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Kirin
ComStar
Recruit
Joined: 18-Oct-2025 20:17
Posts: 2
Location: United States
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 Posted: 18-Oct-2025 22:10 Post subject: So I started a Homebrewed BattleTech Campaign... |
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As title states I started running a BattleTech campaign on Table Top Simulator set in an entirely homebrewed system that is cut off from the rest of the cannon verse. Why? Well I just honestly am relatively new to the whole universe. It seemed like a pretty safe way to create a controlled system for my players to explore and go about their quest. But there is a slight problem: One of the players is super deep into the lore and is asking questions I have no clue to answer.
I'm being asked questions that are not found in my printed copy of the classic rulebook like: "What year it is?" "How is there a clan mech here?" "Huh? Why can't I just use Comstar?" "I thought that the IGOR wasn't cannon?"
I have no freaking clue about most of this stuff and I've been winging it or just brushing off paradox's the best I can. I have over a decade of being a DM experience across several systems (Including some successful entirely homebrewed systems) but I just simply don't have the knowledge to make everything make sense and fit. I've only really played MechWarrior 5 so my knowledge is shallow at best.
However despite all these lore issues my players have been having a lot of fun and are engaging in the main story I've written as well as side stories that their original characters have background stakes in. They are now wanting to customize their mechs and I'm even trying to build some custom mechs and vehicles for them to fight which hopefully won't be horribly unbalanced. They didn't even groan too hard when I was making up "Legendary Actions" since they were absolutely crushing some poor boss who was supposed to be a threat and he needed a pulled-out-of-my-ass boost. (Today's lesson: Action economy!)
So I suppose the point of what I am getting to is: Does the BattleTech Classic system really need the BattleTech lore? Is it able to stand up on its own with a cobbled together setting? Am I missing anything that is going to massively bite me in the butt later? Is there some good lore guide I can go over and still have time to build a battle map and encounters for them to play on? Is there some offical stuff I really should be using? Why does the AC-2 suck so much?!
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"Hey Kirin, you like being a DM right?""Yeah?""Could You make a campaign for us in BattleTech?" -How we got here
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Ruger
Lyran Alliance
Kommandant-General
Joined: 04-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 2710
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| Posted: 19-Oct-2025 06:12 Post subject: So I started a Homebrewed BattleTech Campaign... |
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If you’re just wanting to play a game of big piloted robots going around and fighting each other, then no, you don’t need the lore and what not.
Use the system and the minis and have at it.
As the release of the Gothic boxed set, salvage boxes and Shrapnel issue have shown, not to mention, so many countless games and campaigns over the decades, you don’t necessarily need the decades of lore from the official timeline to run a game. You can create an alternative setting/universe.
Just make it clear from the outset that your game is not in the official BTech setting/universe, and you’re not drawing anything from it other than whatever you might be using.
Confined to one planet? Ok. You have nations that aren’t named as per those in the official setting? (Or maybe they share the same names, but are located on different, or same, continents on a single world) Ok.
You mentioned one player asked how is a Clan ‘Mech in the setting? It’s not a Clan ‘Mech as they know it. It’s from a nation/state with a technological advantage over the rest. Maybe there’s upwards of 20 such nations or it’s just one with 20 sub-units (states) that call themselves Clans, and maybe they are from a small continent that was colonized by (well-organized and equipped) deserters that fled from wars that were going to happen on the primary continent 300 years ago after their ancestors fought a vast war of liberation to free the rest of the main continent from a tyrant to took over the central government that ruled the alliance of primary nation-states on that continent.
Maybe it’s something completely different.
Nothing says you absolutely must use all the official history, lore, etc to play a game of BattleTech. Make the universe your own, or even play without a specific setting in mind. If you are having fun, that’s the main point. Bonus points (maybe) if you enjoy the lore and history of the official universe.
Just play, have fun and enjoy yourselves.
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Kirin
ComStar
Recruit
Joined: 18-Oct-2025 20:17
Posts: 2
Location: United States
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| Posted: 24-Mar-2026 00:42 Post subject: So I started a Homebrewed BattleTech Campaign... |
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As i was using the wonderful unit creator (This has got to be one of the greatest things on the internet to me for how well made it is) so that a player can have a duel aginst his resentful sister in a custom mech variant armed with a sword; i got to thinking i should post an update just incase anyone was curious how its going.
In short: its going very well despite a rocky start!
In Long: The campaign is progressing nicely along and all my players seem engaged and looking forward to each session enough to be disappointed when i had to cancel a session. I've managed to work in a bit of everyone's backstories and meld them nicely into the plot and there is good debate on which missions they want to try next and what new gear they want to try to get their hands (and claws) on next. Their company just got their first heavy mech (a quickdraw once used by a nasty villain) as well as trying to fully upgrade a mothballed clan light mech they stole (a puma) back into its full glory using their limited rare loot.
I took a bit of inspiration from the BattleTech digital game and also introduced some upgraded weapons which have proved to work quite well. They give more significant NPCs and named foes more punch without just jacking their skill levels up as well as giving very cool loot that they have to debate over what to take with their limited share options. The only main issue though is with the unit builder i don't see any way to add custom or upgraded weapons to the sheets, so I've had to edit the pdf which works but looks a bit slopy.
Another issue I keep running into is that finding importable 3D models has proven somewhat difficult, and the amount of mods for Tabletop Simulator for BattleTech is limited, and the quality miniature models are exclusive to only a few mod packs. This can be worked on with proxies for mechs that have nothing I can use, but it feels a bit weird and trips up the BattleTech veteran at the table when he sees a hellspawn and its labeled Chimera for example. If there is a solution or resource I'm missing: i would love to know about it.
As for the lore, i know much more now that I've actually gone out and researched on my own as well as had a talk with the much more knowing player and worked out a bit of a "Don't worry about it" approach. I have even worked out a reason why there is a weird amount of clan, advanced, and upgraded mechs and tech too and worked it into the story! As for the factions, knowing the main big players has greatly helped me design and reflect those into the factions in my little pocket of space that contains the story. It is much easier to design a mission if i have handy list of what mechs are available to that group to pick from among other things and adds to consistency.
So that about wraps up the update so far, everything is going nicely and people are having fun. One player whom had never heard of battle tech before even started trying to find a place to get into BattleTech in person too.
PS: As i have somewhat recently learned: Clan stuff is bullshit strong. What do you mean they are faster, stronger, smaller, lighter, more heat effective than everything else on top of being more skilled with an additional mech per lance/star?!
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"Hey Kirin, you like being a DM right?""Yeah?""Could You make a campaign for us in BattleTech?" -How we got here
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Mordel
Mordel.Net
Administrator
Joined: 03-Feb-2002 00:00
Posts: 6288
Location: United States
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| Posted: 24-Mar-2026 10:49 Post subject: So I started a Homebrewed BattleTech Campaign... |
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Awesome to hear that you are still going strong at this and enjoying it with your group as you do!
Also happy to hear the unit designer is of benefit to you and you enjoy its use! I'm always happy to add updates when requested. I do have a lengthy list of things I'm working on for it; just look in the request tracker and you'll see, https://www.mordel.net/ers.php?p=1.
As for custom weapons, that has been a long-desired thing for me to do. The simple answer as to why it hasn't been done is "it's complicated". I realized I didn't have an official enhancement request in there for this though, so I've added one and listed you as the creator for it. There are some more critical things I need to do before I can get to this, and when I do I'll likely start small (i.e., custom armor or something) and then add on to it over time to allow for more and different custom equipment.
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Mordel Blacknight - Site Administrator
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