Luthien (scenario pack)

This article is about the scenario pack. For other uses, see Luthien (disambiguation).

Luthien
Product information
Type	Scenario Pack
Development	Scott Jenkins
Primary writing	Thomas S. Gressman
Pages	96
Cover Artwork	Les Dorscheid (Art) Mark Ernst (Design)
Interior Artwork	Ernesto Hernandez (Logo Design)
Illustrations	Earl Geier Malcolm Hee Mike Jackson Mike Nielsen Gary Washington
First Publication
Publisher	FASA
PIC	1678
Published	December 1993
ISBN-10	1555602061
ISBN-13	978-1555602062
MSRP	$12.00
Content
Contents	includes a double-sided game map
Era	Clan Invasion era
Timeline	3052

Description

Luthien covers one of the pivotal battles of the initial Clan Invasion, the Battle of Luthien of early 3052 when Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Nova Cat launched a joint assault on the Draconis Combine's capital world. The scenario pack also contained a double-sided boardgame map that was not published elsewhere. One side depicts a part of Imperial City on Luthien, used for one scenario from the book. The other side depicts the Kado-guchi Valley; this map is used for a large battle under simplified rules vaguely similar to BattleForce. Finally, it introduced three new BattleMechs, the Hankyu, the Nobori-nin and the Cauldron-Born.

From the back cover

“

Humiliated by their defeat on the planet Wolcott, the warriors of Clan Smoke Jaguar have returned to the Inner Sphere to avenge themselves against the armies of the Draconis Combine. Bolstered by Clan Nova Cat, the invaders have massed an invasion fleet of new OmniMechs, battle-armored Elementals and aerospace fighters to destroy the Dragon. Their target? Luthien, the Black Pearl, capital of the Realm and home to the Imperial Palace. Luthien lets you join the action as these fearsome invaders square off against the Combine's most elite MechWarriors and some of the Inner Sphere's finest mercenary units in an epic battle of the Clan Wars. Luthien is a BattleTech scenario pack that includes a detailed history of the Battle of Luthien, personality profiles and MechWarrior statistics for major players in the engagement, game statistics for three new OmniMech designs, and two full-size BattleTech mapsheets of the Imperial City and the Kado-guchi Valley.

”

Contents

• Introduction
  • How to Use this Book

• History
  • Know Thine Enemy
  • A Strange Alliance
  • Invasion Renewed
  • Jaguar Prepares
  • Unlikely Allies
  • Planning Strategy
  • Davion Betrayal?
  • Final Preparations

• Personalities
  • Theodore Kurita
  • Shin Yodama
  • Narimasa Asano
  • Takashi Kurita
  • Morgan Finn Kell
  • Jaime Wolf
  • Dorian Wirth
  • Severen Leroux
  • Lucian Carns

• Scenarios
  • Battle of Luthien
  • Special Forces
  • New 'Mechs
  • Table of Organization
  • The Cat Springs
  • Into the Fire
  • First Skirmish
  • Trojan Horses
  • Sword Play
  • The Wave Breaks
  • Dogfight
  • Hounds' Teeth
  • Back Stab
  • The Sheep Fight
  • Black Thunder
  • Blind Man's Bluff
  • In the Dark
  • Cat and Dragon
  • We Are the Anvil
  • A Samurai's Death
  • Street Fighting
  • Valley of Death
  • Kado-guchi Valley Rosters

• New 'Mechs
  • Hankyu
  • Nobori-nin
  • Cauldron-Born

Gallery

Main category: Images from Luthien (scenario pack)

• 

  Battle of Luthien (12)
• 

  Battle of Luthien (16)
• 

  Battle of Luthien (20)
• 

  Battle of Luthien (21)
• 

  BattleMaster during the Battle of Luthien
• 

  Morgan Kell's Archer
• 

  Battle of Luthien (4)
• 

  Rifleman BattleMech
• 

  Battle of Luthien (42)
• 

  Battle of Luthien (44)
• 

  Photo of Imperial City map
• 

  Photo of Kado-guchi Valley map

Canonicity

The Luthien scenario pack became somewhat infamous for numerous factual errors. Many individual bits of information from Luthien have since been identified as false and have been superseded by other information from subsequent canonical sources. Line Developer Herbert A. Beas II once made a statement to the effect that certain products including this one are considered "secondary sources" by the writers staff, but this should not be construed to mean they are not canonical. It is standard procedure in cases of conflicting information to treat later publications as accurate over earlier publications.

“	And, if Sarna used the Luthien scenario pack as a resource there, the fact is, that book proved to be so riddled with errors, it--like First Edition Periphery and Objective Raids--is now seen by our staff as a "secondary source": Canon only in areas where it does not clash with other canon.	”
	— Herbert A. Beas, BattleTech Line Developer, 08 Jul 2012

Notes

• Written from an omniscient perspective and not as an in-universe document like most sourcebooks
• Clan DropShips mentioned in the book are classified as Union or Leopard class. According to an official ruling by Ray "Adrian Gideon" Arrastia, made in the "Ask the Lead Developers" section of the BattleTech Forum which is reserved for official rulings, these can be assumed to be their Clan equivalents instead. (The Clan DropShip classes had not yet been written into canon when this scenario pack was written.)