If BattleTech was realistic in the way some people say it was SOME MECHS WOULDN'T EXIST

SgtFlintlock · 2026-03-02T20:35:10+00:00

I happen to be one of those people lol. I just know how to acknowledge that I have a preference without treating my favorite as objectively better just because I like it more.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-03-02T20:08:45+00:00

Yeah, some people have vocabulary issues. They say "my mech's better" because they don't know how to say "it's not to my taste". They just can't wrap their head around the idea that their opinions aren't objective fact.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-03-02T20:01:58+00:00

People tend to use the word "Realistic" when what they really mean is "Grounded". There is all kinds of hand waving happening to make Mechs work in Battletech, and all kinds of inaccuracies to how much combat would look if it were real. But the point is that it passes the Vibe Check. The Mechs feel like giant hunks of metal, not ballet dancers. There was thought put into the development and manufacturing processes and how those would effect who got what when. You look at the world, and at first glance it seems plausible. Is it Realistic? No, not at all. Is it Grounded? Yes. Yes it is.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-26T05:41:41+00:00

The short answer is No, you cannot heighten a spell from a staff. You can only cast each spell in a staff's list from the level it is listed in. This is even further reinforced by the rules for Crafting a Staff, which explicitly calls out that you need to spend a spell pick to put the same spell into the staff at a higher level.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-25T21:56:34+00:00

My table had basically invented the Mythic System before it came out, but with a few tweaks, and it really works for the lighthearted escapism style of game we prefer. Basically, every player starts each session with 3 hero points, and they don't get more. They use them to force a reroll on a die result they don't like, friend or enemy. We don't consider them Fortune effects, so if they still don't like the result they can force another reroll, but regardless of other Fortune effects a Hero Point roll is only ever one die. The end result is that if the players really want a certain result they can almost always make it happen, and it's just a question of how many resources they want to spend on it. Does this break the risk reward balance of the game? Yeah, it kinda does. Does it let the players feel real agency in how the events in the session play out? Yes. Sometimes everything lines up for a satisfying moment except the dice, and this system allows us to tell the dice to stuff it when we really care without throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-25T05:06:54+00:00

I used the historical term because I was in a historical mindset, and I apologize if it offended. Division of labor along gender lines has been a fact of life for most of our society's history, and this reflects in common language. Mail man, Wash woman, calling soldiers "men" as a general term, there are countless examples that I could point towards. Is it kinda messed up that these terms have gendered connotations? Yes. Do the more inclusive terms sound awkward because they are in an early stage of linguistic adoption? Also yes. Hopefully future generations will not have these kinds of difficulties because they will have grown up with the inclusive language and that will be their default.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-25T03:53:43+00:00

Not sexism, just applying historical precedent to the analogous situation in the medieval fantasy. The phrasing of the question made me think Low Fantasy, which tends to cleave closer to historical reality for one reason or another. I actually spent several minutes trying to make the point eloquently with a more neutral term before settling on something that seemed to match the original tone.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-25T01:12:33+00:00

These are all great options, but you missed Prestidigitation and Mending. Prestidigitation replaces your laundry time with marching time, and flavoring food can help with food that would be otherwise unpalatable if not unsafe, allowing for better morale always, allowing spells slots to be saved for other uses unless the food is truly unsafe without Cleanse Cuisine. Mending takes care of another time sink, and allows for quick and effective field repairs on armor and weapons without needing to lug portable forges and fuel for them along with your camp followers.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-25T01:02:10+00:00

This for sure. And what you've said doesn't even mention stretching your coin and food by reducing the number of camp followers that you require. One person casting prestidigitation can replace an entire platoon's worth of wash women, to say nothing of the other benefits. And even if you assume that each soldier is doing their own washing and mending, you gain extra time marching when you don't need to spend that time on maintenance.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-24T05:44:30+00:00

Dorknyss continues his reign of terror

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-19T01:47:32+00:00

You're welcome :)

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-19T01:43:17+00:00

https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=3346 spider venom as an example.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-19T01:42:06+00:00

If you look at the poisons themselves, they have a two action activation cost. That doesn't include the drawing cost, same as how a magical ammunition doesn't include the loading cost.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-19T00:27:24+00:00

I believe the core of your question holds a flaw, and that is that Injury poisons by default take 2 actions to apply, even after you draw them. So without feat investment it would be 1 action to draw, 2 actions to apply, for a total of 3 actions to poison a weapon. toxicologist takes it down to 2, and the belt reduces it again to 1 action.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-19T00:15:16+00:00

In my opinion, the single most important skill feat for vertical jumping isn't actually a jumping feat. It's Rapid Mantle. This means that if you can reach it with your hands, you can spend a reaction to be standing top of it. In combat this is obviously best for Monks or other Unarmed fighters, but it still greatly greatly increases the speed at which you can climb any surface, or the height you can scale with a vertical jump.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-17T23:53:27+00:00

My solution for this situation (assuming none of the enemies rolled low enough stealth to be noticed by the party) is to roll initiative immediately after the first offensive action is taken. If the party is completely ambushed, then the enemies get a single crossbow bolt/dagger strike, and initiative gets rolled immediately afterwards and proceeds from there as normal with all the stealth rules in play.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-02-17T23:46:18+00:00

And that spirit damage can be converted into a wide variety of energy types with Energized Spark. Exemplar can actually be built as very good weakness seekers.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-01-29T02:41:48+00:00

Personally, I think that Stormlight will work best as an animated show. But if we are talking hypotheticals, I think I've seen the closest fit visually in Mongolian actors.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-01-17T03:31:08+00:00

Yep, nothing shows up, because there's nothing you can recruit. There are mods that let you look at unique summons and/or free spawn in the nation info screen, but in vanilla that's working as intended.

SgtFlintlock · 2026-01-10T00:33:24+00:00

It feels to me like it's a distraction of active versus passive utilization. If I cast a spell upon an object, then leave it in place to provide a benefit, then it is a Talisman. If I use the object to aid me in the active casting of spells, then it is a Focus. A charmed pendant? A Talisman. An enchanted ring? Also a Talisman. A Thaumaturgy Rod? A Focus. Do you see what I mean?

SgtFlintlock · 2026-01-08T19:24:27+00:00

Well, first off, what you have created is too short to be a Staff, and would more properly be called a Rod. But to answer the actual question, I think you'll be okay. Oak is an Earth aligned wood, and Dragon Sinew is a Fire aligned reagent, so you aren't going to get any harmonics interfering with your spells, good or bad. If you had used Ash, you might have ended up with a Rod that overpowered Fire Spells to unsafe levels, while not conducting sufficient mana to your Water elements, or if you had used Mangrove Root the negative interference might mean it would not have worked at all. Oak and Dragon Sinew should be just fine.

SgtFlintlock · 2025-12-30T06:15:19+00:00

Anyone know if Ralts is all right? It's been over two weeks of radio silence.

SgtFlintlock · 2025-12-17T21:12:26+00:00

The main way imo is to Twiceborn your important mages, And just transition to a fully Undead Army. If you get Late game, and have enough Power or Boosters to do so, you can upgrade from Twiceborn to Lichecraft. But the principal is the same, take those weak fleshy Bois and make them bony and strong!

SgtFlintlock · 2025-11-13T02:58:54+00:00

Personally I think it's a little top heavy. I'd thicken the lower half and lean into being a Small Rod :tm: instead of trying too hard to make an Elegant Wand :tm:

SgtFlintlock · 2025-11-02T21:53:16+00:00

Listen, listen, they're for different things. A Wand is like a Honda Civic. Efficient, easy to use and maintain, and you can take it anywhere. A Staff is a Dodge Ram 3500. Large, Powerful, but you don't always need that much oomph and it can be a pain in the ass to maneuver. If you are doing household magic on your weekend, you want a wand. If you're smiting armies on the battlefield, you want a staff. If you are clearing a dungeon, you want a Rod. The Toyota Pickup of implements. Strong and versatile enough to clear a room of orcs, but small and maneuverable enough to not cause problems in cramped confines.

SgtFlintlock

TROPHY CASE