So, our benevolent overlords at Catalyst Game Labs were kind enough to provide a review copy of Hot Spots Draconis Reach ahead of its May 13th street date. This is a follow up in the series begun with Hinterlands and features a start to finish Chaos Campaign in a book. Let's dig into what's in the book and how it fits into the larger battletech gaming ecosystem.
What is Hot Spots?
Hot Spots is a series of products with a long lineage of contracts for mercenary mechwarriors. Draconis Reach improves on the .modern version of this idea by framing it in a Chaos Campaign. A modern chaos Campaign is broken into contracts for mercenary work, played out over a series of game turns represented by months in game. Each month a mission track is played, determined by the initial contract. Once all the steps of the contract have been played, the contract ends, and players select new contracts and continue playing until they run out of months. Between games,players track repairs, pilot development, and grow their forces.
The first forty some odd pages cover the Chaos Campaign framework in detail. This is one of the best expressions of a Campaign system I've seen for Battletech. With one caveat. It's for small sized units only. The scale system covers size 1 to 3 scale units, which covers a couple of mechs and support (think early Fox patrol) to an enhanced lance or light company (if you pick cheap units). Larger sized units are not covered by the scope of Hot Spots. (For that experience, you'll need Campaign Operations).
The book is excellent for the new player. It has multiple starting setups for new player units (bonus points for catalyst making selections of reasonably available mechs in plastic) and while the book is limited to 6 or so starting affiliation choices, there's enough choices within each to support multiple styles of play within each. (Players are also allowed to use the Master Unit List for wider choices, but the starting suggestions are sufficient for most play experiences).
The Sponsorship system is new to my experience, and adds depth to the experience. Basically, after jumping through some gameplay hoops, your unit can “hire on” or “join up” with a larger organization which provides a variety of options and benefits for joining. These Sponsorship options add both flavor and options to the campaign.
The contracts themselves offer multiple missions and months of real time game play. There's enough variety of mission in the book to provide a group of miscreants entertainment and gameplay for months without repeats.
Overall
This is an exceptional campaign book for what it covers. The framework is broad enough for multiple styles of play and supports a decent sized play group. It's a solid purchase for a gaming group (I'm not sure everyone needs a copy, but its strongly suggested). It supports players of all experience level and offers a rewarding experience to the entire group.
5 stars
Available at Catalyst Game Labs for $49.99, or check your Friendly local Game Store at your earliest convenience to buy locally. Remember, these go live on the 13th of May. See you all in the Reach.
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