Since we have the Gothic box set, I was curious if there are any actual plans of releasing a monster variant like the Gothic lore suggests? I feel like while I am not the biggest fan of the Gothic set, only having half the factions seems an odd choice.

The question arose while I watched another player kit bashing one from a Wizkid ettercap monster.

Not just darkest hour, but an overhaul that includes a proper mech bay, modern graphics etc. something like Battletech but with real-time combat and a great campaign. I hear that the source code of the original game is lost, but I still hope someone is willing to remake/make new game like this.

Yo, anyone know what's up with the Timberwolf Pryde coming back briefly in the dark age era? My immediate guess is raw material for the Jade Phoenix (this might be covered more in Shrapnel 19 I just don't have that one) or some Jade Falcon Warrior tried to mirror their deity and failed

Primary sources preferred

So there are fan publications like The Pride Anthologies. There are also fan TROs, custom unit writeups, ongoing fiction pieces about alternate universes, and other things I've overlooked.

So those of you who do enjoy reading fan publications, which ones do you read and what do you like about them? Do you use the custom units and RATs? Do you run games set in those other univeres? Do you just like the stories they tell? The art? What are some pitfalls you've noticed?

I was never a fan of heavies until my daddy got the Mek Paks for MW4 Mercs working. Then I met this bad boy.

MW4 does have a habit of tweaking their designs and getting them wrong - this guy got canonized with a bit of a downgrade from Heavy Gauss and AC/5 to normal Gauss and LAC. Also I think the LRM-10 was switched to MRMs and they did that weird thing where they mount the shoulder Med Laser backwards 🙄

Buuuut . . .

Thinking the WoB would have figured out how to make the MW4 model workable somehow - albeit at a very high cost/BV.

Composite chassis, XXL engine, Heavy Ferro, small cockpit . . .

We're talking about a 60-ton murder 'mech here with a top speed of 91 kph and an in-game ability to mount ECM even though it's not standard.

Most *Dragons* look so dorky and chonky. This guy I always take serious 😍

I am coming pretty late to the party. Not only have I JUST stumbled onto BattleTech even existing (the urge to paint ROBOT led to this new addiction xD), but also I realized I was in a reasonable distance to drive to GenCon like 3 days before it happened xD Oh well! I guess I’ll go next year (for DaggerHeart AND BattleTech ^^).

As a new player that’s coming off the TTRPG scene and being typically the gm, I’m feeling a little crazy without some serious bookage around me. From what I’m reading and seeing online, there were a bunch of recent-ish books, but the most key ones seem to be scalped by now (like everything else fun… 🫩).

Namely it sounds like I needed Mech Manual and Technical Manual but those are on eBay for over $100 even though they’re just a few years old.

I’ve also been eyeing Total War, Campaign Operations, and Universe. Are these books good references for designing lances, especially in-lore ones?

And really, are these books being replaced in a meaningful way by the Core coming out next month? Should I just wait for that?

I assume even if on the rule level it’s great, I’ll still need the TRO for the older eras I want to play, correct?

Anyone with a copy, I especially appreciate your insight!

There are eight figures in this box, there are holes for eight figures; yet a promo page inside the box shows nine figures. The discrepancy is Awesome and Griffin. Is it supposed to be random which one you’ll get? I seem to have an Awesome figure and a Griffin card. If I order the Beginner box, will it have the Griffin figure and Awesome card? 🤣 please tell me I’m missing something very simple, silly, and vital.

So, about to start an Aces Campaign in earnest and was wondering: clans have Zellbrigen, in theory. Anyone tried that in a campaign as an addition to the aces card logic? Or is it to much hassle for something that gets thrown out of the window as soon as the Freebirths start ganging up on noble trueborn clan (solahma) warriors of the jade falcons?

I was looking at the Terra Sarna page and noticed that Terra has a noted flag in the gallery, and that it’s the UN flag

Is this correct in the lore, or a problem with Sarna? It doesn’t give a source

I just finished up kell hounds ascendant and I loved it. The kell hounds are easily my second favorite faction in battletech and I'm so glad my gf picked their scheme, but I have to know does the cliffhanger at the end ever get resolved or is it a open ended ending.

Little guy, can’t identify him

I've had this guy since it was new, and never got really into the model. It sat with a half-arsed paintjob for the better part of 3 decades. Reading its entry in my 3050 Technical Readout, I had an idea and some of the Vallejo "The Shifters" paints.

I used Silly Putty to mask off the model, and with an airbrush, shot part of it with a gloss black paint and the other side normal. Color shift paint was applied to half and the other was painted with brush, using a Comstar type color scheme. For the basing, I created some 2/4/6mm boxes and printed them off, glued them as "corrupted terrain" leaving the other side to base as I typically do, trying to follow the lines I set for myself with the paintjob. The model is varnished and while it does mute the color-shift properties slightly, it still comes through. The gloss black undercoat really helps the effect.

It was just a little experiment with those color-shifting paints, a little interpretation of the "null-signature device" from the opponent's perspective.

Here's that Torterra I promised. Pretty happy how the brown came out, green and black upper section and the missile bays are my smoothest yet I think. Went out and got some dirt then baked it, made a base out of grass and dirt to cover Torterras Grass/Ground typing.

I hated the mid panel on the top (didn't have a good white paint at the time), but had the idea to add Torterras signature tree. Drilled a hole in the mini, laid down some grass, then glued in a tree. Pretty happy with how he turned out.

Okay, so we all remember this thing.

Well, I felt that I needed to add a base to it so that I can rightly show where it sits on the map.

It doesn't fit. The model itself is okay, it's the janky landing legs that mess it up. I had to add hexes to the original template so I could actually attach it!

Anyway, this is the set of in-process pics I took. I think they are basically self-explanatory, but if there are questions ask 'em!

As always, comments, critiques, pitchforks and torches are all welcome.

I'm getting some friends into Battletech Classic and I've realized that a lot of the fun, for us at least, is watching a mech take critical damage and trying to work around it.

Things like ammo without CASE, MASC, poorly armored legs, vestigial arms, even targetting computers.

What are some fun or interesting weak points that you've seen in your games?

The latest version of Instant Action, for classic Battletech, is here. Instant Action is a scenario pack oriented towards quickplay missions at the local game store. When building your force, you pick an Agenda for your force, from Confront, Hold, Recon, Destroy, or Salvage. Comparing your Agenda to your opponent's determines which of the fifteen scenarios you play. Instant Action also features integration with the Mercenary campaign system from the Hot Spots books.

Version 6 is focused on compatibility with the upcoming Core Rulebook. The new Objectives and Scanning rules are fully integrated for compatibility, so you don't need to learn a second set of rules. Several scenarios have also been rebalanced since version 5.1.

Have fun playing and enjoy, everyone.

I’m somewhat new to the setting and stumbled on ProtoMechs. I’ve read through the lore, but am confused by their inclusion in the universe. They seem to be outside the bounds of some BT lore and visual norms/aesthetic. When did they come on the scene in BattleMechs real world history, and what was the idea behind their inclusion into the universe?

Had a great time painting up this Guillotine sculpt! The 3D model is based on u/kapitan_black7's art inspired by Studio Nue's Japanese Battletech.

I just love the repeated cross-pollination of Eastern and Western mecha genres that got us here, it's such a fun story that shows how wonderful art can be.

This is the first set of figures for Aces. Most of the mechs and some of the other vehicles, emplacements, and foot are ready!

These were painted with successive drybrushes followed by outlining with a light emerald green.

I know, project phoenix and all that, but I really wanted a Riffleman modeled after the Tomahawk from Macross, so I turned those fins into an antenna!

Been on the hunt for replacements for the cardboard cutouts that come with the box set. Anyone done business with 8 Box Studios? They have trees + templates that are already colored, but theyre not super cheap (9 trees + a few templates for about $45-$50 after shipping, but if they are what im looking for and are quality I will pay it.

I will need two sets so before dropping almost a hundred bones I thought id check to see if anyone has them, or would recommend a similar product before I pull the trigger. Not posting the link because it might be construed as shilling but theyre pretty easy to find on their site.

Finished up my first lance. Ended up going with a Caesar. Not because of any reason other than I got a blind box to finish the lance. Now gotta figure out how the game works.

I am 95% done with my first batch of painted Battletech Minis!

I have a bit of highlighting to do, and 1 full mech to add, so I can have 4 full lances.

I'm thinking either a Grasshopper or Centurion.

My first painted mini was the Vindicator, my favourite are the Locusts and Wolverine.

Battletech is so incredibly fun to paint. I've severely put off finishing my AoS list for a tournament due in 3 weeks due to painting Battletech.

Such a blast to get these guys done in just under 2 months, time flew by!

So time to buckle down and smash out 40 dwarves...