Karagin
09/29/20 04:55 PM
70.118.172.64
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Something really missing from Battletech is more about the minor houres. Each of the Successor States is made up of many different houses and alliances, yet we know next to nothing about them.
A series of books talking about them would go a long way to adding more depth to the universe of the game and offer the players more factions to chose from. After all, they managed to do this for a House ONLY mentioned in the HBS video game, so why not for the ones that have been around from the start?
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Wick
09/29/20 06:04 PM
173.247.25.195
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Sure seems like we know a fair deal about the Sandovals, Haseks, Humphreys, Halas, Cameron-Jones, Kelswas, Lestrades, Kells, Allards, Miraborgs, Indrahars, Magnussons, and Miraborgs to name a few. And some cadet branches of the main houses.
I think they've given us a lot of details about these second-tier Houses that wield (or wielded) political power over multiple worlds. You go down to the third tier and you're talking rulers of single worlds and at that point they don't have as much power to effect the main storyline over the course of decades or centuries. Maybe within individual battles or campaigns (House Cho of Carver V for example) but not on a grander scale. Except for House Arano (and for a short time, House Espinosa) the HBS game also didn't feature any new Houses that controlled more than two or three worlds at most.
I'm not sure if the level of detail you'd want would be better or worse for the game. I rather like the idea of being from a prominent family of one these "backwater worlds" for campaigns and fiction. Pick 90% of the worlds in the Inner Sphere and there won't be canon to dispute you. Fill up the map with who rules what and the options become more limited.
I could stand to learn more about new second tier houses though. The ones now ruling new empires like the Filtvelt Coalition, the smaller former Free Worlds States, and deeper periphery states like the Jarnfolk and Hanseatic League that we don't have much political insight on. The developers created all these new factions and then kind of left a hole on who's running them, what their motivations and long-term goals are, etc.
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Karagin
09/29/20 07:46 PM
70.118.172.64
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Quote:
I think they've given us a lot of details about these second-tier Houses
Really which book is devoted to their holdings? Their actual setup? Beyond a few mentions in novels and short paragraphs we don't know all the comings and goings of these minior houses and how they truly fit in.
What we know is one or two had moments of NOVA like spotlights and then nothing.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Wick
09/30/20 11:23 AM
173.247.25.195
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Well there's no single book. Collecting it all into one might not be a bad idea for them. And they could flush it out more. But the recent focus from Topps/CGL for smaller PDFs like Era Digests than big source books kind of limits what we can learn about the less important noble families in the past. I think the Arano book is an exception because of the video game.
As far as books plural, the House Handbooks have a few pages of minor house backgrounds with bios of the heads during Clan Invasion-Civil War-Jihad eras. Sometimes additional minor nobles will be listed in the Planets section as rulers or Industries section as CEOs (particularly in the Steiner book as Lyran nobles typically own companies not just land.)
Otherwise its spread across all the fiction, with nobles of these houses cropping up when interests in their part of space become important enough for more detail, like the Humphreys of Andurien during the 3030s. Assuming the Humphreys were still in power during the Age of War when the FWL and CC went to war over Andurien multiple times, would it be nice to know more about them then? Sure. But I'm not sure all the other noble houses would be as interesting.
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ghostrider
09/30/20 12:04 PM
66.74.60.165
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Considering the FS was supposed to have had 10 leaders of areas that combined to become the FS, it would be interesting to know who they were and if they are still around. Being employed by the FS does not necessarily mean you are hired by the Davion branch. And with that, could very well change some of the specs in a deal or what they might actually send on what type of missions.
The FWL has more then a few regions in it, that are autonomous, yet each has some sort of pull witht eir forces, or at least during the 3025 era.
A few things, like filling in who supports groups like the Black Dragons, would also help with setting up internal forces that conflict with each other. Heimdal is another that would be interesting to see who actually supports it. The Kells only came to the forefront as they helped Katrina escape her uncle. I didn't really see anywhere where it said they were big before that point. I do admit, I don't have all the books, so there is some leeway here.
As mentioned, the HBS game had House Arano in charge of a chunk of worlds in the Periphery. Something that has not really been exploited on just how many little realms there are. For the game, they relied on the Magistry for help, and were only at odds with the Concordat because of the Espinosas.
So with this, why doesn't the large realms take over the smaller ones? Is it to have a buffer against each other? They can't support them? Hell, with the HBS game, you don't deal with the Matrix herself, but some of the family branches. So does that mean they were supporting the Arano's, or where they representing the rulers so if anything went wrong, they could disclaim their actions?
And saying a single world ruler isn't powerful forgets Defiance Industries ruling Brewer house.
And what happens to the ruler of worlds like Glengary or Outreach when they are handed over to mercs or other 'heroes'? How supports the Kells in Arc Royal area, and who opposes them? This could very well give more information on who would hire someone for what missions. Rise and fall of minor houses for things like losing or gaining worlds.
Granted, this is more of backstory filling, but even with it, they would not cover every world. Even family members of the main houses could rebel and fight against the main branch.
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Karagin
10/04/20 10:25 AM
70.118.172.64
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Back stories that could add more to over all setting and give back some of fun of the smaller battles and have it for those who think a lance or star of mechs can defend awhole planet from attackers. Also a great way to get folks to run longer adventures and such.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Wick
10/04/20 06:08 PM
173.247.25.195
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Technically the Aurigan Reach and Concordat were at odds before Espinoza took over The Aurigan Reach had just annexed 4 worlds on their border, three of which I think were former Concordat worlds during Star League era. Concordat would have done more to fight for them were it not for that obsessive fear of House Davion hanging over them.
Big states don't conquer the little ones because they either aren't a threat (or aren't as much of one compared to another) or have little to gain by doing so (little to no military industry usually.) Marian Hegemony is about the only aggressively expansionist state. Argument can be made for Star League vs Periphery during the Reunification War, FedSuns vs Capellan Confederation during the 4th Succession War, and Capellan Confederation vs St Ives Compact in the early 3060s, but all of these have a major financial/industrial impetus.
As far as Outreach goes, that world had been "liberated" from the Capellans. Maybe the ruler was a member of or loyal to House Liao and either evacuated or was killed. In any case Hanse felt he could buy the loyalty of the Dragoons by giving them a recently annexed planet of little value (or so it seemed.) In the previous 25 years, the Dragoons had shown exceptionally military prowess and if the price to keep them on your side was a dustball in recently conquered space that you didn't need to garrison with any of your own troops, then so be it. Even a diminished sub-2 regiments of Wolf's Dragoons was enough to make the FWL stay on their side of the border. Glengarry for similar reasons to dissuade the Free Skye movement. Given these two expamples I wouldn't be surprised if mercs (or house generals) were granted leadership over a recently conquered or suddently leaderless planet in the past, especially when large numbers of them were taken, like say the Lyran Commonwealth gobbling up half of the RWR in the 2770s.
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Karagin
10/04/20 10:25 PM
70.118.172.64
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The idea is that there are more than the Main Ruler Houses in each state, and even named minior ones are still the tip of the iceberg. What I am suggesting is that if we could see more of the smaller states that make up the larger ones and have the information, then the ability to really dive deep into the game is there. Which could in turn get more folks interested since they aren't stuck trying to keep up with everything else.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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