Sorry about the long delay. I've been preparing for a job, and it's been pretty hectic. The vote is still on for the MekHQ campaign, so if you want in, you have
five days.
As we wait for the clock to tick down, let's do a little reading on the universe which we'll be playing in.
The Inner SphereImagine a sphere that extends around our Earth for about 240 light-years, a 3d sphere at that. Essentially, this is what the sphere is all about. The absolute limit of that is also essentially the limits of civilization, and you'll be hard-pressed to find any habitable clusters of worlds outside the sphere. There are a sort of outskirts of planets that circle the Inner Sphere, which is known as the Periphery - they are where you may find the pirates, outcasts or colonists who have lost contact with the sphere. North of the Inner Sphere, and about a good year and a half's travel away lie the Clan Homeworlds, a cluster of systems home to a good few hundred million citizens - all of which share a burning hatred for the Inner Sphere.
The Inner Sphere before the Clan Invasion. Not pictured: The countless battles and skirmishes. With the map out of the way, let's take a look at each of the factions, going clockwise.
Draconis Combine: The Draconis Combine is essentially Feudal Japan in space, with some elements of other Terran nations like Denmark and Sweden thrown in for good measure. Ruled by the Coordinator (traditionally of Kurita birth), the Combine rigidly follows feudal Japanese rituals, and that extends to their military. Inspired in part by the WWII-era Japanese, their military are fairly well-trained, if disorganised. Remember how I said that they follow Japanese traditions? Mechwarriors from the Combine tend to see themselves as samurai, and will act accordingly in battle. As such, their behaviour in battle tend to go two ways; they may either prefer to fight in a one-to-one duel, or just go all out in one blazing charge in their overwhelming desire to fight and die for the Kuritan Dragon.
House: Kurita
Tactics: Officers duel. Non-Officers go for suicide charges.
The Federated Suns/Federated Commonwealth: In the harsh world of Battletech, there are very few "good guys". The FedSuns are one of those factions that more or less appears to be the middle-ground. Inspired by Feudal England, and WWII-era western countries, the FedSuns can be seen as one of the better factions in the Inner Sphere as it is, mainly due that they are almost the Goldilocks Federation - not too aggressive, not too corrupt, yet not too peace-seeking or pure. They are just right. However, because of their neutrality they also have a middling economy (which implodes every time the FedSuns are in a war), and their 'mech technology is just above-average as well, and their military is something that can be respected. Led by House Davion, if you want an easy game, you play the Federated Suns.
House: Davion
Tactics: Combined-arms, with BattleMechs taking the stage.
Capellan Confederation: Space Commies. While the Capellan Confederation may appear to be very small compared to her neighbours, this is only due to a massive proximity of planets ruled by the House Liao. They also boast a gigantic population in these planets that can rival any other faction's. They are usually on the defensive, as thanks to fiction writers, the Confederation are the punching bags of the Federated Suns. Their numbers may be large, but they are very disorganised - this tends to have the effect that most pilots in the Inner Sphere may have trouble aiming at the Capellans while laughing. Inspired mainly by Communist China. The Confederation could do many things, unfortunately they are usually on the decline and ruled by Maximilion Liao, a man who is insane, yet strategically sound at best.
House: Liao
Tactics: Tend to only go for the weakest targets, and will break if faced with overwhelming firepower or numbers.
Free Worlds League: Not the most talked about faction in the Inner Sphere, the FWL is still a major superpower with reasons mainly to do with its economic powerhouse being the second best in the sphere. Inspired by Civil War-era America, Mexico and Texas, the Free Worlds League is very fractious and very prone to breaking into civil wars, netting them the title of "NO, YOU SHUT UP!" Faction. In this respect, they are like the FedSuns, if they like stabbing and screaming at themselves.
House: Marik
Tactics: Very chivalrous: if a rival mechwarrior is down, the FWL will usually wait for the pilot to get back up before fighting them, and any hostages they take will be treated decently. They also use combined-arms more than any other faction.
Lyran Commonwealth/Lyran Alliance: The Lyrans are not known for compromising. Indeed, it is a joke that their scout lances are comprised of nothing but Atlas, a 100-ton 'mech that is slow and heavy. This is only a half-joke in truth, thanks to the Lyrans having the best economy in the Inner Sphere, and also having the biggest preference for having bigger 'mechs than everyone else. Their vast profits are very much needed however, as they also own the smallest amount of factories that are capable of producing battlemechs. Inspired by Medieval and WW1 Germany, with some Italian Renaissance thrown in for good measure. Mostly well-known for one of their Archons, Katrina Steiner, who will backstab your mother, backstab your grandfather and blame it on you, before having you backstabbed before you can prove your innocence.
House: Steiner
Tactics: Nothing more than a slow, crushing attack that can be compared to an elephant stamping on an ant. Will panic and attempt to flee if perceived odds are against them. Higher-ups can be very incompetent.
That's it for now. I may post another update tomorrow focusing instead on four distinct eras of the Inner Sphere: Star-League Era, Fourth Succession War, the Clan Invasion, and the FedCom Civil War. Might do the Word of Blake era too, but that's only if there's enough demand for it.
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Topic: MekHQ - "Just how does it work?" edition (Read 76871 times)