Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set

Once players have mastered the basics of Classic BattleTech presented in the Quick-Start Rules, they can move on to the more full-fledged rules of ’Mech vs. ’Mech combat as presented in the Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set. This box contains everything needed to thrust players onto the battlefields of the 31st century:

• 24 unpainted, instantly ready-to-play plastic BattleMech miniatures
• One 32-page book of pre-generated BattleMech Record Sheets
• One 80-page full-color rulebook
• Inner Sphere at a glance, a 48-page full-color book containing universe background and BattleMech technical data
• One 16-page full-color Painting and Tactics Guide
• Two heavy-duty cards of compiled tables
• Two 22" x 27" full-color mapsheets, with two different maps printed on either side
• Two six-sided dice
• One full-color poster-size map of the Inner Sphere circa 3067

Classic BattleTech Starterbook: Sword and Dragon

Starterbook: Sword and Dragon is the perfect way to jump into the further excitement of the Classic BattleTech once players have tried their hands at BattleTech through the Introductory Box Set. The sourcebook provides a short synopsis of the conflicts between ancient enemies of House Davion and House Krutia, as well as a brief history and personal dossiers on members of the two legendary combat commands of The Fox’s Teeth and Sorenson’s Sabres. Including record sheets for everyone in the command—which includes eight, never-before-seen ’Mech variants—as well as a unique track system that allows players to develop their own scenarios, players will be firing autocannons and tossing PPC lightning at one another in no time!

The Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set is required to use Starterbook: Sword and Dragon. Also designed to be used in conjunction with Iron Wind Metals’ Sword and Dragon ’MechPack: House Davion and Sword and Dragon ’MechPack: House Kurita.

Classic BattleTech Technical Readout: 3039

The ultimate guidebooks to the weaponry and war machines of the 31st century, BattleTech Technical Readouts provide descriptions of the BattleMechs, support vehicles, aerospace fighters and ships of the BattleTech universe. Each fully illustrated entry in these indispensable reference books contains complete BattleTech game statistics. Classic BattleTech Technical Readout: 3039 is the first in the series and represents the ’Mechs and technology available in the era as found in the Classic BattleTech Introductory Rulebook and the Classic BattleTech Universe book.

Technical Readout: 3039 replaces both Technical Readouts: 3025, Revised and Technical Readouts: 3026, Revised as the companion TRO for the Introductory Box Set.

Record Sheets: 3039

The companion volumes to Technical Readout: 3039, Record Sheets: 3039 provide pre-filled record sheets for all units found within this sourcebook, making it easy for player to print and play! It can be ordered at the BattleShop.

Classic Battletech Map Set Compilation 1

New players will quickly want a variety of terrain to play on. The map set compilation includes additional maps, all clearly marked and illustrated for ease of play.

Catalyst Game Labs has not yet reprinted any Map Sets, but you should still be able to order them from your local game store.

Classic BattleTech Total Warfare

Have you tackled the more fully-fledged ’Mech vs. ’Mech rules from the Introductory Rulebook and you want more weapon options, such as the Pulse Laser or Ultra Autcannon presented in the Quick-Start Rules? Do the infantry and vehicle rules from the Quick-Start Rules leave you wanting more? Or do you want more cool game options such as firing weapons in-directly, clearing woods terrain, or the introduction of aerospace units that bring a whole third dimension to your games? Total Warfare introduces many additional combat options beyond the Introductory Rulebook, as well as a slew of additional weapons and technologies to spice up any game. It also covers the following units in a unified and meticulously interwoven rules set: BattleMechs to ProtoMechs, Combat Vehicles to Support Vehicles, infantry to aerospace fighters and DropShips.

Note: As a game play aid to Total Warfare, players can download free PDF's containing the tables at the back of Total Warfare. Additionally, players who own Total Warfare and are looking to play table-top miniatures rules (3-D terrain, without the hexgrid) can download a free PDF of conversion rules.

Classic BattleTech TechManual

Built your own ’Mechs from the construction rules found in the Introductory Box Set and now you want to build all the options found in Total Warfare? The Classic BattleTech TechManual is a companion volume to Total Warfare and combines all the construction rules for the various units presented in that core rules set. Streamlined and updated, it contains all the core weaponry and equipment from previous rules set, as well as the newest, bleeding edge technologies. More than just a rulebook, however, the TechManual presents numerous sourcebook-style treatises, providing the in-universe context for these units and the technologies of their development.

Note: As a game aid to TechManual, players can download a free PDF containing the blank Record Sheets and compiled weapons tables found at the back of that product; players can use these blank sheets to create their own unique designs, whether a BattleMech, Combat Vehicle, aerospace fighter and more. (This PDF includes several record sheets not found in the print or PDF TechManual; they are provided here for additional options during game play.)

Classic BattleTech Technical Readout:3050 Upgrade

The next Technical Readout to purchase in this perennial sourcebook series, Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade is the logical stepping stone from Technical Readout: 3025. Introducing more advanced weapons and equipment, as well as the first appearance of the deadly Clan OmniMechs, this technical readout is the perfect companion to Total Warfare.

Record Sheets: 3050 Upgrade

The companion volumes to Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade, Record Sheets: 3050 Upgrade, Inner Sphere and Record Sheets: 3050 Upgrade, Clan and Star League provide pre-filled record sheets for all units found within this sourcebook, making it easy for player to print and play! It can be ordered at the BattleShop.

Starterbook: Wolf and Blake

Starterbook: Wolf and Blake is a fiction-bridge between the universe history presented in Total Warfare and the current storyline begun in the Dawn of the Jihad (or Blake Ascending: A Jihad Compilation) sourcebook. Additionally, it contains advanced technologies, easily transiting a player on to the plethora of advanced options provided by Tactical Operations.

Starterbook: Wolf and Blake provides a short synopsis of the history leading up to the Jihad, as well as a brief history and personal dossiers on the members of the reborn, legendary Black Widow Company and the elite hunter-killer Word of Blake force sent to hunt them down, the Opacus Venatori. Record Sheets for everyone in both commands are included—ten of them never-before-seen 'Mech variants—as well as a unique track system that allows players to develop their own scenarios as they launch into the furious Jihad.

Tactical Operations

Take your warfare to a whole new level of excitement! Deploy under cover of exotic weather and severe planetary conditions. Surprise your enemy with your amster of new battlefield tactids—from artillery to command-level comms to minefields—as well as cutting-edge, prototype technologies!

Tactical Operations is the one-source reference for advanced rules that apply to on-world operations. It includes new movement and combat options, an extensive Advanced Weapons and Equipment section, and the rules for playing and constructing advanced Support Vehicles and Mobile Structures.

Note: As a game play aid to Tactical Operations, players can download a free PDF containing the blank record sheets and compiled tables at the back of Tactical Operations (this PDF includes a "check list" for tracking what rules are in use in a given game; this list is not included in the print or PDF Tactical Operations).

Strategic Operations

Liftoff planet and conquer an entire solar system! Deploy kilometer-long WarShips as escorts, first for JumpShips bridging the gulf between stars, then for detaching DropShips that burn in system to drop troops onto any battlefield. New aerospace tactics will allow you to gain air supremacy to match your grasp of ground tactics. Yet the war for a star system is more than a single battle and a commander that utilizes his supplies and personnel with skill will survive the numerous battles to come.

Strategic Operations is the one-source rulebook for advanced rules aerospace assets that open the entire conquest of a solar system. It includes new aerospace movement, combat and advanced aerospace unit construction rules, as well as comprehensive maintenance, salvage, repair and customization rules. Finally, a complete game system-BattleForce-allows players to use their existing miniatures and mapsheets to play quick, fast-paced BattleTech games, from companies to battalions and even regiments.

Note: As a game play aid to Strategic Operations, players can download a free PDF containing the blank record sheets and compiled tables at the back of Strategic Operations (this PDF includes several additional sheets not included in the print or PDF Strategic Operations).

Blake Ascending: A Jihad Plot Sourcebook Compilation

Blake Ascending: A Jihad Compilation is an omnibus reprint of Dawn of the Jihad and Jihad Hot Spots: 3070; the first two sourcebooks in the seminal Jihad plot line. The Blake Ascending sourcebook shakes the Classic BattleTech universe to its foundation, documenting the opening years from 3067 to 3070. The series of events presented in this book unfold in a rolling format, allowing readers to immerse themselves more directly into the action than ever before. Players will find a framework rules to run any type of campaign in regions through out the Inner Sphere during this chaotic time.

If you're getting into the game and wondering what all this "Jihad" talk is about, this is the sourcebook for you!

Classic BattleTech Technical Readout: 3075

This first all new Technical Readout in over 5 years provides a comprehensive look at the latest machines of war debuting during the Jihad: From 'Mechs to battle armor, Support Vehicles to DropShips and more. In addition, a complete "Age of War" section covers the Terran Hegemony and each of the five Great Houses during the Age of War, including the very first BattleMechs produced by each faction and how such machines are starting to appear once more.

A perfect companion for a historical Age of War campaign, or for players leaping into the Jihad; several variants within this volume mount advanced equipment found in Tactical Operations.

STARTERBOOKS

Once players have tried their hands at BattleTech, they canjump into the further excitement of the Classic BattleTech universe through a Starterbook. Each Starterbook is completely self-contained, including the record sheets to play the additional ’Mechs provided in each volume.

CORE RULEBOOKS

Following the introduction to the game through the Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set (or the Classic BattleTech Quick-Start Rules, or through a friend and so), the core rulebooks are the foundation of game play (and the universe) for the various aspects of Classic BattleTech. Total Warfare is the first in this new series of core rulebooks, delivering a breadth and a visual presentation never before achieved.

Classic BattleTech Total Warfare will be followed by five more core rulebooks, which will act as the bedrock for any type of game players may wish to undertake: Classic BattleTech TechManual (construction rules for the various units found in Total Warfare), Classic BattleTech Universe (a one-stop guide to the places and people of BattleTech), Classic BattleTech Tactical Operations (advanced rules, equipment and units, including construction rules) Classic BattleTech RPG, Revised (a complete game system for roleplaying), and Classic BattleTech Strategic Operations (a rules framework for building and running any type of unit through everything from small scale campaigns to multi-war clashes between stellar empires and more).

TECHNICAL READOUTS

The ultimate guidebooks to the weaponry and war machines of the 31st century, Classic BattleTech technical readouts describe the BattleMechs, Combat Vehicles, Support Vehicles, aerospace fighters, DropShips, WarShips, infantry and more of the BattleTech universe. Each fully illustrated entry in these reference books contains complete Classic BattleTech game statistics.

Pre-filled record sheets for the various units found in the technical readouts are published separately.

THE JIHAD

Classic BattleTech has always been a dynamic universe with progressing storylines that shake things up, uniting and shattering factions, developing characters into beloved (or despised) icons that wage a valiant struggle or die a glorious death. Such events breathe life not only into the fiction players read, but the games they play.

The current universe-shaking storyline is the Word of Blake’s Jihad, begun in 2005 with the publication of Dawn of the Jihad and Jihad Hot Spots: 3070. Look for future Jihad books that will continue to shock, amaze and entertain for years to come.

HANDBOOKS

The Classic BattleTech Universe book provides a taste of the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere. Each House represents a fully fleshed-out star-spanning realm, with its own history, cultural identity, fighting style and so on. Each volume in the series is filled with the essential histories, politics, culture and industry that makes up the Great Houses; the books include rules for personal equipment, creatures, campaign ideas and more for Classic BattleTech and Classic BattleTech RPG.

HISTORICALS

The Historical series delves into the pivotal wars of the Inner Sphere’s thousand-year history, with important personalities, maps of individual attack waves and regiment listings, along with a campaign framework that allows players to enact every aspect of each of these important events.

War of 3039 and Brush Wars are currently available. More such sourcebooks will appear in the future, allowing players to explore the stunning events of the current Jihad and the historical wars that have shaped every faction to date.

MAP SETS

Players will quickly find that one of the easiest ways to make an already played scenario fresh and new is to play it on a different map. In addition, the style of a playing map (mountain, forest, city and so on) can reinforce the flavor of a given scenario or campaign.

The map sets published by FanPro (Map Set Compilation #1, Map Set Compilation #2 and so on) contain numerous full color, 17" x 22" playing maps, providing a plethora of choices when playing any type of Classic BattleTech game. Each map also comes with a blank hex-grid on the back, allowing players to generate their own maps.

RECORD SHEETS

While players can use the blank record sheets found in the Total Warfare Blank Record Sheets PDF to fill out any number of units, pre-filled record sheets (such as those found in the Classic BattleTech Introductory Record Sheets PDF) allow players to jump directly into the action.

Players can order various pre-filled PDF record sheet books from the BattleShop. Players can also order a HeavyMetal software program that will allow them to print official/canon sheets.

Classic BattleTech Eras

The Classic BattleTech universe is a living, vibrant entity that grows each year as more sourcebooks and fiction are published. A dynamic universe, its setting and characters evolve over time within a highly detailed continuity framework, bringing everything to life in a way a static game universe cannot match.

However, the same dynamic energy that makes BattleTech so compelling can also make it confusing, with so many sourcebooks published over the years. As people encounter BattleTech, get hooked and start to obtain sourcebooks, they need to know where a particular sourcebook is best used along the BattleTech timeline.

To help quickly and easily convey the timeline of the Classic BattleTech universe—and to allow a player to easily “plug in” a given sourcebook—we’ve divided Classic BattleTech into five major eras. (For those that own the Classic BattleTech Introductory Box Set, the year dates in parentheses following each era’s title correspond to the maps found in the Inner Sphere at a Glance sourcebook.)

STAR LEAGUE (2570)

Ian Cameron, ruler of the Terran Hegemony, concludes decades of tireless effort with the creation of the Star League, a political and military alliance between all Great Houses and the Hegemony. Star League armed forces immediately launch the Reunification War, forcing the Periphery realms to join. For the next two centuries, humanity experiences a golden age across the thousand light-years of human-occupied space known as the Inner Sphere. It also sees the creation of the most powerful military in human history.

SUCCESSION WARS (3025, 3030, 3040)

Every last member of First Lord Richard Cameron’s family is killed during a coup launched by Stefan Amaris. Following the thirteen-year war to unseat him, the rulers of each of the five Great Houses disband the Star League. General Aleksandr Kerensky departs with eighty percent of the Star League Defense Force beyond known space and the Inner Sphere collapses into centuries of warfare known as the Succession Wars that will eventually result in a massive loss of technology across most worlds.

CLAN INVASION (3052, 3057)

A mysterious invading force strikes the coreward region of the Inner Sphere. The invaders, called the Clans, are descendants of Kerensky’s SLDF troops, forged into a society dedicated to becoming the greatest fighting force in history. With vastly superior technology and warriors, the Clans conquer world after world. Eventually this outside threat will forge a new Star League, something hundreds of years of warfare failed to accomplish. In addition, the Clans will act as a catalyst for a technological renaissance.

CIVIL WAR (3062, 3067)

The Clan threat is eventually lessened with the complete destruction of a Clan. With that massive external threat apparently neutralized, internal conflicts explode around the Inner Sphere. House Liao conquers its former Commonality, the St. Ives Compact; a rebellion of military units belonging to House Kurita sparks a war with their powerful border enemy, Clan Ghost Bear; the fabulously powerful Federated Commonwealth of House Steiner and House Davion collapses into five long years of bitter civil war.

JIHAD (3067, Current)

Following the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, the leaders of the Great Houses meet and disband the new Star League, declaring it a sham. The pseudo-religious Word of Blake—a splinter group of ComStar, the protectors and controllers of interstellar communication—launch the Jihad: an interstellar war that will ultimately pit every faction against each other and even against themselves, as weapons of mass destruction are used for the first time in centuries while new and frightening technologies are likewise unleashed.

DARK AGE (3132+)

Under the guidance of Devlin Stone, the Republic of the Sphere is born at the heart of the Inner Sphere following the Jihad. One of the more extensive periods of peace begins to break out as the 32nd century dawns. The factions, to one degree or another, embrace disarmament and the massive armies of the Succession Wars begin to fade. However, in 3132 eighty percent of interstellar communications collapses, throwing the universe into chaos. Wars almost immediately erupt and the factions begin rebuilding their armies.