Hot Spots: Draconis Reach (Preview)

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. 

Product Review : Hot Spots Hinterlands

Hey Folks, quick hit today.  We know the holidays are rapidly approaching (and we love every holiday and excuse to hand out presents), so we're going to spend some time covering things we think are great for the BattleTech Fan in your life.  Hot Spots Hinterlands is a modern iteration of old, classic idea, the sourcebook, rebuilt for the 2020s gamer.  I like this  book a lot, and let me see if i can explain why.

BattleTech is often called the “historical” Sci-fi wargame.  The reason for this has a lot to do with the way BattleTech has been written from its earliest days and source material.  Players are actively encouraged to play through scenarios based off of events that have happened in setting. 

 “We’re going to refight the battle of Coventry?”  

“Which one?” 

This may be a low attempt at Battletech humor, but it exists in the same head space as civil war reenactors and folks who build dioramas of famous battles.  We already know the historical outcome of the event (usually revealed to us in a novel or sourcebook set after the scenario being played), but we’re going to see if we can do it differently for different results.

Enter, Hotspots Hinterlands. 

The 1st Battle of Emporia (Battletech)

 Hey Game Fam, today I’m going to look at something dear to my heart, Battletech. I love this game and want to see it flourish. This is a first idea for an introductory campaign for Battletech. This assumes you're familiar with the core rules of the game using either the BattleMech Manual/Total Warfare system or the Alpha Strike: Commander’s Edition. Let’s dive into the campaign’s mechanics.  

Lakeport Campaign Outline Part 1

So today i am going to take a few minutes and jot down the outline of a starter campaign for Lakeport. This outline will detail some of the major players that the characters will interact with along their journey and should give you an easy campaign arc (session count will depend on how far out you want to stretch things) that gets characters to around 5th or 6th level. The Story starts out in Lakeport proper, and if you want to refresh yourself on that, check it out here. The adventure starts out, as all adventures in Lakeport do, on the first day of summer.

Plot Point 11 The Bad Guys (Part 1)

I’m changing some things up with the blog and looking at a variety of new and old ideas in gaming.  I’d like to spend part of today talking about some recurring tropes and ideas that crop up in fantasy storytelling and how they can be used (and abused) in an RPG to some sort of effect.  Today’s volume is a little different because we’re not going to be looking at a specific instance or idea of a plot trap, but a larger concept that is overarching throughout the fantasy RPG genre and beyond.  There’s a conceit that runs through most of the RPGs published that their are default “Bad Guy” races that want nothing more to pillage and destroy or subvert the world to their own ends.  It’s a very unsubtle way of looking at the world, and it’s overly simplistic. Let’s dive into a different way of looking at antagonists in fantasy role-playing (over several parts) and see if we can’t look at this in a more nuanced fashion.  

Last Days (Campaigns and things)

Until our favorite game publisher, Ash Barker, releases the rules for Last Days, we really can’t do a full breakdown on warband construction, gear, or the factions.  We just don’t have enough information to give you a full breakdown, but we’re going to make some educated guesses.