Battletech The Taurian Navy Timeline

namar13766

Well-known member
I suspect the OWA doesn’t realize it themselves, but the increased use of artillery in their military allows a considerable amount of killing to go on in an impersonal manner, acting as a psychological buffer against their cultural distaste for warfare. Concentrating Suppressive Barrages will be undoubtedly damaging to unit cohesion even with specific training to cope with the situation.

Though I wonder why they don't have any Rocket Artillery Launchers. We saw how easy it is to make Rocket Launchers in OTL, and you're telling me those dense motherfuckers didn't figure out how make artillery versions of this?
 

Atarlost

Well-known member
Though I wonder why they don't have any Rocket Artillery Launchers. We saw how easy it is to make Rocket Launchers in OTL, and you're telling me those dense motherfuckers didn't figure out how make artillery versions of this?

Because rocket artillery isn't efficient. In the longest range rack a rocket is 100 kilograms. A Sniper artillery shell is also 100 kilograms, fires many times farther, and does 20 times as much damage to what it hits and 10 times as much damage to objects within 30 feet. A Sniper with a very conservative for artillery 20 shots will do 400 damage to the hexes it hits and 1200 to the adjacent hexes. On a vehicle and outside a turret this weighs 22 tons. 22 tons of RL-10s will do 440 damage to what they hit if they roll nothing but 12s on the cluster table. This gets worse for rockets the more reasonable your ammo bin size is. A Sniper reaches 18 mapsheets. A RL-10 reaches 18 hexes. A mapsheet is 15 hexes across the short way or 17 across the long way. It is the shortest range tube artillery piece. To get useful artillery ranges rockets require far more propellant in proportion to their warhead than RL-10s. Rocket artillery, being single shot, can not walk its fire. Your first shot with artillery is your least accurate and rockets only get the first shot.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
My head cannon is that Battletech artillery use Electrothermal-chemical technology rather than simple gunpowder charges. This is why they get so much better range than auto-cannon with a similar mass and propellant mass, and also generate so much heat.
 
Late Starleague Era: MoC

Doomsought

Well-known member
Much like the Outworlds Alliance, the Magistracy of Canopus was reliant on trade with the Terran Hegemony. However unlike the OWA this was a purely economic reliance. Much of the Magistracy's economy was based on tourism from the Hegemony. However the other major part of the Magistracy's economy was based on being the favorite location for Terran Hegemony pharmaceutical corporations to outsource labor intensive manufacturing processes. The Magistracy's intact medical industry was something that the Terran Hegemony was in desperate need of.

With their Toursim industry in rapid collapse, they could only focus on expanding their medical industry as fast as possible. It helped that the Taurian Concordat threw them a bone by purchasing materials for their humanitarian aid missions the the Hegemony from the Conopans. One of the biggest boons was the Taurians commissioning several Hospital dropships from Majesty Metals and Manufacturing. The utility of mobile hospitals was not lost on the Terran Hegemony, and orders for hospital ships soon started to flow from both the Terran Hegemony and SLDF.

So long was the recovery period of the Terran Hegemony that multiple successive designs of hospital dropships would be designed by the Canopans for their purchase. The capstone of this design process was the massive Hestia Class Hospital ship, first launched in 2779. The Hestia could not land on planets, instead its facilities were installed into two grav decks wrapped around its cargo holds and smallcraft bays. Despite having over 4000 beds for patient care, the Hestia had an excellent endurance with over 8000 tons of refrigerated cargo for food and medicine, and half and again as much general cargo.

Even after the Terran Hegmony recovered from the medical crisis caused by Ameris's bio weapons, orders for the hospital ships still came in, albeit at a much slower pace. Almost every nation in the inner sphere bought hospital ships to service their militaries and internal disaster relief efforts. Some planetary governors even found buying a small hospital ship and installing it on permanently in a city to be cheaper than building a hospital conventionally, and several Hestias have been converted into space stations to service as the primary medical care centers for sparsely populated planets.

The loss of tourism was not the only impact of the destruction of the Terran hegemony and reduction of the Stare League had on the Canopan economy. Many of the arms manufacturers in the Magistracy sold primarily to the local Star League garrison forces and also relied on the Hegemony for key components. One example was the Krimari Plasma Labs which manufactured and repaired Manpack PPCs and Support PPCs, primarily for the SLDF garrison in the Magistry of Canopus but also sold units to the Free Worlds League, Taurain Concordat, and (when they could afford it) the Magistracy Armed Forces.

The Krimari Plasma Lab were worse off than most, as without political support form the SLDF they were not able to renew the contract they used to import the compact and light weight plasma generators used in Man-Pack PPCs. While they could still manufacture the bulkier Support PPC using their own tooling, they would not be financial viable if they also lost their economic development grants which were based on the number of Canopan citizens that they employed. As a Hail Marry attempt to keep their Manpack PPC assembly lines running, Krimari Plasma Labs attempted to convert their manpack PPCs into vehicle mounted weapons. The MIT-K25 plasma generator used in many light jump jets was chosen as the plasma sourced for the new weapon due to its ubiquitousness, modular design, and the fact they already had the license and tooling to produce them as spare parts of Canopan and SLDF mechs.

The MIT-K25 produced far more plasma than was needed by a single Man-Pack PPC, and the Krimari Plasma Labs needed to develop a method to distribute the plasma to multiple accelerator barrels. After experimentation they settled on a plasma bottle with a rotating deflector at the front and an array of concave plasma deflectors with active focusing at the back. After several iterations of increasing power and enlarging the weapon's cooling sleeve they settled on a device an array of six man-pack PPC barrels that ripple fire twice in rapid succession. Named for its plasma distribution system, the Rotary PPC had the same damage profile as SRM-6 while weighing only a single ton. However it was not without flaws, the weapon was mostly cooling systems by weight as it produced almost as much heat as a ER-PPC. Still, its light weight made it an ideal weapon for Bugmechs which do not have enough weapons to saturate their heatsinks.

The Rotary PPC was not the only military innovation to come out of the Magistracy of Canopus prior to the first succession war. When the Terran Hegemony began experimenting with Enhanced Imaging technology, the production of several key components were outsourced to the Canopans. Canopus neural links, a specialized produce of neural interface components for cybernetics found several suspicious new direct neural interface chips among the orders for Prosthetic components coming out of the SLDF.

With the help of the MIM, they were able to identify the true purpose of these neural interface chips and the Magistracy of Canopus began their own Direct Neural interface program. Lacking the Terran Hegemony's data and experience with deep memory interfaces, the Canopans instead decided to focus on the peripheral nervous system using standard neural links used for both cosmetic and prosthetic cybernetic implants. While the implants used by the Canopan Cybernetic Cockpit System cannot augment the users skills in the same way as Enhanced Imaging systems, the ability to directly feed sensory data combined with using a phantom limb to manipulate virtual controls completely negates the penalty for using cramped cockpits, such as torso mounted cockpits or light cockpits. The Cybernetic Cockpit System was also much safer from its design goals on up and use mostly off the shelf components, allowing its development to be finished by December of 2789 less than a decade after the project began.

This led to both the 2E and 3E variants of the Locust battlemech using compact cockpits in order to make more room for weapons and heat-sinks. Both of the new Locust variants were built on the same production lines, based on the budget of the customer. The 2E used single heat sinks and Extended Range Micro Pulse Lasers imported from the Taurian Concordat, while the 3E was much more expensive due to using double heat sinks and Extended Range Small Pulse Lasers which also suffered to from more greater export restrictions. Because of this the LCT-3E was almost elusively built for the Taurian Concordat.

The new Locust variants were given little attention to compared to the other mech that began production in the Magistracy of Canopus. The Redcross of Canopus, the Star League Redcross and the Concordat Redcross Association worked together to combine the technologies of their respective homelands into the ultimate search and rescue mech. With the devastation of the Terran Hegemony by Stefan Amaris still in recent memory, the Redcross was not only able to receive funding and technology from most of the innershpere, but also secure treaties declaring any attacks on the Redcross Rescuemech a war crime, though at the 'cost' of making it illegal modify the Redcross with armaments.

The stars of the development process were Canopus Medical Tools and Ulsop Robotics, which partnered to design a robotic version of the MASH theater that was compact enough to fit into an industrial mech. The Automated Medical Bay would become Canopus Medical Tools most profitable product and would make it into the top twenty most important inventions of the company responsible for much of the SDS system.

The Redcross would begin production in 2798, three years after the Automated Medical Bay became available on the open market. The Out Worlds Alliance has could only afford to aquire two companies of Redcross rescumechs, which were all concentrated in a disaster response task force servicing their only Hestia Class Orbital Hospital, likewise the Teran Hegemony keeps most of their Redcross's in specialized Disaster relief taskforces, however the Terran Hegemony uses three landing capable hospital dropships in each taskforce. The Taurian Concordat and Federated Suns both assign a company of Redcross battlemechs to each of their combat engineer battalions. The National governments of the Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine are largely uninterested in the Redcross, however many nobles in both nations have bought Redcross Rescue Mechs for either their civil services or personal military forces. The Capelan Confederation and Rimworld Republic have only bought a limited number of Redcross Rescuemech for their national and provincial capitals.

The Canopans also got involved in the development of Battle armor after the Terran Hegemony lost their monopoly on powered armor technology. Based on a jerry-rigged powered armor designed to provide medical support in NBC conditions during the Ameris Civil war. The Corpsman II replaces a medical diagnostic noteputer rigged to a modular weapon's hardpoint with specialized manipulator that have diagnostic sensors built into them and displays their outputs directly onto the Battlearmor's heads up display. Canopus Medical Tools also designed the auto-injector for the Corpsman II to prevent accidents caused by combat medics fumbling through their supplies in adverse conditions. The Corpsman II is bought by everyone in the Inner-sphere that can afford them. The Terran Hegemony is the biggest buyer, having an entire army of powered armor equipped infantry specialized in operating in hostile and contaminated environments. The Corpsman II is also very commonly used by bodyguards for national VIPs.

Cyborg Cockpit System
This direct neural interface technology does not carry any of the penalties of other forms of DNI, but also does not provide any benefits other than negating the penalty from cramped cockpits.

Automated Medical Bay
This robotic medical system provides the same benefits of a MASH without requiring and additional crew. Unlike a conventional MASH system, the Automated Medical Bay Core does not provide a free Medical Pod (the equivalent to an operating theater).
The Automated Medical Bay core weighs 6 tons and occupies 6 critical slots.
Each Medical Pod weighs 1.5 ton and occupies 2 critical slots.

Medical glove
The medical glove is a specialized powered armor/Battle armor manipulator developed for the Corpsman II. Each medical glove has an array of medical sensors woven into its and several medical diagnostic probes that pop out from the wrist. The out puts of the medical sensors pas through a diagnostic computer that is distributed through the forearm, backpack and helmet of the battle armor and its outputs are provided to the heads-up display.
Each manipulator weighs 5kg and is treated as a an armored glove for game-play purposes.

Auto Injector
If placed on the arms, it can be used on others, if placed in the torso it can only be used on the wearer.
An auto injector occupies a single BA slot and weighs 4 kg. Contains 6 syringes, plus 6 syringes per KG of ammunition.

Rotary PPC
Composed of 6 modified Man-pack PPCs, the Rotary PPC uses engine power to rapidly fire twelve bolts of plasma.
Rotary PPCs have 2 point damage groupings.
1/bolt damage, 2S/5M/7L/10E range, 1 ton, 2 crits, 12 heat
Locust-2E
The locust 2E uses a small cockpit and replaces its machine-guns with Taurian Er-Micro Pulse Lasers, which gives it enough room to add two additional single heat sinks and replace the medium laser with a Rotary PPC.

Locust 3E
Produced on the same production line as the locust 2E, the locust 3E mounts 9 double heat sinks in order to replace the 2E's micro pulse lasers with ER-Small Pulse Lasers. The 3E is mainly used by the Taurian Concordat.

Redcross Rescuemech
40 ton industrial mech
Structure: Improved Industrial Frame 6 tons
Engine: Class 160 fusion 6 tons
Jump jets: 4 mp 2 tons
Gyro: 2 tons
Cockpit 3 tons
Armor: 5.5 tons
Search Light, 1LT, 0.5 tons
AMB Core, 6 RT, 6 tons
3 AMB Pod, 6 LT, 4.5 tons
3 AMB Pod, 6 RT, 4.5 tons
Quirks: Improved Sensors, Fine Manipulators

Corpsman II
Light BA (750 kg)
Chassis: 100 kg
Ground: 3 MP 60 kg
Jump 3 MP 75 kg
Manipulators: Medical Gloves 10 kg
Armor: 6 Standard 300 kg
Auto-Injector, LA, 102 Doses, 20 kg
AP Weapons Mount, RA, 5 kg (30 kg capacity)
Extended Life Support, Body, 25 kg
Heat Sensor, Body, 20 kg
Searchlight, Body, 5kg
Mission Equipment, Body, 100 kg

Hestia Hospital ship
80 KT Spheroid Dropship

Hull and Engines subtotal: 17399 tons
Engine: 2 Safe Thrust 10,400 tons
Fuel: 500 tons, 510 tons
Structure: 36 SI 5760 tons
Control Systems: 600 tons
Armor: 866 Ferro Aluminum 129 tons
Heat Sinks: 128 SHS 0 tons

Crew Facilities and Equipment subtotal: 34529 tons
5 Officers, 140 doctors 1450 tons
20 Enlisted, 4 gunners, 500 nurses 3668 tons
27 First Class Guest Quarters 270 tons
3900 Inpatient Recovery Beds 19500 tons
1300 Intensive Care units 9100 tons
40 Operating Theaters (MASH core) 140 tons
Triage Bay (1000 persons) 200 tons
1340 Paramedic Equipment (Listed for Costs only) 0 tons
2 Grav Decks (120 meters) 200 tons

Weapons: 72 tons, 120 heat
All facings
4 Light Point Defense Lasers, 12 tons, 20 heat

Cargo Bays (9 doors)
Bays 1-3 (30 smallcraft) 3 bay doors 6000 tons
Bays 4-6 (general cargo) 3 bay doors, 12000 tons
Bays 7-9 (8700 tons of refrigerated cargo) 3 bay doors, 10000 tons
(Each bay is divided evenly into three smaller bays by bulkheads, displayed are the total capacities for each bay type)
 
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namar13766

Well-known member
Rotary PPC
Composed of 6 modified Man-pack PPCs, the Rotary PPC uses engine power to rapidly fire twelve bolts of plasma.

1/bolt damage, 2S/5M/7L/10E range, 1 ton, 12 heat

Is it like 12 heat if you fire 12 bolts, 12 heat per bolt, or 12 heat no matter how many bolts they fire? Also, how many crits does it take up?
 

Atarlost

Well-known member
The RPPC is icky looking. If it rolls a hit location per shot that's an average of 9.3 hit location rolls per hit. That's both a lot of rolling and a lot of chances to crit. This is getting into the realms where it runs into both delay of game and overpowered territory, especially when it gets into the hands of people with double heatsinks, which it's doing through trade with the Taurians. If other factions have similar power creep the latter concern can be discounted, but delay of game can't cancel out into a new balance like power creep.

This is compounded by the 2d6 system Battletech uses. If it used 1d12 or 1d20 you could throw a fistfull of dice, but with 2d6 you have to have color matched pairs and have to sort them out after rolling or roll each hit location one at a time. It was a good system in its day when cubes were the only ubiquitous dice, but there's a reason LRMs don't roll a location for every missile and a reason people who aren't playing on Megamek often don't like large LBX autocannons. You can mount at least twice as many RPPCs as LB-20Xs when using DHS and they require more than half the rolling. When technology diffuses enough that they see use in heat bracket management paired with ERLLs they'll be pretty monstrous to deal with.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
This is getting into the realms where it runs into both delay of game and overpowered territory, especially when it gets into the hands of people with double heatsinks, which it's doing through trade with the Taurians. If other factions have similar power creep the latter concern can be discounted, but delay of game can't cancel out into a new balance like power creep.
Around the same time the RPPC comes out, Lubalin Ballistics has released the entire LBX lineup for mass production and is in the process of creating a 20% different copycat of the prototype MH-15s they have received intelligence on. Krupp Armament Works and Skobel MechWorks are racing each-other on the last blocker for mass producing clan-tech LRMs and the Federated suns have already started producing slightly less advanced missile launchers based on prototype clantech missile tech that fell off the back of a truck while half the Teran Hegemony was being evacuated.
 

Atarlost

Well-known member
Around the same time the RPPC comes out, Lubalin Ballistics has released the entire LBX lineup for mass production and is in the process of creating a 20% different copycat of the prototype MH-15s they have received intelligence on. Krupp Armament Works and Skobel MechWorks are racing each-other on the last blocker for mass producing clan-tech LRMs and the Federated suns have already started producing slightly less advanced missile launchers based on prototype clantech missile tech that fell off the back of a truck while half the Teran Hegemony was being evacuated.
That means everyone is power creeping, but while power creep can cancel out, complexity creep only compounds. Of those examples, the RPPC I have already commented on, the LBX autocannons are overly complex but blame can be diverted to FASA, the Mech Howitzer is acceptable, and Clantech LRMs are acceptable as long as everyone keeps to a gentleman's agreement to use the largest racks possible instead of spamming LRM-5s and fault for allowing the LRM rack producing the most rolls per turn per ton of weapon to also be more efficient can again be diverted to FASA.

You have posted rules with your fiction. I have critiqued them as rules. If they're not meant to be looked at as rules I apologize, but also do not understand their presence. Limited and deliberate power creep has its place and I admit is thematically appropriate in your AU, but complexity creep is never a virtue and when starting from a system as complex as Battletech is absolutely a vice.
 
Late Starleague Era: RWR

Doomsought

Well-known member
As a result of the Ameris Civil War, the Rim Worlds Republic was the only periphery state to remain part of the star league. The Rim Worlds Republic was saddled with extreme war debts, and it was the good fortune of the Terran Hegemony that Aleksandr Kerensky decided to keep that industry, especially the shipyards, intact. Even before Stephan Ameris began embezzling technology from the Terran Hegemony, the Rim Worlds Republic had a modern and extensive industry, second to none of the Great House states in sophistication if not volume.

Following the end of the Ameris Civil war, the vast majority of this industry was turned towards rebuilding the Terran Hegemony. What production wasn't being used to directly produce materials needed by worlds ravaged by the war was being sold to any one who could afford it in the Great houses and the periphery.

This situation persisted for over thirty years. During this period, the Rim World's Republic did not have the budget to spare on any project that could not aid in repaying their dept. Rim World's saw a constant labor shortage which lead to the deployment of automation technologies in every manufacturing sector. One of the key developments was the implementation of robotically assisted shipyards based on stolen designs of Terran Hegemony ARTS drydocks. The combination or a dumbed down ARTS assembly system and human work crews allowed them to build faster and cheaper than anyone else, especially dropships and naval escorts.

The process of repaying their war debts slowly but surely changed the Rim Worlds Republic's reputation from that of traitors to being a source of cheap manufacturing with a questionable quality. Weapons manufactures in the Rim Worlds Republic leaned into this trend and began designing weapons systems specifically to be sold to people on a budget.

With half the Inner Sphere switching to using DART missiles exclusively instead of capital missiles, there became a large supply of capital missiles available for cheap to periphery states. Roe Weapons Systems decided to cash in on this transfer by developing a cheap single shot capital missile launch systems that would appeal to periphery states and planetary governors that operate on a tight budget.

Based on ancient VLS cell technology, each one shot missile launcher is little more than a ten ton targeting system, a box with several flame diverters and a gantry to hold the missile in place until it is fired. Because of this simple system, one shot capital missile launchers can be modified to launch a smaller missile by simply replacing the gantry. Unfortunately the lack of an advanced launch system and the smaller targeting system means that one shot capital missile launchers have a shorter range than standard ones. This flaw does not bother customers in the price bracket that One Shot Capital missile launchers are aimed at, instead they are far more interested in the fact that you can replace a mech bay with three One-Shot White Sharks.

Finmark Heavy Optics, after effectively loosing their patents on subcapital lasers decided to create an even smaller and cheaper anti-orbit laser weapon. The sub-capital laser was already what most considered to the the lower boundary of what was possible for an anti-orbit laser, and their research attempts struggled until well after the war reparations were complete. In they end, they had to make compromises, many compromises, but they still managed to deliver a ground portable anti-orbit laser.

The miniature subcapital laser uses extremely large but light weight mirrors to focus their beam, and in order to function with the proper accuracy and speed these mirrors cannot be armored at all. In addition to having one of their vital components exposed and vulnerable, the mirror array cannot focus a tight beam at short or long range, and the laser looses half of its power once it reaches the lower edge of space. However, sometimes it is the case that it does not matter how well the bear danced, but the fact that the bear dances at all. This is very much the case with the miniature sub-capital laser, which weighs a mere fifth the tonnage of the light sub-capital laser and likewise costs a fraction of the price.

The primary platform that Finmark Heavy Optics designed for the Miniture Sub-Capital Laser was the Umbrella wheeled combat vehicle. Although dismissed as useless by the militaries of the Inner Sphere, planetary militias and periphery states quickly noticed that it you can buy ten Umbrellas for the cost of a single laser bunker. While the first Umbrella crews worried about their ability to survive through a single battle, their worries were quickly put to rest in an ironic manner: its primary weapon is simply so vulnerable that most opponents would simply strike an Umbrella with just enough firepower to mission kill it, and then ignore the toothless laser truck.

Diplass Technologies also attempted to sell a battlemech using the miniature sub-capital laser called the Cloudwatcher. Unfortunately for Diplass, the Cloudwatcher did not manage to land in the same market niche as the Umbrella, and had poor sales. They quickly came out with a second variant of the Cloudwatcher that was armed with an MH-20 instead, but the mechs reputation had already been spoiled by its launch.

Robotically Assisted Shipyard
Within the scope of content covered by game rules, a robotically assisted shipyard is identical to a ARTS enhanced pressurized Naval Repair Facility combined with an ARTS enhanced Cargo hold with at least 10% the capacity of the repair facility to represent the component staging and assembly area.

Miniature Subcapital laser
At short and long range, miniature sub capital lasers deal half their medium range damage as area of effect damage do to trouble focusing. At extreme range they deal half their medium range damage.

If the location a miniature sub capital laser is mounted on receives damage, the weapon to receive an automatic critical hit, even if the armor is not breached. The Miniture Sub-capital laser otherwise follows the same rules as sub-capital lasers.

One Shot Capital Missile Launchers
In order to service those who wanted to field capital missiles for a low price, the Rim Worlds republic developed a series of one shot capital missile launchers. One-shot capital missile launchers can be reloaded after battle using a smallcraft and several crew in space suites to transfer a capital missile from cargo and reset the quick release gantry.

ModelHeatDamageMinShort
Medium
Long ExtremeTonsCritical slots
MSCL166A/12/6A/6491827363216
Barracuda (OS)102C-1525354540-
White Shark (OS)153C-1020304050-
Killer Whale (OS)204C-1020304060-
Umbrella
60 ton wheeled combat vehicle
Structure: 6 tons
Engine: Class 160 Standard 9 tons
Control System: 3 tons
Heat Sinks: 16 single, 6 tons
Armor: 6 tons
MSCL, F, 32 tons, 16 heat
Improved Targeting (Extreme)

Barracuda Truck
60 ton wheeled vehicle
Structure: 6 tons
Engine: class 160 ICE 9 tons
Control System: 3 tons
Armor: 2 tons
One-Shot Barracuda Launcher, 40 tons

Cloudwatcher
CWL-3X
75 ton mech
Structure: 7.5 tons
Engine: Class 300 XL Fusion 9.5 tons
Jump Jets: 3 tons
Gyro: 3 tons
Cockpit: standard 3 tons
Armor: 8 tons
Heat Sinks: 16 SHS 6 tons
MSCL, 11RA/5RT, 32 tons, 16 heat
SPL, 1 LA, 1 ton, 2 heat
SRM-4, 1 LT, 2 tons
SRM ammo (25) 1 ton
Design Quirk: Anti-air Targeting, Bad Reputation
Variants:
CWL-3FK: replace the MSCL with a MH-20, 4 tons of ammo, 8 tons of armor and a fourth jump jet.
 
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namar13766

Well-known member
Why not call it the Micro-Subcapital Laser, instead of the Miniature?

Also, didn't you have a Rotary PPC in the Battletech Thread?
Rotary PPC
Multiple support PPCs attached to a common mount for usage on a battlemech. Rotary PPCs have the same range as and a similar weight-to-damage profile to SRM, but run hotter and are a bit more bulky.

WeaponHeat DamageShortMediumLongTonsSpace
RPPC-332/bolt3691.52
RPPC-662/bolt3 69 23
 

namar13766

Well-known member
Will Pirate nations like the Tortuga Dominions and Circinus Federation be slapped down in this timeline? Because I really don't see them being allowed to exist with navies still a thing.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
Will Pirate nations like the Tortuga Dominions and Circinus Federation be slapped down in this timeline? Because I really don't see them being allowed to exist with navies still a thing.
They exist as long as they are useful as deniable assets, some have even received letters of marque from stronger nations so they don't get killed when captured. This is part of the reason that the Taurain Concordat was leery of doing any critical trade with the Out Worlds Alliance, the Federated Suns have issued quite a few letters of marque. Only around 40% of the pirates that use Tortuga as a home port have license from the federated Suns, but that combined with Tortuga's proximity with the Federated Suns is enough to stop the Taurians from sending in a fleet to solve things permanently. At least the license privateers can generally be relied upon not to rough people up too much and are more likely to surrender if caught by a warship.
 

namar13766

Well-known member
Does this mean each of the Great Houses (Davions, Liaos, Mariks, Steiners, and Camerons) will also make some unique tech in the alternate Succession Wars era?
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
Does this mean each of the Great Houses (Davions, Liaos, Mariks, Steiners, and Camerons) will also make some unique tech in the alternate Succession Wars era?
Oh yes, and its driving the Taurians nuts when it comes to mech combat. As I've already hinted, the Taruans get Er-pulse lasers and that makes them very happy on the energy weapon front. But the Federated Suns and Terran Hegemony both have their own worrying ideas of with can be done with missile launchers.
So some of these things are pretty cool. Especially the PPC tech ones. Is it okay if they are used as a basis for other weapons in different story/quest?
Go ahead, I have even more stuff on the general BTech thread.
 

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