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In a surprise move, Catalyst unleashed a new PDF product based off of the Jihad Turning Points series format.  This time around, the developers chose to take a look back to the Succession Wars.

In the credits the writer Geoff Swift mentions in his special thanks that this is the kick off for the Historical Turning Points series.  Suffice to say we can look forward to many more Historical PDFs in the future!

Opening Fiction

In The Deep opens up the first Historical Touchpoint with a peak into the defense of the secret Davion underwater command center.  While not the most action packed short fiction, it provides a nice introduction to the mindset of the Davion command.  So arrogant.  So self assured.  Nothing a few DEST agents can’t fix!

Galtor III

The Atlas section gives a quick history lesson of Galtor III with mapsheet tables that recommend terrain for battles.  Suggested TacOps add-ons round out the terrain information of the planet.

All together this is what we have come to expect from the Turning Point series.  No surprises so far.

Combatants

In the combatants section we find the first major departure from the Jihad series.  Instead of listing the experience in the awkward number system employed by its predecessors, Galtor uses the more traditional (and easier to understand) system familiar to most BattleTech players by listing the unit as Green, Regular, Veteran, or Elite.

Galtor also includes 3025 faction specific RAT tables to augment those found in Total Warfare and other sources.  A heavy emphasis is placed on making things work for your game.

Each force description, unfortunately, does not include the Notes information that we see in the Jihad series.  I think this is a mistake as I loved looking through the necessarily brief but interesting nuggets of fiction.  Its omission from the Historical Series takes away from the experience.  The units seem to have less character leaving the section dull.  Too much dry information, not enough flavor.

Most interesting unit ability goes to the Seventh Sword of Light for their melee prowess and the accompanying thought provoking ability.  A very good use of player choice in a special ability.

The Tracks

Galtor offers up a generous seven tracks with a tangible anti-Chaos Campaign feel.  These missions are designed to be played as stand alone scenarios instead of a coherent series.

From the mega-fauna of Derry Bay to the explosives laden Star League Depot there are an intelligent array of objectives, bonuses, and special rules within each track. With the exception of Galtorian Nights, the Galtor tracks are well prepared and thoughtful.  Possibly the best of all the Turning Point series.  Well done Geoff Swift!

Played as one-off scenarios you will find plenty of fun battles inside these pages.  This product is the true successor to the scenario packs of old.

Record Sheets

The record sheet section gives us seven designs which happen to include two mediocre (but scenario significant) submarines.  A Hunter Killer Neptune variant provides some extra teeth to an old favorite.  Each faction gets two signature ‘Mechs.  Among the four new ‘Mech offerings not a single one is heat-neutral.  Ah the Succession Wars, how we miss you!

The Combine gets a Dragon and an Atlas.  The Dragon has a curious variety of weapons for almost every range bracket.  The Atlas is a very simple three weapon monster.  I like this Atlas for it’s one-two short range-long range punch.

The Davions don’t hold back with a Thunderbolt (featuring unseen artwork!) and a Marauder (displayed in 3039 silhouette). The TBolt is an Ontos Tank with legs!  The frightening array of medium lasers is tempered by it’s nominal speed.  The Marauder has an impressive mix of weapons that would never be fired all at once during normal fighting, but they lend themselves very well to bracket fire.

Overall the ‘Mechs have good style and add spice to the Galtor scenarios.

The Final Word

The first in the Historical Turning Point series impresses me.  It provided additional detail where appropriate (dedicated RATs, cleaner unit skill presentation) while keeping true to the Turning Points format.  The only slip up is the exclusion of the extra fluff we come to expect in the Combatants section.

The excellent series of Tracks (seven in total, a feat matched only by JTP: Atreus) are some of the best I have seen and make this product a must have for the Succession Wars era player and anyone who likes the Chaos Campaign format.  If you have been clamoring for a break from the Jihad, Catalyst has listened.  Time to make good on your intentions, skip the value menu and slap down a Lincoln for this PDF.  You will not be disappointed.

The irony of it all is that the Historical series would probably not be possible without the prior success of the Jihad Turning Points series.  The early success of JTP: Luthien paved the way for the many Historical products that are surely in the pipeline.

This battle was fought using the RPG combat rules from A Time of War (which was still in beta at the time, it has since been officially released).  Both players had a squad of seven characters based on the sample characters provided in the RPG rule book.  The mapsheets and figures were used from the original BattleTroops box set.

Playing through this game gave me a lot of ideas.  Combined with the enhancements that came out of the RPG beta period, I think we have a very good candidate for a BattleTroops 2.0 game.  More on that later but first, lets get into the action!

This is the first mission in the original BattleTroops box set.  The objective is not to rack up the body count but instead break through to the opposite side of the map.  Victory points are awarded for surviving soldiers that exit off the map prior to turn 12.

Quick Note: Yellow Chips = STUN, Red Chips = BLEEDING, Blue Chips = HOLDING ACTION

Turn 1

The Davions rush forward two down the center, three to the north and two entering a building near their deployment zone.  The Liaos sprint four soldiers around the southern flank while two stay put to take shots at the approaching Davions.  A lone soldier sprints to the north towards the larger group of Davions.

One of the Davions who sprinted up the center of the battlefield was cut down when rifle and blazer equipped Liaos walked out from cover and did heavy damage causing bleeding and unconsciousness.  Not a great start for the Davions.

Turn 2

The Davions continue working inside buildings leaving two soldiers in the open in the center corridor of the battle.  They trade fire with the two Liao soldiers who have not ventured far from their deployment zone.  The Davions miss while the Liaos hit once at long range.  The bleeding Davion from the prior turn’s fire succumbs to his injuries.

The group of southern flanking Liao take some long range shots across the battlefield but do not connect.

Turn 3

The Davion in the middle of the battle holds his position and fires at the group of flanking Liao to his south.  In one well rolled volley, an SMG carrying Combat Tech is killed instantly by the Blazer wielding Davion.  The rest of the Liao don’t bother firing back and instead run behind or into the nearest building getting closer to the objective.  The Davions in the area work themselves out of the building and toss grenades past the corner of the building mildly injuring one Liao soldier.

Near the center of the battle, another grenade toss, this time by a Liao, is much more devastating.  The throw goes long but it bounces back into the intended targets.  One Davion is severely wounded while another takes mostly fatigue damage thanks to his armor.  The last Davion in the area is too far away and his armor absorbs all of the damage.

Turn 4

In the middle of the battle the Liao soldiers begin to fan out around the building and pick off Davions who can’t roll well enough to return fire successfully.  Another grenade is well tossed in the middle of an already wounded group of Davions.  The results are devastating.  One Davion dies while the others are stunned and bleeding.

Towards the south, the Davions begin moving towards the objective edge while one holds action to cover their retreat.  A Liao soldier tries to make a break for it and sprints past the Davion’s field of view.  The Davion reacts quickly and rips the Liao apart with a well rolled hail of bullets.

Turn 5

To the north, the Liao soldiers begin cleaning up, putting the wounded out of their misery while selectively holding action to cover the middle corridor.  The remaining Davions sprint from their positions using buildings for cover.  The last Davion holds action to possibly take out any Liao foolish enough to cross his path but in the end sprints to meet his comrades.

Turn 6

With a clear path to their objectives in sight, the remaining Liao and Davions move solomly towards their respective map edges.

In a final bold move, a Davion finds an opportunity to round a building corner and shoot a Liao in the back.  He hits but doesn’t do enough damage to take the soldier out of commission.  The Liao un-stuns and dashes to cover.  The last shot is fired and done.

Aftermath

Lots of fun and it appeared that grenades are a killer tool when used correctly.  Also, I think you need to always be aware of the threat and use a 5m spread for all engagements.  Keeping your soldiers too tight is just asking for a grenade toss in your general direction.

Victory in this game goes to the Liao player with five live soldiers to three.

Catalyst has released a slew of updated PDFs in the last week.  Here is the short list of the ones I know of.

• Chaos Campaign Rules
• Total Warfare
• TRO: 3075
• A Time of War

If you previously bought these as PDFs you can get the updated downloads NOW from BattleCorps.

I am most anxious to dive into the updated Time of War rules and see what changes made it into the final version.

Also releasing yesterday were Turning Points Galtor and QuickStrike Cards.

Time to get your game on.  Lock and load.

The convention season is almost ready to get started.  Here is the short list of events that I am planing on attending this year.

Dreamation – Feb 18-21

Dreamation will be in Morristown NJ.  The PEL is almost ready to be released, (around Feb 8th).  Dexsposure conventions are known for their diverse lineup of games from historical to sci-fi.  That includes BattleTech where in the past up to four different Commando’s/Gamers host events.

Another great thing about Dexposure Cons is the constant supply of candy, cookies, chips, and carbonated beverages available in the Con Suite, all for free with your registration.

Cold Wars – March 11-14

The first HMGS event of the year will be in Lancaster Pa.  Expect plenty of BattleTech to play and a wealth of other great games.  Lancaster is a tried and true venue and despite it’s faults always puts on a great show.

Historicon – July 8-11

Historicon was on the verge of making a drastic venue change to Baltimore but things fell through and the event will now be held in Valley Forge Pa.  Regardless of the destination, Historicon has a well deserved reputation for one of the largest and best dealer rooms, second only to GenCon.  I would argue though, that the density of wargamer specific sellers make Historicon the better deal.  That and the con food is much more reasonable.

As with all HMGS events, Mark “Speck” Yeungling will be on hand with his crew to bash ‘Mechs all convention long!  Mark does a great show every time I’ve been in attendance.

I don’t have any experience with the Valley Forge location so it will be an exciting trip.

GenCon – August 5-8

The mother of all conventions, GenCon is the place to be every summer!  Expect more good things from the folks at Catalyst who are now a bigger player in the industry.

GenCon is an experience and something every gamer has to do at least once.

And Maybe More?

That leaves quite a gap after GenCon and I’ll be on the look out for a local convention that I could attend easily that is reasonably affordable.  If you know of a convention featuring BattleTech in the NJ, Connecticut, Massachusetts area drop me a line and let me know.

Don’t know exactly when it happened but the BattleTroops styled figures from the box sets of old are available ala-carte at the Iron Wind Metals website.

These miniatures are perfect companions for the RPG rules.  Anyone interested in a tactical infantry game in the 31st century would also find many uses for them.

These figures first appeared as boxed sets in the FASA days.  Having them available for regular purchase on the web store is great news.  Looks like these went online October of last year so I may be behind the ball.  But hey, it’s news to me!  For those out there who may have been looking, they are available at last.

Suggested Accessories

• Pack and Grenade Spur
• SMG Spur
• Assault Weapon Spur

Look Who’s Coming to Dinner is the first mission in the Chaos Unbound campaign found in Dawn of the Jihad (now available as Blake Ascending).   Starting out, we selected a force of 2,000 points to take us through the whole campaign.

The mission at hand is a stealth raid on a warehouse facility owned by Kallon Industries.  The reasons don’t matter, only the money does.  The Defenders are a rag tag Merc unit made up of mostly infantry and vehicles.  Not a bad gig if you can pull it off right.  For this mission we can only use 25% of our total force.  For 500 points here is what we get:

• Thor
• BlackHawk
• JES III Missile Carrier
• DI Morgan Assault Tank

Objectives and Bonuses

The objectives are simple.  Destroy four buildings (selected at random and kept hidden from the player) and kill everything in your way.  With only infantry and vehicles to defend it should be a cake walk.

Available bonuses include Blizzard, Electrical Storm, and Overwhelming Force.  Each of these would only inhibit our ability to destroy and maim the Opposing Forces so none are taken.

Campaign Adjustments

• Buildings (CF 25) will be 5 clicks to destroy

Look Who’s Coming to Dinner

Turns 1 – 3

All of the mercenary units begin to move closer with the infantry leading the (slow) charge towards the attacking Dragon’s Fury force.

In response, the Dragon’s Fury army is content to sit tight and pummel the approaching the infantry with long range attacks, crippling or outright killing several infantry.  The BlackHawk meanwhile stalks to the east of the city, drawing a formation of infantry to follow.

Hovercraft get closer but stay just out of reach, positioning themselves for a rapid unified attack.  Both Dragon’s Fury ‘Mechs are running hot as they attempt to get ahead of the body count early in the game.

Turns 4 – 5

The Defenders lurch forward and manage to base every attacking figure except the BlackHawk.  All of a sudden the “sit back and wait” approach is not looking too good!  The Dragon’s Fury takes a turn causing as much damage as possible before the inevitable.  The DI Schmitt Tank deals heavy damage to a JES I Missile Carrier and two Kage Battle Armor bite the dust.

An errant artillery round from the Defender’s Thumper scatters right on top of a friendly infantry, killing them.

Turns 6 – 7

The wounded JES I pushes for a last gasp attack and critically hits the Dragon’s Fury DI Schmitt!  Infantry continue to harass and maneuver for rear shots on the attacking vehicles.  The Black Hawk to the east continues it’s cat and mouse game away from the main action.

On turn 7 another artillery round crashes down off target and kills another friendly, this time the JES I.  The defending Condor tank finally draws blood and weakens the Dragon’s Fury JES III with a solid hit.

The BlackHawk continues to put distance between himself and the pursuing infantry, heating up the whole way.

Turns 8 – 9

A Merc Bellona Tank hits the Dragon’s Fury DI Schmitt and it’s not looking good.  Both Dragon’s Fury ‘Mechs are on the run and pausing only to vent excess heat when absolutely necessary.  So far they are one step ahead.

The JES III also takes a nasty hit from the Merc Condor.  At the end of turn 9 the BlackHawk fails to break away from the infantry at it’s feet.

Turns 10 – 11

The Merc artillery finally earns it’s keep and rolls high enough to spell the end for the Dragon’s Fury DI Schmitt.

The BlackHawk fails a second break attempt and is heating up again.

The Thor finally starts to damage nearby buildings while venting when possible to stay mobile.

Turns 12 – 13

The pursuing infantry take their opportunity and hit the BlackHawk on a push.  The BlackHawk shakes off the damage, breaks and runs for his life!

The Thor destroys the first building while evading the Merc DI Schmitt and momentarily shuts down due to over heating.

Turns 14 to the End

All of the units left on the field are maneuvering around trying to get the upper hand.  The BlackHawk pushes to crush the Bellona Tank with a melee attack, and nullifies its offensive capability.

Nearby vehicles ram the Thor unsuccessfully while the Bellona Tank pushes to shoot at the BlackHawk but misses.

The Thor crumbles another building once it starts up again and dances to cover keeping the Merc DI Schmitt out of sight.

The Infantry continue to harass the BlackHawk while the Bellona Tank pushes too hard trying to get in one last shot and destroys itself.  Outpacing the remaining infantry threat, the BlackHawk pauses to vent or single out lone infantry squads.

The Thor continues to spread damage around to the buildings while avoiding damage from the dangerous DI Schmitt.  Eventually the opportunity presents itself when the DI Schmitt over extends itself and cannot escape the Thor who takes advantage of the DI Schmitt’s minimum range.  The DI Schmitt starts to fade quickly after the Thor begins to pummel it.

With only infantry and severely damaged combat vehicles in the way, the BlackHawk and Thor run the table and clear off the remaining buildings and defenders.

Finishing the Campaign

The mission was a success but the price was high.  After paying the track cost (300 WP) both objectives were achieved (+200 WP).  Salvage from the mission was worth 38 WP but repairs for both ‘Mechs and the destroyed vehicles will run 74 WP total.  That leaves our final Warchest balance at 864 (1,000{starting WP} – 300{track cost} + 200{objectives} – 74{repairs} + 38{salvage}).

In the repair calculations below, the 2.5 is my Force Size Modifier (2,000 / 800).  See my previous post Chaos Campaign:  Mechwarrior Conversion which describes FSM in more detail.

REPAIRS

SALVAGE

Put a Little Chaos in Your Life

I used to play MechWarrior Dark Age.  I played just about through Fire for Effect before noticing the writing on the wall and moving on to what turned out to be greener pastures (for many of you it might be back to greener pastures).  Despite it’s faults though, the MechWarrior game was a fast playing game that endeared a large number of gamers around the world.

There is no doubt in my mind that the BattleTech community has benefited from MechWarrior’s existence.  That benefit continues even today.  I make use of lots of the old MechWarrior figures I have in BattleTech games today.

I’m sure that there are a lot of gamers who are hanging on to their miniatures despite the closing of Wizkids and the death knell of the game.  To prove that the old Click-Tech game still has a little bit of life to it, I worked out a conversion of the popular Chaos Campaign system.  The Chaos Campaign system is a free download from Catalyst Game Labs.  Converting the rules is an easy affair.

PLAYER FORCE

The initial player Force Size should be large enough to support whatever size game desired.  As a rule of thumb, triple the average point value game you would like to play as a track.

Adam would like to play 400 point games on average during tracks.  He chooses to construct a 1,200 point force to begin his campaign (400 x 3 = 1,200).

Players wishing to add flavor to their campaign are encouraged to stick with a particular faction for force construction.

Faction Pride cards can be added to forces to represent Force Abilities similar to those presented in the Field Manual series of Battletech sourcebooks.

OPPOSING FORCES

Players should put together a collection of figures to represent the opposing forces for the campaign.  Figures should have a Regular experience level (Attack Stat of 9 for ‘Mechs and Vehicles and 7 for Infantry, see below) and be representative of what the Player force should expect to see in combat.  Obviously use what you have available.  It’s your collection so you’ll know what works best.

Ambitious players may want to construct an opposing force collection for each faction they own enabling them to switch out opposing forces to fit the particular Track they are playing.

Experience Levels

Tracks often call for opposing forces with different experience levels.  Some of you out there will probably have a diverse enough collection to fit every scenario.  For those who don’t, you can use the following chart to modify the Attack Value of Opposing Forces for each track.  Choose the way that works best for you.  So long as the challenge scales appropriately, you can’t go wrong.

Restricted Units

Let’s face it.  There are some brutal units in the MechWarrior game.  If players agree, make a shortlist of figures that should never be seen in the campaign.  Highlander Sniper Team comes to mind as well as monster game changers like Danni Haag and the Balac Strike VTOL.  We are here to have fun over a longer haul campaign.  Make it so and avoid the meta-game.

TERRAIN

A standard Chaos Campaign map should be 3 feet by 4 feet.  This slightly expanded size will provide the extra room required to incorporate some of the plot elements covered in a Chaos Campaign track.

CAMPAIGN SPECIAL RULES

There are a lot of optional bonuses and special rules that don’t mesh with MechWarrior without some noodling.  It will be up to the players and possibly a game master to come to an agreement how these unique special rules will be adapted to the MechWarrior game.

Obviously for time constraints and other obvious reasons I am not about to make a comprehensive list of each and every bonus and rule published so far.  However, I will go over a few examples to convey the flavor of what I’m talking about.

Adam is playing through the Chaos Unbound campaign and is playing the Vacationing in the Wasteland track.  Looking at the available optional bonuses he sees Blowing Sand, Lethargy, and Harsh Conditions.

In the Battletech game, Blowing Sand adds a +1 To-Hit penalty to all energy weapons.  This works well with MechWarrior and is a quick conversion.  Any unit with an Energy Attack Type gets a -1 To-Hit penalty.

Lethargy penalizes players with a -2 modifier to all Piloting and Initiative rolls.  Since there is no equivalent to Piloting skill in MechWarrior, Adam chooses to apply this modifier to the To-Hit number for all ‘Mechs using a Melee Attack Type.

Harsh Conditions gives a chance for weapons to fail during the track.  This seems a bit harsh as ‘Mechs have only two weapon types and every other unit type only one.  Adam decides that a weapon failure will result in a -1 damage penalty maximum to the affected Attack Type for the remainder of the Track.

You get the idea.  Use common sense and in the event of a disagreement, dice it and get back to playing.

FORCED WITHDRAWAL

Any unit that has the Salvage Special Ability (and most do except those damned Banson’s Raiders) will be affected by Forced Withdrawal if the track calls for it.

WARCHEST POINT SYSTEM

Use the Warchest system for all Chaos Campaign accounting as described in the PDF.  The only difference comes when it is time to repair or purchase units and equipment.  When it comes to these transactions, you would normally convert your Warchest Points to Supply Points.  Instead we convert them to MechWarrior points.

Force Size Modifier (FSM)

The Force Size Modifier allows players to scale the size of their forces to match their tastes.  The Warchest points will be adjusted up or down depending on how large a force you would like to run.

Divide the total MechWarrior point value of your force by 800 and round to the tenth digit (1.375 becomes 1.4).  This becomes your Force Size Modifier for the rest of the campaign.  Do not adjust this number as your force gains or loses units.  It is always based on what your force started the campaign with.

Technology Rating (TR)

Within the MechWarrior framework, Technology Rating becomes a self imposed handicap (or advantage) for the campaign.  Use it to dial up or down the difficulty of your campaign.  Use the following table to choose your Technology Rating.

Adam has just completed his first Track and is anxious to buy some new units to bolster his force and get back to the action.  Adam looks through his collection and spots a Veteran Legionnaire he wants.  The ‘Mech costs 119 MW Points.

Adam’s force began the campaign with 1,200 MW Points which gave him a Force Size Modifier of 1.5 (1,200 / 800 = 1.5).  Adam chose to give his force a Technology Rating of C (1.0).

Using this information, Adam figures out how many Warchest Points he will need to afford his Legionnaire.  He divides the MechWarrior Point cost of the Legionnaire by his FSM and his TR  to get 80 (119 / 1.5 / 1.0 = 79.33 rounded up to 80).  The new Legionnaire will cost Adam 80 Warchest points.

Upgrading Pilots

The costs for upgrading pilots in Chaos Campaign are absurdly low, so skip them for sanity’s sake.  Some things in life just shouldn’t be bought.  Experience is one of them.  I recommend using an experience system similar to what is presented in Total Warfare (pages 40-41).

If players agree, you can even buy the custom pilots for ‘Mechs in your force.

Purchased units are assumed to come with pilots consistent with their Attack Value.

Repairing Units

Repairs between tracks are based on the value of the unit and how much damage they have received.  Use the following table to determine the Mechwarrior Point repair costs.

Obviously this presents a problem when you have repair vehicles in the game that can repair units during a track.  Players may wish to mitigate this anomaly by disallowing them completely.  This is a harsh change to the game but a necessary one.  If you have a good mission going the temptation would be strong to hold off killing the last opposing unit while you ferry your units to the repair vehicle in order to avoid paying repair costs.

For more tips on balancing your campaign purchase and repair costs see my previous Chaos Campaign post Advanced Unit Costs.

Next Track?

Stay tuned as I present a new After Action Report detailing a Mechwarrior force in the Chaos Unbound campaign Track, Look Who’s Coming to Dinner.

2009 is in the books.  It has been a year filled with ups and downs for BattleTech fans. I’d like to take a moment and look back and recognize my top commentators and tops posts from the year gone by.

Top Commentators (in no particular order)

• Adam Isherwood
• Paint it Pink
• Quigs
• EastwoodDC

This blog would not be nearly as good without the support of the community that visits.  I thank each and every one of you out there who took the time to leave a comment with particular emphasis to those who have provided a consistent presence.  It is your participation that helps keep the community alive and active.  Thank you all.

Top Posts (based on number of visits)

Here are the top 10 ScrapYard posts of 2009.

1. Litko Releases Mecha Token Set
2. GenCon 2009 Day 2
3. Mechwarrior Figures for Classic BattleTech Redux
4. GenCon 2009 Day 3
5. Making the Mini Reseen Warhammer
6. GenCon 2009 Day 1
7. BattleTech Campaign Systems for Dummies
8. GenCon 2009 Day 4 and Wrap-up
9. Fair Dice
10. Chaos Campaign Advanced Unit Costs

Thanks to all of my readers for making 2009 a year to remember.  Cheers to you and yours this New Year!

The ScrapYard wishes everyone out there in the BattleTech community warm holiday wishes.  The Holiday season is time for family and friends, good food and generous spirits.

Catalyst Game labs and Iron Wind Metals are doing their part to make the season bright.

• Limited Edition Combo Deal, DFA Jade Hawk and Hatchetman only $30
• Reduced prices on all core rulebook PDFs
• Experimental TRO: Mercenaries only $5

Best wishes to you and yours this holiday season!

Just to be clear, this is always going to be a BattleTech blog.  While I will likely pick up Leviathans and play a few rounds with friends, BattleTech will always be my wargaming bread and butter.  But, I recognize when a company is shaking off the status quo and trying something new.

Late November Catalyst Game Labs released the Lieutenant’s Manual, the Quick Start rules for their new intellectual property Leviathans.  For a $2.99 price tag you get 32 pages of material that include a novella primer, the basic game rules, a small map, and some well illustrated cut out counters.  Everything you need to host your first skyward battle.

Catalyst has decided to license Leviathans under Creative Commons. Long story short, you are free to download and share the material to your hearts content.  Catalyst has gone so far as offering a free and legal torrent for interested gamers to download the release.

The Lieutenant’s Manual at it’s core is the gaming equivalent of the BattleTech Quick Start rules.  Quick Start rules are always free for every game Catalyst makes.  BattleTech, Shadowrun, Eclipse Phase all have free Quick Start rules for free.

Catalyst is simultaneously generating positive buzz while bringing in money from a product that they would otherwise have given away for free.  It’s brilliant.  The few people who are throwing down three Washingtons are declaring themselves trend-setters and are rewarding what they see as good behavior by a game company they love.  Given the amount of negative publicity generated by other gaming companies recently, the gaming community as a whole really needed a hug.

Do nice guys finish last?  Sometimes yes, but in this case I hope not.  Catalyst should be rewarded for it’s innovative business strategy.  I’m voting with my wallet and I hope that you do too.  Even if you are not a fan of the upcoming Leviathans release, with your $2.99, you can have your voice heard.  Let them know that you appreciate a company willing to take chances.

Catalyst has broken the mold here and I hope that they succeed.