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  • Locked thread
James Hardon
May 31, 2006

PoptartsNinja posted:

Current Update: Ultimatum: Tactical Update 31, Political Vote 15, The Last Contender



Let’s Play Battletech!

What do I need to know about Battletech?



Battletech is a tabletop war game typically played with little plastic armies. It has very in-depth universe, but for the most part Battletech is a game involving giant robots (which fight each other). It’s pretty fun, and spawned the ‘Mechwarrior’ franchise of video games. It also has a lot of fluff, and even spawned a really terrible cartoon in the mid 1990s. Presently in International Copyright Hell due rights issues over some ‘Mech designs, Battletech is a deep universe with a lot of (pretty good) fiction devoted to it (except the aforementioned Cartoon, which really is terrible). We’re not playing in that universe. Instead, we’ll be rewriting it.



Rewriting it?

The year is 2779, and things are not panning out the way people would’ve hoped. Although General Aleksandr Kerensky of the Star League Defense Force managed to kill the usurper, Stefan Amaris, the battered remnants of the SLDF were forced to flee the wrath of the Terran Hegemony and abandoned the Inner Sphere on an unknown course. As he fled from inevitable defeat, General Kerensky transmitted one last message to the Inner Sphere: One day, his children would return. One day, they would crush those who destroyed the Star League, and return the Inner Sphere to peace and prosperity.

With neither Richard Cameron nor Stefan Amaris to lead it, the former Star League splintered, and with Kerensky’s idle threat forgotten, the five remaining Great Houses: Kurita, Davion, Liao, Steiner, and Marik quickly went to war to see which would become the First Lord of a new Star League… with the predictable outcome that none would succeed, resulting in the creation of the so-called Successor States. The Succession Wars would bring humanity to the very brink of annihilation: so many secrets, technological marvels, and innovations would be lost to nuclear fire during the first and second succession war that the Great Houses stepped forward and signed the Ares Convention, banning the use of nuclear weapons and mass-annihilation tactics as a viable form of warfare. In more modern times, combat has generally devolved into a series of light skirmishes, as the chief vehicle of war—the Battlemech—is both precious and nearly irreplaceable.

In deep space, however, things took a surprisingly similar turn. Kerensky’s troops splintered with no common enemy to fight, and began to mirror the strife plaguing the successor states. Fearing the inevitable destruction, Aleksandr Kerensky’s son, Nicholas, called for willing followers. Of the six-million men and women of the SLDF who followed Aleksandr into exile, only eight-hundred souls answered Nicholas Kerensky’s call. These eight hundred would form the basis of the Clans, Nicholas Kerensky’s vision of a brotherhood of warriors—and a strict caste system to maintain order. After training together for twenty years, the Clans would sweep dissent and rebellion from the Pentagon Worlds. Seeing the prowess of the Wolf Clan during this campaign, Nicholas Kerensky would opt to join them. Nicholas was later killed during his clan’s failed attempt to absorb Clan Widowmaker and assure the dominance of the Wolf Clan in the Pentagon Worlds. Disheartened by the loss of their great leader, the Wolves in turn bowed to the superior spirit and tactics of the Widowmakers, and the Blood of Kerensky would pass into Widowmaker hands alone, earning them the ire of Clan Jade Falcon.

Now divided into five castes, the Scientists, Merchants, Technicians, Laborers, and the Warrior elite to which the others pay homage, the Clans would soon begin a eugenics program to create the greatest warriors the galaxy has ever seen. To aid them, they created artificial wombs—allowing their warriors to be grown en masse—and while genetic manipulation is unthinkable, the strongest bloodlines soon became the ultimate prize, prompting much inter-clan strife.

Things probably would have remained as such for centuries, if ComStar hadn’t interfered. Afraid the SLDF’s return would spell the end to ComStar’s ambitions of starting a new Star League, they sent several hundred jump ships to explore deeper and deeper into the space around the Inner Sphere. Not surprisingly, many were lost to pirates or simply vanished into the cold void of space, never to return.

One, however, found the Clan Hell’s Horses homeworld of Niles.

The unexpected arrival of ComStar’s Explorer Corps gave Clan Widowmaker all the ammunition they needed to convert most of the other Clans into crusaders ready to fulfill General Kerensky’s promise to return to the Inner Sphere and restore the Star League to its former glory. It would not take long for the IlKhan—the Khan of Khans—Lair Siedman of the Hell’s Horses to propose Operation Redemption. Disgusted, those few Clans that espoused a more isolationist viewpoint (namely, the Blood Spirits and Goliath Scorpions), joked that when IlKhan Siedman gave his speech before the Grand Council, they could only hear the Widomaker Khan Natasha Kerensky’s voice coming from his mouth.

The year is now 3032, and the Blood of Kerensky is returning to the Inner Sphere in force.



Neat. What’s the Inner Sphere?
Essentially, it’s a ‘sphere’ (with approximately a 240 light-year diameter) of space around Terra (Earth) that represents the limits of human colonization. The Inner Sphere is civilized and has several governments. The area of space beyond the Inner Sphere is known as the ‘periphery’, and is filled with undocumented colonies, pirates, and mostly a whole lot of nothing. Deep in the Periphery over a year’s travel from the Inner Sphere lie the Clan Homeworlds, a massive inhabited Star Cluster with a population in the hundreds of millions (all of which are rather pissed off at the Inner Sphere).

Have a map

See if you can spot the Inner Sphere's only (relatively) peaceful border!


LP Mechanics
NEW - I can't stand the look of the earliest updates, are they all like that?
No, recent updates are much clearer. Here's a sample!



The thread's so huge, how can I get into it?
The older missions are pretty ugly, I'd suggest reading the political votes and results, and the combat theater votes and results to get a feel how things have progressed and then start with the most recent mission. If you like what you see you can always go back and read some of the other missions (Counting Coup is a good one).



So how’s this going to work?
It’s pretty simple, really. This will be a heavy Audience Participation LP, so first we’ll need to vote for a faction to play. Once we’ve done that, I’ll set up a battlefield. For the purposes of the LP, I’ll be playing the opposing force—so if, say, you choose the Federated Suns, I’d be playing the Draconis Combine; if you chose the Draconis Combine, you’d find me playing either the Federated Suns or the Clans, etc.

In addition to just picking a side, you may also have the opportunity to make some important political decisions for that side. I have some ‘events’ planned, but they’re currently open-ended depending on which side wins and/or loses.

Once you’ve picked a side, we’ll set a scale for the battle—at first, everything will be small-scale, because for the first battle or two my opponents will be commanding individual ‘Mechs: which means two things:

1) that any potential Mechwarriors need access to Something Awful’s PMs (so they can tell me where they’re moving). If you'd like to participate but don't have PMs access, an E-Mail address will suffice if you're willing to share it.

2) that they’ll need to be able to tell me what they’re doing every day (while the thread frets over their tactical decisions and offers advice).



This’ll start as a ‘screenshot’ (and I use the word loosely) LP. If we wind up with more volunteer Mechwarriors than we have ‘Mechs, I will choose who gets to command (and any other volunteers will be thrown onto a list of alternates in case someone decides it’d be funny to stop playing). Alternates will also probably be given higher consideration for any subsequent battles.

For later updates, once there’s enough interest, we’ll probably be using MegaMek and playing against single opponents. At that point, the battles will probably be larger-scale and may even be recorded (although that’ll depend a bit on Megamek’s limitations and how fraps interacts with it); either way, I intend to balance forces ahead of time to help insure we see a wide variety of units rather than two lances of Battlemasters with an Atlas for garnish.



So, what happens if our side loses?
We’ll vote on it. You may choose continue with that unit (if they weren’t wiped out), but perhaps with new characters and ‘Mechs; or you may opt to try something else. I’m going to be playing a ‘fluffy’ game, for the most part, which means there are opportunities I won’t be taking advantage of. At least, not at first.

How quickly will you be updating?
Once a day, with luck; but I make no promises. So don’t get uppity if I have to change this at any point.

Is this Mechwarrior 4 / Living Legends / Mechwarrior Online?
No, but if you're interested be sure to check out the excellent `Mechwarrior Online thread in the games section or pop over to No Guts, No Galaxy where our very own George Ledoux helps out!

LP Rules:
Mechwarrior's First Rule:
If you have a question, need some advice, or need a little extra time please don't hesitate to ask!

Voting & Civility:
Keep things civil! If the force you were hoping to play for wasn’t picked, tough. No whining. Take the opportunity to make a neat piece of fanart to explain why the regiment of your choice is the best choice for the next vote. Remember Votes are Final so if you're not certain who you want to choose, wait a day or two and see if anyone makes a convincing argument!

Order Deadlines:
Formerly the 72 hour rule. My schedule is fairly stable, but there are some days I absolutely can't update. Order deadlines are Saturday Night (this is a hard deadline, if I don't update Sunday you won't get an update for two days) and Tuesday Night (this is a softer deadline, I can be a little more lenient with it). If the players either individually or as a group need more time, I'm more then willing to accommodate if they let me know in advance. If orders aren't received in a timely fashion then your `Mech may not move. If orders aren't received at all then an Alternate may be called in to take over your unit. Thanks to everyone who helps me keep this thread updating regularly!

Leniency Period:
Many of my players will be new, so the Order Deadlines will be more lenient while they get a feel for the game. Late orders won't be held against them during this period. The leniency period ends after Turn 5.

Rules Discussion:
General discussion of core game mechanics is OK. Referencing page numbers in rulebooks is also OK. Full-out explanations of how the game works, or other copy-pasta of the rulebooks is NOT PERMITTED. I’m not going to get SomethingAwful into trouble because y’all feel the need to explain exactly what you need to roll to hit with exactly 14 LRMs on the LRM 20 table or exactly what a pilot with a 3 gunnery needs to roll to hit an Urbanmech that’s rolling six hexes down a mountainside.

Art Historian's Nightmare:
Discussions about 'Mechs is fine. Multiple-page derailments about how much you hate a specific art style chosen by some editor ten years ago isn't. If you have to pretend that all Battlemechs you don't like look like Wall-E in order to get to sleep at night, do it, but we don't need to hear about it.

Fluffy Gameplay:
I will be playing a ‘fluffy’ game. Which is to say, I’m going to do my best to use tactics appropriate for the army I’m fielding. I do not expect the same from my players (i.e., while a canon Kurita commander may step forward during a lull in the battle to attempt to challenge an enemy ‘Mech to single combat while the rest of his forces watch without shooting, I do not expect Goons to attempt to do the same (in fact, since that particular maneuver is blatantly suicidal, I actively discourage you from making the attempt even if you are a House Kurita unit)). This does mean, however, that you can exploit an enemy's proclivities.

Exploitable Behaviors of the Current Alternate Universe Nations:
The Clans - Prefer single combat, but do not respond to challenge requests. It is a Clan Warrior's responsibility to kill either the first target he shoots at; or the first target who shoots at him.
Clan Steel Viper / Task Force Serpent - Respond to challenges from the Lyran Commonwealth, but only for physical combat duels.
Clan Widowmaker - Feuding with Clan Goliath Scorpion, ignores Zellbrigen when fighting Clan Goliath Scorpion.
Clan Goliath Scorpion - Ignores Zellbrigen when fighting Inner Sphere forces or Clan Widowmaker. Prefers to disable Inner Sphere `Mechs instead of killing the Mechwarrior. Prefers to kill Widowmaker Mechwarriors rather than disabling their `Mechs.
Clan Hell's Horses - Ignores Zellbrigen when fighting Inner Sphere forces.
Draconis Suns - May or may not accept a duel request; they favor single combat and typically won't intervene to aid a friendly Mechwarrior unless that Mechwarrior is very likely to be killed in that turn.
Free Worlds League - The Free Worlds League has a very weird sense of 'fair play.' They view Mechwarriors as minor nobility, and so will typically give opponents a chance to stand back up if they fall; or will allow them a moment's rest if requested. They will allow injured Mechwarriors to leave the field under their own power, if so requested.
Lyran Commonwealth - Tend to respond to physical combat duels with Clan Steel Viper; prone to retreating when the apparent odds turn against them.
Capellan Confederation - Prefer to attack weak or already damaged targets first.
Duchy of New Syrtis - View Capellan nationals as racially inferior, tend to underestimate enemy pilots or blunder into ambushes.
Republic of Skye - Under orders to take no unnecessary risks, follow the Forced Withdrawal rules.
New Rim Worlds Republic - ???
ComStar - ???
Deep Periphery Nations - None
Pirates - Are cowards, and will tend to run if they don't have a numbers or weight advantage.

House Rules & Advanced Rules:
From time to time, I may decide that a house rule is necessary or that a mission may occur under a special condition. There're a few house rules that are universal, and this list may change as the LP progresses:

Current House / Advanced Rules:
Poptarts Always Loses Initiative Rolls - just for the sake of my sanity post schedule.

Ace Pilots - Ace pilots are the exception to me always losing initiative. An Ace always wins initiative, and moves after the players do. Ace pilots may appear in any match, but may not appear in every match.

Line of Sight - I use the Tac Ops rules for Line of Sight.

Other Tac Ops Rules - Such as different atmosphere types, movement conditions, or line of sight rules will be used as needed. Any mission-specific rules will be announced when a mission is selected.




Table of Contents:
Let's Play Battletech for the Sega Genesis:
Update 1 contest entries: raverrn's winning contest run, KnoxZone's runner-up run, Mastigophorian's runner-up Wasp run!
Update 2 contest entries: KnoxZone's winning contest run, Mastigophoran's masochistic runner-up run!
Update 3! contest entries: Mastigophoran's spectacular Ice Slide Bullet Ballet!
Update 4! contest entries: Mukaikubo's winning fiction, Mastigophoran proves the video challenge was impossible then breaks his SNES!
Update 5 contest entries: LeschNyhan's winning Wolf Spider, Mastigophoran's totally 'armless runner-up run through Mission 5, The Merry Marauder's runner-up justification of the bullshit!

Let's Play Battletech For Real:
First Vote
Voting Results
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 1
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 2
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 3
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 4
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 5
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 6
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 7
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 8
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 9
Kell Hounds: Cylene Tactical Update 10
Political Vote 1
Political Vote 1 Results and Combat Theater Vote 2
Vote 2 Results
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 1
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 2
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 3
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 4
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 5
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 6
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 7
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 8
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 9
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 10
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 11
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 12
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 13
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 14
Hostage Situation: Tactical Update 15
Successor State Analysis: 3032
Political Vote 2
Political Vote 2 Results & Vote 3
Vote 3 Results
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 1
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 2
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 3
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 4
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 5
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 6
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 7
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 8
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 9
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 10
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 11
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 12
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 13
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 14
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 15
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 16
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 17
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 18
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 19
Vipers of Somerset: Tactical Update 20
Political Vote 3
Bonus Update 6
Political Vote 3 Results and Combat Theater Vote 4
Combat Theater Vote 4 Results
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 1
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 2
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 3
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 4
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 5
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 6
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 7
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 8
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 9
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 10
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 11
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 12
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 13
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 14
Operation Himinbjörg: Tactical Update 15
Political Vote 4
Political Vote 4 Results and Combat Theater Vote 5
Combat Theater Vote 5 Results
Nadir: Tactical Update 1
Nadir: Tactical Update 2
Nadir: Tactical Update 3
Nadir: Tactical Update 4
Nadir: Tactical Update 5
Nadir: Tactical Update 6
Nadir: Tactical Update 7
Nadir: Tactical Update 8
Nadir: Tactical Update 9
Nadir: Tactical Update 10
House Call: Tactical Update 1
House Call: Tactical Update 2
House Call: Tactical Update 3
House Call: Tactical Update 4
House Call: Tactical Update 5
House Call: Tactical Update [Annulled]
House Call: Tactical Update 6
House Call: Tactical Update 7
House Call: Tactical Update 8
House Call: Tactical Update 9
House Call: Tactical Update 10
House Call: Tactical Update: Victory
Kerensky's Gambit: Political Vote 5
Kerensky's Gambit: Combat Theater Vote 6
Kerensky's Gambit: Combat Theater Vote 6 Results
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 1
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 2
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 3
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 4
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 5
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 6
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 7
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 8
Outfoxed: Tactical Update 9
Sabotage and Piracy: Political Vote 6
Sabotage and Piracy: Political Vote 6 Results and Combat Theater Vote 7
Sabotage and Piracy: Combat Theater Vote 7 Results
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 1
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 2
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 3
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 4
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 5
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 6
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 7
Delaying Action Contest:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 8
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 9
Delaying Action: Tactical Update 10
Freedom: Political Vote 7
Freedom: Political Vote 7 Results and Combat Theater Vote 8
State of the Clans
Combat Theater Vote 8 Results
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 1
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 2
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 3
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 4
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 5
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 6
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 7
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 8
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 9
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 10
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 11
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 12
Saving Janos Marik: Tactical Update 13
Political Vote 8: Freedom, Part 2
Political Vote 8 Results / Combat Theater
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 1
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 2
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 3
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 4
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 5
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 6
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 7
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 8
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 9
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 10
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 11
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 12
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 13
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 14
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 15
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 16
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 17
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 18
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 19
Counting Coup: Tactical Update 20
Political Vote 9: Sword of the Dragon
Political Vote 9 Results & Combat Theater Vote 9
Combat Theater Vote 9 Results
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 0
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 1
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 2
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 3
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 4
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 5
`Mech Design Contest 2
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 6
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 7
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 8
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 9
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 10
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 11
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 12
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 13
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 14
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 15
Factory Semi-Finals: Tactical Update 16-22
Draconis Suns Entries 1
Draconis Suns Entries 2
Draconis Suns Entries 3
Capellan Confederation Entries 1
Capellan Confederation Entries 2
Capellan Confederation Entries 3
`Mech Design Contest 2 Vote
Political Vote 10: Operation Backstab
Political Vote 10 Results & Combat Theater Vote 10
Combat Theater Vote 10 results
`Mech Contest 2 results
Caldera: Tactical Update 1
Caldera: Tactical Update 2
Caldera: Tactical Update 3
Caldera: Tactical Update 4
Caldera: Tactical Update 5
Caldera: Tactical Update 6
Caldera: Tactical Update 7
Caldera: Tactical Update 8
Caldera: Tactical Update 9
Caldera: Tactical Update 10
Caldera: Tactical Update 11
Caldera: Tactical Update 12
Caldera: Tactical Update 13
Caldera: Tactical Update 14
Caldera: Tactical Update 15
Caldera: Tactical Update 16
PoptartsNinja's "I'm Moving" Mini-Contest!
Political Vote 11
PoptartsNinja's "I'm Moving" Mini-Contest Results!
Political Vote 11 Results and Combat Theater Vote 11
Combat Theater Vote 11 Results

:waycool: thanks for the loving low-effort op, OP. maybe try reading the rules before posting here? reported. :fuckoff:

(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)

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PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
He's Space Genghis Khan. The artist is just really bad at drawing mongolian men human beings.

Shoeless
Sep 2, 2011

tuluk posted:

Do you like gladiator movies richard cameron?"

Have you ever been to a... Turkish prison camp?

Paingod556
Nov 8, 2011

Not a problem, sir

Shoeless posted:

Have you ever been to a... Turkish prison camp?

"You ever sat in the pilot seat?"
"No sir, I've never even been in a 'Mech before!"
"... You ever see an Elemental naked?"

C & C Red Alert

legoman727
Mar 13, 2010

by exmarx
Gonna go with C and B because those seem like most fun.

landcollector
Feb 28, 2011
Does “The Master”?

C) “Yes.”


Respond to Amaris’ Invitation?

C) No, tell the other Clans of Amaris’ insulting request.

Because gently caress you, Amaris.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

TBH I think overreacting to the "insult" is the gently caress you, clanners option since they're just gonna storm in blind and get wrecked.

Infected
Oct 17, 2012

Salt Incarnate


dis astranagant posted:

TBH I think overreacting to the "insult" is the gently caress you, clanners option since they're just gonna storm in blind and get wrecked.

No that's not telling anyone and trying to do it with the shambles that the trout ambush left them with.

Affi
Dec 18, 2005

Break bread wit the enemy

X GON GIVE IT TO YA
A. D

B. C.

evilmiera
Dec 14, 2009

Status: Ravenously Rambunctious
Command and Conquer was a great game, and C & C sounds appropriate.

Defiance Industries
Jul 22, 2010

A five-star manufacturer


I'm reading the 2765 report on the LCAF right now and a few things stick out to me:

-I always assumed the high number of Lyran Guard regiments was a result of units being destroyed in ways that resulted in them being added to the List of Honored Missing (basically like getting your jersey number retired, but for military units). Nope, turns out during the Star League, the Lyran Guard had so many units that they were divided up by divisions- the 1-10 had a Division Commander to report to, 11-19 had one, 20-29 another, and so on.

-Units in the Star League era had pretty boring nicknames. There's ten regiments of Donegal Guards all named after places that are sufficiently Irish-y (one of which is Boston). Literally every unit in the Lyran Guard is nicknamed "the [German proper noun] regiment."

-The Third Royal Guard were major advocates of melee combat for Mechs. They tried to convince people to invent melee weapons three centuries before the Hatchetman was dreamed up but apparently, everyone thought that melee combat would be totally obsolete because weapon ranges would keep increasing. What I'm saying is that the Third Royal were loving smart dudes and they knew what was up.

Also the maps of the Houses in Star League books are crazy when you compare them to contemporary ones. There's whole regions of space that got completely depopulated.

Defiance Industries fucked around with this message at 08:21 on Jul 21, 2014

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat

Infected posted:

the shambles that the trout ambush left them with.

You mean the 98% of their forces that are completely intact? :confused:

Shoeless
Sep 2, 2011

PoptartsNinja posted:

You mean the 98% of their forces that are completely intact? :confused:

It appears it is not just amateur sci fi authors who fail to grasp scale.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

Yeah, I'm not sure how effective a decapitation type attack is against a group a thugs being led around by the killiest guys they can find. At worst they go find some rock the Mariks aren't using and establish the new pecking order. SaKhan is an appointment so it's not like they have to run back home and elect a new one like on Luthien.

Dolash
Oct 23, 2008

aNYWAY,
tHAT'S REALLY ALL THERE IS,
tO REPORT ON THE SUBJECT,
oF ME GETTING HURT,


Oh hey, was the Ultimatum the thing that showed off Amaris's "challenge" then? I assume if it was blown up during the game that vote would've automatically gone to "refuse, tell no one".

I guess destroying it wouldn't have been very interesting after all.

apostateCourier
Oct 9, 2012


legoman727 posted:

Gonna go with C and B because those seem like most fun.

The best reason to vote.

C and B as well.

The Merry Marauder
Apr 4, 2009

"But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."

Dolash posted:

Oh hey, was the Ultimatum the thing that showed off Amaris's "challenge" then? I assume if it was blown up during the game that vote would've automatically gone to "refuse, tell no one".

I guess destroying it wouldn't have been very interesting after all.

Personally, I would have loved seeing Amaris' increasingly frantic attempts to draw the Clanners into the trap at Andurien.

"Free BattleMech Detailing, groups of 5 welcome!"

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
The Clans are going that way anyway. This vote just has a chance to eliminate another vote and skip straight to Full Life Consequences.

garland336
Feb 26, 2013
C & A

gonna say the atlas for goon mvp - The rear end whupping he put out was overshadowed by the sheer knowledge of his impending doom, but he put out a lot of hell before he went down. *fistbump* RESPECT.

And for the opfor MVP? Not the crab. I think people forgot about that goddamn longbow that went above and beyond in terms of acting as a boat anchor against the player character's attempts.

Good fight, great fluff at the end too.

UrbanUrsine
Oct 17, 2007
Does "The Master?" C) "Yes."
I'm gonna buy that this puts them on the most equal footing (but with ComStar duplicity afoot, as it always is), which I think is the most interesting result here.

Respond to Amaris's invitation? B) Yes, but don't tell the other Clans.
C or D seem like the most likely in-character responses, but I want to see what happens if Amaris and the clans actually (attempt to) communicate. The gnashing of teeth and rending of garments we'd get from the other clans knowing first is hard to pass up, but the I'm not sure A wouldn't devolve quickly into C, and the implications of talking to their mortal enemy and not telling them first are intriguing.

Oh, and:
Player MVP: Warhawk, with honorable mention for the Ebon Jaguar.
Non-Crab OpFor MVP: The Coyote that crippled the Kraken. But mostly That drat Crab.

Baudin
Dec 31, 2009
Does “The Master”?
B) No.

Respond to Amaris’ Invitation?
C) No, tell the other Clans of Amaris’ insulting request.

Although not particularly popular (or even rational) I want to see what the reaction would be to the first option. Sad that it's likely not going to happen, drat you "Yes" votes.

I also want to hear more fluff about how much the clans hold Amaris in disdain before he ruins their day, some-crazy-how.

Shoeless
Sep 2, 2011

PoptartsNinja posted:

The Clans are going that way anyway. This vote just has a chance to eliminate another vote and skip straight to Full Life Consequences.

And then John Kerensky saw the zombie ghostbears and said 'zombieghostbears leave this place!"

Edit: Also forgot to vote MVPs,for player MVP I vote for Kial's Arctic Cheetah. That thing got a couple of good TAG strikes in and stayed alive a lot longer than I would have expected, and helped do some nice backstabbings even while Phase 2 mechs were coming in.

Enemy MVP is That Goddamn Hill.

Shoeless fucked around with this message at 18:07 on Jul 21, 2014

Trundel
Mar 13, 2005

:10bux: + :awesomelon: = :roboluv:
- a sound investment!

PoptartsNinja posted:

The Clans are going that way anyway. This vote just has a chance to eliminate another vote and skip straight to Full Life Consequences.

Oh god, now I'm imagining that the Clan's speech pattern over their comms has been giving the Inner Sphere so much trouble because they all talk like John Freeman.

PoptartsNinja
May 9, 2008

He is still almost definitely not a spy


Soiled Meat
Combat Theater Vote 15:
20 June 3034


“William, has Colonel Varas’s report come in yet?”

Stefan Amaris VII loomed over his paperwork. Although most mundane requests were handled by the Republic’s senate some key requests still required the President’s signature or, in some rare cases, his veto. One such petition had crossed his desk earlier this morning, and while it was critically important he wasn’t willing to rush to a decision. And so he sat, tapping the tip of his pen against his desk and daydreamed while he considered the possible consequences.

Kleinwelt, an independent world within Republic territory but which—unlike many such worlds—had not been founded by Republic colonists, was requesting disaster relief after a rogue comet destroyed their orbital. Orbitals or, more specifically Mk. I Modular Orbital Factories, were a Rim World innovation intended to significantly boost a fledgling colony’s industrial output. They had all the plans and equipment necessary to gradually upgrade their own production or hydroponics capabilities while still supplying a new colony with all the tools and equipment it might need in the short-term. The Republic had been generous with orbitals in the past, as there was little point in maintaining trade with independent worlds that couldn’t produce things the Republic wanted. Their generosity had earned the loyalty and eventual peaceful annexation of the Marian Hegemony but it was official State policy to only ever gift one orbital to an independent world, even if that world had been colonized by Republic citizens. Any world that needed a second would have to petition for Republic membership.

In theory and practice both, every world the Republic colonized was an independent colony. They could opt to officially join the Republic if they so chose, and there were economic advantages to doing so but the people of the periphery had always been proud and independent. This was doubly true of worlds like Kleinwelt, which had survived the attentions of the Terran Hegemony’s Explorer Corps, capricious abandonment by the Marian Hegemony during the chaos in the wake of the Star League’s fall, and hundreds of years of food shortages. Kleinwelt also hosted a bevy of Marian malcontents, who’d fled the Hegemony during their annexation. The Republic made few demands of their constituent worlds but the Bill of Rights made most forms of slavery illegal. Kleinwelt still clung stubbornly to the practice, and resentment at being forced to join the Republic would quickly outpace their relief. In Stefan’s experience people forgot generosity in an eyeblink but kept grudges indefinitely.

He could do without a world of future malcontents; but that led to other problems. His people wouldn’t like outright rejecting a request for help, especially from a world populated by less than a hundred-thousand people, but at the same time worlds that felt they’d been pressured to join the Republic would complain that they weren’t offered the same chance. They wouldn’t secede but they would be noisy at a time when Stefan needed Republic solidarity.

Stefan smiled faintly, and hand-scrawled a note at the bottom of the form, then signed. Kleinwelt would get their orbital and a Mk. I hydroponics as well. It would take a public speech rather than one in front of the senate but sway the people and their senators wouldn’t complain. The fallout for expressing anger at humanitarian aid would prove cancerous to a political career and, deprived of something to talk circles around, the Senate would soon forget it was supposed to be angry that he’d broken state policy.

“Ah, William, I’m glad you’re—” Stefan began as a white-robed figure slipped through his office door. His eyes settled on unfamiliar features and his mind stopped like a misfired engine. “—you’re not William. He’s on his way to New Avalon.”

The tall, bald young man opened his mouth to speak but Stefan interjected. “You’re one of his old aids. We met once, eight months ago? What was the name? Demi-Precentor. Will. William Blane?”

Blane bowed his bald pate, “It’s Precentor now but otherwise you were spot-on. I’m surprised you remembered.”

“William always was cautious about introducing me to too many of his subordinates. He never did like letting me see how many of you he kept.”

“It’s not that,” Blane reassured congenially. “It simply isn’t proper for a ComStar acolyte to be seen as more powerful than the First Lord. Some people equate hangers-on with power, and since you don’t keep a retinue he made a point of appearing alone. It’s a policy I intend to maintain.”

“Nonsense,” Amaris laughed. “Utter nonsense, but very like him. Keep as many aides as you need, Will. Nobody here on New St. Andrews will care. Do you mind if I call you Will? Calling you “William” feels awkward.”

Precentor Blane shook his head, “”Will” will be just fine, Lord Amaris—”

“Please,” Amaris held up a hand to forestall the Precentor. “Stefan, in private. President Amaris, if that’s too informal for you. Did Varas’s report come in?”

Blane offered a slight bow, and handed Amaris a sheaf of papers at least a centimeter thick. “It’s exhaustive.”

“You’ve read it?” Amaris continued, not giving Blane an opportunity to deny or apologize for doing so. “Good, that will save me some time. What are your thoughts?”

Blane hesitated for about the same split-second span that’d passed when Anastasius Focht had given Amaris his answer weeks before. To lie or not? It was a question that always made men pause for an extra heartbeat. It was a tell Amaris had grown adept at spotting, as typically it meant whatever the speaker was about to say was untrustworthy.

“The summary is succinct,” Blane admitted, raising Stefan’s estimation of him slightly. “He estimates Clan armaments are fifty to a hundred years ahead of Star League Royal. Armor is “comparable to RWA-6” I’m not sure what that means.”

“It means Clan armor is a generation behind. That’s interesting,” Stefan paused, stroking his round, clean-shaven chin. “I wasn’t expecting to have any advantages. It looks like I owe one of my analyst teams a raise: I didn’t believe them when they told me a duelist culture wouldn’t prize armor research. What of their warships?”

Blane blanched at the reminder. “Fifteen, at least. All positively identified as Star League designs but their capabilities are potentially unknown. One of them is a McKenna.”

“If they’re Star League designs, even upgraded they likely share the same vulnerabilities.”

William Blane regarded Amaris curiously. When the President didn’t continue, Blane pressured, “I’ve never had to consider a WarShip’s weaknesses before. What are they?”

“Nukes, mostly.” Amaris shrugged helplessly. “If I can’t find a way to eliminate those ships through diplomatic channels then I won’t be held accountable for destroying them by any means at my disposal.”



********************



“Takin’ an evenin’ constitutional all alone, are yeh Sal? You’ve got guts, I’ll grant,” The boxy, manlike form of a Centurion stepped from behind the skimpy cover of a three-story hovel. It walked with a slow, dragging gait and a pronounced limp that suggested every actuator in the right leg had failed simultaneously. Its awkward posture kept the right-arm autocannon hidden from sight, but its left hand was raised with a finger outstretched in an accusatory fashion.

“The Lady Death’s dead, an’ the sharks are out for blood. How’s it feel bein’ the last Consort, eh? Think mebbey you coulda saved her from rottin’ away on New Avalon, Sal? Well we’re sick a you, an’ the Consorts lordin’ over us. This’s been a long time comin’,” the speaker’s voice boomed through the Centurion’s external speakers, shaking shoddily-installed panes of glass nearly as much as each shuddering, ill-timed footstep. The speaker put extra emphasis on his last word, trying to drive it home like a nail. “Mate.”

“Blind” Sal Guignard took a jumping step backwards as the Centurion twisted, narrowly missing her Quickdraw with a blow from the wrecking ball attached to the crimson machine’s right arm. Forgetting—or simply not caring—that his external speakers were still engaged, Sal’s attacker uttered a string of invectives that might’ve peeled paint if the volume of his broadcasts weren’t doing so already. The ball smashed through the fading façade of a corner shop and sent a cowering second-floor resident tumbling to the cobblestone street below.

Sal fixed the Centurion in her mind’s eye as she toggled her own speakers just to laugh cruelly at the other pirate’s failure. Her Quickdraw’s arms snapped upwards as the Centurion retreated behind its protective, human-infested building. She fired anyway, her medium lasers making short work of stone blocks and sheet rock. A figure flailed, aflame, through the hole she’d punched in the building’s side. As her laughter subsided, Sal sneered, “It’ll take more than a ball-and-chain to beat me, Cordeaux.”

“I know,” it was Jag Cordeaux’s turn to laugh.

A few hundred meters down the street, the boxy wall of “Genghis Khan” Arroca’s eighty-ton Awesome smashed through another light building. The machine, christened “broadside,” was nearly as big as its pilot. At two meters tall and nearly half-that wide, it was a miracle Arroca could even fit inside his machine. Arroca cleared his throat with a booming cough that wouldn’t have sounded out-of-place coming from the barrel of an autocannon and spoke as more crimson-colored machines filtered in behind him.

Arroca’s voice was so deep it sounded almost alien. “That’s why he brought friends.”

“Of course you did, none of you has enough balls to act alone,” Sal laughed, as her bone-white Quickdraw retreated lazily down the block. She snapped her fingers next to her helmet microphone and above her head a star fell from the sky. As if by magic a dozen or so black-painted shapes seemed to appear from darkened side-streets and alleys, “But I brought more. A place in the consorts to any scab who brings me Jag Cordeaux’s head! And if the Lady Death really is dead, well, that just means we’ll have even more openings to fill, doesn’t—”

Sal was interrupted by the shriek of an electric guitar—not over the open air, but over an open broadcast. It subsided in an instant, and in that instant curiosity overwhelmed her growing anger. Brighter than any star, the spheroid shape of an unexpected and unreported Overlord-class DropShip descended towards the combatants. Hope swelled up in Sal’s chest, that Paula Trevaline had finally returned to Tortuga. Taking advantage of the surprised silence, a man spoke and dashed Sal’s hopes the same way a two-storey fall might dash an infant’s brains against a street.

“This is “Redjack” Ryan, late of the Oberon Confederation,” the newcomer sounded young, and friendly. Sal hated him immediately. “Our old homeland’s become a little—I’ll say ‘hostile’ to avoid a terribly unfunny pun—to honest, hard-working pirates such as myself. I hope you’ll welcome my men and I with open arms or, at least, a well-stocked bar and a Jenny or two! Now then, what’s this I hear about Paula Trevaline being dead?”



********************



A timer ticked closer to zero as Khan Michael McKenna waited out the three-minute latency his comtechs had told him to expect. The distance between Andurien and the Clan fleet was staggering, nearly double the length of the space occupied by the Clan homeworlds. They had been surprised when the coordinates and frequencies had yielded not a Rim World transmission but instead an open HPG circuit. It seemed the latest Amaris wanted to speak face-to-face in as close to real-time as the massive distances involved would allow.

As the timer hit zero, the face of the Usurper's spawn burned itself into his memory: a dark, swarthy young man of Mongolian descent. He looked every inch an Amaris, from the way his dark-eyes seemed to gleam covetously to what was undoubtedly a carefully-crafted image of humbleness. The cost of keeping an HPG channel open for two-way communication between Strana Mechty and Lum was a cost that even Khan McKenna would have balked at; and yet here was Amaris calmly doing so over thirty-times that distance. McKenna’s normally calm features twisted into an angry frown as he fought the urge to kill the transmission out of spite.

“It is too early for a Batchall, freebirth,” McKenna growled. “You and yours have already sacrificed your right to be treated honorably.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Amaris replied sardonically, minutes later. “Nor do I care. I am glad that you’ve received my message, and have chosen to speak with me. I was expecting more of you.”

“Yes, I got your savashri disk. The sight of you makes me nauseous, what is it you want?”

Amaris laughed, “The disk? The disk wasn’t my message! So I guess I’ll explain it to you, even though an explanation kills the poetry: you are vulnerable. You are weak and alone, you have no support or possibility for resupply, and you’re fighting a war you don’t understand or have even the faintest potential of winning. Khan McKenna,” Amaris paused for a moment, to let the extent of his knowledge strike home an instant before going for a killing blow, “There is nowhere in the galaxy you can be safe from me. Not in the Free Worlds League. Not in the invasion corridor you abandoned.”

“Not on,” Amaris paused, licked his fingertips, and turned the page of a document on his desk, then looked up. His monstrous, inhuman black eyes stared into McKenna’s and for a moment the Khan forgot he was looking at a hologram. Amaris finished with a voice empty of compassion, mercy, or even emotions that McKenna would’ve found less alien like anger or spite. “Lum.”

“How?” McKenna asked, dumbfounded.

Amaris wasn’t done, having predicted McKenna’s surprise the dark, swarthy young man’s anger seemed to explode into his tirade. “Because you have the audacity to threaten me on my own homeworld, it’s only fair that I threaten yours in return! That’s how war works! It’s why any sane society considers it a bad thing!”

“I will face you on Andurien, as you hope. I’ll even remain after we’ve finished evacuating the other noncombatants so you can try to claim my head the way Kerensky tried to claim my great, great grandfather’s.” The Usurper’s descendant held up a sheet of paper so the holorecorder could read the string of jump coordinates located there. “By the time you arrive here I will have mined every jump point with enough nuclear weapons to annihilate your entire fleet. Except for this one, single pirate point at a LaGrange point two days transit from the planet itself.”

Amaris set the paper down, and held up a verigraphed holodisc that bore his likeness. “If even one of your warships moves so much as a kilometer from that pirate point, I will transmit the location of the Clan Homeworlds to every man, woman, and child in the Inner Sphere. So you have a choice, Snow Raven Khan. You can die, testing my minefields. You can play your little gambling games or fight me en masse even though this war has grown beyond your ken under terms I have dictated from the start. Or you can go back to your little star cluster in the deep periphery, and live.”

The hated image of the usurper’s progeny flickered once, and then vanished.



Political Vote 15b
Khan McKenna
A) “Monster! We’ll fight you until the stars themselves are burnt to ashes, no matter the terms of your Batchall!” (attack Andurien under Stefan Amaris VII’s terms)
B) “This requires consideration.” (Inform the Sea Fox Khans, and the surviving Ghost Bears)
C) “Such a childish bluff from a man who isn’t even a warrior.” (Proceed as planned, don’t inform the other Clans of the risks)
D) “And live.” (Clan Snow Raven retreats from the Inner Sphere)
E) “And we all shall live.” (Clan Snow Raven, Clan Sea Fox, and Clan Ghost Bear retreat from the Inner Sphere)



********************



Combat Theater Vote 15:
A) Falling Hammer (3-way battle)
Clan Widowmaker has grown increasingly frustrated in the periphery. Their plan to secure a narrow supply corridor through the so-called “Rasalhague Insurgency” in order to allow their isolated units a chance to resupply, have been met with civil disorder and stiff resistance from hidden BattleMech forces. With Clan Burrock hard at work subverting insurgency territory, Khan Kerensky has issued an ultimatum to her forces: secure the supply corridor at all costs, because she will not allow Clan Widowmaker to be beholden to Clan Burrock for supplies.

B) Harmless Rebellion
Clan Ice Hellion has found a loophole and have launched an invasion of the Draconis Combine’s periphery holdings. Because their goal isn’t the conquest of Terra, they hope to secure several swift victories and establish their right to participate in the invasion before the other Home Clans can protest their brash and poorly-planned action.

C) King of the Pirates (3-way battle)
The Pirates of Tortuga are up-in-arms yet again, with the disappearance of the Lady Death and numerous failures to seize control of the desperate pirate bands, an outside force of refugees from the distant Oberon Confederation may be able to seize control of the Dominions and establish a new pirate kingdom for themselves in Tortuga!

D) Larsha under Seige (3-way battle)
Unsatisfied with their invasion of the Duchy of New Syrtis, the Taurian Concordat has also launched a simultaneous invasion against bordering Capellan worlds occupied by the Duchy’s forces. Has the Concordat come to the Confederation’s aid, or is their goal something more insidious?

E) There’s No Way I’ll Lose
Thomas Hogarth (+15 impulse votes) has arrived on Skye to deliver Frederick Steiner’s plan to restore the peoples’ faith in the Commonwealth’s economic recovery: the peaceful reintegration of Skye and the institution of Melissa Steiner-Lestrade as Co-Archon. Unfortunately, a delegation from Task Force Serpent arrived on the very same day to discuss Skye’s future as the cornerstone of a new Terran Hegemony (under the wise and not-at-all insane leadership of Task Force Serpent). The Steel Vipers have demanded that the bewildered Clovis Lestrade and Melissa Steiner grant them the opportunity to prove the merits of their claim by engaging Hogarth and his supporters in single combat.

F) Maelstrom (3-way battle)
Clan Goliath Scorpion has won the bid to capture Tukayyid but a “rogue” element of Clan Widowmaker has launched an invasion anyway, in the hopes of winning the world before the Goliath Scorpions can do so. This is the moment Clan Goliath Scorpion has been waiting for: the world is theirs by Clan law, and the forces of Clan Widowmaker have begun a Grand Melee. The Goliath Scorpions are now free to hunt down the Widowmakers while the ilKhan’s hands are tied.

G) Trial of Position
Mechwarrior Adrian McKenna has been disgraced and even her bloodname can no longer protect her. With nothing to look forward to save a transfer to the Gamma solamha Galaxy, Adrian must prove her fighting spirit and secure a position worthy of her exalted name if she ever wishes to face the soldiers of the New Rim Worlds Republic again.

H) ?????
BLACK BARS BLACK BARS BLACK BARS field test CIA DOCUMENT EFFECT IN FULL EFFECT, DON’T PAY ATTENTION TO THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN, THESE AREN’T THE BLACK BARS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR prototype SERIOUSLY DON’T CLICK ON THESE SPOILERS 331st THEY’LL RUIN THE EFFECT WHY CAN’T YOU JUST READ—OH YEAH YOU CAN’T BECAUSE OF THE SPOILERS Mk. VIII series EVEN MORE BLACK BARS EVEN MORE BLACK BARS EVEN MORE BLACK BARS

I) Kalma-Youngblood Mercenary Company, LLC
The newly minted millionaire Duncan Kalma (and his new friend, Jason Youngblood) have decided to heed the Bounty Hunter’s advice to turn their fortunes into something useful: the creation of a brand-new Mercenary unit! They’ve traveled to Galatea, the Mercenary’s Star, in the hopes of recruiting at least a company before Kalma-Youngblood Mercenary Company, LLC (Name Pending) take on their first contract!



Combat Theater Vote
A) A Falling Hammer
B) Harmless Rebellion
C) King of the Pirates
D) Larsha under Seige
E) There’s No Way I’ll Lose
F) Maelstrom
G) Trial of Position
H) ?????
I) Kalma-Youngblood Mercenary Company, LLC.

PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Jul 22, 2014

Remora
Aug 15, 2010

C) “Such a childish bluff from a man who isn’t even a warrior.” (Proceed as planned, don’t inform the other Clans of the risks)

And I've always been a total sucker for mercs.

MJ12
Apr 8, 2009

Political Vote 15b
Gonna choose B. Clan politics are the best politics.

Combat Theater Vote
Voting H. Look, I can't resist all those black bars and the 'field test' of some sort of new experimental weapon. This sounds amazing.

KnoxZone
Jan 27, 2007

If I die before I Wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Political Vote: D because it is dickish and trollish and just so Clannish and Combat Vote of H because there is no way I don't vote for that.

quantumfoam
Dec 25, 2003

Political Vote 15b
C -the true mongolian/amaris response.

Combat Theater
I -Youngblood needs to be played by Goonsquad just like the crescent hawk games.

Defiance Industries
Jul 22, 2010

A five-star manufacturer


D. The Snow Ravens have always been opportunists at heart; with something like that hanging over their heads they're likely to cut bait, pull back and consolidate rather than risk their entire fleet, since the fleet is the one thing they have to keep them relevant. They will also not tell their allies, to make sure that said allies are there to cover their asses in retreat.

And for fights, E because the Skye-Lyran-Viper triad is still the best part of this continuity's story.

e: Also it's entirely possible that we'll get to see Caesar Steiner murder Thomas Hogarth, just as he has been trying to do ever since he tried to creep on Caesar's mom.

Defiance Industries fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Jul 22, 2014

fool of sound
Oct 10, 2012
B and F

TildeATH
Oct 21, 2010

by Lowtax
D (because that would really rewrite history) and H (of course!).

apostateCourier
Oct 9, 2012


D and H because I'm curious.

GenericServices
Apr 28, 2010
Political Vote 15b
B) “This requires consideration.” (Inform the Sea Fox Khans, and the surviving Ghost Bears)

Because politcking is what Ravens do best (after spaceships and opportunism, anyway) and because the last thing anyone expects from the Clans is reasoned consideration of a problem.

Combat Theater Vote
D) Larsha under Seige

Let's have go check out how this fiasco is going these days.

Artificer
Apr 8, 2010

You're going to try ponies and you're. Going. To. LOVE. ME!!
B and H

I just can't resist mystery, and Clan infighting.

dis astranagant
Dec 14, 2006

C and H. Gotta find out what's going on with that field test, and the destruction of the Snow Raven fleet both weakens the Clans and might wind up costing Amaris more than he thinks.

Artificer
Apr 8, 2010

You're going to try ponies and you're. Going. To. LOVE. ME!!
I like shooty planes and spaceships too much for that. :(

Voyager I
Jun 29, 2012

This is how your posting feels.
🐥🐥🐥🐥🐥
Are any of the clans on that list clans we would be sad watching commit suicide by nuclear minefield?

I'm probably leaning towards one of the low-tech scenarios. We've had some really cool, high-stakes stuff going on, but after watching an orgy of elite pilots in hilariously blinged out mechs I just wanna see some ordinary dudes in the old classics overheating and failing piloting rolls.

Octatonic
Sep 7, 2010

Political Vote 15b
B) “This requires consideration.” (Inform the Sea Fox Khans, and the surviving Ghost Bears)


Combat Theater Vote
G) Trial of Position

Keru
Aug 2, 2004

'n suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us 'n the sky was full of what looked like 'uge bats, all swooping 'n screeching 'n divin' around the ute.
It's gotta be D and I, because Snow Ravens are dicks and their ships are so precious, and I want to see what Jason Youngblood is up to.


But those black bars are tempting.

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Trundel
Mar 13, 2005

:10bux: + :awesomelon: = :roboluv:
- a sound investment!
Gotta go for B and G

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