    • Playing the Game
    • Movement
    • Combat
    • Damage
    • Heat
    • Other Actions
    • Special-Case Rules
    • Weapons and Equipment
  • RECORD SHEET AND TABLES

Notes

  • An article explaining the design goals of the BattleMech Manual was posted in January 2017.
  • The BattleMech Manual was pre-released as a Beta version in January 2017. This 'Open Beta' version cost $10, but for the the first month was coupled with an electronic survey that gave a $5 coupon for use at the Catalyst Game Labs webstore. The Beta did not provide access to the final release for free, unlike previous Catalyst Beta offerings. The Beta closed in July 2017.
    A follow-up article detailing some of the results of feedback collected in the Beta was posted to the CGL official Tumblr.

References

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