Feb 11

Feb 11 Medical Supplies for BattleTech: Beyond Electrodrome

R.J.

-For Beyond Electrodrome: a Custom BattleTech Fan Expansion-

Before I begin, thanks to Bryan Lee for letting me use his art for this post. To check out more of his stuff click HERE (its super-dope).

I’m going to cut right to the chase: I’ve been working on an expansion for Classic BattleTech for the last six months or so, and as far as the gameplay is concerned, things are going swimmingly.

Why have I been working on an expansion? Well, it started out as a sort of birthday present for my brother-in-law and it quickly mutated out of my hands into a screaming wad of tentacles, running amok in my apartment, knocking the paintings off the walls. It ate up my time. It ate up my mind. It gorged itself on my creative juices. BASTARD.

But why??

Simple: BattleTech has grown stale in my heart. The carnage is, I dunno, fine, I guess. Its fine. But its predictable. Like a microwave dinner. “Oh look, darling. More giant war machines shooting eachother. Ohp! Buncha missiles. Ohp! Looks like an ammo explosion. Ohp! Death from above. Whats on Channel 10?”

I wanted to give my brother something crazy and new, and selfishly, I wanted my gift to him to be something I loved too. Something I could play with too.

Thus, I have built a new pocket of the BattleTech Universe, a place bizarro, Gonzo, deadly, chaotic, merciless, and I made it just for us. And by “us” I mean the entire goddamned BattleTech community.

You’re welcome.

Whats the overall thrust of the expansion?

Imagine a 30ft tall robotic Nick Cage tripping balls on LSD in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, spitting and roaring as he cleaves through foes, the audience a rabid throng that’s not only allowed to fire their weapons at the combatants, but is encouraged to do so, and worse. Think bring-your-own-shoulder-fired-anti-armor-missile-launcher day. Think feel-free-to-leave-your-inferno-mines-on-the-battlefield day.

As the audience interacts with the ‘mechs, so too can the ‘mechs (and their teammates) interact with the audience. How? Hallucinogen grenades. Riot infantry. Chaff parties. Demolition charges. Pigs. Buffalo. Sarmaxan squirrels. Velociraptors. Gun turrets. Paint bombs. And of course…hotdog mines.

Yes, there’s a lot to it, many new layers, and each layer for the most part is optional. Which allows each individual group of players to use the Beyond Electrodrome expansion to customize their experience by adding any number of rules and options.

I will lay things out for you, dear reader, starting with the most mundane and accessible of additions, and will progress towards ever-greater vistas of derangement.

Starting with Medical Devices.

I added medical devices because, while it makes sense in the greater BattleTech universe that pilots would get smashed up in their cockpits, I want players to have simple ways of managing their pilots’ wounds and prolonging the fight to the bitter, molten end.

MEDICAL DEVICES:

The following single use automed devices are attached directly to the skin of a mechwarrior and can be triggered at any point during initiative phase or during end phase. If a pilot is knocked unconscious, the onboard medical monitors can automatically trigger an equipped automed during end phase. Each pilot can equip a maximum of 3 automeds per scenario, but this can be increased to 5 (or more) depending on group consensus.

Optional Rule: The most powerful equipped automed will trigger automatically in the event of a pilot’s death. For each wound that a given automed can heal roll 2d6: on an 11 or 12 the pilot returns to life with 5 wounds and any unrolled healing being applied to the character’s wounds as well.. Resolve all other automed effects normally. A pilot may be brought back to life any number of times in this manner.

Automed: Uncommon: 400 C-Bills
- Instantly heal one pilot wound or d3+1 physical and fatigue damage.
- +1 to-hit for all piloting, gunnery, and skill rolls attempted on the following movement/weapon attack phase or for the next 10 minutes. If used during initiative phase, this affects the current turn. If used during end phase, this affects the following turn.
Super Automed: Rare: 1000 C-Bills
- Instantly heal two pilot wounds or d3+3 physical and fatigue damage.
- +2 to-hit for all piloting, gunnery, and skill rolls attempted on the following movement/weapon attack phase or for the next 10 minutes. If used during initiative phase, this affects the current turn. If used during end phase, this affects the following turn.
- At the conclusion of the current combat scenario roll 2d6: rolling a 4 or lower results in +1 wound OR after ten minutes suffer 1d3+1 fatigue damage.
Ultra Automed: Extremely Rare: 2000 C-Bills
- Instantly heal three pilot wounds or d6+2 physical and fatigue damage.
- +3 to-hit for all piloting, gunnery, and skill rolls attempted on the following movement/weapon attack phase or for the next 10 minutes. If used during initiative phase, this affects the current turn. If used during end phase, this affects the following turn.
- +1 to-hit for all piloting and gunnery rolls for the remainder of the current combat scenario.
- At the conclusion of the current combat scenario roll 2d6 3 times, suffering +1 wound for each roll of 4 or lower. In Mechwarrior: Destiny, after 10 minutes roll d6 for each point of fatigue damage healed. For every 5-6 suffer 1 point of of fatigue damage.