This game will be taking place in the Battletech universe in the year 3050. Only humans exist as a playable race, and only those from the Inner Sphere and periphery may be player characters.
The character creation process for this game is broken down into 10 steps, as follows:
1: Characters begin with all Stats at 2 and all skills at 0. Choose whether you wish your character to be a Combat or Non-Combat character. This will impact some things you will acquire for free.
2: You choose an Origin, a Background, a Career and a Technique from that chosen Career. Adjust your stats and skills accordingly. Add the Technique to your sheet.
3: Combat and Non-combat characters add their free bits to their sheets:
- If you are playing a Combat Character you should now add the following to your sheet: One level of the Rank Advantage, one level of the skills Knowledge: Mercenaries, Tactics and Small Arms (Pistol). If your Career included any of these skills, then they'll start at level 2 before you spend any xp.
- If you are playing a Non-combat character you should now add the following to your sheet: One half level of the Rank Advantage (i.e. +0.5 Rank, rather than +1.0). One level of the skills Knowledge: Mercenaries and Administration. A single free 4 points to spend toward the Connection Advantage. This can be two 1/1 Connections, or a single more expensive Connection. It could be to a Major or Lesser NPC in the Unit, except the CO. This Connection can be increased with xp. They should represent someone from your past or a close ally or friend within the Unit. Some good suggestions outside the Unit would be: A parts broker, merchant, military officer, Comstar Adept, noble or scientist.
- Only the first 10xp given by Disadvantages will count. I.e. You can take 11 points or more of Disadvantages if you wish, but anything more than 10 will not be rewarded. It is not recommended to do this.
- No character may have more than 25xp worth of Advantages. This is already 1/3 of your available XP.
5: Your Character Sheet is nearly complete! Please note that all Player Characters for this game will belong to the Obisidian Angels. This may not be the case in any future games. Based on your Advantages/Disadvantages chosen, if any, please add your Rank to your character sheet. Your starting Glory should also be added similarly. Finally, your Rank (and possibly some Advantage/Disadvantage choices) will dictate how many minor NPCs are under you and what their traits and skills are. These should be named and noted too.
- You're welcome to add additional details about these minor NPCs, such as personality and backstory. They will be treated like Dependants in the sense that you can roleplay one or all of them if you wish, but you are not obligated to do so. They will usually follow your orders and assist you, in and out of combat.
6: Next, you should spend any credits you wish to spend on equipment. Your starting credit amount will be based on your Career, Background and any Advantages/Disadvantages you have. Your Career will also provide some starting equipment. Once done, this completes your Character Sheet.
7: Now it's important to think a little more about your character and their past. Let's call this the Character Story aspect. Firstly, if you haven't yet, make sure to name your character. You should also write either some bullet points or paragraphs about the character. This should broadly cover their past, how any Advantages/Disadvantages they have came about, how they ended up in the Mercenary Unit Name and a little about them (personality, hobbies, aspirations, issues, etc.). These will give story ideas to me, the GM, and help you decide the initial way you'll play your character. Additionally, do think about and describe any underlings you may have, which will depend on your Rank.
8: You're done - woo! Please submit the Character Sheet and your Character Story to me by email (via yuushastar(@)gmail.com - remove the brackets).
9: Please create an account on this forum, using your character's name. You may also wish to ping me on Discord @ Mizuki#9052 to ensure I know your character sheet has been submitted. I'll give you limited access to the forum (you'll be able to post in the OOC area).
10. I'll alert you when your character submission has been approved and create a private forum for you. You'll also be given full access to the forums. This approval process may take a day or two. With this, you're done and ready to play!
Exceptions to step 10:
- Do note that your character may not be approved for various reasons; I'll contact you in this case to alert you of the issue(s) and give you a chance to fix them. Perhaps you spent more xp than 75 by accident, perhaps a chosen Mech isn't available in this time period, perhaps your Character Story doesn't explain some key aspects of your character, etc.
- In rare circumstances a character submission may be rejected. This will usually be because they substantially do not fit the game themes or rules. If this happens, please create a new character instead. Examples of characters that would be rejected are: a child character (under 18), a Clanner, a paraplegic anti-war protestor or a character that is clearly an expy. Feel free to be inspired by others' characters and even to pay homage to them, but please do not try to fully recreate them.
Helpful tips and considerations:
- Combat Mechwarrior characters would be wise to take the Mechwarrior advantage (or the Inherited Mech advantage, which includes it), unless they have no desire to obtain a company mech, or to be able to get any aid repairing battle damage.
- This setting is quite lethal - death can be sudden, unfair, and brutal. The saying in this universe is to "Save the Metal, not the Meat." If your character should die, keep calm and carry on - there will be more pilots to fight and die in that cockpit, odds are.
- Non-combat characters ought to contribute to the Mercenary Unit Name in some key way. They could be electronics experts, strategists, mechtech experts, data analysts, medical specialists and so on. They may even contribute with multiple specialisms. You'll have more xp available for skills for your character than Combat Characters, so do consider covering areas they likely will not, such as good social ability, knowledge and lore skills, investigation and stealth, etc. Of course your character does not need all or even any of these, but you'll likely find more to do if you have a few strengths in such areas.
- If you are at any time unsure whether technology exists, remember that computing in this setting is quite primitive by modern standards. There are incredible advances in materials sciences, medicine, and weaponry, but they're using computers that make your common smartphone look like magic by comparison. Feel free to contact me if you are unsure about anything or for suggestions. Remember that the setting is very 'mud and lasers' and being a cowboy or knight in a mech is part of the charm.
- This game is Player vs Environment (PvE). Characters may wish to sabotage, backstab or otherwise throw one another under the bus, but they will need a good reason that can be objectively approved by myself. Generally, you should be able to fully rely on other Player Characters who should be advancing the cause of the Mercenary Unit Name together. Your characters are comrades. Nonetheless, life in real life, anything is possible. Equally, there would be serious consequences IC if someone were caught endangering someone else. Please bear this in mind when considering your character, particularly any Disadvantages.
- Please read the forum rules carefully. In particular, metagaming, rolling more than once for a roll without permission and harassing other players are major offenses. Avoid these.
- Remember it's a game. Players should be treated nicely OOC even if you are angry at them IC. Be courteous and things will be fine. If you are really angry then try taking a break away from the game for a few hours or even a day.
- If you've encountered an issue you cannot solve on your own, or you are being upset by something, please contact me. If possible, try to resolve things with other players first and communicate with them, but if that isn't working or you feel threatened then contact me immediately.
- I'm running this game solo. Please be patient as I try to keep on top of everything. Use your private forum to contact me for less time critical things. If I've overlooked you or something after 12-24 hours, or it's time sensitive, please PM me here or message me on discord as a reminder. Use this as a last resort so I don't get overwhelmed.
