This month, Ken takes a look at an "evolution of a milieu." that means he's going to tell us all about the birth, growth and development of the world of Battletech.
Everyone in our hobby has seen gaming milieus originate from movies, books, or even ancient legends. It's commonplace to see a hit movie in the fall and be buying its role-playing counterpart the next spring or summer. It's much more rare, however, to see a successful series of books, popular role-playing game, or an highly acclaimed animated series based on a miniatures game. In fact, it's only happened once that I'm aware of.
BattleTech began as a relatively simple miniatures game inspired by some very successful anime (then called japanimation). The system was simple enough, and the genre popular enough, to attract a whole new breed of miniatures gamer – players who didn't want to study Napoleonic history or know the names of the officers involved in Pickett's Charge in order to get involved.
As a new miniatures game, it had the advantage of using huge, powerful BattleMechs – 6+ meter tall monsters of metal powered by fusion reactors and armed like a battalion of 20th century tanks. Now, in what other game could you play with high-tech, futuristic weapons of war such as these?
BattleTech's simple mechanics revolved entirely around a two 6-sided die system. Players didn't need dozens of charts and a myriad of dice in differing geomorphic shapes. A couple of dice and a terrain map pretty much got you going, since the game even included cardboard counters to represent 'mechs.
Because a system using 2d6 produces random numbers along a bell curve, small modifiers for attacker and target movement, as well as terrain, have a big impact on targeting numbers. Essentially, the system is a very simple yet elegant set of mechanics that requires few tables while providing a realistic (using the term loosely) feel. The randomness is there, but by playing the law of averages there are less arbitrary occurences than in most miniatures games.
But that still doesn't explain how this miniatures game developed into a full blown milieu, complete with books and video games! So what made BattleTech different? The background. While the initial setting was simplistic and semed two-dimensional, FASA corporation locked the game onto a time-line and recruited authors to generate fiction. In no time at all the milieu began to expand and increase in depth.
The following is a very rough synopsis of the BattleTech background:
By the beginning of the 28th century, mankind had leapt from Terra and into the stars. The region of space that had been explored and colonized by the ever-expanding human race was called 'The Inner Sphere.'
Through centuries of bickering and struggles, most of mankind had polarized into one of five societies/cultures: The Federated Suns, Lyran Commonwealth, Draconis Combine, Capellan Confederation, and Free Worlds League. In addition to these great houses, a quasi-religious organization called ComStar was responsible for all high-speed communications. Other fragments of humanity existed at the very fringes of the Inner Sphere, in what was called the Periphery, but they were too young and impotent to be involved in the political machinations and maneuvering going on between the great houses.
Despite the centuries of enmity between the five houses, one man was able to unite them in purpose to create what was called the Star League, uniting all of mankind for the first time in its history. The Star League brought with it prosperity and peace the likes of which mankind had never known. Unfortunately, the Star League lasted less than a century before a violent death at the hands of a treacherous power-monger.
The armies of the Star League destroyed the armies of the usurper and his rebellion was crushed, but the damage had been done. The First Lord of the Star League and his entire bloodline had been killed. Without a rallying point, the leader of each of the five houses laid claim to the Star League throne – and each was willing to go to war to pursue that claim.
Rather than become embroiled in a civil war that could easily mean the end of mankind, General Kerensky, leader of the Star League army, marshalled his forces and left the Inner Sphere for unknown space.
Over the next three centuries, mankind, led by the five houses, fought three Succession Wars. Each Succession War pushed human technology further back, destroying precious factories, research centers, and killing the great minds of the time. By the year 3025, hundreds of years worth of technological advancement had been lost.
Mankind was able to cling to some critical technology, such as jump ships and battlemechs. The jump ships, with their FTL (faster than light) drives, allowed interstellar travel to continue. The battlemechs allowed warfare to continue.
That's where the time-line began when the game was released. As the game grew in popularity, each of the great houses were better defined in their own sourcebooks, and BattleTech novels began to pour out. The books introduced gamers and SF fans to the first of many now-renowned units, such as the Grey Death Legion and the Northwind Highlanders. In fact, BattleTech novels have been the driving force behind most of the advances in the game, such as advanced Inner Sphere and Clan technologies.
Books by Mike Stackpole, one of FASA's most prolific writers, have wrought incredible changes in the BattleTech universe, such as the Fourth Succession War in which the Lyran Commonwealth joined with the Federated Suns, through a diplomatic marriage, to form the Federated Commonwealth. The F-C then turned its attention to the Capellan Confederation and Draconis Combine, taking hundreds of worlds from each during the war.
The end of the Fourth Succession War heralded great changes in the political make up of the Inner Sphere: leaders grew old and began to look to their heirs for the future, borders shifted, and new political entities came into being, many having broken away from oppressive masters to form independent states.
As the time-line marched on, the Inner Sphere came under attack by a new enemy (called the Clans) from outside known space. By the time the Inner Sphere could respond, the enemy had gobbled up a large chunk of Inner Sphere space, including pieces of the Federated Commonwealth's Lyran space and the Draconis Combine. With the Inner Sphere unable to stop the Clan juggernaut, ComStar revealed itself to be more than it had seemed. Though the leaders of the Inner Sphere had known ComStar to possess military forces in some small numbers, ComStar actually possessed many times more than they suspected. ComStar won a fifteen year truce from the clans by defeating them in a series of battles on the world of Tukayyid, but that was hardly the end of troubles for the Inner Sphere. The Federated Commonwealth is being torn apart by political maneuvering, the Draconis Combine has a new Coordinator but is still reeling from the damage sustained during the Clan invasion, and the ruler of the Free Worlds League may marry his daughter and only heir to the ruler of the Capellan Confederation, who is plotting against virtually everyone.
With his latest book, Malicious Intent, Michael Stackpole twists the reader's mind with shocking revelations of intrigue and tons of action. Even if you aren't a fan of BattleTech, any SF fan will enjoy the BattleTech series of books.
Look around a hobby store now and you will see dozens of products for the miniatures game, from extra map sets to scenario books, to Ral Partha miniatures. However, you will also see loads of role-playing adventure books, computer software, Sega and Nintendo games, comic books, and other assorted products. It's staggering.
We won't even get into the highly acclaimed animated series, really bad toys by Tyco, talk about a major motion picture, virtual reality centers featuring BattleTech simulators, or the impending WotC deckmaster card game based on BattleTech.
Seven new Battletech miniatures
Note: Future Wars is an unsanctioned BattleTech fanzine. We recently received Issue #37, and found 54 pages of new 'mech designs and quality articles on all BT topics. Subscriptions are $24 for 6 issues. Send your check to Herb Barents, 17187 Wildemere, Detroit, MI 48221. The single issue price is $4.50. All BT nuts should check it out.
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