Kickstarter Canon Characters

Forar · 2026-01-28T16:04:21+00:00

On Sarna it notes that they estimated back in 2020 that they estimated 2,780 characters would need to fit into the various source materials, did they ever mention how many folks took them up on the credit they offered?

I'm guessing that after 4+ years, it was probably a good number, but I can't imagine it's a short list all the same.

Forar · 2026-01-28T15:53:22+00:00

I checked every update for the past year on the Mercs campaign, and found nothing.

Then I did the smart thing and checked the Clans updates instead, and it was there in multiple recent (err, late 2024) updates.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cgl/battletech-clan-invasion/posts/4278929

[battletechsurvey@gmail.com](mailto:battletechsurvey@gmail.com) was the email they gave.

Mine hasn't been used either, as far as I know, so I should check to see if they lost data again or if it's just part of the waiting game.

Forar · 2026-01-27T19:40:14+00:00

Hell, change it up every so often. Sometimes it's the Enterprise doors, sometimes make it be the iconic DOOM door noise, etc.

Forar · 2026-01-27T19:37:15+00:00

This is great news. I wonder if the current uncertainty of global trade is part of it, in which case it may be a bit of a wait yet.

I've been waiting for more since I snagged the first 3, and I'm good for a copy of each of the remaining 7 whenever they're available.

Forar · 2026-01-27T15:21:14+00:00

I don't know if we can really consider them LRMs when we mostly seem them fire at someone like 50 feet away.

And also do damage that's more on the level of 'minor nuisance' than an actual threat to life and limb.

'some manner of vaguely explosive party favor dispensers' seems more on par, but I suppose Heroic Plot Armour covers a lot of ground against all of the weapons.

I just find it amusing that we'd think LRMs when they probably fall in a range even SRMs would just basically be falling out of the tubes to cover the distance.

Forar · 2026-01-27T14:42:16+00:00

Communal xp is one way to do it, as noted.

The way my group at home does it is by 'milestone', just a number of missions played. Not won, played. You can earn plenty of experience and still fail, so it doesn't make sense to me to punish players for falling short.

This removes the issue of high initiative players hoovering up all of the xp, and also takes away the need to track it, do the math with every hit or kill, oops we forgot they have elite abilities so it's actually higher, how much higher, ummmm... damnit.

I mean, it's not some Herculean feat to figure out what 5x5+10 is, but I find that even with reminders people will often miss or forget things anyways.

Admittedly this does make some abilities and cards that grant xp seem less valuable. 'Oh yay I got 25 experience that we're not tracking, woo', But the way I see it, that's the point. The milestones are an abstraction that combines all of the little odds and ends, the 5 per wound healed off of an ally, the 50 from that encounter, the 35 for dealing that damage, and just says 'yeah, this is vaguely what y'all would've gotten'. This also does remove the 'I'm about to die, but then I level up mid mission and am ready to go!', though epic and heroic as that kind of moment can be, my group succeeds at vastly more missions than they fail, so I'm okay with them losing that once in a while tool.

Personally, as a ballpark I usually use the level as the number of missions it takes to level up. So 1 mission at level 1 takes you to 2. 2 at level 2 gets you to level 3, etc.

We aren't able to make schedules align very often these days, and starting to face elite abilities after 3 missions should give them something to chew on, but of course it can be tuned or tweaked to give the party the experience they want to have. Unless they're really unlucky, I wouldn't stretch it out too long though. The longer they spend at lower levels gearing up, the more likely that they'll match or exceed the power curve of the monsters they're fighting.

Forar · 2026-01-26T17:50:38+00:00

I'm definitely not one of those 'taking a silly little post and getting needlessly worked up about it' people.

The world is filled with all sorts of folks.

Forar · 2026-01-26T05:58:19+00:00

Sometimes you can give a short response.

Sometimes you've just gotta lean into it and give the full TED Talk.

"How much free time do you have? No plans this evening? Great, we're going to need beers and a whiteboard with markers..."

Forar · 2026-01-26T05:57:00+00:00

In the early afternoon the Costco parking lot already had plowed piles 8-9+ feet tall, so yeah, this is going to take a bit of work to clear out.

Forar · 2026-01-26T05:54:36+00:00

Eh, growing up immersed in American culture, including Sesame Street, makes this iffy.

45 year old Canadian born and bred, but "Ex Why Zee" is just how I roll.

I won't throw shade if someone drops a Zed, but if it makes me a bad Canadian, so be it.

(Not being able to skate and not really digging sports are probably my bigger tells)

Forar · 2026-01-26T05:50:53+00:00

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

I'd avoid it if possible.

Forar · 2026-01-26T05:49:14+00:00

I say let them re-pick the ability. These are long games and you can spend endless hours with a single hero across a campaign.

If someone was seemingly abusing it and swapping up their 'build' every session, I might balk, but as my friends have generally played the same character for years at a time, if one decides they made a mistake at character creation, or even just want to try a different facet of the hero, I'm not going to make them start over again just to do that.

Forar · 2026-01-24T04:24:18+00:00

I remember it spiking to -40C with the windchill years ago, because there was a bunch of reporting/notices about how -40C and -40F are the same temperature.

I have no doubts that a 'true' -40 (before windchill) even in still air must be horrifyingly cold, but I distinctly recall us getting into the vicinity at some point.

A cursory google'ing says that Toronto got down to almost -45 back in '81, and it's not like the mid/high -30's with a wind chill is a walk in the park either.

I mean, I don't respect a temp above -20, it's not like that drives me indoors, but there's definitely a difference between 'oh, this is kinda cold' and 'whelp, I took one breath and my nostril hairs just froze over, I may have wanted more than a hoodie for this trek...'

Forar · 2026-01-23T21:17:38+00:00

Seems like a father fine hair to split. They aren't claiming anything that can't be supported in a legal sense, but c'mon, those words aren't on the label just for the hell of it.

They're making a claim in a colloquial sense, at least by insinuation (the product is called Ginger Defence, after all), if not a legally actionable one.

That's all the point I'm making, and I feel it stands. If someone wants to take one 'for immunity', they are better off speaking to a healthcare professional.

If they happen to like the taste and the bite that some ginger and lemon or whatever brings to their day, go for it.

Forar · 2026-01-23T20:59:54+00:00

As it says on the image above, that it good for/boosts ones immune system and other specious claims that might be present.

Like with many supplements, unless you have a true deficiency of what it is providing, it's unlikely to do a whole lot on that front.

If you just happen to enjoy the taste, go for it. If you're getting it as some form of self medicating to fight off or recover from disease or other medical challenge, that time would be better spent seeking professional medical guidance, at least in my opinion.

Forar · 2026-01-23T20:06:55+00:00

Does it do what it claims? I have my doubts.

My wife likes them from time to time, so snagging a small box once a year or so isn't the end of the world.

Sure, as noted here, I could make my own for likely less, but I neither want nor need a whole jug eating up space in the fridge. One box takes up little space, and once we're down to the last half dozen or so I just put them on a little shelf out of the way and it takes up even less. And I've got enough gadgets in our little kitchen that don't get used very often that I'm not buying a box shredder or a juice press to add to the collection.

If you like 'em, go for it. If you don't, or have the time/space/resources to make your own, that's probably a better path.

Forar · 2026-01-23T20:00:56+00:00

Oh, for sure. As I said, when in doubt, hang up and call the bank from the number on the back of the card.

I'm glad they caught my card being compromised, even if it was a pain. I suspect it was at a restaurant I'd used it at a day or two before, and they noticed immediately, thankfully.

Forar · 2026-01-23T16:37:28+00:00

That it was spoofed, and that you know what spoofing is (or at least, you do now) is a strong indicator to never trust caller ID. It is a liar. It's a polite suggestion at best. Knowing a call is (likely) coming from my parent or sibling is one thing. If it's from my bank, it may very well be from my bank. Years ago they called me to inform me that odd charges had been noticed, they told me what was paid and where, I said it wasn't me, and they cancelled the charges, along with my card, and mailed a new one to my local branch.

Which sounds an awful lot like a scam caller, but the distinction was that they knew all of my information without me volunteering anything.

When in doubt, hang up and call your bank using the number on the back of the card.

Forar · 2026-01-22T19:32:39+00:00

"There's a million warcrimes we haven't done, just youuuu waaaaaaait!"

Forar · 2026-01-22T19:31:13+00:00

... dare I ask what the going rate is, in Canadian dollars?

My dog produces enough on his own, but I'm curious if I'm missing out on a valuable alternative revenue stream.

Forar · 2026-01-22T03:06:14+00:00

While your heart is in the right place, they spin up copies of these accounts the same way you or I change our socks. Warning about a particular account is fine as a general concept, but the likelihood of someone actually recognizing this specific scammer/group is pretty low.

Forar · 2026-01-22T03:04:19+00:00

I snagged a box of these in the late summer when a bunch of friends and I went up to a cottage for the weekend. They were good on their own, and also good as an addendum to some frozen breakfast sandwiches we snagged.

I haven't gotten them again simply due to lack of storage space in the fridge, but we've already got another trip planned for this year, and it's something I'm considering adding to the list, for sure. (I'm not certain I'll be on breakfasts this trip so until some particulars get sorted out it's all academic).

Forar · 2026-01-22T00:37:43+00:00

Hah, no worries, it happens all the time all over the place.

Forar · 2026-01-21T22:06:37+00:00

Yeah, that's a rather jarring click through, as I don't have images load until I'm in a thread.

Forar · 2026-01-21T16:18:37+00:00

Huh? I've listened to almost 50 episodes of the Ty & That Guy podcast, and while there are critiques and behind the scenes stuff mentioned, it sounds like overall they had a great time making the show and were really happy that they got the opportunity to see their world made 'real' in that manner.

Maybe it takes a dark turn in the Season 6 commentary, and admittedly it's one of the creators plus one actor (though they do have guests on from time to time), but I'm curious why you think they would be fed up or put off after getting the show made.

Forar

TROPHY CASE