Author Topic: WorkMech Wednesday Repost (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs  (Read 4572 times)

Giovanni Blasini

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(Originally lost to the board crashes, recovered through Google cache):

WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28):  Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs

 


—The Dig King/Dig Lord.  Check out all its majesty.


Welcome to a WorkMech Wednesday double-feature.  As mentioned above, we’ll be talking about the 35-ton Dig King, and its larger offspring, the 65-ton Dig Lord, two somewhat ubiquitous MiningMechs.  “But wait, Gio”, you exclaim, “those are two separate ‘Mechs!”

Well, kind of.  It’s actually kind of complicated.

So, let’s start at the beginning.  MechWarrior Dark Age introduced us to the MiningMech and MiningMech MOD, the latter of which wore mohair suits and had twenty extra rear-view mirrors, machine guns, extra fog lights, and missiles.  The former, referred to as “Rockers”, used rock cutters and mining drills.  This of course meant that these Rockers vs. Mods fights were common, and soon dominated early MWDA games, especially since WizKids never released UrbanMechs to police this conflict.

(Editor: *ahem*)

Oh, OK, fine.  Spoilsport.  Eventually, it came time to immortalize these in Classic…er, standard Battletech.  Initial attempts were spotty and weird, and predate modern rules for things like commercial and industrial armor, fuel cells, tracks on ‘Mechs…it’s a long list.  That last one is especially weird, I’m sure, for MWDA players, since the MiningMech had tracks.  So, yeah, that’s a thing, and it’s not clear to me that these are still considered canon variants of the ‘Mech.

Eventually, though we got the RCL-1 Dig King.  Debuting, in-universe, in 2573, the 35-ton RCL-1 Dig King features a fuel cell powerplant, driving the Dig King at a leisure 43 kph cruising or 64 kph flank running.  This is not fast, but for a MiningMech theoretically working in crumbly, dangerous environments, that’s fine.  Environmental sealing is completely absent, but 6 tons heavy industrial armor, equivalent to standard BattleMech armor plating, provides decent protection, equivalent to a lighter Urbie and nearly on-par with the old-school Panther.  Frontal armor is emphasized, with 9 points in the head, 11/4 in the CT, 10/3 in the side torsos, and 13 points per leg.  Obviously, this means your frontal armor could take a PPC anywhere without going internal, but it does leave you vulnerable to internal damage if you fall and hit your side torsos.  Personally, I’d rather take a point off each leg and add it to your rear side torsos.

OK, good protection and sluggish speed for its size.  When looking at the usual triad, then…weapons/equipment?  Mmmm…kinda.  Going 4/6 with a fuel cell on a 35-ton ‘Mech takes up 6 tons for your engine, and gives you a single heat sink to spare.  Combine that with IndustrialMech internal structure, and you’re left with 11 tons for equipment.  The base RCL-1 Dig King, then, carries a mining drill in its left arm, a rock cutter in its right arm, and a lift hoist in its left torso.  We talked a bit about lift hoists and rock cutters last time, but let’s refresh your memories.  Lift hoists let you carry either half your mass or 200 tons, whichever is lower, and allows you to suffer no movement penalties when carrying no more than half your mass.  For our 35-ton Dig King, that means you can haul 17 tons without issues.  Rock cutters, meanwhile, do 5+3d6 damage to buildings or a flat 5 points to other units, taking a 1 point penalty on your to-hit rolls to do so.  The mining drill, though, is a bit more interesting.  Like the rock cutter, it’s flat damage, 4 points in this case, but with an added +1d6 to buildings.  Unlike the rock cutter, though, it’s balanced and precise, gaining a -1 to your base-to-hit target number.  Neither are as damaging as a Dig Lord’s 7-point kick, but you’re not going to fall on your butt if you miss.

Note what I didn’t mention?  That’s right, the tracks are gone, which makes me sad.  The updated artwork in Technical Readout Vehicle Annex drops the tracks as well.  It’s a shame, though, because it actually made sense on the Dig Lord, allowing it a low-vibration (compared to walking) method of locomotion, which could be handy in mining tunnels.  Of course, so could environmental sealing, though adding either means cutting armor protection and the lift hoist, or switching to more vulnerable commercial armor.  Your preference may vary.

No variants are known to exist for the Dig King until the Succession Wars, when the RCL-1M Dig King MiningMech MOD debuted.  This is especially funny, because the MUL also lists it as 2573, but doesn’t show availability before the First Succession War.  Even weirder, the MUL limits this one to pirates for availability.  Hmm.

As I mentioned earlier, the Dig King MOD pimps out this crapcan with extra goodies, with the twin machine guns in the left arm and twin SRM-4s in the left torso being the important ones.  A half-ton of MG ammo in the left arm and ton of SRM ammo in the left torso keep these weapons fed, with an extra heat sink to try to keep it cool.  This meant, of course, ripping out industrial equipment, right?  With 5 tons for the rock cutter, 3 tons for the mining drill, and 3 tons for the lift hoist, equipment gave you 11 tons to work with, and the RCL-1M’s weapons (ie. MGs and SRMs) and that second heat sink add up to 7.5 tons.

Our Jack Sparrow wannabes could have ripped off the lift hoist and rock cutter, and gained back 8 tons, enough for everything added plus another half-ton, kept it 4/6, and kept the mining drill for melee combat.  That would’ve been adequate: 4/6, 6 tons of armor, 2 SRM-4s and 2 MGs with 2 heat sinks to cool it as you alternate between SRMs and MGs or mining drill.

That’s not what Jake and the Neverland Pirates did.  They dropped the lift hoist, sure, and the mining drill, freeing up 7 tons, but they kept the rock cutter.  Dropping the lift hoist and mining drill freed up only 6 tons, while our intrepid Succession Wars Modders needed 7.5 tons to add the weaponry and heat sink.  So, they also ripped out the old 140-rating fuel cell and put in a 105-rating one in its place, massing 4.5 tons, and dropping the speed down to only 3/5.  Because of course a smaller engine is more readily available than leaving the existing one in place, right?  Much like me on Endor, this makes no sense.  At least you have advanced fire control, so you’re not shooting at a penalty.

What have we accomplished here, Tink?  We’ve taken an armored 4/6 melee ambush predator, and turned it into a 3/5 ambusher that overheats by 4 points firing its two main weapons, a pair of SRM-4s, that then takes two turns to cool off that heat.   Spreading your fire out with turns spent not firing those SRMs drops your average firepower by a lot.  Even giving it 2-3 turns of fire, and pushing your heat total up to the 8-12 range, you lack knockout punch with the Dig King MOD, so your target best be something you’re sure you’re going to kill, or else don’t get to attached to that Dig King MOD.

While the MUL puts this at Early Succession Wars and Pirates only, TRVA:R is a bit more generous, and, while noting the woeful heat issues, does note that it’s better armed up close than most other mods of its ilk, observing the Dig Lord MOD “serves Periphery militia, pirates, and illicit arena fighters alike.”  Fair enough, and with judicious use of specialty munitions, the Dig Lord MOD could easily terrorize infantry, light combat vehicles and civilians in urban environments where its rock cutter will go through buildings like a chainsaw through butter.

By the time 3057 rolled around, Archenar BattleMechs decided to go big or go home, and build a new variation on the Dig King, the RCL-4 Dig Lord.  Massing 65 tons but based on the smaller Dig King’s chassis, the Dig Lord uses a 195-rating fuel cell engine, maxing out at 3/5.  Armor gets bumped up to 8 tons, for 9 points in the head, 16/5 in the center torso, 14/3 in the sides, and 16 in each limb.  What was once good protection, then, on the Dig King becomes somewhat inadequate, even with the extra protection, on the Dig Lord.  Heat dissipation goes up to 3 with two added heat sinks, and the mining drill and rock cutter are retained, while the lift hoist is lost.  Instead, you pick up an extended fuel tank center torso, and a quartet of fluid guns divided between your side torsos and fed by 10 tons of “ammo”, enough for plenty of variety in payload, and probably able to scare the pants off any PBIs or city-dwellers you meet.

The first variant we get of the Dig Lord arrives in 3081, thanks to the Calderon Protectorate.  The RCL-Z1 Dig Lord Armed Mining ‘Mech makes no changes to the fuel cell or armor, thus keeping the 128 points of protection and 3/5 speed.  That said, it also drops all the previous gear, instead picking up a jettison-capable medium vibroblade in its right arm, paired with an actuator enhancement system, making for an accurate, hard-hitting melee weapon.  In the right torso, it carries an MML-5 launcher with two tons of ammo, giving you the versatility of a light LRM and larger SRM launcher.  Atop its left shoulder sits a ‘Mech turret carrying a heavy rifle, a weapon that hits slightly harder than an AC/5 against typical BAR10 units, but which does 9 damage against BAR 7 or lower armor, conventional infantry, ‘Mechs with commercial armor…and battlearmor.

 

--The RCL-Z1 Dig Lord Armed Mining ‘Mech.  It haz a vibrosword.

The RCL-Z1, then, is a much more combat capable IndustrialMech, and even has seven standard heat sinks to more or less handle its heat load easily.  Sadly, something’s still missing: advanced fire control.  Sadly, this cuts your accuracy a bit.  Also, you still lack environmental sealing and an ejector seat, so you’re still somewhat vulnerable to certain terrain features and environments.  Bummer.  That said, this is the first of the Dig King/Dig Lord family to actually have hand actuators.  Yay!

Taking a page from the RCL-Z1, the Magistracy produced their own take in 3085, the RCL-Z1M Deep Lord MilitiaMech.  As with its siblings, the basic chassis, engine and armor are unchanged, and it keeps the 7 heat sinks of the RCL-Z1.  Weaponry, however, is slightly simplified, with an SRM-6 replacing the MML launcher and mace replacing the vibroblade and AES.  Like the Z1, this has both hand actuators.  With the Deep Lord, you lose a little of its long-range potential with the swap to the SRM-6, and the mace, while heavy-hitting, increases your risk of falling, something you want to avoid in an IndustrialMech, since it’s an automatic crit roll against you.  That’s not a good time.  Personally, I’d rather have the Z1.

The Dark Age itself gave us one more version of the Dig Lord, the RCL-4M Dig Lord MiningMech MOD.  Like the Dig King MOD, this is a tricked out version of the original IndustrialMech, dropping the fluid guns and copious ammo bays for an AC/10 and SRM-4, each with two tons of ammo.  The mining drill is retained (yay!) as is the rock cutter (boo!), lack of fire control (bleh) and 3 single heat sinks (ack!).  I want to like this one, and it’s fortunately capable of firing the autocannon or the SRMs without real issues, but starts to have trouble handling both.  Personally, the rock cutter could’ve gone out the door at this point for more heat sinks, armor, etc.

So, how do you use these Mad Max Monstrosities?  For the basic Dig King or Dig Lord it’s easy: you either ambush your target at close range and beat on them in melee combat, risking critical hits in return, or you keep them out of direct combat and use them as intended.

For the MODs or MilitiaMechs, it’s a bit different.  The Dig King MOD, as I mentioned, isn’t bad against thin-skinned vehicles or conventional infantry, requiring you to get up close to use it, while the Dig Lord variants combine mid-to-long range ballistics with crit-seeking missiles and enhanced melee capabilities, making them substitutes for generalist troopers for those who can’t get real generalist troopers.

How do you take out a Dig King or Dig Lord?  Even the base Dig Lord is only 4/6, and all other variants max out at 3/5, so none of them will win the battle of maneuver.  While their front armor ranges from adequate to decent for their size and role, rear armor is light and crunchy on both the little guy and its Baby Huey, giving you something to take advantage of.  Both the Dig King and Dig Lord spend significant mass on improvised or intentional melee weapons, putting them at serious risk against a true melee ‘Mech: this would actually be an amusingly useful use for your old CGR-1A1, which has sufficient mass and armor to weather their fire, plus strength and speed enough to put the hurt on them.

So, I know that Worktroll has an entire Viking horde waiting for us, but what are your thoughts on the Dig King and Dig Lord family?

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Giovanni Blasini

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OK, somewhat ugly text only discussion archived from Google cache:

worktroll
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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #1 on: 28 June 2017, 22:57:59 »

Quote from: Giovanni Blasini on 28 June 2017, 18:30:33
So, I know that Worktroll has an entire Viking horde waiting for us ...


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I love the idea of the Dig King/Lord, as scenario hooks. Escort, or stop, or take on a Clan garrison force with 'improvised weaponry'. The 10 tons & four sprayers just begs for exploitation.

Yes, not what you'd want to take up against serious opponents, but adding much flavour to the game.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #2 on: 29 June 2017, 03:58:57 »

Can someone explain the rational behind these two 'Mechs? In particular I'm not sure what advantage a legged motive system offers over wheels or treads.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #3 on: 29 June 2017, 04:01:43 »

Quote from: SCC on 29 June 2017, 03:58:57
Can someone explain the rational behind these two 'Mechs? In particular I'm not sure what advantage a legged motive system offers over wheels or treads.


They still have all the all-terrain capabilities of a 'Mech, plus the advantage of requiring only a single operator.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #4 on: 29 June 2017, 04:33:58 »

The problem with arguing 'all-terrain' is that dump trucks will be needed to haul away the lose rocks and what not. Also as any mine tunnels this things makes will be man made there's little to no reason for them to have uneven floors.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #5 on: 29 June 2017, 05:06:10 »

It may just be a matter of the designers using what they know works.

Legs on a mech are a tried and tested design. Why fix what isn't broken by trying to make it 'better' (and three times more difficult to maintain) by adding tracks when walking will still get it to the same place effectively.

That's my headcannon at any rate.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #6 on: 29 June 2017, 07:16:00 »

Quote from: SCC on 29 June 2017, 04:33:58
The problem with arguing 'all-terrain' is that dump trucks will be needed to haul away the lose rocks and what not.


Like a Lumberjack WorkMech?

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #7 on: 29 June 2017, 07:21:36 »

These were clearly built to do what they were meant to do. Hitting things that didn't want to be hit was probably not one of those things.
The loss of Threads is indeed sad, for they'd allow faster transportation on roads and a lower profile to work shallower mining tunnels.
On the militia versions, it also alleviates the risk of becoming immobile due to gyro damage.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #8 on: 29 June 2017, 13:53:15 »

To properly understand my feelings towards the Dig Lord, go read XTRO Republic I, page 4. That story is an exaggeration, but only just. I did not actually kill the Daishi Widowmaker I was facing in an unmodified Dig Lord, but I did survive multiple turns of those heavy guns pounding away(and hitting), and after those turns it was on the defensive with its back to the wall, armor badly damaged by acid burns and melee hits, pilot rattled by head hits, sensors partially blinded by paint, and the path to the rest of the fight laden with oil slicks. Finally, my pilot decided his stunt had earned a lifetime's worth of PR(this was a Solaris fight, after all) and denied the Daishi the final kill by voluntarily ejecting, and going on to a long and lucrative future of wine, women, and talk show spots. 8)

These days, many of the other players in my group have a strict policy: "Thou shalt not suffer a Dig Lord to live."

Pretty similar to their policies regarding infantry or ASFs. I wonder if there's a connection... ^-^

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #9 on: 29 June 2017, 14:11:38 »

Quote from: SCC on 29 June 2017, 04:33:58
The problem with arguing 'all-terrain' is that dump trucks will be needed to haul away the lose rocks and what not. Also as any mine tunnels this things makes will be man made there's little to no reason for them to have uneven floors.


The Lift Hoist means the mech could technically haul a mech size mining cart of some sort serving the same function as a dump truck without the need for roads. A Lumberjack work mech is seen hauling lumber the same way in A Silence in the Heavens.

It does illustrate a possible lack of forethought or understanding of modern mining equipment but it doesn't hurt the machine too badly, it's still a giant earth mover that requires little man power.
       
« Last Edit: 29 June 2017, 14:28:48 by SteelRaven »
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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #10 on: 29 June 2017, 14:17:46 »

i rather wish that the old MWDA recordsheet book versions of the industrials would be dropped. they had so many conceptual problems even before true industrial mech rules came out that it wasn't funny, and with the new rules are all sorts of problematic.

that the later TRO's didn't retcon them makes the situation worse. that said, the Dig King and Dig King MOD actually does a reasonable job matching up to the MWDA mini's variants, aside from the treads. (unlike the Crosscut)

what would be nice is a few variants that do have the treads.. perhaps sacrificing speed by mounting a smaller engine.

regarding the MOD's use of the rock cutter instead of the drill.. well the MWDA figure had the rock cutter, missiles, and MG's.



also regarding the whole "but we got to use trucks to haul the rock away" thing, i remind you of the Miningmech Mk.II

we don't have stats for it yet, but it appeared in the first MWDA expansion. (its MOD was this interesting overhual with some kind of gatling on the arm replacing the shovel, and a Katyusha assembly in the cargobed..)
« Last Edit: 29 June 2017, 14:27:08 by glitterboy2098 »
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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #11 on: 29 June 2017, 14:47:42 »

I miss the tracked legs.
Honestly, I have no idea why they made those things so prohibitive in terms of operation. It doesnt even really help with the fluff reasons for them, better operation in tight areas.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #12 on: 29 June 2017, 15:44:39 »

Quote from: SCC on 29 June 2017, 04:33:58
The problem with arguing 'all-terrain' is that dump trucks will be needed to haul away the lose rocks and what not. Also as any mine tunnels this things makes will be man made there's little to no reason for them to have uneven floors.

Funny thing, there was a Dumptruck (MiningMech Mk II) version of IndustrialMech made for MWDA. So walking off with your ore your Dig King/Lord dug up.  It's never been stated, though with TRO: Irregular Tech.  It may see the light of day with that release.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #13 on: 29 June 2017, 16:15:36 »

The MiningMech Mk II is so ridiculous it's awesome, and I'm sad we never got stats for it.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #14 on: 29 June 2017, 19:37:38 »

Quote from: Wrangler on 29 June 2017, 15:44:39
Funny thing, there was a Dumptruck (MiningMech Mk II) version of IndustrialMech made for MWDA. So walking off with your ore your Dig King/Lord dug up.  It's never been stated, though with TRO: Irregular Tech.  It may see the light of day with that release.

Picture from Warrenborne. Thank goodness for that site.

This makes the whole set-up make some sense (Apart from having to come up with an explanation of over this set-up is more efficient then what we use IRL to explain the expenditure of precious MechWidgets on it), but how does the rubble get into the DumpMech?

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #15 on: 29 June 2017, 19:56:01 »

It has its own scoop.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #16 on: 29 June 2017, 23:10:41 »

... why does this bother us so much considering the thing has only one real reason to exist: a cheap, disposable melee unit.
 

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #17 on: 29 June 2017, 23:31:37 »

Doesn't bother me at all! And I want the MiningMech Mk II in game & metal too! (Plastic BT scale would also be cool ;) )

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #18 on: 29 June 2017, 23:54:38 »

Quote from: SteelRaven on 29 June 2017, 23:10:41
... why does this bother us so much considering the thing has only one real reason to exist: a cheap, disposable melee unit. 

Because in-universe BattleMechs are derived from WorkMechs, presumably the forerunners of modern IndustrialMechs, so IndustrialMechs need to present a very good use case for why we switched from wheeled and tracked vehicles to explain the universe.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #19 on: 29 June 2017, 23:57:53 »

... My point was we are over thinking it.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #20 on: Today at 02:20:37 »

Wait, wait, wait...

Wasn't dark age mining mech the whole reason we got rules for tracks on battlemechs in the first place?

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #21 on: Today at 02:33:31 »

Quote from: Liam's Ghost on Today at 02:20:37
Wait, wait, wait...

Wasn't dark age mining mech the whole reason we got rules for tracks on battlemechs in the first place?


I do believe so, yes.  Funny, ain't it?

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #22 on: Today at 02:41:28 »

I have not been able to track down my copy of Record Sheets Dark Age.  If anyone wants to dig theirs up and post on the MiningMechs within, it would be appreciated.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #23 on: Today at 06:55:21 »

I have one, the record sheet doesn't show the Mining Mech having tracks.  Again, this thing maybe differ from the one we have now. The tracks on industrialmechs was introduced for Total Warfare.  The record sheet was using rules for Battletech Manual, Revised.

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #24 on: Today at 12:08:52 »

Didn't the "BattleTech Miniatures Rules" (the actual DTF book [FanPro 10981], not the PDF) contain the first, pre-Total Warfare, rules for IndustrialMechs that we got?

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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #25 on: Today at 14:23:01 »

Maximum Tech as far i know didn't include anything regarding IndustrialMechs. I honestly don't know when those rules were introduced.

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"Men, fetch the Urbanmechs.  We have an interrogation to attend to." - jklantern
"How do you defeat a Dragau? Shoot the damn thing. Lots." - Jellico 
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Re: WorkMech Wednesday (2017-06-28): Dig King and Dig Lord MiningMechs
« Reply #26 on: Today at 17:27:41 »

Quote from: Wrangler on Today at 14:23:01
Maximum Tech as far i know didn't include anything regarding IndustrialMechs. I honestly don't know when those rules were introduced.


The earliest embryonic rules were found in the Explorer Corps sourcebook. These rules included the 20 percent mass of industrial structure, the use of ICE engines on mechs of all types, and a few bits of industrial equipment.

Quote from: Giovanni Blasini on Today at 02:33:31
I do believe so, yes.  Funny, ain't it?


I don't know if it's hilarious or depressing. The track feet of the mining mech gave it its own degree of charm.

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Giovanni Blasini

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Recovered pictures!

First up, the MWDA MiningMech MOD picture, courtesy of glitterboy2098:



Second, and one of my favorites, glitterboy2098 provided us with the MDWA MiningMech Mk II awesomeness:

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Wrangler

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Mk II never got stats sadly.  Though confusing me is why it's called a mining mech?!  The thing hauler if anything.
"Men, fetch the Urbanmechs.  We have an interrogation to attend to." - jklantern
"How do you defeat a Dragau? Shoot the damn thing. Lots." - Jellico 
"No, it's a "Most Awesome Blues Brothers scene Reenactment EVER" waiting to happen." VotW Destrier - Weirdo  
"It's 200 LY to Sian, we got a full load of shells, a half a platoon of Grenadiers, it's exploding outside, and we're wearing flak jackets." VoTW Destrier - Misterpants
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Giovanni Blasini

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Mk II never got stats sadly.  Though confusing me is why it's called a mining mech?!  The thing hauler if anything.

I'd think so, too, though it could be called a MiningMech simply because it helps haul away mining debris, especially from surface strip-mining.  Doing that, I imagine it can pull double-duty.

And, yeah, I was always bummed it never got stats.
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Wrangler

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Well, there still TRO: Irregular Tech.  If the book does come out, its likely to be the last chance for it come out.

Track thing still legal equipment, other IndustrialMechs have them.
"Men, fetch the Urbanmechs.  We have an interrogation to attend to." - jklantern
"How do you defeat a Dragau? Shoot the damn thing. Lots." - Jellico 
"No, it's a "Most Awesome Blues Brothers scene Reenactment EVER" waiting to happen." VotW Destrier - Weirdo  
"It's 200 LY to Sian, we got a full load of shells, a half a platoon of Grenadiers, it's exploding outside, and we're wearing flak jackets." VoTW Destrier - Misterpants
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wantec

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Recovered pictures!

First up, the MWDA MiningMech MOD picture, courtesy of glitterboy2098:



Second, and one of my favorites, glitterboy2098 provided us with the MDWA MiningMech Mk II awesomeness:


FYI, those pics aren't from glitterboy2098, but from cavingjan and his site www.warrenborn.com. First image is from here: http://www.warrenborn.com/Unit.php?ID=D081 and the second is from here: http://www.warrenborn.com/Unit.php?ID=L088
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Giovanni Blasini

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FYI, those pics aren't from glitterboy2098, but from cavingjan and his site www.warrenborn.com. First image is from here: http://www.warrenborn.com/Unit.php?ID=D081 and the second is from here: http://www.warrenborn.com/Unit.php?ID=L088

I was referring to the fact that glitterboy2098 posted them in the original version of this thread that was lost in one of the board crashes, forcing me to go to Google cache to recover the thread, but which meant I could not easily repost the images he'd originally linked to. I was not implying that he owned said images, merely that he was the one who posted them in the Lost Thread.
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wantec

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And I wasn't implying anything bad, just pointing out where they came from and where anyone can find more. Every so often it seems someone newly discovers or rediscovers warrenborn, so I point it out from time to time.
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You know what could be a fun scenario? Have the escort mission mentioned above by WorkTroll, but have the Clan pilots in the MiningMechs. Then put the Inner Sphere pirates or whoever in Clan rides. It could be an excellent way to teach Raven Alliance or Hell's Horses sibkos how to think and show them how much of their superiority actually comes from their equipment.
Be the Loremaster:

Battletech transport rules take a very feline approach to moving troops in a combat zone: If they fits, they ships.

You bought the box set and are ready to expand your BT experience. Now what? (Thanks Sartis!)

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The most interesting thing for me about the entry for the Dig Lord/Dig King was not those 'Mechs in and of themselves, but the mention of the still-unstatted superheavy Three-Man Digging Machine.  This seems to be the ultimate inspiration for the RoTS' superheavy tripods--what made it even neater was that it was actually a Succession Wars-era development, if memory serves.

cheers,

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