Contracts have been generated for the Iron Templars. Two Objective Raids for Comstar, and an Extraction Raid for the Draconis Combine.
Here are the offers, and their starting terms. Details have not been hammered out yet, but I have some ideas.
Comstar Objective Raid Starting Terms
Length of Contract 1 month
Command-House
Overhead- Full
Salvage-40%
Support Type- 40% Straight
Transport-Full
Comstar Objective Raid Starting Terms
Length of Contract 1 month
Command- House
Overhead-Half
Salvage-50%
Support Type Battle Loss 50%
Transport-Full
Draconis Combine Extraction Raid Starting Terms
Length of Contract 1 Month
Command- House
Overhead- None
Salvage- 20%
Support Type- 50% Battle Loss
Transport- 55%
I would really like to get this going. If anyone is interested, or needs help making characters, shoot me an e-mail. Really need some officers yet to make a staff steam.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Iron Templars: Combat Assets
Mechs
Archer ARC-2S [70] (CO)
OSR-3C Ostroc [60]
VLK-QF Valkyrie [35]
STG-3R Stinger [20]
OSR-3C Ostroc [60]
TBT-5N Trebuchet [50]
FS9-H Firestarter [35]
WSP-1A Wasp [20]
FS9-K Firestarter [35]
STG-3R Stinger [20]
PXH-1 Phoenix Hawk [45]
DV-6M Dervish [55]
STG-3R Stinger [20]
OTL-4D Ostsol [60]
CN9-A Centurion [50]
PXH-1 Phoenix Hawk [45]
Aerospace Fighters
CSR-V12 Corsair [50]
TR-7 Thrush [25]
CNT-1D Centurion [30]
CSR-V12M Corsair [50]
Vehicles
Prowler (SW) [55]
Vedette [50]
Packrat [20]
Vedette [50]
Behemoth [100]
Pegasus [35]
Archer ARC-2S [70] (CO)
OSR-3C Ostroc [60]
VLK-QF Valkyrie [35]
STG-3R Stinger [20]
OSR-3C Ostroc [60]
TBT-5N Trebuchet [50]
FS9-H Firestarter [35]
WSP-1A Wasp [20]
FS9-K Firestarter [35]
STG-3R Stinger [20]
PXH-1 Phoenix Hawk [45]
DV-6M Dervish [55]
STG-3R Stinger [20]
OTL-4D Ostsol [60]
CN9-A Centurion [50]
PXH-1 Phoenix Hawk [45]
Aerospace Fighters
CSR-V12 Corsair [50]
TR-7 Thrush [25]
CNT-1D Centurion [30]
CSR-V12M Corsair [50]
Vehicles
Prowler (SW) [55]
Vedette [50]
Packrat [20]
Vedette [50]
Behemoth [100]
Pegasus [35]
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Warriors Wanted: Iron Templars
I am opening up recruitment for the Iron Templars. There are plenty of space available, and characters from any background, with some obvious exceptions, are welcome. Here are the rules for making characters.
1. Using A Time of War Ruleset.
2. 5500xp. Max age 0f 30, max amount of additional Negative Traits 500xp.
3. Ask about Officer Rank maximums. There are only so many Officer slots available.
4. Inner Sphere, Periphery, and Independent Affiliations only. No Clans, Belters, Jarnfolk. Any questions ask.
5. Unless the character owns their Mech, Aerospace Fighter, Vehicle, etc., the character will be assigned to one of the company vehicles.
6. Starting year is 3034, base backgrounds, Affiliations, vehicles, etc., accordingly.
7. Any rolls are to be made on the Intelser site, located here.
8. Players do not need to worry about buying run of the mill clothing. In other words, I am not going to stress everyone buying every pair of shoes, jeans, and t-shirts. If the character was former military, he will have a couple jumpsuits, BDUs, a dress uniform, and a couple pairs of standard combat boots. Now if the character chooses to wear the newest fashions of the finest materials, yes, that does need to be tracked. But assume that characters have a half-dozen changes of clothes.
9. Standard combat gear, such as the Mechwarriors package of Neuro-Helmet, Plasteel Boots, Cooling Vest, and shorts is provided by the unit if the character pilots a company vehicle, or comes with the mech if it is a personal ride.
1. Using A Time of War Ruleset.
2. 5500xp. Max age 0f 30, max amount of additional Negative Traits 500xp.
3. Ask about Officer Rank maximums. There are only so many Officer slots available.
4. Inner Sphere, Periphery, and Independent Affiliations only. No Clans, Belters, Jarnfolk. Any questions ask.
5. Unless the character owns their Mech, Aerospace Fighter, Vehicle, etc., the character will be assigned to one of the company vehicles.
6. Starting year is 3034, base backgrounds, Affiliations, vehicles, etc., accordingly.
7. Any rolls are to be made on the Intelser site, located here.
8. Players do not need to worry about buying run of the mill clothing. In other words, I am not going to stress everyone buying every pair of shoes, jeans, and t-shirts. If the character was former military, he will have a couple jumpsuits, BDUs, a dress uniform, and a couple pairs of standard combat boots. Now if the character chooses to wear the newest fashions of the finest materials, yes, that does need to be tracked. But assume that characters have a half-dozen changes of clothes.
9. Standard combat gear, such as the Mechwarriors package of Neuro-Helmet, Plasteel Boots, Cooling Vest, and shorts is provided by the unit if the character pilots a company vehicle, or comes with the mech if it is a personal ride.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Iron Templars: Force Identification
It is now time to actually start identifying what the Iron Templars actually are. What kind of Mechs does the unit have? How skilled are its vehicle crews? How much support do we need, and much is generated? These are the questions to be answered.
First thing we need to do is see if we want to shift some assets around. Looking at our numbers, we see that we have 16 Mechwarriors, not including the commander. This is problematic as it makes attempting to obtain Dropships more difficult, in the sense of the bigger the Dropship, the more difficult it is to acquire. We can trade 1 Same for 2 Complementary or 1 distant, for combat personnel, for Support, it is one for one regardless.
Personnel
Same-16
Complementary-14
Distant-6
Support-20
Medical-8
Administration-4
Points
Experience-19
Tech-6
Mass-10
Cash-10
After making all rolls, Stefan has spent 12 of his 19 Exp Pool points, all of his Tech, 8/10 Mass, and still has 10 Cash. Any unspent pool points are added to the Cash pool, bringing the Cash up to 19. Sounds like a lot, but there are still two more important things to spend Cash on. First is Dropships, and the second is more personnel. What the Templars found during the Identification process is that they have lots of trained Technicians and Mechanics, however, they lose efficiency when without assistance of apprentices. The Templars find themselves with only one Astech in the entire command. The command needs more Astechs/Medics as well as Green Technicians and Mechanics.
Before that, we need to see about acquiring transports. Stefan is looking at attaining a Triumph. It is capable of moving the commands entire vehicle and personnel needs. Plus, the Triumph has a fair amount of cargo space. So that is one. Now we need to decide on what will transport the units mechs and fighters. Stefan decides on trying to gain two Unions. Each union carries 12 Mechs and two fighters, enough to carry all assets as well as room to grow.
In order to gain the Dropships, it requires 4 Cash, and a successful roll. A Triumph has an Era modified roll of 12. However, Stefan modifies the roll by a total of four, meaning an 8 is successful. However, a roll of 8 or 9 means the vessel is an auxiliary unit. 10 or higher means the vessel is fully owned by the command. Each Union needs a 7/9 to attain the same status. After making the rolls, we find that Stefan was successful in acquiring both Unions, although only one is owned by the command. The Triumph however remained out-of-reach. Stefan will burn some cash and go for the re-roll. It took two more tries, but Stefan was finally able to secure the Triumph. In total, acquiring the Dropships cost the Templars 14 Cash, leaving 5.
Of these last 5 points, Stefan spends 3 to acquire 6 new support personnel. Now we need to see what their quality is. Wow.. Only one Green/Astech out of six. Sheesh.. This is kinda bad. We cannot alter the rolls any, so we are stuck with them.
The last thing we will do is to determine the command's starting War Chest. The Templars have two full combat companies, and are a Regular quality Unit, with a remaining cash pool of 2, leaving a total of 120,000 C-Bills.
First thing we need to do is see if we want to shift some assets around. Looking at our numbers, we see that we have 16 Mechwarriors, not including the commander. This is problematic as it makes attempting to obtain Dropships more difficult, in the sense of the bigger the Dropship, the more difficult it is to acquire. We can trade 1 Same for 2 Complementary or 1 distant, for combat personnel, for Support, it is one for one regardless.
Personnel
Same-16
Complementary-14
Distant-6
Support-20
Medical-8
Administration-4
Points
Experience-19
Tech-6
Mass-10
Cash-10
After making all rolls, Stefan has spent 12 of his 19 Exp Pool points, all of his Tech, 8/10 Mass, and still has 10 Cash. Any unspent pool points are added to the Cash pool, bringing the Cash up to 19. Sounds like a lot, but there are still two more important things to spend Cash on. First is Dropships, and the second is more personnel. What the Templars found during the Identification process is that they have lots of trained Technicians and Mechanics, however, they lose efficiency when without assistance of apprentices. The Templars find themselves with only one Astech in the entire command. The command needs more Astechs/Medics as well as Green Technicians and Mechanics.
Before that, we need to see about acquiring transports. Stefan is looking at attaining a Triumph. It is capable of moving the commands entire vehicle and personnel needs. Plus, the Triumph has a fair amount of cargo space. So that is one. Now we need to decide on what will transport the units mechs and fighters. Stefan decides on trying to gain two Unions. Each union carries 12 Mechs and two fighters, enough to carry all assets as well as room to grow.
In order to gain the Dropships, it requires 4 Cash, and a successful roll. A Triumph has an Era modified roll of 12. However, Stefan modifies the roll by a total of four, meaning an 8 is successful. However, a roll of 8 or 9 means the vessel is an auxiliary unit. 10 or higher means the vessel is fully owned by the command. Each Union needs a 7/9 to attain the same status. After making the rolls, we find that Stefan was successful in acquiring both Unions, although only one is owned by the command. The Triumph however remained out-of-reach. Stefan will burn some cash and go for the re-roll. It took two more tries, but Stefan was finally able to secure the Triumph. In total, acquiring the Dropships cost the Templars 14 Cash, leaving 5.
Of these last 5 points, Stefan spends 3 to acquire 6 new support personnel. Now we need to see what their quality is. Wow.. Only one Green/Astech out of six. Sheesh.. This is kinda bad. We cannot alter the rolls any, so we are stuck with them.
The last thing we will do is to determine the command's starting War Chest. The Templars have two full combat companies, and are a Regular quality Unit, with a remaining cash pool of 2, leaving a total of 120,000 C-Bills.
Mercenary Creation: Iron Templars
Now that our Company Commander is complete, we can start building his command. I have jumped ahead a bit and named the unit the Iron Templars. Why, because I like it and think it is cool, that's why.
Anyway, we first start with the CO's origins, education, and Attributes/Traits/Skills. Stefan von Braun is from the Inner Sphere, graduated from the Academy and OCS, and had served three tours. Those Atts/Traits/Skills that affect the pool are Connections, Enemy, Reputation, Wealth, Administration, Leadership, and Negotiation.
The Iron Templars is a Mech company with armor, infantry, and aerospace as supplemental forces. So any results of Same are Mechwarriors, Complementary= Armor, Aero, and Distant= Infantry.
Personnel
Same-5
Complementary-1
Distant-0
Support-6
Medical-0
Administration-1
Points
Experience-4
Tech-5
Mass-3
Cash-4
The next choice we need to make is to choose the Hiring Hall. In Mercenary's Supplemental II, Eras were introduced. By the decisions already made, the unit was created in 3031, which is in the Early Post-Succession War Era. The Iron Templars were formed on Galatea in the Lyran Commonwealth. Prior to the Wolf's Dragoons opening Outreach, and its subsequent ascension to being the center of the mercenary trade, Galatea was the "Mercenary's Star." When you look at the previous Eras then look at PWE, Galatea falls off dramatically from 3030 to 3031, really before Outreach is even open. So, using GM perogative again, I am ruling that the Iron Templars are using the Galatea line from the Fourth Succession War Era. After this is done, our pools look like the following.
Personnel
Same-7
Complementary-2
Distant-1
Support-7
Medical-0
Administration-1
Points
Experience-5
Tech-4
Mass-4
Cash-3
From this point on however, we will use the PWE Era.
What does these numbers mean? These numbers represents the personnel who showed up just by Stefan talking about forming the company then actually setting up shop. These may be former unit members, friends, family, or just acquaintances. These original members may not be the most capable, but they will likely be extremely loyal.
Looking at the numbers though, the Templars need some more hands. The goal is to attain a Mech company, an Aerospace squadron, a vehicle lance, and an Infantry platoon. So how to work on accomplishing these goals? We do have Recruitment Paths in FM: Mercenaries (Revised) pg. 142. Each roll on the table requires three months, has a set change of force pool numbers, and a chance to gain (or lose) more.
The PWE Era gives the pool modifier of -2 Cash, but is negated by an integral +2 to any pool. It does need to be noted that Cash is a very important pool; it allows for rerolls, is needed for acquiring Dropships and Jumpships, and adds to the commands starting warchest.
Each path requires a roll which can be found here. Our first roll gave us a roll of 10, which will add nearly a full lance of Mechs, their gear, and some support. So at the end of this first path through the Recruitment Path, our numbers look like this.
Personnel
Same-10
Complementary-3
Distant-1
Support-10
Medical-1
Administration-1
Points
Experience-7
Tech-5
Mass-6
Cash-3
Not too bad, but we can use a bit more. We can do one repeat, then we must go through a Combat Path. After every other pass though, we do add an Admin to our personnel pool.
Our second pass was not as good as the first, but no personnel were lost. At the end of the second pass, we look like this.
Personnel
Same-10
Complementary-4
Distant-3
Support-11
Medical-1
Administration-2
Points
Experience-8
Tech-6
Mass-7
Cash-3
We now need to make a pass through Combat Experience before doing any more recruitment. Combat Experience can be dangerous, as everything gained so far can be lost. But without great risk, can their be great reward? The Era and path give modifiers of -1 to Tech and Mass, +2 to Exp, and +1 to Cash; with an open +1 modifier to add to any pool. We will add it to Cash.
A Combat Experience pass requires six months, so with the two recruitment passes and one Combat Experience, we have completed the first year of the Iron Templars being in business, and things are looking good so far. Now we just need to roll... And we get a 6. A successful mission, with a little bit of salvage and some added personnel. After totaling up all the modifiers, we now look like this.
Personnel
Same-10
Complementary-4
Distant-4
Support-11
Medical-1
Administration-2
Points
Experience-11
Tech-5
Mass-7
Cash-5
After making this pass, we can now do two more passes on the Recruitment Path, before another Combat Experience pass must be made. As I said earlier, we have covered one year, but we are wanting to cover three years when all is said and done. So Hopefully we will take a total of more more Recruitment paths and two more Combat Experience.
So after our next two recruitment paths we end up like this. Recruitment in this Era is quite easy, with the end of the Fourth Succession War just very recently ended, indicated by a +2 to Recruitment rolls. The next two rolls resulted in another six, and we also got an eight.
Personnel
Same-10
Complementary-9
Distant-6
Support-15
Medical-3
Administration-3
Points
Experience-11
Tech-7
Mass-10
Cash-5
Now we are getting into the nitty-gritty. We must take another Combat Experience pass before doing anymore recruitment. But the risks are getting higher. For every two passes after the first, we add a -1 modifier to the roll, increasing our chances of success, and lessening our chances of a huge pay-off. But all is fair in love and battle. So let's kick this pig. We roll, and we get a 3. Ouch. Well, it looks like we need to burn some Cash and re-roll. We can only do this once per roll and must accept the result, but we can't get much worse and this is a particularly bad result, so we lose one from our Cash pool and re-roll. We turn that disastrous roll of three into a 10. Cash well spent, plus, we recover that point. So at the end of our second Combat Experience pass, the Iron Templars looks like..
Personnel
Same-11
Complementary-9
Distant-6
Support-15
Medical-3
Administration-3
Points
Experience-16
Tech-7
Mass-10
Cash-8
Hmm.. We are really close to our goals, but not quite there yet. So let us go ahead and hit up the Recruiters two more times. A really successful recruiting season this time, with rolls of a nine and a ten.
Personnel
Same-16
Complementary-14
Distant-6
Support-20
Medical-8
Administration-4
Points
Experience-18
Tech-7
Mass-11
Cash-8
So as far as what our goals were, we have over-shot them a touch, but this is a good thing. It means the Templars can weather a bad roll on the final Combat Experience pass. So let us go ahead and see what we get here... And we get a 5. It is a Failed mission, which will hurt our Dragoon's Rating later, but it should be nullified by the two successful missions. Besides, the loss was not bad and can easily be absorbed.
So, once all those results have been calculated, this is what the Iron Templars has.
Personnel
Same-16
Complementary-14
Distant-6
Support-20
Medical-8
Administration-4
Points
Experience-19
Tech-6
Mass-10
Cash-10
We have met and exceeded every one of our goals as far as combat units are concerned. We may be a little lean on our support requirements, but we will determine that in the Force Identification step.
Anyway, we first start with the CO's origins, education, and Attributes/Traits/Skills. Stefan von Braun is from the Inner Sphere, graduated from the Academy and OCS, and had served three tours. Those Atts/Traits/Skills that affect the pool are Connections, Enemy, Reputation, Wealth, Administration, Leadership, and Negotiation.
The Iron Templars is a Mech company with armor, infantry, and aerospace as supplemental forces. So any results of Same are Mechwarriors, Complementary= Armor, Aero, and Distant= Infantry.
Personnel
Same-5
Complementary-1
Distant-0
Support-6
Medical-0
Administration-1
Points
Experience-4
Tech-5
Mass-3
Cash-4
The next choice we need to make is to choose the Hiring Hall. In Mercenary's Supplemental II, Eras were introduced. By the decisions already made, the unit was created in 3031, which is in the Early Post-Succession War Era. The Iron Templars were formed on Galatea in the Lyran Commonwealth. Prior to the Wolf's Dragoons opening Outreach, and its subsequent ascension to being the center of the mercenary trade, Galatea was the "Mercenary's Star." When you look at the previous Eras then look at PWE, Galatea falls off dramatically from 3030 to 3031, really before Outreach is even open. So, using GM perogative again, I am ruling that the Iron Templars are using the Galatea line from the Fourth Succession War Era. After this is done, our pools look like the following.
Personnel
Same-7
Complementary-2
Distant-1
Support-7
Medical-0
Administration-1
Points
Experience-5
Tech-4
Mass-4
Cash-3
From this point on however, we will use the PWE Era.
What does these numbers mean? These numbers represents the personnel who showed up just by Stefan talking about forming the company then actually setting up shop. These may be former unit members, friends, family, or just acquaintances. These original members may not be the most capable, but they will likely be extremely loyal.
Looking at the numbers though, the Templars need some more hands. The goal is to attain a Mech company, an Aerospace squadron, a vehicle lance, and an Infantry platoon. So how to work on accomplishing these goals? We do have Recruitment Paths in FM: Mercenaries (Revised) pg. 142. Each roll on the table requires three months, has a set change of force pool numbers, and a chance to gain (or lose) more.
The PWE Era gives the pool modifier of -2 Cash, but is negated by an integral +2 to any pool. It does need to be noted that Cash is a very important pool; it allows for rerolls, is needed for acquiring Dropships and Jumpships, and adds to the commands starting warchest.
Each path requires a roll which can be found here. Our first roll gave us a roll of 10, which will add nearly a full lance of Mechs, their gear, and some support. So at the end of this first path through the Recruitment Path, our numbers look like this.
Personnel
Same-10
Complementary-3
Distant-1
Support-10
Medical-1
Administration-1
Points
Experience-7
Tech-5
Mass-6
Cash-3
Not too bad, but we can use a bit more. We can do one repeat, then we must go through a Combat Path. After every other pass though, we do add an Admin to our personnel pool.
Our second pass was not as good as the first, but no personnel were lost. At the end of the second pass, we look like this.
Personnel
Same-10
Complementary-4
Distant-3
Support-11
Medical-1
Administration-2
Points
Experience-8
Tech-6
Mass-7
Cash-3
We now need to make a pass through Combat Experience before doing any more recruitment. Combat Experience can be dangerous, as everything gained so far can be lost. But without great risk, can their be great reward? The Era and path give modifiers of -1 to Tech and Mass, +2 to Exp, and +1 to Cash; with an open +1 modifier to add to any pool. We will add it to Cash.
A Combat Experience pass requires six months, so with the two recruitment passes and one Combat Experience, we have completed the first year of the Iron Templars being in business, and things are looking good so far. Now we just need to roll... And we get a 6. A successful mission, with a little bit of salvage and some added personnel. After totaling up all the modifiers, we now look like this.
Personnel
Same-10
Complementary-4
Distant-4
Support-11
Medical-1
Administration-2
Points
Experience-11
Tech-5
Mass-7
Cash-5
After making this pass, we can now do two more passes on the Recruitment Path, before another Combat Experience pass must be made. As I said earlier, we have covered one year, but we are wanting to cover three years when all is said and done. So Hopefully we will take a total of more more Recruitment paths and two more Combat Experience.
So after our next two recruitment paths we end up like this. Recruitment in this Era is quite easy, with the end of the Fourth Succession War just very recently ended, indicated by a +2 to Recruitment rolls. The next two rolls resulted in another six, and we also got an eight.
Personnel
Same-10
Complementary-9
Distant-6
Support-15
Medical-3
Administration-3
Points
Experience-11
Tech-7
Mass-10
Cash-5
Now we are getting into the nitty-gritty. We must take another Combat Experience pass before doing anymore recruitment. But the risks are getting higher. For every two passes after the first, we add a -1 modifier to the roll, increasing our chances of success, and lessening our chances of a huge pay-off. But all is fair in love and battle. So let's kick this pig. We roll, and we get a 3. Ouch. Well, it looks like we need to burn some Cash and re-roll. We can only do this once per roll and must accept the result, but we can't get much worse and this is a particularly bad result, so we lose one from our Cash pool and re-roll. We turn that disastrous roll of three into a 10. Cash well spent, plus, we recover that point. So at the end of our second Combat Experience pass, the Iron Templars looks like..
Personnel
Same-11
Complementary-9
Distant-6
Support-15
Medical-3
Administration-3
Points
Experience-16
Tech-7
Mass-10
Cash-8
Hmm.. We are really close to our goals, but not quite there yet. So let us go ahead and hit up the Recruiters two more times. A really successful recruiting season this time, with rolls of a nine and a ten.
Personnel
Same-16
Complementary-14
Distant-6
Support-20
Medical-8
Administration-4
Points
Experience-18
Tech-7
Mass-11
Cash-8
So as far as what our goals were, we have over-shot them a touch, but this is a good thing. It means the Templars can weather a bad roll on the final Combat Experience pass. So let us go ahead and see what we get here... And we get a 5. It is a Failed mission, which will hurt our Dragoon's Rating later, but it should be nullified by the two successful missions. Besides, the loss was not bad and can easily be absorbed.
So, once all those results have been calculated, this is what the Iron Templars has.
Personnel
Same-16
Complementary-14
Distant-6
Support-20
Medical-8
Administration-4
Points
Experience-19
Tech-6
Mass-10
Cash-10
We have met and exceeded every one of our goals as far as combat units are concerned. We may be a little lean on our support requirements, but we will determine that in the Force Identification step.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Stefan von Braun
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Stage 4: Tour of Duty
Age: 34
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 74.5 kg
Hair: Blonde
DOB: 22. January. 3000
Birthplace: Sudeten, Lyran Commonwealth
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 5
Bod 5
Ref 6
Dex 5
Int 6
Wil 6
Cha 5 [50]
Edge 3
Traits:
Compulsion/Addiction/Nicotine 1
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine 1
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner 2
Connections 4
Dependent 2
Enemy 6
Equipped 3
Extra Income 1
Glass Jaw
Rank 6
Reputation 1
Vehicle 6
Wealth 3
Skills:
Administration 4
Career/Soldier 4
Computers 2
Gunnery/Mech 5
Interest/Natural History 2
Interest/Military History 4
Language/English 2
Language/German 4
Leadership 5
Martial Arts 3
Medtech 2
Melee Weapons 4
Navigation/Ground 3
Negotiation 4
Perception 2
Piloting/Mech 5
Protocol/FedSuns 1
Protocol/Lyran 5
Running 1
Sensor Operations 5
Small Arms 4
Stealth 1
Strategy 3
Survival/Arctic 1
Swimming 2
Tactics/Land 5
Technician/Electronics 4
Training 5
Special Abilities: Maneuvering Ace,
Equipment:
Weapons:
Knife
M&G Service Pistol w/3 reloads
Holster
Armor:
Ablative/Flak Vest
Misc.
Civilian Communicator
Military Communicator
Noteputer
Rangefinder Binoculars
3x Power Pack
Standard Recharger
Medical Kit
ARC-2S Archer
Advanced Field kit, Compass (In Mech)
Background:
Born in the year 3000 on Sudeten in the Lyran Commonwealth, Stefan Gerhardt von Braun was born into an upper-middle class household. Born the oldest of three children, had a very stable and secure childhood. Stefan’s father Heinrich was an Executive with Olivetti Weaponry; while his mother Kara was a Literature Professor at the university. Stefan loved the outdoors and joined the Wilderness Scouts, learning to enjoy nature. But like many young boys, BattleMechs became a subject of fascination. In 3008, Stefan’s father took him to the Olivetti facility. Here Stefan watched the metal avatars of war gods walk off the assembly line. From that moment on, Stefan had his new calling.
While attending military school, Stefan made friends with Marcus Hermann, the son of William Hermann, Baron of Sudeten. Their friendship was natural, and built into a strong bond. When Marcus got a billet at the Nagelring, he used his influence to get a spot for Stefan. Stefan was more studious, and took his curriculum more seriously than Marcus; while Marcus was more glib and gregarious. The two helped each other immensely; Stefan helped Marcus graduate, Marcus introduced Stefan to many powerful people in the Commonwealth. After graduation, both men also attended OCS together.
After receiving their commissions, the friends went their separate ways. Marcus went to the 26th Lyran Guards, while Stefan joined the 14th Donegal Guards in late 3022. The years prior to the start of the Fourth Succession War were slow, with the unit seeing little action. However, in 3029 the 14th Donegal Guards squared off against the Draconis Combine’s 7th Sword of Light on Utrecht. The six-week campaign saw a grueling march across the planet under constant air attack. Finally the 14th were capable of throwing the 7th Sword of Light off of Utrecht, after a week long siege followed by an assault on the capital city of Nagarajan.
Through the campaign, Stefan proved his mettle as both a Mechwarrior and as an officer, and fought with distinction. He was awarded with several accommodations and a promotion to company second. However, this would be the high point in Stefan’s LCAF career. His promotion came over some other officers who had connections. But the major enemy gained was Viscount Victor Brauer. His son Travis was the former company second. Travis died in the final assault on Nagarajan. Viscount Brauer’s grief caused him to lose his grasp on reality. In the mind of the Viscount, Stefan engineered Travis’s death to assume his position. With a powerful and well-connected enemy setting obstacles in his way, Stefan knew he had to start looking elsewhere for opportunities.
It was Marcus who suggested that Stefan should form his own mercenary command. Taking some time to think over the idea, and do some research, Stefan decided to take the opportunity. With help from Marcus and his family, Stefan gathered the funds and resources necessary to start his own mercenary command in 3031.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Stefan von Braun- Character Creation [Wrap Up]
For the most part, Stefan is complete. We just need to purchase his equipment and find out what he rides into battle.
Purchasing equipment can be a bit time-consuming, but only if you try to go nuts with it. Keeping things simple really is the way to go. Think about what the character actually needs, and get those items. Once you get that out of the way, then go for the extras or luxuries.
The Equipped and Wealth Traits affect how much the character has to spend, and what kind of equipment available. Each piece of equipment has Equipment Ratings; Tech Level, Availability, and Legality. Typically, a character will have access to equipment rated at D/B/B, and have 1,000 C-Bills to purchase it with. Stefan has Equipped +3/Wealth +3, which allows him access to E/C/D rated gear, and 10,000 C-Bills to purchase equipment.
Weapons:
Knife
M&G Service Pistol w/3 reloads
Holster
Armor:
Ablative/Flak Vest
Misc.
Civilian Communicator
Military Communicator
Noteputer
Rangefinder Binoculars
3x Power Pack
Standard Recharger
Medical Kit
So far, Stefan has spent 1227 C-Bills. Stefan also only purchased the gear he would typically have on his person, or access to, in the majority of situations. Work, home, etc. Equipment that is situational should be noted as such, and its location. For example, in his Mech Stefan keeps an Advanced Field Kit and a compass, increasing his expenditures by 110 to 1337 C-Bills.
In this campaign, the GM (Me) rules that a standard mechwarrior's kit (or any other standard equipment, Infantry Combat gear) is free, as well as a couple of changes of standard clothing.
In the final step, Stefan will roll for what mech he rides. The table I am using uses a 1-1000 roll, with modifiers for unit Ratings. There is a few important points to make. Stefan has a Vehicle Trait of 6 (2). What this means he has a total Vehicle Trait of 8. Stefan could either use 8, or 6 and the extra 2 levels to indicate he owns his mech. Granted, as a Mercenary commander, he would "own" it anyways, but it could indicate he left the LCAF with his mech in his ownership, or it could have even been a heirloom. The roll was made here http://intelser.org/forums/index.php?topic=3368.0
After the roll and modifier, we find that Stefan is the pilot of an ARC-2S Archer.
Purchasing equipment can be a bit time-consuming, but only if you try to go nuts with it. Keeping things simple really is the way to go. Think about what the character actually needs, and get those items. Once you get that out of the way, then go for the extras or luxuries.
The Equipped and Wealth Traits affect how much the character has to spend, and what kind of equipment available. Each piece of equipment has Equipment Ratings; Tech Level, Availability, and Legality. Typically, a character will have access to equipment rated at D/B/B, and have 1,000 C-Bills to purchase it with. Stefan has Equipped +3/Wealth +3, which allows him access to E/C/D rated gear, and 10,000 C-Bills to purchase equipment.
Weapons:
Knife
M&G Service Pistol w/3 reloads
Holster
Armor:
Ablative/Flak Vest
Misc.
Civilian Communicator
Military Communicator
Noteputer
Rangefinder Binoculars
3x Power Pack
Standard Recharger
Medical Kit
So far, Stefan has spent 1227 C-Bills. Stefan also only purchased the gear he would typically have on his person, or access to, in the majority of situations. Work, home, etc. Equipment that is situational should be noted as such, and its location. For example, in his Mech Stefan keeps an Advanced Field Kit and a compass, increasing his expenditures by 110 to 1337 C-Bills.
In this campaign, the GM (Me) rules that a standard mechwarrior's kit (or any other standard equipment, Infantry Combat gear) is free, as well as a couple of changes of standard clothing.
In the final step, Stefan will roll for what mech he rides. The table I am using uses a 1-1000 roll, with modifiers for unit Ratings. There is a few important points to make. Stefan has a Vehicle Trait of 6 (2). What this means he has a total Vehicle Trait of 8. Stefan could either use 8, or 6 and the extra 2 levels to indicate he owns his mech. Granted, as a Mercenary commander, he would "own" it anyways, but it could indicate he left the LCAF with his mech in his ownership, or it could have even been a heirloom. The roll was made here http://intelser.org/forums/index.php?topic=3368.0
After the roll and modifier, we find that Stefan is the pilot of an ARC-2S Archer.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Stefan von Braun- Character Creation [Optimization Continued]
Continuing with the Optimization process, I have cleaned everything up, and this is how Stefan appears.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Stage 4: Tour of Duty
Age: 22
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 5
Bod 5
[4]Ref 5
[4]Dex 4
[3]Int 5
[3]Wil 5
Cha 4 [50]
Edge 2
Traits:
Compulsion/Addiction/Nicotine 1
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine 1
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner 2
Connections 3
Enemy 5
Equipped 3
Extra Income 1
Glass Jaw
Rank 5
Reputation 1
Vehicle 6 [2]
[3]Wealth 3
Skills:
Administration 3
Career/Soldier 4
Computers 1
Gunnery/Mech 4
Interest History 1
Interest/Military History 3
Language/English 1
Language/German 3
Leadership 4
Martial Arts 3
Medtech 2
Melee Weapons 2
Navigation/Ground 2
Negotiation 1
Perception 1
Piloting/Mech 4
Protocol/FedSuns 1
Protocol/Lyran 4
Running 1
Sensor Operations 4
Small Arms 3
Stealth 1
Strategy 2
Survival/Arctic 1
Swimming 2
Tactics/Land 4
Technician/Electronics 4
Training 4
As you can see, Stefan at this point severely needs to increase his Attributes and some of his Skills. Also, after consulting the Vehicle Trait, he only pilots a light Mech. So there is quite a bit more we want to do for Stefan, but how?
We have two options: Aging and Buying Negative Traits. Aging is exactly what it sounds like. For every year of age past 21, you may add 100 xp to your pool. It is looking like I have decided to set a hard date of the campaign start to be 3034. Stefan was born in 3000, so we will just say he is 34, which adds 1300xp. Do note, AToW is designed for players to kind of start off a bit green, and not all GMs would allow such an age increase. Our second option is buying negative traits. These traits will add points back into the pool as well. Their is a limit though, only up to an additional 500 points. Hmm.. What to add??
Well, since the Lyran Commonwealth is rife with what is known as "Social Generals", let us make things interesting on Stefan. Let us add to the Enemy Trait. Also, Stefan is very loyal to the Lyran state, so let's add a level to his Pro-Lyran Compulsion.
At this point, the character, with the exception of purchasing equipment, is now complete. There are two other issues that need to be tended to. The first is age. As a character in AToW ages, it can affect his Attributes. Stefan is 34 years old. Looking at the Aging Table (pg 333) we see that Stefan will add enough xp to his Str, Bod, Ref, Int, and Wil to increase them by 1 each.
The second issue is what I like to call "GM Imperative". Stefan fought in the bith the Third and Fourth Succession Wars with a prestigious unit that saw very heavy fighting in the 4SW. So I decided to give him a special 500xp bonus that can only be spent on Skills. I will also allow players this bonus, if they write up their backgrounds enough to warrant it. In other words, have a good background, get rewarded.
In the next installment, we will purchase Equipment, as well as have a full background story for Stefan.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Stage 4: Tour of Duty
Age: 22
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 5
Bod 5
[4]Ref 5
[4]Dex 4
[3]Int 5
[3]Wil 5
Cha 4 [50]
Edge 2
Traits:
Compulsion/Addiction/Nicotine 1
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine 1
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner 2
Connections 3
Enemy 5
Equipped 3
Extra Income 1
Glass Jaw
Rank 5
Reputation 1
Vehicle 6 [2]
[3]Wealth 3
Skills:
Administration 3
Career/Soldier 4
Computers 1
Gunnery/Mech 4
Interest History 1
Interest/Military History 3
Language/English 1
Language/German 3
Leadership 4
Martial Arts 3
Medtech 2
Melee Weapons 2
Navigation/Ground 2
Negotiation 1
Perception 1
Piloting/Mech 4
Protocol/FedSuns 1
Protocol/Lyran 4
Running 1
Sensor Operations 4
Small Arms 3
Stealth 1
Strategy 2
Survival/Arctic 1
Swimming 2
Tactics/Land 4
Technician/Electronics 4
Training 4
As you can see, Stefan at this point severely needs to increase his Attributes and some of his Skills. Also, after consulting the Vehicle Trait, he only pilots a light Mech. So there is quite a bit more we want to do for Stefan, but how?
We have two options: Aging and Buying Negative Traits. Aging is exactly what it sounds like. For every year of age past 21, you may add 100 xp to your pool. It is looking like I have decided to set a hard date of the campaign start to be 3034. Stefan was born in 3000, so we will just say he is 34, which adds 1300xp. Do note, AToW is designed for players to kind of start off a bit green, and not all GMs would allow such an age increase. Our second option is buying negative traits. These traits will add points back into the pool as well. Their is a limit though, only up to an additional 500 points. Hmm.. What to add??
Well, since the Lyran Commonwealth is rife with what is known as "Social Generals", let us make things interesting on Stefan. Let us add to the Enemy Trait. Also, Stefan is very loyal to the Lyran state, so let's add a level to his Pro-Lyran Compulsion.
At this point, the character, with the exception of purchasing equipment, is now complete. There are two other issues that need to be tended to. The first is age. As a character in AToW ages, it can affect his Attributes. Stefan is 34 years old. Looking at the Aging Table (pg 333) we see that Stefan will add enough xp to his Str, Bod, Ref, Int, and Wil to increase them by 1 each.
The second issue is what I like to call "GM Imperative". Stefan fought in the bith the Third and Fourth Succession Wars with a prestigious unit that saw very heavy fighting in the 4SW. So I decided to give him a special 500xp bonus that can only be spent on Skills. I will also allow players this bonus, if they write up their backgrounds enough to warrant it. In other words, have a good background, get rewarded.
In the next installment, we will purchase Equipment, as well as have a full background story for Stefan.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Stefan von Braun- Character Creation [Optimization]
We are about to enter the most time-consuming, and confusing aspect of the character creation process for AToW. Right now, the Attributes, Traits, and Skills are all some very large numbers, but without definition. As of right now, what is Stefan's strength? How good of a MechJock is he? What Kind of ride does he have? That is what we are about to determine.
First off, does Stefan have any Traits that cancel each other out? Stefan has Fit +15, does he have Handicap +15? No. The full list of Opposed Traits can be found on page 86 (AToW). Looking down the list, we see he has no Opposed Traits. Suppose he did. The xp costs for each would cancel each other out. For example, Stefan had Fit +15, Handicap -20. The +15 from Fit would negate 15 points from Handicap, leaving Handicap at -5.
We can now spend any leftover xp on any Attributes, Traits, or Skills, but with only 80 points remaining, and quite a few prerequisites yet to be met, we will just leave them in the pool. Now we need to Optimize. Each Attribute and Trait level is 100. For example, Stefan's Bod is 150. Level 1 is 100, level 2 is 200. If we wanted Stefan's Bod attribute to be a level 2, we would have to spend 50xp. Otherwise, it is a 1. But these points are not wasted. The remaining 50xp goes back into the xp pool. For Negative Traits, such as Stefan's Compulsion Traits, the minimum level is -100xp. Unless Stefan buy's them off, he will "buy" these levels, adding those points to his xp pool. For example, Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine -50, is in between 0 (no Trait) and -100 (Level 1). Since this Trait will not be bought off now, Stefan adds 50xp to his pool.
After Optimizing Attributes and Traits, Stefan has these values.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Stage 4: Tour of Duty
Age: 22
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 1
Bod 1
[4]Ref 2
[4]Dex 2
[3]Int 1
[3]Wil 2
Cha 2
Edge 0
XP added to pool: 225xp
Traits:
Compulsion/Addiction/Nicotine 1 (50)
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine 1 (50)
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner 1 (75)
Connections 0 (90)
Enemy 1
Equipped 3 (25)
Extra Income 1
Fit 0 (15)
Glass Jaw (150)
Rank 5 (20)
Reputation 1
Vehicle 1 (50)
[3]Wealth 3
Xp added to pool: 525xp
Glass Jaw is a bit of a special case. It does not have levels, you either have it, or you don't. It has an effective level of 3, so Stefan added 150xp to his pool.
Skills are a bit different that either Attributes or Traits. Instead of levels of 100xp, Skill levels are much smaller, but steadily increase in cost the higher the level. Also, the costs for skill levels can be affected by the Traits Fast/Slow Learner, making skill levels cheaper/more expensive to gain. Stefan has neither of these Traits, so he uses the standard column in the table. Just like with Attributes and Traits, any points in between two levels are added back to the xp pool.
Skills:
Administration 0 (10)
Appraisal - (10)
Art/Painting - (10)
Career/Soldier 4 (10)
Computers 1 (5)
Gunnery/Mech 2 (5)
Interest/CCG - (10)
Interest History 1
Interest/Military History 2 (20)
Language/English 1
Language/German 1 (15)
Leadership 3 (20)
Martial Arts 3 (30)
Medtech 2 (10)
Melee Weapons 2
Navigation/Ground 2 (20)
Negotiation 1
Perception 1
Piloting/Mech 2 (5)
Protocol/FedSuns 1
Protocol/Lyran 4 (20)
Running 1
Sensor Operations 2 (5)
Small Arms 3 (15)
Stealth 1
Strategy 1 (5)
Survival/Arctic 1
Swimming 2 (15)
Tactics/Land 2 (5)
Technician/Electronics 1
Training 2 (5)
xp added to pool:255
Note, any skills that did not have at least 20xp in them are dropped (with remaining xp added back to them pool as usual).
Stefan now has 1085 xp remaining in his xp pool.
Where to spend these points? There are two priorities; the prerequisites and all Attributes must be at least 1 by the end of character creation. So we must attend to these first, which will eat up 800 xp, leaving 285 xp. Human average Attributes are 4, so we want to close in on that, so we will add 100 xp to each Str and Bod, bringing them to a 2, and leaving 85 xp. Stefan will spend 60 xp to bring his Administration skill to 3, and leaving 25 xp in the pool. Looking the character over, we are still not happy with things, but we have no points. Where are we going to get them from?
This will be answered in the next installment.
First off, does Stefan have any Traits that cancel each other out? Stefan has Fit +15, does he have Handicap +15? No. The full list of Opposed Traits can be found on page 86 (AToW). Looking down the list, we see he has no Opposed Traits. Suppose he did. The xp costs for each would cancel each other out. For example, Stefan had Fit +15, Handicap -20. The +15 from Fit would negate 15 points from Handicap, leaving Handicap at -5.
We can now spend any leftover xp on any Attributes, Traits, or Skills, but with only 80 points remaining, and quite a few prerequisites yet to be met, we will just leave them in the pool. Now we need to Optimize. Each Attribute and Trait level is 100. For example, Stefan's Bod is 150. Level 1 is 100, level 2 is 200. If we wanted Stefan's Bod attribute to be a level 2, we would have to spend 50xp. Otherwise, it is a 1. But these points are not wasted. The remaining 50xp goes back into the xp pool. For Negative Traits, such as Stefan's Compulsion Traits, the minimum level is -100xp. Unless Stefan buy's them off, he will "buy" these levels, adding those points to his xp pool. For example, Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine -50, is in between 0 (no Trait) and -100 (Level 1). Since this Trait will not be bought off now, Stefan adds 50xp to his pool.
After Optimizing Attributes and Traits, Stefan has these values.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Stage 4: Tour of Duty
Age: 22
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 1
Bod 1
[4]Ref 2
[4]Dex 2
[3]Int 1
[3]Wil 2
Cha 2
Edge 0
XP added to pool: 225xp
Traits:
Compulsion/Addiction/Nicotine 1 (50)
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine 1 (50)
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner 1 (75)
Connections 0 (90)
Enemy 1
Equipped 3 (25)
Extra Income 1
Fit 0 (15)
Glass Jaw (150)
Rank 5 (20)
Reputation 1
Vehicle 1 (50)
[3]Wealth 3
Xp added to pool: 525xp
Glass Jaw is a bit of a special case. It does not have levels, you either have it, or you don't. It has an effective level of 3, so Stefan added 150xp to his pool.
Skills are a bit different that either Attributes or Traits. Instead of levels of 100xp, Skill levels are much smaller, but steadily increase in cost the higher the level. Also, the costs for skill levels can be affected by the Traits Fast/Slow Learner, making skill levels cheaper/more expensive to gain. Stefan has neither of these Traits, so he uses the standard column in the table. Just like with Attributes and Traits, any points in between two levels are added back to the xp pool.
Skills:
Administration 0 (10)
Appraisal - (10)
Art/Painting - (10)
Career/Soldier 4 (10)
Computers 1 (5)
Gunnery/Mech 2 (5)
Interest/CCG - (10)
Interest History 1
Interest/Military History 2 (20)
Language/English 1
Language/German 1 (15)
Leadership 3 (20)
Martial Arts 3 (30)
Medtech 2 (10)
Melee Weapons 2
Navigation/Ground 2 (20)
Negotiation 1
Perception 1
Piloting/Mech 2 (5)
Protocol/FedSuns 1
Protocol/Lyran 4 (20)
Running 1
Sensor Operations 2 (5)
Small Arms 3 (15)
Stealth 1
Strategy 1 (5)
Survival/Arctic 1
Swimming 2 (15)
Tactics/Land 2 (5)
Technician/Electronics 1
Training 2 (5)
xp added to pool:255
Note, any skills that did not have at least 20xp in them are dropped (with remaining xp added back to them pool as usual).
Stefan now has 1085 xp remaining in his xp pool.
Where to spend these points? There are two priorities; the prerequisites and all Attributes must be at least 1 by the end of character creation. So we must attend to these first, which will eat up 800 xp, leaving 285 xp. Human average Attributes are 4, so we want to close in on that, so we will add 100 xp to each Str and Bod, bringing them to a 2, and leaving 85 xp. Stefan will spend 60 xp to bring his Administration skill to 3, and leaving 25 xp in the pool. Looking the character over, we are still not happy with things, but we have no points. Where are we going to get them from?
This will be answered in the next installment.
Stefan von Braun- Character Creation [Stage 4]
The last Stage of life modules is obviously Stage 4. In this stage, the character is done with school, and fully enters the adult world. Stage 4 Modules include Military periods of service, civilian jobs, to being a lay about.
Stefan has graduated from the Academy and OCS, so it is time to enter the military proper and serve a military Tour of Duty.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Stage 4: Tour of Duty
Age: 22
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 100
Bod 150
[4]Ref 200
[4]Dex 200
[3]Int 175
[3]Wil 250
Cha 250
Edge 0
Traits:
Compulsion/Addiction/Nicotine -50
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Connections +90
Enemy -100
Equipped +325
Extra Income +100
Fit +15
Glass Jaw -150
Rank +520
Reputation +100
Vehicle +150
[3]Wealth +300
Skills:
Administration +30
Appraisal +10
Art/Painting +10
Career/Soldier +130
Computers +35
Gunnery/Mech +55
Interest/CCG +10
Interest History +30
Interest/Military History +70
Language/English +30
Language/German +45
Leadership +100
Martial Arts +110
Medtech +60
Melee Weapons +50
Navigation/Ground +70
Negotiation +30
Perception +30
Piloting/Mech +55
Protocol/FedSuns +30
Protocol/Lyran +160
Running +30
Sensor Operations +55
Small Arms +95
Stealth +30
Strategy +35
Survival/Arctic +30
Swimming +45
Tactics/Land +55
Technician/Electronics +30
Training +55
Stefan has spent 4920xp/5000xp
Any numbers to the left of an Attribute or Trait represents a prerequisite and its level.
We are now down with the life module section of the character creation process. Many of you are looking at these numbers and saying, "What the hell do they all mean?" That is the subject of the next post, Optimizing Points.
Stefan has graduated from the Academy and OCS, so it is time to enter the military proper and serve a military Tour of Duty.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Stage 4: Tour of Duty
Age: 22
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 100
Bod 150
[4]Ref 200
[4]Dex 200
[3]Int 175
[3]Wil 250
Cha 250
Edge 0
Traits:
Compulsion/Addiction/Nicotine -50
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Connections +90
Enemy -100
Equipped +325
Extra Income +100
Fit +15
Glass Jaw -150
Rank +520
Reputation +100
Vehicle +150
[3]Wealth +300
Skills:
Administration +30
Appraisal +10
Art/Painting +10
Career/Soldier +130
Computers +35
Gunnery/Mech +55
Interest/CCG +10
Interest History +30
Interest/Military History +70
Language/English +30
Language/German +45
Leadership +100
Martial Arts +110
Medtech +60
Melee Weapons +50
Navigation/Ground +70
Negotiation +30
Perception +30
Piloting/Mech +55
Protocol/FedSuns +30
Protocol/Lyran +160
Running +30
Sensor Operations +55
Small Arms +95
Stealth +30
Strategy +35
Survival/Arctic +30
Swimming +45
Tactics/Land +55
Technician/Electronics +30
Training +55
Stefan has spent 4920xp/5000xp
Any numbers to the left of an Attribute or Trait represents a prerequisite and its level.
We are now down with the life module section of the character creation process. Many of you are looking at these numbers and saying, "What the hell do they all mean?" That is the subject of the next post, Optimizing Points.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Stefan von Braun- Character Creation [Stage 3]
Stage 3 represents the character entering adulthood, going to college, entering the military, or becoming employed. Stage 3 can be the most complicated stage of character creation, in particular between the various school options. Each school type may only be taken once, so One civilian, one military, and one intelligence. Officer candidate school is an exception, as it is its only school type, but is only available to characters who has chosen Military and Intelligence fields.
Another option introduced in Stage 3 is Skill Fields. A Field is a group of related skills that represents a training package. Each skill in the Field must be purchased for 30xp, but you get a 6xp rebate for each skill. In other words, you get 30xp, and all its benefits, for the cost of 24xp.
The final difference in Stage 3 is that there is not a set final age for Stage 3. When taking the different Fields, they have different numbers of years for each. Stefan took Military Academy, which requires the Basic Training Field. He is a Mechwarrior, so he must take that Field. There is also the option of a Special Field, but nothing appeals to Stefan.
At the end of Stage 3, Stefan looks like this.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Age: 19
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 100
Bod 150
[4]Ref 150
[4]Dex 100
[3]Int 175
[3]Wil 200
Cha 250
Edge 0
Traits:
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Connections +65
Enemy -100
Equipped +325
Extra Income +100
Fit +15
Glass Jaw -150
Rank +470
Reputation +100
[3]Wealth +300
Skills:
Administration +30
Appraisal +10
Art/Painting +10
Career/Soldier +80
Computers +35
Gunnery/Mech +30
Interest/CCG +10
Interest History +30
Interest/Military History +70
Language/English +30
Language/German +30
Leadership +60
Martial Arts +60
Medtech +40
Melee Weapons +50
Navigation/Ground +30
Negotiation +30
Piloting/Mech +30
Protocol/FedSuns +30
Protocol/Lyran +120
Running +30
Sensor Operations +30
Small Arms +95
Stealth +30
Strategy +10
Survival/Arctic +30
Swimming +45
Tactics/Land +30
Technician/Electronics +30
Training +30
Stefan has spent 4120xp/5000xp
Any numbers to the left of an Attribute or Trait represents a prerequisite and its level.
And it is looking like we are getting very thin on points.
Another option introduced in Stage 3 is Skill Fields. A Field is a group of related skills that represents a training package. Each skill in the Field must be purchased for 30xp, but you get a 6xp rebate for each skill. In other words, you get 30xp, and all its benefits, for the cost of 24xp.
The final difference in Stage 3 is that there is not a set final age for Stage 3. When taking the different Fields, they have different numbers of years for each. Stefan took Military Academy, which requires the Basic Training Field. He is a Mechwarrior, so he must take that Field. There is also the option of a Special Field, but nothing appeals to Stefan.
At the end of Stage 3, Stefan looks like this.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Stage 3: Military Academy, Officer Candidate School
Age: 19
Fields:
Basic Training
Mechwarrior
Officer
Attributes:
Str 100
Bod 150
[4]Ref 150
[4]Dex 100
[3]Int 175
[3]Wil 200
Cha 250
Edge 0
Traits:
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Connections +65
Enemy -100
Equipped +325
Extra Income +100
Fit +15
Glass Jaw -150
Rank +470
Reputation +100
[3]Wealth +300
Skills:
Administration +30
Appraisal +10
Art/Painting +10
Career/Soldier +80
Computers +35
Gunnery/Mech +30
Interest/CCG +10
Interest History +30
Interest/Military History +70
Language/English +30
Language/German +30
Leadership +60
Martial Arts +60
Medtech +40
Melee Weapons +50
Navigation/Ground +30
Negotiation +30
Piloting/Mech +30
Protocol/FedSuns +30
Protocol/Lyran +120
Running +30
Sensor Operations +30
Small Arms +95
Stealth +30
Strategy +10
Survival/Arctic +30
Swimming +45
Tactics/Land +30
Technician/Electronics +30
Training +30
Stefan has spent 4120xp/5000xp
Any numbers to the left of an Attribute or Trait represents a prerequisite and its level.
And it is looking like we are getting very thin on points.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Stefan von Braun- Character Creation [Stage 2]
Stage 2 Generally takes the character from age 11 to age 16. There are really two choices for the decisions already made, Preparatory school or Military School. Considering the timeline, the Third Succession War is still going on, even if it has been reduced to low intensity conflict. This kind of data can be found in many BT sourcebooks, and also on several online sources, such as http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page. The Draconis Combine is only about two jumps (60 Light Years)from Sudeten. Open warfare with an ancient enemy practically on your doorstep? Sounds pretty cut-and-dry.
Military School adds quite a few skills, and also adds another prerequisite.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Age:16
Attributes:
Str 50
Bod 50
Ref 100
Dex 100
Int 175
[3]Wil 75
Cha 150
Edge 100
Traits:
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Connections +15
Enemy -100
Equipped +175
Extra Income +100
Fit +15
Glass Jaw -150
Rank +20
Reputation +50
[3]Wealth +200
Skills:
Appraisal +10
Art/Painting +10
Career/Soldier +30
Computers +35
Interest/CCG +10
Interest History +30
Interest/Military History +40
Language/English +30
Language/German +30
Leadership +20
Martial Arts +30
Medtech +10
Melee Weapons +20
Negotiation +15
Protocol/FedSuns +15
Protocol/Lyran +50
Running +30
Small Arms +65
Stealth +30
Strategy +10
Survival/Arctic +30
Swimming +30
Stefan has spent 1670xp/5000xp
Any numbers to the left of an Attribute or Trait represents a prerequisite and its level.
Military School adds quite a few skills, and also adds another prerequisite.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Stage 2: Military School
Age:16
Attributes:
Str 50
Bod 50
Ref 100
Dex 100
Int 175
[3]Wil 75
Cha 150
Edge 100
Traits:
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Connections +15
Enemy -100
Equipped +175
Extra Income +100
Fit +15
Glass Jaw -150
Rank +20
Reputation +50
[3]Wealth +200
Skills:
Appraisal +10
Art/Painting +10
Career/Soldier +30
Computers +35
Interest/CCG +10
Interest History +30
Interest/Military History +40
Language/English +30
Language/German +30
Leadership +20
Martial Arts +30
Medtech +10
Melee Weapons +20
Negotiation +15
Protocol/FedSuns +15
Protocol/Lyran +50
Running +30
Small Arms +65
Stealth +30
Strategy +10
Survival/Arctic +30
Swimming +30
Stefan has spent 1670xp/5000xp
Any numbers to the left of an Attribute or Trait represents a prerequisite and its level.
Stefan von Braun: AToW Character Creation [Stage 1]
With Stage 0 complete, it is time to continue on to Stage 1: Early Childhood. Stage 1 represents the character's birth, until about ten years of age. I have decided that Stefan's father is an executive at Trellshire Heavy Industries Sudeten facilities. This means that Stefan was fairly well off growing up, so the module needs to reflect this. Reading through the modules, we come across White Collar. Sounds good.
The White Collar module costs 170xp to purchase. We also find that there are prerequisites. Prerequisites mean that at the end of character creation, that element, (usually an Attribute and/or Trait) must be at least that level. For White Collar, there is a prerequisite total of 3 for in Wealth and/or Property Traits.
White Collar also allows the player to give the character +5 points to any three skills, Attributes, or Traits. So Stefan will add +5 to Language/German, Small Arms, and Survival/Arctic (Representing Boy Scout type activities).
At the end of Stage 1, Stefan now looks like this.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Age:10
Attributes:
Str 50
Bod 50
Ref 100
Dex 100
Int 175
Wil 75
Cha 100
Edge 100
Traits:
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Enemy -100
Equipped +175
Extra Income +100
Glass Jaw -150
Reputation +50
[3]Wealth +200
Skills:
Appraisal +10
Art/Painting +10
Interest/CCG +10
Language/English +30
Language/German +30
Negotiation +15
Protocol/FedSuns +15
Protocol/Lyran +20
Small Arms +15
Survival/Arctic +15
Stefan has spent 1170xp/5000xp
Any numbers to the left of an Attribute or Trait represents a prerequisite and its level.
The White Collar module costs 170xp to purchase. We also find that there are prerequisites. Prerequisites mean that at the end of character creation, that element, (usually an Attribute and/or Trait) must be at least that level. For White Collar, there is a prerequisite total of 3 for in Wealth and/or Property Traits.
White Collar also allows the player to give the character +5 points to any three skills, Attributes, or Traits. So Stefan will add +5 to Language/German, Small Arms, and Survival/Arctic (Representing Boy Scout type activities).
At the end of Stage 1, Stefan now looks like this.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Stage 1: White Collar
Age:10
Attributes:
Str 50
Bod 50
Ref 100
Dex 100
Int 175
Wil 75
Cha 100
Edge 100
Traits:
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Enemy -100
Equipped +175
Extra Income +100
Glass Jaw -150
Reputation +50
[3]Wealth +200
Skills:
Appraisal +10
Art/Painting +10
Interest/CCG +10
Language/English +30
Language/German +30
Negotiation +15
Protocol/FedSuns +15
Protocol/Lyran +20
Small Arms +15
Survival/Arctic +15
Stefan has spent 1170xp/5000xp
Any numbers to the left of an Attribute or Trait represents a prerequisite and its level.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Stefan von Braun: AToW Character Creation [Stage 0]
So, we have a name and very rough concept of our character, it is time to actually make the character. AToW uses a base of 5000xp to build characters, assuming a character is 21 at the end of the creation process. However for every year above 21, (or younger) add (or subtract) 100xp. But more on that later. Time to actually start spending points in Stage 0.
Every character, no matter origins has universal fixed Experience Points (AToW p.52). These reflect, well, universal experiences. This package costs 850 XP, and gives the character 100 xp to each Attribute, 20xp to the affiliation's primary language skill, 20 XP to Language/English, and 10xp to the Perception skill.
The other part of Stage 0 is the actual affiliation of the character. As I decided that Stefan was already from the Lyran Commonwealth, I need to locate the module cost for the LC. Affiliations begin on page 54 of AToW rulebook. Locating the Lyran Alliance (Commonwealth) Affiliation, I find it costs 150xp to purchase the module.
Each Affiliation also has a series of sub-Affiliations, indicating variations of the overall culture. I have decided that Stefan is from the world of Sudeten, which is located in the Tamar Pact. However, the Tamar Pact is not in the AToW rulebook, but is located in Era Reports:3052 (pg 158). Looking at all the Affiliation modules, you will see the awards granted to the character's Attributes, Traits, and Skills.
As you go through the modules, some will add to elements, some will subtract. Doing simple adding and subtracting will eventually get you a net result. Keep in mind, that all Attributes start at 100xp. So at the end of Stage 0, Stefan looks like.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Attributes:
Str 100
Bod 100
Ref 100
Dex 100
Int 100
Wil 125
Cha 100
Edge 100
Traits:
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Equipped +100
Extra Income +50
Glass Jaw -100
Wealth +100
Skills:
Appraisal +10
Language/English +30
Language/German +20
Negotiation +15
Protocol/FedSuns +15
Protocol/Lyran +15
Small Arms +10
Survival/Arctic +10
Stefan has spent 1000xp/5000xp
Every character, no matter origins has universal fixed Experience Points (AToW p.52). These reflect, well, universal experiences. This package costs 850 XP, and gives the character 100 xp to each Attribute, 20xp to the affiliation's primary language skill, 20 XP to Language/English, and 10xp to the Perception skill.
The other part of Stage 0 is the actual affiliation of the character. As I decided that Stefan was already from the Lyran Commonwealth, I need to locate the module cost for the LC. Affiliations begin on page 54 of AToW rulebook. Locating the Lyran Alliance (Commonwealth) Affiliation, I find it costs 150xp to purchase the module.
Each Affiliation also has a series of sub-Affiliations, indicating variations of the overall culture. I have decided that Stefan is from the world of Sudeten, which is located in the Tamar Pact. However, the Tamar Pact is not in the AToW rulebook, but is located in Era Reports:3052 (pg 158). Looking at all the Affiliation modules, you will see the awards granted to the character's Attributes, Traits, and Skills.
As you go through the modules, some will add to elements, some will subtract. Doing simple adding and subtracting will eventually get you a net result. Keep in mind, that all Attributes start at 100xp. So at the end of Stage 0, Stefan looks like.
Stefan von Braun.
Affiliation: Lyran Commonwealth (Tamar Pact)
Attributes:
Str 100
Bod 100
Ref 100
Dex 100
Int 100
Wil 125
Cha 100
Edge 100
Traits:
Compulsion/Hates Draconis Combine-50
Compulsion/Pro-Steiner -25
Equipped +100
Extra Income +50
Glass Jaw -100
Wealth +100
Skills:
Appraisal +10
Language/English +30
Language/German +20
Negotiation +15
Protocol/FedSuns +15
Protocol/Lyran +15
Small Arms +10
Survival/Arctic +10
Stefan has spent 1000xp/5000xp
Battletech: A Time of War Character Creation
With the background info out of the way, it is time for the actual character creation process to begin. The first step is making sure I have the materials ready. I have a pencil and paper (well actually Word is open) and copies of both A Time of War and Era Reports:3052 (PDF versions of both books can be located at http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php). ER:52 is needed because as it stands, it is the only source for rules for creating characters from the Tamar Pact of the Lyran Commonwealth.
When I make a character, I usually have a character concept in mind. Unless the system, or GM, has a character creation process that locks a player into playing what is rolled (Basic Dungeons and Dragons, i.e. the old red Beginner's box set), a player should have an idea of what they want their character to be. The concept can be as vague, or as detailed as you want, but the reality of character creation may not jive with your concept, so be open to change or alter your concept.
In this case, the character concept is a former Lyran Officer turned mercenary named Stefan Gerhradt von Braun. (AKA Steven Brown).
When I make a character, I usually have a character concept in mind. Unless the system, or GM, has a character creation process that locks a player into playing what is rolled (Basic Dungeons and Dragons, i.e. the old red Beginner's box set), a player should have an idea of what they want their character to be. The concept can be as vague, or as detailed as you want, but the reality of character creation may not jive with your concept, so be open to change or alter your concept.
In this case, the character concept is a former Lyran Officer turned mercenary named Stefan Gerhradt von Braun. (AKA Steven Brown).
Battletech: A Time of War Character Creation
I have currently decided to try and run an online Battletech (BT) campaign. The newest incarnation of the BT RPG is called A Time of War (AToW), which is the rule set I am using. I really liked Mechwarrior 3rd Edition, but this version is clean cut, but both have the same problem with brevity. Making a character using either of the last two BT RPGs is time consuming, but not necessarily difficult.
Time for a little background on the campaign. The players will be members of a small mercenary company in the years shortly following the 4th Succession War, I am not concrete on the date yet, but I am thinking the year 3032-33 will be the start date. The CO of the unit will be controlled by the GM (i.e. ME), and is an NPC. The CO will basically just be the plot device, deciding what contracts the unit will take (with input from the PCs) and for whom the unit will serve. The command's XO will be a PC and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations.
Players will be using the Module system from AToW, with point buy being prohibited. Point buy is decent for creating NPCs a GM may want more fleshed out than typical paper cut-outs, but players tend to use such a system to min/max their characters.
Time for a little background on the campaign. The players will be members of a small mercenary company in the years shortly following the 4th Succession War, I am not concrete on the date yet, but I am thinking the year 3032-33 will be the start date. The CO of the unit will be controlled by the GM (i.e. ME), and is an NPC. The CO will basically just be the plot device, deciding what contracts the unit will take (with input from the PCs) and for whom the unit will serve. The command's XO will be a PC and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations.
Players will be using the Module system from AToW, with point buy being prohibited. Point buy is decent for creating NPCs a GM may want more fleshed out than typical paper cut-outs, but players tend to use such a system to min/max their characters.
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