Fedcom Civil War

or Go Back to GM's Call.

Game Type: Tactical / Roleplaying Game Expansion
Author: Christoffer "Bones" Trossen & Chris Hartford
Publisher: Fanpro
Medium: 8X10 Paperback
Price: $24.95
Reviewer: Jason Dickerson

   The Fedcom Civil War book is the second book produced for Classic Battletech by Fanpro. This book covers all the battles that ignited the Fedcom civil war to its final battles in 3067. In the back is a small atlas of the major planets where the fighting took place. At two hundred sixteen pages, it is definitely a large sourcebook, but it is surprisingly hampered by a lack of information. I found myself needing to reference four older sourcebooks for information. The book could be read without these sourcebooks, but the information presented would be thoroughly dry and monotonous. The three primary sourcebooks I referenced were the Federated Suns, Lyran Alliance, and Mercenary Field Manuals. These books give detailed information on the units involved in the fighting, and offer a more concise picture of why the units are fighting than the Fedcom Civil War Sourcebook. The fourth sourcebook I referenced was the Inner Sphere Sourcebook. This was mostly for the maps. The Fedcom sourcebook does have maps but they cram two house maps onto one page in many instances and it is difficult to make out locations and troop movements on such a small scale.
   This book does have nice artwork. Most of it appears to be new artwork with a similar style throughout the book, but for the size of the book it seemed to lack the usual volume of artwork. I was also disappointed at the lack of color panels FASA used to insert in almost all of their major sourcebooks. At $24.95, it is one of the most expensive sourcebooks ever produced for the Battletech genre. It is only reasonable to expect better presentation.
   For a tactical reference, the information is very general, but it could be used to recreate almost all the battles listed. There is a small section in the very back of the book that deals with running a tactical campaign using the book, but there are no maps or specific battles. As for a roleplaying tool, the book is good for use as a setting or situation, but it does not have any new equipment or life paths for the current edition of Mechwarrior (3rd Edition). It was disappointing that the major players were not given biographical capsules to reference, but with the sheer size of the book it is understandable that there was probably wasn't any room left for such information.

Playability:
(There is information for playing in a setting, but it lacks any depth).
Game Mechanics:
(The game mechanics presented are brief and only apply to tactical scenarios).
Tech System:
(Nothing new is presented and the technology is not highlighted).
Character Creation and Advancement:
(Gives good source material for running characters).
Setting:
(This is what the book is all about).
Presentation:
(The book has good artwork, but lacks color and volume for the cost).

Jason Dickerson 08/20/2002