Pillager

Pillager
Production information
Manufacturer	Hellespont 'Mech Works HildCo Interplanetary StarCorps Industries
Production Year	2594
Model	PLG-3Z
Class	Assault
Cost	22,290,000 C-bills
Technical specifications
'Mech type	Inner Sphere BattleMech
Mass	100 tons
Chassis	HildCo Heavy Type VIIQT
Armor	StarSlab/9.5 Mk II
Engine	Vlar 300 XL
Communications System	CeresCom Recon Model 12K
Targeting Tracking System	C-Apple Churchill
Heat Sinks	14 double
Speed	54 km/h
Jump Jets	HildCo Model 13
Armament	2x Gauss rifle 4x medium laser 1x large laser
BV (1.0)	2,551
BV (2.0)	2,697

Description

The largest BattleMech ever built by HildCo Interplanetary, the Pillager is built as a larger version of the Victor, and is intended for assaulting urban centers and hardened fortifications. These design parameters were paramount as the SLDF mobilized to wage the Reunification War. Later Pillagers were upgraded with more cutting-edge Star League technology. Production of the Pillager halted not because its facility was destroyed, but the advanced Gauss rifle and XL engine production lines had been obliterated by the end of the Second Succession War. Curiously, HildCo did not restart production of the original PLG-1N, rather the Pillager lines only began production again in 3058 when advanced components were once again available for the PLG-3Z.

Weapons and Equipment

The PLG-3Z Pillager is built using a lightweight Vlar 300 XL engine, which weighs half as much as a standard fusion engine and gives the Pillager a top speed of 54 km/h. The small mass of the engine allows the 'Mech to mount an obscene array of weapons. The 'Mech's mobility is enhanced with three HildCo Model 13 jump jets that allow it to jump up to ninety meters. The Pillager has excellent armor protection at nineteen and a half tons and has fourteen double heat sinks that provide more than enough heat dissipation capability for the Pillager's needs.

The primary weapons on the Pillager were a pair of Poland Main Model A Gauss rifles, which allowed the Pillager to engage an enemy at up to six hundred and sixty meters. The Gauss rifles were supported at intermediate ranges by a Defiance B3L large laser. For close range combat, the Pillager had four Ceres Arms medium lasers that provided a devastating close range barrage.

Variants

• PLG-1N 

  The original Pillager, designed in 2575 and fielded for the first two decades of the Reunification War, uses a standard fusion engine instead of the extralight model that went into production. Other limitations include a 60 meter jump range and 17 tons of armor. The weapons suite was also different, relying on twin torso mounted Autocannon/20s, a single SRM-4, and three medium lasers; one mounted in each arm and a head-mounted laser firing to the rear. Sixteen single heat sinks kept the heat under control. BV (2.0) = 1,812

• PLG-4X Pillager "Anvil" 

  Created as a defensive artillery unit, the Pillager Anvil replaces all the standard weaponry, equipment, and torso with two Long Tom Artillery Cannons. A head mounted Laser AMS required the use of a Small Cockpit. A Light Engine allows the Pillager Anvil to retain the movement curve of the original, but the jump jets and two tons of armor were replaced by experimental Coolant Pods to keep the Pillager Anvil's heat under control. BV (2.0) = 1,927

• PLG-4Z 

  The 4Z variant of the Pillager is built to provide an almost perfect long range sniper 'Mech. It walked off Hellespont Industrials' production line in the mid-3060s, as HildCo did not have the ability to produce the Capellan Confederation's new Stealth Armor, which the Strategios insisted be incorporated. The armor makes it harder to hit, as does the required Guardian ECM Suite. In order to do this, the 'Mech has had two medium lasers and the Large Laser removed. The remaining medium lasers have been upgraded to ER medium lasers. The Pillager has also replaced the XL engine with a standard engine and added CASE for more reliability, so the 'Mech can survive a side torso destruction. BV (1.0) = 2,542; BV (2.0) = 2,868

• PLG-5L 

  The 5L is an upgrade to the original 3Z. It removed one of the Gauss rifles, to make room for an Arrow IV Artillery piece and three tons of ammunition. The remaining rifle has four tons of ammunition. Three lasers remain, all of them ER medium lasers, though the large is upgraded to an ER PPC. Only ten double heat sinks remain, potentially causing serious heat problems for a MechWarrior who wishes to fire indiscriminately. Finally, a Guardian ECM Suite aids the 'Mech defensively. BV (1.0) = 1,911; BV (2.0) = 2,656

• PLG-5Z 

  This upgraded version of the 4Z removes the jump jets and a ton of Gauss ammo to mount an ER PPC. It takes advantage of the heat buildup from the Stealth Armor and PPC to mount Triple Strength Myomer so that it can move on the ground more quickly. BV (1.0) = 2,240; BV (2.0) = 3,008

• PLG-6Z 

  A reimagining of the original Pillager commonly utilized as a bodyguard for the 4Z. It mounts two Clantech LB 20-X AC which were acquired from Clan Sea Fox by the Capellan Confederation in return for germanium. The 6Z also retains the Triple Strength Myomer found in the previous 5Z variant. It additionally has two Jumpjets and a 300 Light Fusion Engine. The remaining armament is rounded out with 3 IS ER Medium Lasers, 1 IS Medium Pulse Laser, and 1 IS Large Laser providing its only long range capability. The 6Z also carries 3 tons of both Cluster and Slug LBX ammunition protected by CASE II.The lackluster backup of the ER Large Laser has led to the Strategios issuing orders that this variant should be kept near support 'Mechs while in open terrain, an order MechWarriors eager to fight often ignore. BV(2.0) = 2,714

Design Quirks

The Pillager has the following Design Quirk:

• Battlefists

Notable Pilots

See Category:Notable Pillager Pilots

Notes

• The Pillager first appeared in the apocryphal Stardate. While its artwork changed substantially between its appearance here and its subsequent publication in TRO:3058, the broad strokes of its in-universe history remained the same.

• In German products, the unit's proper name was translated to Brandschatzer. The model code was accordingly changed to BRS-3Z.

Gallery

• 

  Pillager from TRO:3058

• 

  Experimental Pillager "Anvil" from XTRO:Liao

• 

  Pillager from RG:iClan vol. 31

• 

  A Pillager in colors of Hansen's Roughriders from FM:Mercenaries

• 

  PLG-3Z Pillager in combat from CCG

• 

  Original Pillager from Stardate magazine

Bibliography

• BattleMech Manual
• Combat Operations
• Experimental Technical Readout: Liao
• Master Unit List
• Record Sheets: 3055/3058
• Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Clan & Star League)
• Record Sheets: 3058 Upgrades
• Record Sheets: Upgrades
• Stardate, Vol. 3, Issue 5
• Technical Readout: 3058
• Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade
• Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 31