Origin of 'mech families?

Pages: 1
Venom
09/28/08 04:00 PM
12.217.217.42

Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
I am starting a game with some friends to ease them into the history of the IS during the age of war and I was wondering how 'mech families came to pass.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.
Christopher_Perkins
09/29/08 05:59 AM
24.125.201.167

Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
First off... TTBMK "Mech Families" is a community term...

Second, the Families of mechs can come about quite easily.

1: Same Design team designs the exterior look of the mech, so the designs look the same:
OOC some designs are families in Universe because FASA Borrowed the general outline of a unit from an Anime...
The Stinger, Wasp, Stinger LAM, Wasp LAM, Valkyrie, Phoenix Hawk, Phoenix Hawk LAM were all derived from a family of designs depicted in the Art for the SuperDimension Fortress Macross series from Studio Nue... as was the Family of Designs that gave us the Rifleman, And Warhammer...
The Shadow Hawk, Griffin, Wolverine, and BattleMaster were all derived from a family of designs from the Dougram Anime... since the masters were lost in a fire, it is unlikely that we will ever see the Anime that inspired these BattleTech Mechs.
this is why they can no longer use the original Artwork due to FASA's American Liscence to Reproduce the models not being enough to reuse and/or integrate the art/intelectual property

OOC Similar Families of Designs also come about because of the real world artist that did the work for FASA, FanPro or Catalyst.

IC: many designs were built by the same Company, or, in some cases, a different company took an abandoned design and improvised off of it, leaving the lines roughly the same while changing the loadout and name.



Another thing that can be called a "Family of Designs" are the Variants of the same basic chassis

Design the One Mech... (TR 3025)
Then you design different load outs for it using the same basic Chassis (RS 3025 & 3026)
Then you Upgrade the Weaponry and Armour while retaining the same basic chassis (TR 3050 & RS 3050)
Then you alter the chassis for advanced materiels, keeping the same general look and layout (TR 3050, TR 3055 & RS 3050, RS Upgrades, RS 3067)
Then You Alter the Look of the Design, while improving the capabilities (TRO Project Phoenix RS Phoenix, etc)
Christopher Robin Perkins

It is my opinion that all statements should be questioned, digested, disected, tasted, and then either spit out or adopted... RHIP is not a god given shield
Venom
09/29/08 02:58 PM
12.217.217.42

Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
Sorry, I ment families who own 'mechs. How did these evolve and what is their place in the armed forces of the Great Houses?
Christopher_Perkins
09/30/08 04:26 AM
24.125.201.167

Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
:blink:
:blink:

Ok, the origin of most Mech holding Families is that they started out serving their various houses, eventually earning enough to buy the the Mech that they drove in the service of the House from the House, or In certain instances, the family was awarded outright ownership of the mech. It is from this pool that the majority of a Houses Nobles Sprung. While Most Mech Holding families are Nobles, and Many Noble Families hold at least a Mech, this is by no means an absolute.

Relatively few Families were able to Purchase BattleMechs Outright without first holding a commission, warrant, or being a senior NCO in the service of their House, or Having demonstrated some other service to the Realm. Remember, BattleMechs are Military Weapons, even if you were able to Afford an M1 Abrams (or your countries best Land Warfare Vehicle), it is very unlikely that your Country would allow you to BUY it.

The Core of the Mech Holding Families are actually Owners of Mechs more in a Public Capacity than a Private Capacity due to them administering from 1000 km^2 (roughly an american county) to Multiple Planets for the Ruling House. As such they can afford the BattleMechs due to Tax Revenues from the Region, and are permitted the right to Own BattleMechs due to their Responsibilities to Defend and Police the regions that they control. This is why I do not consider Mech Ownership by Nobles that have a Landhold that actually Consists of a Factory, Company, or actual piece of Land PRIVATE owners of Mechs.

It was the Landholding Families, Lessor Noble Families, Civilians, and Corporations that the Republic of the Sphere denied and/or limited the right to bear arms (i.e. own military hardware such as battlemechs) after the end of the Chaos that lasted from 3067 to 3081.
Christopher Robin Perkins

It is my opinion that all statements should be questioned, digested, disected, tasted, and then either spit out or adopted... RHIP is not a god given shield
Christopher_Perkins
09/30/08 04:39 AM
24.125.201.167

Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
Mech Holding Families are the core of their House's Military.

Many Houses Start their MechWarriors out at a Rank Equivalent to Sergeant (E-5 in the current US Armed Forces) Those MechWarriors that are able to enlist in their Houses service and bring their own (or their families own) BattleMech to serve their House are Often Allowed to start service at the Rank of Master Sergeant (Kurita - Talon Sergeant is the actual Rank)

MechWarriors are, for the most part, going to be Academy Graduates. Only in rare instances would you find someone that had not graduated from an Academy piloting a BattleMech. And for the Most Part, only Members of Mech Holding Families (or other nobles) were permitted to Enroll in the Academies.

there is a Limited number of people that were trained by the regional Training Battalions (not to be confused with Academy Training Battalions that are really the Academies Cadet Cadre) Note Graduates of the Regional Training Battalions will only rarely, if ever, be promoted to officer grade and I woudl say only on the Basis of Merit.

Then there is the Officer Corps which is trained at the Academies and Universities of the InnerSphere. and will be generally drawn from those with Privilege... This was at one time very pronounced in Steiner Space because it was assumed that Political Leaders had the leader ship capabilities to lead men into Battles... This Breif Period Scarred the Popular Image of the Steiner Armed Forces for Life.
Christopher Robin Perkins

It is my opinion that all statements should be questioned, digested, disected, tasted, and then either spit out or adopted... RHIP is not a god given shield
NeverSayNever
09/30/08 05:02 AM
92.228.159.78

Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
Quote:

Sorry, I ment families who own 'mechs. How did these evolve and what is their place in the armed forces of the Great Houses?





How about families with an aristocratic background?

Do you remember the classic battletech background story line, you know, the canon BT lore like it has been described in the old classic BT house books?

These old house books are Out Of Print (OOP) stuff, but some of these old house books should be still available via a free [at least AFAIK and IIRC, it's been a while since I last visited the download area, sorry] Adobe PDF (viewer software required) file download at:

http://www.classicbattletech.com/

[downloads section]


If I recall correctly at least some of the members of a great house's aristocracy used to receive special rewards from their ruling house's lord/lady, e.g. a Mech and or some land - or first some land (and later a Mech in order to help protect the land?) -, depending on the importance of their (military?) services for their house?

So if you want to beef up a homegrown scenario of yours with some background story you might want to think along the lines of medieval chivalry elements going SciFi (medieval war horse --> BattleMech , medieval land grant (including castle?, or simply only some farms) --> land grant on a distant planet (maybe including some planetary facilities?, maybe even including a vehicle / (light?) 'Mech plant?)). Of course only aristocrats who have been fanatically loyal to their house for generations would receive the really big rewards (like any remaining planetary Mech plants from the Star League era), but there should be enough room left to distribute some of the lesser goodies (e.g. how about a light vehicle factory?) among the lower level aristocrats, but of course it would be entirely up to you, the gamemaster creating the scenario, how to distribute the goodies in your scenario ...



Or how about families with a mercenary background (son/daughter gets the old family 'Mech from his/her mother/father after their retirement/death)?

Or how about families with a pirate background (son/daughter gets the old family 'Mech from his/her mother/father after their retirement/death)? BTW, you might want to read some history books about people who started as pirates/buccaneers - and turned into members of the establishment/aristocray later? For example Sir Henry Morgan comes to mind ...


Hope this helps (food for thought). Have fun and good luck with your very own scenario and or campaign in the classic Battletech universe.


Have a nice day/night!
Kovax
11/13/08 12:15 PM
75.146.193.46

Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
After the fall of the Star League, the splintered interstellar empire was only loosely tied together by a few HPG transmitters and Jumpships. Much of the responsibility for maintaining control had to be delegated to regional and local lords, as in Medieval Feudal times. Granting those "nobles" the right and duty to rule and protect their respective sub-realms also required granting them the means to defend them: Battlemechs.

With the spread of HPG transmission technology and increased manufacture of Jump-capable vessles, the central authorities gradually began to expand their House armies and shift the emphasis away from private control of Battlemechs, since it was again possible to control more directly.
Christopher_Perkins
11/13/08 09:53 PM
76.104.32.151

Edit Reply Quote Quick Reply
The Idea of reprising the Mideval Concept of Nobles was a relic of the Star League itself, the First Lord of the Star League instituted the practice long before its fall
Christopher Robin Perkins

It is my opinion that all statements should be questioned, digested, disected, tasted, and then either spit out or adopted... RHIP is not a god given shield
Pages: 1
Extra information
0 registered and 159 anonymous users are browsing this forum.

Moderator:  Nic Jansma, Cray, Frabby, BobTheZombie 

Print Topic

Forum Permissions
      You cannot start new topics
      You cannot reply to topics
      HTML is enabled
      UBBCode is enabled

Topic views: 6262


Contact Admins Sarna.net