MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat/Bloodright Trials

Bloodright Trial 1

BRIEFING

  • Planet: Alshain
  • Terrain: Cavern
  • Time: Day

You have been nominated by a Bloodnamed warrior of your Clan to compete for the Tseng Bloodright. Now, you must fight the other nominees, and to the victory will go the most prized honor that exists among the Clans: a Bloodname.

Thirty-two warriors will fight for the Bloodname. In order for you to succeed, you must be victorious in five one-on-one battles. Destroy all those who oppose you.

In your first battle for the Bloodname Tseng, you will fight against Jocelyn, a MechWarrior in the First Bear Guards, based on Rubigen. She pilots a Summoner and uses her jump jets frequently to keep the combat from close quarters. While you are in combat, the other fifteen battles will be fought at different sites.

  • Name: Jocelyn
  • Unit: First Bear Guards
  • Kills: 27

OBJECTIVE

  • Primary: Destroy MechWarrior Jocelyn

INTELLIGENCE

I welcome you. You have been chosen to contend for the noble Bloodname of Tseng. Let the combat begin!

DETAILS

Clan members have no last names, just that of their Clan. Nicholas Kerensky decreed that surnames fostered bonds of familial loyalty made obsolete by the Clan eugenics program, and desired that loyalty to be applied only to the Clan. The only surnames that he allowed were Bloodnames, titles of honor awarded only to the best of each Clan.

The Bloodnames of the Clans are those of the original 800 warriors who left the Pentagon with Nicholas Kerensky, less the 40 names stricken after the Trial of Annihilation which destroyed the Not-Named Clan. Only 25 people can hold a Bloodname at once. Whenever a Bloodnamed warrior dies, a Trial of Bloodright is called to determine who will replace the fallen warrior.

In order that each warrior who wins a Bloodname defeat all others who have a claim on the name, Kerensky established an elaborate system by which the Bloodnamed warrior is chosen. Only warriors who are matrilineally related to the original nameholder are allowed to battle for the honor of bearing it.

Each warrior who holds that Bloodname nominates one contender. The head of that Bloodname house then nominates enough warriors to bring the number to 31, and the final spot is left to qualified warriors who were not nominated, who fight in a Grand Melee until only one stands. This warrior fills the 32nd spot of the Trial of Bloodright.

These 32 warriors then fight a series of one-on-one battles, until one warrior is victorious. That warrior then joins the ranks of the Bloodnamed.

In the quest for the genetic material, Aeneas Tseng died before combat was ended in the aborted battle on Arc-Royal. Because of his death, ther will now be a Trial of Bloodright to give that Bloodname to a new warrior. As you are matrilineally related to Sandra Tseng, you qualify tor the Bloodright. You were nominated because of your heroic role in recovering the genetic material.

As Tseng is a Bloodname reserved for MechWarriors, all of your battles will be fought in ‘Mechs. Thirty-two warriors are assembled, ready to fight to the death, if necessary, for the right to bear the name Tseng. Among those entered are two warriors from your sibko. Also in the contest is Ragnarok, who, despite his outstanding battle records, was not nominated because of his erratic, undependable fighting style. He entered the Grand Melee and was the last standing of 30 warriors. If you face him, he will prove a difficult foe.

DEBRIEFING

You successfully dispatched your first opponent, but the road to a Bloodname is long and arduous. You have just begun. Athena, one of your sibkin, was killed in the first round, taken out by a lucky missile fired by her opponent as he crashed to the ground. She was a much stronger warrior, but such is the way of the Trial of Bloodright.

INTELLIGENCE

Transmission: From Tech: Well done! The other battles were unremarkable, except for this MechWarrior, Ragnarok. He fights like the Pentagon Flu.

AFTERMATH

No additional information.

Bloodright Trial 2

BRIEFING

  • Planet: Alshain
  • Terrain: Cavern
  • Time: Day

Your second round opponent is Victoria of the 3rd Jaguar Cavaliers. She was captured as a bondsman by Clan Smoke Jaguar in a skirmish over a disputed planet, and then earned Warrior status with them. Though she is not of our Clan, she qualifies for the Tseng name. She is now trained in the bloodthirsty ways of the Smoke Jaguars, and will bring all of their renowned ferocity to combat. She pilots a Timber Wolf, and depends on long range missiles and jump jets to keep apart from combat and hammer away at her opponents’ defenses from afar.

  • Name: Victoria
  • Unit: 3rd Jaguar Cavaliers
  • Kills: 29

OBJECTIVES

  • Primary: Destroy MechWarrior Victoria

INTELLIGENCE

Transmission: From Tech: You took some damage in that last battle, but I have gotten you back up to speed. Now, show the Clan what you are made of!

DEBRIEFING

You have succeeded in keeping the Tseng name within the Clan. No Jaguar will bear that sacred name. Ragnarok, too, remains in the Trial after defeating a warrior with deadly accuracy but slow reactions. Ragnarok’s impetuous combat style overwhelmed her.

INTELLIGENCE

Transmission: From Tech: That Jaguar was no match for you! Good thing, too. I do not know how well the Blood House would have taken it if the name were to be ripped from the Clan.

AFTERMATH

No additional information.

Bloodright Trial 3

BRIEFING

  • Planet: Alshain
  • Terrain: Cavern
  • Time: Day

You now face Grendel, who fought in the aborted attack on Arc-Royal. He pilots an Executioner and relies on his machine guns while engaging his opponents at close quarters. His opponent in the previous round was equipped only with long-range weapons. Grendel moved in swiftly and disabled her before she had a chance to target him. Learn from her mistake.

  • Name: Grendel
  • Unit: 469th Assault Trinary
  • Kills: 29

OBJECTIVE

  • Primary:Destroy MechWarrior Grendel

INTELLIGENCE

Transmission: From Tech: Your opponent is no Freebirth. Be wary of his skills. However, I expect you will succeed.

DEBRIEFING

There now remain only four warriors in the race for the Tseng Bloodname. Ragnarok, winner of the Grand Melee, is still in the competition. He won a narrow victory over a MechWarrior of superior talent and ability with his unpredictable combat style. Some of the elders of the Blood House are already complaining that they do not need such a wild and erratic warrior among their number. Put their worries to rest.

INTELLIGENCE

Transmission: From Tech: And then there were four! Your ‘Mech is looking… I will do what I can.

AFTERMATH

No additional information.  

Bloodright Trial 4

BRIEFING

  • Planet: Alshain
  • Terrain: Cavern
  • Time: Day

Your next opponent is Bjorn, one of your sibkin. You must now defeat him, or die trying. Bjorn pilots a Kodiak, a heavy and powerful ‘Mech. He tends to remain stationary, absorbing attacks with his ‘Mech’s substantial armor while disabling his opponents quickly with pinpointed shots.

  • Name: Bjorn
  • Unit: 465th Striker Trinary
  • Kills: 23

OBJECTIVE

  • Primary: Destroy MechWarrior Bjorn

INTELLIGENCE

Transmission: From Tech: You are an acquaintance of MechWarrior Bjorn, I understand. Hesitate not with him. I have seen warriors lose a Bloodname because they could not fight a friend. Weakness, it is.

DEBRIEFING

You killed Bjorn, and now pass on to the final round of fighting. Only two still stand of the 32 who once contended for the Bloodname. In a hard-fought battle against an experienced and strong warior, Ragnarok snatched a quick victory by disregarding defense and attacking with a brutal onslaught. Now, you will face him.

AFTERMATH

No additional information.  

Final Bloodright Trial

BRIEFING

  • Planet: Alshain
  • Terrain: Cavern
  • Time: Day

You now face the final battle for the Tseng Bloodname. Ragnarok pilots a Grizzly. He has no usual battle style, which will make him all the more difficult to defeat. You have trained and worked for this battle since your Blooding. Now is the time to prove yourself worthy of the name Tseng.

  • Name: Ragnarok
  • Unit: 12th Battle Trinary
  • Kills: 35

OBJECTIVE

  • Primary: Destroy MechWarrior Ragnarok

INTELLIGENCE

Transmission: From Tech: Yes! Quick and merciless! The way of the MechWarrior! Ha ha!

DEBRIEFING

You have succeeded in defeating all those who covet the Tseng Bloodname. Now, that name is yours. You will live on in your descendants forever.

INTELLIGENCE

We of the Tseng Blood House now welcome our newest member: the hero who saved the genetic material of our Clan’s founder, our genemother. You are now one of us, MechWarrior. You, like us, will live forever in the warriors of our Clan.

AFTERMATH

Winning a Bloodname is the warrior’s guarantee of immortality. When you die, your genetic material will be added to that of the Clan, and thus you will continue as a warrior until the end of time. Your ashes will be returned to Strana Mechty, the planet which spawned our civilization, and there entombed with those warriors of the Tseng Bloodname who have fallen before you.