Campaign Notes for the 3044 Campaign
The era than spans from approximately 3040 to 3047 is a wonderful period for running Battletech campaigns. While there were no major wars during that time, it was the beginning of the great technological renaissance in the Inner Sphere. Old SLDF designs had appeared only recently in the ranks of the DCMS during the war of 3039. (much to the surprise of the AFFS) The NAIS military acadamy had recently developed double heatsinks based on data recovered from the Gray Death memory core and by the early 3040's they were beginning to be distributed throughout the military. From a role playing stand point it means the PC's have older 3025 era battlemechs but that they may soon have the opportunity to start purchasing, stealing, or capturing advanced technology to refit their machines.
Availability of Technology
In 3044 double heat sinks or "freezers" are in production in the Federated Suns. Nearly all such production is being sent to AFFS units or to battlemech production facilities. Front line house units have already begun to receive small numbers of these new heatsinks and players whose characters serve in such units after 3042 may be eligible to purchase them for their battlemechs as tech upgrades. (See the GURPS Battletech conversion page for more information on tech upgrades.)
A small number of freezers can be found on the black market for the right price. A successful scrounging or streetwise skill will allow a player to find a seller, but the heatsinks will cost at least 10 times their normal price and no more than a half dozen or so will be for sale at any given time.
Vintage SLDF equipment is fielded by both the DCMS and the Comguards. Black marketeers and battlefield scavengers have stolen or salvaged small quantities of this equipment, but any attempt to locate a seller suffers a -6 penalty to the roll and all such equipment will sell for at least 12 times its normal value. Complete SLDF battlemechs are available only to pilots who serve with the Comguards or who serve with the DCMS after 3038. A few mercenary units still field SLDF battlemechs salvaged from Star League military caches, but the number of these units is vanishingly small.
By 3047, a number of other technologies will start to become available. Triple Strength Myomer will start to appear in the Capellan Confederation. Double heatsink production will start up in the Lyran Commonwealth and in the Draconis Combine. Various advanced weapon technologies will start to appear throughout the late 3040's. By Late 3048, nearly all Star League technology will be available in limited quantities in most of the Inner Sphere. In general the Free Worlds League is the farthest behind in producing such technologies since it did not have direct access to the original Grey Death memory core. With the notable exception of triple strength Myomer, the Capellan Confederation will also lag significantly behind the F-C member states and the Draconis Combine.
The availability of advanced equipment on the open market will dry up briefly and return to 3044 levels immediately after the start of the clan invasion. Tech availability will not return to pr-ewar levels until late 3051 when the Free Worlds Leage is given full access to the new Star League technology and begins full production of new 'mechs and parts. Most of the Marik upgrades to older 'mechs will not become available until this time.
Your Character
For one reason or another, your character has chosen to pursue a career as a mercenary in the Inner Sphere. This campaign is pretty flexible with respect to character backgrounds. Your character could be a grizzled veteran of the Fourth Succession war, or a rookie, fresh from the acadamy.
Things to Think About:- Where is your character from?
- How did your character come to be a mercenary?
- Where was your character during the war of 3039?
- If your character is old enough for it to matter, where was he/she during the Fourth Succession War?
Nuts and Bolts
System: GURPS Battletech as outlined on this site. Creation Points: 130 + 40 points of Disadvantages
Your combined Battletech Piloting and Gunnery scores may not be less than 6. Neither you Piloting, nor your Gunnery may be less than 3. Your combined Piloting and Gunnery scores may not be higher than 10. Neither your Piloting, nor your Gunnery, may be higher than 6.
Pilots may have up to two 'mech schticks, if desired.
Maintenence
The appearance of SLDF designs in both the Comguards and the DCMS has introduced new Star League quality parts to the Inner Sphere for the first time in centuries. This, combined with the steady advance of technology coming from the NAIS has noticably reduced the cost inherent in maintaining those few SLDF units that are still found in mercenary units across the Inner Sphere. The cost of maintaining higher tech designs can be found in the chart below:
| Campaign Date | Tech Level of Battlemech | Cost of Maintanence |
| 3042 | SLDF Battlemech | x2.5 Cost |
| 3044 | SLDF Battlemech | x2.0 Cost |
| 3046 | SLDF Battlemech | x1.6 Cost |
| 3046 | New Production 3050 'Mech | x2.2 Cost |
| 3048 | SLDF Battlemech | x1.3 Cost |
| 3048 | New Production 3050 'Mech | x1.6 Cost |
In the table above "New Production" refers to entirely new production battlemechs introduced by the Inner Sphere Great Houses such as the Caesar and the Mauler. Upgraded versions of older machines use the same maintanence figure as SLDF units.
Rules for adjusting the maintanence cost for Battlemechs in the 3040's can be found here.
Any battlemech from the Technical Readout 3039 is, at least in theory, available. Players should consult the GM before selecting extremely rare battlemechs or variants. If a player selects a house variant of a battlemech or a house-specific battlemech chassis, that player should be prepared to explain how it came to be in his or her character's posession.
In this campaign, both the 'Tech Upgrade' and the 'Brand new 'Mech' advantages are available. In either case, they will grant the player access to Inner Sphere 3050 level technology. Because such technology is relatively rare at the start of the campaign, players should be prepared to explain where their advanced tech comes from and how their character came to own it.