Battletech - Also known as Trannytech

[A_Callow_Youth]

My version but its a Quad mech.

Ah, quad, interesting choice. The fact that you've got exactly one leg without a JJ in it makes my autism scream, but oh well.

It's not a bad design of itself, though I'm still loath to call it a striker between the low speed and armor. Biggest flaw is that there is absolutely no way you're going to go through 100 shots of SRM-2 ammo unless you plan to drop it in the middle of nowhere for a multi-year deployment with no resupply. Personally, I'd convert the whole SRM setup into an LRM-5, an ammo bin, a jump jet and a half-ton of armor, and lean into the sniper role.

 

[Snekposter]

Are there any decent options left? What's the best faction (Clan, Periphery, or Sphere)?

Clan Happy Merchant is always neat, especially once they went back to being the Sea Foxes in 3100. Extremely liberal in their views for most of their history, created the Clan version of the Internet, which is almost certainly used more for porn and spying than anything else, much like ours, are canonically confirmed to be mad shitposters, and given that they were named after a fox that "bowed" to its prey before striking, are also shockingly weeb given that a literal Japanese Karen born in the Combine and possible fujoshi given her status as a writer and journalist was responsible for their creation and early leadership. They are also as near as I can tell largely based in and around the Combine, and true to their Japanese origins, designed and sold the Ha Otoko for sale to the Combine. In short, they're Clan Weeb, far more than any other Clan has claim to. Oh, and they always viewed zellbrigen as really more of a set of guidelines, so that's a win.

The Ghost Bears are very Nordic, and by that I mean the good parts, which is why they integrated so well with the remnants of the Free Rasalhague Republic they eventually ended up dropping the Ghost Bear part entirely from their name, and are massive fans of American-style football. Given the weird-ass fascination with ancient history so many of the Clans have, you've probably got brawls every so often between Patriots and Packers fans, even in the 32nd Century as they try to settle the Tom Brady versus Aaron Rodgers argument once and for all. And given that currently they're made of Weeb Vikings with extra Viking added in, said fights probably start with YOU'RE QB A SHIT.

And yeah, the Fronc Reaches sound pretty cool, especially since with their Marshalls and flag seem to be an homage to Starcraft.

The South can't keep getting away with it!

That said, personally, Fed Suns. Much like Queen Elizabeth, the Davions tend to have far too stiff of an upper lip to admit to anything, and are just as devious when it comes to arranging accidents for their enemies. That, and I'm sure they named the head of spooky shit at NAIS "Q" because they have that same English sense of humor.

 

[A_Callow_Youth]

And yeah, the Fronc Reaches sound pretty cool, especially since with their Marshalls and flag seem to be an homage to Starcraft.
View attachment 2272220
The South can't keep getting away with it!

They also have absolutely fucking based leadership.

 

[Snekposter]

They also have absolutely fucking based leadership.

View attachment 2272258

Thou shalt not suffer the pirate to live is about as indisputably based as it comes. Oh, along with the DP for kid diddlers. I don't think anyone can disagree with either of those.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Are there any decent options left? What's the best faction (Clan, Periphery, or Sphere)?

I have a soft spot for the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Hanseatic League.
The FRR is just kinda cool and the paintjob for the 2nd Freemen is pretty amazing. The Hanseatic League is kinda fun in how secluded they are and how they just kinda do their own thing. They still rely entirely on JumpShips for communication.

I quit reading the fiction back in the 90's, after the Clan Invasion and the Davion/Stiener wedding.

What's a good book to start on and move from there?

Or should I just be happy with my memories of Waterly eating a bullet?

I personally enjoyed the books "Flashpoint" and "Illusions of Victory" a lot.
Illusions of Victory features a disgraced FedSun pilot who starts anew on Solaris right around the time the Civil War starts to emerge.
Similarly, Flashpoint features a shellshocked survivor of Operation Serpent, who just wants to live out his retirement as part of a milita when the Civil War goes hot.

I would recommend them both.

 

[White Devil]

Flashpoint is probably my favorite BT novel next to the Warrior trilogy. All the characters in it were fleshed out so well, had logical motivations. The story itself was pretty good and also very grounded. Usually BT novels aren't so hyper focused and tight like that.

 

[Balr0g]

I personally enjoyed the books "Flashpoint" and "Illusions of Victory" a lot.
Illusions of Victory features a disgraced FedSun pilot who starts anew on Solaris right around the time the Civil War starts to emerge.
Similarly, Flashpoint features a shellshocked survivor of Operation Serpent, who just wants to live out his retirement as part of a milita when the Civil War goes hot.

I would recommend them both.

Funny thing is McCarthy wasn't supposed to be assigned to a March Milita. He was a Major (or Kommandant) in the Kathil Ulans when he returned. A lot of AFFC veterans were demoted and shuffled into Milita commands because the Ice Queen wanted them out of the way. And Ilusions of victory is also neat: what was supposed to be a match that should have been stopped because the Coliseum protection systerms broke due to sabotage turned into a free for all slugfest. One funny scene: some rioters painted a huge target mark on a bank. And some Mech pilot did them a favor and blasted the building wide open.

Tbh I have a soft sport for Clan Hell's Horses. At least this Clan still remembers that war is more then shiny Mechs.

 

[Snekposter]

Tbh I have a soft sport for Clan Hell's Horses. At least this Clan still remembers that war is more then shiny Mechs.

Three things are necessary to wage war. Money, money, and yet more money.

Gee, I wonder why the Happy Merchants managed to do so astoundingly well in Clan space despite their lack of overt militarism. That said, the Horses are pretty damn sweet with their combined arms, even creating a TankWarrior archetype for trueborn instead of relegating that shit to purely freeborns.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Flashpoint is probably my favorite BT novel next to the Warrior trilogy. All the characters in it were fleshed out so well, had logical motivations. The story itself was pretty good and also very grounded. Usually BT novels aren't so hyper focused and tight like that.

and

Funny thing is McCarthy wasn't supposed to be assigned to a March Milita. He was a Major (or Kommandant) in the Kathil Ulans when he returned. A lot of AFFC veterans were demoted and shuffled into Milita commands because the Ice Queen wanted them out of the way. And Ilusions of victory is also neat: what was supposed to be a match that should have been stopped because the Coliseum protection systerms broke due to sabotage turned into a free for all slugfest. One funny scene: some rioters painted a huge target mark on a bank. And some Mech pilot did them a favor and blasted the building wide open.

Tbh I have a soft sport for Clan Hell's Horses. At least this Clan still remembers that war is more then shiny Mechs.

Both books would make for great adaptations to movies I think. Illusions of Victory might even get away with a title-crawl explaining the basics of the plot and still be accessible enough for newcomers to enjoy. There'd be a lot of aspects that they would not fully understand, but to the plot, it's not that big of a deal, since it doesn't revolve around it that much.

Garret for instance. You don't really need to understand what the Clans are or what their deal was and how him being a former Smoke Jaguar ties into everything, for his arc, you only need to know that he's from some weird group called "Clans" that hate the IS and especially the "Combine". Everything else adds to the fun, but you don't really need it to understand the basics.
And I love the way how the conflict builds up, how the heat and pressure rises and then there's the big match between Vandergriff and Searcy and everything goes down to shit in one bad leap... and then the conflict just spirals out of control.
The setting, the characters and a lot of great ideas is what sold me on the book. The sleazy manager guy, the media, the various factions...

In a similar vein, Flashpoint has neat characters and a lot of cool ideas. The big climax would be one of the coolest things ever put to film, if someone could do it justice. Without giving too much away, but damn. A giant battle that stretches from ground level all the way up to low orbit with the pride of the Lyran Fleet blowing Davionists away like dandelions, that's just fucking epic. The captain of that ship is a bit of a clichée'd character but in a good way.
I really like McCarthy as a character, since the small glimpses into his past, the flashbacks, you can tell the guy went through hell and it's certainly more interesting to read than the Archer Christifori novels. Mind you, I like them, especially the first one, since the 'antagonist' (if you can even call him that) is actually a decent guy and you feel sorry for Archer and that Steiner guy ending up on different sides of a conflict. I feel the book "Path of Glory" (which I can also recommend) does a similar theme way better though.

I read some BT novels over a decade ago and recently re-read them. I figured they'd be pulpy and silly but Illusions of Victory and Flashpoint are amazing... way more amazing than what you'd expect going in not knowing the setting I would say. When Tex calls BT Game of Thrones in Space before GoT was even a thing, he's not wrong. It's not as tightly knit as a narrative, but the political shenanigans are easily on par with GoT, when you really look at how much stuff is going down in the setting.
Again: Pretty amazing when you consider that the novels and setting don't have to do more than give you a reason to pit two groups of pewter-gamepieces on a map and roll dice at each other. I went in expecting some "how could I enjoy that back in the day?" cringe, but I realized that the novels are really good.

 

[Balr0g]

Battltech as GoT is fitting. Just think of the political wrangling to get the Successor states to join the Star League. House Marik and House Steiner were quiet easy to coax but House Davion and especially House Kurita were very reluctant. Or the fall of the Federated Commonwealth. A union with great leaders ripped apart by the worst traits of each family. And with Victor bumbling and then slowly learning on how to read the political game.

Though the Snow Ravnes would be an entire GoT series initself espeically with Clan McKenna and his "smile while stabbing your partner in the back" attitude

 

[Corn Flakes]

That's actually one of the reasons why I didn't care for Game of Thrones when it was becoming popular. Everybody was praising it for being such a political story and so unique and whatnot but I had been playing BatteTech for over 15 years. That shit was nothing new to me, it just had more tits on screen.

Also, let me hop on the Hell's Horses appreciation train. They could never get any sort of real victory since the whole premise of the series is BattleMech Über Alles, Über Alles In Der Welt, but their horrible fashion sense aside they've done a lot of interesting things. They can be very smart when they want something done, having created the Elemental phenotype to boost their combined-arms approach, and then inventing QuadVees in order to exploit a loophole in Clan Batchall procedures. They keep getting their asses kicked for narrative purposes, but you've got to respect their gumption.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Clan Hell's Horses created the Enyo, which is just a terrific little lump of pain.
A Clan-LPL and 3 Streak-SRM6 launchers running ~100kph? That's pretty mean.
I own two such miniatures, but I don't really intend to play Clan Hell's Horses and barely anyone else uses them. Quite a shame.

 

[Tenko Star]

The Ghost Bears are very Nordic, and by that I mean the good parts, which is why they integrated so well with the remnants of the Free Rasalhague Republic they eventually ended up dropping the Ghost Bear part entirely from their name, and are massive fans of American-style football.

This needs some expanding. CGB wasn't Clan Care Bears before or during Revival: they were hardcore Crusaders before and during the Invasion, thus making them Clan Intensive Care Bears. It's mentioned that it took saKhan DeVillar's example to simply not waste everyone on the other side (she captured a Rasalhague 'Mech pilot instead of simply offing them on the spot) and Khan Bourjon believed in relying on the Clan tech superiority instead of, say, loading up on resupply. Also this is the point where I want to mention their steadfast belief that the Spheroids would simply roll over when conquered. The Rasalhagians of course immediately rebelled, started fighting against whatever the Bears had left to garrison the conquered planets, and thus forced to recapture them again because their garrison forces were so badly mauled. The Black Omen mercenary company is a shining example of this tactic. It was only later, when Bjorn Jorgensson and Aletha Kabrinski were in charge, that the Bears had their "Hans, are we ze baddies?" moment and went to the softer consolidation routine.

Also re: the Diamond Sharks, it never ceases to amuse me that Ian Hawker was such a shitty Khan that he hated the freeborn 'Mech drivers, only to lose on Tukayyid so hard it took the suicidal sacrifice of the freebirths of Omega Galaxy to pull the entire Clan out of the fire. The man literally cemented himself in the bad leadership chart by getting a special rule for cock-ups. Thankfully Barbara Sennet was a much more level-headed Khan and thus saved the Sharks from completely screwing up the invasion.

(Also fuck, finally managed to find my l/p for the KF)

 

[Solid Snek]

Clan Happy Merchant is always neat, especially once they went back to being the Sea Foxes in 3100. Extremely liberal in their views for most of their history, created the Clan version of the Internet, which is almost certainly used more for porn and spying than anything else, much like ours, are canonically confirmed to be mad shitposters, and given that they were named after a fox that "bowed" to its prey before striking, are also shockingly weeb given that a literal Japanese Karen born in the Combine and possible fujoshi given her status as a writer and journalist was responsible for their creation and early leadership. They are also as near as I can tell largely based in and around the Combine, and true to their Japanese origins, designed and sold the Ha Otoko for sale to the Combine. In short, they're Clan Weeb, far more than any other Clan has claim to. Oh, and they always viewed zellbrigen as really more of a set of guidelines, so that's a win.

The Ghost Bears are very Nordic, and by that I mean the good parts, which is why they integrated so well with the remnants of the Free Rasalhague Republic they eventually ended up dropping the Ghost Bear part entirely from their name, and are massive fans of American-style football. Given the weird-ass fascination with ancient history so many of the Clans have, you've probably got brawls every so often between Patriots and Packers fans, even in the 32nd Century as they try to settle the Tom Brady versus Aaron Rodgers argument once and for all. And given that currently they're made of Weeb Vikings with extra Viking added in, said fights probably start with YOU'RE QB A SHIT.

And yeah, the Fronc Reaches sound pretty cool, especially since with their Marshalls and flag seem to be an homage to Starcraft.
View attachment 2272220
The South can't keep getting away with it!

That said, personally, Fed Suns. Much like Queen Elizabeth, the Davions tend to have far too stiff of an upper lip to admit to anything, and are just as devious when it comes to arranging accidents for their enemies. That, and I'm sure they named the head of spooky shit at NAIS "Q" because they have that same English sense of humor.

Yeah, the Sharks and the Bears are probably my favorite Clans after Wolverine, but like I said before, the Sharks are jobbers (always lose their fights), and I don't like Bears as a totem animal. If they were the Ghost Dragons, or the Ghost Sleipnirs, Ghost Giant Norwegian Haddock perhaps, then maybe I'd be more inclined to mark for them.

Davion isn't bad, they've certainly got a nice society and I like the fact that they share a border with Liao and thus can kill commies. But I don't like the colour yellow. It's easily my least favorite of the IS House colours.

I honestly don't know much about the Fronc Reaches (only < Canopus, Minor Periphery state I know much about are the Jarnfolk), but they seem nice from how people are describing them. Sort of like the Taurians, but even more Space Texas. The Sarna Wiki says they don't get started until 3066 though, so what's that region like during the "normal" timeframes? Would that be a based place to set up shop in 3052ish, help set the seeds for what would later become the Fronc Reaches?

I have a soft spot for the Free Rasalhague Republic and the Hanseatic League.
The FRR is just kinda cool and the paintjob for the 2nd Freemen is pretty amazing. The Hanseatic League is kinda fun in how secluded they are and how they just kinda do their own thing. They still rely entirely on JumpShips for communication.

Do you know what the FRR attitude is towards the Yakuza? Are there a lot of Yakuza groups operating in the FRR, or did they get rid of them after independence?

I ask because I've decided that the character I rolled up earlier will be orphaned in the Ronin Wars, and the Yakuza-gumi she is adopted into will be based in the FRR, along what used to be the Draconis/Lyran border.

But will this make the character persona non-grata in the FRR? If her biological family were Ronin, and her adopted family are Swedenese Yakuza, would the Kungsarme necessarily know about it and hold a grudge?

 

[BlackDragoons]

This needs some expanding. CGB wasn't Clan Care Bears before or during Revival: they were hardcore Crusaders before and during the Invasion, thus making them Clan Intensive Care Bears. It's mentioned that it took saKhan DeVillar's example to simply not waste everyone on the other side (she captured a Rasalhague 'Mech pilot instead of simply offing them on the spot) and Khan Bourjon believed in relying on the Clan tech superiority instead of, say, loading up on resupply. Also this is the point where I want to mention their steadfast belief that the Spheroids would simply roll over when conquered. The Rasalhagians of course immediately rebelled, started fighting against whatever the Bears had left to garrison the conquered planets, and thus forced to recapture them again because their garrison forces were so badly mauled. The Black Omen mercenary company is a shining example of this tactic. It was only later, when Bjorn Jorgensson and Aletha Kabrinski were in charge, that the Bears had their "Hans, are we ze baddies?" moment and went to the softer consolidation routine.

Also re: the Diamond Sharks, it never ceases to amuse me that Ian Hawker was such a shitty Khan that he hated the freeborn 'Mech drivers, only to lose on Tukayyid so hard it took the suicidal sacrifice of the freebirths of Omega Galaxy to pull the entire Clan out of the fire. The man literally cemented himself in the bad leadership chart by getting a special rule for cock-ups. Thankfully Barbara Sennet was a much more level-headed Khan and thus saved the Sharks from completely screwing up the invasion.

(Also fuck, finally managed to find my l/p for the KF)

Yeah, out of all the clans, Clan Ghost Bear is probably the one I would join if I was forced to be a Trueborn.

 

[Snekposter]

This needs some expanding. CGB wasn't Clan Care Bears before or during Revival: they were hardcore Crusaders before and during the Invasion, thus making them Clan Intensive Care Bears. It's mentioned that it took saKhan DeVillar's example to simply not waste everyone on the other side (she captured a Rasalhague 'Mech pilot instead of simply offing them on the spot) and Khan Bourjon believed in relying on the Clan tech superiority instead of, say, loading up on resupply. Also this is the point where I want to mention their steadfast belief that the Spheroids would simply roll over when conquered. The Rasalhagians of course immediately rebelled, started fighting against whatever the Bears had left to garrison the conquered planets, and thus forced to recapture them again because their garrison forces were so badly mauled. The Black Omen mercenary company is a shining example of this tactic. It was only later, when Bjorn Jorgensson and Aletha Kabrinski were in charge, that the Bears had their "Hans, are we ze baddies?" moment and went to the softer consolidation routine.

Also re: the Diamond Sharks, it never ceases to amuse me that Ian Hawker was such a shitty Khan that he hated the freeborn 'Mech drivers, only to lose on Tukayyid so hard it took the suicidal sacrifice of the freebirths of Omega Galaxy to pull the entire Clan out of the fire. The man literally cemented himself in the bad leadership chart by getting a special rule for cock-ups. Thankfully Barbara Sennet was a much more level-headed Khan and thus saved the Sharks from completely screwing up the invasion.

(Also fuck, finally managed to find my l/p for the KF)

In my defense it was getting late, the Bears aren't exactly a major interest of mine, and I was close to passing out in bed, but yes, that's correct. The Bears would quit being dicks and adapt well enough to the Sphere and its combat necessities to win a partial victory at Tukayyid, second only to the Wolves in terms of accomplishment.

 

[Capsaicin Addict]

While Loren Coleman gets a certain amount of flak, I always appreciated the work he did to flesh out the Capellans in the Aris Sung novels (Binding Force, Threads of Ambition, The Killing Fields).

Poor Sung would later be jobbed in a particularly humiliating way at the hands of the Word of Blake.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

Davion isn't bad, they've certainly got a nice society and I like the fact that they share a border with Liao and thus can kill commies. But I don't like the colour yellow. It's easily my least favorite of the IS House colours.

Davion's House Color is green though... but a lot of their high profile forces use red white and blue: Like the Davion Assault Guards or the Davion Heavy Guards.


Then there's forces like the 1st Crucis Lancers RCT:

The various March Militas usually take after whatever nation is across the border.
The 1st Capella Dragoons uses Capellan Green like this:

And the Draconis March Militia uses red:


I don't know what the FRR attitude towards Yakuza is, but even if there would be a lot of hostility, that could be some "dark secret™" thingy that could be fun.
Given the FRR's history, it's simply impossible that there aren't any Yakuza pulling strings on a black market, though.

While Loren Coleman gets a certain amount of flak, I always appreciated the work he did to flesh out the Capellans in the Aris Sung novels (Binding Force, Threads of Ambition, The Killing Fields).

Poor Sung would later be jobbed in a particularly humiliating way at the hands of the Word of Blake.

For many years, I really despised the Capellans, I recently read The Killing Fields and I now appreciate them a whole lot more, if only for the fact that Sun-Tzu Liao was constantly dealing with "Ramona's Ghost" and the politics involved with other Great Houses and Periphery nations.
Aris Sung and the guy he helped into his Warrior House had a great dynamic.

I still don't like the Capellans very much, but I can now appreciate that their part of the setting was just as well written and constructed as the others.

 

[Balr0g]

Though you have to admit that Sun Tzu's conquest of St.Ives was somewhat wrong. The Is just founded the Star League and then one of it's mebers conquers another under the pretext that the smaller attacked first (an attack the Capellans orchestarted themselves)
And don't get me started on the Arcade Rangers (with Colonel Ni Then Do). Survivng anything that gets thrown against them even elite forces like the 1st FAC and WoB..

And the Fron Reaches were the "New Colony Region" at first: a joint colonization project of the Taurians and Canopians settled in a region of space that went "dark" after the fall of the Star League (so in essence the Reaches population is a blend of Taurians and Canopians plus later refugees from the IS). Funny thing is those colonists then wanted independence (something their parent nations never anticipated despite their own history). first in 3061 but that rebellion got crushed (and killed the Taurian protector). The second attempt was more peaceful in 3065 but since the Canopians are sneaky backstabbing feminists they took the most vaubale planet: Detroit which houses a huge Mech and aerospace factory plus abundant natural resources for mdicine. And slightly ironic: in the Republic years the Magistracy gifted said planet to the Capellans. Is Battletech forshadowing again?

 

[Solid Snek]

Davion's House Color is green though...

Wait, what? I could have sworn their house colour is yellow. Liao is green; Marik purple, Steiner blue, Kurita red, and Davion yellow. Right...?

I don't know what the FRR attitude towards Yakuza is, but even if there would be a lot of hostility, that could be some "dark secret™" thingy that could be fun.
Given the FRR's history, it's simply impossible that there aren't any Yakuza pulling strings on a black market, though.

What sorts of things would be "black market" for FRR? Everywhere except Canopus follows standard 1980s rules for what is illegal, yes (drugs, gambling, strong porn, prostitution)?

What about weapons? Is there a Space Second Amendment in FRR, Steiner, and/or Kurita space? Or political stuff that the Blakist trannies at Space Google don't approve of, would that fall under the black market too?