
Rating:
 
Reviewed by: Terren
Bruce |
Jade Falcon Sourcebook
Don't be fooled by the
two Mech rating. I really like this sourcebook, but unless you are
interested in the Jade Falcons of 3053 and earlier, there really is
no reason to get this book. It has a really great history section.
In fact you won't find a better history of the Jade Falcons up to
3053 anywhere. A lot of this background isn't repeated in FM:
Crusader Clans because of the space limitations when describing so
many clans. Because this book is so outdated I'll rate each section
according to how useful it is in the current BattleTech time period.
The more stars the better. Of course if you play a lot of games
during the initial clan invasion then everything should be useful.
You can go ahead and consider this to be a four Mech rating.
The first section is the aforementioned history section. This part
is the best part of the book. It deals with each of the clans
founders and the history of the clan from when it was founded until
the end of the invasion of the Inner Sphere. The history section is
26 pages long. *****
Next up is a listing of all the planets
in the Falcon Occupation Zone with a description of the most
important battle in the taking of that planet. Also includes the
month and year when the Jade Falcons took control. ****
Then we have the unit rosters. This is quite detailed, showing not
only the Mechs in every star in the invasion but also the names of
the mechwarriors! It also has in detail descriptions of important
Jade Falcon personalities. See Martha Pryde when she was only a Star
Colonel! This part is badly outdated and is completely useless in
any game set after the Refusal War. In my opinion way too much of
the book is given to this section. Still it is useful in seeing how
the clans organize their military and has shown me how to set up my
own cluster. **
The center of the book has color pages
of Jade Falcon uniforms and camouflage patterns. Helps bring the
clan to life. I have to say the Jade Falcons have some really cool
looking uniforms;) *****
The last major section has new Falcon
second-line Mechs (other clans have them as well but the Falcons use
them most). These Mechs are good and I really like the Hellhound but
they are printed elsewhere (not when this was originally published
though). If you don't have TRO: 3055 it's a plus having them here. ****
Finally, we have a glossary section. If you don't know all the
uniquely clan words that are used in the book, then you can look
them up here. These are printed in lots of other places but if you
don't have any other clan books you'll need them. ****
Final Thoughts...
If the unit rosters didn't take up the majority of the book, then
this sourcebook would be far more useful nowadays. This book is
completely useless unless you are a Jade Falcon player and are
interested in their history. For that one purpose it's great. I love
it, but because of it's specialized nature and the fact that it is
extremely outdated it only gets two Mechs. Also you can get a general
history of the Jade Falcons concentrating on more recent events by
reading FM: Crusader Clans. Still if you want in depth early history
this book is the one to get.
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