Battle Mecha Hack - Introduction

27 Oct, 2026

A while ago I decided I wanted to get back into some BattleTech narratives, and since I was also planning to try the Mecha Hack, I decided to simply combine the two!
If you're not familiar with one or both of these, or want to know how I adapted Mecha Hack to solo play or BattleTech, or simply want to see my character sheet, this is the post for you.
If you're simply interested in my play, you can go here: https://daydreamingmoose.bearblog.dev/battle-mecha-hack-i/

The Mecha Hack

The Mecha Hack is a hack for the Black Hack (that's a lot of Hack in that sentence), a simple, rules light, roll under D20 system. In Mecha Hack, you create a Mecha and it's pilot, and then participate in combat-focused missions. While there's ways to play your pilot on foot, the focus is definitely on the Mecha.
Normally, the game is played traditionally with a group and a GM, but I've created a few simple rules for myself to make it soloable. These aren't finished yet I imagine, and will get some more rules added if I need them.

1. I didn't roll for the stats as intended by the core rules. For once, I dislike rolling for stats, secondly I wanted my character to be competent enough to go it alone, so I wouldn't have to juggle two or three sheets. So I went with the Veteran Stats array from the optional rules found in the Mission Manual.

2. I also didn't roll for the HP, and instead assumed the max amount (8 in my case) and then doubled that (16), and then added the +4 from the rulebook for a total of 20. That should enable my character to endure a number of hits before going down, similar to a group of 2 or 3 characters.

3. Double the turns, double the fun. I gave my character two turns per round instead of one, and roll initiative twice to see if each turn is played out before or after the enemy acts. I kept the rule that I need to roll the reactor die if I take the same action twice in a single turn, but not if it's in separate turns (even if they're in succession).

4. Skills/Modules that normally apply to other Mecha, can also apply to my own Mecha. Otherwise those would be quite useless, and there's a large number of these in the game.

5. I assumed the max hit points for enemies, which was all right for the low level enemies I fought so far (HD1 and 2), but I might revisit this with stronger enemies.

6. I'm also using the rule by Matt Click, one of the creators, that one weapon swap per turn is a free action.

And that's it. We'll see how far I get without complicating this any further. If you're interested, you can get Mecha Hack here: https://absolutetabletop.com/products/the-mecha-hack (Also as print on demand on DTRPG)

BattleTech

In case you don't know, I'm a huge BattleTech fan. I simply love the unique blend of LosTech, sci-fi feudalism and Mecha the franchise brings to the table. And it's a huge franchise, spanning hundreds of years in lore, and existing since 1984, so there's a lot of stuff to go through. In case you've never been exposed to the BattleTech franchise, I can recommend this video by Sven van der Plank to you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2arGyCiZ4hA.
It explains the situation in Lore shortly after the timeframe I've chosen, which is the Anton Marik Revolt/Marik Civil War in 3014/15. As you might guess, this is a Revolt against the ruler of the Free World's League (one of the five big states at the time) Janos Marik, by his brother Anton. My character is a mercenary hired by the Loyalist faction under Janos Marik.

Adapting the BattleTech setting to Mecha Hack requires a bit of finagling and going 'Flavour is free!' to fit it, but it works surprisingly well. For example, I'll just be flavouring shields as armour, but keep the weapon equipping restrictions (unless I get the module that allows equipping shields without using a weapon slot). What I mostly did is mapping the weapons the Mech I've chosen to the weapons and modules I bought. While that means I can't use them all at once due to Mecha Hack being aimed at Mecha having hand held weapons, while BattleTech Mechs have them largely mounted on a fixed hardpoint. But it's still easy to have quite the arsenal of weapons, as you'll see below.

And finally, here's my Character sheet:

Jasleen Kaur

Veteran Stat Array (+1 Weapon quality, +150 Credits)

Pilot Type: Merc (+2 to Power, +1 to Presence; +1 Module)

Chassis: Thunderbolt TDR-5S (Striker)
Hit Points: 20/20
Proficiencies: Light Armour, All Weapons, Shields

Adaptable Robotics: When you roll a 20 on a test, you can choose to reroll the die. You must use the new roll.
Reactor Charge: As a use action, choose a close mecha. Their reactor die improves by one step, up to its maximum. Roll your reactor die.

Equipment: 60 Credits

^{Jasleen's Thunderbolt}

#plays