/btg/ Battletech General!

Mah literal sibkin. I did a Dark Caste Hellbringer a few years ago. Had a star of Dark Caste stuff painted up, though now I might repaint them into a mismash of Clan Burrock and Oberon Confederation colors because the Burrock Confederation is my favorite thing lately.. I think it's pretty interesting how many parallels there are between our designs, like going Fuel Cell and including IS parts. I didn't go full Patchwork though. Also bigger engine.

>Learn to overcome the crass demands of flesh and bone, for they warp the matrix through which we perceive the world. Extend your awareness outward, beyond the self of body, to embrace the self of group and the self of humanity. The goals of the group and the greater race are transcendent, and to embrace them is to achieve enlightenment.
-SunTzu Liao

What did he mean by this?

In the Third Succession War, yeah. Not so much in the Fourth, if only because the FedCom blows the FWL out of the water in every respect at that point.

In terms of domestic production, the Caps are >fucked< in the late SW; the FedSuns and Kurita are patching holes in their shite production with weird, but fun, customs. I'd honestly give the edge to Kurita in the Heavy category though. The QKD and Dragon may be shitty, but they're better than Riflemen and Jagers. Yeah, the Davs get the Marauder, but the Kurita Archers and Lancelots are actually a pretty decent answer to that.

Davs have the advantage in Medium production and quality, they're about tied in the Light arena, and the Davions sort of get an advantage in Assaults because Victor. By the time Quentin changes hands, the FedCom outclasses the fuck out of the Dracs though.

>It's cool if you're starving now, because we're going to win the war and make shit awesome for everyone later. So, like, think of the children and shit, and get back to making iPhones.

Just got back from a battalion-level game in Tacoma. Took control of a flanking Level II of light hovers, knocked out most of the enemy's LRM Carrier parking lots. Admittedly, the Lucy and Chippy's kamikaze strafing runs helped with that a lot, but I still had half my boys intact at the end of the day and killed a good 5 times my tonnage (3 LRM Carriers, two Hunters, an Infantry truck, and successfully dodging 5 Carrier's worth of LRMs on the last turn).

Yes, those are LAMs. And yes, it got ugly in the center.

Shot of the furball around the HPG tower. No, those aren't the WoB's powered armor.

ayy

>tacoma

Shit son where do you play, that store over by pacific near Dorkies?

>So, like, think of the children and shit, and get back to making iPhones.

>TFW Macintosh is an Outback world

Out of all the merc generation/accountanttech systems, which would you all say would be easiest to teach to a new player?

Not teaching them accountantech? It's not really a new player thing. Or if you do, keep it to introtech only and consolidate ammo of the same type (LRMs/SRMs).

I meant new to accountanttech, they know the fightin part well enough already

Make them a state unit and give them control of their quartermaster. That's a good set of training wheels for managing supplies and crew without worrying about hiring, payroll or scouting.

I think I got the idea from you, actually. And yeah, this Clan Burrock and Oberon Confederation idea has me hard for dark caste shenanigans. In light of that, heres a few HAllbie configs you might like- X tries to make the Hellbringer worthwhile by clan Coyote in 3085+, I answers the armor problem by keeping itt the fuck away from everything, K answers teh armor problem with Modular armor and melting everything close, and M is because Rocket Launchers on clan mech's is horribly funny.

I mostly play at Gabi's (Olympic Cards and Comics) down in Olympia, but the main group games at the Game Matrix on Tacoma Way. I swing by every so often to hang out with them. There's a Facebook group, and Game Matrix sells BT minis.

Here's my (loaner) Chevy and Drillson hiding from the massive Condor patrol after killing their third and fourth victims

Continued.

>omni
You fucked up. Get on my level.

I'm a big fan of the I and M versions. Heavy Lasers and RLs are my jam.

>SocietySecurityTrashcan.png

Watch this drop out a point or two of TERRIFYING VIRO INFANTRY.

Or this Ares.

>Rotunda
>no LL
Meh. The Society would put some kind of large energy weapon on to replace it. This is too conservative.

This on the other hand is a pretty good Society force padder.

Here, have a Burrock Confederation trooper left over from Operation Klondike.

>Meh. The Society would put some kind of large energy weapon on to replace it. This is too conservative.
Both ERMLs do an IS Large Laser's damage for one ton. Anything larger means I lose the Nova.

Oh I know it's efficient, but it's not MAD SCIENCE enough to label as a Society machine in my humble opinion. It's actually fine.

I forgot this, though I doubt the Society could get a hold of one.

>2200BV hovertank
I wish those could be ERMPLs. Or a single iHML. But it's pretty Society. If they made their own though it'd have an XXL engine. You know it to be true.

Better BV?

>Merrimack
I feel like I recognize this. Is this an older design of yours?

Yes.

Ah okay. Man Clan vees are fucking terrifying, especially missile boats. Half-weight launchers and no heat? It needs no fuel but freeborn tears.

Looks fun and nice setup, I have not played a tabletop game of BT since 90's. Any groups in the northern VA/DC area?

You ain't seen nothing yet.

Or this, which I thought I posted initially. Guaranteed to get the people playing against you to tell you to fuck off.

Now in diet size.

A logical conclusion to the party.

Also, put your name back on CA, you're not fooling anyone.

But I am fooling myself.

>Viro infantry

U wot m8

That's about as far as your want to dive into the rabbit hole, (:^)) oooah - declare yourself an inferior combatant

The Society went full retard and made virotherapies that could emulate the effects of the Elemental boosts in normal people, then gave the infected a whole bunch of combat stims and pointed them at the Clans.

I never knew I wanted a clan faction until this exact moment. How do I into society?

The Wars of Reaving Supplemental has their force organization, but beyond the Cephalus, Septicemia and Osteon, it's mostly second line gear and Omnis they scrounged, plus their bandit allies. My players know a Society game is in the offing when I start talking about Yuri's Revenge, because they basically are his faction. In fact, they refuse to have BA against viro troops ever again because of the footage I described involving 3 Septs (63 "troopers") and a point of Elementals getting torn to bits, in armor.

Thank you for the response. I have images of something akin to RIFTS juicers in my head for these things. I'll find Wars of Reaving and check it out.

You'll need both books (that is, Wars of Reaving and its Supplemental) to run them effectively, because they have several Protomech designs, as well as the combat items in the main WoR book. Plus iATMs, God's gift to missile launchers.

I've only heard of iATMs - what's so good of them?

Work like Streaks but have a shit ton of variant ammo types.

Combine with Nova C3 for better results.

They're streaks for one, which is pretty nice to get an automatic 36 point hit with a 12 launcher. Then there are the IIW rounds, which are streak infernos. Then we have IMP rounds, which inflict an ECM penalty, and a +1 to hit per 3 missiles, plus getting hit with those three reduces a 'Mech's walking *and* jumping MPs by one, to a total of +2 to hit and -2 MP for each. And they also add 1 heat per 3 missiles. IMP missiles are why the IS Clans don't have the iATM, and why I had to redo a half dozen designs for the TRO.

MAD battle bump

>two states btfo of one
Well like no shit, Scoob.

Even before then both the Lyrans and Feddies are ahead of the Dracs.

Welp that might just make me try out dark age era stuff. Tell me more stories of awesome shit, I headed off on holiday and didnt set up VNC so no battletech for the next two weeks. :

iATMs aren't DA, the Wars of Reaving were happening in the Kerensky cluster at the same time as the Jihad was going on in the IS, since the catalyst of both was the 2nd Star Leagues' collapse.

>MAD battle bump

We're all MAD here.

...

How were the Dracs supposed to be credible villains again?

Anyone have Grasshopper upgraded variants from the 3050s or 3060s to share?

as says, Wars of Reaving are "different" from the Dark Age as after 3072 the Clans in the Inner Sphere are completely cut off from the Homeworlds and aren't allowed to return without threat of outright death. You will likely love the WoR tho, cause it has all of them regress socially to the point where entire bloodlines are being reset simply because someone decided to add a few new alleles to the DNA at some point. Also, Clan Blood Spirit does the smart thing and expands the Kerensky cluster but a fat lot of good it does for them.

And Before I forget, iATMs also can be fired indirectly too- you loose streak lock, but gain a *meager* +4 on the cluster table. SHUCKS.

>Fitting two tons of insane, juiced up infantry dregs into a combat vehicle made to resemble a sedan.
>I declare a trial of possession to return my sides to me.

Neat! You could also make it a Marian Hedgemony 'mech too.

That's the hard part with making a 'mech truely "Society"- you want it to make some funny choices in the name of SCIENCE but its all too easy to make it a bad unit in doing so.

>Post random idea about Pirate/Dark Caste Republic like that in the Bahamas
>Two threads later and people are making mechs for the Burrock Confederation
Thank you based anons

>How were the Dracs supposed to be credible villains again?
For starters, better morale. They also supposedly had better individual skills, though the Feddies/Elsies had much better tactical leadership and the Feddies had better strategic command. Their 'Mechs, while not exactly the best on the market, work well in swarms, and they can afford to focus troops on the borders if need be. Of course, that involves giving utter dicks like Samsonov more political/military power, but it's still a possibility. Hell, that's why Teddy K made the Ghosts in the first place - he needed a force that was dependable and not beholden to one of his Warlords. It's also why he pissed off the Warlords so badly.

In the late SW-era, the Burds were going to cornhole the Elsies if they did anything serious, so the Lyrans mostly flung mercenaries at any problems the Dracs sent their way. The FedSuns had their own problems, especially in that the March Lords had a bad habit of going off half-cocked any time any one of them got let off the leash. Or the Haseks/Sandovals would withhold troops in a snit-fit if they didn't get to go poo in the Ancestral Enemy back yard.

Something a lot of people forget is how important individual personalities and skills were in early BT fluff - we >are< talking about feudal lords here, and many of them insisted on leading from the front.

>Anyone have Grasshopper upgraded variants from the 3050s or 3060s to share?
Nah, the only ones I have right now are Jihad variants and a Royal NSS/CLPS assassin unit

So Burrock Confederation user, what are you thinking your society is like? I'm thinking its situated near Nueva Castille and made up of Burrock Expirates, Dark Caste members who fled and Rim Worlds civilians who fled to the deep periphery to escape the Elsies when they gobbled up the property in ~2780 and have been living like Outpost #27 for 200 some years.

> Their 'Mechs, while not exactly the best on the market, work well in swarms

Having Light formations with PPCs outta their asses certainly helps when you're usually up against nothing but Mlas and LRMs10s-15s.

Yeah. The dragon and panther actually do pretty well against the machines the 3sw suns would actually be throwing at them

I'm in NoVa, but I literally only have the rulebooks. No miniatures or anything.

I'm actually , the user who responded is the one came up with the idea of the Burrock Confederation and we spiraled from there.
Also,
>The first two khans were RWR expatriates looking for a new beginning
Like pottery

This is all I've got.

>Like pottery

Hath not the pottery power over the clay, to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?

>Clan Christians
Cloud Cobra please keep saving genetic legacies

The books said they were credible villains...

... but then portrayed them as a bunch of retards. We were told they were badasses who legitimately threatened the Suns and Lyrans, then shown a bunch of idiots who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag.

And that applies even to the 3rd SW. 4th and beyond is even worse.

>Yeah. The dragon and panther actually do pretty well against the machines the 3sw suns would actually be throwing at them
If you put the Dragon in context (as a thicc Centurion) it's not bad at all. Hell, it's better than the Shadow Hawk it was designed to compete with, although I'd have dropped the extra ton of AC ammo for one of LRM rounds or another ML. And given it its damned hand actuator..
Once they switch over to Grand Dragon production exclusively things get even better, because the tactical mobility and armor boosts it has over your average trooper are quite nice. I mean, it's still fodder but it's >usable< fodder.

On that note, I've run a couple of Panther and Dragon company games IRL, as well as several in MegaMek, and they get mean fast. The combination of low BV and deep fields of fire they both have makes it easy to concentrate your shots. It's also really easy to get strung out in broken terrain, of course, and the Dragons really suffer in mid-range combat compared to most mediums, but if you play cannily against a timid opponent they're hellacious.

Any tips for using Panthers? I understand that they're basically a cheap, disposable PPC, but 4/6/4 always makes them feel like a sitting duck and their armour isn't *that* great. The Jenner at least has the mobility to stay out of trouble and feels like the far more superior Drac light.

>Kurita Centurion

The Wolf Trap is a really good Centurion, IMO. It even has a SBG-variant that can team up with the gauss-variant.

This has probably been done has anyone made Dragon or Panther variants for if they were pressed into service for another House?

Like I know the other House could just use the standard variants but alternate 3rd/4th SW variants are always fun for pickup games.

Use em to hunt other lights. Use your JJ as much as possible to keep out of LoS to bigger scarier mechs.

Mostly he meant that he could now increases the population limit of your bases by two, and increases your society’s tolerance for use of police and military units (+1 POLICE).

youtube.com/watch?v=YO_xh7xIabk

>OUT goes the PPC AND THE SRM IN goes the ERLLAS and the LRM
>MARIK!

>OUT goes the SRM in goes the VIBROSWORD
>LYRIAN

>OUT goes the PPC IN goes the PLASMA RIFLE also STEALTH ARMOR

>YOU GET TWO FREE STORMCROWS FOR EVERY PANTHER
>FEDSUUUUUNNNNNSSS

>Any tips for using Panthers? I understand that they're basically a cheap, disposable PPC, but 4/6/4 always makes them feel like a sitting duck and their armour isn't *that* great. The Jenner at least has the mobility to stay out of trouble...
So, the Panther isn't a tank, or a recce unit. It's more of a tank-hunter doctrinally; fragile, but maneuverable, and designed to swarm.

Either draw the enemy forward and string them out so you can get clean shots from several units onto one enemy, or hide the Panthers behind heavier, faster stuff that's a more tempting target. And hammer those jump jets. Seriously, they're there for a reason.
Move in self-supporting packs. If one has to run/jump to keep up, it's okay. You're moving 4 PPCs, not one individual 'Mech. If one gets wounded in a non-critical location, you can either rotate it to the back or sling it up front and lame-duck it to draw fire while the rest keep shooting. If someone closes too much, never, ever forget how fucking nasty those SRMs are. You can jump in and backstab, or just do the classic hail of kicks.

>Use em to hunt other lights.
Honestly, I only use them on other lights if it's a ToO. They get outmaneuvered too easily if you focus on the lights, and if you're enough of a pain in the ass they >will< come to you. It helps to make the company commander a Quickdraw or similar (it's a perfect role for the damned thing), which has the same general speed profile and logistics needs as the Panthers but enough firepower to go knock down anything that's bullying you without compromising the unit's main goal - killing enemy troopers and focus-firing brawlers to death.

>The Wolf Trap is a really good Centurion, IMO.
True 'dat, but it's not available for a long while. good when you have 'em though.

I have a Clan Invasion era one.

Hope it's what you're looking for. Feel free to rate it.

>This has probably been done has anyone made Dragon or Panther variants for if they were pressed into service for another House?
Yup. For the Dragon, I have a standard FedSuns "drop the AC/5 for a pair of LLs and a single sink! This cannot possibly go wrong!". Lyran version adds flamers and sinks instead of a second LL. Liao version upgrades the AC/5 to an AC/20 with 3t of ammo, because Liaos.

The Panther is honestly pretty solid between the -8Z and the -9R, but you can pop an LRM-5 in either for the Liaos. If you want to go mugging with your Lyran Commandos, drop the Peeper for a pair of SRMs-6 and a ton of ammo, or strip a few sinks on the -8Z and upgrade the SRM launcher. The FedSuns already have an equivalent - the Valkyrie - in quantity, and probably wouldn't waste the manpower on upgrading the Panthers. The Mariks would probably slap in an LL and some LRMs on a -9R, and keep an -8Z as-is.

I have an OA variant that pulls the AC for a LL and second LRM rack, which is remarkably useful for killing common pirate mechs
I imagine a lyran model as using the PPC arm, swapping the LRM-10 for a SRM-6, and adding armor and SHS

>Liao version upgrades the AC/5 to an AC/20 with 3t of ammo, because Liaos.

1 ton of regular, two tons of precision: Fun for YOUR whole family.

>I imagine a lyran model as using the PPC arm, swapping the LRM-10 for a SRM-6, and adding armor and SHS
Yeah, the Lyrans would know what to do with a Grand Dragon pretty much immediately - turn it into a TDR-5SS. Although you could also still go with the LL, and pop an SRM in the LA (the Commando option) or LT (the "we stole this off a Wolverine/Beemer" Banshee-3S option) to beef up its short-range punch. Not sure how happy that would make the quartermasters and/or techs, but it'd certainly give the Wolverine a run for its money. Probably go for the former based on the looks of the models though.

For when you just want everyone to hate you

>Liao version upgrades the AC/5 to an AC/20 with 3t of ammo, because Liaos.
I'm guessing the LRMs go in that case?

Yeah, only way to make it fit.

I'm trying to mount a supercharger to a fuel cell industrial mech and meklab keeps rejecting it thinking its MASC. Is this supposed to happen?

Superchargers are Fusion and ICE only.

Thank you, thought when it mentioned fuel based it also meant Fuel-cells

I got some mechs from warhansa, would it endanger a good source of knock-off mechs to post pics of them and talk about where I got them from?

Warhansa is the worst-kept secret here.

We've had pics of them posted before, so I doubt there's an issue.

Post away. Talk about paint schemes.