Battletech

[ChaoticSky]

i favour heavies, my thought was towards a pilot whos family has been in the merc group a long time(since its founding), and she inherited her fathers mech, a Marauder II MAD-4A Variant which was available at this time ^^

is there any reason that would not work?

[Jack Stryker]

I've been working something up for the unit.  Unless anyone has any objections, i'll take the unit commander.  If anyone else wants the spot i'll gladly do a vote to see who fits the spot.

Most likely i'll be going with a Marauder II MAD-5A variant.  A powerful, solidly built, and mobile enough design to be dealy at any range, and simply shrug off most attacks.

And Darkling, the Marauder II is an assault 'mech, not a heavy, just letting you know.

[ChaoticSky]

well, whatever you want to call it... its 100t. thats pretty damn heavy in my book

but yea, i meant 'assault', i really need to brush up on my terminology DX

[Calista Jade]

Can I have an Atlas? *bats eyelashes*

[Anathanasia]

Why are invulnerable assault mechs always so darn popular? I shouldn't talk, the old AS7-D Atlas is probably my all time fave, but that was for the fluff as much as the firepower...even with the new tech I usually opted to keep the AC/20, personally.

Now, I don't mean to suggest anything, not any thing at all, by that. I'm just thinking, if we're going to lean on assault mechs, then perhaps we should all pick assault or high-end heavies like Warhammers and Marauders and just formally make our merc unit assault specialists. TGT could always run a Charger...that mech can get pretty awesome with an XL engine it...add MASC and KA-BOOM!!, massive crunchy charging, wheee! 

[ChaoticSky]

Why are invulnerable assault mechs always so darn popular? I shouldn't talk, the old AS7-D Atlas is probably my all time fave, but that was for the fluff as much as the firepower...even with the new tech I usually opted to keep the AC/20, personally.

Now, I don't mean to suggest anything, not any thing at all, by that. I'm just thinking, if we're going to lean on assault mechs, then perhaps we should all pick assault or high-end heavies like Warhammers and Marauders and just formally make our merc unit assault specialists. TGT could always run a Charger...that mech can get pretty awesome with an XL engine it...add MASC and KA-BOOM!!, massive crunchy charging, wheee! 

one can never have enuff dakka! assult 'mechs can simply pack more dakka, or higher quality of dakka, compared to lighter mechs. i favour the novacat, madcat II and fafnir... but none of them are about, so ill settle for the 4A marauder II, i would have much rather the 4S for its new look and even better weapons, but i dont think it was available untill 3062, two decades late DX

and of course, striding across a battlefield as a massive god of destruction is always fun ^^

[The Great Triangle]

Assault mechs are for people who aren't smart enough to get the hell out of the way when the shooting starts.    

Of course, they're also rather troublesome to use in urban combat, without signifigant recon support.  If we stick to battles in cramped conditions with constrained lines of sight, things should stay more or less balanced between the lighter and heavier mech pilots. 

[Anathanasia]

Assault mechs are for people who aren't smart enough to get the hell out of the way when the shooting starts.    

Of course, they're also rather troublesome to use in urban combat, without signifigant recon support.  If we stick to battles in cramped conditions with constrained lines of sight, things should stay more or less balanced between the lighter and heavier mech pilots.

You're forgetting, TGT, that Darkling's concept of 'moar dakka! WAAAAAAGH!' does mean that a full assault company pretty much carries enough firepower to make their lines of sight clear... 

Not to mention, with good teamwork (ie, not everyone is 'point') overlapping fields of fire and covering each other with all that firepower and armour pretty much defines the concept of "sweep and clear". That and the Charger is as fast as many medium mechs.

[The Great Triangle]

I'm just trying to keep some sembalance of why people build anything other than assault mechs in the setting.   

(Although I've also heard that extremely large tank columns (20+) can have pretty good performance against a lance of mechs, especially with air support)

[NotoriusBEN]

The main drawbacks to heavies and assaults come in the tonnage, price, and/or points system in the tabletop or rpgs. Realistically (as far as a game goes anyway) I'd see heavies as tank and the lights as those on foot.  The lights protect the flanks and rears of the heavies from that guy hiding in the building with a panzerfaust or satchel charge.

I have to admit my favorite mech is an Atlas as well. Yes, the giant skull is screaming "Headshot ME!" but there is nothing more satisfying than watching the enemy mediums drop an ingot as I crest the ridge and say, "BOO!"

In the tabletop game at a local shop, I remember one fight we had in a forest and my lance was getting chewed up by the lighter ones thanks to the trees. Luckily, one of my mechs had some incendiaries and napalm so I just started setting fires all over. The guy I was playing were so pissed because I basically cooked the his mechs alive in that inferno. The GM was mad too because I burned down a National Forest and was fined 300,000 creds for destroying a national treasure. Then they were both mad when we rolled salvage and I managed to actually make a profit between usable salvage and the contract.

That said... may I join if there is room?

[Calista Jade]

Assault mechs are for people who aren't smart enough to get the hell out of the way when the shooting starts.    

Pssssh.

[Anathanasia]

The main drawbacks to heavies and assaults come in the tonnage, price, and/or points system in the tabletop or rpgs. Realistically (as far as a game goes anyway) I'd see heavies as tank and the lights as those on foot.  The lights protect the flanks and rears of the heavies from that guy hiding in the building with a panzerfaust or satchel charge.

I remember something in one of the older books that said that medium class mechs were by far the most common. Assault mechs wre supposed to be so expensive and rare that they were only commited to full scale invasion for the most part. And don't even get me started on prices...XL Engines just don't make sense, budget wise, for 'standard' deployment mechs. Astronomical cost increase and reduced battlefield survivability...I think they are a total waste in lights or assaults nine times out of ten, at least; just use endosteel. In heavies you REALLY gotta ask yourself about what you are trying to accomplish, since you'll probably still have pretty limited mobility. XL engines do allow mediums to shine, though...you really can get firepower, mobility and protection to very acceptable levels!

Wow, that was a geekgasm, wasn't it? 

I guess I'd rather see a good balance to the unit, when it really comes down to it, so much so that I'll volounteer to run a medium to round out whichever lance needs me. That doesn't mean people who want assaults can't have them, just maybe we need to get creative about organizing the unit and our RP? Of course, being mercs, we make our own rules, so there's nothing to say the unit isn't organized simply based on what mech each character brought with them when they joined. I'll probably go for a Wolverine, it's my fave medium too, Hairy, and at our tech level I think I can claim a 7K, that sexy Kurita one with the second SRM-6 and a lg pulse laser. Mmmm, close combat! Then lance assignments based around complimentary ideals. For example, that 7K Wolverine makes for fine recon, or pair it with an Archer in a fire lance if you want to be creative.

Which actually begs another question for the GM, how much can we mod our own mechs? Like, can I slap ferro-fibrous armour on my Wolverine if the crits are there, kinda thing?

[Jack Stryker]

We need a healthy mix of battlemechs, from light to assault.  I just really prefer heavy hitters, because I want my opponent to go down, and stay there.  Medium and Heavy 'mechs are great because they carry a healthy amount of firepower on a faster frame, and are great mobile attack platforms, while the Assaults are simply armored turrets that have legs.  Lights are best for fast moving forces and scouting, able to rush in or behind enemy lines, and sometimes carry enough power to make them a viable hit-and-run taskforce.  Mostly, we should keep assault 'mechs to a minimum, but we also shouldn't have all heavy, medium, or light chassis either. 

As for custom builds, please keep it within reason.  A Wolverine will be able to carry as much Ferro-Fibrous armor as its crits and weight will allow, but you have to remember that FF armor is expensive, and hard to come by, as it's just been rediscovered RP-wise.  so if you use it, any damage you take will be hard to repair, unless you just drop the FF and switch to another armor, which will take up time during repairs.

And for everyone joining, please PM me a character profile and a spec list of their machine, be it Battlemech, Tank, or Aerospace fighter.  Civilians are fine, as are dropship captains, but please remember this is a Mercenary unit, and you won't really have big access to Top-of-the-line, brand new mechs and equipment.  Anything our characters will have is going to be a few years old, so Gauss Rifles will be very limited, if they show up at all.

[Anathanasia]

And for everyone joining, please PM me a character profile and a spec list of their machine, be it Battlemech, Tank, or Aerospace fighter.  Civilians are fine, as are dropship captains, but please remember this is a Mercenary unit, and you won't really have big access to Top-of-the-line, brand new mechs and equipment.  Anything our characters will have is going to be a few years old, so Gauss Rifles will be very limited, if they show up at all.

I take it that means things like XL engines will be very spare as well? And by rights, wouldn't you need to have a modified chassis to put such a large engine in, making it an unlikely if not impossible swap post-factory? So most of our early mods will be things like weapon swaps, huh? Makes that Centurion with an LB-10X and Artemis IV added to the LRM look pretty attractive, hehe.

I remember playing a round-robin GM campaign back shortly after the 3050 Tech Readout first came out where we used some pretty rigid guidelines for variants. The whole basis of the campaign was pretty much getting our mechs upgraded, which made it feel kind of like a high-tech dungeon crawl.,Instead of a +5 Holy Avenger or a Vorpal you found a ER-PPC or Gauss Rifle! It was fun, hehe.

[RubySlippers]

Mechs, I don't need no stinking mech give me a classic tank any day.

Or one of my favorites a light copter unarmed and lightly armored to scout around with I had one of those once for a character. Doubled as the team medic and evac unit during battles.

[Jack Stryker]

I take it that means things like XL engines will be very spare as well? And by rights, wouldn't you need to have a modified chassis to put such a large engine in, making it an unlikely if not impossible swap post-factory? So most of our early mods will be things like weapon swaps, huh? Makes that Centurion with an LB-10X and Artemis IV added to the LRM look pretty attractive, hehe.

I remember playing a round-robin GM campaign back shortly after the 3050 Tech Readout first came out where we used some pretty rigid guidelines for variants. The whole basis of the campaign was pretty much getting our mechs upgraded, which made it feel kind of like a high-tech dungeon crawl.,Instead of a +5 Holy Avenger or a Vorpal you found a ER-PPC or Gauss Rifle! It was fun, hehe.

Best thing to remember is the higher tech it is, the less likely it will be replaced/repaired if it's damaged/destroyed.   You can have an Atlas outfitted with a Gauss Rifle, ER PPCs, ER Large Lasers, 19 tons of FF armor, and an XL engine, but if any of those parts gets damaged you spend a while repairing it, or have to replace it with something else. 

As for customized 'mechs, it is possible to do things like switching out engines.  Heck, you could take the arm off a destroyed Victor and attach it to an Atlas if you had the time/resources.  Switching out an Engine means you have to literally take the 'mech's torso apart in order to perform the swap, which could take weeks of work.  Meanwhile, you can't use the 'mech until the torso's put back together.

[Anathanasia]

Best thing to remember is the higher tech it is, the less likely it will be replaced/repaired if it's damaged/destroyed.   You can have an Atlas outfitted with a Gauss Rifle, ER PPCs, ER Large Lasers, 19 tons of FF armor, and an XL engine, but if any of those parts gets damaged you spend a while repairing it, or have to replace it with something else. 

As for customized 'mechs, it is possible to do things like switching out engines.  Heck, you could take the arm off a destroyed Victor and attach it to an Atlas if you had the time/resources.  Switching out an Engine means you have to literally take the 'mech's torso apart in order to perform the swap, which could take weeks of work.  Meanwhile, you can't use the 'mech until the torso's put back together.

Okay, so we can still start with pretty much whatever we want, we're just going to have to keep accounts and repair times in mind for later?

[Jack Stryker]

Okay, so we can still start with pretty much whatever we want, we're just going to have to keep accounts and repair times in mind for later?

Well, you can't exactly start out with a top of the line, fresh off the factory floor, brand spankin' new 'mech.  I'm just saying that you'll have to remember that whatever you have in it can be damaged, and if your 'mech si down, your character is out of combat, unless someone else will let you take their 'mech out.

[Anathanasia]

Well, you can't exactly start out with a top of the line, fresh off the factory floor, brand spankin' new 'mech.  I'm just saying that you'll have to remember that whatever you have in it can be damaged, and if your 'mech si down, your character is out of combat, unless someone else will let you take their 'mech out.

Yeah, I kinda figured all that as obvious, heh. I just got confused by your previous example.

[The Great Triangle]

Can we be using C3 computers in our lance to share radar and targeting data?  (makes light mechs a lot more useful by enabling you to do fun tricks like having the light mech lead the enemy on a merry chase while the rest of the lance locks on for LRM strikes, though unless you're using advanced C3i computers, losing more than a couple of mechs will mess up the unit's targeting capabilities)

[ChaoticSky]

yeesh, lots of posts

Of course, they're also rather troublesome to use in urban combat, without signifigant recon support.  If we stick to battles in cramped conditions with constrained lines of sight, things should stay more or less balanced between the lighter and heavier mech pilots.

thats only a issue if you allow the buildings to remain standing

Assault mechs are for people who aren't smart enough to get the hell out of the way when the shooting starts.

theress somthing to be said for not needing to get out of the way

I remember something in one of the older books that said that medium class mechs were by far the most common. Assault mechs wre supposed to be so expensive and rare that they were only committed to full scale invasion for the most part. And don't even get me started on prices...XL Engines just don't make sense, budget wise, for 'standard' deployment mechs. Astronomical cost increase and reduced battlefield survivability...I think they are a total waste in lights or assaults nine times out of ten, at least; just use endosteel. In heavies you REALLY gotta ask yourself about what you are trying to accomplish, since you'll probably still have pretty limited mobility. XL engines do allow mediums to shine, though...you really can get firepower, mobility and protection to very acceptable levels!

this is the reason i noted that my character comes from a line of mech pilots, there has been time to accumulate the funds to buy, arm, and operate a Assault mech. besides, the fact that we do have access to the massive fire power of Assaults, even if its only one or two, would probably be a big sellling point for our merc group.

And for everyone joining, please PM me a character profile and a spec list of their machine, be it Battlemech, Tank, or Aerospace fighter.  Civilians are fine, as are dropship captains, but please remember this is a Mercenary unit, and you won't really have big access to Top-of-the-line, brand new mechs and equipment.  Anything our characters will have is going to be a few years old, so Gauss Rifles will be very limited, if they show up at all.

would you mind giving us a template to follow? would probably make it easier on you if everyone used a similar format. also, do we not have enough interest? perhaps its time to make a proper OOC in the board were the RP will be, as we are kinda supposed to... theres a whole topic of people moaning (quite rightly, apparently) about people using this board for OOC topics around here somewhere. though only you can decide when its time to move from recruitment to OOC

[Anathanasia]

this is the reason i noted that my character comes from a line of mech pilots, there has been time to accumulate the funds to buy, arm, and operate a Assault mech. besides, the fact that we do have access to the massive fire power of Assaults, even if its only one or two, would probably be a big sellling point for our merc group.

Yeah, that's what I did with my character for the game Robguy started. She was from a family of 'landed' mercs in service to House Steiner, a descendent of one of the original Atlas pilots that, according to canon from the 3025 Tech Readout, stayed behind because he realized he could leverage his powerful mech into a high standard of living. It's a very doable and solid idea in the Inner Sphere!

Also, I second the request for a template. Even if we're not using a proper system, it would be nice to know exactly what info you expect from us, please, Jack.

[Jack Stryker]

Yeah, probably should have written one up already.  I'll put in the one for my character.  As for the questions, yes you can use C3 equipped battlemechs, as long as you make appropriate space.  Just remember that for anyone else to share your targetting data, they have to have a 'mech with a C3 slaved unit as well.

Also, I guess i'll take up the unit commander position.  I'll need a couple folks for company commands.  So far the unit will be a reinforced battalion, with a company of armor and aerospace assets, so i'll need 4 company commanders (which will be Captain, Major, or Lieutenant Colonel for mercenary ranks), plus a fifth if we need one.  Like I said, a mix of the classes would be best, and any tankers and aerojocks would be great to have as well.  Otherwise i'll just fill in the unit with NPCs to round things out.


Name: Jack Stryker
Age: 43
Rank: Colonel
Unit: Stryker's Strikers
Height: 6'2"
Homeworld: Kittery
History: Jack was born to a moderately wealthy family on the world of Kittery, where he was brought up in a rather luxurious life.  It was not until his eighteenth birthday that he left his homeworld to join with the AFFS to fight during the waning years of the Third Succession War.  Rising to the rank of Major, Jack was called away from his duty during the year of 3029 when his parents were killed in an industrial accident.   Feeling that his career in the AFFS had come to a standstill after the Fourth Succession War ended, he took his inheritance and began putting together a mercenary unit.  Over the twelve years since he has managed to build it from a mere company of battlemechs without so much as a single dropship, to a full reinforced battalion with Aerospace, artillery, and dropship support.  Now he works to increase his unit's firepower and standing in the Inner Sphere, wanting to push the Strikers to a full Regiment in strength before his retirement.

As for Battlemech specifications, I prefer them to look something like this, to help keep information comparable, and for quick reference


Marauder II
Chassis: MAD-5A
Engine: 300 GM XL Fusion
Mass: 100 tons
Max Walk Speed: 32.4kph
Max Speed: 54kph
Jump Jets: Right Leg, Left Leg, Right Torso, Left Torso
Jump Range: 120m
Armor: 19 tons Standard
Heat Sinks: 31 Standard
Weapons:
--ER PPC [Right Arm, Left Arm]
--Medium Laser [Right Arm, Left Arm, Center Torso]
--LB 5-X AC [Right Torso] (2 tons ammunition: 20 Cluster Rounds, 20 Slugs)
Equipment:
--CASE [Right Torso]

Character pictures are not needed, but helpful.

[HairyHeretic]

I guess I'd rather see a good balance to the unit, when it really comes down to it, so much so that I'll volounteer to run a medium to round out whichever lance needs me. That doesn't mean people who want assaults can't have them, just maybe we need to get creative about organizing the unit and our RP? Of course, being mercs, we make our own rules, so there's nothing to say the unit isn't organized simply based on what mech each character brought with them when they joined. I'll probably go for a Wolverine, it's my fave medium too, Hairy, and at our tech level I think I can claim a 7K, that sexy Kurita one with the second SRM-6 and a lg pulse laser. Mmmm, close combat! Then lance assignments based around complimentary ideals. For example, that 7K Wolverine makes for fine recon, or pair it with an Archer in a fire lance if you want to be creative.

I think it was a 7k I had in the previous Battletech game. It's a good mech :)

[Calista Jade]

Which year are we setting this, just so I get things right? 3042?