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Battletech Field Manual/Sourcebook
BattleTech Field Manual Comstar
ComStar guards the entire knowledge of mankind.
Knowledge is power. Power Corrupts.
To maintain their monopoly on the flow of information and technology across the vast reaches of space, the powerful organization know as ComStar waged a hidden war of assassination, sabotage and terrorism for more than two hundred years. Now, the Star League has been resurrected and ComStar will play a pivotal role in its continued survival... or its ultimate downfall.
BattleTech Field Manual: ComStar describes the military doctrine, traditions, tactics and battle histories of ComStar's military division, the Com Guards, and the Word of Blake splinter group. This book also provides complete information on the Free Rasalhague Republic and units of the new Star League, including the Eridani Light Horse and Clan Nova Cat, plus new equipment and 'Mechs unique to ComStar.
Knowledge is power. Power Corrupts.
To maintain their monopoly on the flow of information and technology across the vast reaches of space, the powerful organization know as ComStar waged a hidden war of assassination, sabotage and terrorism for more than two hundred years. Now, the Star League has been resurrected and ComStar will play a pivotal role in its continued survival... or its ultimate downfall.
BattleTech Field Manual: ComStar describes the military doctrine, traditions, tactics and battle histories of ComStar's military division, the Com Guards, and the Word of Blake splinter group. This book also provides complete information on the Free Rasalhague Republic and units of the new Star League, including the Eridani Light Horse and Clan Nova Cat, plus new equipment and 'Mechs unique to ComStar.
- GenresScience Fiction
168 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1999
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 21, 2018
I met the group of friends that are still among my best friends via Battletech.
Until mid-7th Grade, lunch meant eating quickly, then heading outside seeking something to alleviate boredom and avoiding bullies. Then, one day, one of my (only) friends introduced me to these guys who stayed in all lunch, hunched at the end of a cafeteria table as though using their bodies as a wall to protect the bubble of fantasy that they were collectively creating. Some days the bubble contained D&D, but on that first day it was 25-100 ton, 2 inch tall war machines from a thousand-odd years in the future known as Battle Mechs.
I was hooked instantly.
It was a board game, but with infinite scenarios created by the players. It was a roleplaying game with a duration of one battle. It had a massive variety of pieces with various weapons, speeds, armor ratings, and special abilities and, if you weren't satisfied with the hundreds of options they provided, extensive, balanced rules for creating your own mechs.
The rules were extensive and, when using advanced optional rules, bordered on obsessive minutia but being a dysfunctional obsessive compulsive, I found learning them a delight. Unlike life, here there were clear-cut rules on how to do EVERYTHING!
The technical handout books not only contained dozens of mechs and vehicles, but each had its own history and backstory, as well as little personalized traits and quirks that had no effect on the game but made it all feel real, like commentary on how cramped the cockpits were for larger pilots or how awkwardly the control yokes were placed.
I don't know the state of the game currently aside from the nearly-direct computer port of this game that we always dreamed of finally coming out (just look up Battletech on Steam), but between the politically complex and interesting universe, detailed, comprehensive and seemingly balanced rules, and the relative speed of play, it filled a solid niche in our gaming schedule.
When the RPG came out (around college times for me) we even tried out a short lived mercenary game. Though we only got through a few sessions, it did send me on a month-long nostalgic binge re-reading the books and re-living a hundred battles fought in Middle and High School.
Until mid-7th Grade, lunch meant eating quickly, then heading outside seeking something to alleviate boredom and avoiding bullies. Then, one day, one of my (only) friends introduced me to these guys who stayed in all lunch, hunched at the end of a cafeteria table as though using their bodies as a wall to protect the bubble of fantasy that they were collectively creating. Some days the bubble contained D&D, but on that first day it was 25-100 ton, 2 inch tall war machines from a thousand-odd years in the future known as Battle Mechs.
I was hooked instantly.
It was a board game, but with infinite scenarios created by the players. It was a roleplaying game with a duration of one battle. It had a massive variety of pieces with various weapons, speeds, armor ratings, and special abilities and, if you weren't satisfied with the hundreds of options they provided, extensive, balanced rules for creating your own mechs.
The rules were extensive and, when using advanced optional rules, bordered on obsessive minutia but being a dysfunctional obsessive compulsive, I found learning them a delight. Unlike life, here there were clear-cut rules on how to do EVERYTHING!
The technical handout books not only contained dozens of mechs and vehicles, but each had its own history and backstory, as well as little personalized traits and quirks that had no effect on the game but made it all feel real, like commentary on how cramped the cockpits were for larger pilots or how awkwardly the control yokes were placed.
I don't know the state of the game currently aside from the nearly-direct computer port of this game that we always dreamed of finally coming out (just look up Battletech on Steam), but between the politically complex and interesting universe, detailed, comprehensive and seemingly balanced rules, and the relative speed of play, it filled a solid niche in our gaming schedule.
When the RPG came out (around college times for me) we even tried out a short lived mercenary game. Though we only got through a few sessions, it did send me on a month-long nostalgic binge re-reading the books and re-living a hundred battles fought in Middle and High School.
Displaying 1 of 1 review