MechWarrior (1st Edition) vs MechWarrior (2nd Edition) Character Stats / Conversion

Question

BattleTech & MechWarrior used to be 'mini combat' & 'rpg' respectively; and have gone through various versions; changing core aspects of the game & how the math works. In MechWarrior, here's what I remember:

Characteristics             Attributes
Athletic        18-Bld-Ref  Build
Physical        18-Itn-Ref  Reflexes
                            Intuition
Mental          18-Itn-Lrn  Learn
Social          18-Itn-Cha  Charisma

But in some of the older "scenario/lore" books, I find reference to the following "stats":

• bod
• dex
• lrn
• cha
• pib
• htk

Which source book(s) describes the above stats? (note: I know the "scenario/lore" books 'use/list' them, but they take it for granted "what they mean" and/or "how they're used".)

How are the two related?.. 20+ years ago, I vaguely remember that one of the many books had 'how to convert' in the back; but it's been too long so perhaps I'm mistaken.

Answer 1

On page 49 of Mechwarrior (2nd Edition ~ FASA 1641 MechWarrior 2nd Edition) is a section titled "Adapting Original MechWarrior", which in itself is a partial answer to the question above...

It discusses the Attribute (bod, dex, lrn, cha) & Skill/Advantages conversions (or guidelines wrt Intuition, as that did not exist in 1st Edition. In addition, it 'hand-waves' the removal of most Inborn Advantages & Disadvantages; the latter of which would unbalance converted characters.)

PIB in 1st Edition, is 'Personal Initiative Bonus', and starts on pg 70 of Mechwarrior (1st Edition ~ FASA 1607 MechWarrior: The BattleTech Role Playing Game)... it is a combination of Dex, Lrn, & Tactics, Leadership. This is replaced by a simpler roll + REF system in 2nd Ed (with ITN being a tie-breaker) on page 52 of Mechwarrior (2nd Edition).

Separately, HTK (which in 1st Edition worked like D&D Hit Points) is replaced with a location based damage system in 2nd Ed (similar to how mech damage is allocated.) Damage resilience is now based on the Body stat, with the utilization starting on page 49 of Mechwarrior (2nd Edition).