/btg/ BattleTech General

Totally wrong end of space. OA is large and on the FS/DC border and was one of the four big Periphery nations. Three surviving since the RWR is dead.

They did get taken over and clannerized in the Jihad though. But not much any Periphery nation can do when a whole clan up and relocates in your backyard.

Reposting from the bottom of the last thread:

Note that for these, I was stringent on putting my tags on, and CA put some on his, but I had to put tags on Muninn's designs when I knew they were his. A decent number of the untagged are probably his. This includes mechs under "well here's a bunch of mechs that do the same thing" folders, which are just listed as a single entry in the above lists. There's an NTNU folder that a number of variants to existing designs got moved to, since that didn't require full TRO entries, but it's just a pile of raw variants with no tags or subfolders. Since less than 5% of the NTNU stuff is tagged, I'm not including it here.

>Assault mechs:
7 Night/Muninn
3 CA
1 Oswald
17 unlabeled

>Heavy Mechs:
11 Night/Muninn
5 CA
3 3A
1 Sam M.
25 unlabeled

>Medium Mechs:
8 Night/Muninn
1 CA
2 3A
1 Iteration Drive
14 unlabeled

>Light Mechs:
8 Night/Muninn
1 CA
8 3A
14 unlabeled

>Protos
3 3A
4 Greekfire
As for why the sudden uptick in my designs in the Light class: Seriously guys, more than half of the lights are 35 tons, and half of the remainder is 30? Come on. Just a thing in general, everyone submits at the top of the weight class, but it was REALLY bad with the lights.

Reposting my appreciation, 3A. Also again, funny about so many submissions being max tonnage for their class. Not surprising, but funny.

About $6 a blister.

Good deal man. Nice work.

Okay, been over an hour and seems nobody wanted to play so I shut the game down. Considering how long games run and I gotta get up early tomorrow, couldn't really keep waiting. Maybe we can try again some other time.

I was really just screwing around with new toys when I built my force so it was really unoptimized. Anybody playing even half serious in their picks would have eviscerated me. But would have still been a fun match with the Black Rose and drone and stuff. Ah well.

I think is more referencing the rules changes they've made to ACs, what where they aren't actually 2/5/10/20 anymore, instead being more like 4/8/15/20 or something.

Can retrotech primitives mount DHS or IJJs?

I was thinking of a mercenary company founded by two veterans of Fed-Com and Draconis, who are trapped in the Periphery and Rasalhague because both of their nations want their heads for treason, grand theft battlemech, desertion, ect.

Two companies of mechs supported by two companies of vees and two platoons of infantry.

They fought in the Ronin Wars, and are now enjoying easy jobs in Rasalhague, things like training militias and guard duty. Then the Clans come in and wipe the majority of them out, and they surrender along with everyone else in the invasion zone.

From there, those few who survived fates are unknown.

I don't see why not. Primitives are primitive because of core components (structure, engine, etc), they can mount non-primitive equipment at their option.

I did that last thread.

Oddly, aside from the Kitefin, most of mine were the low end or the middle of the tonnage classes. Especially all my 70 ton quads.

Is the OA really more democratic than the FWL or TC? The TC and FWL do have noble dynasties, but only on their militaries. Which is weird, but technically doesn't interfere, at least not until people like Thomas.

The OA has a hereditary President, correct?

The OA has a noble dynasty too, no matter how it's dressed up.

Since some consumer goods became lostech during the Succession Wars do you think pre-packaged sandwiches became lostech?

youtube.com/watch?v=HS_hnmHWEcg

>FWL do have noble dynasties, but only on their militaries

Not true. Just look at Masters in Ideal War. Gibson was ruled by a Count and Masters replaced her. FWL has plenty of nobles on regular worlds. Even the substates work that way. Duke of Andurien. Prince of Regulus. Lord of Lopez. So on. Not to mention all the former FWL nobles that constituted the Senators when they were conquered by the RotS. OA on the other hand is all directly democratically elected planetary councils with short terms.

At the very top, you have positions that are not technically hereditary but tend to be in practice anyway. Captain General and President.

Nope. But it still never fails to crack me up when some dipshit gets shot out of his mech and nobody replaced the ration bars in the emergency survival kit for a hundred years.

Yeah, people forget that the FWL's democracy isn't "each citizen gets a vote", it's "each PLANET gets a vote". They have more planetary democracies than other states, but they're still mostly various forms of feudalism.

(Side note, the CC and DC still have some planetary democracies in them, just don't expect them to have too much power compared to the central government)

Warship user or NEA around? I'm reading up some on the First Succession War. How do Lyran domestic warships (Tharkad, Commonwealth and Mako) compare to SLDF and "modern" (3050s on) warships in your opinion?

Exactly. That's why the FWL is a Republic, not a Democratic Republic. And being a proper Republic is still about ten steps up in representation than most IS states.

I still laugh every time the RotS calls itself a Republic when they aren't a Republic in any shape or form. Senators had no legislative power at all even before Levin went all "I AM THE SENATE" on them. Knights are hand selected and so are paladins and governors. The Exarch is the sole true authority in the whole state. Ironically, he's also the only elected one in the whole state, elected by the Paladins from their own ranks. Less of a Republic and more of the Skeksis from the Dark Crystal.

Gives "Trial by Stone" a whole new meaning.

I referred to at the top. Each planet or state is free to operate as they like

The Tharkad is a monster, and very well designed compared to other canon ships. I'm away from my books but I remember it being a NAC brawler with some NGRs.

I'll have a look at the rest later, but the Tharkad is basically the best House vessel, and can beat a number of SL ships one on one.

Each province, and within the boundaries of federal law.

>I'll have a look at the rest later, but the Tharkad is basically the best House vessel, and can beat a number of SL ships one on one.
Yeah but I mean, that's not a huge challenge. best 3057 shipfu the Aegis has less than 100 armor in some locations, and the fucking SovSoy exists. Plus the only competition with a similar weight range is the Cameron which has shit for guns and is slower.

I meant the Age of War ships. The Atreus is another beastmode design but gets fucked by its midget magazines. I think the Tharkad was just below the Black Lion for design power, but I may be misremembering.

Oh, fair enough. Yeah the Tharkad is pretty boss for the era, even later.

This reminds me of the first time my buddy took a Tharkad based fleet. The design had been so hyped to me and then I got a sensor crit and CIC crit on it in the opening volley with my Avalon. It spent the rest of the game as dead weight.

My number 2 "Now you're playing Aerotech" moment, right behind the time I had a dead out of control hulk of an Aegis smash right into a pristine Texas and nebulize it.

My guys, I'm drunk on a Sunday night (mistakes were made). Someone, quick, tell me what mech I should buy next, I'm in the mood for an IWM purchase.

Hound

DA Black Knight

Have it. I also have the Red Reaper, because I'm a fucking sucker for the Black Knight.

Done. Hound it is.

Congratulations, you now own the trooperest trooper mech to ever carry a LBX/10

If you're still drunk, get a Chameleon! Everyone needs a trainer.

Sadly, I am not. Can't get too drunk, have things to do tomorrow. I will consider a Chameleon though.

Indeed. Shame the mini is kinda crap though.

Did Goliath Scorpion Seekers, after the clan invasion, just stick to wandering the periphery on their quests, or did they ever head into the IS?

I think it would be kinda fun to run a campaign as a band of seekers but I can't seem to find much on them apart from "they find SL shit".

sarna.net/wiki/Clan_Goliath_Scorpion#Seekers

They were an interesting hook for my group back in the day. God knows how much the recent stuff will affect the Scorpion 'culture' so it may be best to set it 3052 or so - a group of Scorpions got lost on tukkyyid or so I remember. Look into it.

The Seeker Way of Everything
Step 1: take drugs
Step 2: have visions because of step 1
Step 3: "There's totally a SL relic on [planet], dude!"
Step 4: Go there
Step 5: Hopefully don't get shot by testy natives who object to you digging under their presidential palace/main military base/grandma's veggie garden for something you saw while stoned

I would imagine that they would do just that and possibly do some searching for SL in the Clan Invasion corridors, depending what the relationships between Goliath Scorpion and the Invasion Clans where. Not really seeing them wander into the non occupied IS due to "Fuck Clanners", attitude most of it had during that time. Probably after 3060s they would go deeper into IS proper.

>Not really seeing them wander into the non occupied IS due to "Fuck Clanners", attitude most of it had during that time
Nah, I bet they'd just go incognito. "How do you do, fellow spheroids? It is great weather for finding some Star League artifacts, aff?"
NOBODY WOULD EVER KNOW.

>"Honey, there are drugged-up gits digging up our farmland again."

Hey there folks, i need you to hook me up, i need somewhere i can find Battletech artwork, Warhammer 40K seems to have lot of them but i'm having a hard time with Battletech.

I figured that this would be the best place to ask

Check the booru (URL in the OP)

Oh! Well this flew under the radar for me... Thanks alot!

The Booru is still relatively new though

I was working on a 65-tonner. Not really sure if it's anything but ok. Thoughts?

>Step 5: Hopefully don't get shot by testy natives who object to you digging under their presidential palace/main military base/grandma's veggie garden for something you saw while stoned

Whatcha going to do about it? They're high as kites and ride giant robots, hopefully ones wielding giant shovels.

Well for me it has good ground speed. I might use it against slower heavies and such to try to get around and backstab mechs. Someone who is more of an expert could probably give you more.

HOWEVER... I have the perfect pilot for it.

Deploy the entirely planetary militia against the lone mech. Depending on the planet, that can be anything from a couple of shotgun-armed rednecks on horses to a full combined arms division backed by the private army of the local lord and a merc company.

So is Battletech literally a magical setting since taking drugs can actually give you prescient powers?

I mean the Nova Cat's visions are one thing, since they either interpret them how they like, or they are general visions of doom (which is a likely outcome). But Seekers seem to be able to literally locate Star League caches through their visions.

The only explanation I can think of that isn't space magic is that the Scorpions do a lot of historical reading as part of their training (odd for a clan) and doing the drugs puts them in a state of mind to 'connect the dots' on the information they absorbed.

My question is more - how do they get around? Seekers have to trial for all their stuff - so okay, I can see them getting together a Star of mechs maybe, and all the support staff required- techs, doctors, etc. But can they trial for something as valuable as a dropship? And even if they get that what do they do about jumpships? Just ask for a valuable clan military asset to drop them off and pick them up later? It seems like it would preclude their search to just one planet.

Necrosia is explicitly listed as being hallucinogenic and granting visions. It's also made specifically to be so.

Step 1: challenge dropship and jump ship captains for a trial of possession or whatever
Step 2: beat them senseless
Step 3: Go wherever

>do you think pre-packaged sandwiches became lostech?

I thought we covered this last thread:

You.... you know if you took a drug and it gave you a clear and specific vision of a place you'd never been nor known about, that's not a chemical reaction, that's magic right?

I'm not saying necrosia doesn't give visions, I'm saying there has to be something else going on considering the level of accuracy - since the Scorpions had a whole museum full of stuff discovered using this method.

I want battlemechs with FS Coca Cola vending machines in the legs.

After the drink is dispensed, you have to wait a while before opening it lest you get a kooky cola ammo crit. Roll 4+ to survive the splash.

How many jumpships do the clans have relative to the IS?

I imagine they just use a one-collar Jumpship for efficiency.

sarna.net/wiki/Hunter_(JumpShip_class)

Like that.

We're a house unit. The Silver Hawk Irregulars. The year is 3050, there's no such thing as Clanners, and the northern Marik border with the Fed-Suns is heating up. We recently put down a rebellion on Shiloh, and after refits, repairs and replacements, we got dispatched on a recon raid to both asses the readiness of the defenders and try and smash the deep space radar installation on Callison in preperation for an attempt to retake it from the Steiners. However, we botched the scouting engagement and are currently facing off against a reinforced company that has more assault mechs than we have assaults and heavies combined, and the lightest mechs on the enemy side of the field are a lance of Phoenix Hawks.

However, we have a couple of aces up our sleeves. One is an entire lance of Wolverine 6-Ms, with all of the pilots having Jumping Jack. The other is our Warhammer 7M with a pilot with Weapon Spec ERPPC. Lastly, we just upgraded our Orion with an LB-10X to replace the AC10 it used to carry.

Sure, but for all we know the necrosia is tapping into something real. Maybe its helping make subconscious connections or remembering things that the Seeker had seen before.

Its also possible that the success of the Necrosia is just confirmation bias, and we only hear about the successes and not all the failures.

>So is Battletech literally a magical setting since taking drugs can actually give you prescient powers?

Not really. They ususually research as well before they do drugs to pierce it all together and nobody counts their misses either.

Just popping in to remind everyone that the Dracs aren't Japanese. They're Japanese Culture Otaku. Why else would their grasp of the language be screwed up enough that the appropriate translation of the Stormcrow's IS reporting name is "Inn/Motel"?

Are you sure they are not just mistaking it for Japanese love motels? Can't let the wife know about the secretary... and the high school girl down the road...

*raises eyebrow*

I think it's pretty hard to mistake a 55-ton Clan OmniMech for an Inn of any kind, unless the architects of all the Inns they've seen have a BattleMech fetish (granted, not impossible in-universe)...

Which SHI regiment?

We're talking a setting where fucking mecha are better than actual tanks. Magic is almost a given.

"Psychic, though? That sounds like something out of science-fiction."
"We live in a space ship, dear."

sarna.net/wiki/Black_Marauder Psychic phenomena are the least of our worries if we're going beyond mundane issues in Battletech. Fucking Star League.

GG Hellrauder

>Phantom 'Mechs behind you

How many of your lancemates are Rhine-sensitive?

3rd Battalion in the Falcons Regiment.

Our "battalion" being 15 mechs due to being scraped together after the 17th Arcturan Guards RCT dropped on Dubhe in 3049.

The Whammy is a recent aquisition and brings our strength up to 16 mechs. We lost a Locust on Shiloh, but were able to replace it with a salvaged Javelin Firestarter, and also picked up a Demolisher, a bunch of Vedettes, a Manticore, a Goblin, a Hetzer, a Pegasus, and a Prowler Explorer Vehicle (succession wars version). Most of those salvaged tanks went back up the logistics line, but we kept the Demolisher, the Pegasus, and the Manticore. The thing is that our current mission to Callison has us doing an HALO drop with jumpjets or jump-frames, and tanks can't do that so well, so they stayed behind.

Are you suggesting the Kurita name written in katakana isn't as Japanese as it gets? Mind you Kurita is an actual surname, so they got at least that much right.

Though you seem to be confusing ryoken with ryokan. The clan mech was named passport, clearly because it was what let the Jags get in. 猟犬 is what they were likely shooting for, meaning hound/hunting dog, but it’s it'd probably better romanized as Ryouken/Ryōken.

Cool. Good unit choice, cool story. Reminds me of 08th MS Team.

Damn Lierans are always trying to get Dubhes

>their grasp of the language

Dropping the macron from Ryoken is hardly their greatest offence. This is the nation that named their agitprop office the Koe no Ryu (dropping the macron there as well) and claims it translates to Voice of the Dragon.

I mean for fuck's sake, there's language drift and then there's the Initial D of language drifts that is "foreign languages in Battletech".

You're all wrong. The Ryoken was clearly supposed to be a veiled Street Fighter reference.

It is a thousand years of drift combined with several centuries of Star League English muddying the waters.

But that literally turns the term 180 degrees. Instead of "Voice of the Dragon", it's "Dragon of the Voice". I'm gonna call bullshit on the drift theory and just call it "we don't know Japanese". And that's before mentioning the mangling they've done to the smaller languages.

I'm actually fine with Ben's explanation.

Fans should be less autistic.

I agree. It's 1000 years from now and Drac Japanese spent centuries being influenced by SL English. That's it, move on.

>Fans should be less autistic.

God bless Star League English. It's a sad thing that the end of the Succession Wars marked the decline of that and the rise of umlauts, hirigana and other such nonsense again in the upper levels of IS society.

True true. English is God's language.

>Fans should be less autistic.

Without autism, we would not crave the number-crunching Classic Battletech requires, and instead spend all our time guffawing like chuckleheads while playing Madden on whatever console we were addicted to.

Buckley you've done it again

>Without autism, we would not crave the number-crunching Classic Battletech requires,

I like how the autist immediately jumps to "we must be Level 3: Requiring Very Substantial Support" austism as a necessity for playing a wargame that involves numbers much, much less complex than the wargames played by actual military personnel. Especially when the original poster said not that we shouldn't be autistic AT ALL, but only that we reduce the level of austism involved in requiring an explanation for literally everything in the setting.

There are degrees of Autism between "normie" and "Level 3". But eveidently, it must be entirely "none", or entirely "requires extensive care and service support", with nothing in between.

Ironically, of course, the inability to percieve nuance in a situation, especially a social situation like a game, is in itself a tremendous predictor of autism. Shine on, , you mentally-damaged diamond.

>a necessity for playing a wargame that involves numbers much, much less complex than the wargames played by actual military personnel.
Speaking as a former NCO who took part in several wargaming exercises..
Do you honestly think we trust the ring-thumpers to do anything with numbers? I mean, there's shit like HARPOON, but past 2.4 computers (and the enlisted guys/contractors driving the sims..) have done all the crunching, the officers just give orders and wait to see what happens.

You know what annoys me? While the Dracs are currently fielding ASFs coated in Reflective Armor in 3145, I don't recall ever seeing a canon OmniFighter design doing the same.

Do you think it's the developers trying not to be too muchtastic, or is this genuinely something they missed?

Buckley. Really?
Well today is just full of surprises. I google a pic to track down some BT stuff, and whelp...

I see some faggotry in there but that is the absolute best old Comstar wizard cosplay I've ever seen. A+ to him. Pretty good modeling job on those RT minis too. Maybe I'm just jaded from decades of fucking furries infesting the clanner fanbase.

Oh I think the cosplay and minis are awesome. It's just... one pic...