Post ApNYqs6jTTHKBGpXf6 by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
(DIR) More posts by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
(DIR) Post #ApNUeJ0RksES1YduUK by iamgerardthomas@mastodon.social
2024-12-24T08:45:03Z
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I love the idea of #battletech but dislike its inbuilt crunchiness and endless rules creep. Even 'simplified' rules are becoming crunchy. As a #raidmetal adjacent project, I am going to try and adapt the design & play philosophy to BT and see what happens #raidtech#TTRPG #tabletopgames #tabletop #SciFi #ScienceFiction #GameDev
(DIR) Post #ApNUeK41p2gvIxKHi4 by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
2024-12-24T17:41:40Z
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@iamgerardthomas In fairness, it's not like there aren't already 10,000 tabletop adventure war games/wargames/RPGs, which are devoted to the mecha space and take on a different level or type of crunch than BattleTech over the years. For example, I converted the original BattleTech publication, BattleDroids, into Steel Rift terms not too long ago, extremely high speed low drag mechanics which turned out to make play surprisingly pleasant, though different in some interesting ways from the far crunchier mechanisms that exist in BattleTech.https://grimtokens.garden/Articles/Ontogeny+Recapitulates+Phylogeny/Battledroids+to+Steel+Rift/Ontogeny+Recapitulates+Phylogeny+-+Battledroids+to+Steel+Rift(cont)#TTRPG #wargames #BattleTech
(DIR) Post #ApNUlhBGH11D1jE0vo by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
2024-12-24T17:43:01Z
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@iamgerardthomas Of course, there are times that you want to maintain a certain level of crunch, especially when it comes to mecha design and making that pre-play experience where you're putting things together and assembling your forces almost a game unto itself. For some games, that's exactly what you want to have; what we sometimes refer to as "the lonely fun." For that, I am perfectly happy to break out Jovian Chronicles, which has what I still consider the best mecha construction system of any RPG I've had the pleasure of experiencing, and that list is long. Not as actively crunchy as BattleTech, of course, but it certainly has more flexibility, interestingly enough. It also straddles the line between tabletop wargame and RPG, giving you the ability to chase down those human stories between bouts in the cockpit. Absolutely worthwhile on every level.https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/19/Dream-Pod-9/category/124/Jovian-Chronicles(cont)#TTRPG #wargame #JovianChronicles
(DIR) Post #ApNVPjcibtk6Bd9zJg by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
2024-12-24T17:50:16Z
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@iamgerardthomas In full honesty with you, as much as I love all those games, the one that I really enjoy playing the most right now focuses more on modeling the player interaction with the fiction as just that: a fiction-forward narrative game rather than heavy crunch simulationism - for that, I go to Starforged (https://tomkinpress.com/pages/ironsworn-starforged), which remains very likely my top-rated RPG of the last several years. Then pick up an extremely low-cost supplement for it called Starsmith: Mecha Mercs (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/421157/starsmith-mecha-mercs), which does the nearly impossible of merging an extremely high-speed, low-drag, narrative fiction-first RPG system with just enough crunch with building your machines to make it feel worthwhile and to allow you to differentiate them from one another. It's really shocking how well it works.If you're picking up Starforged supplements, pick up Sundered Isles (https://tomkinpress.com/collections/all-products/products/sundered-isles-guidebooks) just for the longform discussion of fleets of ships and you might have the makings of the next Gundam epic on your hands without huge piles of complex mechanics or overly detailed rules and without dropping more than $50.But that's just the stuff I've been doing in the field.#TTRPG #wargames #mecha #Starforged
(DIR) Post #ApNXyqs3r8cqhxD2Ku by Slyphic@mastodon.wssmagazine.com
2024-12-24T18:18:59Z
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@lextenebris Is there an RSS feed somewhere for that site? I'd love to see new articles if possible.Steel Rift looks to be one of our games for the next quarter, and I've been trying to convert my Heavy Gear models into the system while staying WYSIWYG and reasonably close to their original roles. I'm a little worried I'm going to wind up undergunned and overarmored. There is also a fierce debate going on about terrain density, but when isn't there?
(DIR) Post #ApNYqs6jTTHKBGpXf6 by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
2024-12-24T18:28:47Z
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@Slyphic While there is an RSS XML file for grimtokens.garden, I will fully admit that it's not the most full-featured or useful RSS feed ever created. I usually try to post any updates that I make to the garden on Mastodon and my other social media. If you're following me somewhere, odds are you're seeing any time something is added as I go. Heavy gear models should convert over pretty nicely, but definitely scale things as appropriate relative to gears rather than in an absolute sense in terms of expected loadouts. Don't forget that you will be adding on mods to individual gears, and that takes up tonnage. That won't be going into weapons or armor. It's easy to forget that quite a lot of the team system hinges on various mods being in place, though sometimes it gives rebates. Use that to your advantage. #TTRPG #SteelRift #HeavyGear
(DIR) Post #ApNcYUpzeWGUc9Uhf6 by Slyphic@mastodon.wssmagazine.com
2024-12-24T19:10:15Z
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@lextenebris I see what you mean about the feed. I'll take a gamble and see how my reader handles it, but also am following you here.My scratch pad notes for a simple trial game at 150T look about as follows:Jagers (30T) - Reinforced ARM + STR, Autocannon, Rocket Pack, Melee, Ablative Armor, Heavy Reactor, TDIguana (20T) - Shot Cannon, Optical Camo, ECM, TD2x Iguana for Recon, 3x Jager for Fire Support, and some OTS artillery with Authority faction for lots of extra ammo.#SteelRift
(DIR) Post #ApNd6k3Bb9GddqziTI by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
2024-12-24T19:16:27Z
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@Slyphic You went with a heavy reactor for the Jaeger? That's an interesting choice. I might actually strip the TD from it as well, just because I don't normally have my Jaegers doing fire support calls. However, I'm absolutely in for the sneaky Iguana whenever possible. Also, don't feel like you need to spend every point of tonnage for absolute perfect efficiency. Leave yourself some room for adjustment later on as you play, so you can create yourself special variants and gear customized for special pilots, which is part of the fun.Though I will say that extra ammo, artillery, and every unit on the field having a target designator is a recipe for a lot of hilarious fun, truly reach out and touch someone.
(DIR) Post #ApNhz4EHBnUlgCLF4q by Slyphic@mastodon.wssmagazine.com
2024-12-24T20:11:04Z
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@lextenebris I'm probably misunderstanding Redlining. The TD are very purposefully on the Jagers though. OTS requires TD to fire, and having only two in flimsy lights means a bad roll or two shuts them down entirely. Having TD on everything means there's no single targets to knock out, it takes a crosshair off the Iguana.
(DIR) Post #ApOIg4jQnFrG2XimHo by lextenebris@social.vivaldi.net
2024-12-25T03:02:15Z
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@Slyphic With both optical camo and ECM on the Iguanas, they are going to have a crosshair on them no matter what. The shot cannons mean that they are only going to be of particular use at close range unless there is OTS artillery available. Once that's burned through, they're going to be charging into close range and heavier equipment is literally going to smack them in the head.I would probably change those shot cannons out for something with a little more long-range punch, even if it doesn't pack as big a wallop, because they are going to have superior mobility to anything other than another light. But that's just me. The inherent fragility of the light internal structure means that I don't want them anywhere near melee combat if I can at all help it.