Author Topic: (COMPLETED) Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock  (Read 22401 times)

Fear Factory

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I finally finished the project...  I just want to thank all of you for the support and feedback.

"We are Clan Burrock!
Strong and clear, moving through all impassible boundaries
With our acid, we burn the weak foundation
And with our mandibles, we feed on its remains and grow stronger
We are an infestation that cannot be contained
Embedded deep within the Way of the Clans
Nicholas chose us
The true, the vigilant, and the redeemed!"

- Clan Burrock Remembrance

     One Clan that was never covered/fleshed out in the BattleTech universe is Clan Burrock (Well, a little bit in Operation: Klondike, Era Digest: Golden Century, and Wars of Reaving).  Despite the lack of attention they were still a force to be reckoned with.  They were primary dealers with the Dark Caste, allies with Clan Star Adder and Clan Cloud Cobra, the thorn in Clan Fire Mandrill's spine and the mortal enemies of Clan Blood Spirit.  They also invented the Clan Gauss Rifle and were one of the creators of the Executioner OmniMech.

     Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock is an update to Field Manual: Crusader Clans that adds an entry for Clan Burrock before they were absorbed into Clan Star Adder (Except Xi Galaxy "The Underground," which is meant to cover what is going on in the Dark Caste up until the Wars of Reaving).  I have put over two years of work into it taking information and drawing influence from canon sources.  This means that it is not an alternate universe, it is a resource that can be used for your BattleTech games which attempts to hold as much integrity as possible to the BattleTech Universe.  This supplement comes equipped with the history of Clan Burrock, popular tactics, personalities, traditions, a complete touman with unit designations and abilities, AND even some new BattleMech, Battle Armor and Vehicle designs to your liking!  Recently, I fleshed out their connection with the Dark Caste (in the form of Xi Galaxy), thanks to the bit of information from Wars of Reaving.

If you are a die-hard Burrock fan like I am, or into the Homeworld Clans, or a die hard Clan Blood Spirit player who is looking for an enemy to beat down, or even a Star Adder looking to run a Burrock Absorption campaign, then this is for you!


For your convenience, I placed all the files associated with this material in one .zip file (including the camo below) HERE.  *NOW INCLUDING UPDATED ALPHA STRIKE CARDS!

You can find the instructions in the zip file.  Basically, copy all of the files to their respective locations and add this to the end of mechset.txt:

Code: [Select]
# Burrock Supplement
chassis "Crypt Keeper" "cryptkeeperprime.gif"
exact "Crypt Keeper Prime" "cryptkeeperprime.gif"
exact "Crypt Keeper A" "cryptkeepera.gif"
exact "Crypt Keeper B" "cryptkeeperb.gif"
exact "Crypt Keeper C" "cryptkeeperc.gif"
exact "Crypt Keeper D" "cryptkeeperd.gif"
exact "Hornet IIC" "hornetIIC.gif"
exact "Praetorian Light Tank" "praetorian.gif"
exact "Predator" "/battle armor/Afreet.gif"
exact "Glass Banshee" "glassbanshee.gif"
exact "Great Wyrm 3" "great_wyrm_3.gif"

I prefer to keep my custom images in the same folder as the mechset file as it keeps custom images out of the official images.  It makes updating MegaMek easier.

Finally, thanks to the few Burrock fans out there.  Hopefully you guys enjoy this!
« Last Edit: 30 October 2017, 09:51:38 by Fear Factory »
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #1 on: 18 April 2012, 00:56:23 »
Oh, and for those who have MegaMek, I have camo for each unit:
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #2 on: 18 April 2012, 00:56:56 »
More camo:
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Hawkeye Jim

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #3 on: 18 April 2012, 14:54:40 »
Is this the same version as you had earlier, or is some of it new?

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #4 on: 18 April 2012, 16:17:00 »
2 new mechs, 1 new vehicle, new unit designations and names,  and updated unit insignias.
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Hawkeye Jim

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #5 on: 18 April 2012, 16:42:02 »
Okay, thanks.

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #6 on: 28 April 2012, 16:06:25 »
Kind of a last minute thing...  I decided to throw in a Conventional Fighter to work with the Hornet IIC and Praetorian Light Tank called the "Glass Banshee."  They're my trio of "Cheaps" so to say.  I'll update the zip file when I get more time later.

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do.  Please leave any comments or concerns, good or bad.
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Voodoo

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #7 on: 05 July 2012, 16:27:07 »
Is the clan totem a Helgramite?

Forum Miscreant...and then some.

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #8 on: 06 July 2012, 01:35:13 »
I think so.
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #9 on: 09 May 2013, 13:33:18 »
I'm reviving this thread simply because I don't want to make a new one.

I updated the book a bit.  Removed the Sentinel IIC because I felt it was unnecessary and fixed a few things here and there.  However, if the design was enjoyed, I'm keeping it in the zip file.  There may be a few more updated here and there but I'm planning on a huge update in the future (sometime this year or mid/late next year).  I am attempting to make it look more like a TRO/Sourcebook so it is up to par with other fan projects.  I plan on finding artists as well...  may it be free or commission.

One of my other plans is to include my old Burrock book in with this one.  It won't be as out there as the other one was thanks to Wars of Reaving but it will be a nice little addition that describes what is going on in the Dark Caste up until the Burrock Revival.  This may or may not be a part of that update...  I'm not entirely sure yet.
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Red Pins

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #10 on: 09 May 2013, 14:22:26 »
Tagged.
...Visit the Legacy Cluster...
The New Clans:Volume One
Clan Devil Wasp * Clan Carnoraptor * Clan Frost Ape * Clan Surf Dragon * Clan Tundra Leopard
Work-in-progress; The Blake Threat File
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Hawkeye Jim

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #11 on: 09 May 2013, 16:45:33 »
Let me know when it's ready. I have the old version saved.

snakespinner

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #12 on: 10 May 2013, 04:27:14 »
Tag
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Growing up is optional.
Watching TrueToaster create evil genius, priceless...everything else is just sub-par.

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V2
« Reply #13 on: 28 May 2013, 14:06:39 »
While not the update I promised, I added two OmniMech variants to the mix.  The Clan itself uses medium to light class units and has developed a preference for the Nova and Stormcrow.  I created these 'M' configurations that later inspired the Crypt Keeper.  The configurations are basically a mix of several configurations found on both chassis.  They're in the book now.

The variants can be found here.  They're not meant to be perfect.

That's it now.  I'm going to focus on making the book look better.   :D
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3
« Reply #14 on: 05 June 2013, 20:12:27 »
While not the update promised, I'm going to post the final one for a while, and yes it's not the "book."  I had a lot of free time for the last two days.  In this update, I made a table of contents with page references, added page numbers, updated A LOT of the text (I had some typos and grammar issues that I really needed to clean up), updated the random allocation tables to incorporate the designs in the book (hell, why not?), and added something I completely forgot about...  tables for conventional forces and BattleForce commands!

There is a Google drive link and a Solaris 7 link, above.

Have fun!

EDIT:  Updated the files (above) to include the 2 new variants, their images, and even edited the old camo patterns so they look better (blur/glow).  Trust me, if you downloaded the old book and files, this one is well worth it.
« Last Edit: 06 June 2013, 03:48:59 by Fear Factory »
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3
« Reply #15 on: 08 June 2013, 01:58:38 »
I hope you guys enjoy this...


The Underground...  will rise!

Xi Galaxy
“The Underground”


EDIT:  Removed, see download (above) for details.
« Last Edit: 12 June 2013, 20:33:00 by Fear Factory »
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3
« Reply #16 on: 08 June 2013, 02:31:57 »
EDIT:  Removed, see download (above) for details.
« Last Edit: 12 June 2013, 20:33:16 by Fear Factory »
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1
« Reply #17 on: 12 June 2013, 14:44:27 »
EDIT:  Removed, see download (above) for details.
« Last Edit: 12 June 2013, 20:33:30 by Fear Factory »
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1
« Reply #18 on: 12 June 2013, 20:30:11 »
Updated the links on the first post, among other things.

I'm pretty happy with the new Xi Galaxy writeup.  It's what I always thought Clan Burrock accomplished under the surface.  Xi is basically a Galaxy (6 Clusters made up of Binaries instead of Trinaries), spread among Clan space, raiding and slowly increasing in size.  When Clan Burrock was absorbed, Xi split up, then they reconnected after the Adders sent the former Burrocks to watch the Tanite Worlds.  It basically sets up for the resurrection of Clan Burrock described in Wars of Reaving.

All that's left for this project is to clean it up and make it look like a book.  I'm not a good writer but I gave it an honest try.  We'll see how the year goes.

For those interested, thanks.  It may not be the best project out there but I had fun doing it.
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Akalabeth

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1c
« Reply #19 on: 25 October 2013, 22:12:52 »
Hey thanks for making this by the way,

I'm running an AU pre-clan invasion campaign in the homeworlds wherein the Burrocks are involved quite a bit so I used your field manual a number of times. Might use some of the units in the near future as well.

I wish Catalyst or whoever would give us some faction allocation tables and whatnot for clans at different times. As far as I know for example like, Clan Mongoose probably has more information on them from Golden Century than even the Burrocks do. Where are the pre-Op Bulldog random tables for example (so that the tables aren't littered with Jaguar spoils). Where's any burrock table at all?

But yeah. I used your field manual quite a bit and will use it a bit more still so thanks for making it!

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1c
« Reply #20 on: 26 October 2013, 00:07:12 »
You are very welcome!   :)

I'm glad the book helped you with your game.  I've been curious if anyone used the book...
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Akalabeth

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1c
« Reply #21 on: 26 October 2013, 21:51:44 »
I'll be using a few of your custom units tomorrow in a battle as well against the PC force. I expect them to die horribly but such is the role of the Opposing forces in a campaign.

One of the benefits that the Field Manual has it that collects much of the burrock information from the various sources. Such as the idea that they once used assault mechs and light mechs in tandem (or whatever it was). Either way I wish a lot of these factions would get properly fleshed out in the universe and not simply be a foot note from a previous time.

One thing I did in my AU for example was to give the Burrocks, the Burrock, for their totem rather than have it as some Star Adder-produced design. Though I also gave them a down-rated version with ER MLs rather than HMLs to reflect the time period being played in.

If I had one critique it might be to say that, a few of the unit special abilities are sort of too samey. If I'm not mistaken a lot of them are initiative bonuses primarily. I think they could use a bit more variety, though mind you this critique comes from the original book and I've not given the updated book (which includes custom designs) a proper look. But all in all it's good that someone put it together. Maybe Catalyst will at some point do the same and give us some more concrete information.

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1c
« Reply #22 on: 27 October 2013, 13:21:07 »
A lot of the initiative bonuses are there to offset their preference for light and medium 'Mechs.  I don't really remember too much, but in the latest book I did flesh out each galaxy a lot better (with better unit abilities and such) so it should be a bit different.  They changed their preference after the result of Operation:  Klondike, where they prefered heavier 'Mechs with light/fast vehicle support.

I always thought of giving them the Burrock earlier on but decided not to do it...  came up with the Hornet IIC, Glass Banshee, and Praetorian Tank instead, which goes with their "struggle" to build a touman after their feud with Clan Blood Spirit (I called it the blood feud).
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

truetanker

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1c
« Reply #23 on: 28 October 2013, 18:43:54 »
I am slowly updating my AU Fear Factory. Nought to worry, that borrowed unit will be included in the next few updates soon. Gotta find time to write 'em.

TT
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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1c
« Reply #24 on: 28 October 2013, 20:46:57 »
A lot of the initiative bonuses are there to offset their preference for light and medium 'Mechs.  I don't really remember too much, but in the latest book I did flesh out each galaxy a lot better (with better unit abilities and such) so it should be a bit different.  They changed their preference after the result of Operation:  Klondike, where they prefered heavier 'Mechs with light/fast vehicle support.

I always thought of giving them the Burrock earlier on but decided not to do it...  came up with the Hornet IIC, Glass Banshee, and Praetorian Tank instead, which goes with their "struggle" to build a touman after their feud with Clan Blood Spirit (I called it the blood feud).

Well it makes sense to not give them the Burrock because it would be against Canon.
It's a bit of a shame in some ways that the homeworld clans were never really explored that much. I don't feel that there's a good sense of what took place in the years between 3050 and klondike. Most of the history between feuding clans for example is often based upon one or two battles. Like X happened, therefore these two clans hate one-another.

It's a bit similar to say the 3025 timeline, where Dracs were bad because of Kentares.

Anyway if I get the chance I'll have another look at the updated FM. I used two points of the Praetorian in yesterday's battle. They did fairly well though they were pitted against a binary of omni mechs from the PC force so in the end all of my tanks got wrecked (The Praetorians plus some heavies). I'll be using a couple more of the units in the next couple battles so I'll let you know how it goes.

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V3.1c
« Reply #25 on: 29 October 2013, 00:15:57 »
I'm actually really impressed on how well Praetorians work for what they are made for.  Try them in Alpha Strike.   >:D
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V4
« Reply #26 on: 26 February 2014, 22:21:41 »
Rather than open a new thread I am reviving this one.

I have finally finished version 4 of the book after months of headache.  The layout is updated and it just looks a heck of a lot nicer.  This is going to be the last update, as I'm pretty sure this project is 100% complete (unless someone points out some errors or I decide to get some artists to draw up some of the designs I made).

Thanks to everyone who supported me in the past.  I appreciate it.

Links above are updated.
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company

Red Pins

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V4
« Reply #27 on: 27 February 2014, 01:38:17 »
Evil, evil man.  Teaching yourself everything I need to learn and completing this wonderfull project...

Tell me your secret, FF.  You live alone in your parent's basement, or something.

So, what next?
...Visit the Legacy Cluster...
The New Clans:Volume One
Clan Devil Wasp * Clan Carnoraptor * Clan Frost Ape * Clan Surf Dragon * Clan Tundra Leopard
Work-in-progress; The Blake Threat File
Now with MORE GROGNARD!  ...I think I'm done.  I've played long enough to earn a pension, fer cryin' out loud!  IlClan and out in <REDACTED>!
TRO: 3176 Hegemony Refits - the 30-day wonder

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V4
« Reply #28 on: 27 February 2014, 17:31:49 »
I heard it was the garage's attic... between his mother's baby buggy and his grandfather's old army trunk.

 O:-)
TT
Khan, Clan Iron Dolphin
Azeroth Pocketverse
That is, if true tanker doesn't beat me to it. He makes truly evil units.Col.Hengist on 31 May 2013
TT, we know you are the master of nasty  O0 ~ Fletch on 22 June 2013
If I'm attacking you, conventional wisom says to bring 3x your force.  I want extra insurance, so I'll bring 4 for every 1 of what you have :D ~ Tai Dai Cultist on 21 April 2016
Me: Would you rather fight my Epithymía Thanátou from the Whispers of Blake?
Nav_Alpha: That THING... that is horrid
~ Nav_Alpha on 10 October 2016

Fear Factory

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Re: Field Manual Crusader Clans Supplement: Clan Burrock V4
« Reply #29 on: 27 February 2014, 19:21:24 »
Evil, evil man.  Teaching yourself everything I need to learn and completing this wonderfull project...

Tell me your secret, FF.  You live alone in your parent's basement, or something.

So, what next?

I heard it was the garage's attic... between his mother's baby buggy and his grandfather's old army trunk.

 O:-)
TT

It's the garage in the basement.   ^-^

I dunno what's next.  Finding some artists seems like the best direction...  I only need a few images.
The conflict is pure - The truth devised - The future secured - The enemy designed
Maj. Isaac "Litany" Van Houten, Lone Wolves, The Former 66th "Litany Against Fear" Company