Clan Nova Cat - Zombie Catgirl Extravaganza

[roosterboy]

And the centuries long feud with the Smoke Jaguars was born completely out of practicality and rationalism? They're still a Clan, and feuds are a thing.

feuding != actively seeking revenge

Not that I think they're going to whole heartedly make killing the DC off one of their goals beyond revenge fantasy, but making it difficult for the DC when they have the chance? Sure thing.

Which, if memory serves, is exactly what I said. Let me check... yup: "Fight harder against them and show no mercy should they ever meet on the battlefield? Sure."

And if the DC shogun does something that makes him an easy target, headhunter strikes are a thing too.

But that's an opportunistic attack, not a campaign of active revenge. So, not the same thing we're talking about.

Indeed it is a stretch, and fairly easily written off as wish fulfillment of Nova Cat fans

And this is exactly what it boils down to: an understandable real-world desire for revenge overriding the in-universe character of the faction.

[False Son]

Michi Noketsuna wasn't a Clanner or someone who had been separated from his ancestral culture for decades. And that ancestral culture is one that looks favorably upon and even valorizes such actions; Clan culture doesn't.

Maybe i'm overestimating the impact of 70+ years of cohabitation.  The reservations may have kept the stories of the 47 Ronin at the gates.

Now, him I could easily see being pissed as hell that he was denied whatever the hell it is he wanted to do with Katana. But that would likely manifest as infiltrating ISF headquarters on New Samarkand to try and find her, if she's still alive. Rescue her and weasel his way into her life even more. Maybe kill Bhatia along the way. But go after Toranaga for revenge? Eh, I just don't see it. After all, Tormark rebelled against the Coordinator; what was Toranaga to do, not go after her just because some psycho he didn't even know about had his own plans?[/quote]

He had previously worked beside her as the Bounty Hunter while she was not yet sanctioned by Vincent.  I'm not sure what that says about his loyalty to the Dragon throne, or how concerned he is with who was in the right as so much as being fixated on Katana.  He has also done things like strike out at Bhatia to send a message.  I get the impression that going after either party is not entirely outside the realm of possibility.  Not saying it would happen, but he is a capable and perhaps motivated agent of change.

[tbrminsanity]

Do you think Clan Spirit Cat Watch has learned enough from the ISF and 5 Pillars to be able to penetrate the DC and maybe even exact revenge on House Kurita?

I always wanted the Mystic Caste to produce a Kurita heir that would take over the DC in the long run and use Clan Nova Cat as the Coordinator's Elite Guard.  The greatest generals of the DC being Trueborn Nova Cat Warriors serving a thrown backed by a Eugenics program.  I'm sure many DC citizens would have viewed this as an abomination akin to the Van Roors Dynasty. 

[False Son]

Do you think Clan Spirit Cat Watch has learned enough from the ISF and 5 Pillars to be able to penetrate the DC and maybe even exact revenge on House Kurita?

No.  But, the ISF is so busy monitoring the loyalty of the DCMS, right down to embedding DEST trooprs in line units, there is a window of opportunity if ever there was one.

I always wanted the Mystic Caste to produce a Kurita heir that would take over the DC in the long run and use Clan Nova Cat as the Coordinator's Elite Guard.

Did they ever say whether or not Minoru Nova Cat had any children?  Was his material ever entered into the mystic program?  The line of how legit a Kurita trueborn would be in taking the throne seems kind of moot if Yuri qualifies.

At any rate, i'm curious to know what Nova Cat facilities survived the massacre.  Are Rabids and Thunderbirds finding their way to the DCMS?  Are the Spirit Cats using Rabids supplied by the Sea Foxes to prop up their identity?  Who shot JR?

[roosterboy]

The entire Mystic program is based off of Minoru's genes... but always as the maternal source. That's why no Mystic can ever win a Bloodname.

[WONC]

And this is exactly what it boils down to: an understandable real-world desire for revenge overriding the in-universe character of the faction.

So then, respectfully, we must agree to disagree on this one.

[tbrminsanity]

The entire Mystic program is based off of Minoru's genes... but always as the maternal source. That's why no Mystic can ever win a Bloodname.

IIRC that was part of the deal on letting Minoru join CNC.  He would start up the Mystic Caste, and in return he would lose his right to call himself Kurita (thus officially killing off that line to the throne).  So technically the blood legacy still exists (if part of the Mystic Caste survived the genocide), but in the DC legal system, the blood legacy lost it's right to become Coordinator.

[roosterboy]

Minoru joined the Nova Cats some four decades before the Mystic program was founded. It was created in the wake of and as a response to the Second Dominion War.

[tbrminsanity]

Minoru joined the Nova Cats some four decades before the Mystic program was founded. It was created in the wake of and as a response to the Second Dominion War.

Right, the terms of him becoming a bondsmen were that he drop his connection to the Kurita throne.

[Dragon Cat]

Do you think Clan Spirit Cat Watch has learned enough from the ISF and 5 Pillars to be able to penetrate the DC and maybe even exact revenge on House Kurita?

I always wanted the Mystic Caste to produce a Kurita heir that would take over the DC in the long run and use Clan Nova Cat as the Coordinator's Elite Guard.  The greatest generals of the DC being Trueborn Nova Cat Warriors serving a thrown backed by a Eugenics program.  I'm sure many DC citizens would have viewed this as an abomination akin to the Van Roors Dynasty.

I think you just made the DC fans commit ritual suicide ;)

[Archangel]

Do you think Clan Spirit Cat Watch has learned enough from the ISF and 5 Pillars to be able to penetrate the DC and maybe even exact revenge on House Kurita?

A big assumption that the ISF or the O5P would have taught the Nova Cat Watch anything.  From the start the Nova Cats were viewed as outsiders and never completely trusted by the DC.  For most of Clan Nova Cat's early years in the Draconis Combine the ISF was heavily infiltrated by the Black Dragons who sought their destruction which would make it hard for the Nova Cat Watch to trust them.  Not to mention that the Nova Cat Watch lost a lot of personnel when they were thrown out of the Clan Homeworlds and since then really haven't had the resources to rebuild.  While they may have learned some tricks from the SLIC, the Jihad and the subsequent formation of the Republic of the Sphere probably gutted what was left with many dieing in the long conflict and many others being handed over to the Republic at the end of the war along with most of their touman.

While the Nova Cat probably rebuild at least a small Clan Watch to keep an eye on the Ghost Bears, that Watch was likely destroyed along with the rest of Clan Nova Cat when they supported Emi Kurita's claim to the throne.  While a few individuals may have escaped the purges, they have few resources to fall back on and no means of regrouping other than physically contacting each other.  All the while being hunted by ISF and O5P agents.

No.  But, the ISF is so busy monitoring the loyalty of the DCMS, right down to embedding DEST trooprs in line units, there is a window of opportunity if ever there was one.

While overall ISF coverage is probably down, security around Coordinator Yori Kurita and Kanrei Toranage is probably especially high because there is a war going on and more because they are afraid of a FedSuns assassin getting through than fear of any Nova Cat retaliation.  After the assassination of Vincent Kurita and his family, the Otomo and the Izanagi Warriors are likely extremely paranoid.  I doubt any of them put much faith in their chances should another Coordinator be assassinated on their watch.  If they are lucky they would be permitted to commit seppuku, but the ISF isn't likely to be merciful.

At any rate, i'm curious to know what Nova Cat facilities survived the massacre.  Are Rabids and Thunderbirds finding their way to the DCMS?  Are the Spirit Cats using Rabids supplied by the Sea Foxes to prop up their identity?

I believe most Nova Cat production facilities were handed over to LAW who may be selling some of their ClanTech production to the Sea Foxes in exchange for technology they cannot produce.

[roosterboy]

A big assumption that the ISF or the O5P would have taught the Nova Cat Watch anything.

O5P, yes, probably. Or maybe not necessarily taught, but influenced and aided. They were long-standing allies of the Cats and collaborated with them on the Mystic project. And, of course, the whole reason Emi was in hiding with the Cats in the first place was because of the close ties between the Clan and the Order.

All the while being hunted by ISF and O5P agents.

Probably not O5P in anything more than the most cursory manner, likely just enough to keep Toranaga and his allies off their backs and not suspicious of the Order's loyalty.

In fact, I could easily see an O5P-run "underground railroad" to help individual Cats or even very small groups of Cat civilians escape the Combine.

[tbrminsanity]

Who has the most effective Clan Watch?  From my Guide to Covert Ops, Clan Watch were considered subpar to the different organizations of the Successor States and were more akin to Military Intelligence than a proper spy agency.

[WONC]

Okay, so here's an old chestnut of a topic that I haven't seen for an age: when did you get into the Nova Cats? Also, what was it that drew you in?

For myself, it was Tukayyid that sold me on them. All of the sudden, here was this mysterious, ultra-religious (after their own fashion), hard fighting group that managed to gut the ComGuards, even in the face of defeat. I spent a while bouncing back and forth between who I rooted for within the universe, but the Cats always stuck in the back of my mind. Eventually, I gave in to the inevitable, and it was all down hill from there.

[Istal_Devalis]

Who has the most effective Clan Watch?  From my Guide to Covert Ops, Clan Watch were considered subpar to the different organizations of the Successor States and were more akin to Military Intelligence than a proper spy agency.

It used to be the Wolves under Phelan.
Now? I'd guess the Sea Fox. They're the ones most likely to come across and track interesting tidbits, and the least scruple about using that to make a buck.

[False Son]

No idea. If it hasn't been written about, it's not known. I can't recall off the top of my head what his disposition was at the end of Dragon Rising. Was he in the throne room when Vincent went boom?

He was already questioning his loyalty to Bhatia because of the whole Dasha thing.  He was in the throne room, but so was Katana, Crawford, Bhatia and Kappa.  Fusili was noted as trying to beat a path for Katana, but being too late to stop the bomb.  Maybe he is still alive.  Maybe he was cought up in the purges.

While overall ISF coverage is probably down, security around Coordinator Yori Kurita and Kanrei Toranage is probably especially high because there is a war going on and more because they are afraid of a FedSuns assassin getting through than fear of any Nova Cat retaliation.  After the assassination of Vincent Kurita and his family, the Otomo and the Izanagi Warriors are likely extremely paranoid.  I doubt any of them put much faith in their chances should another Coordinator be assassinated on their watch.  If they are lucky they would be permitted to commit seppuku, but the ISF isn't likely to be merciful.

Yeah, agents in every DCMS regiment.

As for the Otomo, they are a bit touchy concerning the deaths of Vincent and family.  They were thoroughly vetted after the attack to ensure loyalty.  The Izanagi Warriors, however, were vetted by the O5P, not ISF, and didn't lose a single member between the attacks to present.  That might leave an O5P opening to exact revenge.  Although, to be fair, it doesn't take a cluster of clan troops to strike at the Coordinator.  Kappa was a lone man that infiltrated the Imperial Palace and killed Chomie.

The more I think about it, the more I realize it was Bhatia that hated the Nova Cats.  He was the one that killed the mystics and set up the camps.  Here's to hoping he gets what's coming.

[Archangel]

Who has the most effective Clan Watch?  From my Guide to Covert Ops, Clan Watch were considered subpar to the different organizations of the Successor States and were more akin to Military Intelligence than a proper spy agency.

Excluding Phelan's Wolves, who received IS assistance, I would have to go with the Diamond Sharks (later Sea Fox).  Not only were they the primary administrators of the Chatterweb, but their Watch included a large number of the merchant caste (including many warrior-traders) which helped them establish better relations with lower castes than Watches dominated by members of the warrior caste and, unlike most other Watches, they paid attention to non-military intelligence as well.  By the 3080s, the Diamond Shark Watch evolved into an intelligence agency that was just as capable as any Inner Sphere agencies and was considered by some to be just as dangerous as any intelligence/covert ops team in the Inner Sphere including the Manei Domini.

[GhostCat]

Okay, so here's an old chestnut of a topic that I haven't seen for an age: when did you get into the Nova Cats? Also, what was it that drew you in?

For myself, it was Tukayyid that sold me on them.

I could say the same thing, but it was more like I was dissatisfied with every faction that had the Heavy Hand Of God pushing them around.  So, there was a strong tendency to avoid mainstream factions that followed Canon Storyline and could do no wrong.  Unless the Storyline was setting them up to just be the bad guys, of course. 

Being Clan was not that important or interesting to me, But the Cats had a quality that other Invader Clans didn't.  They weren't always trying to solve everything by trying to kill something.

Even so, it wasn't until the Dark Age and Wizkids invented the Spirit Cats that I went and took another look at Clan Nova Cat and I liked what I read about them.  And the time line for the Jihad was still in development with only a few early events having been published, so the future had some good things (promised) coming soon.

You might say I am more Spirit Cat and retcon to be Nova Cat.

GC

[False Son]

To be honest, I wasn't interested in the Nova Cats until they fled to the Combine.

[tbrminsanity]

Okay, so here's an old chestnut of a topic that I haven't seen for an age: when did you get into the Nova Cats? Also, what was it that drew you in?

Mechwarrior RPG 3rd Edition.  I had two players that insisted on playing clan characters and I told them they either had to play Clan Nova Cat, or Clan Wolf (in Exile) because everyone else was IS.  They both chose Clan Nova Cat and they both really did their research on how to play their characters accurately.  They won me over. 
I've chosen Clan Nova Cat as my primary faction ever since the DC civil war.  I really thought that CNC with DC working together to create the Draconis Dominion would have been the greatest faction in BT, but that was crapped on, fertilized, and then incinerated.  I've lost all faith in DC and now I'm purely Clan Spirit Cat.

[Dragon Cat]

For me it was the novel Path of Glory - right after being kicked out of Clan space.  I pretty much devoured everything about them after that.  Before it was Northwind Highlanders, Skye and the FedSuns

[Pa Weasley]

Now? I'd guess the Sea Fox. They're the ones most likely to come across and track interesting tidbits, and the least scruple about using that to make a buck.

Yeah, that combined with their mystery assets in the Chainelane Isle is why the Foxes kind of scare me.

Okay, so here's an old chestnut of a topic that I haven't seen for an age: when did you get into the Nova Cats? Also, what was it that drew you in?

While I had been a fan of the video games in high school, I had no exposure to the table top game and the larger fictional universe until college. Specifically, I had two roommates who were long time players more than happy to walk me through my first few games, answer my questions, and let me borrow their books at any time. The first I really poured over was Invading Clans. The way the Cats were presented in IC just clicked with me on a weird personal level that was all she wrote. The spirituality combined with an emphasis on practical matters was perfect (being second best in a wide range of fields is admirable and pretty durn hard to pull off). Plus it the back of their section held the Huntsman, speaking of things I have irrational connections too.  :D

Of course FASA ceased active operations less than two years later. One of those roommates was more than happy to sell me some of his books. I still have that copy of IC and flip though the Nova Cat section more often that is probably healthy.

While I was more than happy to tide myself over as a Spirit Cat player in MW:DA, there was much happy dancing when the Nova Cats were introduced as a proper faction. Unfortunately by that point our first munchkin had come along so I hadn't the time nor the cash to snag those pieces.

[wolfgar]

Cats are a recent thing for me because I always invest in the smallest and weakest and then work to build them into a powerhouse. If I can get the Solomons recognized and cannonized its going to be part of the protectorate and be a power builder for them and the Cats.

If not then I will really throw in to the Nova/Spirit Cats.

[GhostCat]

Cats are a recent thing for me because I always invest in the smallest and weakest and then work to build them into a powerhouse. If I can get the Solomons recognized and cannonized its going to be part of the protectorate and be a power builder for them and the Cats.

If not then I will really throw in to the Nova/Spirit Cats.

Solomons? what's that?  If it's a new Solahma unit, the Cats don't need it.  Compared to the Green Hornets and the Dire Puppies, we might be small in number, but hardly what you'd call weak.  The best place a Clan Warrior can be is in a Target Rich Environment. 

"Just One of Us and a Hundred of You, and try not to get in each others' way, that's just embarrassing."

Well, this is why we don't have Solahma in the Spirit Cats, and the Nova Cats have only Survivors and Refugees (according to official reports).

GC

[Klat]

I realized that my RL last name was a blood name that I could only find among the 'Cats. I don't know if it's actually exclusive to them but it's the only clan I've ever found it in. So, I took it as a sign...

[Archangel]

To be honest, I wasn't interested in the Nova Cats until they fled to the Combine.

You do realize that there is no indication that any Nova Cats from the Combine made it to the Clan Protectorate, right?

[GhostCat]

You do realize that there is no indication that any Nova Cats from the Combine made it to the Clan Protectorate, right?

Read it again, he said "TO the Combine".  To be honest, I didn't think the Combine was all that interesting until the Nova Cats moved in.  We knew it couldn't last long, but together, they both became a lot more fun to talk about. 

Sure we're going to miss the banter about cosplay samurai and catgirl battlemaids, but there is hope that the Protectorate can reinvent the Cats with a new image.  As for Combine Cats making it all the way to the Clan Protectorate, a few stragglers might turn up even after a ten year Odyssey through the Clan OZ.  Though we might end up with a Starbuck that can't remember his/her own gender.  (ooh that's sooo anime!!!)

GC

[False Son]

You do realize that there is no indication that any Nova Cats from the Combine made it to the Clan Protectorate, right?

I didn't mention the Clan Protectorate.  I was referring to when they were abjured and took up residence inside the Draconis Combine.  On their own the Nova Cats hold no interest for me.  Seeing them interact with non-clan groups while trying to maintain their clan traditions is what interests me.  To that end, the Republic and Clan Protectorate Cats intrigue me, as well.

[WONC]

I realized that my RL last name was a blood name that I could only find among the 'Cats. I don't know if it's actually exclusive to them but it's the only clan I've ever found it in. So, I took it as a sign...

I almost went a similar way, as my maternal grandmother's maiden name is a Coyote bloodname, and yes, I'm just that much of a nerd to think "Ooh, matrilineal link!" Unfortunately, the 'yotes never held my interest, which is sad because purely fluff-wise they're an okay fit for my personality. Their 'Mechs, however, left me feeling more "meh" than "yay," which I'm sure will have many people screaming blasphemy at me, but 'tis the truth.

Ironically enough, in keeping with that idea, Clan Mongoose has two bloodnamed warriors, side by side, that fit my mother and her favorite brother's names. One even has a surname that's close to their own. Good thing/unfortunately the Mongooses are already dead, so...

[Nekoryu]

Ok, so: something has been bugging me for a few months now.

What in the b'jeezus happened to Biccon Winters after she retired as our Clan's Loremaster? If there's no information, what is most likely to have occurred? Vision, maybe?

For some reason, I could imagine her going on some sort of sabbatical/pilgrimage thingy, visiting her Clan's worlds in the DC to observe her people and get a feel for them directly and observe the general morale of her Clan. I mean, they've been through near-literal hell; what looks good in reports and in the digital text on a screen isn't always entirely accurate....

Dunno where I'm going with that.  ???