I was discussing this with Hugin the other day, and seeing as how all of my other RP games have dried up, and I have been having some trouble coming up with storylines for my Falcons(not entirely sure what I want to do with them, and I accidently misplaced some of my paperwork for them, which has thankfully since been recovered), I have really been looking for an IS RP opportunity. Unless CJF gets booted out of the IS, I forsee it being quite some time before I can have said participating in the FGC.
That being the case, I'm seriously considering trying my hand at Battletech-Mercenaries again. I've made a unit once before, and while it was okay, I didn't have a playerbase to really make exciting stories. As most of us know, its more fun when you actually have people to play with and against. And thats when the idea came to me.
For those who don't know, Battletech-Mercenaries is a website/game that essentially serves as a backdrop for several player-run RP campaigns. The website maintains a staff of people that operate the core of the game, the behind-the-scenes framework nessecary for the rest of the game to function. The actual 'play' part, is 100% player controlled. All players are members of user-generated Mercenary units. Units accept contracts(generated by the site staff), and the unit's players then RP their way through whatever that contract is. They know(based on the contract) the relative strength of their opposition(aswell as the faction of course), the length of the contract(both real-time and game-time), aswell as various aspects of the contract. Payment is done on a $/word basis, with all contracts having a minimum word count to 'complete' the contract, and often a supplemental bonus(either bonus $/word after the minimum, or more often a lump sum if a higher word count is reached).
This means the game lends itself very well to groups who like to be able to take a mercenary unit and really have fun with it, and flesh it out however they want.
My idea is to make a unit, and then, if we had say 4-5 people, have a single person either volunteer or perhaps be nominated by the group to act as the GM and play the NPCs(or even just the bad NPCs with the players controlling all friendly NPCs). This way it wouldn't just be every many for himself, each contract would be given more direction and it could be more like a traditional RPG where its the GM vs the Players. But everyone is essentially on the same team so we don't have as much competition.
Of course the other benefit is that so long as there are a handful of active players(say 3 of us), anyone else who signs up and makes a character as part of the Unit on the website is free to contribute as much as they want(honestly anyone can contribute as much as they want anyways since the staff wouldn't be checking these forums to make sure only registered players were involved lol).
So yeah, I am really interested right now, and we could definetly have a brainstorm about what type of unit we wanted and the lineage before I would be submitting the Unit application.
Thoughts? Comments? Sign ups? :D
I will read myself in... because I seem to have now some time open for such a game :)
Too bad you weren't around when I was running Jared's Jackdaws. :P Your wordiness would have been a great boon.
I am in, I bailed on these guys for the FCG game, but now seems that my BTech schedule has freed up.
Daemonknight
Hugin
Valjean
Altrak
Four it is :)
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Thanks Fate that you appriciate the wordniness. Because it was sometimes quite hard to come up with more and more plots and stories from the DC the longer the game lasted (yet the most long term plotlines weren't able to fully develop :( )
I'm sort of interested. What time period is it set in do you know? And is it all just about mechs, or would there be ASF, armour and PBI?
Any chance of getting GWA involved? Even though he played a damn Marian in a previous FGC game, his RP was truly excellent.
Its an alternate timeline Parm. I think the year is like 3089 now? But its not the canon timeline. I believe it picks up right after the FedCom Civil War, but I'd have to go check. Theres a ton of backstory floating around from all the different units.
And no, its not all mechs. You create a merc force with whatever composition you want. I tried to do one before and it was a mix of PBI(well...Jump PBI), ASF, mechs and some APCs w/ BA. You can do whatever you want, and its all set out for you to create your dream force. As you gain cash you eventually can expand your unit and take on bigger/more contracts. At a certain Reputation level with an employer you can even get a landhold and have territory to defend, and it can be attacked and such. Its a very throuough game system they have.
It would allow all of us to excercise our RP without having to worry about one person trying to manage the headache of paperwork that FGCs require, much as I love these damn games. Someday I'll convince one of my programmer friends to take all the spreadsheets and math and rules and make a real client-based game of it.
I'd love to have you in Parm!
Let's talk characters!
I'd (if Fatebringer does not call dibs on it) play the ASF pilot (given the fact that we got two ASF on our Union).
If you want to do that, Fate, I'd be as happy with a BA trooper :)
And I'm considering to make the character a (former) clanner (Nova Cat that is)
thoughts?
I'd have to think about it. Yesterday was the first good day at work in a long time and that's only because I wasn't distracted by game stuff. :P Anywho, don't feel restricted because of me is all I'm saying.
Sounds like a nice idea Hugin.
I am on the other hand thinking of recycling one of the multiple DC characters developed in the 3040 game (probably Yuuki Hadono) with an alteration towards a Ronin backround and more fitting for the timeline of the mercenary game of course.
I've got so many favourite type characters, I don't know which one to go with :(
I think I'll refine my choice as we approach kick-off and see what everyone is coming up with. Anyone heard from DK as it's his idea after all?
BTW... do we only have one character each, or can we have a couple.
Im around. Theres a problem with the site, I can't actually make the unit, something broken on their end. Haven't heard back from the admins, so not sure whats up. Hugin said he had the same problem when he tried to make it.
And you have one 'active' character in the unit(ie registered on the site), but you can certinly RP more than just that character within the game
Thanks mate.
So for the parameters, I take it we are looking at a combined arms unit then. Which I for one, am more than happy with. Any idea on size?
And has any thought been gone into a background for it, because a lot of merc units do have an origin from one of the great Houses, even if that gets diluted with every passing year. Cheers.
all units start at 'company' strength. I put that in quotes because the way it actually works is they give you 100million C-Bills to buy the startup equipment to outfit your unit, aswell as a custom Union dropper. It gives you enough to make a full company, but depending on what units you purchase, you could be slightly over that size, or even VERY undersized(a lance of 25mill omnis anyone? lol).
However yes I had planned on us being a combined arms unit to start with so that anyone who wanted to pick a specialty other than mechwarrior had room for their char. Its quite easy to make a tank, BA, ASF, Mech, PBI/SF force with the cash they give you.
I hadn't wanted to breakdown the unit origin too much myself. My character is from the LA, specificlly Skye. He got run out of the Rangers for not going along with the anti-Tharkad sentiment when he was 'required' too by the officers above him in the Rangers. So he split. He did do service in a joint LAAF-SLDF campaign against CJF that happens in the timeline, so I figured anyone who wants to come from another House would simply have served with a SLDF unit that he fought alongside.
I don't mind being the pick up character. Let everyone else choose what they want to play and I will fill in. To be a Infantry or tanker in the Mech world is sort of fun.
Let me know when you start building the unit and what you will need filled...
Good news friends! I got the issue with the unit application sorted out, so within a day or so it should get approved, and we can get rolling. So if you haven't already headed over to the BTM website
http://www.battletech-mercenaries.com/ (http://www.battletech-mercenaries.com/)
do so, make a character. Make sure to set the character's unit to 'SAVE CHARACTER', unless our unit name is listed in the dropdown(Camerons Cuirassiers).
Once we get 3 of you into the system we can start looking into contracts and such, and i'll start buying equipment. Im hoping I can get my beloved Templar, but we shall see what everyone else wants first :P
also as an fyi, I am heading down to Balitmore this morning, and I have surgery scheduled for thursday morning early. So...don't expect to hear anything out of me thursday like...at all. Unless i wake up and decide to jump on my tablet(I doubt it). Friday is prob when I'll be awake enough from anasethesia to actually function. However I'll be on my tablet tomorrow after like, 4pm, and throughout wednesday.
On to unit discussion things: I need to appoint someone as the unit's XO. The XO, in addition to being the offical 2nd in command of the unit, is also able to operate the unit when Im unavailible(like if i was going to be away and there was a contract the unit really wanted, or if I for some odd reason couldn't collate and submit the transcript for a contract completion), they'd be the person who could do it. Is there someone who wants to be the backup, before I stick Hugin with the responsibility and then go running off- i mean... :D
Spoken like a true dictator ;) I'll second Hugin as XO!!
As an aside, do we have to stick with canon mechs, or can we have a custom.
ie.... custom Jenner IIC. 4x Clan ERML, TC and max armour.
OK. Just joined up with the site as a member. Will be working on my character application over the next day or two.
HAve to learn for a big test the next two weeks, will sign up immediatly afterwards ;)
Hiya boyos. Friendly neighborhood DK here, live from.my hospital bed in Baltumore. To keep the unit creatio. Going smoothly, ima ask u guys for hekp. We need a unit logo to finalize the creation. So go out and find some logos peeps# post em here so we can choose one to submit :)
For the logo, would be nice to have some info on unit background/ideas/name?
Name of the unit is Cameron's Cuirassiers. The unit CO was born and raised on Skye. He graduated Nagelring and was assigned to 7th Skye Rangers and served w tours od duty, fighting the Clans in a massive multi-natkonal campakg. CLled Operation Lorelai.
Once he returned home to Skye, the ranger high Command aaw him as unreliable(he isnt part of the free Skye movemwnt. He dosent much care tbh). So basiclly he was removed from command(honorabk discharge as there was very liftle annimosity about the whole situarion.
The unit takes its tacticL doctrine from the Grey Death Legion and the AFFS RCT structure. Combined aems is their hallmark. Anyone not from the LA would likely be known from the SLDF units assigned to Loreai.
Beyond that, i hadnt into real detail of the unit, figured you guys would want to have input as to the unit's composirio
So progress is being made on the merc unit boyos. Im.not at my comp, so finding clipart is gonna be annoying for me. However, im not too concerned what our unit insignia is, so if anyone has any cool clipart, lets get that up there so thr unit can be offical. Then we just need 3 ppl to signup on the site and we can look into contracts
Cuirassiers and Skye... well, give me some time and I will definitely come up with a emblem for the unit (drawing it myself).
Any preffered coloures?
I am already signed up on Mercenaries, have you created a unit yet?
as for unit assignment I would like some sort of small unit special forces infantry or spec op battlearmor. I figure that will be fun role play and give me something different in this BattleMech world.
@Altrak: blue is my personal fav color. I think blue/gold or blue/green would be my personal choices.
@Val: Im perfectly happy with that idea. i had a 2 squad(or platoon? i forget) in an earlier unit build as my SF section. they were equipped with Infiltraitor MkII PA/L, so they werent BA, they are still infantry.
Part od the reason is that the actual stealth BA is insanely.expensive for s starting unit. i had wanted to build out the unit with a WolfNet-esque intelligence command too.
also, the unit is active atm, but we needna unit insignia before we can proceed.
when your char is made try to select "Cameron's Cuirassiers" as your unit of choice. if its not availible yet, gotta wait till we have a unit insignia first
to remind people: the unit name is Cameron's Cuirassiers. if if jt does t show up, its because we dont have a unit insignia yet. once we get that, we should be ready to start accepting applications. once 3 accts
have been accepted we should be able to start purchasing equipment and taking contracts, thus getting this show onnthe road
i dont have access to my PC yet, still very difficult for me to move around.
jusr wanted to give everyone a clear update :)
hello hello? anyone still interested in this? im back n baltimore sadly, but trying to organize the
Waiting for you. Also I am having issues getting on BTechMercenaries Forum page.
They are having huge issues with the forum page, can you host here?
welp, someone had mentioned going for drawing a unit insignia, since that hasn't materialized, its time to find some clipart!
once thats done, i think we're set, it was literally just a few minor adminy things we are waiting on to go live and start discussing composition
Registration done,
also: I am back!
welcome back!
Just don't forget, there are 2 parts to registration for the game(this is for everyone, not just you Alt)
Step 1: Register on the main BTM website(http://www.battletech-mercenaries.com/ (http://www.battletech-mercenaries.com/)), make your character, and make sure to pick our unit(Cameron's Cuirassiers) so you'll be able to join with the rest of us.
Step 2: Register yourself on the game's forums(just click the forum button on the above page), you might only see 'introduction' as the only area you can see. make a few random posts there if you can, because you might need 10 posts before you can see everything. As soon as you see the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission section, go there, goto the thread that says Mercenary Unit Affiliation Requests and request access to our unit's forums. Once I see someone has done that, I give the okay, and the admins will give you access so you can see our forum section where we are playing.
Our unit is pretty much as staffed as it can be at the moment lol, unless people are wanting to play subordinate positions. We have untill March 31st to complete this current contract, and especially if we can make the Salvage mark, we will be able to purchase almost another 100 million worth of equipment, not to mention whatever salvage we end of snagging. So more positions will certinly be opening, although I might have to sink cash into a 2nd dropship(we can buy the special MRBC Unions for half price, only 50 mil, so thats not a problem at first, though we can only have 3 MRBC-type DS in our TO&E, and I wanna get the Leopard CV one for our air wing after probably our 2nd contract).