Post by Malcadon on Jul 18, 2015 6:01:43 GMT
In a nutshell, I was never a fan of the Clans, with their screwy culture over-powered omni-mech, nor the equally obnoxious World of Blake zealots, and the general post-Helm Memory Core era. Basically, I want to keep the setting back in the Succession Wars Era, but with some changes...
First off, the the Inner Sphere is a lot more fragmented than in any of the official sources. The rulers during this Succession Wars are a lot of petty despots. Their nations are more akin to the Periphery States and Bandit Kingdoms, then the major lords of the official setting. In this setting, it is possible to take more worlds after taking the capital planet of a local lord and calming his/her holdings as a spoil of war, where in the official setting, the Succession Wars was just a drawn-out tug o' war with no real gains.
The five major Successor States (now just called "states") that ruled during Succession Wars (now called the "Unification Wars") -- Capellan Confederation, Draconis Combine, Federated Suns, Free Worlds League and Lyran Commonwealth -- are just old Star League Era political regions used by Traders to distinguish whole areas in the Inner Sphere that is constantly changing flags; The Terran Hegemony is included as the core region of the Inner Sphere. Before its collapse, the Star League was a representative republic without any heretical rulers, but members of the military took over the states to maintain order. At the time, people altered their own DNA (and used cybernetics) to be better at their jobs and/or hobbies. Members of the military were given the reflexes and intelligence needed to be superior fighters. As the war dragged on, the facilities needed to produce superior fighters from the general populous dwindled, as they were major targets. Without a means to produce more super-soldiers, hereditary order became the new normal. The right to rule is based on one's genetic purity, but in this dark age, it is hard to truly prove ones purity, but if challenged, it challenges one's genetic predisposition to be an effective fighter. In truth, most lords are genetically diluted in some fashion -- more so, their heads!
Since colonial expansion effectively mixed ethnic culture, and time created new ones, none of these areas are pigeonholed reflections of old Earth cultures. The Draconis Combine might have a slight Japanese influence, but it is subtle, and at no point would you see people acting like characters in an old samurai movie as a normal lifestyle. They should have their own unique culture that developed in its own. Bus since this is a Succession Wars Era setting, things are going to have a Used Future/The Apunkalypse vibe about it.
Just like the Succession Wars, Unification Wars knocked the Star League back into an age of barbarianism, were industrial and educational centers, along with major populous were getting whipped of the map. At some point, a network of Merchants, Jumpship Captains and Hyper-pulse Generator Operators came together to form a union -- ComStar -- to prevent the deplorable tactics used in the early conflicts. If a ruler oversteps his or her bounds by braking the Ares Compact (there was no formal agreement by any government to warrant this as a "Convention"), their worlds would be cutoff to all trade and communication. This could also cause rebellion with the local populous and a general exodus of key business and military personnel. They only tolerate the ongoing conflict, as they know they cant do much to stop it, and too much embargoes would hurt them more then it would hurt the lords. In war, they would not act on an attack on military targets (including military Dropships), but they would act on an attack on or around a Jumpship, or an attack on civilian targets, if it feel important -- unfortunately, ComStar can be indifferent to human suffering. Embargos for minor offenses might last a few years, or get dismissed with a warning, if at all (after much bribing and bargaining). Major offenses could last for several decades, if not permanently. They are not a quasi-religious cargo-cult order based on Earth. Nor do they assassinate academics to deny technological advancements to irresponsible despots -- they would rather recruit them instead. They are an informal alliance that quickly became a powerful institution with a major influence in trade, banking and communication. They are powerful and stable enough to maintain their own tightly regulated economic system that is the universal medium used throughout the Inner Sphere: the ComStar Note, or C-Bill.
Just like in Battletech, when a warlord wants to take over a planet, he would have to arrange transportation of his forces to that planet. Most rules own dropships, but not Jumpships. As 'mechs are powerful, a regiment-sized is needed to takeout a planetary garrison of conventional forces. If one could takeout or drive off an enemy 'mech unit, the victors can lay clam to the planet. The objectives of war include: industrial centers; fresh water; minerals; and weapon/armor stockpiles. There are also the occasional treasure hunt for Lostech -- long lost Star League supply depots.
When it comes to Battlemechs, they are, for the most part, 3025-era machines. To keep thing flexible, weapons, equipment and whole limbs can be swapped-out and replaced fairly quickly, similar to an clan omnimech. They are old heirlooms form the Star League, rebuilt and Jerry-rigged with inferior parts over time. An old Shadow Hawk up against mint-condition Shadow Hawk, with pilots of equal skill, would loose most of the time. Lostech use much of the same equipment list and stats and as the clans, being lighter and more effective. Items slot-eating items like endo steel and ferro-fibrous armor are not used, including a number of other non-combat equipment. (I'm also working on a new critical hit system that use a lot less chitical slots.) Rules for handheld weapons and shields. Better rules for physical combat (including making it a Pilot roll, or its own skill). New systems include wheeled/tracked feet, and hoverskirts in the feet for boosted speed over level ground. Light 'mechs can benefit form small cockpits, at the cost of a number of safety equipment (ejection seats, lifesupport, weaker armor, etc.), while heavy 'mechs can use armored or command cockpits. A general overhaul on the equipment lists. The use of a deployment map for the conflict and to determine artillery and communication ranges (1 hex = .5km/1 map), with the normal battle maps used for combat engagements (1 hex = 30m). As usual, combat ranges are short. In the published rules, they never really explained this; I have my own unobtanium gimmick...
Much like how Mobile Suit Gundam use Minovsky Particle to disrupt sensors and communication systems (and a whole host of other things), and Fang of the Sun Dougram use Nebula-X (an irregular EM field created by Deloyer's binary suns) to the same effect, this reworked Battletech setting use a type of unobtanium called omega-photons. Battlemechs with the right generators, can project a field of omega-photons over the battlefield. As noted, omega-photons sensors and communication systems to the point of limiting combat ranges to line-of-sight. A third skill, Communications (Comm), becomes a new essential skill. A Comm roll can be used to spot a target who is behind cover, act as a spotter for artillery and indirect fire, or to make any radio communication, and is rolled like a Gunnery roll to shoot. Also, colored/strobing flares would become an essential means of visual communication.
I have other ideas, but I would post them as soon I have my notes in order.
First off, the the Inner Sphere is a lot more fragmented than in any of the official sources. The rulers during this Succession Wars are a lot of petty despots. Their nations are more akin to the Periphery States and Bandit Kingdoms, then the major lords of the official setting. In this setting, it is possible to take more worlds after taking the capital planet of a local lord and calming his/her holdings as a spoil of war, where in the official setting, the Succession Wars was just a drawn-out tug o' war with no real gains.
The five major Successor States (now just called "states") that ruled during Succession Wars (now called the "Unification Wars") -- Capellan Confederation, Draconis Combine, Federated Suns, Free Worlds League and Lyran Commonwealth -- are just old Star League Era political regions used by Traders to distinguish whole areas in the Inner Sphere that is constantly changing flags; The Terran Hegemony is included as the core region of the Inner Sphere. Before its collapse, the Star League was a representative republic without any heretical rulers, but members of the military took over the states to maintain order. At the time, people altered their own DNA (and used cybernetics) to be better at their jobs and/or hobbies. Members of the military were given the reflexes and intelligence needed to be superior fighters. As the war dragged on, the facilities needed to produce superior fighters from the general populous dwindled, as they were major targets. Without a means to produce more super-soldiers, hereditary order became the new normal. The right to rule is based on one's genetic purity, but in this dark age, it is hard to truly prove ones purity, but if challenged, it challenges one's genetic predisposition to be an effective fighter. In truth, most lords are genetically diluted in some fashion -- more so, their heads!
Since colonial expansion effectively mixed ethnic culture, and time created new ones, none of these areas are pigeonholed reflections of old Earth cultures. The Draconis Combine might have a slight Japanese influence, but it is subtle, and at no point would you see people acting like characters in an old samurai movie as a normal lifestyle. They should have their own unique culture that developed in its own. Bus since this is a Succession Wars Era setting, things are going to have a Used Future/The Apunkalypse vibe about it.
Just like the Succession Wars, Unification Wars knocked the Star League back into an age of barbarianism, were industrial and educational centers, along with major populous were getting whipped of the map. At some point, a network of Merchants, Jumpship Captains and Hyper-pulse Generator Operators came together to form a union -- ComStar -- to prevent the deplorable tactics used in the early conflicts. If a ruler oversteps his or her bounds by braking the Ares Compact (there was no formal agreement by any government to warrant this as a "Convention"), their worlds would be cutoff to all trade and communication. This could also cause rebellion with the local populous and a general exodus of key business and military personnel. They only tolerate the ongoing conflict, as they know they cant do much to stop it, and too much embargoes would hurt them more then it would hurt the lords. In war, they would not act on an attack on military targets (including military Dropships), but they would act on an attack on or around a Jumpship, or an attack on civilian targets, if it feel important -- unfortunately, ComStar can be indifferent to human suffering. Embargos for minor offenses might last a few years, or get dismissed with a warning, if at all (after much bribing and bargaining). Major offenses could last for several decades, if not permanently. They are not a quasi-religious cargo-cult order based on Earth. Nor do they assassinate academics to deny technological advancements to irresponsible despots -- they would rather recruit them instead. They are an informal alliance that quickly became a powerful institution with a major influence in trade, banking and communication. They are powerful and stable enough to maintain their own tightly regulated economic system that is the universal medium used throughout the Inner Sphere: the ComStar Note, or C-Bill.
Just like in Battletech, when a warlord wants to take over a planet, he would have to arrange transportation of his forces to that planet. Most rules own dropships, but not Jumpships. As 'mechs are powerful, a regiment-sized is needed to takeout a planetary garrison of conventional forces. If one could takeout or drive off an enemy 'mech unit, the victors can lay clam to the planet. The objectives of war include: industrial centers; fresh water; minerals; and weapon/armor stockpiles. There are also the occasional treasure hunt for Lostech -- long lost Star League supply depots.
When it comes to Battlemechs, they are, for the most part, 3025-era machines. To keep thing flexible, weapons, equipment and whole limbs can be swapped-out and replaced fairly quickly, similar to an clan omnimech. They are old heirlooms form the Star League, rebuilt and Jerry-rigged with inferior parts over time. An old Shadow Hawk up against mint-condition Shadow Hawk, with pilots of equal skill, would loose most of the time. Lostech use much of the same equipment list and stats and as the clans, being lighter and more effective. Items slot-eating items like endo steel and ferro-fibrous armor are not used, including a number of other non-combat equipment. (I'm also working on a new critical hit system that use a lot less chitical slots.) Rules for handheld weapons and shields. Better rules for physical combat (including making it a Pilot roll, or its own skill). New systems include wheeled/tracked feet, and hoverskirts in the feet for boosted speed over level ground. Light 'mechs can benefit form small cockpits, at the cost of a number of safety equipment (ejection seats, lifesupport, weaker armor, etc.), while heavy 'mechs can use armored or command cockpits. A general overhaul on the equipment lists. The use of a deployment map for the conflict and to determine artillery and communication ranges (1 hex = .5km/1 map), with the normal battle maps used for combat engagements (1 hex = 30m). As usual, combat ranges are short. In the published rules, they never really explained this; I have my own unobtanium gimmick...
Much like how Mobile Suit Gundam use Minovsky Particle to disrupt sensors and communication systems (and a whole host of other things), and Fang of the Sun Dougram use Nebula-X (an irregular EM field created by Deloyer's binary suns) to the same effect, this reworked Battletech setting use a type of unobtanium called omega-photons. Battlemechs with the right generators, can project a field of omega-photons over the battlefield. As noted, omega-photons sensors and communication systems to the point of limiting combat ranges to line-of-sight. A third skill, Communications (Comm), becomes a new essential skill. A Comm roll can be used to spot a target who is behind cover, act as a spotter for artillery and indirect fire, or to make any radio communication, and is rolled like a Gunnery roll to shoot. Also, colored/strobing flares would become an essential means of visual communication.
I have other ideas, but I would post them as soon I have my notes in order.