VanVelding
10/01/16 08:59 PM
75.1.89.127
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3087 is a Battletech alternate universe where The Jihad never happened. Instead, political fractures and spiraling conflicts temper much of the technological and industrial progress of the last few decades. Its history is told through the pages and designs of TRO: 3087. I'm sharing a series of four 'Mechs here, on OurBattletech, and Battletech.com to gauge interest in further editing/development of this project.
Code:DOC-30113085#1701; DIST-REF/TRN; CLASS-CON(b)(c)(d); AUTH-S. Kaas; STAT-Review(25113085); PUB-12103087;
TTL-"TRO:3087p91","TRO:3087p92";
Latest Revision by S. Kaas on 25113085
This document is in review for fact-checking and editorial standards. It is not for distribution
DVO-10S Freedom
Overview
The first Falcon Incursion was only stopped by the timely intervention of the ilClan War, though you wouldn't hear many in the Lyran Commonwealth say so. Media trumpeted the success of the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces in stopping the Clan invaders cold yet again. However, when demoralized front-line veterans were reassigned to other postings or released from service, the story of yet another brave victory against the Clans began to fall apart.
The Freedom was rebranded late in production to be the "ultimate clanfighter." Press attached the name of every possible successful politician and warrior to it. Its gauss rifle and trio of autocannons were touted as being as the first of a new generation of technology, ready to revolutionize warfare �for the next thirty years.� It was a desperate hope that enough carefully crafted photo ops and edited battle ROMs could reinvigorate the LCAF and the Lyran people to fight ever harder against The Jade Falcons.
The Skye Autonomy Accords put an end to those hopes. While it remains a venerable BattleMech, its association with rebellion and origins within a de facto foreign power make it useless as a tool of national pride.
Capabilities
The Freedom was designed for a front-line role, but its lack of firepower often places it in a backfield support position. To many, it�s another assault without the dedication to role of a Berserker or Fafnir nor the potent versatility of an Atlas.
Some units have found a use for them as command �Mechs. Its gauss rifle and array of light autocannons allow it to contribute to a battle without being in the thick of combat. The versatile autocannons give it the ability to tailor its weapons for the day�s combat while the gauss rifle lends what some have termed a �command presence� to solve problems on the battlefield as they emerge.
In addition, the Freedom was made with the idea of salvaging Clan technology in mind. The chaos and battle of the past twenty-five years have seen industry shrink and once common technologies of war cut from budgets, pushing advanced Clan weaponry further from the grasp of the average armies of the Inner Sphere. However, the Freedom was designed to more easily integrate with advanced systems salvaged from the Clans. That ease of integration and maintenance have, despite some misgivings, moved them to the top of most units' list of recipients for such gear.
Battle History
The collapse of the Terran Protectorate in 3075 created small governments around Terra, each eager to learn from the mistakes of the Chaos March, covering bad governance with fingers pointed outward and conspiracy theories. Raids on Lyran planets, such as Thorin, were the result. Tharkad�s response, tempered by concerns over drawing too many troops from the Falcon border, was considered tepid by citizens of area and discontent began rising.
Tired of the ineffective shuffling of militia units, and no doubt keeping an eye on greater political gains, Gregory Kelswa-Steiner took a production run of Freedoms and elements of the Fourth Skye Rangers to launch an assault on Zurich. The assault kicked off the chain of events which created the Skye Archonette just three years later.
The Accords dictate most Freedoms are exported to the Commonwealth and although it�s proven itself in combat against the Falcons, there is still some stigma attached to it. Besides the day-to-day affairs of state, Archonette Kwelsa-Steiner still nominally commands the 4th Skye Rangers, which boasts a full command lance of Freedoms despite their current understrength status.
Variants
Given the popularity of designs like the Cerberus, Pillager, and Devastator, it�s no surprise that the first Freedom variant underwent a major overhaul to accommodate the inevitable two pairs of LBX autocannons.
Interest in seeing their flagship �Mech do everything has pushed the Skye Archonette to create the -12X, which carries a massive extralight engine and MASC system, pushing the model�s speed to nearly 90kph. According to holovids from Skye, it can act as a medium skirmisher with the firepower of an assault. In reality, the expensive changes push the chassis beyond its limits. Only six have been produced.
The Freedom�s ability to easily integrate Clan technology has resulted in a number of battle variants with upgraded Clan technology. Combined with its survivability, that feature has been one of the few Inner Sphere �Mechs the Falcons have seen fit to salvage and field.
Most Clan technology field modifications replace the primary weaponry with Clan equivalents. The light autocannons are often upgraded to ultra models, trading versatility for firepower and range.
Code:[b]DVO-10S Freedom[/b]
Type/Model: Freedom DVO-10S
Tech: Inner Sphere / 3075
Config: Biped BattleMech
Manufactured: Skye Archonette
Fielded:
Skye Archonette (Common)
Lyran Commonwealth (Uncommon)
Jade Falcons (Uncommon)
Mass: 100 tons
Equipment: Crits Mass
Int. Struct.: 14 5.00
152 points
Engine:300 Fusion 6 19.00
Walking MP: 3
Running MP: 5
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 14 Double 6 0.00
(Loc: 1 LT, 1 RT)
Gyro: 4 3.00
Cockpit: 5 3.00
Actuators: 16 0.00
L: Sh+UA+LA+H R: Sh+UA+LA+H
Armor Factor: 0 18.50
296 pts
Internal Structure Armor Value
Head: 3 9
Center Torso: 31 49
Center Torso (Rear): 12
L/R Side Torso: 21 31/31
L/R Side Torso (Rear): 11/11
L/R Arm: 17 32/32
L/R Leg: 21 39/39
Weapons and Equipment Loc Crits Tons
---------------------------------------
ER Medium Laser HD 1 1.00
ER Large Laser CT 2 5.00
2 Light AC/2s RT 2 8.00
Gauss Rifle RA 7 15.00
LB 5-X AC LA 5 8.00
ER Large Laser RL 2 5.00
2 ER Medium Lasers LL 2 2.00
@Light AC/2 (22) RT 1 0.50
@LAC/2 (Flechette)(22) RT 1 0.50
@Gauss Rifle [8] RA 1 1.00
@LB 5-X (Cluster) (10) LA 1 0.50
Crits & Tons Left: 0 0.00
Known issues: General quality, review and application of rules regarding capitalization of the word "the" before proper nouns, in Overview "first" should be capitalized, in Overview the referenced incursion is the third such incursion even though the third and fourth incursion eclipse the first two, in Overview repetition of "yet," "The Jade Falcons" should be "Clan Jade Falcon," in Overview "while it" should be "while the Freedom," in Capabilities reptition of "integrate/integration," "Chaos March, covering" should be "Chaos March by covering," in Battle History the last paragraph has too many commas and not enough periods, is Battle History "battle history" enough?, verify proper reference of variant models in text, mention 2nd/4th Falcon Incursion, in Capabilities the or/nor sequence is offputting, the last two lines of "Variants" can probably be one much better paragraph.
I write stuff, make podcasts, and say curse words on the internet. Pretty original stuff if you've never seen the internet before.
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ghostrider
10/02/16 03:20 AM
66.74.61.223
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First minor issue. The DV-6M is the Dervish mech designation of 3025. Not sure if you realize that, but it may confuse some of the people that know of it. Just an observation. FDM would be a suggestion.
Another minor thing is the gauss in the right arm. Not sure, but most mechs with a rifle in an arm seem to be missing the hand actuators. Might even be missing the lower arm as well. If you are adding in clan tech, then that might be an issue. Also removing the actuators will free up some critical space, maybe move lasers to arms...
I know they can allot half ton of mg ammo, but not sure of other types. Not sure how close to canon you are trying to keep the alternative line, but that might be a sticking point with some.
Personally, I think 8 shots with the main gun isn't enough for a 100 ton mech. Even the lbx might be shy some shots as well.
The use of lasers in the legs is unusual. I would think they would do better in a torso or arms, for more firing arc. Might be better to put the ammo in the legs, but that is just my opinion. Another reason is the legs can not kick if a weapon is fired from them, and when that close, the cannons will be at a disadvantage. The lasers not so.
I think punching is a better idea, but alot here think the kick is the main physical attack when you can do it. I just don't like falling if something goes wrong.
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VanVelding
10/02/16 02:10 PM
75.1.89.127
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When I was getting this together to post, I noticed that the DVO was similar to the DVS designation of the Devastator, another Lyran-produced assault 'Mech. I figured that when I made it I'd made it based--in universe--on the Devastator so I went with it. Your mention of the Dervish made me look at the Dervish in the 3087 TRO and it looks like this is the exact designation for the omni-Dervish in the TRO. Don't know how that happened. Maybe a bad copy from the handwritten notes. The new designation is FRE-2S, with the experimental model becoming the FRE-4S. Noted.
The last time I checked on it, fractional accounting was a Level 3 rule. That's not old grognard talk for "Experimental Tech." Literally the last time I looked at that rule Maximum Tech was a thing and I read it from there. Another design says, "Hey, it's not in the actual stats, but one of the variants splits such-and-such ammo bin to carry specialty munitions." TL;DR: Another entry in the TRO specifically says that I'm not using those exact rules, then I made a 'Mech that uses them. Shrug emoji. Shave off 2 1/2 tons of armor to add GR ammo, regular and specialty LAC rounds, and full-ton lot of LBX/5 ammo. Noted.
I believe the concept was that the leg-mounted weapons and arm-mounted weapons with minimum ranges demanded the 'Mech get punchy once an enemy closed. One of the challenges of TROs--apparently--is dodging some...reflexive competence which makes entries feels the same and that was my goal. You mentioned hard-mounting the arm actuators for the Quickdraw and that's a great example of making an omni feel like it's not another 5/8 60-tonner. But you're not the first to mention the leg/laser placement, and if it feels wrong to the folks reading it needs to go. Move all lasers to the torso but keep asymmetry and arm actuators. Noted.
As always, thank you for the feedback.
I write stuff, make podcasts, and say curse words on the internet. Pretty original stuff if you've never seen the internet before.
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