BattleTech: Mercenary's Handbook 3055

From the back cover: "Running a merc unit is a serious business first, last, and always. Not just any group of gung-ho 'Mech jocks can survive in the cutthroat world of the mercenary, and any MechWarrior who ignores this fact ends up working for someone else, Dispossessed, or dead. Running a successful merc unit takes know-how, skill, careful planning, and sometimes a little luck. If you still think you've got what it takes to pit your skills against the fiercest warriors of the Inner Sphere and beyond, The Mercenary's Handbook: 3055 is for you. The handbook provides a comprehensive, detailed system for creating, maintaining, and operating a mercenary unit in the BattleTech universe, covering every aspect if the mercenary life from combat to salary to medical care. The Mercenary's Handbook: 3055 also includes detailed briefings on five of the most renowned mercenary units of the Inner Sphere: Wolf's Dragoons, the Kell Hounds, Rhonda Snord's Irregulars, the Gray Death Legion, and the Black Thorns. So what are you waiting for? C-bills and glory await any MechWarrior bold enough to take them. But just remember, the battle's not over until the check clears..." User comment: Although this book was ostensibly published with the MechWarrior RPG audience in mind, for anyone looking to run an extended BattleForce or BattleTech campaign involving a mercenary unit as the central protagonist, this BattleTech sourcebook is a font of useful information, and provides a great set of rules for managing a Mercenary unit. Admittedly, it involves a fair amount of record keeping, or someone with an enthusiasm for spreadsheet manipulation, but it's the sort of book that's bound to appeal to players looking for realistic campaigns, and the book provides a natural progression route for those moving on from pick-up games and scenario packs. The Mercenary's Handbook: 3055 is now out of print, and the current licence holder hasn't announced any intention to reprint it. It's also not available in an electronic format, but the earlier BattleTech: 2nd Edition Mercenary's Handbook is available electronically and has been for some time, so there's hope that this sourcebook might become available eventually.