So for my birthday my best friend Shawn bought me the Battletech reference Historical Reunification War.  I took my time reading it and now it is finished, so I will review it.

Reunification War follows the new format that Catalyst is using for Battletech sourcebooks. So far, in what I have read, I have to say this format is working really well for me.  They are using the sandwich approach for the story and they are then giving you the rules annex which help with running your games.  What I mean by that is the story (the Reunification War, or the SLDF’s campaign to take all the periphery states) is sandwiched between the lead up and the aftermath, so you get a full concept of the events and how they integrated into the history of Battletech.

As to the story told in this sourcebook is epic.  What you have is a newly created (First) Star League in 2571.  After that there was pressure to unite the four Periphery nations into the Star League. Most of this was spurred on by politics and economic greed, but there were a few good natured souls that were doing it in an attempt at a unified humanity. It took almost seven years before the Star League was in a position to attack any of the nations, but attack they did.  The First Lord Ian Cameron decided (foolishly in my opinion) to suspend the Ares Convention for these campaigns, which led to death and suffering on planetary scale.  Nukes and orbital bombardment was used extensively in all but one of the campaigns.  Whole cities were leveled from space in some cases.  Tragedy at an epic level.

The Taurian campaign was one of the bloodiest and hard fought campaigns of the war.  This campaign is wrought with tragedies and senseless loss.  The Taurian’s gave as good as they got and they grinded the SLDF very hard, but they eventually lost to the sheer size and power of the SLDF.  One thing to note about this campaign, since the Ares convention was suspended.

The Canopian campaign was the only campaign fought within the bounds of the Ares convention. Marion Marik guaranteed that her people fought honorably and due to that, her enemy also did so.  In this case as well, the SLDF’s sheer numbers and power led to the inevitable conclusion.

The Outworlds campaign was a campaign fought by farmers and agrarians that were just trying to keep their farms and freedom. Two interesting things about this campaign are the defenders were the least defended of all the nations, and they only got their ability to defend themselves from the Federated Sun’s involvement.  The Federated Suns also sent former Davion troops to fight for the nation and these troops faired very well against the SLDF to the chagrin of the SLDF General.

The Rim Worlds were closely tied to the Cameron’s, and had things worked differently would have allied with the Star League.  The Amaris clan lead the Rim Worlds Republic and were disgusting leaders of their nation, so a coup was staged and Gregory Amaris hid.  So chaos ensued.  The SLDF actually entered into the Rim Worlds to help restore Gregory to his “throne”.  So you had troops against Gregory and some for Gregory, but none of them wanted the SLDF in their areas.  In the ensuing months the SLDF had to capture it all and restore it back for the ungrateful Amaris.  Historians all wonder if the First Star League would have fallen had Gregory been removed at that critical point, or would the Usurper been someone else?  Can you destroy the monster or will history just erect another one in its place?

Once they had completed their “18 month” campaign, more like a 18 year campaign, the rebuilding started.  Of course the Star League industries got preferential treatment and contracts when rebuilding.  Taking years for the other states to get back to ruling themselves and getting a fair vote in the Star League council, the Star League entered into its golden age.  A bloody start to a great idea to bind humanity to peace and prosperity.

With all Battletech mythos, there are plot twists, backstabs, back room dealings that I am not at all covering.  The dealings and the way people react to the politics and stress of life is very believable in my opinion.  People make mistakes, people die, and this mimics this very well.

Now the rules annex covers any rules that are specific to that campaign. What I really like about the rules annex that Catalyst has so far done is they give special abilities to the units. These abilities are not over powering, but they add a flair to each army that gives it character.  They also go over scenario rules and any special new units (read mech, warship, tank, and etc). I find this section wonderful because it gives me concrete things I can (all optional of course, since their number one rule is to have fun) add that will flavor a campaign or just an encounter. 

Overall the production value of this book (and all the books I have seen recently) is high, I mean very high.  The art is top quality and the proofreading is excellent. The stories are wonderful.

Not to be a fan boy, but there is little I would change about this particular sourcebook.  Maps of some of the highly contested planets would have been nice, but there were a lot of planets involved, so I can understand that.  Beyond that, it escapes me as to how this could have been better.

My breakdown of the book and its sections:

1. Story and brief history
2. Military overview of the SDLF and the Periphery unit strengths and structure
3. Personalities and backstory for all the movers and shakers
4. The Taurian campaign
5. The Canopian campaign
6. The Outworlds campaign
7. The Rim Worlds campaign
8. Deployment tables
9. Aftermath
10. Rules annex

•            I. Scenario rules
•          II. Unit special abilities
•         III. Weapons of mass destruction
•         IV. Weapons and Combat Units

For more items that I have reviewed and that are in my collection go to my Battletech Catalog page.