Tag Archives: Clans

The Clans of Kerensky, Part Three: Call to Revival

This article is Part 3 in a series on the Clans. The ongoing series attempts to cover the impact that the Clans, both as a society and as individual entities, have had on the Inner Sphere, since their arrival in 3050 to the present year of 3145.

The series began with Part One: Rise of the Clans and continued with Part Two: Crucible of Gold.

The Symbol of the Clans

The Great Debate

At the close of the Golden Century, the Clans found themselves increasingly divided along the ideological lines that separated the Crusader philosophy from the Warden mindset. As all of the Clans eventually declared for one philosophy or the other, a growing call in the Grand Council from the Crusader Clans necessitated constant delaying actions from the Wardens.

Crusader Clans insisted that a return to the Inner Sphere was imminent and unavoidable. They wanted to bring the rule of the Star League back to the Inner Sphere, once again uniting all of mankind under a single banner. While the idealism that existed within the Crusader Clans might have once come from a good place, which is known as Aleksandr Kerensky’s Hidden Hope Doctrine, the Crusaders had taken the vision of their Founder and crafted from it a call to arms to conquer and subjugate the “barbarians” of the Inner Sphere who has turned their backs on the Star League as the shining hope for mankind.

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BattleTech: First Somerset Strikers and Sourcebook Retrospective

I think the BattleTech cartoon was probably as close the franchise came to making the mainstream of popular culture. I could include the videogames (which I have discussed before) but the cartoon took place during a time where big fighting robots were generally in the mainstream anyway. MechWarrior 2, Robot Jox, and of course blockbusters like Terminator 2. Even Japanese distributors were beginning to test the US market with titles like Patlabor and different flavors of Gundam. Big robots were beginning to become as much a staple of science fiction as the space opera. (Some media, like Gundam and BattleTech combined the two).

So how does one market a mech-centric space opera towards children? As seen with other US franchises like Exosquad, don’t sugar coat it. In space operas, there are big wars going on, and people die. 1st Somerset Strikers doesn’t show death like Exosquad does, but one of the plot developments banks on one of the major characters failing to eject from his devastated BattleMech before it explodes and being thought dead by his compatriots for most of the season. Likewise, though it specifically mentions in the official BattleTech canon that the Jade Falcons evacuated the city of Romulus before glassing it with orbital bombardment, it was never brought up on the show.  So the viewer thinks they just watched an entire city of people get vaporized. Heady stuff. I really wish they had made more of a deal of the destruction of Edo on Turtle Bay later in the season, considering that most of the inhabitants in fact WERE massacred by the Smoke Jaguars (one of the reasons that clan was targeted for termination during Operations Serpent and Bulldog)

 

promotional artwork for the animated series

Promotional artwork for the animated series

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Masakari Omnimech Cosplayer Wins Gold

Some of you might have seen this thread on the official forums where user Ion Raptor has been working on a mobile 1/5th scale replica of a Ghost Bear Warhawk prime. I asked him what gave him the idea for this. He answered:

“The idea was from a sad lack of BattleTech costumes besides the occasional pilot cooling suit. The MW4 Warhawk itself was chosen because of its blocky and imposing design. The prime variant was a product of finding shipping tubes the perfect size for PPCs. The Ghost Bear scheme came from the pilot figure I bought, which was a Max Steel toy that happened to have grey and blue shorts on. If I ever do one again it will either be much smaller or through commission so that logistics are someone else’s problem.”

The Invasion of Rasalhague reinacted at Gencon 2014

The Invasion of Rasalhague reenacted at Gencon 2014

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The Clans of Kerensky, Part Two: Crucible of Gold

This article is Part 2 in a series on the Clans. The ongoing series attempts to cover the impact that the Clans, both as a society and as individual entities, have had on the Inner Sphere, since their arrival in 3050 to the present year of 3145.

The series began with Part One: Rise of the Clans.

 

Symbol of the Clans

The Golden Century

Following the Annihilation of Clan Wolverine, the Absorption of Clan Widowmaker, and the subsequent death of Nicholas Kerensky in 2836, the Clans experienced tough growing pains as their new society struggled to keep up with the loss of their Great Father and the rapidly changing landscape of the Clans discovering what their society would ultimately become. Clan Wolf Khan Jerome Winson stepped up and succeeded Nicholas Kerensky as ilKhan of the Clans, and Winson’s leadership would prove to be just as vital as that of his predecessor. The one hundred years following Nicholas Kerensky’s death, generally agreed upon as 2830 to 2930, are considered by Clan and Inner Sphere historians as the Clans’ own Golden Century.

It is during this time that Clan society took firm shape and developed into the culture that invaded the Inner Sphere nearly one hundred years ago. The Clans, perhaps more so than the Inner Sphere, had a burning desire to survive out in the far reaches of space, away from the now storied and increasingly legendary Inner Sphere. While many of the planets that the Clans colonized were habitable, most were only dangerously so, and intimate knowledge of the eco systems of these new planets was still being obtained while the Clans fought over the meager resources at hand.

Over the course of the Golden Century, three major events occurred that can be argued to have had the most powerful effect on the Clans as a whole. While Clan society helped to shape, and was in turn shaped and solidified by these events, the most important milestone events are the ones that most directly contributed to the effects that were felt by the Inner Sphere over a century later.

Clan Mongoose

The first event is the Absorption of Clan Mongoose by Clan Smoke Jaguar in 2868. Clan Mongoose had prospered and secured great gains in the earlier years of the Clans. As a result, they were amongst the most powerful of the Clans, but their success also proved to be a dangerous hubris that would soon catch up to them. Clan Mongoose attacked the Smoke Jaguar held world of Atreus, and the campaign soon found its way into the Grand Council, where the Mongoose Khan attempted to stall out the Smoke Jaguars with politics and secure a victory off the battlefield.

The Smoke Jaguar Khans saw this political maneuver as an attempt to circumvent the Way of the Clans as written by Nicholas Kerensky and accused Clan Mongoose of treason, calling for the Grand Council to grant them the right to absorb Clan Mongoose. Clan Mongoose had spent a generation or more making enemies in the Grand Council, and the vote to begin the Trial of Absorption was passed. The ensuing Trial of Absorption strengthened the Smoke Jaguars and set the stage for their rise to prominence as an Invading Clan over a hundred years later.

The Coyotl, the first OmniMech created by Clan Coyote.

The remaining two major events were less political. In 2854, Clan Coyote unveiled its new cutting edge weapon, the OmniMech. Basing the technology off of Star League prototype modular weapon pods, the OmniMech was immediately sought after by every other Clan. The other major technological jump was pioneered by Clan Wolf, who first fielded battle armored infantry in 2868. Like the OmniMech before it, Clan Wolf’s battle armor was highly sought by the rest of the Clans. A little over a decade later, every Clan possessed both OmniMech and battle armor technology.

Followed up by Clan Hells Horses’ development of the Elemental phenotype, and several technological advances in the weapons of warfare pioneered by several different leading Clans, the Clans soon found themselves standing on the shoulders of the Star League in terms of weapons and eugenics technology, able to reach heights until then unseen in capability and power.

Elemental Battle Armor

Culture of Ritual

By the time the Golden Century came to an end in 2935, heralded in, according to many Clan historians, by the death of ilKhan Tobias Khatib of Clan Cloud Cobra, the Clans had also established a brand new society that is quite alien and unique compared to anything found in the Inner Sphere or the Periphery states.

Almost every form of conflict resolution in the Clans can be found in the form of a Trial. Becoming a warrior, gaining a new rank, settling a dispute, justifying breaking the chain of command, and hundreds of other matters are all settled by each of the separate castes in a manner befitting said caste. The most commonly known Trials are those that govern the dominant Warrior Caste and are fully detailed in other manuscripts.

The rigidity of the Clan caste system became solidified and continued to dictate all levels of Clan and inter-Clan operations. Everything about how the Clans operate as a society, from selection of leadership to how each individual Clan operates both internally and between each other, is ultimately guided by the caste system.

Clan Cloud Cobra MechWarrior

Clan Cloud Cobra MechWarrior

Warriors stand at the top of the caste system, revered and respected for their martial prowess and ability. Below the Warriors stand the Scientists, who oversee the massive trueborn eugenics programs and develop new technologies. Below the Scientists, the Technician caste operates solely to keep the Warrior and Scientist castes operational, overseeing construction and repairs on everything from BattleMechs and DropShips to habitat systems and mining equipment. A wild card caste, the Merchant caste officially operates below the Technician caste, but in some Clans, such as Clan Sea Fox (formerly known as Clan Diamond Shark), the Merchant caste plays a much more vital and important role in the Clan and is seen as just as important as the Scientist caste, if not the Warrior caste, in certain situations. Clan Sea Fox stands as an extreme example of this, however, and the Merchant caste of most Clans fits into the society right below the Technician caste. Lowest in the caste hierarchy is the Laborer caste. The people relegated to this caste see a hard life of endless work and toil, enjoying the fewest freedoms of any of the castes. Most Clans regard their Laborer caste as only one step above easily discarded refuse.

In almost all of Clan society, no matter the caste, trueborns are almost always considered as higher in status than freeborn members of society. This usually is most true in the Warrior caste, but it can make a difference in other castes, most commonly in the Scientist caste, where eugenics and blood legacies are revered with a near religious zeal.

Though not officially a caste, one more level of Clan society has made itself known to us since the Invasion. Commonly referred to as the Dark Caste, these outcasts of Clan society are usually little more than pirates and dissidents who attempt to shirk the Way of the Clans and elect to eke out a meager existence on the fringes of Clan space. In past decades, members of the Dark Caste have even made their way to the Periphery and the outer rim of the Inner Sphere. Not officially recognized as a caste, or as anything else, by the other members of Clan society, the Dark Caste is none the less a black mark on the Clans and stands as a part of their society, no matter how much they would prefer it to be discarded.

Out of the Fire

The Clans that came out of the Golden Century were a refined version of what Nicholas Kerensky had left to its own devices one hundred years before. Each individual Clan was secure in its identity, or well on its way, and many of the alliances and old hatreds between certain Clans that exists today finds their origins in the Golden Century.

Moving out of their renaissance, the Clans would soon turn their minds to the Inner Sphere and begin to question whether or not it was time for the Star League to return.

For further reading about the Golden Century, check out “Era Digest: Golden Century” available from the following online retail locations.

BattleCorps – Era Digest: Golden Century

DriveThruRPG – Era Digest: Golden Century

A Hobby Project: Clan Coyote Star

Inspiration

I recently found myself with three leftover Clan ‘Mechs. They didn’t make it into my Ghost Bear or Jade Falcon forces, so I sat them on the shelf and started looking through Clan RATs (Random Assignment Tables) from a few different books to see what kind of theme of which they might be the start.

After a little bit of searching, I came upon an opportunity. One of my favorite OmniMechs since I first saw it is the Savage Coyote, but not really having much of an interest in the Homeworlds Clans, I had never had the opportunity to pick one up. The three ‘Mechs for which I was trying to find a home were a Guillotine IIC, a Highlander IIC, and a Timber Wolf from the latest Intro Box Set. Seeing all of these ‘Mechs on the RAT for Clan Coyote, I saw my chance to finally get a Savage Coyote, and I immediately went to Iron Wind Metals’ website to see about filling the remaining spots in what was now designated as a Clan Coyote Star.

The Savage Coyote was an easy pick, and though I had to pay the archive fee, I thought the extra price would be worth the payout for the project.

The remaining spot in the Star came down to a choice between two ‘Mechs, a Rabid Coyote and a Septicemia. I like both ‘Mechs a lot, and I really wish I could have added them both to the roster. But I only needed one of them, so I did a little re-reading about Clan Coyote and ultimately came to the conclusion that the Septicemia was the better ‘Mech to fill the spot.

I liked it more for a few reasons. First, it contributes to the Star being a little heavier overall, which is a Clan Coyote trademark. Also, it put the composition of the Star at three OmniMechs and two BattleMechs, also a hallmark of Clan Coyote, who is known for fielding a large percentage of OmniMechs. Also, I really liked the idea of throwing in the slightly controversial design. Being associated with the Society, the Septicemia (also known as the Pariah) is the only ‘Mech chassis associated with the Society that is still approved for use by the Grand Council after the Wars of Reaving.

All of this culminated into placing a minis order from Ironwind Metals and a small hobby supplies order from The War Store.

The Project

I am not a master level painter. I usually paint for what I consider to be “tabletop standard,” so for the more serious hobbyists and painters who may read this, I know I cut a lot of corners (I don’t mind mold lines!), don’t pay attention to enough details, and rush through several steps. Here, along with pictures, is the story of my Clan Coyote Star Project.

1. Assembly

PrimerCoat2

The first step was to get them put together and primered. I used the Army Painter Primer and Basecoat in Crystal Blue for this step. My plan was to use Army Painter’s Quickshade product for this project, so I counted the spray primer as the basecoat for these models and did not paint on an extra coat. As you will see in the next few pictures, I use a Hobby Lobby brand acrylic paint for my miniatures.

2. Colors

Colors

In this step, I picked out the parts that I wanted to be metal as well as applied grey and a few other colors to match the chosen scheme. The Silver color was a bit brighter than I would have liked it to be, and I was curious to see how the Quickshade would tone it down. The paint scheme for the Star is derived from Clan Coyote’s Alpha Galaxy, with the noted exception that I did not include the double stripe that is usually painted down the left torso and leg of each ‘Mech. After doing a rather bad job on one of the minis and having to cover it up, I decided that I did not have the patience to try to do that part of the paint scheme well, and I skipped that part of the scheme in order to have the minis look a little better.

3. Quickshade

Quickshade

This was the part of the process about which I was most nervous. I had never used Quickshade before, but I did know one thing: I was not going to dip the minis. I elected instead to paint it into the minis, and I ended up letting them dry for over 48 hours. I’m sure they would have been fine with the recommended 24 hour drying period, but I was unable to get back to the project for two days after this step. I was very pleased with how the Quickshade worked, giving a good, worn shading effect to the models.

4. Finishing Touches

Finished1

After some basic basing, which included just painted the bases brown and using some simple flock, I applied a coat matte varnish. I didn’t use the Army Painter matte spray, just some generic spray that I’ve had around for a while, but I don’t think the result was any different.

Finished2

The matte varnish muted the shiny Quickshade nicely, and I think the minis turned out looking like I spent far more time on them than I did.

Finished3

Overall, I am very pleased with how this project turned out. I will probably take a little more care as I launch into painting my other units, but I am not at all disappointed with anything about how the Coyote Star turned out.

5. One Last Thing

I do plan to order decals for these ‘Mechs, so at some point in the future they will have Clan Coyote markings. It’s just a matter of getting them ordered and in, but for now, I’m considering the project completed.

Wrap-Up

Painting minis for the tabletop can be a daunting task, but I hope that I demonstrated that it doesn’t have to necessarily take a massive amount of time and effort to achieve good looking results that will make for great games on the tabletop whether playing on hex maps or tabletop terrain.

– Dave

The Clans of Kerensky, Part One: Rise of the Clans

Symbol of the Clans

This ongoing series attempts to cover the impact that the Clans, both as a society and as individual entities, have had on the Inner Sphere, since their arrival in 3050 to the present year of 3145.

Nearly a century has passed since the descendants of the Star League Defense Force returned to the Inner Sphere as the Clans. The landscape of the Inner Sphere, both political and physical, has been irreparably changed by their arrival, and Clans’ mark upon the history of humankind will forever be remembered.

The purpose of this series is to explore the origins of each Clan and its history and effect on the course of history, from the great Exodus of General Aleksandr Kerensky all the way to the present day. The Clans fascinate and terrify all in one look, and the majority of the Inner Sphere still does not fully understand the nature of their culture, traditions, and unique experiences that have forged each of today’s remaining Clans into what they are. Continue reading