BattleTech Universe

File:Battletech cbt 20year tri 800.jpeg

20 Year Anniversary of BattleTech logo.

BattleTech ("BT" for short) is a science fiction universe comparable to the Star Trek or Star Wars media franchises. Originally conceived in 1984 as a fictional background setting for a futuristic wargame, it has since expanded into an intricate fictional universe by various authors through a multitude of media.

The BattleTech universe

BattleTech aesthetics

The BattleTech universe in its early stages was heavily influenced by concepts from fantasy literature including feudalism (the Successor States with their established hereditary nobility), knight-errants (MechWarriors) and mercenaries, mysticism (LosTech gadgets that are not understood anymore) and a mysterious and powerful church (the ComStar order).

While a plethora of alien flora and fauna are used to give an exotic feel, sentient Aliens are notably absent from the BattleTech universe and play no significant role. The fiction works on the premise that man is his own worst enemy.

Although by nature a violent universe, graphic violence in BattleTech is largely restricted to machinery and typically depicts war machines in combat, with ruins and wreckages in the background. Human suffering is rarely shown directly.

The original 3025-era setting suggested a dystopic scavenger culture among the ruins of the fallen Star League. As the evolution of the setting progressed, lost technology was gradually recovered and additional factions appeared. A cataclysmic war (the Jihad) then caused another Dark Age.

(See also: History)

Technology

BattleTech has been described as "the future of the 80s" for its aesthetics and technological ficion. Real-world technology developed quite differently from than the BT authors believed at the time of the inception of the game, leading to occasionally odd concepts of what is supposedly possible and what is not. The most glaring mismatches are weapon ranges in BattleTech, which are mere fractions of the ranges easily achieved with similar weapons in the real world, and the percieved size and performance of computers. The internet was also not part of the early fiction, but comparable communication networks were later written in.

Some key premises of the BattleTech universe are science fiction in that they seem to defy the laws of physics as they are currently known. These include super-efficient fusion engines that supply vast amounts of power from relatively small and compact devices, starship thrust drives that outperform any currently known thrusters technology, and Kearny-Fuchida Drive technology that allows for faster-than-light movement and communication.

Iconic fictional technologies from the BattleTech universe includes:

• BattleMechs: A basic premise of BattleTech is the evolution of the BattleMech as a superior, fusion-powered weapon carrier platform. Driven by human pilots with the help of neurohelmets, 'Mechs are gigantic humanoid walking tanks that imitate human movement patterns which makes them easier to control (as they can be used like super-large battlesuits) and supposedly gives them a significant advantage in mobility and versatility over other vehicles.

• DropShips: Powered by fusion engines and highly efficient thrust engines, these are extremely rugged and versatile shuttlecraft ranging from anywhere between 200 to 100,000 tons in mass. They are generally easily capable of landing on planets and taking off into space again under their own power. In space, they can maintain acceleration of 1g or more for several days or weeks. Most space traffic is handled with DropShips.

• JumpShips: JumpShips can perform jumps of up to 30 lightyears between Jump Points within mere seconds (typically from one star system to another). They are essentially Kearny-Fuchida Drive cores to which DropShips can attach themselves for faster-than-light transportation.

• Hyperpulse Generators: Known as (HPGs) for short, these employ the same Kearny-Fuchida principles as jump drives, but instead of moving starships they transmit data at faster-than-light speed. Their range is around 50 lightyears, and messages are usually bundled and sent out in certain intervals (as opposed to continual transmission, which is also possible but rarely used). A communications network of HPGs was established that survived the downfall of the Star League and now marks the boundary of the Inner Sphere. The HPG network is generally associated with ComStar who exclusively operated it and evolved into a religious body over this.

Factions

The sundering of humanity’s Star League followed by centuries of Succession Wars had brought about the Successor States, five large nations (feudal realms, modeled after stereotypical cultural templates). They collectively comprise the Inner Sphere. Numerous other factions came and went over the course of the perpetual conflicts. The most notable and long-standing BT factions are:

• Federated Suns

The Federated Suns — House Davion
North American/West European cultural template. Lacking any serious drawbacks or flaws, the Federated Suns are often the protagonists in BT fiction.

• Draconis Combine

The Draconis Combine — House Kurita
Feudal/medieval Japanese cultural template. Earlier sources typically depicted the Combine’s honor-based samurai culture as single-minded, cruel, merciless and often irrational; the realm remains somewhat xenophobic and aggressive.

• Lyran Commonwealth

The Lyran Commonwealth — House Steiner
German/West European cultural template. Economic powerhouse with a strong but sluggish military. Bureaucracy, inflexibility and a lack of military skill prevents them from successfully campaigning abroad, but their traders are active everywhere.

• Free Worlds League

Free Worlds LeagueThe Free Worlds League — House Marik
East European cultural template. More a loose coalition of minor states than a unified realm. The limited powers of the state leader versus the parliament render the League largely incapacitaded and suffering from frequent infighting. A political minefield of treachery and deceit, violent uprisings and outright revolt.

• Capellan Confederation

Capellan ConfederationThe Capellan Confederation — House Liao
Communist Chinese/Soviet Union cultural template. A vain state of relatively few worlds but with a large population, weakened from a long string of military defeats and territory losses. Relies on nefarious scheming and notoriously ineffective secret operations. Hamstrung by communism and rampant paranoia. Described as cunning and dangerous in the initial setup, but depicted as irrational villains in subsequent publications.

• ComStar

ComStar
This quasi-religious sect evolved out of the Star League's Communications Ministry under Jerome Blake. Controlling all interstellar communication and acting as a supranational arbitrator, mediator and banking house, they regard themselves as the saviors of humanity and keepers of lost technology. Later revealed as devious schemers who ruthlessly misused their trusted position to manipulate others, they have secretly maintained a strong army with cutting edge technology.
The radical splinter group Word of Blake eventually launches the Jihad, a destructive total war against all of humanity and secular ComStar.

• Federated Commonwealth

A short-lived unified realm of Houses Davion and Steiner.

• Free Rasalhague Republic

The Free Rasalhague Republic — House Magnusson
Scandinavian cultural template. Created from wayward provinces on both sides of the Kurita/Steiner border after the Fourth Succession War. At the time of its inception it was the sixth major Inner Sphere power, just after the five Successor States, but it was overrun by the Clans save for six worlds and eventually rejoined with its occupied territories as the Rasalhague Dominion.

• Lyran Alliance

The Lyran Alliance — House Steiner
Created when the former Lyran Commonwealth part broke away from the Federated Commonwealth, and eventually reformed back into the Lyran Commonwealth.

• The Clans

Successors of the self-exiled Star League army, the Clans developed into a culture of genetically engineered superwarriors in deep space and eventually returned to invade the Inner Sphere in 3049.

• The Republic of the Sphere

The Republic of the SphereThe Republic of the Sphere
Formed around Terra in 3081 by Devlin Stone following the devastating Word of Blake Jihad.

• The Periphery

Beyond the aforementioned five Successor States of the Inner Sphere, on the fringes of the HPG network, lies the Periphery, a lawless region that has descended into barbarism. Numerous minor realms and pirate bands exist here.

• Mercenaries

In addition, mercenary units play an important role and many of them have achieved considerable fame and power to the point of being considered an independent faction unto themselves.

The BattleTech franchise

The enormous instant success of the boardgame gave rise to a plethora of products that shaped, and still shape, the BattleTech universe. However, like with most fictional settings, not all products pertaining to the franchise are actually considered Canon for the BattleTech universe.

BattleTech Media

Novels

COMPLETE BATTLETECH NOVEL LIST

Chrono	...List...	..STOCK..	NAME	AUTHOR	YEAR	BattleShop_Link
14	Fasa 01	*8601	Decision at Thunder Rift	William H. Keith Jr.	1986	[1]
15	Fasa 01	LE 5221	Decision at Thunder Rift (Reprint)	William H. Keith Jr.	1992	[2]
58	Fasa 02	*8600	The Sword and the Dagger	Ardath Mayhar	1987	[3]
45	Fasa 03	*8605	Mercenary’s Star	William H. Keith Jr.	1987	[4]
46	Fasa 03	LE 5194	Mercenary’s Star (Reprint)	William H. Keith Jr.	1992	[5]
64	Fasa 04	*8607	The Price of Glory	William H. Keith Jr.	1987	[6]
65	Fasa 04	LE 5217	The Price of Glory (Reprint)	William H. Keith Jr.	1993	[7]
69	Fasa 05	8608	Warrior: En Garde	Michael A. Stackpole	1987	[8]
70	Fasa 05	LE 5716	Warrior: En Garde (Reprint)	Michael A. Stackpole	1998	[9]
71	Fasa 06	*8609	Warrior: Riposte	Michael A. Stackpole	1988	[10]
72	Fasa 06	LE 5718	Warrior: Riposte (Reprint)	Michael A. Stackpole	1998	[11]
67	Fasa 07	*8610	Warrior: Coupe	Michael A. Stackpole	1989	[12]
68	Fasa 07	LE 5722	Warrior: Coupe (Reprint)	Michael A. Stackpole	1998	[13]
75	Fasa 08	*8612	Wolves on the Border	Robert Charrette	1988	[14]
76	Fasa 08	LE 5532	Wolves on the Border (Reprint)	Robert Charrette	1996	[15]
29	Fasa 09	*8618	Heir to the Dragon	Robert Charrette	1989	[16]
30	Fasa 09	LE 5535	Heir to the Dragon (Reprint)	Robert Charrette	1996	[17]
38	Fasa 10	*8615	Blood of Kerensky I: Lethal Heritage	Michael A. Stackpole	1989	[18]
39	Fasa 10	LE 5383	Blood of Kerensky I: Lethal Heritage (Reprint)	Michael A. Stackpole	1995	[19]
4	Fasa 11	*8616	Blood of Kerensky II: Blood Legacy	Michael A. Stackpole	1990	[20]
5	Fasa 11	LE 5384	Blood of Kerensky II: Blood Legacy (Reprint)	Michael A. Stackpole	1995	[21]
40	Fasa 12	*8617	Blood of Kerensky III: Lost Destiny	Michael A. Stackpole	1991	[22]
41	Fasa 12	LE 5385	Blood of Kerensky III: Lost Destiny (Reprint)	Michael A. Stackpole	1995	[23]
73	Fasa 13	LE 5158	Legend of the Jade Phoenix I: Way of the Clans	Robert Thurston	1991	[24]
7	Fasa 14	Le 5164	Legend of the Jade Phoenix II: Bloodname	Robert Thurston	1991	[25]
19	Fasa 15	LE 5200	Legend of the Jade Phoenix III: Falcon Guard	Robert Thurston	1991	[26]
74	Fasa 16	LE 5224	Wolf Pack	Robert Charrette	1992	[27]
42	Fasa 17	LE 5312	Main Event	James D. Long	1993	[28]
33	Fasa 18	LE 5309	Ideal War	Christopher Kubasik	1993	[29]
47	Fasa 19	LE 5219	Natural Selection	Michael A. Stackpole	1992	[30]
1	Fasa 20	LE 5335	Assumption of Risk	Michael A. Stackpole	1993	[31]
6	Fasa 21	LE 5315	Blood of Heroes	William H. Keith Jr.	1993	[32]
11	Fasa 22	LE 5429	Close Quarters	Victor Milan	1994	[33]
21	Fasa 23	LE 5337	Far Country	Peter Rice	1993	[34]
12	Fasa 24	LE 5364	D.R.T.	James D. Long	1994	[35]
59	Fasa 25	LE 5490	Tactics of Duty	William H. Keith Jr.	1995	[36]
8	Fasa 26	LE 5441	Bred for War	Michael A. Stackpole	1995	[37]
32	Fasa 27	LE 5446	I am Jade Falcon	Robert Thurston	1995	[38]
55	Fasa 28	LE 5530	Star Lord	Donald G. Phillips	1996	[39]
31	Fasa 29	LE 5489	Highlander Gambit	Blaine Lee Pardoe	1995	[40]
28	Fasa 30	LE 5533	Hearts of Chaos	Victor Milan	1996	[41]
49	Fasa 31	LE 5534	Operation Excalibur	William H. Keith Jr.	1996	[42]
43	Fasa 32	LE 5531	Malicious Intent	Michael A. Stackpole	1996	[43]
3	Fasa 33	LE 5528	Black Dragon	Victor Milan	1996	[44]
36	Fasa 34	LE 5529	Impetus of War	Blaine Lee Pardoe	1996	[45]
16	Fasa 35	LE 5597	Double-Blind	Loren L. Coleman	1997	[46]
2	Fasa 36	LE 5633	Binding Force	Loren L. Coleman	1997	[47]
18	Fasa 37	LE 5612	Twilight of the Clans I: Exodus Road	Blaine Lee Pardoe	1997	[48]
26	Fasa 38	LE 5635	Twilight of the Clans II: Grave Covenant	Michael A. Stackpole	1997	[49]
62	Fasa 39	LE 5637	Twilight of the Clans III: The Hunters	Thomas S. Gressman	1997	[50]
23	Fasa 40	LE 5715	Twilight of the Clans IV: Freebirth	Robert Thurston	1998	[51]
57	Fasa 41	LE 5719	Twilight of the Clans V: Sword and Fire	Thomas S. Gressman	1998	[52]
54	Fasa 42	LE 5721	Twilight of the Clans VI: Shadows of War	Thomas S. Gressman	1998	[53]
52	Fasa 43	LE 5723	Twilight of the Clans VII: Prince of Havoc	Michael A. Stackpole	1998	[54]
20	Fasa 44	LE 5739	Twilight of the Clans VIII: Falcon Rising	Robert Thurston	1999	[55]
66	Fasa 45	LE 5745	Threads of Ambition	Loren L. Coleman	1999	[56]
63	Fasa 46	LE 5754	The Killing Fields	Loren L. Coleman	1999	[57]
25	Fasa 47	LE 5767	Ghost of Winter (MechWarrior)	Stephen Kenson	1999	[58]
53	Fasa 48	LE 5768	Roar of Honor (MechWarrior)	Blaine Lee Pardoe	1999	[59]
9	Fasa 49	LE 5769	By Blood Betrayed (MechWarrior)	Blaine Lee Pardoe/Mel Odom	1999	[60]
13	Fasa 50	LE 5783	Dagger Point	Thomas S. Gressman	2000	[61]
34	Fasa 51	LE 5791	Illusions of Victory	Loren L. Coleman	2000	[62]
44	Fasa 52	LE 5798	Measure of a Hero	Blaine Lee Pardoe	2000	[63]
50	Fasa 53	LE 5808	Path of Glory	Randall N. Bills	2000	[64]
22	Fasa 54	LE 5825	Flashpoint	Loren L. Coleman	2001	[65]
60	Fasa 55	LE 5836	Test of Vengeance	Bryan Nystul	2001	[66]
51	Fasa 56	??	Patriots and Tyrants	Loren L. Coleman	2001	[67]
10	Fasa 57	**??	Call of Duty	Blaine Lee Pardoe	2001	[68]
37	Fasa 58	**??	Initiation to War (MechWarrior)	Robert Charrette	2001	[69]
61	Fasa 59	**??	The Dying Time (MechWarrior)	Thomas S. Gressman	2002	[70]
35	Fasa 60	**??	Imminent Crisis (MechWarrior)	Randall N. Bills	2002	[71]
56	Fasa 61	**??	Storms of Fate	Loren L. Coleman	2002	[72]
48	Fasa 62	**??	Operation Audacity	Blaine Lee Pardoe	2002	[73]
17	Fasa 63	**??	Endgame	Loren L. Coleman	2002	[74]
201		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #1:: Ghost War	Michael A. Stackpole	2002
202		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #2::A Call to Arms	Loren L. Coleman	2003
203		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #3::Ruins of Power	Robert E. Vardeman	2003
204		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #4::A Silence In The Heavens	Martin Delrio	2003
205		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #5::Truth and Shadows	Martin Delrio	2003
206		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #6::Service for the Dead	Martin Delrio	2003
207		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #7::By Temptations And By War	Loren L. Coleman	2003
208		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #8::Fortress of Lies	J. Steven York	2004
209		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #9::Patriot's Stand	Mike Moscoe	2004
210		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #10::Flight of the Falcon	Victor Milan	2004
211		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #11::Blood of the Isle	Loren L. Coleman	2004
212		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #12::Hunters of the Deep	Randall N. Bills	2004
213		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #13::The Scorpion Jar	Jason M. Hardy	2004
214		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #14::Target of Opportunity	Blaine Lee Pardoe	2005
215		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #15::Sword of Sedition	Loren L. Coleman	2005
216		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #16::Daughter of the Dragon	Ilsa J. Bick	2005
217		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #17::Heretic's Faith	Randall N. Bills	2005
218		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #18::Fortress Republic	Loren L. Coleman	2005
219		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #19::Blood Avatar	Ilsa J. Bick	2005
220		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #20::Trial By Chaos	J. Steven York	2006
221		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #21::Principals of Desolation	Jason M. Hardy and Randall N. Bills	2006
222		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #22::Wolf Hunters	Kevin Killiany	2006
223		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #23::Surrender Your Dreams	Blaine Lee Pardoe	2006
224		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #24::Dragon Rising	Ilsa J. Bick	2007
225		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #25::Masters of War	Michael A. Stackpole	2007
226		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #26::A Rending of Falcons	Victor Milan	2007
227		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #27: Pandora's Gambit	Randall N. Bills	2007
228		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #28::Fire At Will	Blaine Lee Pardoe	2007
229		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #29::The Last Charge	Jason M. Hardy	2007
230		ROC	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #30::To Ride the Chimera	Kevin Killiany	2008
231		CAT	Mechwarrior: Dark Age #31::A Bonfire of Worlds	Stephen Mohan Jr.	2009	*4th Qtr '09

• Published by FASA Corp.; all others published by ROC
  • Not yet published

Disclaimer

This is obviously a bit out of date and will need to be updated, but the above data I had readily available and wanted to get it started.