Battletech - Also known as Trannytech

[Balr0g]

More power than in any other Successor State, really. The fact it was so divided internally "helped" that situation. The Captain-General only has so much power when Andurien is threatening to secede. Again.

I'm also just going by what Sarna says about the Captain-Generals:

Point taken. Though the only real democratioc realms imho are the Rim Collection and the Fronc reaches. The others are either absolute or constitutional dictatorships (either military or kingdom)

 

[Snekposter]

Point taken. Though the only real democratioc realms imho are the Rim Collection and the Fronc reaches. The others are either absolute or constitutional dictatorships (either military or kingdom)

Well, when you've got nothing but endless war going on, yeah things are going to go autocratic in a hurry.

 

[More AWS-8Q Than You]

Careful... our resident Awesome is a Civil Wars League fanboy.

Look, hitting ourselves in the face is just what the League does, you can't be a Leaguer and not come to terms with that. My favorite IS Clan is Nova Cat, and Homeworld was Blood Spirit, RIP Clan Frugality. I've got a thing lost causes.

The FWLN was just insulting though. Not sure how we forgot what armor was, the Aggies would be good ships if a stiff breeze couldn't kill them.

Stupid question: Why are dropships spherical? I guess it's a fairly durable shape with the lowest possible surface area to volume ratio, but it still strikes me as a weird choice for a spaceship shape.

Battletech pays some tribute to actual physics in Space, Spheroids are built like that because in space your engine is down and the nose of your ship is up so that when you're burning at 1G of acceleration you have something like artificial gravity. They just can only really go up and down in the atmosphere. Think skyscraper on its side.

 

[RomanesEuntDomus]

No no, the Smoke Jaggies are the fucking cockroaches. We thought they were wiped out... and then it turns out they're the Fidelis, and now they're back as CSJ proper under the Wolf Empire.

It is, bar none, the single most lame thing in BT ever. The only thing that could top this "Reports about our Clan's death are greatly exagerated"-nonsense would be if the heir to the Amaris Empire Throne showed up from beyond the darkest reaches of the Deep Periphery, with OP weapons to make Clan spec weapons look tame.

In short, the Free Worlds League likes war so much that when they don't have one available they'll do it among themselves. It's probably why they broke up during the Jihad. After getting blueballed by the Clan Invasion and the FedCom Civil War, these guys just had that much war to get out of their system and couldn't hold themselves together.

I imagine some guy in the 2nd Star League, in a wrinkled suit, chainsmoking, hair disheveled, as he listens to plans about how to counter the Clan invasion or later the FedCom Civil War, occasionally ruffling his hair and yelling "Yes yes yes! But when DO we attack?!", who watches the frontlines approaching slowly, who halfway gets up from his chair in anticipation of the coming conflict that the FWL can finally participate in without the 2nd SL holding them back. As the war ceases just a few moments before FWL can finally go to war, he throws up his arms and yells "Fine if no one else will go to war with us, we'll just do the war by ourselves!"

 

[Snekposter]

Look, hitting ourselves in the face is just what the League does, you can't be a Leaguer and not come to terms with that. My favorite IS Clan is Nova Cat, and Homeworld was Blood Spirit, RIP Clan Frugality. I've got a thing lost causes.

Man, I'm all in favor of Clan Wolverine, so don't talk about lost causes with me when telling off Nicky Kerensky to his face tops the list.

It is, bar none, the single most lame thing in BT ever. The only thing that could top this "Reports about our Clan's death are greatly exagerated"-nonsense would be if the heir to the Amaris Empire Throne showed up from beyond the darkest reaches of the Deep Periphery, with OP weapons to make Clan spec weapons look tame.

If anyone would have fit the Fidelis it would have been the Wolverines, and the remnants of the Minnesota Tribe dying during the defense of Terra to the last man, woman, and child out of sheer spite towards the Wolves would have brought a manly tear to my eye.

 

[TFT-A9]

Man, I'm all in favor of Clan Wolverine, so don't talk about lost causes with me when telling off Nicky Kerensky to his face tops the list.

If anyone would have fit the Fidelis it would have been the Wolverines, and the remnants of the Minnesota Tribe dying during the defense of Terra to the last man, woman, and child out of sheer spite towards the Wolves would have brought a manly tear to my eye.

 

[Snekposter]

Ah, yes, that. I actually went and posted that earlier in this thread. Calling him a bitch is a compliment to what he really is though.

 

[TFT-A9]

Ah, yes, that. I actually went and posted that earlier in this thread. Calling him a bitch is a compliment to what he really is though.

Never gets old tbh (esp. the detail with le scheming Karrige and his funny bench). And indeed Nicky is worse than a bitch, he is (and may Blake forgive me for uttering these words) a furry

 

[Snekposter]

Never gets old tbh (esp. the detail with le scheming Karrige and his funny bench). And indeed Nicky is worse than a bitch, he is (and may Blake forgive me for uttering these words) a furry

I actually didn't notice the nuclear bench until you mentioned it, but his emwattnot's stuff is always classic. I loved his Black Knight panels.

 

[TFT-A9]

I actually didn't notice the nuclear bench until you mentioned it, but his emwattnot's stuff is always classic. I loved his Black Knight panels.

did I mention I hate the Widowmakers and Karrige in particular

Bounty Hunter jacking Natasha's Marauder was always one of my favorite little details (she gets his Warhammer tbf).

 

[Snekposter]

did I mention I hate the Widowmakers and Karrige in particular

Bounty Hunter jacking Natasha's Marauder was always one of my favorite little details (she gets his Warhammer tbf).

Everyone hates (well, hated) the Widowmakers for being a bunch of cunts. Karrige got what he fucking deserved.

 

[TFT-A9]

Everyone hates (well, hated) the Widowmakers for being a bunch of cunts. Karrige got what he fucking deserved.

it's really amusing how so many of the SLDF exodites and their descendants were utter pissants

Mongoose was like an entire clan of pissants
Widowmaker, already mentioned
Nicky Kerensky, autistic shithead riding daddy's coattails shamelessly
Jade Falcon, not really pissants but assholes (usually very good at being assholes though, and Aidan's ok I guess)
Ice Hellion, basically Clan "We think Sonic the Hedgehog was the best thing ever"
Fire Mandrill, basically a Clan version of the FWL with absolutely none of the FWL's redeeming aspects
Smoke Jaguar, psychotic bastards practically to a man

 

[Corn Flakes]

it's really amusing how so many of the SLDF exodites and their descendants were utter pissants

Mongoose was like an entire clan of pissants
Widowmaker, already mentioned
Nicky Kerensky, autistic shithead riding daddy's coattails shamelessly
Jade Falcon, not really pissants but assholes (usually very good at being assholes though, and Aidan's ok I guess)
Ice Hellion, basically Clan "We think Sonic the Hedgehog was the best thing ever"
Fire Mandrill, basically a Clan version of the FWL with absolutely none of the FWL's redeeming aspects
Smoke Jaguar, psychotic bastards practically to a man

Give the Fire Mandrills some credit, these idiots gave us one of the goofiest 'Mechs ever:

The funny thing is that this thing could just as easily be redone as a quadmech and nothing would change. I can only imagine what the brief for that piece of art was: "make it look like an ape with missile shoulders, go ham".

 

[Snekposter]

it's really amusing how so many of the SLDF exodites and their descendants were utter pissants

Mongoose was like an entire clan of pissants
Widowmaker, already mentioned
Nicky Kerensky, autistic shithead riding daddy's coattails shamelessly
Jade Falcon, not really pissants but assholes (usually very good at being assholes though, and Aidan's ok I guess)
Ice Hellion, basically Clan "We think Sonic the Hedgehog was the best thing ever"
Fire Mandrill, basically a Clan version of the FWL with absolutely none of the FWL's redeeming aspects
Smoke Jaguar, psychotic bastards practically to a man

You might even say the Ice Hellions had a... need for speed. You'll also never convince me, someone from the land of the muscle car and hot rods, that an obsession with going fast is bad.

But you're dead right about the rest of the Clans in that list.

 

[Balr0g]

it's really amusing how so many of the SLDF exodites and their descendants were utter pissants

Mongoose was like an entire clan of pissants
Widowmaker, already mentioned
Nicky Kerensky, autistic shithead riding daddy's coattails shamelessly
Jade Falcon, not really pissants but assholes (usually very good at being assholes though, and Aidan's ok I guess)
Ice Hellion, basically Clan "We think Sonic the Hedgehog was the best thing ever"
Fire Mandrill, basically a Clan version of the FWL with absolutely none of the FWL's redeeming aspects
Smoke Jaguar, psychotic bastards practically to a man

You forgot Clan Goliath Scorpion the permanently stoned Clan. Though funny enough the stoned ones build an entire empire for themselves.
Or the nova Cats following their visions like some ancient tribe.

Then again those that build the clans were those that survived two civil wars so they might as well have some mental damage. I think the only real SL clan were the Wolverines with their more Hegemony leaning tendencies and Clan Hell Horses with their concentration on the warrior not the tech. Maybe the Star Adders as well as they prefer long planning and startegy

 

[Corn Flakes]

You forgot Clan Goliath Scorpion the permanently stoned Clan. Though funny enough the stoned ones build an entire empire for themselves.

The Scorpions weren't the stoned Clan, they were the Indiana Jones Clan. A whole damn Clan of Cranston Snords. The Necrosia bit is frankly secondary to their obsession with Star League-era artifacts and being able to shoot the wings off a fly at half a mile away with a musket.

These guys were weird.

Then again those that build the clans were those that survived two civil wars so they might as well have some mental damage.

That's the thing most people criticizing the Clan's origins fail to understand. These fuckers were full to the gills with trauma after fighting the Amaris Civil War, and then the Pentagon Civil War. The former was the most apocalyptic event in human history up to the Jihad, and the second saw what was left of most of these people's families slaughtered by the people who, until a few years before, were their brothers in arms.

Nicky K. was a filthy furry, and he only got where he was because everybody left on his side was completely fucking desperate.

 

[Snekposter]

I think the only real SL clan were the Wolverines with their more Hegemony leaning tendencies and Clan Hell Horses with their concentration on the warrior not the tech. Maybe the Star Adders as well as they prefer long planning and startegy

You forgot Le Happy Merchants. Their ideological founder was a fucking journalist and ASF pilot. Oh, and a literal Karen, too. Might as well call them Clan Kiwi due to their love of shitposting, too.

 

[ComStar]

Now, i was going to write about what a bunch of losers the Fire Mandrills were, but then i did some thinking which spiraled into some headcanon.

This is a little by the seat of my pants, but anyway.

Spoiler: Headcanon

As we all know, the clans were formed by a sociopath leading a bunch of bitter war veterans. These veterans were hardly the most stable of people, having spent way too much time gouging Amaris loyalists out of foxholes and grinding themselves down in their slow advance towards Terra. As soon as Amaris bites the dust, the Star League collapses into civil war and they leave, meaning all the friends they lost and all the blood they spilled was basically for naught.

After bumming around for a few years on their spaceships, enduring mutinies and general misery they find five somewehat habitable worlds and try to settle into some semblance of normality, only for their new state to collapse like the Star League they left behind. With this state consisting of either aforementioned shellshocked and bitter veterans, or people raised by them, the collapse was not exactly a surprise. Starship Troopers this ain't.

So parts of them leave again and end up on Strana Mechty where Nicholas forms the clans through various trials where warriors may earn the honor of becoming founding members (and the rest, i assume end up in supporting roles).

Here is where my headcanon kicks in. What if Nicholas set up the Fire Mandrills to fail?

Nicky may be a psycho, but what if he was savvy enough to shove as many malcontents or as possible into one clan, to prevent them from poisoning the minds of the others? Since he could not shoot them outright, he could instead have rigged any selection process or random assignment, making sure the worst of the clan warriors ended up in the Mandrills along with the malcontents who didn't make the cut.

With these rebellious fuckups safely bottled up and eventual leftover assholes (the ones who ended up in other clans) easier to pacify, he could then release the Mandrills to do whatever the fuck they wanted to do and just wait for them to implode of kill each other off or whatever because who gives a shit about the Mandrills. Bunch of losers.

I dunno, it kind of made sense when i thought about it.

The Capellans are in the position of perpetual underdog in the IS, and for a reason - they're hilariously poor compared to every other Successor State. They're conniving, sneaky bastards.

They're also damned fucking GOOD at sticking around, despite the odds being against them. They suffered through insane and inept leadership, being worked over by having the fucking plot-armored bastards in the FedSuns as neighbors... their literacy rate is bar-none the highest in the entire IS, and while a great deal of their forces are forced to make do with the equivalent of a three-line rifle and a mule cart they tend to be absolutely fucking fanatical (do not fuck with the Death Commandos, just don't, they're completely fucking insane and evil). If the Davions weren't on their border they likely would have already devoured the Free Worlds League, which can't stop hitting itself in the face repeatedly.

That's an excellent point, much better than naything i could have written. I do love me some tenacious bastards who refuse to give up, no matter the setting

Also stealth armor and ECM on everything

 

[Balr0g]

That's the thing most people criticizing the Clan's origins fail to understand. These fuckers were full to the gills with trauma after fighting the Amaris Civil War, and then the Pentagon Civil War. The former was the most apocalyptic event in human history up to the Jihad, and the second saw what was left of most of these people's families slaughtered by the people who, until a few years before, were their brothers in arms.

And let's not forget the Pentagon Civil War was more destructive then the 1st Sucession War (especially after Nicolas left with his followers in kind of a mirror to what happened in the IS). The Pentagon had several millions of inhabitants, SL factories and shipyards and dozens of Warships. When the Clans finally returned most factories were rubble (and let's not forget the terraforming equipment was destroyed as well), The majority of colonists were dead and the civilization partially reverted to medieval standards. Plus several Clan khans had PTSD after said campaign with the worst the Steel Viper Khan and to a degree the Coyote Khan.

 

[Balr0g]

You forgot Le Happy Merchants. Their ideological founder was a fucking journalist and ASF pilot. Oh, and a literal Karen, too. Might as well call them Clan Kiwi due to their love of shitposting, too.

Well technically the first Khan was a full time warrior but the poor guy died on the first combat drop because Clan Indians decided to be dickheads and let the Foxes deal with the rebels alone due to "honorless combat". And the Foxes are the basic inventor of shitposting within Clan space when they unveiled the Chatterweb. And if you have read the Jihad sourcebooks you can see that shitposting has become second nature to some clans (plus emulating the Internet tough guy act)