BattleTech Master Rules

Description

Until the 2006 release of Total Warfare, BattleTech Master Rules (in its revised edition) was the primary ruleset for the board game, restructured and streamlined from the BattleTech Compendium: Rules of Warfare, its predecessor. The book contained the complete game rules, a scenario creation system, introduced the Battle Value point system and also presented expanded and revised miniatures rules. The intent of the book was not to provide quick rules to new players, but act as a reference manual for the more experienced players.

BattleTech Master Rules took home the "Best Science-Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures Rules" from Origins in 1998.

Contents

• Components – descriptions
  • Units
    • BattleMechs
    • Vehicles
    • Infantry
  • Record Sheets – explanations
  • Mapsheets – terrain descriptions
  • Counters building and other marker descriptions

• Playing The Game – basic rules
  • Phases
  • Skills, skill improvement, MechWarrior damage

• Movement – combat moves
  • Basics, modes, and actions
  • Stacking and piloting skill roles

• Combat – weapons and physical attacks
  • Attack Declarations
  • Line of sight
  • Weapon attacks
    • Firing arcs
    • Firing weapons
    • Damage
    • Destruction
  • Physical attacks
    • Punch, club, push, kick and charge attacks
    • Death from Above attacks
    • Different elevations
    • Prone BattleMechs and unit displacement
  • Heat points and effects

• Buildings
  • Types
  • Movement and combat effects
  • Gun emplacements

• Vehicles
  • Movement
  • Combat

• Infantry
  • Movement and combat
  • Battle armor (Clan and Inner Sphere)

• Special Case Rules
  • Anti-BattleMech Infantry
  • Artillery
  • BattleMech lifting and cargo carriers
  • Clearing woods
  • Dropping troops
  • Dumping ammunition
  • Ejecting
  • Fire
  • Flak
  • Four-Legged BattleMechs
  • Hidden Units
  • Hostile environments
  • Improved positions
  • LRM indirect fire
  • Minefields
  • Night combat
  • Reversing Arms
  • Scavenging and repair
  • Underwater operations

• Miniatures Rules
  • Preparing Miniatures and terrain
  • Rules Conversions

• Creating Scenarios
  • General rules
  • Types of scenarios
  • Selecting mapsheets
  • Unit generation

• Construction rules
  • BattleMechs
  • Vehicle
  • OmniMechs

• Equipment
  • Active Probe
  • Anti-Missile System
  • Anti-Personnel Pods
  • Artemis IV FCS
  • Artillery Weapons
  • Autocannon
  • C3 computer
  • Cargo Space
  • CASE
  • ECM
  • Endo Steel internal structure
  • Ferro-fibrous armor
  • Flamers
  • Gauss Rifle
  • Hatchet
  • Heat sinks
  • Laser
  • Machine Gun
  • Missile Launchers
  • Missile Munitions
  • Narc Missile Beacon
  • Particle Projector Cannon
  • Sword
  • Target Acquisition Gear
  • Targeting Computer
  • Triple-Strength Myomer
  • XL Engines

• Costs

• Battle Value System
  • Calculating BattleMech, combat vehicle, infantry, weapon and equipment values
  • Skill and experience level multipliers
• Rules Changes – from the preceding ruleset
• Record Sheets [blank]
  • BattleMech
  • Quad BattleMech
  • Ground Vehicle
  • VTOL
  • Naval
  • Battle Armor
  • Infantry

• Tables
  • Piloting Skill Roll
  • Movement Cost
  • BattleMech Kick Location
  • Facing After Fall
  • BattleMech Punch Location
  • BattleMech Hit Location
  • Missile Hits
  • Determining Critical Hits
  • Attack Modifiers
  • Ground Vehicle Hit Location
  • Ground Vehicle Critical Hits
  • Heat Point
  • Building Modifiers
  • Inferno Ammo Explosion

Notes

• As noted above, this title was not intended for new players, as the sheer amount of material could be daunting. However, for any repeat player it did provide most every rule that might be used in Level 1 or 2 play, including at official tournaments. The title revised the first Battle Value point system that was introduced in Maximum Tech, allowing units to be compared numerically and forces to be formed with similar overall strengths.