The recent Battletech source book Hot Spots: Hinterlands introduced a new format for playing Battletech: league play. This format builds on the Chaos Campaign: Mercenaries format that first appeared in the Battletech Mercenaries expansion box and involves players creating mercenary units of standardized sizes to accept mercenary contracts and battle each other for fame and fortune in the chaotic wild west of the ilClan era, the Hinterlands.

Not strictly, no, but it will help a lot, in much the same way that it is easier to learn how to do something by reading the instructions instead of just winging it. You will also benefit a lot from having the Battletech: Mercenaries expansion box (or the rulebook from it) to understand how the battlefield support rules work.

First, you need to create a mercenary unit. You get 3,000 battle value (BV2) to spend on a scale one force. This is a force that consists of minimum one, maximum two, battlemechs and some battlefield support units. You should also give your mercenary unit a cool name and an even cooler paint scheme.

Second, assign mechwarriors to your battlemechs. Each battlemech starts with a Gunnery Skill 4, Piloting Skill 5, mechwarrior. You then spend two skill advances to improve the skills of your mechwarriors. You can spend both skill advances on the same mechwarrior or one on each mechwarrior to improve a single skill (Gunnery or Piloting). You cannot spend both to improve the same skill twice. Be sure to give your mechwarriors regular names and suitably awesome callsigns.

Third, determine the amount of battlefield support your mercenary unit has. Each unit has a minimum of 32 points of battlefield support points (BSPs). For every 20 points of BV2 you did not spend on mechs, you gain 1 additional BSP, up to a maximum of 32 additional BSPs (for a total of 64 starting BSPs).

Fourth, you get 3,000 support points (SPs) as your WarChest. You will use these points later to repair and maintain units, buy new mechs and mechwarriors, train your mechwarriors, etc. but for now, leave them alone.

Fifth and finally, you start with a reputation score of one (1). This score is dynamic and will change as you fight (winning or losing) league battles.

Use the Master Unit List (MUL). You can use this hyperlink to access it:

Filter - Master Unit List

The settings we are using on the MUL are Types: BattleMech, Factions: Inner Sphere General & Mercenary, and Availability Era: ilClan. The number under the BV column is the BV2 cost of each particular mech.

Absolutely! League play uses a limited number of units on each side and will give you room to get familiar with your own units and the other players’ units without throwing an overwhelming number of units / special rules at you all at once. It is a great way to learn the game while also having a little competitive fun!

In addition, the league organizers and some of the more experienced players are always willing to mentor new players and will be happy to answer any questions you have, because we care about this community and want it to grow.

League games will take place one Friday each month. We run league games at Gamers Guild – North Phoenix and Tabletop Wargamers (yes, players from each store can play against each other using the standardized league rules). The date/time announcements for league games will show up on the Discord servers for those stores.

We encourage you to get on the Discord group for your respective store, which has a Battletech subforum, so you can reach out to the league organizers. The league organizer for Gamers Guild – North Phoenix is David Mercer, and his Discord handle is deusorum. The league organizer for Tabletop Wargamers is Michael Favela, and his Discord handle is Battlemaster Mike. Let them know you want to play, and they’ll be expecting you! Ask them questions, and they’ll be happy to help!

Mercenary contracts are generated randomly by the league organizers. These contracts break down into a few specific categories: Base Pay, Transportation Cost Reimbursement, Support Reimbursement, Salvage Rights, and Command Rights. Every league player’s unit accepts these randomly-generated contracts, but can bargain (individually) for specific contract terms.

Each contract breaks down into a specific number of tracks, which are the actual games of Battletech the players play with each other. The exact types of battles, and the variable things about them that add variety beyond “go shoot those other guys” will also be generated randomly by the league organizers.

When you show up with your scale one force, you will be randomly matched against another player in the league. League rules include automatic adjustments to account for differences in scale and skill advances to even things out and ensure that you will always be able to get a fair game in. From there, you roll randomly to determine who will be the Attacker and who will be the Defender, and then you play a game of Battletech!

You and the other player report to the league organizers about the results of the battle. Combat pay bonuses get issued. Units get repaired. Units get salvaged. Reputation rises and falls. Your Mercenary Rating rises or falls (this is a just-for-fun mechanic used to create a “leaderboard” for bragging rights and is unique to the league format). Support points rise or fall. And then… the contract continues, and you show up next month to see if you can keep the winning streak alive or, alternatively, to see if you can make a comeback.

Of course, but this is just an introduction to the really basic process of getting into the league and playing your first game. Trust us, there will be plenty of time to go into the details – further skill advancement, increasing your force scale, acquiring more battlemechs and mechwarriors, getting into debt, going bankrupt and forming a whole new mercenary unit, etc. – as time goes on.

Our first “season” of this league will last for twelve (12) consecutive months, running from January 2025 – December 2025. After that, our next season will start, all players and their units will be reset, and there might be some rules changes/new rules/etc. depending on how things shake out in the league.

Note that the “real life” time of the season will almost certainly be different from the “in-universe” time, as mercenary contracts last for several months, it takes time to travel the stars, etc.

Reach out on the Discord server to deusorum (Gamers Guild – North Phoenix) or Battlemaster Mike (Tabletop Wargamers) and let them know you either have a force ready and will be showing up or, in the alternative, that you need help building a force because you want to show up.

That is up to you and your opponent. Our default rules will be the straight-out-of-the-book rules, so under normal circumstances, the answer to your question would be “No.” But, if you and your opponent agree to use optional rules, that’s perfectly fine and will apply to that specific battle (only). We recommend you memorialize that agreement in writing so there is no confusion mid-match!

You can purchase a new mech anytime you have sufficient SP to do so. You will use the same Master Unit List filters you used when selecting your initial mech (or mechs) at the time your formed your mercenary unit. As a refresher, those filters are Types: BattleMech, Factions: Inner Sphere General & Mercenary, and Availability Era: ilClan.

Don’t overlook the Aircover BSP, which allows you to potentially negate airstrikes and is relatively cheap! We are looking into the possibility of house-ruling against duplicate BSPs to cut down on overuse of strikes, so keep an eye on the House Rules section as that may happen if it proves necessary.

Just create a new company! Follow the same rules you did to create your initial mercenary company, and hope the dice gods favor you this time. You’ll then be able to start on the current campaign track with a fresh mercenary unit.

Coordinate with other League players to get your match in outside of the regular once-per-month “League Night” session. You have until the start of the next Contract to make up any Tracks on the current Contract.