Mechwarrior PBEMail is a play by e-mail game based in the year 3060 Battletech Universe. Players take the position of a single mechwarrior, with or without a 'mech, arriving on Solaris VII. From there, the player can do as he/she sees fit, competing in the arena of Solaris, or trying to put together a mercenary group, or whatever. All characters will be built using the system outlined in the Mechwarrior 2nd Edition Handbook. Warning, do not use ANY of the pre-generated characters in this book or any of the other FASA reference books as they are ALL wrong in one way or another. Be creative, make your own character.

The optional rule on placement of your 10 points in in effect. All characters will be 0 Cost Humans, so don't waste any points making yourself a Cost 1 Human or any of the Clan types. If you allocate points for a mech, you get to make 3 initial choices of 'mechs ranked from the one you want the most to the one you want the least. The GM will then randomly determine which one you get based on the availability of the particular mechs and the background history you provide to back up your claim to a particular 'mech. All special abilities are in effect, however, don't expect your land grants to make a lot of funds if you are not personally there to manage them, even if you have the appropriate skills.

Once you have your initial character set up, you chose a Great House to be aligned with. This is strictly for initial interaction with NPC's. Once you start roleplaying, your character's actions will speak louder than his/her former house affiliation. If you did NOT choose an Academy or University Package for your skills, you may chose to have no past affiliation with any house.

If you wish to form a mercenary group, the upkeep and other economic nightmares listed in the Mercenary's Handbook 3055 won't start until after you have put together at least a lance of 'mechs. This will take some time as characters will not start with a significant amount of excess funds, unless you take the appropriate special ability. If you do have a 'mech however, you will be expected to front the weekly maintenance for it, so either plan on paying for the maintenance or renting the facilities to perform it yourself, or join a stable quickly.

Equipment Required:

2nd edition Mechwarrior Handbook
Battletech Compendium
Mercenary's Handbook 3055
Technical Readout with your mech in it
Official FASA record sheet of your mech
Solaris Vll Player's Handbook

Optional Equipment

All other Technical Readouts
Solaris Vll Boxed Set
Solaris: The Reaches Supplement
Battlespace Boxed Set
Map sets 1,2,3,4
Record Sheet volumes 1,2,3,4,5,6
Great House Books
20 Year Update
Original Mercenary's Handbook
Original Mechwarrior Handbook Leads, figures, etc.

Due to the GM being a Graduate Student, turnaround times for turns may vary from a day to a week or more depending on his workload and holiday schedule. To keep things simple, all players will run independent positions. This means that 2 people's characters should not expect to be able to get together and form their own group.

It's a big universe out there, and the NPC's outnumber you several untold trillions to one. The GM will create all NPC's. As NPC's join your group (if you so desire) they will turn into PC's under the player's control. You will get a character sheet detailing their skills and abilities once they join your group. All recruiting will be roleplayed, with applicable skills becoming significant during interviews and negotiations.

Joining In?

If you are interested in joining this game, please send your initial character via email to dylander@aol.com. (Note--Openings are for DU members/Chainmail subscribers--RL). Include some background history, especially if he/she is a graduate of one of the military academies or universities and is no longer in that house's military or give details on how someone who wasn't in a house army got ahold of a 'mech.

All 'mechs obtained at startup will be at 100% with no damage or outstanding repairs or maintenance. If your character has a 'mech but does not have the needed tech skill, he/she will have to pay someone to provide the needed weekly maintenance unless he/she joins one of the stables and has that taken care of as part of his/her contract. The more you provide in your initial mailing the less back and forth there will be before you get to start roleplaying. Include a brief physical description of how your character appears when out in public too. This will help the GM keep track of who is what.

Once roleplaying starts, your turn sheets will include a IC part and an OOC part. The IC part will show you the reactions to your character's actions in your last email. The OOC part will give you information about what supplements you may need to get a hold of to run your position, or information you need to take care of the paperwork involved. Game turns will advance at whatever rate is applicable; some turns may represent months of time, while others a combat round or 2. Although the GM will be using FASA Map Sets for combat, you don't have to have any of them to participate in this game.

The GM is not afraid of running LARGE positions. In a previous attempt at this on another network, he GMed 5 positions the smallest of which was a combined arms company and the largest was 3 regiments of 'mechs with hundreds of support personnel. These positions all started as a single person and built up over the course of several years.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the game, send your questions to the same email address above. There is no cost other than your time; collecting fees through email is kinda difficult anyway. He is accepting setups before then so that once the new year starts all positions will have the same date, January 3060. See you in the future.

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