Don't quit your day job (too soon)

"I'm a full time writer…"

Every aspiring writer hopes to say this one day. The day they can write their resignation letter and say goodbye to the 9 to 5 job. It's a dream goal, and a sign you've made it. There is certainly a tipping point to being able to do this. From what I've read, it almost always comes with no small amount of trepidation. Pip Balantine mentioned this in her blogs and podcasts, when she took the leap and left her Librarian job behind for full time writing. Her writing partner, Tee Morris, still holds a day job, writing when he's not working and squeezing in life around all that. I don't know Tee's reasons, but as a father I can hazard a guess that this factors into his decision.

But what do you do before that tipping point? There is the obvious question of "At what point do you go from full time librarian and part time writer to full time writer?" But there is the less obvious question of "What's my first priority, Librarian or writer?"

I follow a number of writing related blogs (see the sidebar). In Quick Writing Tips, Daniel argues hard that there shouldn't be any doubt in a writers mind. I do recommend his blog for many things, but on this subject he's sided on the side of "having a productive writing morning? Blow off the day job and keep writing." Now I don't know where Daniel is in his writing career, so I'm not going to judge him. And I don't know what his home life is, so again I won't judge him. If this advice works for him, then I support him in it. I do worry about giving blanket advice out of context and I personally can't agree with him.

 I've faced this very same question more than once. Just this morning I started jotting some notes down before heading off to my day job. The ideas just started gushing and honestly if one of my boys hadn't asked me a question I might not have noticed the time. What did I do? I got up and rushed out the door.

You see at the end of the day, I'm not a project manager, I'm not a writer.

 At the end of the day I'm a father and husband.

And because of that, my first responsibility is to them. Someday I might make enough money to be a full time writer but until then, the day job wins out because the day job is what keeps my family safe and cared for.

Again, going back to Daniel, it's all very subjective. If I were single I might approach this very differently. One other, important factor is your writing speed. Kathryn Rusch points out there are fast writers and slow writers. She offers different advice based on that. I fall into the slow writer camp, so I'm going to be more conservative in my jumping to the full time writing camp.

So what is my advice for holding a full time day job and a part time writing "job"?

Don't do too much…

Seriously, this has to be the biggest thing I learned during my work developing TRO:3085, for Catalyst Game Labs (which was just nominated for an Origins award). I was working roughly sixty hours a week, I was writing and developing 3085, I was writing big chunks of another Catalyst game book, and I was trying to fit time for my family in around all that. I got a personal thank you from my boss, TRO3085 was a well received success and my family started wondering who that funny guy with the beard was.

I was close to burn out. I was trying to do too much and do it all at once. I nearly crashed and burned.

Don't do too much…

I rebalanced what I was doing. It's not perfect and I still feel like I don't have enough time for everything. But I learned I didn't have to take every writing assignment that came my way. I learned I could ask for help. I learned I could say no.

In my work for Catalyst, I work with a great team of volunteers. Folks who help out on Catalyst products for little more than a thank you and free PDF copies of the books. I've lost track of the number of times one of them has come to me and said something like "I'm really sorry but such and such is happening and I won't be able to do much for the next X amount of time." Know what I say?

"Take your time. Family/Life comes first."

Am I going to be the next Amanda Hawking, in the next year? No, I won't be. But that's okay. I'm content to start slow. Slow and steady wins the race.

Family/ Life First-

Don't try and do everything-

Don't be afraid to say no (even to yourself)-

Build inertia slowly, you'll be moving fast before you know it-

Until next time,

Welshman

Writer, Explorer, Learner

Book Review: Digital Magic

An engaging read (listen) from the first page to the last page.

I recently finished listening to the, free, podcast version of Digital Magic by Phillipa Ballantine. I was turned on to this novel by a professional colleague, in my day job career, and for this kind  act I am very grateful.

In the last five years I've led a very sheltered reading life. With the exception of re-reading the Honor Harrington series, my sole fiction intake has been BattleTech with a side of Shadowrun sourcebooks. You might say I was taking a busman's holiday. While I love BattleTech, you can get burned out on a single universe when you are reading, writing, playing, fact checking in just that universe.

So when my neo-luddite self discovered that people had put complete books out on podcast, for free, I had to check it out (Okay in my own defense, I was once a tech geek. But it has been so long since I've been a geek that when Twitter first came out I was one of those who said "What's the point?" I am no longer an early adopter and look to others for good trends).

Digital Magic will appeal to anyone who loves the Cyberpunk genre and especially to those who enjoy the magic/technology sub genre that games like Shadowrun specialize in.

Given I listened to this as an audio book, I have to start with saying that Miss Ballantine's reading was superb. She has a very engaging voice and very seamlessly handles the majority of the characters leaving you no doubt who is speaking. The other voice actors were for the most part very good. The Daniel character had some audio issue in his later appearances that really jarred you out of the story, but this was an exception.

The story snags you from the beginning, putting you right into the mind of one of the lead characters from page one. And when the character happens to be a shape changing thief who has a startling reaction to an ancient mask, you know you are in for an interesting story. Miss Ballantine then proceeds to throw you into a quick series of turns as she introduces the rest of the cast and sets up two completely separate story lines, one set in a war torn New Zealand and one in a sleepy (or not so) English village.

Several times I thought I had the story figured out. Several times I was proven completely wrong and guessing anew at just where things would end up. And then only two chapters from the end, you get a complete right turn that leaves you marveling at where you've ended up. She keeps you guessing, interested and thinking through the whole book. A mark of a good novel (or podcast).

The only other negative mark I have to give is for the podcast production schedule. I was lucky to not discover the book until it was already up to chapter twenty of twenty-two. Still, when I reached chapter eighteen and there was no sign of the last two chapters, I stopped listening and waited. It was close to three months before the final two chapters came out and I could finish the book. I can't imagine what it had to be like for those that had been listening from chapter one. To Miss Ballatine's credit, she was moving half way around the globe during this time, but still it was a painful wait for her listeners. Having more of the book in the can, before posting it might be better in the future.

Where would I place Digital Magic and Miss Balantine in my repeat appearances list? I rarely re-read a novel, so its no slight that I don't put this on my must keep around list, but I Pip Ballantine has been added to my must read/listen to her work again. I've just started listening to Chasing the Bard and will probably buy (spend real money) her new print novel, Phoenix Rising (co-written with Tee Morris).

Digital Magic is available as a free podcast and also as a digital eBook, so you can choose your medium for experiencing this great story.

Until next time,

Welshman

Writer, Explorer, Learner

An essential tool to succeeding in Freelance Game Writing

A Thick Skin…

I imagine that twenty years ago, maybe even ten years ago, the feedback a game writer got was limited and definitely not real time. Mainstream online interactions didn't exist two decades back and even a decade back products were printed and shipped old style. So you could have months from release to fan comments on the product.

Today, you can release a product electronically and by the time you've been to the coffee maker and back there are a 100 posts on the product. In this world of instant media you have to develop all the key skills of a regular freelance writer, but you also have develop an iron hard skin.

Now maybe Pip Ballantine needs a thick skin, what with her audio novels and tackling the popular Steampunk genre, but in Kristine Kathryn Rusch's very popular blog, on surviving as a writer in today's publishing economy, she doesn't mention thick skin.

She does list the following:

1. Flexibility                           6. Storytelling Ability.

2. Forward-thinking             7. Voice.

3. Business Savvy                 8. Risk-takers.

4. Entrepreneurial Spirit     9. A Willingness to Try

5. Write Fast                         10. Nonconformists.

These are all excellent pieces of advice and I would also recommend her Freelancer's Survival Guide if you want to tackle this crazy art.

But I think even more than self published authors, writers for an established game universe have to have skin so thick you can survive a trip through the sun. The BattleTech game universe is twenty-seven years old now and there are fans that have been following the game that long (twenty-five for me). With all that history your fans can develop some very decided opinions. Like every bad Star Trek convention spoof you've ever seen, gamers can have the same firmly fixed opinions and woe betide if the writers change the universe in a way that fan doesn't like.

Enter the age of instant media and the ability for the fans to express themselves isn't limited to a handful of conventions a year. They can respond quickly and in great volume. This can be wonderful, when some fan posts a heart felt thank you. This can be gut wrenching when another one declares how you've just destroyed the game.

Thick Skin.

You've got to have a mountain of self confidence, a healthy dose of patience and a wicked sense of humor won't hurt. With these in hand you can tackle the feedback, sort the wheat from the chaff and probably end up learning a few things from even the most vociferous of trolls. Mind you it may just be learning to add this person to your spam filter, but every little lesson has value.

Oh, and that skin comes in handy with the job itself. When you're the sole author of a book, you have the "power". You get to decide what happens and when. When you write for a game there can be dozens of other writers. Then there is a developer, a line developer, the fact checkers, the editors, the layout guys and so on. With that many opinions conflict is bound to occur (Management guru Mark Horstman likes to say "Conflict is two people in the same county", so get used to conflict it's a part of life.). So once again, a thick skin is very important. As is being professional, polite and calm, even if your fellow staffers are screaming bloody murder at you.

Thick Skin. You don't need to have it to be a game writer, but you probably won't last long without it.

Until next time,

Welshman

Writer, Explorer, Learner

1. Flexibility

2. Forward-thinking

3. Business Savvy

4. Entrepreneurial Spirit

5. Write Fast

6. Storytelling Ability.

7. Voice.

8. Risk-takers.

9. A Willingness to Try

10. Nonconformists.

On being a freelance game writer/designer pt III

In my project management career we have a saying. It's a saying the game industry probably knows all to well, even if they don't use the exact phrase.

OBE - Overcome by events.

Or, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Such is what finds me a month from my last blog and in many ways describes how not to get your foot in the door. In Part II I talked about your public presence and how that was a critical factor in working for a game company. To be honest it applies to any job. I wrote a project management blog  in a similar vein after the NPR public relations disaster of two weeks back. In Part II I promised to go into making the jump from a volunteer (playtester, fact checker, etc.) into writing. Better late then never, here we go.

First off, don't let yourself be overcome by events. When the chance comes along, it is usually a brief little window that may or may not present itself again. Jump on the chance and run for it, because it may not come around again. And that's what I did. I was one of the few fact checkers who took part in the, then, super secret The Blake Document review. Some of the promo material used to promote the book were in universe marked up copies of units from FM:Merc Supplemental Update. Uncle Chandy's right hand man was reviewing possible candidates for hiring. I saw an opportunity to further promote the BattleCorps website and get a chance to write. So taking the leap, I wrote a pitch to Herb to include a bio on the Battle Corps' commander in the Biographies section of the book.

But what if he said no?

I don't recall where I learned the lesson, but it's one I've lived by for a long time and one any aspiring writer absolutely must believe in.

"You will never get anything, if you don't ask for it."

So I asked and then I pitched.

Pitched?

Yes. If you are submitting a story to BattleCorps, you provide an complete story. It's different when pitching into a continuous story game line. Unless you are Herb, Ben or possibly Randall, you don't know the entire story and the entire plan. So spending your complete labor of love on an idea that, while great, doesn't fit the universe can be very much a let down.

This means nine times out of ten you have to pitch your idea at a higher level. Provide enough detail for the developer to understand what you are pitching and your style. Not only does this keep you from spending months on the perfect LAM rules, when they were written two years ago and are just waiting for the right book, but it also can help protect the company you hope to work for. Who owns an idea can be a very touchy issue in game designing and writing. This is a huge part of why unsolicited designs from people not already under NDA ends up in the document not being opened and quickly round filed. The last thing a game company wants is to be accused of stealing someone's idea. They may have already been working on rules for sentient computers, but if they opened Jo Bob's rules (which involved memory chips made out of chocolate chips) they could put their entire plans at legal risk.

So nine times out of ten, when you pitch an idea, you pitch the concept. Then you wait for a reply and a contract (or at least a written go ahead).

That's what I did with my first foray into the writers credits of Catalyst Game Labs. I pitched my idea to Herb and he said "Ok" (no really, that was pretty much the sum of his first response. Herb's a man of few, but powerful words).

I guess I did something right, because when the next sourcebook came out I was one of the people it was sent to for open submission. But that's a whole other kettle of fish and isn't about becoming a freelancer, but about being one so I'll talk about that sometime in the future.

I got paid a whole $20.00 for that submission. It was the best twenty bucks I'd ever earned and I darn near never cashed the check.

Several years later I've definitely made more than that first twenty, but I still mark that point as the first time I realized maybe there was something to this hobby of mine.

Until next time,

Welshman

Writer, Explorer, Learner

On being a freelance game writer/designer- Part II

If you haven't read last weeks blog, you'll probably feel like you just dropped into the middle of a conversation. You'd be right!

So then, how did you become a freelancer?

Ah yes, now that the history lesson is done, let's get back on topic. So how did I go from BattleTech fan, to freelance developer? As you will recall, from last week, my first flippant answer was "don't ask". This isn't as flippant as it sounds.

I've been reading a lot about getting started as a freelance writer. The mantra there pretty much boils down to, "write, finish, submit, rinse and repeat." The key to that process is the "finish" part. If you don't finish your story you can never try submitting it. This is a process I'm still learning on the writing side, but Jason Schmetzer, Editor of the BattleCorps site, pounds on this one for how to get your stories accepted by BattleCorps. This is awesome advice and I know Craig Reed did just this, becoming a fairly regular writer on BC as a result.

For basic freelancing, this is essential. For becoming a freelance game writer/developer it is also good general advice. If you lack basic writing skills, it will seriously hinder your aspirations to be the next Gary Gygax. It is not, however, a barrier to entry. I've been writing for BattleTech now several years, and I've yet to get a story accepted to BattleCorps. It's a different medium and different requirements. I'm considered good for game writing, but for full on short stories I've not passed the bar.

Digressing again, back to the core question.

Welcome to the 21st century, the age of online/social media. By the time you get your name in print, the odds are you've developed an online reputation that is going to follow you for years to come. This is an essential fact of life and something we all have to come to grips with. I face this in my professional life on a daily basis. It got to the point that I seriously considered changing my writing name to separate my writing "hobby" from my day job. In the end I realized it wouldn't do much good at this stage. If an author writes under four pen names, it will take you probably two minutes to find out all their names and their real one. Welcome to the digital age!

No, I'm not digressing this time. Becoming a successful game freelancer, and I would argue a successful writer, speaker, consultant, any job that requires good public perception means you have to be very aware of your online reputation. Heck, entire sites have risen about measuring this reputation. Klout.com and Peerindex are two prime examples of this.  And my own growth to a freelance game  designer for Catalyst mirrors these principles.

It was my participation in the 3048 Fan Council (An online post based RPG) that started it all. Several people were impressed with my writing and more importantly my drive to work with people and be inclusive. CBT Moderator and BattleTech factchecker, Worktroll, asked me to help grow the still young BattleCorps Legion. I was the first and only non-mini painted character in the regiment. I was invited to playtest not long after that and to be a moderator after that. This was all a result of my online presence on CBT and BattleCorps. I was nice, I was inclusive, I contributed to the conversation. Everyone knew I was a hard core House Davion /FedCom fan, but I was on great terms with fans from all walks of the game.

And this is exactly how many of the ASF Cabal and Master Unit List team were recruited. All of them had shown a marked expertise in some area. William Gauthier had built his own fan Objective Raids document, Luke Robertson regularly wrote in character essays on aerospace usage and so on. But that wasn't everything. After that their demeanor went under the microscope. William is a great example of this. In the BattleTech community he is know as "MadCappellan", a more ardent fan of the Capellan game faction you would be hard pressed to find. And while being dedicated to his faction, William has never let it take him to far. His online interactions are commendable.

Do you have to have a really good online reputation to become a freelancer?

No, you don't. But you have to be very damn good, very good. And you still have to find a way to get your foot in the door. There are a few that I know, but they are the exception, not the rule.

So how did you go from Fact Checker to Developer?

And this is where you do ask, sort of.

But that's for the next blog.

Until next time,

Welshman

Writer, Explorer, Learner

On being a freelance game writer/designer

Success is what happens when you're not looking. I'm sure someone famous said that at some time. As tax season draws ever closer I had a small nudge that gave me an inkling that I might just be a successful freelancer. My 1099 form from Catalyst came in the mail and I realized "Hmm that's going to affect my return." Mind you, it's no New York Times Best Seller paycheck, but for something I started out doing as a hobby, it certainly isn't anything to sneeze at. So while not sneezing I started thinking about just how I'd gotten to the point of being considered a "freelance developer" for Catalyst.

This will be a multi part blog.  I'm only the second paragraph in and I already know that. One of my ever present banes, is my ability to write about absolutely nothing, for pages and pages. When unconstrained by a Line Developer ready to chop my words (and fingers) off for going over count, I can really cut loose. I'll have to do a future blog on the challenge of writing 300 word, in character, news articles. But anyway, as I said, this will be a multi part blog, it's the only way to do the topic justice.

How do I become a game writer / developer?

First, you need to lose your mental sanity. Seriously, this is not the place you make your fame and fortune. Writers like Mike Stackpole have shown that you can certainly get a start in a niche universe, but few people get rich in the game industry. You can make a living, after many long years of selfless devotion, but from what I've seen and heard, making it rich in games industry is up there with winning the lottery.

I've got a day job. It's my first priority, every day. It's what pays my bills, supports my family and keeps a roof over my head. Freelancing is bonus money, a little extra to buy my wife a present or to get a new catalytic converter on my car (The irony is not lost on me). I freelance for Catalyst essentially as one of only two hobbies I have, albeit one that more than pays for itself. When my day job is done and my family is settled, I break out the keyboard and crank out word count like a madman.

So why would you want to become a freelance game writer?

Two key reasons, in priority order.

1- It's fun: Seriously, if it weren't I'd find another hobby, because it sure as hell is hard work. I write for Catalyst because its fun. When I was writing the Caspar II Drone decision tree, for Jihad Hotspots: Terra, I had one of those geek moments and IM'd Randall. I had to ask him if it ever gets old to make **** up from scratch. Randall has assured me that no, it never gets old.

2- In second place, by a good margin, is the experience. When I first started freelancing, it was all about the fun. About the third time I was on the solicitation list, for a regular product, I started to realize that maybe I might be halfway decent. Writing is a lot about confidence. Having the confidence that you are good enough and the will to keep at it. I've been writing for Catalyst now for close to five years, and in that time I've gotten light years better at writing and communication. And this isn't just in my fiction work.  I know that writing for Catalyst has improved my professional career. When 90% of your writing related communications are by email, you learn to be good at communicating, that can only help your professional career.

The experience and confidence building is invaluable. I may not get rich writing for BattleTech, but the on the job training I've gotten will serve me in good stead for any future writing projects. I'm even using my writing skills to promote my professional development. I'd never have started my professional blog, if not for the confidence in writing I developed with Catalyst. I've recently been asked to put together a professional grade training course based on that writing. So I'd say the experience has been well worth it. And I still hold out hope of someday writing the next Honor Harrington fiction series (a writer can dream).

Okay, so I've lost my sanity and I really want to write for a game company? Now what?

Don't ask… Seriously, it was the best advice I ever got when I was getting back into BattleTech.  John "Worktroll" Hawad told me "If you want to be a playtester or moderator, don't ask. If you ask then you pretty much rule yourself out."

But, if I can't ask, how can I get in?

 Great question, really it is. One I struggled with when I was first coming back to the game.

So I've referenced "coming back to the game" a couple of times now. Let's step back a little and get everyone on the same page. I started playing BattleTech in high school. Memory fades a bit, but I'm pretty sure it was 1987 and the main GM for my gaming group brought BattleTech home. While it only lasted a couple of months in our group, I was forever hooked. I began buying every FASA BattleTech product I could find and devouring it. One day I was at a theatre rehearsal for an improv street fair. At the end of the class (it was on how to speak with a Victorian accent), the teacher got on a hay bale and held aloft a copy of the BattleTechnology magazine and asked if anyone played BattleTech. Taking the exact same copy of the magazine from my backpack I approached my future editor, Hilary Ayer.

You'll note, I didn't ask.

I worked for BattleTechnology for about three years, going from the equivalent of a gopher to the technical editor (Yes, every bad design that slipped through was my fault, sorry guys designs were all done with pencil and paper back then). Each step along my work for the magazine came at the invitation of my editor. And the reasons then, were much the same reasons as this time around.

So I have to take up acting?

No, that was pure luck. I certainly don't recommend that as the way to become a freelance game writer. And writing for the magazine would never have led to that anyway. The way its relationship was with FASA, I'd never had gotten the chance. Still I did learn and have a lot of fun. While at the magazine I got to read the galley proofs of Warriors of Kerensky, I got free copies of BattleTech and Shadowrun stuff, I got to playtest Shadowrun and I also created some stuff. Hate Battle Value? I may be the guy to blame. Before FASA ever created a point tracking system, I wrote Combat Efficiency Factor. It was a crude system that didn't give enough credence to movement, but I had fun. I also first created the Osprey and wrote my first ever short story, Ghost of the Twenty-Fifth. But in the long run, it was just a hobby for a college age kid.

So then, how did you become a freelancer?

Ah good question. One I think will be perfect to start the next blog with…

Until next time,

Welshman

Writer, Explorer, Learner

Creating a new idea in an old universe

Or- The evolution of the Light Combat Team

This blog is targeted to BattleTech fans, but there are interesting thought processes if you are just interested in the creative process of making **** up.

I've had the absolutely awesome pleasure and privilege to break some really exciting new ground in the BattleTech universe (I can't continue without a quick nod to Herb Beas and Randall Bills, of Catalyst Game Labs, for giving me their trust and the chance to do this, thanks guys). Creating the Caspar II Drone rules was an awesome mental exercise that had me circling my own thoughts like a mad piranha. Creating the Devils Tower Castle Brian and game play rules for fighting in a Brian were just out right fun. And my heart swells with pride when I hear folks talk about their changing opinion of the Republic, based on how they are represented in TRO 3085 and its supplement.

But all of these were truly team efforts. Randall and the ASF Cabal were instrumental in the  Drone rules going from a somewhat disjointed idea to the great implementation they are now, and all I wrote was based on a base of rules written by Dave McCulloch. The same for the Brian rules and the shaping of the Republic Military, all team efforts.

Creating the Light Combat Team, on the other hand, that is something I am very proud of and a place where I got to tread into all new territory. So how did it come to be? What is the thought process to create an all new component to the game universe? 

Well as with a lot of good ideas, it started out with a conversation. That being with a writer's best friend, their editor. In this case that would also be the Line Developer for BattleTech, Herb Beas. As we were working on JHS:3076, I had several conversations with Herb about how to develop the Federated Suns. We faced an interesting challenge. How to explain how the FedSuns of the Dark Age was not a center stage power. BattleTech history, as written had always had House Davion in a pretty prominent role. In Universe history had shown it able to bounce back from crippling damage time and again (Post Kentares in the First Succession War, Post Clan Invasion, etc). And most importantly, BattleTech history had established that the Federated Suns was always putting its nose into other people's business. Whether politically, economically or militarily, the FedSuns didn't know how to keep still. So why were they so bloody quiet in the Dark Age. Why didn't they immediately jump to the fore when the Republic started to falter? In working with Herb, I came to realize that if we didn't lay the ground work now we would have a disconnect when we got to the Dark Age.

So the seeds of the LCT were founded not in anything to do with military formations, it wasn't done "just to do it". The LCT was an outgrowth of a plan to alter overall "fabric" Federated Suns. How did the Jihad change the personality of the FedSuns? What would be the outward appearances of that change?

The ground work was laid all the way back in JHS:3076 with the "Never Again" speech by Regent Yvonne. When if came time to give a snapshot of the FedSuns, in Masters and Minions, I had already written a multi page "state of the FedSuns" report that I'd handed off to Herb. It outlined not only where the Suns was in the 3077, but also broad brushstrokes of where it was going. Credit where credit is due, Pat Wynne (AKA Roosterboy) became a co-inspirer for this and in the end Herb made the final decisions. We had a plan for what to do and that plan rolled out in M&M, JHS:Terra, Field Report AFFS and future works to come.

"Hey! What about the LCT?"

Right, getting sidetracked again. I do that. You know there was the… Um right.

So Regent Yvonne decides to alter foreign policy. With a significant portion of civilian and military leadership gone and the majority of those remaining backing Yvonne (or at least her two largest supporters Tancred and Jon Davion), it was the first time since Alexander Davion that such sweeping changes could be made. It was probably the only chance. By the 3090s politics as usual would probably be back in full force, so Yvonne had to strike while she could.

The change in foreign policy meant a change to how the military was structured. It's mission was changing from concentrated offence to deep defense. Yes, the similarities to Alessandro Steiner's concentrated weakness were in my mind when I plotted this all out.  There is no promise or guarantee that Yvonne's policy changes were smart. That's an interesting thing about writing, sometimes the author is yelling at his own creations about just how stupid they are being. Not to say the FedSuns new policy is stupid, only time (and Herb) will tell.

So how to change the AFFS? Not the easiest thing to do. First off are all the in universe implications, which on the whole are the easy issues. Because then there is the fan base. The good news, House Davion is the most popular faction in the game. The bad news, see the good news. Doing anything with the FedSuns is bound to cause the fan base to react. Just the perception of 3085 short changing the Suns caused much teeth gnashing. So what happens when you change their beloved military?

And that's how I came up with the LCT. A mix of in universe common sense and not treading to far from what the paying fans love about House Davion.

Want to know a secret? Sure you do… One of the reasons I started out as a House Davion fan, was the Regimental Combat Team. I was fascinated with combined arms from the very beginning and I absolutely loved the concept of the RCT. But as I looked at the FedSuns I couldn't shake that the RCT was no longer a viable primary unit. In 3025 there were enough RCTs to send the entire unit hither and yon. But by the Civil War, RCTs were being parceled out in smaller commands on a regular basis. And the Suns JumpShip issues were only getting bigger, so moving those RCTs was a real challenge. How many RCT were stranded in the 50s and 60s for lack of transport? It's no wonder, when an RCT needs a minimum of 61 DropShip collars to move the entire unit. Even if you cut out the infantry and support units, you need 20 DropShips. That's a min of 3 JumpShips, if you can get your hands on two Monoliths, while on average you are looking at 5 JumpShips.

When I designed the LCT I had portability high in my mind. Whatever I designed, I wanted it to be easy to move. This would support the FedSuns low JumpShip count and Yvonne's focus to get more and more JumpShips back into civilian use. An LCT, without its support and PBI can be carried on one Star Lord. That requires using some big DropShips, but as a primarily defensive unit it would be deploying in mostly non-combat situations. (Yes, I am tempting Murphy, but again it is an in universe decision which isn't always a great one. )

Another issue with the RCT, was the command structure. Whenever it split up, you had commands with weird structures. Is the Armor Colonel in charge cause he outranks the Major in change of the 'Mech Battalion? To prevent this in universe command confusion, the LCT was designed to be the smallest contiguous unit. It would be built to operate as a single unit.

Finally I looked to the composition. The Dark Age has a much greater stress on combined arms. Seeing more than a lance of 'Mechs at a time is rare. So cutting the 'Mech numbers and boosting the Battle Armor made perfect sense. If you only have 36 to 44 'Mechs to go around, you probably will end up deploying them in packets across the world, backed by a larger combined arms force.

And so in the end I had the LCT. It was spawned from political changes, but became the first truly new military formation in at least of decade of real life.  The creative process was a blast and I learned a lot about taking in the "big picture" to see how even little things are changed.

Until next time,

Welshman

Writer, Explorer, Learner