Battletech/Mechwarrior/ATOW

[hexed musk]

Re-engineered gets to keep a -1 to hit as well, as a treat.

[cerulean valley]

Game getting too complicated? Use Re-Engineered.

Oh man I forgot the Hyper Laser.
For when you want to shut down with one pull of the trigger and possibly explode

[upper warren]

The game got real complicated

Don't tempt me with a good time

[cerulean valley]

Mount two on a Fafnir for a great time

[upper warren]

At what point do they just strap a naval laser to a mech and call it a day

[cerulean valley]

heat generated from shooting: 48

[upper warren]

LMAO

[cerulean valley]

Unfortunately the lightest naval laser is still 150 tons

[upper warren]

So development in the super heavy mech continues

Until one day they can be as one

Honestly now I'm just thinking about that fight in NGE against the polyhedron

[supple jetty]

wait these are just worse than IHLLs

except for range and technically damage concentration I guess

[upper warren]

Woah I forgot how cute the jackalope was

Omg it folds in on itself!?

[cerulean valley]

Yep, it takes half a bay on a dropship!

The locust can do it too, though not to the same level of tiny

[upper warren]

That's a lot of jumpjets

[hexed musk]

the range is pretty nuts. Probably not "I explode now" good but its a pretty funny weapon

I wonder if a potential future 3167 technical readout or something will have a stabilized variant

[cerulean valley]

If you want funny "I explode now", consider the Longbow-0H. Built by the Roman Larpers out at the FWL border, it mounts 26 single-use ten-tube rocket launchers.

You alpha strike it once, it blasts 260 rockets at one poor unsuspecting fool and two obligatory PPC blasts, and then takes 98 heat and promptly dies.

[hexed musk]

Oh my god, the OH is so goddamn funny

Does it actually kill itself on alpha or just shutdown for 4 turns?

[elder ridge]

just shut down with one pilot wound, as long as you launch all the rockets

[cerulean valley]

If you're using the expanded heat scale it caps at 50, so you'll be taking a free critical, pilot damage, and a shutdown

Luckily after you fire all those rockets there won't be any ammo left to explode

[hexed musk]

Ah lul
I mean you're an immobile target someone is probably going to sling some hate your way

[supple jetty]

RE lasers also get -1 to hit

[supple jetty]

the best part is that this is in MWO and while funny it's not very good

"best use" is something like this where your first alpha has 120 extra damage and then you're a knockoff catapult for the rest of the game

[hexed musk]

Ah, reminds me of the glorious DIRE STAR

[shrewd plover]

So thinking of like a reasonable star fighting list and it ended up with a core of like 8 savannahs, 3 LRM carriers, and 4 Demolishers

[hexed musk]

Demolishers are tough but they are also slow. Clanners can kite them all day.

[cerulean valley]

Are Alacorns an option?

If not Schreks's are a good, tough/long range alternative.

[supple jetty]

the double gauss demolisher variant is solid too

Though imo if you're taking 8 savannah masters the list is already deep into cheese territory

[shrewd plover]

8 is already cheesy?

huh

[supple jetty]

More than two is cheese imo

[shrewd plover]

like there's no plan to do the wall of hovercrafts or anything

[supple jetty]

8 already gives you a massive initiative edge and 8 rear shots with medium lasers is A Lot

[hexed musk]

What's the bv of this list already?

[supple jetty]

You've got 24 activations there and against an opponent bringing battlemechs they'll have 4 to 8

So by the time they are done with the round you haven't even committed 2/3 of your list and like 80% of your BV

[shrewd plover]

5 usually, I've been informed it's 10K for clan stars

[shrewd plover]

thought I had to move 5 models for every mech they activate

[shrewd plover]

bit shy of 10K

[supple jetty]

No battletech is alternating activation

[hexed musk]

Yeah so if you're fighting clanners they're bringing 5 mechs. Maybe 8 units total if they have elementals, you have 24 lol

[supple jetty]

Shooting and fighting occur simultaneously at the end of the round but movement is alternating

[hexed musk]

Which means you have to move 3-4 units for every one of theirs, leaving all of your demolishers or half of your savanna masters to go last - that's the danger of initiative stacking

Now if you can find a player willing to try this on as a sort of for fun narrative game go for it! They might like the challenge

See if their god machines of war can stop grit, steel, and numbers.

[supple jetty]

Oh right uneven its not quite that bad

[shrewd plover]

the idea was to make a combined arms looking mess

[hexed musk]

I think you have succeeded lmao

[supple jetty]

but still yeah you'll be much better able to compensate for what they do

[shrewd plover]

savannahs are there for survival speed is armour spotting

for the LRMs

sitting with the command unit

[hexed musk]

Maybe if you had a few friends to share the cognitive load you could even run it in a somewhat timely manner

[supple jetty]

Rear arc TAG with semi-guided still hits the rear, right?

[hexed musk]

What the fuck i hope not

[supple jetty]

Or was that AIV

[shrewd plover]

idea is still that this is kinda a garrison force

narratively

[supple jetty]

Homing AIV does this, semi-guided just gets a big pile of bonuses

[hexed musk]

Semi-guided ignore most movement penalties, it seems very spooky

[supple jetty]

Yeah but it's not a homing AIV to the rear torso

[hexed musk]

Gross.

[shrewd plover]

I mean more does it look like a 'reasonable' in universe vehicle force?

it's clearly unreasonable OOC

well out of universe

[copper wind]

if you really want to cheese people with arrow IV you can simply take cluster and direct fire

[hexed musk]

The number of savannas is probably too high and i think you need an intermediate between scorpions and demolishers.

Otherwise, yes

[shrewd plover]

Fair, what's the vehicle though hahsha

[copper wind]

couple bulldogs perhaps

some pattons if you want something more high end

[hexed musk]

Yeah
Tigers are another cheap, ICE-equipped tank

[shrewd plover]

Manticore?

Also why is the scorpion more expensive ahhaha

[hexed musk]

Manticores have fusion engines but are otherwise perfect

[copper wind]

yeah it's a pretty rich garrison force that has manticores

[shrewd plover]

Cut manticores then

[copper wind]

but it's high end like the patton

there's also the noble po

[hexed musk]

Goblins too as afvs could work

Oh yeah Pos are good

[copper wind]

but they are distinctly capellan and friends

[shrewd plover]

Oooh yeah

[hexed musk]

Sarna says FWL and mercs buy them too

[shrewd plover]

Idea is to make a force thst isn't just mechs because mechs are rare dammit hahaha

Too little infantry or just enough?

[hexed musk]

If you're doing a periphery force its perfectly canon
(Honestly I would also be okay with anyone using a periphery unit list for any backwater garrison)

[copper wind]

yeah for sure

I used to play on a dedicated server and a buddy of mine at one point rolled up a canopian armoured regiment

and about fully half of his units were po tanks of various flavours

was pretty funny

[shrewd plover]

Cutting down the hovercraft to

4

1 lance of hover scours

Scouts and pushing up to 4 scorpions

A Lance of

Each hmmm

[shrewd plover]

Holy wow

that point and CBill difference is wild

[upper warren]

LMAO the SM is just a really expensive car. It's wild to me a person with a salary could afford one

[shrewd plover]

Savannah Master is cheaper and mostly competetive with a scorpion as a light mech hunter

[upper warren]

I think a friend who's reading Alpha Strike wants to do combined arms company. I think I'll encourage a game between us to be company of infantry (I think that's the org), a lance of armor, and a lance of battlemechs

40k fan so I think that stuff interests him more

[hexed musk]

The creation bug has gotten me and I'm working with my friend to make a PvE Alpha Strike mode, sort of in the vein of what CGL is releasing soon™️

Its hard to go from the ideas phase to the concrete rules phase.

Also inspired by the Horde Mode for 40k created by the Poorhammer Podcast.

[upper warren]

Poorhammer is a great name

That's awesome

[upper warren]

It's super wild to me that Alaric deforested 500 square kilometer of forest in Vietnam. I know the US did like 10 times that but still

[hexed musk]

Hold up what

[upper warren]

Yeah, in ilClan, his forces burnt a bunch of the woods apparently to route out a successful defense. They got frustrated bc they kept falling for the RAFs traps

PG 26

[shrewd plover]

Agent orange was invented as a defoliation agent and roughly

[upper warren]

This book is kinda fucking me up. I think it's one this to read about like... Scifi planets and shit, but reading about the literal sacking of earth is maybe is hitting a little close

[shrewd plover]

I don't think it was 5000 square kilometers @upper warren

[upper warren]

500

[shrewd plover]

Iirc the number was 31k sqauee

For the agent orange defoliation

I nean

[hexed musk]

I knew about agent orange I'm just astounded that alaric doing it again in vietnam is canon

[shrewd plover]

Did you know that Vietnam wasn't the first use of Agent Orange?

As a weapon of war?

[upper warren]

I was curious and looked up on Wikipedia, they claim 7,700km

Just yeah I'm like.... Wooooow this is hard to read

[upper warren]

Doesn't surprise me, where was it first used somewhere in the US?

[shrewd plover]

Nopeee

Malaysia

During the not a war

for insurance reasons

The Emergency

[upper warren]

Lord

[hexed musk]

Oh no

[shrewd plover]

The Malayan Emergency was not a war because of insurance rates

Is also the reason I joke that the NYPD is wasting its money

Since it can't fight a guerilla jungle war

[upper warren]

I only recently found out about the Atlanta red dogs drug and gang unit. That s*** is wild

[upper warren]

Anymore?

[shrewd plover]

I don't see NYPD officers doing days long foot patrols in jungles

Half the emergency was fought with Malaysian police units

[hexed musk]

Back in the saddle again, in other news.

[upper warren]

I'm jonesing for an Alpha strike game so bad

I love that paint scheme

[hexed musk]

Its a lot of fun. To keep myself from burning out I paint them up without the spots
And only apply them once the mech has earned them in glorious battle.

These two held out against 8 IS mechs in a 3 man ffa and slew 4.

[upper warren]

Good boys

[wet nova]

https://bsky.app/profile/11dragonkid11.bsky.social/post/3l7hlmha5532e

[upper warren]

Truly

Gundam kinda understands but by accident

[vocal pulsar]

Every gundam should be as homoerotic as wing

every mech show ever even

[upper warren]

@wet nova Has there been any canon gay characters in BT I can't think of any

[hexed musk]

I thought that some of the newer books have a couple lgbt characters actually

https://www.reddit.com/r/battletech/comments/13zli13/what_confirmed_character_sexualities_do_we_have/

According to this thread BT was fielding lgbt characters 40 years ago with Mccarron

Some of the writing is very "20th century sci fi writer gooning" though.

[upper warren]

You can say Victor Milan

[river wolf]

This comment made me lol.

https://www.reddit.com/r/battletech/comments/13zli13/comment/jms394p/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

[upper warren]

So Good

[indigo hinge]

Since clanners are so casual about sex and have next to no romantic connotations with it, I could also see bisexuality be fairly normalised with them.

[wet nova]

it might be so normalized that they straight up don't think other sexes can exist.

[indigo hinge]

Yeah, wouldn't be surprised.

[junior zodiac]

clanner calling you a slur: "HetSexer"

is that anything

[quartz jasper]

it's about a silly as every other slang word the clans have

[elder ridge]

Free Birth is not that far from breeder TBH

[hexed musk]

Yeah honestly if I were to depict clanners today I'd probably make them a genderless society - it doesn't matter what gender you are for making a kid "the correct way" so why even care?

No gender divide in jobs, roles, social positions, or clothing either.

[orchid nest]

That seems to be how MW5 clans is doing smoke jaguar.

[upper warren]

I think there was some line in blood of kerensky about the clans not knowing or being taught about romantic feelings. I think Ranna went into it bc she caught feelings for Phelan and was like what the fuck is this? And then a bunch of characters from the inner sphere were like oh shit, we gotta have the talk.

So the idea that the clans being basically genderless essentially would make a lot of sense if it were written today

[shrewd plover]

It ain't an accident in gundam

:p

[shrewd plover]

Braven took it as a challenge

[indigo hinge]

At last. Four Atlasses.

[hexed monolith]

The complete Steiner Scout Lance

[indigo hinge]

You know it. Especially Mr. Bones, he's my favourite scout. Now with the greatsword.

[teal crater]

Lot to improve on, but I'm calling these two done. First figs I've ever finished.
My take on what a Hanseatic Regional Defense Force 7 paintjob might look like'

[indigo hinge]

Looks like a fun colour scheme. Good job on your first pair.

[azure stream]

WIP, Cyclops for 1st Ghost Regiment

[hexed musk]

Yoooooooooo

[upper warren]

Anyone try Mechwarrior Destiny? The combat seems pretty straightforward and easy but I feel like I'm missing something

Oh I see... It's just not very much like BT/AS at all...

[cerulean valley]

It sits between BT and AS in terms of damage and hit resolution, but the range and positioning elements are kind of missing.

[cerulean valley]

I recall there was a homebrew system that used AS rules but took MW Destiny's statblocks and combined them too

[upper warren]

How did you feel about the rest of the system?

[cerulean valley]

Ambivalent. It's trying to do a narrative first system but outside of edge being usable as a plot point ala the cortex system it's still more grounded.
The crunch is simplified to remove the simulationist and tactical element, but there's a lack of narrative first mechanics to support it imo.

It works as a simplified lite Mechwarrior RPG.

Ummm serviceable but not really outstanding. Yeah

[azure stream]

1st Ghost Regiment, makes a decent C3 lance at ~7K BV.

[indigo hinge]

Ah, I have the same box and use it for a C3 lance, too. Fun to experiment with.

Shoving the Spider up someone's ass and barraging them with high accuracy fire is great fun.

[upper warren]

What the heck is the difference between the Force Manual and Combat Manual? They seem very similar

[surreal furnace]

I've been listening to a lot of BattleTech lore lately and boy howdy someone should've done something about that Amaris fella.

[hexed musk]

not a nice fellow, was he?

[surreal furnace]

No, not very.

[cerulean valley]

Combat Manual was the older Alpha Strike specific line of faction manuals that got scrapped. The Force Manuals are a newer line that incorporates both Classic and Alpha Strike elements.

[hexed musk]

Yeah, noticably they include Alphastrike-style force deployments with specific mechanical benefits

In classic

I played a round where my Davion opponent had a lance that got a cumulative -1 to hit for every mech that hit a target previously in the round.
I'm sure some of these can be broken but it was pretty flavorful and I still rolled over him with a couple of aggressive clanner mechs

[upper warren]

God, you could really break that. Glad it didn't swing the fight too hard

[hexed musk]

Some of the lances do have pretty tight restrictions, like only using mechs on a certain faction list and rarity

My oppponet is a good dude, he likes bringing flavorful forces

[upper warren]

I do think it's pretty neat tho. It does sound like it rhymes with some 40k or Warmachine mechanics

[naive hatch]

Always liked more flavorful matches. It's kinda why I've always been a little cool on like, custom loadouts for mechs.

"Oh wow, neat, you stripped off some excess weapons and added medium lasers and bulked up on armor and heat sinks. And you did that for nearly every me--huh, all your mechs kind of have the same loadout."

Even with BVs like... Btech gets kinda samey if you don't add some spice.

[upper warren]

Oh boy, bought the rough rider box and I'm paralyzed by indecision about painting them

[surreal furnace]

Taurian Concordat.

[upper warren]

Hahaha. I already live in the US so I guess it's my fate.

[surreal furnace]

The Concordat isn’t that bad.

[upper warren]

True, I suppose I over exaggerated

[upper warren]

Maybe Fronc Reaches

Or Tamar

[upper warren]

Anyone familiar with turret rules in MekHQ?

[hexed musk]

POV: you just won the game with the ATGD: Anti-Tank Guided Dasher

[azure stream]

The Dasher is a Blake-damned menace and deserves every Clan LPL on the planet pointing at it.

[hexed musk]

The E variant isn't too oppressive, it mostly serves as an elemental caddy. This one lost its arm and right torso to a ppc shot early and spent the rest of the game long bomb charging people.

God's strongest lil guy

[wicked arch]

quick question how useable is the cyclops?

[hexed musk]

Depends heavily on the variant. The gauss versions (especially the dual gauss) are solid, while the AC/20 variants are frankly mediocre

That is not to say they're unusable, their low armor is primarily focused on the torso so it goes further than you'd expect and a 4/6 AC/20 with two big punchies to back it up is a real threat at any tech level

It's one of my favorite mechs honestly no matter its issues, and in AS its a beast

[wicked arch]

cool, i was thinking of getting into Battletech and its so far my favorite mech

[hexed musk]

Hell yeah brother

Like. A lot of the 3025 versions of the mech are 1300 BV or less, it'll get rocked by high end assaults. But you have the money left afterwards to bring a buddy and now it starts evening out

[indigo hinge]

I use a Cyclops to lead a C3 lance. My little Spider jumps into the back of a 'mech and the rest nails it with long range weapons.

If you play with quirks, Battle Computer means a big boost in initiative, that's also very helpful.

[wicked arch]

what was the best place to build lists and also is there a recommended BV to aim for for my list?

[hexed musk]

A guy in my group likes this:
https://www.reactorops.com/search_page

5k seems to be common, though my group is shifting to 6k. 10k seems to be the high limit, though I've never played above 7k.

I would say to start at 5k

[indigo hinge]

Yeah, 5K is pretty good it seems. Makes for a fun lance.

[indigo hinge]

Reactor Ops is pretty neat. Alternatively, juggling Master Unit List with some Sarna reading can also work.

[hexed musk]

I personally like 6K slightly more because you can actually fit 2 clan mechs with 3/4 pilots and two points of elementals in a list

whereas a 5k list makes that really hard.

[indigo hinge]

6K does allow a bit more playroom. More toys. Better pilots will also make a match go a little faster.

[hexed musk]

I'mma say it
4/5 matches go slow because people don't stand and walk enough with their heavies

you have ARMOR you do not need to DODGE you only get 1 TMM anyways

Take it on the chin loser

[supple jetty]

turkina noises

[hexed musk]

lmao
I literally played a 6k last night with a 3/4 Daishi H, the ATGD (Dasher E) and 2 elementals

the Daishi alone was 4k

but, like 4 head choppers on a target computer totting 3/4 mech rocked some mechs

[teal crater]

Luckyyy!

[upper warren]

Eyyyy it's a little guy!

[hexed musk]

Yeah so if you opponent brings arrow 4's, don't play against them lol

[waxen fulcrum]

But then what will your Raven do?

[hexed musk]

Call unguided longtoms like god intended

[waxen fulcrum]

https://tenor.com/view/why-not-both-why-not-take-both-gif-11478682

[hexed musk]

Because your opponent will stop playing with you lmao

Getting homing a4'd today was about the worst gaming experience I've ever had

[waxen fulcrum]

Just use the Giga AMS

[lapis cove]

bring your own arrow 4 on an urbie

maybe invest in aerospace to go on a scud Arrow 4 hunt

[supple jetty]

lemme guess, they had TAG on something fast that could get reliable rear aspect locks?

[hexed musk]

Not even - battle armor so i couldn't fucking hit it without getting up close

[supple jetty]

ah

[hexed musk]

And then boom, they hit on 6 to 8's and my JVN-10 is fucking toast in 1 shot

Before it even gets to fire

[supple jetty]

oh

yeah that'll do it

[hexed musk]

Like that was the idiot i brought to deal with you scoundrels

It doesnt help that he brought the demolisher with two tubes so if he really wanted something dead it took two 20 damage hits a turn

[supple jetty]

oh

oh my

[hexed musk]

The guy warned me ahead of time and he was a good sport when it was clear I wasn't having fun but fuck dude that sucked

I expected like, vtols with tags so i rocked up with a partisan lol

And a wraith for hunting lights
But it didnt matter! If I was in IS pulse range I was also in the "fuck you die" zone

[waxen fulcrum]

That's where you use Gauss

[hexed musk]

Next time i hear "homing arrow 4" im bringing a warhawk C and a hellstar, we going scorched earth

[shrewd plover]

Brain is still going Hmmmm at all conventional 'army'

[indigo hinge]

Early christmas present. This is gonna be a wild ride to play on.

[hexed musk]

I can say with experience that the jungle map is a doozy.

[indigo hinge]

Looking forward to it.

[verbal trout]

Almost done with them all.

Just need four more.

[hexed musk]

I need to buy like, 3 more starter sets to get the amount of vindicators and griffins I actually want.

[verbal trout]

Why do you need that many Grifs and Vinds?

Scouts?

[hexed musk]

Vindicators just work™️ and I'd like to have both for my Aurigan Company I'm painting. Old reliable warmachines and all that.

[verbal trout]

Ah.

I understand

My company is just all over the place in the TOE.

[hexed musk]

Right now I have a Davion aligned company (thanks for the Sagittaire) and a Drac team so I'm trying to pick up another group of the usual badguys to run against my play group

(I also have a full Smoke Jaguar Trinary to really be the bad guy)

[verbal trout]

Why would you do that?

That's so evil...I love it.

[hexed musk]

This was a photo from a 850 point AS game I played with them this Thanksgiving.

I don't know, I think 6 years of being a GM has fried my brains so I only want to be the evil factions now.

[verbal trout]

Understandable

[verbal trout]

https://tenor.com/view/disneytoon-disney-toons-cartoons-animation-gif-16718231932059231940

[verbal trout]

So, tomorrow is gonna be color day for all 26 of these ladies.

https://tenor.com/view/o-no-oh-no-no-no-no-no-gif-13088304234842611561

[wet nova]

oh boy, fun!

[verbal trout]

How I'm gonna be when it's over

https://tenor.com/view/awww-my-back-elder-kettle-the-cuphead-show-my-back-hurts-back-pain-gif-27343507

[verbal trout]

Doing a test painting

[verbal trout]

Oh my god

[verbal trout]

Meet Barda

[verbal trout]

Mech three now

[hexed musk]

Rapid improvement on display. Nice!

[verbal trout]

Yeah

And here's the first completed Lance of the night.

[verbal trout]

Also, anybody what mech is this? I lost my alpha strike card for it somehow.

[hexed musk]

Blackjack.

[waxen fulcrum]

Yup, looks like a 'jack

[hexed musk]

Probably the base BJ-1, i see two small caliber ACs and 4 laser lens

[verbal trout]

Thank you

[hexed musk]

Amusingly there are 3 unique BJ sculpts - this one, the BJ-2(?) With SRM packs, and the BJ-3 with PPCs.

[indigo hinge]

Hey, I won't ever complain about getting another BJ.

My lancemates will, if I make that joke one more time.

[verbal trout]

And no. 6 out of 26 is almost done

[eternal basin]

ATL. I'd like you to know I'm stealing that colored arm thing if I ever get around to painting any IS minis.

[verbal trout]

Oh okay.

I just did it because I like the color blue and I'm like "All right, these are Mercs, they can do whatever the they hell want with their mechs".

[indigo hinge]

You can! And you should.

Each one of my mercs has an entirely different scheme.

[verbal trout]

That's cool.

My mercs are going to be uniform somewhat in appearance due to their CO being a former professional officer/deserter from the Combine.

(She gave the wrong directions to a superior's lance and let them get annihilated by a ghost bear Trinary. And then went on the run because said superior was the cousin of a cousin of a cousin of a district commander.)

(And the Blue Lancers are an Ilclan era merc unit)

[indigo hinge]

I see, sweet.

[azure stream]

Oh good, now we can have Red vs. Blue

[verbal trout]

_>

Two lances stuck in a box canyon

[azure stream]

"You can't pick up chicks in a Thunderbolt..."

[verbal trout]

Mechs 7 and 8

Gotta thin the paints more

[eternal basin]

I'm slowly figuring out my IS merc scheme. I'm thinking black left arm, yellow glass, and something else for the body, but not sure.

[verbal trout]

Cool

[verbal trout]

10 out of 26 mechs so far.

[indigo hinge]

Working on a little gift for my MW5 campaign's second in command, who I'll see in person soon. It matches her in game scheme exactly.

I have to say, these MW style prints, unsurprisingly, do not lend themselves as well to painting as the PVC minis do.

[hexed musk]

Yeah they definitely don't lend themselves to it

[verbal trout]

I'll be real

That honestly looks like a watercolor painting that has been shaped into a miniature.

It looks so neat

[indigo hinge]

That's an interesting way of describing it, but fair enough.

Thank you.

[hexed musk]

Reminds me of an old soda cup, in a way.

I find that very aggressive edge highlights such as these actually look very pleasing on the tabletop.

[indigo hinge]

I've used this overly strong highlight before, and I like the pop it gives, even if it's not that realistic.

Worked really well on my Harlequins. Though over the top is kind of their whole deal.

[sterile sleet]

Aww that seems like a really nice gift

[hexed musk]

Trying out doing mostly white for a tundra theme.

Probably drybrushed a little hard considering the texturing on the mech, but I find that it almost gives it a rolled steel look like old WW2 machines have.

[verbal trout]

Working on Lancer girls #13 and #14

[hexed musk]

Problems with contrasts: i did the same colors and technique on each mini. Got wildly different results.

[verbal trout]

Whoa

I'm seeing like regular red, pale red, and a bright red.

[hexed musk]

These guys are supposed to rag tag so it's not the worst.

[verbal trout]

Yeah, you could lean into it.

These guys are either down on their luck mercs, pirates, or the planetary defense militia that got the really sucky mechs from the reserve depot.

The one with the gold accents is actually the only good one because it's a family battlemech.

It's just, uh, it has been given the proper care in a while.

[hexed musk]

My plan is that these fellows are the Sons of Arano, Aurigan Reach loyalists turned ronin after the still-unexplained fall of the nation.

So while they'll all have the red and bronze theme that's similar to old Arano colors, they just don't have the paint or time to make it perfect.

Probably will try to weather some of them as well, though I haven't tried that before.

[hexed musk]

Comin' along.

Looks like the camera setting i used up'd the saturation

[waxen fulcrum]

Ooooh, nice

Except for, y'know, Kurita

[hexed musk]

He ain't Kurita! (Though they are among is my main factions)

[waxen fulcrum]

Then why red?

[hexed musk]

House Arano is red and orange - since this guy is a deposed ronin from that house, I'm doing a similar but not identical scheme.

[waxen fulcrum]

Ooooh, ok

Your allegiance is somewhat forgiven

[hexed musk]

Hey, if everyone wants to be the good guys, then there's no Opfor to shoot.

[waxen fulcrum]

True, true

[verbal trout]

For me, my girls in the Blue Lancers have done jobs for nearly everyone except pirates and Kurita.

[waxen fulcrum]

Even the Cappies?

[verbal trout]

Yes...they've done jobs even for the Capellans.

They don't like to talk about it...Those were dark days.

Jump fees make you do things you won't be proud of, kids.

[hexed musk]

Localised Earthquake (4 mechs failed PSRs)

[safe abyss]

I once had a battlemaster trip on a road and blow its machine gun ammo on the first turn
Falling is maybe the scariest thing that could happen in Classic BT to me

[hexed musk]

I've lost a lot of mechs to falling onto ammo/head syndrome

[safe abyss]

It's so sad to watch but it's so funny that I don't think I can get mad at it

[verbal trout]

"..."

"Let me understand this correctly. You. And I mean you because I'm not pointing at Francois or Marie. Managed to lose your family battlemech because it tripped."

"...yes."

"And this was a family battlemech that was in your family for how long?"

"270 years."

"Dear lord. A 270 year old battlemech destroyed. By a road."

[indigo hinge]

Imagine looking over your shoulder to see the Catapult of your house lord hit a rock, keel over, and eat it, followed by a big mushroom cloud as the LRM ammo bins cook off.

[hexed monolith]

https://media1.tenor.com/m/0OmS-DiNCLAAAAAd/robocop-robcop-ed209.gif

[wet nova]

Looks like there's a new ilkhan book or something, not sure what's in it though

[harsh canyon]

I'm excited for it! It's supposed to be a big timeline mover that explains the current state of everything other than Terra and the Hinterlands so the IlClan era is much more playable

[cerulean valley]

It's like the other new sourcebooks of Tamar Rising, Empire Alone, and Dominions Divided. Lore stuff looking at a slice of the Inner Sphere in the wake of the ilClan trials and Clan Wolf taking Terra.

I just read it and it has Belters!

[verbal trout]

Might put a little purple on some finished arms

What should I pick?

[verbal trout]

And also painting up a couple of my girls again.

[indigo hinge]

Start with the darkest. Then, using the side of your brush to catch the raised edges, highlight it with the lighter shade.

That'll give the purple some proper depth and help the shapes read better.

[steep flame]

Designed as an attractive new model for mercenaries and border forces alike, the CPLT-C7 would trade in the classic CPLT-C1's twin LRM 15s for two pairs of Doombud MML-7s with a ton of ammunition for each MML-7 and upgrades the heat sinks to 13 double heat sinks, while retaining the standard four Medium Lasers and jump jets. While the factory standard is two tons each of LRM and SRM ammunition, the ammunition racks have been designed to be easily swapped for any balance of long and short range missiles and specialty ammunition that may be avaialble or desired. To make room for the new weapons, the CPLT-C7 uses an Endo-Composite chassis and an extralight engine and uses CASE II to firmly protect the extralight engine against ammunition detonations.

Unfortunately, the Republic's Military Materiel Redemption Program and general millieu of the Pax Republica resulted in very little interest in the CPLT-C7 and when restating production after the start of the Dark Age was proposed, Hollis was reluctant to do so, as it was feared that it distract from the upcoming Catapult II, though the CPLT-C7 is rumored to have inspired the CPLT-L7L variant of the Catapult II.

[hexed musk]

Sometimes you're on top of the world, and sometimes your opponent gets a 1 in 1296 chance and lands both ML's on the head

[supple jetty]

sometimes the dice do that

[hexed musk]

It's parting LRM-15 salvo blew up a commando's SRM ammo on like, the second turn the thing was under fire so everyone was going down left and right this game.

I started with an Orion with 50 MRM tubes, a stock Jenner, and this unlucky Raven, and my opponent brought a commando, the 2N combat Raven, and the ERPPC Rifleman.
Jenner got its ammo blown on the first shot of the game, being saved only by case - two turns later it takes another hit to the leg and drops permanently. Commando blows up the same turn my Raven got domed (turn 4), and my opponent's Raven collapses under MRM fire after being drilled down in the CT around turn 8. The Orion and Rifleman then just beat on each other for the rest of the game until my superior DPR and armor won in close combat.

[verbal trout]

I picked up some of Kerensky's wayward children today.

[verbal trout]

Turtle

[waxen fulcrum]

*Adder

[verbal trout]

She looks like a turtle

Come on. This is so turtle coded.

[verbal trout]

The turtle has become white now

[hexed musk]

god bless adders

absurdly overgunned little goobers

[waxen fulcrum]

*undergunned

[hexed musk]

I'm not sure what you're talking about, the Adder prime is a 35 ton mech with dual ERPPCs

[waxen fulcrum]

But yes. Truly the Clanner Urbie equivalent

[hexed musk]

Adders also move 6/9 so they're not slow by any means. I'd think of them more as the clan wolfhound or panther - and it'll eat both of those mechs alive 1 on 1. Price tag to match, though.

[verbal trout]

You wanna talk about overgunned? This chunky woman has multiple wrist lasers.

[hexed musk]

AHAHAHA
Nova is the Clan's final insult to god

[waxen fulcrum]

What about the Supernova

[hexed musk]

At least the supernova can get 3 alphastrikes off before shutting down.

[verbal trout]

The Nova.

A lightweight bruiser but an early finisher.

[waxen fulcrum]

Oh, I built a disgusting homebrewed mech

[hexed musk]

Novas are liable to do it if they fire all 12 medium lasers on the first go. Course, that's 84 damage they're feeding some idiot

[waxen fulcrum]

Do you know how many ERPPS fit in a 100 tonner?

[verbal trout]

Also, dang, I didn't expect to be gendering my mechs a lot.

[hexed musk]

I do that for my Panthers (he's a lil guy) and Phoenix hawk (high heel wearing diva queen)

[verbal trout]

All of the mechs I have are girls

[hexed musk]

respect

[waxen fulcrum]

Like ships, in a way

Or planes

[verbal trout]

Yeah, lmao it's probably because I have an all female company

And my brain is like "All future companies. Girls. Girls only."

[steep flame]

The Nova made some sense when it was subject to the "no torso twist" quirk

Basically it was supposed to rotate one arm and do drive-bys with all the lasers on one arm

[hexed musk]

In a non BV world it also makes some sense to have redundant weapons so that if one arm is lost, the mech still has fangs

But fuck me, CERML's are astoundingly pricy

[indigo hinge]

Redundant weapons are a sign of weakness and doubts about your original plan. Sincerely, the Hollander.

[verbal trout]

The forbidden chocy milk

Da turtle

[steep flame]

I stand by my idea for a Draconis refit of captured Hollanders to a HPPC+Cap and Ballistic Reinforced armor
Surely they salvaged a lot of AFFS Hollanders during their invasion, and the Dracs love their PPCs

[indigo hinge]

That's just a Beam Bazooka on legs. I dig it.

[steep flame]

And of course I have a lore blurb for such a thing, and of course I bothered to stat it out

A Draconis Combine refit of the Hollander III, making use of the many captured AFFS BZK-D1s salvaged in various states of damage. The core systems of the D1 were left intact in the standardized K1 refit, retaining the GM 175 XL engine and GM BZK-III Endo Steel chassis, as well as retaining the Full-Head Ejection System, Compact Gyro, and Supercharger, though the heat sinks have been upgraded to double heat sinks and the CASE II deleted as no longer necessary. The primary change was in re-engineering the armament around a capacitor-augmented Lord's Light 3 Heavy PPC in the right torso to give the classic Hollander punch and a Victory 23R Medium Laser in each arm to protect against enemies that got within the Heavy PPC's minimum range. The refit process also saw any remaining reflective armor stripped from the chassis and the 'Mech protected with ten tons of Durallex Ballistic-Reinforced Armor to counter the AFFS's well-documented preference for ballistic weapons.

[indigo hinge]

That looks amusing.

Perhaps I'll have to give that a try soon.

[verbal trout]

Long arm Tom

[lapis cove]

https://tenor.com/view/battle-tech-dougram-parody-transformers-death-from-above-gif-15740580

[hexed musk]

Signature hunchie swagger

[eternal basin]

Again, I really wanna get some dougram model kit so I can have lance of unseen battlemechs

[hexed monolith]

I would commit several heinous crimes if it meant we got Battletech gunpla

[eternal basin]

God yeah. Tabletop collectibles in general are underserviced. Like. Warhammer 40K has some figures but that's all I can think of.

[azure stream]

Trying to decide whether to buy the Merc box or, the Recon and Hunter + Rifle and Commander vehicle boxes from the LGS.

[hexed musk]

Really proud of this canopy job.

[indigo hinge]

They look excellent all around. Makes me want to give the Crusader a spin myself.

[verbal trout]

How do you do their eyes so well!?

How!?

They're so tiny and my sausage fingers can't gronk tiny brushes!

[hexed musk]

Actually i have a lot to say on this subject

So obvious start with a good, sharp brush. It doesn't need to tiny tiny, but i used a Monument #00.

Then, paint the entire canopy black. Make sure it's a solid coat. Once you've done that, you can begin the color. Start with a dark color, and at minimum thin it 1:1 - to start you can go heavy - you'll get a less clean transition but it'll still look good. You paint towards one corner, always keeping the brushstrokes in the same direction. That way, you have the color heaviest in one spot and radiating out in the rest. You don't have to do it all at once. Paint some color on, let it dry, repeat. Once you've gotten your darkest color down (blue here), you can start on your second. the concept is the same, just starting from a little further in, so that you don't totally cover up your base blue.

For the orion i did pretty limited thinning and just made sure to get right on the line I wanted with that really light blue.

Then, once your color is good, as carefully as you can, put a small dot of pure white in the black area you've left. Let it dry, and varnish it. A good glossy varnish is literally magic when it comes to making black pop.

Last tricks: first, use a thinner if you have it rather than water. Water has higher surface tension, so it'll tend to pool in the canopy corners and you don't want that. Dedicated paint thinner has less tension, and goes on smoother.

Finally, to really get good brush control, plant your elbows on the table and place the base of your wrists together, one hand holding the brush and the other the mini or whatever. This gives you maximum stability. Try it out, it really helps steady my hands.

[hexed musk]

I highly recommend it. The crusader was a joy to paint. It'll also teach you the cluster tables really fast...

[azure stream]

Savannah Masters w/ magnetized bases. Because I have four Savannah Masters and, by God, I'm going to use four Savannah Masters.

[hexed musk]

Woe, the swarm upon ye

[verbal trout]

Okay, so, I'm gonna do it one more time with the paint dance.

And I'm gonna reduce the number of mechs in the first company I've created.

Along with new color schemes.

I can, uh, strip paint with isopropyl with battle tech mini's as many times without damage, yeah?

Like this is only gonna be the second time and that's it.

It's also because I want to use the olive drab I bought.

[hexed musk]

Yeah iso is fine

[indigo hinge]

Most safety sheets I can find say PVC has an 'excellent' chemical resistance against isopropyl, yes.

[verbal trout]

Bought another box

[hexed musk]

yeah hehe

There's some fun ones in there, especially if you want to run some scrungly teams that aren't carrying the very best

Quickdraws, Chameleons, and Star Slayers all appear in Merc forces in mass

[verbal trout]

Cool

My mechlog has probably jumped to 36.

And my LGS has IS tonks, battle taxis, and flyers now.

_>

Very tempted to get them next week.

[hexed musk]

I really want a ton of the old mechs from the Clan Invasion list. I hope they come in stock again, they're hard to find right now.

[hexed musk]

BIG GAUSSIES

[indigo hinge]

Ohhh, Fafnir.

[hexed musk]

I've been trying to finish up my old projects and this fellas been sitting on my shelf for a year half painted.

Not sure when I'll bring him out though, I've been trying to make a conscious effort to bring far more 5/8 and 4/6's to the table rather than 3/5 hell machines.

Makes the game faster when your mech can actually die and bringing something like a Banshee 3S when your opponent has lighter machines feels mean.

[azure stream]

I am invincible!

[verbal trout]

Did a mech count

Have about 41.

Also, those look nice.

[shrewd plover]

Need to paint now

[indigo hinge]

Mine printed with an arm less, somehow I hadn't even thought to do this.

Clever move.

[indigo hinge]

The design is very human.

[azure stream]

Got me a Visigoth. Love this hodgepodge design.

[indigo hinge]

My final two mercs done.

Now I just have a trinary of clan mechs and another two lances of IS left. Woops.

One more lance, and I'll have a proper battalion of IS 'mechs.

[hexed musk]

Mechs are like mushrooms. Paint 1, 4 more appear. Can't imagine how.

[indigo hinge]

Yeah that tends to happen.

[verbal trout]

How's the spacing on this?

Trying to figure out how I want to do this before opening up white scar.

[hexed musk]

gee ATL why'd your mom let you get two Vindicators
the spacing is good but you'll be challenged the side angles.

[indigo hinge]

Well you're not risking stray shots from PPC fire.

[verbal trout]

I had to just place the stick statically to get some of the more stubborn angles.

Also, I was able to prime 35 of them before the bottle gave out.

Need to pick up another one on Monday because I have six left.

With three of them still needing to get a couple spots covered.

[hexed musk]

Ooh, that's good. I need to get some of that primer. My army painter spray can did... badly.

[verbal trout]

Ouch

Yeah, It worked pretty well.

Only suck part was the wind

and my glove accidentally covering the firing hole a couple time.

[verbal trout]

So, my models have little speckles.

But it's not really a big deal because the paint will cover it all up in the end.

[supple jetty]

https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-hungry-like-the-wolf-by-christina-f-york

.....

[hexed musk]

No fuckin way

[indigo hinge]

Testing some fresh meat.

[hexed musk]

Those white dice need to be melted.

[sterile sleet]

They are beautiful

[indigo hinge]

Got them as a gift from a friend today, and I intend to get comfortable with 'em.

If I can throw my opponent off, all the better.

They did not bring the Griffin luck, however.

Despite rolling remarkably well, my trusty Khorne dice rolled better, and those were out for blood.

After a few 'warning shots' on both sides, the first serious volley saw a number of medium lasers and several flights of missiles hit the Griffin. One laser managed to melt through a weak point in the torso armour and stripped the shielding off the gyro, at which point a cluster of Artemis LRMs destroyed the device entirely.

The Griffin pilot was determined to keep fighting, landing a few LRMs back even while going down, but ended up falling on its head and getting quite shaken up.

As it was preparing to throw a punch at the Trebuchet's legs, another quick set of laser blasts surgically removed the arm that the poor Griffin was using to prop itself up. It had no way of fighting anymore, and its pilot was forced to eject.

Four rounds was all it took, with the Trebuchet barely getting scratched by a few LRMs.

[supple jetty]

ITS A REAL BOOK

[verbal trout]

Ha

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

LET THE MECH WARRIOR ROMANCE BOOK LINE BEGIN!

[hexed musk]

Does this fix Alaric Ward as a character tho

Cause my understanding of him is that he doesn't make his terrible confederate sympathizing book better

[verbal trout]

Past me! Screw the mech kissy book! The lances are here!

https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/collections/battletech/products/battletech-forcepack-battle-fire-lances

I want them

[hexed musk]

Manticores are terrifying machines of war.

[verbal trout]

I want a whole battalion of them.

I want to crush worlds with them.

Wow.

This Flu has made into Angron.

[waxen fulcrum]

Hmmmm

I could use those for my custom RL480s

[verbal trout]

There's even more

https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/collections/battletech/products/battletech-forcepack-clan-cavalry-star

https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/collections/battletech/products/battletech-forcepack-inner-sphere-recon-lance

Good lord! That's a chunky one!

https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/collections/battletech/products/battletech-forcepack-clan-direct-fire-star

[azure stream]

They should not have released the Rifleman IIC into plastic. The damn, greedy, fools have unleashed something they cannot take back. May God have mercy on us, even if this shows we don't deserve it.

[hexed musk]

Only reflective armor can save us now.

[verbal trout]

Forget that

Nothing but a few manticore's can't fix.

When in doubt, manticore it out!

Ohrah!

[hexed musk]

2.5 mantis per rifleman IIC. 5 on 2 is honestly probably in the tank's favor.

Very reliant on motive crit outcomes.

[verbal trout]

You see.

Whenever a mech's a problem, a tank is your answer.

[waxen fulcrum]

I do like that tanks are, in general, just better than mechs, lol

[hexed musk]

In classic bt mechs do 2 things better than tanks: they are much better in urban and broken terrain

And they are much harder to immobilize, so they tend to limp off the field when a tank would be abandoned.

[shrewd plover]

But in exchange iirc mechs are like 4 times the price of a tank?

I kinda remember doing cbills

[elder ridge]

it depends on the tank and the mech, like the Alacone MK VI is twice the c-bils of a Charger

[shrewd plover]

Ahh

Going vehicles only gives so many bodies hahaha

[elder ridge]

But like the Alacorn has 3x Gause Rifles, and well the Charger is a Charger

[shrewd plover]

I'm trying to put together a reasonable looking vehicle force for the Clan invasion

[elder ridge]

ComGuard or another faction?

[shrewd plover]

Like the idea is a garrison force?

The kind of millitary thst would be facing mechs when the mechs aren't there

[elder ridge]

I meant like wich like house or periphery power, but that's fair. Pattons, and there varents might be a good choice along wiht SRM/LRM carriers with some light scouts wiht TAG might be good

[hexed musk]

Periphery is gonna have as few fusion engine vehicles as possible

Probably saving them for real nasty customers like demolishers and manticores

Harasser hovercraft for a close punch or inferno delivery duty

And plenty of things like galleons to carry infantry.

[shrewd plover]

My thought was fusion engines for the hyperfast cheap harrasers

Like the thinking is heavy gun platforms don't 'need' fusions if that makes any sense

[shrewd plover]

Which light scouts have tag?

[waxen fulcrum]

Any you choose

[hexed musk]

It's not that the big vehicles can get away without fusion engines, it's just that a periphery nation fundamentally does not have many fusion engines

And it's a safer bet to put them in well armored vehicles

[shrewd plover]

Ahh different mindset

Mine was what needs a fusion engine

And what can do without hahaha

Wait what are the non fusion light scouts?

[elder ridge]

It depedsn there are a decent amount of CV's that have an ICE varent

[shrewd plover]

A pegasus?

[elder ridge]

that's not a bad choice

[shrewd plover]

Oooh actually pegasus with remote sensor dispensers

Spotting for long ranged pre placed artillery

[waxen fulcrum]

What's the TAG missiles?

[hexed musk]

Arrow IV

Unhallowed be thy name

[waxen fulcrum]

Nah

The pod thingies

[elder ridge]

NARCs

[hexed musk]

Narc

[shrewd plover]

And scouting ahead for brawls with

[waxen fulcrum]

That's it

[shrewd plover]

I'm thinking

[waxen fulcrum]

Pegasus with NARC?

[shrewd plover]

Hmmm wahts a good bralwing tank

[waxen fulcrum]

40 RL40s

[shrewd plover]

Narc?

[waxen fulcrum]

Basically a permanent TAG

[hexed musk]

Pattons and Rommels. And bulldogs, but those are a strength in numbers sort of machine.

[waxen fulcrum]

That needs a PSR to get off

[shrewd plover]

Sticking with ICE on everything hut the heaviest otherwise

I might as well take Savannahs as my spotters

Hahaha

[hexed musk]

For 670 BV the humble bulldog brings a large laser, 2 srm 4s, 4/6 speed, and ac20 proof armor. It'll do if you can gather them up.

Stick infernos on a few to smoke out elementals, infantry, and hotshot pilots.

[shrewd plover]

Oooh just a giant pile of bulldogs to force brawls or ambushes

Run them in lances

Of 2/2

Wait no 3/1

1 with infernos 3 with normal brawling

Well 4 bulldogs seem fine

4 bulldogs at 6k

[azure stream]

It turns out I am legally obligated to paint a Blue + Purple color scheme for every tabletop game I get into.

[indigo hinge]

Well it just works, so why not?

[waxen fulcrum]

Ok, the Knight goes hard

[hexed musk]

Based and cool toned pilled

[waxen fulcrum]

If only I could paint

[hexed musk]

Gotta start somewhere.

[elder ridge]

So has anyone here played or read Mechwarrior Destiny?

[indigo hinge]

Read a slight bit, but never got to play it.

[elder ridge]

So we are trying to find info on it that's more then "it's rules light Mechwarrior", of if it is just that.

[indigo hinge]

It's not quite that. MW:D is meant to be compatible with Alpha Strike, rather than CBT.

[elder ridge]

I see we have never touched Alpha strike but have herd that it's less crunch then CBT by a decent amouont

[indigo hinge]

Quite. 'mechs are reduced from a full A4 sheet to ah playing card sized stat block. Piloting and Gunnery are squashed together. There's no individual weapons, or armour locations, simply a set amount of damage per range band versus an armour and then structure bar. Set TMMs.

Hell, usually there's not even a hex grid.

I personally don't enjoy it nearly as much as CBT, the complexity is what makes the game fun for me. However, the larger scale games are a fun change of pace every once in a while, and there's always plenty of customisation options, whether you want to add spreading fires, combined arms, or Arrow systems.

[wet nova]

I would like some streamlining but Alpha Strike streamline it too much

it is however, designed for company to company battle, maybe even bigger

[indigo hinge]

Yeah, some form of golden middle would be nice.

Something where they don't have to cram keywords onto the cards like it's a silver bordered MTG card.

[copper wind]

you can do rather large games with cbt too as long as you have an afternoon to spend on it

[indigo hinge]

Hmm...

[shrewd plover]

Do you want to play large battles with Classic Granularity?

[wet nova]

oh yes, to a degree of course

[hexed musk]

I wouldn't want to play more than a 5 v 5 in classic without chances to take a break. Great if you can have everyone chill at a friend's house and leave the mat where it is for an hour or two at a time

[copper wind]

I wouldn't do large games without megamek at all. the automation saves so much time

[waxen fulcrum]

Want

I would actually love a CNA granularity Battletech campaign system

[indigo hinge]

Guess I better get to work on Campaign For Tikonov.

[shrewd plover]

Lol go by hobby bunker on Fridays I think there's a couple of people who play battletech there

[sterile sleet]

What are some terrible shitty mechs that were designed by insane people in lore that i could run for a tukkyid game

Already got a Spider and Urbie

[hexed musk]

depends on if you want shitty in universe or shitty on the table or both

Charger and Banshee BNC-3E are considered garbage in universe but for their BV can do some funny punchies on the table.
The Assassin is also pretty garbage without major upgrades, and the Shadowhawk SHD-2D is a truly paper mech for very little boost in DPR

The CI era Hunchback has a baffling set of upgrades in and out of universe.

[sterile sleet]

Shitty in universe but the rules are also kind of important for the vibe

Yeah I should take a charger

[hexed musk]

I think the BNC-3E is probably too good to bring then.

Oh, bring a SW-era Crusader, those things are built to blow up

And if you're okay saying you salvaged it, the Uller is awful

[elder ridge]

Comstar had both the Ostscout 7J and 7K at the time. and one fo those is a worse Savanha master, and the other just has a tag

Oh you aslo can bring the CP-10-HQ Cyclops with a Collapsible Command Module mounted in it, somthign that takes dozzens of turns to set up

[hexed musk]

Quickdraws, even upgraded ones, all suck in and out of universe. The classic rifleman is also pretty medicore, especially once mechs that do utilize advanced equipment, show up.

[indigo hinge]

Spider's shit in lore but woah it's one of my favourites on the table.

If you want something that's absolutely off its rocker: Champion LAM.

[supple jetty]

the banshee 3E is unironically one of the better introtech mechs out there just because it has decent armor and sinking

it's not good by modern standards but for something built in the very early stages of battletech it's not horribly compromised like every atlas is

if you want an assault, all of the atlases are kinda crap

the AS7-D is too slow and short ranged, the AS7-A has the same problem but at least anyone who gets close evaporates, the K variant is grievously undersinked and combines explosive components with IS XL engines, etc

[elder ridge]

Oh the Charger 3L is also a horrably undersinked assault and it's also under gunned

[hexed musk]

Banshee BNC-3E also takes skulls if it gets point blank

Oh yeah the atlas is straight garbagio and desperately needs a rec guide version that makes it not junk

There's 1 atlas, the Samsonov, that's pretty good because it drops all of the Atlas's weapons besides the AC20 for 2 PPCs and it makes it 2/3rds of an awesome that can swat space invaders

[waxen fulcrum]

Obligatory Fireball X mention

[hexed musk]

Like, keeping the armor and speed profile the same this is probably a decent WYSIWYG Atlas for the rec guides

It's got some damage at range but the block of MMLs and the snubbies encourage it to still get close. The C3 target computer is for spice since the Combine really loves these things and the ECM might help it move in to fight and interrupt other networks. It's got the heatsinking to fire it's long range or short range weapons, dropping the LRM close.

2.25k BV is a lot to ask for a 3/5 with only 1 headchopper and snub PPCs.

[supple jetty]

the fireball X is good

[waxen fulcrum]

Good at one thing, and one thing only

Extractions

[hexed musk]

This is a WYSIWYG Atlas I would not want to play against lol

vulnerable to that gauss blowing up though.

[waxen fulcrum]

Torso twist is fren

[supple jetty]

we're talking about the fireball XF that's a walking missile, right?

[waxen fulcrum]

The one with Walk 24, yeah

[quartz jasper]

IIRC there’s a t-bolt variant that can detonate its own legs, but idr if that’s built by tukkayid

[hexed musk]

Oh my god yeah there's a mech with MASC and ammo in the legs
Lemme find it

The Targe TRG-2N. Doesn't have a mini, but a locust will proxy fine.

Basic Jaegermechs are also pretty bad. Enough firepower to be worth shooting at and a truly legendary glass jaw.

[quartz jasper]

Ah, Different t-name

But yeah I love that thing

[verbal trout]

Broke my "Do not buy any more mini's until sprayed and painted" rule.

Bought a new lance

It's the IS Recon lance.

[hexed musk]

it happens to us all in the end.

[indigo hinge]

Looks like a fun lance though.

[hexed musk]

I too need a list of terrible mechs, send me your worst

My friend and I are playing the blunderdome next saturday - 5K of the worst mechs we can think of.

Currently on my list: Shadowhawk SHD-2D (paper armor), Vindicator VND-1AA (Paperer armor), Hatchetman HCT-3F (paper armor, slow as shit, anemic weapons)

Dragon DRG-1N and Marauder MAD-3R are also there for having devices™️ in their side torsos

[waxen fulcrum]

As many Shads as possible is hard to go right with

[hexed musk]

oh, and the Targe TRG-2N, which has the glorious combo of MASC and ammo. In its legs.

[waxen fulcrum]

See, the 2k

Is the epitome of "lower-mid jack of all trades"

[hexed musk]

the issue with that mech is that despite its utterly anemic weapons loadout, it does have good armor and okay mobility. One can use it as a fire support unit.

I am truly looking for the best of the worst, and the mechs I have listed are not final if I can find better trash.

[elder ridge]

Did you see this thing in the other BattleTech thread? it's got most of the sins of ammo storage that you can do
#1159998642531356693 message

Ammo in the legs, CT, Side torso devices, and even ammo in the head

[waxen fulcrum]

I mean, if you're playing big ammo boom rules, HD MG ammo is a neat anti punch measure

[azure stream]

Vulcan VL-2T. Because a mech should absolutely dedicate 20% of its weight to an AC/2

[waxen fulcrum]

I mean

Cheap, and long-range

[indigo hinge]

Unsure of whether it ever got an official sheet, but again, Champion LAM. It was too heavy for itself to fly, and is just horrendous.

Actually, probably the entire XTRO:Boondoggles. Let me have a look.

Yeah, have fun. From an Ostscout IIC without any weapons to a 'mech without functional heatsinks or a Scorpion LAM.

[sterile sleet]

Did you guys see the new VTOL and tank models from catalyst?

[supple jetty]

leg and head ammo is meta in MWO and MW5 because every location has pseudo CASE and people shoot for the middle in most cases

and you don't take head hits very often in either

[sterile sleet]

How does alphastrike do with campaign play

[indigo hinge]

Fairly well from what I've seen, but I haven't given it a try myself.

The Chaos Campaign system should be fairly easily adapted for AS, all that would be tricky is the repair costs.

[hexed musk]

This is a bushwacker. It's a good mech. Jury's out on if it wacks bushes.

[azure stream]

Nice. What paint did you use for that pink?
I love the "kitchen sink" mechs, with a little bit of lasers, ballistics, and missiles, even if they generally don't perform at the same level as more focused designs.

[hexed musk]

It's a bit of a convoluted paint process - I start with a black primer and then drybrush heavily grey over the mech. I follow it up with a lighter but moderately intense drybrush of army painter's fanatic line pink potion. That gives a poor man's zenithal over the mini in preparation for a coat of army painter poppy red contrast paint.

A good covering of the poppy red tends to leave it too saturated for my taste, so a light drybrushing of that pink potion desaturates the color again. If it gets too pink, 1 last drybrush of army painter's bright red balances it out.

Some others I did in that style:

Notice how the crusader is a little more bright red - that's what it looks like if you don't go as heavy on the pink drybrush at the end, but I was still figuring out the final shade I wanted.

[azure stream]

Thanks, it's a really nice rendition of the Red Lancers scheme.

[hexed musk]

To be honest, I didn't realize the red lancers exist. I really did make their scheme exactly though!

My original goal was to make a similar but not exact copy of the Aurigan Royal House scheme, to serve as my hinterlands mercenary force.

[indigo hinge]

The Orion design has never sat right with me, but this is the second time I've seen someone give it a well-suited paintjob that made me go "maybe it's not so ugly after all."

The Crusader is also looking more and more appealing.

[hexed musk]

The orion is very "Soviet tank" ugly to me. I think it needs to be painted in a way that exemplifies that ruggedness.

[indigo hinge]

Fair. Leaning into the functionality over the aesthetics.

[indigo hinge]

This Hunchback is 2/5ths arty by weight.

[indigo hinge]

They totally would.

[shrewd plover]

kinda want to stat this out now

[hexed musk]

My friends and I have started a Hinterlands Merc campaign. I've played two games so far and my Bushwacker has either gotten fatally headshotted or ammo-racked both times. I swear, that mini is cursed.

[azure stream]

When you're a 14 meter tall war machine with 37 tons of firepower, but you are also feeling a bit silly.

[verbal trout]

So, besides BT Gothic

BT Retro Raygun is confirmed

It is titled Rockets and Rayguns.

[hexed musk]

Funky.

[indigo hinge]

https://www.humblebundle.com/books/battletech-rpg-collection-catalyst-game-labs-books

[hexed musk]

this is kinda a crazy bundle holy shit

[indigo hinge]

It is. So much info in one bundle.

[hot yew]

good bundle? Worth it?

[harsh canyon]

Definitely worth it if you don't have those books. It's everything for modern Battletech except the very newest sourcebook and the weird advanced rules in tacops/interstellar ops

[verbal trout]

So, new merc company idea.

Gonna be coming up with a group called the Red Bellied Hammers.

Why are they called that? Torso's are red while everything else is Prussian blue.

[hexed musk]

Luv me a company named after their colors. Did that with my first big group, the Terracotta Reavers.

[verbal trout]

Noice

The Red Belly's are probably gonna get hull red and prussian blue for their colors.

[hexed musk]

take your time with the reds, most of them tend not to apply great especially if you're using brighter colors

deeper reds tend to be okay though

[verbal trout]

True

[hot yew]

I have picked it up 🙂

[hexed musk]

Behold
The goober magnitization racks

[indigo hinge]

If it works, it ain't stupid.

[hexed musk]

https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/blogs/news/tariffs-come-down-prices-go-up

[verbal trout]

Yep

Means any of the box sets are gonna get a jump to 80+

[indigo hinge]

The Gothic box set was announced to be €130, I believe.

[hexed musk]

Sheeeeesh. I kinda wanted that box for a black marauder but not for that price.

[verbal trout]

Yeah

[hexed musk]

Alpha strike with the new vehicles feels appropriately cinematic.

[verbal trout]

"Tank! 500 Meters! Front!"

[hexed musk]

Tanks can even hull down so it has that cold war tank duel feel

[quartz jasper]

Is this alpha strike… using hexes?

Tell me more

[hexed musk]

There's a full set of rules for it in the AS rulebook. The gist of it is this - divide all values by 2, so each hex corresponds to 2" of movement or range, round up on half numbers so that 6" units still get 3/5 movement, and use CBT vision rules.

What happens in practice is that long range actually matters because a 12 hex radius is not actually that much of 4 mapsheets

I find in regular 4' x 6' AS that medium range damage values are the only ones that matter, a lot of the time.

[quartz jasper]

I see

[harsh canyon]

I always thought AS should use half distances. The 2" per hex conversion sucks, and it stuck from the original Classic Battletech miniatures rules. It makes short range feel a bit longer but that's more of a problem of short ranges being too short across the board imo (by design tbf)

[hexed musk]

I'm almost certain that they made short range 6"/3 hex to line up with AC20 and ML range

Whether that was a bit of tradition worth keeping is up for debate

[verbal trout]

This is me whenever I'm at my LGS

https://youtube.com/shorts/XUoQhOn1pKQ

The Battle Mechs call to me

[hexed musk]

I was so damn close to buying $250 of mechs before prices went up

[verbal trout]

_>

I was actually close to doing the same.

I wanted the boxes again for more terrain paper.

[verbal trout]

So, if I wanted to get cockpits that pop. Besides using a bright/vivid color.

Should I also color in the cockpit with a white/black first?

[hexed musk]

Kinda depends on what you're aiming for
I really like jewling with a black background because it pops once you apply varnish

If you use gold metallic paint, a brown base is a good start
Then brown wash to add depth - though I've heard purple washes also make gold look good.

[verbal trout]

Interesting

[indigo hinge]

Purple washes on gold will create a lot of contrast. It's purple on yellow.

Some white undercoating could help your cockpits pop a bit more, depending on the transparency of your base cockpit colour, but it'll largely be a colour choice thing.

Or, if you feel up to it, try something like a chrome reflection.

[plucky ore]

hello

total newbie looking to get into the setting here. All I know is that this is my favourite

[hexed musk]

Ah, the black knight (specifically a BL-9-KNT "clanbuster"). A good choice.

[plucky ore]

i see sword in big robot, I like

I know that this is more for the wargame, but are there any fiction books you could reccomend to familiarize myself with the settting?

[hexed musk]

Hm, that's a good one. A lot of the books that set up the setting are old and have discrepancies with how the setting is displayed now and just various quality issues.
I think Wolves on the Border is legitimately just good though and is generally understandable with minimal context

Might require a check to sarna.com every now and then still though

[plucky ore]

heh, wolves you say? 😏

I'll look into it!

I've also had a friend give me all the the pride anthologies from 23 to 25

oooh, free stuff

https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/collections/free-downloads

[hexed monolith]

I may be unapologetic Clan scum

But this is definitely my favorite

[plucky ore]

doooope

[waxen fulcrum]

I'm unironically a Shawk guy

[hexed musk]

Bold and unabashed, I respect it.
My standard workhorse is the bushwacker

[plucky ore]

that certainly looks like it would wack some bush

[hexed musk]

But if I really need something dead with style, accept no substitutes for the Novacat

[waxen fulcrum]

King Crab is a close second

[hexed monolith]

The Vulture is also a favorite just out of aesthetics

Meanwhile in the realm of "What the Fuck am I looking at?"

Behold

The Yeoman

[plucky ore]

lmao

[wet current]

boom box with some extra boom

[hexed musk]

I honestly like the MW4 vulture (now canonically the MK III) incarnation the most

Get your sexy on

[indigo hinge]

Nothing will ever top the Hollander in my mind. Especially the III, visually.

They slapped a big gun on two legs and went "send it."

[elder ridge]

A TABLETOP THREAD!

[waxen fulcrum]

Mhm

[elder ridge]

Are custom units accepted here?

[waxen fulcrum]

Yup

[silk jungle]

,0 Yay. THUD.

Walker (Cargo)
Base Tech Level: Standard (IS)
Level Era

---

Experimental 3052-3054 (Age of War to Clan Invasion)
Advanced 3055-3072 (Clan Invasion to Jihad)
Standard 3073+ (Jihad -)
Tech Rating: E/X-X-F-D

Weight: 10 tons
BV: 39
Cost: 85,989 C-bills
Source: (Unknown)

Movement: 4/6(8) Supercharger:0(3+) (Tracked)
Engine: Fuel Cell
BAR Rating: 5

Internal: 4
Armor: 17 (BAR 5 Armor)
Internal Armor

Front 1 5
Right 1 4
Left 1 4
Rear 1 4

Equipment Loc Omni

Trailer Hitch RR Fixed
SV Chassis Mod [Omni] BD Fixed
SV Chassis Mod [Tractor] BD Fixed
Supercharger BD Fixed

Carrying Capacity

Cargo Space (1 door) - 4 tons (Pod)
One battle armor squad

Quirks

Trailer Hitch

Overview: A mostly prototypical medium cargo truck, the Walker uniquely utilises OmniTech as well as a fully-tracked drivetrain, granting it unique capabilities over its wheeled compatriots.

Capabilities: The Walker comes uniquely equipped with a 4 ton OmniPod, allowing for a quick reconfiguration between mission profiles.

Deployment: This configuration's pod is a simple 4 ton cargo bay.

History: The original prototype of the Walker was made by a quartet of vehicle mechanics on Le Blanc over the course of 2 years to test the new OmniPod technology. Whilst it's unclear how they got their hands on OmniTechnology, a preliminary report of an investigation by MIIO's Bureau of Internal Investigations wing suggest a potential leak in the AFFC's maintenance corps, the results of the project are known. Submitted to an AFFC contract for a new multi-purpose cargo truck it lost due to its combined usage of OmniTech, which was being prioritised for BattleMechs, and a full-tracked drivetrain, the Walker had still gotten a high placement in the competition and thusly had made its mark on people. Soon, it had been picked up by Earthwerks Incorporated's Calloway VI branch in late 3055 for both internal company usage and military export.

[high shoal]

❌ PluralKit cannot proxy messages over 2000 characters in length.

[elder ridge]

Thank you PK.

[waxen fulcrum]

Bahahahah

Sorry, I should clarify, that wasn't laughing at you, Josie

[elder ridge]

I know.

But yeh, is 4t tracked lorry. :3

[verbal trout]

So, I have come up with lance #3.

Pitch: Wandering order of mendicant battlemech knights from New Avalon.

They're a demi company and they go around picking fights with the Dracs.

[hexed musk]

What did my dracs ever do to you 😠
(whispers from offscreen)
what's that? We did that? fuck. I need a cig

[verbal trout]

New Avalon knows what you did Child of The Dragon.

[hexed musk]

Someone's gotta be the heel in the group.

[elder ridge]

No, you fail to understand, it's the Heel Convention.

That's why the Periphery aren't invited, they're the Faces.

[verbal trout]

Along with that.

Whenever there's a big fuckoff threat to the Inner Sphere.

This is how Fedcom is whenever the Combine joins in the defensive alliance.

Clan Invasion

Dracs: Great to be on the team.

Fedcom: I'm not punching you right now because of this invasion. But when it's over, I'm pile driving you into the moon.

Blakist Crusade

Dracs: Great to be on the team again.

Fedcom: When we're done shooting the religiously rabid phone men. I'm pile driving you into the moon. Again.

[hexed musk]

The unifying theory of Fuck that guy

[verbal trout]

Yep

[summer mulch]

powered by racism

[hexed musk]

Though that was a bigger thing back in the day, I think modern BT has chosen to make everyone hate each other because imperalists are catty bitches.

Though groups like the Draconis combine are still explicitly chauvinist (Japanese in this case)

[summer mulch]

oh yeah I was mostly riffin

[short rose]

Well there is the Periphery/IS/Clan racism that still crops up a decent amount IWRC but alot of that is just scturctural to the setting. Like you don't get the whole push for terra with out the whole "spheroids are freeborn filth and degenerate barbarians"

Tho the warden clans mostaly chill on that

[elder ridge]

The Sphere is our ward that we were charged to protect.

Ilkay_teh_NHPimbos(they/her) ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161695907255963709 message) Tho the warden clans mostaly chill on that

[hexed musk]

Tell that to turtle bay.

[elder ridge]

Ye mean the detestable act that should never have happened? Just because I am a Clanner does not mean I agree with the actions of other Clans.

[hexed monolith]

Um, excuse you, that was a Crusader action.

Also classic Smoke Jaguar

Always gotta have the token evil teammate

[hexed musk]

(I actually have more smoke jaguar painted up than any other faction lol)
But for the IS, warden or crusader clans are all just different shades of invader.

[hexed monolith]

Like most Clanners

My moral compass flees at the first sign of cool robot

(Even if I'm mostly a basic bitch Wolf fan. :P)

[prime spruce]

house kurita mechs

[elder ridge]

Aff, and it is unfortunate.

D. Smoothly | Blink Anchored ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161695907255963709 message) (I actually have more smoke jaguar painted up than any other faction lol)
But for the IS, warden or …

[hexed musk]

Had my first gaussrifle betrayal today. My dragon DRG-5N was ripping it all game, it beheaded the hostile WVR-7K keeping my head down... and then it shut down from engine hits, got the gaussrifle popped, and the pilot does not get back up when the machine turns back on. Good times.

[teal crater]

Gonna drybrush a little warm orange on the bases still. But wow even this makes them pop in a new way!

[indigo hinge]

Bases can make a paint scheme come together quite effectively. On that note, let me check if I've paid my phone bill this month.

[elder ridge]

ComGuards, quiaff?

Thyla (they/he) ↩️

[(click to see attachment)](#1161695907255963709 message)

[indigo hinge]

Aff, it would appear so.

[hexed monolith]

Redde Creditori Tuo

[elder ridge]

And look where that got you!

Bad Callie.

[indigo hinge]

I'm glad to know we're not the only system with interactions like that.

[teal crater]

I'm deliberating on how much, if any decals to slap on 'em

Maybe just some roman numerals.

[elder ridge]

😌

[teal crater]

Really happy about how my Tukayyid terrain’s turning out. Dusts rock.

[hexed monolith]

Very nice

Don't fuck with the Phone Company

[elder ridge]

approving nod.

[teal crater]

Here’s the full level II

tried doing a gradient with three different dusts

[elder ridge]

Our identification is not the best, but I do recognise the King Crab and Black Knight. Which means I cannot identify an entire lance's worth.

Our knowledge of Clan mechs is.. Far superior.

[teal crater]

Aside from the Highlander in the back, the rest are somewhat obscure Star League heritage: from the left: Exterminator, Mercury and Sentinel.

The Exterminator of pretty sick. Fast medium with unique Lostech stealth features, meant for hunting down enemy officers.

[elder ridge]

How did I fail to recognise the Highlander and Mercury?

[teal crater]

I’m yet to field it, but I’ve always considered the Mercury a Locust from a more civilized age

Sentinel’s essentially more or less the fastest UAC/5 around

Though the Royal version rocks a gauss

I have another custom Level II wainting for priming, but it’ll have to wait a bit

But really looking forward to painting a Nightstar

[wet nova]

finally managed to play Battletech physically for once with miniature and stuff

so of course I done the classic and have a Javelin causing an ammo explosion in an Atlas from the back

[hexed musk]

Fucking gottem

Most Atlas's are stuffed like a kid on Christmas with ammo once you get to that tasty gooey inside

[shrewd plover]

I'm getting vehicles printed

cackles

[verbal trout]

Noice

[indigo hinge]

Sounds like you had a blast.

[wet current]

Shrek ppc carry my beloved ❤️

[shrewd plover]

4 demolisher hahahaa

[wet current]

damn id hate to be fighting that in a city map

[indigo hinge]

That feels like it violates some form of convention.

[severe oxide]

Hello fellow mech warriors

Who else here plays Capellans?

[hexed musk]

I'm mostly DCMS and Clan SJ, but I have an Aurigan mercenary company I'm painting up that coincidentally looks identical to the Capellan Red Lancers.

So... I moonlight.

[elder ridge]

Woah. A very pretty miniature.

[shrewd plover]

It's just like 8 AC20s

Ahhahaa

How so?

[shrewd plover]

Turn A corner 2 AC20s in your face. 2 more slamming into your back

[indigo hinge]

Yeah, but turning a corner with your Urbie and finding that lance feels like very bad day.

What's that one image again?

All I'd do as the pilot is chuckle and very slowly try to back out.

[hexed musk]

I don't think you'd have time in an urbie to turn before you got reduced to your constituent atoms

https://tenor.com/view/jackass-jackass3d-explosion-flying-jackass3d-ending-gif-24900912

[elder ridge]

I mean I like my Gauss rifles, and I think they're a good mainline weapon, but.. A Gauss rifle without backup weapons is a bad idea.

Then again, I made a Gauss Von Luckner whose coax is an LBX/5.

[indigo hinge]

That's why I prefer my LB/10-X Hollander over the gauss one.

Sure, a gauss kicks ass, but I love doing Solaris fights in the light weight class, and sending ten points of damage to play pinball with your opponent's internals is one hell of a minigame to play halfway through the shooting phase.

[shrewd plover]

Running that, scorpions, LRMs and scouts

Maybe considering infantry

[elder ridge]

We would agree, but we wanted the safety of range, so we fitted an LGR to that variant for a campaign.

Lars | MECHCOM nerd ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161695907255963709 message) Sure, a gauss kicks ass, but I love doing Solaris fights in the light weight class, and sending ten …

Not to disparage it, either. It's an LBX-10 on a maneuverable chassis.

[indigo hinge]

Not a bad idea either.

[elder ridge]

It's just that Auður (who is playing) wanted a sniper, so she got the LGR.

[indigo hinge]

Yeah, understandable.

Currently working on what might well become a gauss rifle platform.

[elder ridge]

KING CRAB.

[hexed monolith]

CRAB BATTLE

[verbal trout]

Crab Battle rattle

Battle rattle crab

Rattle battle crab?

[verbal trout]

Okay, so, this is coming from another server.

So, you know how a lot of mechs are either passed down or inherited? It would be funny if the previous owners do a force ghost and constantly bicker, advise, and or demand the newest owner on what to do. (They also do the same thing to each other)

That feel when you jumped SLDF with Kernesky but everyone who has used your mech since has been batshit insane

[indigo hinge]

There's some horror stories of that happening.

Even a guy that saw his sister sitting on the dashboard of his Zeus I believe.

[wet nova]

neurohelmet could have been so much more funny

[elder ridge]

I've created a hideous Scorpion and.. Honestly? I like it.

[quartz jasper]

Oh those are sweet

[indigo hinge]

Here's my King Crab, 'Witch Doctor'. Because camouflage is for cowards.