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[Darrian Wolffe]

Here's the current ruleset.  Look over it, make suggestions.  I plan to finalize it just before GenCon.

God willing, this is the final major version update of the rules.  I know I keep saying that, but AFAIK this now does cover pretty much everything that isn't a human GM judgement call.  Also, we need to stop making the document bigger - I keep having to increase the forum's maximum attachment size, and I don't know how much longer I can keep doing that before something blows up.

Here all all the things I adjusted.  You should probably look at all of these.

-Checked all TOC hyperlinks are functional
-Set limit on Good Reputation and Well-connected areas; max size of 1 Successor State or equivalent
-Tweaked Acquisition TNs to account for play realities
-Reduced max number of Acquisition checks/month
-Clarified Trait effects on Acquisition
-Added "burn a Contact to get a Toy" rules, enjoy
-Clarified that our SPA descriptions override those in published sourcebooks
-Corrected typos in the Unit-level Asset Repair section
-Completely rewrote Refit and Customization chapter to accommodate new rules
-Updated Location descriptions and Location-based repair modifiers to be in line with new rules
-Customized Mechs can employ Refit Kits
-Factory access outside of contracted missions now costs money (Mission Type allowing), just like DropShip yards
-Added OmniPod Creation in the Repair section, now you too can make your ordinary weapons pod-mountable
-Reformatted and changed values on the Master Repair Table, clarified repairing multi-slot equipment which takes critical hits
-Clarified modifications to non-Mech units
-Clarified Mission Roles and Training Role
-Added Mission Type summaries and modifiers for each Mission Type
-Changed NPC abandon unit rules: NPCs and Wingmen in a functionally dead Mech now MUST abandon the unit.
-Clarified how prisoner skills, SPAs, and Mech typing function
-Elected NOT to change how searchlights work to be in line with current BMM errata
-Added BattleMech Trenchworks as an engineering option
-Updated BSP Light Strike Attack value to be in line with BMM errata
-Added Appendix covering later-period Xotl tables
-Updated Mech Quirks to be in line with BMM errata (Phoenix Hawk gets Command Mech back!)

[deadlyfire2345]

I have never had well connected up to this point, but referring to the C-bills section with the statement "Players will receive 20,000 extra CB per point of Wealth Trait and/or 5,000 extra CB per point of Well-Connected Trait."
With how the rules are written, I get a +1 for successor state and/or 5,000 C-bills per point per month. Do I get both or choose between the two?
Also the added benefit for Contacts 2 or 3, how does that work exactly? Will it be like a random roll and I will get x items from the location the contact is connect from or our current location? Could we use my contact as an example (as in spending it now to see how it works) to make the concept easier to understand?

[Darrian Wolffe]

New Construction Option:

Passenger Compartment
Almost all Inner Sphere BattleMechs come equipment with a fold-out bench that a passenger can ride in a pinch, and a few have more impressive facilities (Rumble Seat Quirk), but the Passenger Compartment puts them to shame. The Compartment is a hardened substructure parallel to the cockpit of a BattleMech intended to keep VIPs or other persons safe from enemy weapons fire.  Similar in general concept to a BattleMech Command Console, the Compartment deletes the command and control systems in favor of impact hardening.

Rules:
-A Passenger Compartment requires 0.5 tons and 1 critical slot (Light and Medium Mechs), or 1 ton and 1 critical slot (Heavy and Assault Mechs).  The critical slot must be located in the same location as the Mech's Cockpit and Life Support systems.

-A Passenger Compartment costs 75,000 CB, is considered "advanced" equipment, and has a base Repair Time of 200 minutes.  Mounting one is considered a Class D Refit.

-Only a single Passenger Compartment may be mounted, even if more than 1 free head critical slot is available.

-A Passenger Compartment may carry up to 1 unarmored person (Light and Medium Mechs), or 2 unarmored persons (Heavy and Assault Mechs), or a single passenger wearing PA(L) or Light Battle Armor

-A Passenger Compartment is not destroyed when a "Cockpit" critical hit occurs on the Mech mounting the Passenger Compartment.  It occupies its own critical slot and is only struck if that slot is struck.  If the damage cluster striking the Passenger Compartment is 5 points or less, circle the slot.  The next hit to the slot will destroy the Compartment.  If the damage cluster is 6 points or greater, the slot is destroyed (and the passengers killed).  An uncircled Passenger Compartment will also protect against the area-effect damage from artillery, fire, or other environmental conditions (ie, a downed Mech is in the blast area of an HE bomb, which has a 10-point damage cluster; the passengers will not be killed by the blast damage).

-If there are passengers in the Passenger Compartment, one of the Head Life Support Slots *must* be assigned to the Passenger Compartment.  For all practical purposes, treat heat effects to the MechWarrior as though one Life Support Slot was no longer functioning.  If the Life Support Slot assigned to the Cockpit is destroyed, the remaining slot can be reassigned to the Cockpit (likewise, a single remaining Life Support Slot can be assigned to the Passenger Compartment).  However, if at any time there is no available Life Support for either the Cockpit or the Passenger Compartment, the personnel in those locations will take normal Heat effects for having no available Life Support.

-Passengers carried are unable to use their skills to affect the battle in any way.

-If the Head of the Mech is destroyed by damage, the Passenger Compartment may survive on an 9+ on a 2d6 roll.  If it survives it will occupy the same hex as the carrying unit, and will be considered "circled".

[deadlyfire2345]

You forgot to add the rules regarding changing ammo type from clan to IS or vice versa.
Rules appear to be fine as is. Also Hat had a question earlier on in case you missed it.
Disregard the last part of his question. I understand the reasoning thinking further about it.

1) Using Clan Ammo in IS Launchers, and vice versa.  This is actually covered in StratOps (p192), but it fundamentally requires the use of Quality Ratings, which we're avoiding at all costs.  To modify 1 ton of ammo from one tech base to the other tech base takes 60 minutes and requires an unmodified (that is, location, time, and tech base modifiers don't matter) Mech Tech skill check of 5+.  Failure means you lose the ton of ammo.  A ton of ammo which has been modified in this way is treated exactly the same as normal, store-bought ammo of that type.  This means that only two ammo potentialities need be tracked by warehouses: Clan XXX ammo, and IS XXX ammo.

Just adding in here since it was not added in rules.

[deadlyfire2345]

Is CASE/II supposed to be on the repair table?

[Darrian Wolffe]

Addition:

ECM units can be used to generate ECCM fields, as per the standard rules in Tactical Operations (pg 100-101).  They may not be used to generate Ghost Targets.  This is a trial rule; if we end up having large game delays and complications as a result, the rule will be removed.

[deadlyfire2345]

Internal structure price is 400x unit tonnage for standard and 1,600x unit tonnage for endo.

[Darrian Wolffe]

Refit Clarification:

(Due to the vagaries in the English language, the word customization and refit are used with difficulty.)

There are only four possible "movement paths" for a Mech to take when its payload is being altered.

If you are going from a STOCK Mech to a STOCK Mech you can:
1) Use a Refit Kit to perform a customization. 
2) Don't use a refit kit and perform a customization

If you are going from a STOCK Mech to a NON-STOCK Mech you can:
1) Perform a customization

If you are going from a NON-STOCK Mech to a NON-STOCK Mech you can:
1) Perform a customization

If you are going from a NON-STOCK Mech to a STOCK Mech you can:
1) Perform a customization

At the end of the process, is your Mech in a stock configuration? (It doesn't matter how you get there; look at the end result)
No) You have a a custom Mech.  Figure maintenance costs and repair TN modifiers for having a customized Mech.
Yes) You have a stock Mech.  Figure maintenance costs and repair TN modifiers for having a stock Mech.

[Darrian Wolffe]

ClanTech Purchasing Clarification
I said I was going to clarify this once it became more relevant (not being particularly important in 3045), and it's more important now.

ClanTech purchase TNs only applywhen you're located inside the Inner Sphere.

Purchasing ClanTech while you're in the Periphery is a case-by-case basis, depending on where and when you are.  This is because purchasing ClanTech in 3051 on the Periphery world of Illium (1 jump away from CJF territory) should be possible, while purchasing ClanTech on Taurus in 3051 should not, and since this changes relatively regularly as the years go by (as opposed to inside the Inner Sphere), there isn't a specific set of written rules for ClanTech purchases while in Periphery space.  We'd have to develop year-by-year ClanTech Acquisition TNs for every faction in the Periphery at minimum, and honestly every independent Periphery world should count as its own faction if we did it right, and frankly, ain't nobody got time for that.

So, for right now (3051, MoC space), any ClanTech which has not already been rolled for as of THIS POST, is not available.  ClanTech simply isn't there in MoC space.  When you enter a Periphery realm or world in the future I'll let you know; as a guideline, the closer you are to the Clans, the better odds it'll be available.

There is one gigantic exception to this.  Contacts can get you hard-to-acquire gear (including ClanTech) no matter where you are.  That's why Contacts are good.  Remember, you don't have to be within 2 jumps of your Contact to get a care package - that limitation is only on the general acquisition check bonus.

[Hat]

Internal structure price is 400x unit tonnage for standard and 1,600x unit tonnage for endo.

Ok, so those numbers are for the skeleton.  What is it per location, 1/7th?

[deadlyfire2345]

Not sure, we agreed a while back that it was 4x the standard. MekHQ has the price at 1.5x

[Hat]

Ok, then I’ll just plan on using the numbers Jon had in his spreadsheet times 4 unless I hear otherwise.

[Darrian Wolffe]

SPA Change
"Blind Fighter" SPA is eliminated.  It is replaced directly by the "All Weather Fighter" SPA (which will be more commonly applicable in practical use).  Any character with Blind Fighter instead receives this SPA for no additional cost.

All-Weather Fighter - 30 XP (20 XP after character creation)
Any weather-related attack roll penalties are reduced by -1.  Any darkness-related attack roll penalties are reduced by -1.  Any weather-related PSR modifiers are reduced by -1.  This SPA may be taken twice; its effects stack with itself.  Taking this SPA a second time DOES NOT count as purchasing a "second" SPA for purposes of SPA caps.



Scenario Generation Clarification
The GM reserves the right to modify environmental conditions to make a game enjoyable for all parties.  For example, a local CO has Blind Fighter and all his Mechs jump, and rolls environmental conditions hoping to get the worst possible weather, ending up with Pitch Black, Heavy Fog, and Strong Gale/Heavy Rain, on a 3 x 3 mapsheet playing surface.  The total environmental penalties end up causing everyone else at the table to be effectively unable to move (+5 MP per hex), unable to hit (+6 to hit; +8 for ballistics and +9 for missiles), and unable to stand or use non-careful movement (+5 to PSRs).  This is going to be a miserable experience for everyone at the table who is not the one person with the SPA - other PCs and OPFOR alike.  My first duty as a GM is to ensure that the potential for enjoyable play exists for all parties at the table.  Every other rule is subservient to that.  Thusly, I can and will modify environmental conditions to make the scenario workable.

This is a nuanced thing.  First, I do not plan to do this in solo scenarios; what you get is what you get, since it's between you and whomever you wrangle to be OPFOR.  Second, it's very much an "I know it if I see it" sort of issue.  Simple darkness, even the Pitch Black condition, isn't going to get me to modify a scenario.  Likewise, even a difficult combination of conditions can be let go unchanged if the scenario can be enjoyably played out despite them.  To illustrate the rarity of this occurrence, it has happened one time in the campaign thus far, and that is the only time it's even been considered.  I do not plan to generate a hard and fast set of rules to govern this, nor will I entertain anyone else's.  

Finally, there remains the possibility that a basic set of environmental conditions can simply make a scenario impossible.  A good example is a Chase scenario requiring people to move across 3 long mapsheets, while under the effects of Heavy Fog (+2 MP/hex) and Moonless Night (+2 MP/hex).  There are two possibilities (neither one is "play the game"), and I reserve the right to use any of them should such a circumstance occur.  The first is to modify the conditions to make the victory conditions at least POSSIBLE, as described above.  The second is to create an automatic victory or automatic defeat; for example, if you are defending the Chase mission above, the OPFOR cannot physically achieve their objectives during the tabletop game period, and therefore you get an auto-victory, we adjust the contract, and move on to the next Mission.  Either of these can be used, but if the auto-victory is used, so to can the auto-defeat (if you're the ones who have to cross the board, for example).

If you'd like to comment on this, please use the GM Communication thread.

[Darrian Wolffe]

Clarification: Nimble Jumper
This Quirk is currently being run incorrectly.  Reference BMM, pg85.  I STRONGLY suggest you read the full text of the rule.

The only time a Nimble Jumper Mech receives it's bonuses (+1 Jump MP, +1 TMM bonus) is when it uses the Nimble Jumper quirk to bypass the requirement to jump to a hex via the most direct route.

Since an example is particularly helpful in this case, I've illustrated one below:



Panther A (4/6/4) wants to jump from hex 1215 to hex 1211.  The most direct path of the jump is a straight line over the building; being only Level 3, it is shorter than the Panther's Jump Rating (4), and therefore can be jumped over with no problem.  Panther A jumps forward its maximum distance of 4 hexes, gaining a +1 TMM for the distance, and a +1 TMM for jumping, ending with a total TMM of +2.  Remember that Jump Movement must be by the most direct route, even if you don't want it to be, and therefore Panther A could not deliberately shift its movement to the sides in order to benefit from Nimble Jumper.  It could also not jump to Hex 1111 because there is a clear and direct jump path (1214, 1213, 1212, 1211, 1111) available to Panther A - it cannot activate Nimble Jumper solely to gain the additional MP required to move to Hex 1111.

Panther B (4/6/4) wants to jump from hex 0915 to hex 0911 (light woods).  The most direct route - Path #1 - takes it over the top of a Level 6 building.  The additional MP from the Nimble Jumper Quirk only applies if the Panther is NOT taking the most direct route, and so therefore, even through the Panther begins on top of a Level 1 building, the bonus MP from the Quirk cannot help the Panther reach its goal.

Instead, the Panther can move using the Nimble Jumper quirk, deviating the most direct path by 1 hex: Path #2.  Once it has deviated, it must complete the planned movement by the most direct route from that point forward.  In this case, Panther B moves into Hex 0814, and then moves forward to hex 0811, and then ends in 0911 (light woods).  Because Nimble Jumper was used to shift the most direct route, the other bonuses of the Nimble Jumper Quirk now kick in: Panther B gets +1 Jump MP (total of 5, allowing it to reach hex 0911).  This also means that Panther B will receive a +2 TMM for distance traveled, a +1 TMM for Jumping, and a bonus +1 TMM for the Nimble Jumper Quirk, ending with a total TMM of +4.

[Darrian Wolffe]

SPA Change
By massive group consensus, the "Lucky" SPA is eliminated.  Any character possessing the SPA will have the SPA removed, the SPA slot cleared at no XP cost, and receives a refund of XP equal to the listed cost to purchase that SPA at character creation.