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04/14/18 05:35 PM
174.70.184.145
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The Nephilidae is part of an alternate history faction in the periphery, the Crossroadian Republic: A relatively high-tech but small-ish branch in the Periphery who originated from Kerensky's Exodus Fleet.
The Nephilidae is a very specialized and unique battlemech with no real equivalents existing outside of Crossroadian borders (the IS Great Turtle being the closest equivalent), and had the honor of being the largest Crossroadian ground combat vehicle until the development of the S-125 Standard Superheavy Battlemech in the 3140s.
The Nephilidae has its origins as an early 3070s technical study, which yielded (among other things) tactical requirement for an Infantry Support Mech to support conventional infantry (PBI) formations to act as a force multiplier, which are usually used to garrison and control high-value, static or near-static assets, such as cities, factories, Castles Brian, static HPGs, Drop-ports, Airfields, landing zones, Surface-to-Orbit Weapon Arrays, etc.
The original requirements for an Infantry Support Vehicle was for a highly survivable electronics warfare platform with a secondary fire support role that was also extremely hardy and survivable. Since the ISV was expected to be attached as integrated support to foot infantry and PA(L)s protecting objectives, speed could be kept minimal.
The Nephilidae Prototype was built by the mid-3070s to answer these requirements. The prototype was equipped with two Large Pulse Lasers, A-Pods, and flamers for weapons, while an active probe and ECM suite provided some EW capabilities. The frame of the prototype was reinforced, which is an uncommon modification to see on a battlemech, and the armor plating consisted of around 40 tons of hardened armor. However, despite the protection, it was noted in combat trials that the Nephilidae often succumbed to weapons fire just as fast as a normal battlemech simply because it was so easy to hit.
A solution to this problem lied in advanced stealth. The Republic had never been shy about using stealth equipment, which they've had since their very inception on examples like the Exterminators and Spectors from the old Exodus fleet. Using knowledge of the Null SIgnature System & Chameleon Light Polarization Field already in their possession and production, the republic set out to create a system for the large Assault 'Mech. In 3075, an example of WoB Purifier BA suits were captured by Crossroadian Volunteers fighting with the allied coalition against the WoB (Nicknamed "Jason's Jolly Rogers") found their way to the republic, and further research and analysis on that system led to an early release of the 2nd prototype by 3077.
The 2nd prototype ultimately became basis for the Nephilidae Mk.I. This version had more powerful EW capabilities than the previous model but was also substantially more expensive: An Angel ECM allows the Nephilidae to interfere with all sorts of advanced electronics and shroud a region with ghost targets to it difficult for hostile battlemechs to target friendly Infantry or the Nephilidae itself, while the powerful Bloodhound Active Probe can penetrate the Nephilidae's own ECM masking to detect would-be ambushers, detect conventional infantry, detect minefields, and provide more accurate targeting data to the Nephilidae against hostiles in wooded cover. In low-visibility conditions, the Bloodhound detects approaching hostile formations before either the Nephilidae or its complimentary infantry battalion can even see them. Finally, a Crossroadian-manufactured Void Signature System conceals the battlemech itself, drastically reducing its visibility to both sensors and the naked eye (The Nephilidae becomes nigh invisible by eye by around 500 meters.)
The Void allows the Nephilidae to "hide" in plain sight, so to speak. As long as it remains relatively motionless, the Void can effectively conceal itself from aerial spotter craft like the Boomerang. In order to keep accurate wraps on the exact position of a Nephilidae (for artillery fire, for instance), one must get relatively close to it, which risks counter-fire from the Nephilidae's infantry battalion and the Nephilidae itself. This endears itself to its infantry that has the pleasure to work with a Nephilidae, as the Nephilidae's special equipment prevents it from sticking out like a sore thumb and revealing the general location of the battle group like non-stealth battlemechs and vehicles would.
In terms of other equipment, the A-Pods had to be removed to accomodate the Void system and extra weight of the new electronics, but a TAG system was also added to the Nephilidae, allowing it to guide precision LRM and Arrow IV fire from other sources to slam directly into anybody that approaches too close.
The Nephilidae was a big hit among the infantry garrisons and the Nephilidae was rushed to regiments tasked with guarding high value targets. However, Mechwarriors that were trained with other, far faster battlemechs were not impressed with the slow-lumbering, and were skeptical of the torso cockpit setup. Older Mechwarriors often tried to use the Nephilidae as a normal battlemech, resulting in substantial Nephilidae casualties. It was only when the Republic started training some new novices for the Nephilidae in particular from the get-go that the Nephilidae was finally used as intended and casualty rates plummeted to rates lower than any other Battlemech type in the Republic's arsenal.
The Nephilidae Mk.II was an experiment to keep some of the Mk.I's features while making the Battlemech much swifter in general in order to make a sort of "offensive" version of the Nephilidae. The Mk.II basically exchanges everything but the pulse lasers for a 300 rated Fusion engine and Ferro-Lamellor Armor. While the armor is advanced in itself, it doesn't provide quite as good protection as Hardened Armor does and lucky shots tend to batter equipment inside the battlemech much more frequently than the Mk.I To partially alleviate this issue, the Nephilidae Mk.II adds armoring to the life support, sensors, engine, and gyro to try and keep a similar level of durability that the Mk.I is known for, but overall survivability does suffer in the Mk.II to gain a more typical and useful tactical speed.
Unlike the Mk.I, the Mk.II is often used in actual armor formations instead of integrated into foot-infantry formations, although the limited armament is more pronounced when using it as part of an armored formation.
Due to the unique nature of the Nephilidae, it has been deployed and used with a wide variety of unconventional tactics. The "Minotaur's Labyrinth" stratagem consists of a lance or company of Nephilidaes supported by BA and infantry patrolling and blocking off select streets until they corner lances or even companies of hostile armor and non-jumping battlemechs at a time for jumping battlemechs to pick off. The "Hammer & Anvil" stratagem consists of using hidden Nephilidaes with stealth infantry & BA support as hard points during a protracted battle as low-visibility "anvils" while more conventional, high-speed Battlemechs and Hovercraft acts as "hammers" trying to lure or push hostile armor elements into their well-concealed traps.
Nephilidaes are also sometimes deployed into concealed, prepared pockets with infantry around a dropship to provide the dropship with an early-warning of approaching battlemechs. Due to the incredible durability (and slow speed) of the Nephilidae, Infantry sometimes use them as artificial cover during a confrontation. Very daring (usually newbie) Nephilidae pilots are also known to explicitly put themselves in harm's way to shield a crippled ally from oncoming fire like an ejected Mechwarrior or a detracked tank.
The Nephilidae's reputation has outgrown the one hundred ton battlemech itself within the realms of the Crossroadian Republic, thanks to its lingering presence within infantry battalions. As armored and unarmored infantry alike are the most common combat roles in the Crossroadian Armed Forces, they and their families make up a good majority of personnel, and so there's a very good chance that any given infantryman that's seen combat has been supported by a Nephilidae. It seems everyone has a story to tell about the Nephilidae, and very few have ever actually seen one be lost. This gives the Nephilidae a virtual cult status among the grunts; Recruitment posters featuring the lowly footsoldier standing next to the gigantic quad mech in a prone position inspires the imagination of young schoolchildren.
This is unfortunate for the top brass, especially those who started their early career as Mechwarriors, as they desire to mothball the Nephilidae and replace it with something newer or cheaper, if they replace it with anything at all. It's been stated that S-95 variants will fully replace the Nephilidae as the infantry support Mech of the infantry in the 3140s, and announced the closure of the sole Nephilidae production plant, but this caused a large public backlash, which prevented the Nephilidae plant from being closed down. Until the Republic finds something that could truly replace the Nephilidae, it would appear that the spider mech is here to stay.
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Nephilidae Mk.I
Base Tech Level: Experimental Mixed (Base Clan)
Level Era
Experimental -
Advanced 3145+
Standard -
Tech Rating: F/X-X-F-F
Weight: 100 tons
BV: 3,589
Cost: 18,051,667 C-bills
Source: Crossroads
Movement: 2/2
Engine: 200
Double Heat Sinks: 15 [30]
Cockpit: Torso-Mounted Cockpit (armored)
Gyro: Compact Gyro
Internal: 160 (Reinforced)
Armor: 323/323 (Hardened)
Internal Armor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 31 50
Center Torso (rear) 12
Right Torso 21 32
Right Torso (rear) 10
Left Torso 21 32
Left Torso (rear) 10
Front Right Leg 21 42
Front Left Leg 21 42
Rear Right Leg 21 42
Rear Left Leg 21 42
Weapons Loc Heat
Flamer FRL 3
Flamer LT 3
TAG (Clan) CT 0
Large Pulse Laser HD 10
Large Pulse Laser HD 10
Equipment Loc
Void Signature System (IS)
Bloodhound Active Probe (IS) LT
Angel ECM Suite RT
Quirks:
Improved Life Support
Improved Sensors
Protected Actuators
Prototype (Until ~3080)
Distracting
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Nephilidae Mk.II
Base Tech Level: Experimental Mixed (Base Clan)
Level Era
Experimental -
Advanced 3145+
Standard -
Tech Rating: F/X-X-F-F
Weight: 100 tons
BV: 2,907
Cost: 24,762,000 C-bills
Source: Crossroads
Movement: 3/5
Engine: 300 (armored)
Double Heat Sinks: 16 [32]
Cockpit: Torso-Mounted Cockpit (armored)
Gyro: Compact Gyro (armored)
Internal: 160 (Reinforced)
Armor: 322/323 (Ferro-Lamellor)
Internal Armor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 31 46
Center Torso (rear) 15
Right Torso 21 32
Right Torso (rear) 10
Left Torso 21 32
Left Torso (rear) 10
Front Right Leg 21 42
Front Left Leg 21 42
Rear Right Leg 21 42
Rear Left Leg 21 42
Weapons Loc Heat
Large Pulse Laser HD 10
Large Pulse Laser HD 10
Equipment Loc
Void Signature System (IS)
Bloodhound Active Probe (IS) LT
Angel ECM Suite RT
Quirks:
Improved Sensors
Improved Life Support
Protected Actuators
Distracting
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AmaroqStarwind
04/14/18 07:14 PM
174.235.17.105
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You should put shields on it as well. I don't think shields actually weigh anything, but they can occupy plenty of critical space on the arms.
Medium and Large Shields also slow you down considerably, and in fact the Large Shield even prevents jumping, but that shouldn't be a problem for a mech that's designed primarily to stay in one place.
Also, because of the fact many people tended to use it incorrectly, that actually makes me think that it needs the Hard to Pilot quirk to represent that.
Discord: Amaroq the Kitsune#1092
Telegram: @Lycanphoenix
MechEngine (Alpha) -- On Hiatus
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Karagin
04/14/18 10:12 PM
72.176.187.91
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The Mark One seems to be a better round machine then the Mark Two
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Retry
04/15/18 10:35 AM
174.70.184.145
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Quote:
You should put shields on it as well. I don't think shields actually weigh anything, but they can occupy plenty of critical space on the arms.
Medium and Large Shields also slow you down considerably, and in fact the Large Shield even prevents jumping, but that shouldn't be a problem for a mech that's designed primarily to stay in one place.
Also, because of the fact many people tended to use it incorrectly, that actually makes me think that it needs the Hard to Pilot quirk to represent that.
Shields have weight, but this is also a quad, so shields are a no-go.
The "using it incorrectly" bit is more of a reference to the unconventional nature of the Nephilidae than its handling: The vehicle is at its most survivable when it's, say, parked prone in a heavy forest or hull-down in partial cover on a hill, virtually stationary. If it tries to waddle around the battlefield like it's a fast heavy or assault mech it'll have a lot more issues and be more vulnerable to getting caught in the middle of a field somewhere.
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Retry
04/18/18 02:08 PM
64.189.130.11
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Quote:
The Mark One seems to be a better round machine then the Mark Two
Aye.
Edit time expired, but I also made a new one called the Mk.IIN (NOVA) shortly after this post which exchanges the Bloodhound/Angel combo for a single Nova CEWS, and uses the space and weight saved to reintroduce 2 flamers, the TAG, and an extra A-Pod for versatility.
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