Bad Dream

Revision as of 17:46, 15 July 2011 by BrokenMnemonic (talk | contribs) (Updated with detail from 4th SW, Field Manuals, War of 3039)

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History

The Bad Dream formed up during the First Succession War from Capellan warriors who'd been abandoned in the Draconis Combine. Initially an under-strength battalion, the Bad Dream grew to become a full BattleMech regiment with conventional support in the form of a full Aerospace fighter wing and two battalions of armor over the course of the First and Second Succession Wars.[1]

While the Bad Dream mainly served the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns until 2866,[1] when they were hired by the Lyran Commonwealth, as a part of Elizabeth Steiner's campaign to hire mercenary units in the lull between the Second and Third Succession Wars. The Lyran Commonwealth had an urgent need for light and medium units at this point after the destruction of the Stealths in 2863 which prompted the hiring of the Bad Dream, along with other units such as the Blackhearts.[2]

The Bad Dream were initially deployed primarily as raiders harassing the Free Worlds League, which prompted the unit to invest in purchasing DropShips and JumpShips for themselves, but as their contracts with the Lyran Commonwealth were extended or renewed, the Bad Dream found themselves spending more and more time defending the world of Newtown Square, close to the Draconian Rift at the edge of Lyran space. The slowing pace of warfare in the closing stages of the Third Succession War left the unit sliding further and further into debt.[1]

As the Lyran Commonwealth prepared for the Fourth Succession War in 3028 the Bad Dream were moved from Newtown Square to Kobe before getting the chance to go on the offensive again in the first wave of Operation GOTTERDAMMERUNG. The Bad Dream successfully seized Heiligendreuz in the first wave of attacks before being deployed against Gunzburg.[3]

The Bad Dream and Mobile Fire were both dropped on Gunzburg to face the 22nd Rasalhague Regulars; it took the two mercenary units two months to pin the 22nd down in an ambush, and their defeat was an embarrassing defeat for the Draconis Combine, despite Gunzburg being a secondary target for the Lyran Commonwealth.[4]

Unlike the Fourth Succession War, the Bad Dream weren't deployed in the War of 3039, spending the duration of the war on Newtown Square.[5] Heavily in debt by the time the War of 3039 arrived, the Bad Dream broke their contract with the Lyran Commonwealth during the war, heading for the Free Worlds League.[1]

The League were happy to hire the Bad Dream, putting them in place on Landfall, one of the League worlds bordering the Illyrian Palatinate. While this quiet deployment gave the unit a steady income it also eroded their combat skills to the point that when Henry Bortman became CO of the regiment in 3048 the unit members were growing apart, and the unit was largely stagnant.[1]

The Bad Dream were still on Landfall in 3048[6] but by 3054 their remit had expanded to include Kendall, guarding the Kali Yama / Alphard Trading Corp. BattleMech plant producing the Orion as well as a Brooks Incorporated plant.[7]

By 3059, the Bad Dream had been guarding either Kendall, Landfall or both for more than 15 years, avoiding Operation GUERRERO and the resulting mayhem that erupted in the Chaos March.[8]

In 3062, the debt that the Bad Dream thought they had escaped when they absconded from the Lyran Commonwealth in 3039 returned to haunt them; the Mercenary Review and Bonding Commission summoned representatives from the union to explain the debt that the Lyran Alliance had inherited from the Lyran Commonwealth, and after reviewing the details, adjudicated in favour of the Lyrans. The Bad Dream were able to negotiate repayment terms that allowed the unit to keep the bulk of it's critical combat equipment, but which forced them to sell off all of their Aerospace fighters, JumpShips and all bar one of the unit's DropShips. That left the Bad Dream heavily reliant on their present and future employers for transport and technical support.[1]

During the Jihad the unit fight against all kinds of raiders (pirates and marian alike). The unit lost a full company.

In 3070 the conventional assets split from their parent command to form their own. The reason are unknown.

Officers

As of 3048, their Commanding Officer was Colonel Henry Bortman. By 3067 Bortman was leading the Bad Dream largely in name only; the most capable leaders within the unit were Lt. Colonel Yusef Lochsmitt, the CO of the Nightcrawlers, and the various company commanders through the regiment.[1]

Dragoon Ratings

3059

Dragoon Rating: B-[9]

3067

Dragoon Rating: C-

Tactics

By 3067 the Bad Dream 'Mech forces relied primarily on the most basic and least surprising tactics and strategies in battle. The Nightcrawlers had worked much harder to maintain their skills at this point, and were masters at tactics based on overrunning the enemy, moving through and disrupting opposing formations.[1]

Support

From the Third Succession War through to 3062, the Bad Dream had their own transport vessels as well as technical support. [10] That changed when the MRBC upheld the Lyran Alliance claim against the regiment, reducing them to the Triumph class DropShip used by the Nightcrawlers and almost no organic technical support.[1]

Composition History

3025

The Bad Dream (1 Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[10]

- In 3025, the Bad Dream were a medium-weight BattleMech regiment who owned their own DropShip and JumpShip assets and had both armor and heavy Aerospace fighter support, but they were already in debt to the Lyran Commonwealth.

3039

The Bad Dream (1 Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[5]

3050

The Bad Dream (1 Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[6]

3054

The Bad Dream (1 Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[11]

3059

The Bad Dream (1 Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[8]

3067

The Bad Dream (1 Regiment/Veteran/Reliable)[1]

In 3067, the Bad Dream 'Mech regiment was still predominantly a medium weight regiment, as it had been for centuries; while the CO's command lance made up of fast heavy 'Mechs, the rest of the regiment were predominantly medium 'Mechs with a few lights and heavies mixed in.

Nightcrawlers (2 Battalions/Elite/Questionable)

Predominantly a medium weight armor unit, the Nightcrawlers worked hard to maintain their high level of excellence, and were a disciplined and well-equipped unit highly loyal to each other.

In 3067, the Bad Dream were operating at 105% of the usual unit strength, and 85% of the regiment had been upgraded with Star League-era technology. 15% of the unit were equipped with OmniMechs.[12][13]

Rules

3059

  • Bad Dream 'Mech units suffer a -1 initiative penalty for every one of their battalion commanders (Majors) involved in the combat.[14]
  • If Colonel Bartman is leading (the unit must be designated as such before the start of any scenario) and the controlling player must roll a d6. On a result of 4-6, Bartman has had a bad night and inflicts and additional -1 initiative penalty on the unit. On a result of 2 or 3, Bartman has had an uneventful night which has no net effect on the unit. If the result is a 1, Bartman has had a good night and cancels all of the initiative penalties from himself and any other battalion commanders, as well as adding a +1 initiative modifier.[14]
  • If Colonel Bartman is leading the unit and Bad Dream casualties ever outnumber those inflicted on the opposing unit by a factor of two to one or more, Bartman orders an immediate retreat.[14]
  • The Nightcrawlers may choose to roll their initiative seperately from the rest of the Bad Dream; if they do so, then they should be treated as a third force during the movement and weapon attack phases.[14]
  • If the Nightcrawlers are the only force deployed in a scenario they gain a modified version of the Ovverrun Combat special ability; they may move one unit for every point by which their initiative result exceeds that of the opposing force.[14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 21.
  2. ↑ House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 66
  3. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 1, p. 45
  4. ↑ NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2, p. 63
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Historical: War of 3039, p. 140
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 20 Year Update, p. 57
  7. ↑ Objective Raids, p. 129
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Field Manual: Free Worlds League, p. 16
  9. ↑ Field Manual: Mercenaries, p. 108
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth), p. 81
  11. ↑ Objective Raids, p. 39
  12. ↑ Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 65
  13. ↑ Field Manual: Updates, p. 183
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 68

Bibliography

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