My first thought was Cortex+, as seen in the Firefly RPG. Character creation is quick once a concept is in mind. Firefly doesn't have rules for the walking war machines seen in BattleTech, but it does have ship design rules, which can be massaged, used, and abused for my purposes. The other question is what can be used for the MechWarriors, the souls who pilot these fusion reactors ready to explode? Firefly also comes with rules to create new distinctions. Two pages worth of rules and suggestions, but that's all that was needed. Thus, I created a new distinction, MechWarrior, based on the Ship's Pilot distinction.
MechWarrior d8The first trigger is common to all distinctions. The second comes from Ship's Pilot. The third is a BattleTech risk. 'Mechs produce heat. Firing weapons produces more heat. Firing everything on certain 'Mechs spikes heat to where the fusion engine explodes. It's not something a pilot does more than once unless desperate. Not all 'Mechs have this issue and not all MechWarriors will fire everything at once. The trigger is there for those who want it.
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Born in the Pilot's Seat: Spend 1PP to step up or double your 'Mech's Engine attribute for your next roll.
Alpha Strike: Take a Heat Exhaustion d8 complication to step up or double your 'Mech's Systems attribute when firing a weapon.
Other distinctions in the Firefly rules can be added based on concept. Some may need to be changed; Alliance Officer can be renamed to Federated Suns Officer or Hell Horses Star Commander without really changing what the distinction provides. I created a sample MechWarrior from the Magistracy of Canopus to show how a Cortex+ character would like like, taking MechWarrior, above, and Backwater Matriarch and Princess of the Rim to round her out. The Magistracy is on the Periphery, the outskirts of the known galaxy and minor players** in Inner Sphere politics. Backwater Matriarch fit here; the character has pull in her home but not necessarily wherever the campaign is. Princess of the Rim is more to show that she isn't just out to prove that a Canopian can be as good or better than anyone from a major House, that she has a heart within her.
That takes care of the character, but what about her 'Mech? The sample character did take her BattleMech as a signature asset, so it may appear in a scene, even if the GM isn't prepared for a full on combat scenario. This is where Firefly's ship rules come into play. Ship classes are another distinction, tailored for the type of ship. The same rules can be used for smaller vehicles.
Like characters, ships have attributes. Instead of Mental, Physical, and Social, ships have Engine, Hull, and Systems. I adapted the IMS TANSTAAFL some time back, detailing how ship creation works in the /Firefly/ rules. I'm just going to use the same principles, applying them to BattleMechs instead. With the attributes, the key I'm going for is to model a 'Mech's role. Fast 'Mechs will have high Engine, recon 'Mechs will have high Systems, and heavy 'Mechs will get high Hull. Likewise, 'Mechs with thin armour will get low Hull and slow Mechs get a low Engine score.
Once the attributes are figured out, all that remains is creating two distinction triggers. Again, the goal is to model the 'Mech's performance in the wargame. There's three ways for a trigger to go; a player can spend a plot point (PP) to gain an effect, take an effect to gain a plot point, or be hindered in one area to gain a bonus elsewhere. A Rifleman could have Exposed Thin Armour, lowering Hull for a scene to gain a plot point. The same Rifleman could also have Sharpshooter, allowing the player to boost Systems at the cost of a plot point. It's all a matter of flavour, and why there are only four examples below. There's just too many BattleMechs to convert all at once. My suggestion is to convert only as needed. If the Big Bad has an Atlas, create that 'Mech, but leave his followers as mooks, with the die type based on the type of 'Mech. A lance*** of pirates in light 'Mechs might be Pirate Wasp Pilot d6 while a lance of elite Marauder aces get Villainous Marauders d10. Successes remove mooks as per the rules.
The sample 'Mechs below are just that, samples. Distinction triggers can be changed if your concept of the 'Mech doesn't match mine. There isn't a right way to adapt the 'Mechs. This is all done by feel, not by any mathematical correlation. Comments are appreciated below.
Locust
The classic 20-ton light 'Mech, the Locust is one of the faster units on the battlefield. It's also an ammo crit waiting to happen with 200 rounds of machine gun ammo sitting there behind thin armour. The Road Runner distinction is built on the Locust's speed; ideal if trying to either catch up or run away frim something. The Spindly Legs trigger is based on the original look of the 'Mech, before it became one of the Unseen****.
Locust d8Hussar
Attributes:
Engine: d10 Hull: d6 Systems: d8
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Road Runner: Spend 1PP to step up or double Engines for the next roll.
Spindly Legs: Take or step up a Unstable Footing complication and gain 1PP.
The Hussar first appeared in the Technical Readout: 2750, and was a Star League-era design. The 30-ton 'Mech was a long-range recon unit, armed with just an extended-range large laser. The lack of ammunition requirements allowed the 'Mech to remain in the field for extensive periods. The Hull Down trigger comes from an after-action report in the technical readout of a five-'Mech lance that wreaked havoc behind enemy lines. Can't Catch Me! reflects that the Hussar is the fastest 'Mech in the game. Normally, the trigger would allow stepping up or doubling Engines, but the highest die type used is the d12, which the Hussar already has for Engine.
Hussar d8UrbanMech
Attributes:
Engine: d12 Hull: d4 Systems: d8
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Can't Catch Me!: Spend 1PP to double Engines for the next roll.
Hull Down: Step down Engine to step up Hull for the rest of the scene.
If the Hussar is the fastest, the 30-ton Urbie is the slowest. While there are assault 'Mechs that are the same speed, the UrbanMech is far lighter and less-well armed. The UrbanMech is better armoured than most units in its weight-class and comes with jump jets, but with just an autocannon and a small laser, it doesn't have the endurance the lighter Locust has. However, the Urbie was designed to fight in cities, where it can re-arm as needed, if it can get out of harm's way fast enough. The Urbie has its fans, though. The triggers listed reflect its slow speed.
UrbanMech d8Highlander
Attributes:
Engine: d6 Hull: d8 Systems: d10
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Slower than Molasses: Take or step up a complication related to Engines to gain 1 PP.
Slow and Steady: Step down Engine and step up Systems for the rest of the scene.
With light 'Mechs done, it was time to look at a heavier unit. The Highlander is an 90-ton assault 'Mech equipped with jump jets and a variety of weapons. The 'Mech is also faster than the Urbie above, even with the extra armour on its legs. That extra armour leads to the first trigger, the Highlander Burial, a maneuver that has the pilot jumping the 'Mech on to a lighter opponent, driving it into the ground. I expanded the idea to physical attacks overall. The Firefly system works off the narrative; limiting the trigger to just jumping on an opponent turns what could be a serious scene into a cartoon as the 'Mech hops around like a rabbit. The other trigger, Slow and Steady, reflects the speed of the 'Mech, and was used above with the Urbie as well.
Highlander d8At this point, you may be wondering about such things as weapons and jump jets. That's the beauty of Cortex+; the 'Mechs above are just distinctions and not the full BattleMech. Like characters, ships (and BattleMechs) have a total of three distinctions. With ships, the class counts as one of the three, allowing players to customize the vessel as they see fit. That's the direction I went with the 'Mechs above. If a player running a Highlander pilot feels that the jump jets are that important, they can become a signature asset. Another player running a Highlander pilot might decide that the gauss rifle or the camouflage paint job or even the stereo system is more important as a signature asset. Below is a full example of a BattleMech, the Canopian's family Hussar.
Attributes:
Engine: d6 Hull: d12 Systems: d6
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Highlander Burial: Spend 1PP to use Hull instead of Systems when making a physical attack.
Slow and Steady: Step down Engine and step up Systems for the rest of the scene.
Family Hussar
Attributes:
Engine: d12 Hull: d4 Systems: d8
Hussar d8
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Can't Catch Me!: Spend 1PP to double Engines for the next roll.
Hull Down: Step down Engine to step up Hull for the rest of the scene.
Held Together with Duct Tape and Chewing Gum d8
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Did Something Fall Off?: Start every episode with a Busted Up Parts d6 complication. Step it up to reroll a die on a failed action. Once it exceeds d12, the 'Mech is Taken Out.
* It Can Wait: Step up a complication related to delaying a needed repair to gain 1PP.
Electronic Warfare d8
* Gain 1 Plot Point when you roll a d4 instead of a d8.
Blinded by the Light: Step back Systems for the rest of the scene to create an Electronic Countermeasures d8 asset.
* They're Locking on to Us: Reroll a die when your 'Mech is being attacked. On your next roll, both 1s and 2s count as complications.The other two distinctions are straight from the core Firefly rules. The Hussar is old, centuries old, maintained as best as possible in a backwater where knowledge of how the 'Mech was created was long lost and the best local mechanics can do is rebuild parts based on what they look like. The family has a history of reconnaissance pilots, so the sensors are better maintained than the rest of the chassis. I could just as easily replace the Hussar distinction with UrbanMech and only have to change the ER Large Laser asset to Jump Jets if I wanted.
Signature Assets:
ER Large Laser d8
Fancy Sensor Array d8
Comments are appreciated. Again, all of the above was done through look and feel, so if there's something you would've done differently, let me know.
* Lifepath character creation has players following their character's journey in careers. Traveller is a great example. The goal is to keep the paths manageable. The various versions of Traveller that I have seen do this with career terms. Mongoose Traveller adds events during careers and allows for switching from one career to another. A Time of War does produce characters with a history behind them, but the number of points and little gotchas along the way can cause trouble.
** In general. Current canon in the BattleTech-verse has the Magistracy aligning with the Capellan Confederation, strengthening both nations. Whether the alliance will last is unknown.
*** A lance is the smallest unit of BattleMechs fielded, typically consisting of four 'Mechs. Three lances make a company.
*** The link has more details. Short form - legal issues got too expensive for FASA to continue defending, leading to 'Mech designs based on mecha found in Macross, mostly, being removed. The stats were still around, and new art was created for them.
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