/btg/ Battletech General!

stick OP. make it a twig instead.

That depends. Are there any leaves still on this stick? Would be classified in the american south as a "switch" for swatting childrens' bottoms? Do the more advanced critical hit rules apply? Is it a Liao Xin Sheng switch? Did the guy holding the stick suddenly become elite status because "muh faction" writing?
There is so much to ponder.
>cyclops swinging a tree into a cockpit in megamek.jpg

LOL so epic xD

What quirks does the stick have? And is the sleepy guy favored by a patron author? Does any homo have a replica uniform of the sleepy guy's and make sure that extra forces are generated out of thin air for him despite having shit for industry?

I'm gonna have to go with the guy with with the stick.
youtube.com/watch?v=QWwmqHGYHus&t=2m45s

I have an infantry equipment question.
In the Clan Invasion era, the early50s, what's the best extreme-range sniper weapon that would be available to mercenaries? I want the maximim possible range in the hands of an Elite-quality shooter
I'm playing a campaign with missions at both mech and personal scale, and I've decided that hiring a sniper team is gonna be really useful

Gonna take out enemy pilots outside their mechs with a sniper?

There are a couple of pictures of mechs moving through trees and firing that I'm looking for. I think one of them might be a shadow cat? If you know what I'm talking about, please post them or point me in their direction.

>wolves break stick
>now guy have two stick
>stick win every time

Yep. Also elementals. In armor, big problem. Out of armor, can be handily ventilated with a .50 to the head
I'm on a guerilla contract to cause endless trouble in the rear areas of the JFOZ, and tiny garrison forces are exceptionally vulnerable to this sort of thing

Are we sure it's a "stick" and not some guy waving around a Vulcan in one hand? That makes a difference.

Okay for this, I gotta tell a small player story.
Had a guy and two buddies with a company of mechs go against a provisional government that had a battalion. I figured they would take out the battalion in small chunks. Well... one of our players pulled a fast one on me. With cooperation he had two lances dealing with enemies, and his medium weight scout lance tackled one of the government's light lances. The light lance was enough for three mechs to deal with, so he took a P-Hawk from the lance he was in charge of and went around the battle.
The trio of battles with the three lances continued, and through some decent maneuvering managed to sneak up to the enemy battalion's third company. This company was full of a combination of green pilots and regulars, and stocked with new heavies and mediums. The P-Hawk jumped right towards the pilot barracks, the pilots started filtering out and one machine gun spray and half the pilots were crow-chow. The other six surrendered as they would not have been able to get to their mechs to deal with this guy without being ventilated.
He let his P-Hawk pretty much hold the entire base hostage (the base's defenses were the ones dealing with the PC's other three lances and the local infantry was caught in transit between two battles) and waited for his friends to arrive.
His light lance made it, battered, and one Shadow Hawk from his buddy's medium lance join later minus a left arm and some armor.
he got, in total, 6 brand new Crusaders, a Warhammer, one Thunderbolt, two Shad 2Hs, one Shad 2D and a Griffin in pristine condition.
I just about shat a Cyclops leg onto the table.
There was discussions as this was just at the cusp of new technology distribution and his force had a lot of CASE, FF and DHSs ready to install so a session and a half dealt with deciding what upgrades I was going to allow them to have with what in-game time they had available. I only remember the Crud upgrades off the top of my head.
Fun times.

...

Bingo, thanks user.

That is some smooth goddamn operating.
The plan I've been handed is some crazy tom clancy bullshit, but it's going to be very interesting, I'm sure

Battlebump.
Question: By the Jihad, what would have been the most common Omnis in merc hands?

First gen IS that sold on the merc market since the beginning and were made at multiple facilities like Firestarters and BJ's.

Probably blackjack the most, then the firestarter, and after that honestly probably whatever clan omni the goons had the most of

>crazy tom clancy bullshit
Okay, I gotta hear it.

story time user

The Arctic Fox was built by the Kell Hounds, so that counts for something

The IS Black Hawk copy, Blackjack, Firestarter, and Sunder Omnis were built all over the Inner Sphere, so I would assume them to be pretty common

It's a Salamander BA suit.

The things on the chest serve no purpose. BA nipples or some shit, I don't know.

Minolta 9000 or a Blazer Rifle.

I've heard most of the IS omnis are trash, so which ones are worth taking?

HAUPTMANN
A
U
P
T
M
A
N
N

If a mech is Lyran-made, you want it.

Disregard Drac SHS beats, FWL LGR and no armor enthusiasts, and Capellan Ching Chong Bots.

Hell, even the Davions buy our mechs.

Shop Lyran. You know it's right.

...

>Capellan Ching Chong Bots
Hey, the Ching Chong is a righteous machine

>6/9/8
>Clan ERPPC
>Cooling jacket

>variant is a gank gun

Who /burrock/ here?

Cool animal. Shit mech. Shit clan.

The variant is hot steaming garbage and we both know it.

Out of curiosity, was it ever stated how much usable Clan salvage the ComGuards were able to pick up after the battle of Tukayyid?

When my ant pilot needs his mini mech, I got a ride!

Blakists took most of it. That's why the MD's have access to Invasion Omnis.

Now goodies they got from Bulldog and Serpent are a different story.

A decent haul. Enough to build the 472nd Division (as four Clusters) almost entirely out of Clan gear.

I know they had so many Battle Cobras that they started making their own, but I don't think any exact numbers were really thrown out.

This is just... so true.

I know I'm not the only one here who agrees.

>hating fictional characters

how much of a loser can you be?

It is one thing when a faction takes some territory and wins some battles. It is another when your faction no longer exists on the map.

Maybe a silly question but what's the first TRO where the Marian Hegemony shows up?

Enough to set up Invader Galaxy as a full clantech OpFor unit.

The year is 3056.
Ok, so first my end of the operation, which I know in character
My unit, a mercenary outfit assembled especially for this job, so far (I haven't fully finished assembling it yet, hence the original sniper question) consists of eight mechs (sterile, purchased without markings from the TC and upgraded with old SLDF parts from a cache for total untraceability), four Saladin hovertanks upgraded with Arrow IV launchers, four helicopters of an as yet undecided model, and two platoons of operator infantry with fancy gear including infantry TAG
The operation will see them deployed to a series of worlds within the JFOZ, and on each the order is to wipe out the garrison units (or, if the facts on the ground suggest the possibility, to encourage them to defect), and then, contact by elaborate radio scheme an operative elsewhere on the planet with a Black Box, who will call for exfil, and then be reinserted on the next planet.
For each mission, the mechs, vehicles and even the infantry's unit patches are to be altered to the profile of an ancient boogyman to the SLDF and/or clans; for the first raid we're going in as the Taurian Freedom Army (I was actually considering seeing if Greenberg's Godzillas could build a replica Toro for the job, but decided against it), on a second the Amaris Dragoons and on the third no unit that we know of, just OD with wolverine logos, also to be painted on destroyed clan installations, and for the last of the four targets we've been given so far, the old Oberon Guards scheme.
Now there's also to be several other teams of similar composition, on the same mission also operating, though how many and where aren't in the briefing.

Rate my Star:

>Executioner A
>Warhawk Prime
>Mad Dog B
>Viper A
>Fire Moth Prime

3050/10

>Falseflag as Oberon Guards
>Run into the New Belt Pirates from Star's End

I'm hard just thinking about it.

Jagging Harder/10

>on a second the Amaris Dragoons
>on the third no unit that we know of, just OD with wolverine logos

Remember to shoot the HPG first, because if they get the word out about about [AMARIS DETECTED]/[WOLVERINES DETECTED] you're gonna get swarmed by Green Burds.

>The year is 3056.
>just OD with wolverine logos

how did you found about the Wolverines, let alone their logo? I thought Phelan didn't has this information

Now stealth insertions are normally more or less impossible in battletech, but for this mission, fonchtstar (who are also in om it) have something special, a modified BugEye that they dug out of mothballs for this one, with it's very own special little L-F battery. Jumping in from a pirate point, dropping us and leaving the same way, it's just the thing for the job.
There's also one other little trick going; after we do each garrison, with the greatest of care we hide an odd little beacon, a heavily modified NARC rig with some SATCOM gear stuffed in, in each base so that when the new garrison comes, they won't find it.
This is for the second stage of the operation, which I don't know IC
This is where it gets sneaky.
Those beacons? They are homing becons for specially modified capital missiles, which are secretly seeded way out in space by the insertion/exfil boat. When the fax operator (who's still in place) sends the message, after the replacement garrison arrives, a JS popping fake engine flares with a Vincent profile and broadcasting pirate transponder codes pops in, hits the "go" signal and the missiles boot up, boost and drop right in on the new, larger, and completely unsuspecting garrison cluster

And meanwhile, MIIO is dropping the clans fake intel 'hints' that a group of pirates and disgruntled anti-clan mercs have reactivated a cache of old WarShips that they've found in the periphery.
Since the clan Watches are terrible, they're expected to buy this

Then, they're gonna do it to the bears, but with 'poorly disguised' jade falcon transponder codes showing through under the pirate stuff, with DEST doing the merc part of the job

Are there any megamek map packs with interesting space maps like something with asteroids or wreckage?

>Now stealth insertions are normally more or less impossible in battletech

Not really. You just got to come in at a pirate point and on an uninhabited side of the world since usually only one or two continents are inhabited. Satellite nets are pretty nonexistent on commonly raided worlds or poor worlds too because SOP in a full invasion is to sweep the sky of everything.

The paint only goes on for the final assault right before exfil, before that it's straight mystery, likely not even using the mechs.
It's not actual clan wolverine logos, it's literally just wild-guesses based on the fact that references to wolverines are known to trigger clanners, though not *why* it does. It's more like Red Dawn with mechs in that regard

>creating a fake warship-armed pirate-merc group to bully the falcons
YESYESYES

Only issue is that Bug-Eyes are fucking tiny, and can't carry droppers. Think U-2 rather than B-2.

ohhh
"wolverine" logos, not capitalized

GM's bending the rules a bit so bugeyes can land on planets, and thus is imagining the SLDF building a variant for extremely sneaky commando stuff, the last known example of which the WoB have a couple more, of course, and so do clan stockpiles
Fonchtstar is putting up for this mission

I got a few questions about the Thuggees Warrior Houses.
First, just to make sure, weren't they organized like the regular Warrior Houses and had a battalion of mechs and a battalion of infantry with around a platoon or so of BA?
What would the typical Thuggee infantry platoon be armed with in terms of weapons and cybernetics?
Finally, out of the mechs how many should be Blakist designs, like a quarter of them, half, or just sprinkled liberally throughout?

First, it's Focht. Second, with what tonnage? The Bug-Eye is less than 1200 tons. It has juuuuust enough cargo to turn into one bay with two tons of consumables left over.

I have a question. In BT and well, in general, are there any people you look up in regards to writing, making scenarios, teaching you how to make a good product or things? Is there anybody at FASA or the other companies that had a hand in BT that inspires you to bigger or better things?

user, this question hits right in the feels

The Hauptmann and Templar are said to be okay.

>The Bug-Eye is less than 1200 tons
The ISP3 Bug-Eye is 6100
I'm assuming that the guy's variant rips out the NCSS which gets 500 additional tons, for a total of 602 tons of cargo, which could (barely) stuff in what user is describing, depending on the mechs in question and using infantry bays
Or user's GM is using a custom ship with the same name, which is equally likely

>Focht
Fuck, I knew I was getting that wrong
As for the BugEye, I haven't been given a record sheet or anything, it's effectively a plot device, don't think it'll even appear on an actual tabletop. So I assume chalk it up as a custom.

>The IS Black Hawk copy

Black Hawk Ku. As with most IS copies of Clan mechs, it's a piece of junk.

So you're effectively just doing the entirety of Clear And Present Danger, except against clanners instead of cartels
Yep, that's pretty tom clancy

bros, I have a little something for you
I commissioned Plog over the years but never did a thing with them. Sometimes I posted the designs here and nothing more. So, while we all wait for /btg/TRO, I've compiled some of the art along with their stats. Nothing pretty or complex, or I would postpone this for ever (as I've did before).

another day I may post the SSW and MegaMek files. enjoy!

Do tell. I like inspirational stories if there is one.

Yeah I was looking at the BV for tonnage. Score one for idiocy I suppose. Still, ripping out the NCSS is just silly. I can't imagine that ComStar would do that to a literally irreplaceable ship, rather than just posing as merchants with Mules.

>As for the BugEye, I haven't been given a record sheet or anything, it's effectively a plot device, don't think it'll even appear on an actual tabletop. So I assume chalk it up as a custom.
Fair enough, but I tend to create the plot devices so I know it works

most of the designs come from MekTek, but there are some MWDA and CCG redesigns, along the Paf-apult. The stats were made trying to replicate their video game equivalent or just making something very different (like the gotta-go-hellion Black Lanner and the mixed-tech Shadow Cat). At the end of the day I just wanted an excuse for using the art

>dat fuchikoma
Hyper-Entropy Lite/10
>dat Cyclops
drac/10

>Hyper-Entropy Lite/10
oh yeah, the inspiration is even worse

youtube.com/watch?v=8EdXz19kpuY

>drac/10
stats come right from MWDA mini dossier

>Still, ripping out the NCSS is just silly. I can't imagine that ComStar would do that to a literally irreplaceable ship,
The idea is that the SLDF simply never fitted the spy gear to a few hulls, fitting cargo bays for commando use instead
>Fair enough, but I tend to create the plot devices so I know it works
This campaign is more of a RPG one than straight MercCountantTech, so I'm more fine with things like that. I'm just assuming no spy gear and possibly a fatter hull for explanation

>Fuchikoma

I actually stat'ed up a Jigabachi a few years back. Don't have the files anymore, so I'd have to recreate it.

>Heavy PPC
>Ultra big boy AC/20
>SHS
WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!

Because I FUCKED UP, sorry ;_;

Okay, but muh OCD!
With DHS is seems more reasonable. This is a PDF so you can fix it later, right?

Yes, really easy to fix. Thanks for pointing out!

It's a Cyclops, it can't actually be good.

Which has poorer performance?

The Crusader or Cyclopes?

Crusader, I think. The 3025 drac and FS models aren't bad, and the 50s marik model and 60s cap model are all OK

Durr, I mean the cyclops is worse, the crusader is OK

The Crusader. We call it the Crud for a reason.

btw the designation for the catapult is off - it's supposed to be CPLT-XX as opposed to CPT-XXX

What makes a crusader *feel* like a crusader design-wise (besides being suboptimal)? I kinda want to try my hand at designing some better variants

I'm not sure.

I haven't really had any problems with the Crusader.

But then again, I usually pair it up with the Thunderbolt so I probably don't see all of the issues they have on their own.

Been looking through the first few TROs.

Are these the quintessential mercenary mechs?

Merlin
Gallowglas
Bandersnatch
War Dog
Cerberus
Spector
Starslayer
Lineholder
Cestus
Pillager
Cronus

Being armed with a fuckton of missiles for all ranges, really. Especially ones in the arms.

A crusader should have leg missiles and arm missiles, and they should be different types. It should be designed to shoot at range and then close and brawl, and everything on it should come in pairs
It should also go 4/6, and shouldn't jump unless it's capellan.

Not even close.
The quintessential merc mechs are Locusts, stingers, wasps, Phoenix Hawks, Shadow Hawks, Griffins, Thunderbolts, Archers, Crusaders, Warhammers and Marauders. Of that list only maybe the Merlin and later Lineholder could be called properly widespread. POSSIBLY also the cronus and maybe the starslayer later.
The rest are only really popular among wealthy big-name commands in the late 50s-60s

The point about jumping is really only true for pre-FCCW versions of the Crusader. The Project Phoenix remakes had a lot of jumping variants, even those not made by the Liaos.

Ok..crusader idea :So LRM 5s in the legs... ALL the SRMs in arms maybe a back up twin ML setup?

On a scale of 1-crud how absurd would this be?

On phone so can't build one atm.

Pretty much. They're all established designs sold in heavy or at least significant numbers to mercs.

I'm a Lyran myself, so assaults and heavies aren't a problem, I was more looking at meds. Thanks for the recs though.