Battletech - Also known as Trannytech

[Corn Flakes]

Elementals were first meant as cheap labor force for the scientists. Simply doing the manual labor while the scientists do their calculating and experimenting. But then came the Power Armor and that is that (if the rumblings of the society is to be believed.) And the Aerospace phenotype is really something to laugh at. Bred for the best reflexes but getting outplayed by IS fighter pilots (who were even poorer equipped at the beginning of REVIVAL)

Of course the Society would say that.

Nope, the Elementals were always part of the Warrior caste. They were originally the Hell's Horses attempt at trueborn infantry. Since, you know, they like their crunchies. Once Clan Wolf developed the powered armor suit, the Hell's Horses shoved their already genetically-engineered big dudes into them and that's how the modern Elemental came into being.

 

[Balr0g]

Of course the Society would say that.

Nope, the Elementals were always part of the Warrior caste. They were originally the Hell's Horses attempt at trueborn infantry. Since, you know, they like their crunchies. Once Clan Wolf developed the powered armor suit, the Hell's Horses shoved their already genetically-engineered big dudes into them and that's how the modern Elemental came into being.

Yeah I know that. Though the source books make it sound as if Horse infantry was just better bred at first and that the elemntal type came when Clan wolf developed the battle armor out of the Goliath Scorpion suit that the Scorpions used for resource extraction on Dagda. The Wolves and Horses later made some beneficial deal that saw the Wolves capture enough genetic DNA to begin their own Elemental breeding while the Horses obtained enough samples of battle armor to start their own.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

And just to add on: Elementals usually do not reach the upper echelons of command in a Clan touman (military) simply because it's hard to hang in there with the orbital assets and Mech jockeys. Any Elemental you encounter who's made it to Star Colonel or better is probably going to be damned smart and clever.

 

[Balr0g]

Clan Hell's Horse might to disagree: Malavai Fletcher, James Cobb, Jake Kabrinski. Three Clan Elementals ruling the Horses for decades with a slight interruption by Mewchwarrior De Laurel (between Cobb and Kabrinski)

 

[Corn Flakes]

Yeah I know that. Though the source books make it sound as if Horse infantry was just better bred at first and that the elemntal type came when Clan wolf developed the battle armor out of the Goliath Scorpion suit that the Scorpions used for resource extraction on Dagda. The Wolves and Horses later made some beneficial deal that saw the Wolves capture enough genetic DNA to begin their own Elemental breeding while the Horses obtained enough samples of battle armor to start their own.

The Horses already had genetically-augmented infantry at the time, so it was probably less a matter of bulking up their soldiers, and more designing the powered armor to fit them. If it hadn't been the case, the Wolves wouldn't have needed the Hell's Horses' genetic material in order to make their own.

And just to add on: Elementals usually do not reach the upper echelons of command in a Clan touman (military) simply because it's hard to hang in there with the orbital assets and Mech jockeys. Any Elemental you encounter who's made it to Star Colonel or better is probably going to be damned smart and clever.

@Balr0g already listed a few of the Hell's Horses (because really, they're the ones most likely to have Elementals in positions of power), but let's not forget the Big Kahuna himself: ilKhan Lincoln Osis, last Smoke Jaguar Khan. And also Santin West, Khan of Clan Nova Cat during their Abjuration and subject of one of the best portraits in the entire franchise:



Seriously, look at this dude.

 

[Takayuki Yagami]

Mechwarrior Online’s free mech this month is the Direwolf C if anyone cares. Good on them for giving out the one with ECM.

They’re also working on a new PvE mechwarrior game, which most people are assuming starts with the Clan Invasion.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpgareX458&feature=youtu.be

 

[Moja Zemlja]

Mechwarrior Online’s free mech this month is the Direwolf C if anyone cares. Good on them for giving out the one with ECM.

They’re also working on a new PvE mechwarrior game, which most people are assuming starts with the Clan Invasion.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eBpgareX458&feature=youtu.be

Its weird hearing Matt and Daeron talk about a possible MWO 2 in the same video they announce a coming rebrand and battlepass system.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

One thing to consider: Trueborns are genetically superior as the scientists who create the artifical babies "clean up" the genetic code which results in stronger bodies and better immune systems. Things freeborn children simply don't have. Plus trueborns are offspring of the original founders or members of their Clan. something most freeborn children can't say (unless they are offspring of washed out trueborn cadets)

Haven't the IS clans lessened their discrimination towards freeborns since the invasion? Since most clans now control large amounts of IS territory, and, therefore, billions of non-clan citizens, haven't most adapted and become less elitist, basically out of necessity?

 

[I'mma real anime gurl]

Haven't the IS clans lessened their discrimination towards freeborns since the invasion? Since most clans now control large amounts of IS territory, and, therefore, billions of non-clan citizens, haven't most adapted and become less elitist, basically out of necessity?

I think Rasalhague Dominion is the only one that comes to mind.

 

[Lithos]

Haven't the IS clans lessened their discrimination towards freeborns since the invasion? Since most clans now control large amounts of IS territory, and, therefore, billions of non-clan citizens, haven't most adapted and become less elitist, basically out of necessity?

Jade Falcon and the Homeworld clans double- or triple-downed on their discrimination of the freeborn, especially after the Wars of Reaving. I believe.

 

[Snekposter]

One wonders just how intense the conditioning for them is, just to keep any potential hubris in check.

I believe its called a "1v1 augmented trial against an Assault mech pilot". Nothing quite like using an Elemental as a soccer ball to remind him of his proper place in the hierarchy.

That and they do get deliberately passed over for promotion by most Clans on grounds such as "Elementals can't exercise C3 when they're stuck in the mud" and a less spoken and entirely unfounded belief that they're just too dumb thanks to all those muscles.

I will point out though that aerospace pilots have it even worse on account of being physically weak and involved in such dishonorable things like attacking their MechWarrior betters with strafing runs and then running away before effective fire can be deployed against them. That one Ghost Bear book I can never remember the name of had the protag know exactly who the ASF Star Colonel was because outside of the Snow Ravens or maybe the Hell's Horses they're rarer than hen's teeth.

 

[BlackDragoons]

I think Rasalhague Dominion is the only one that comes to mind.

Rasalhague Dominion and the Scorpio Empire specially the Scorpion Empire since they initiated a new position called the zarKhan which is in charge of everything except for Military concerns.

The first person to take the position is a native on one of the worlds Clan Scorpion took over.


Also they stuck up their nose at Alaric and want nothing to do with the new Star League.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

I think Rasalhague Dominion is the only one that comes to mind.

Pretty sure the Wolf Empire was also pretty lenient towards its subject worlds, which is also the only reason its lasted this long, considering that Alaric and Clan Wolf itself have essentially abandoned it to maintain control of Earth.

the Homeworld clans double- or triple-downed on their discrimination of the freeborn

That's why I emphasized IS clans. The Homeworld clans are practically a different beast at this point.

 

[Balr0g]

Jade Falcon and the Homeworld clans double- or triple-downed on their discrimination of the freeborn, especially after the Wars of Reaving. I believe.

Depends on the Clan though: Clan Blood Spirit honors their freeborn who manage to become part of the warrior caste and the Star Adders like the pragmatists they are do the same to a lesser extent. On the other side of the spectrum are the Steel Vipers (with the short exception of Perigard Zalman's reign) who sometimes graduate no warriors from their trueborn sibkos.

Also the Falcons allowed to form militas staffed with IS freeborns after the Wars of Reaving though more out of necessity for new troops. The Raven Alliance also has IS freeborn troops though there is a strong difference between ground pounders and fighter pilots. Fighter pilots are treated with the utmost respect while the rest is treated like solahma.

The Wolf Empire being lenient to it's subject? Not very much. When the Free Worlds LEague decided to rampage through the Empire a lot of populations decided "It's time to kick a Wolf!" and began their own uprisings as the Wolves were quiet heavy handed in terms of fulfillment of production quotas and any form of resistance. Of course it helps that the empire has basically only solahma, Clan police and cadets as defense forces left

Also their are Clans that have ASF pilots as Khans or in other high positions. The Snow Ravens and Cloud Cobras for instance have a very long tradition of having ASF pilots (or rather Warship captains which I assume are not trained Mechpilots but promoted ASF pilots).

 

[Corn Flakes]

Here's something I never thought would happen: due to the current Wizards of the Coast fuckup, I've had a handful of D&D 5e players coming to me for an intro to BattleTech as an RPG setting. You know, things to do besides the stompies.

I'm not complaining, this is being fun, but man did those requests come out of left field. They're all completely unrelated people, too. And for once they're not just trying to butcher 5e until it fits the setting, I managed to convince a couple to try Storytelling, while another one is planning on using the D20 Modern framework for it. I hope he goes through with it, should be an interesting homebrew.

 

[TFT-A9]

What kind of system did the MechWarrior RPG use anyway?

 

[Lithos]

What kind of system did the MechWarrior RPG use anyway?

It used several systems.
The first couple of Mechwarrior systems were kind of like Traveler, in that you had lifepaths you rolled, and you could become a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, or even a corpse before you even start the game. If you did make a decent character, they were a fairly good balance of narrative style and pew-pew. Some people still swear by second edition.

Then there's the two newer ones...

A Time of War is almost twenty years old, but it's still considered "new" by some. It's the crunchiest that's ever crunched, but it was an attempt to make a ruleset that ran like the Classic Battletech system, only for individuals rather than mechs. Character creation required a balancing spreadsheet and a lot of patience, and the lethality of the system might put people off after having just gone through. I was part of the beta test and found I kinda liked it, despite being so unweildy, and the developers ignored many of our suggestions. But it does kind of work, especially if you want to eventually run games where the characters can command legions of jumpships to invade nations.

The newest of the new is Mechwarrior: Destiny, which is kind of like that Fate system. Fast generation of a character, but it's a game where people pass the torch on describing a scene. From what I hear, and I could easily be wrong, you actually only control your character when it's your turn to narrate.

 

[Corn Flakes]

It used several systems.
The first couple of Mechwarrior systems were kind of like Traveler, in that you had lifepaths you rolled, and you could become a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, or even a corpse before you even start the game. If you did make a decent character, they were a fairly good balance of narrative style and pew-pew. Some people still swear by second edition.

Then there's the two newer ones...

A Time of War is almost twenty years old, but it's still considered "new" by some. It's the crunchiest that's ever crunched, but it was an attempt to make a ruleset that ran like the Classic Battletech system, only for individuals rather than mechs. Character creation required a balancing spreadsheet and a lot of patience, and the lethality of the system might put people off after having just gone through. I was part of the beta test and found I kinda liked it, despite being so unweildy, and the developers ignored many of our suggestions. But it does kind of work, especially if you want to eventually run games where the characters can command legions of jumpships to invade nations.

The newest of the new is Mechwarrior: Destiny, which is kind of like that Fate system. Fast generation of a character, but it's a game where people pass the torch on describing a scene. From what I hear, and I could easily be wrong, you actually only control your character when it's your turn to narrate.

And that is why I didn't recommend any of the official RPGs. Some people love them, but they're all fucked up to one level or another.

It is unironically easier to homebrew a ruleset using Chronicles of Darkness (the mortal-centric nWoD system) for BT than it is to get a whole group into any of the official systems. Lop off the supernatural bits, add some more technology-related perks and flaws. Assuming you want at least a minimum of crunch in your campaign, as opposed to the improv theater game that is Destiny, that is. No joke, a fairly high-lethality system made for handling normal humans is pretty much all ready for a boots-on-the-ground BT game, and the setting is more than rich enough to support that kind of game.

And if the players ever do get their hands on a mech, you don't even have to roll for damage. Any mech-sized weapon will turn an unaugmented human into a thin pink mist. Great for those dramatic moments where the antagonist almost gets away.

 

[Snekposter]

It is unironically easier to homebrew a ruleset using Chronicles of Darkness (the mortal-centric nWoD system) for BT than it is to get a whole group into any of the official systems.

God, I love Storyteller because of how fucking simple the rules are. You have this stat and this skill, you add them together, roll that many D10, anything above this number succeeds, GM says you need this many successes for your task, each roll is X amount of time.

And yet within that simple framework you can create almost anything.

 

[Moja Zemlja]

A Time of War is almost twenty years old, but it's still considered "new" by some. It's the crunchiest that's ever crunched, but it was an attempt to make a ruleset that ran like the Classic Battletech system, only for individuals rather than mechs. Character creation required a balancing spreadsheet and a lot of patience, and the lethality of the system might put people off after having just gone through. I was part of the beta test and found I kinda liked it, despite being so unweildy, and the developers ignored many of our suggestions. But it does kind of work, especially if you want to eventually run games where the characters can command legions of jumpships to invade nations.

Me and some friends tried creating characters for it after using MW RPG to accompany our TT sessions and we gave up after an hour and only getting half way through.