I recently started running a chaos campaign that pits a player-run merc unit fighting for the Lyrans against Clan Wolf on Vindemiatrix III in the spring of 3145. I've been throwing some MUL-based clan units at the PC in the first few missions, but I have a few questions about organization as I round out cluster rosters for a Gamma and Theta Galaxy unit (I'm using a second-line unit because I have a truckload of TRO 3060 clan vehicles that have never seen the light of day).
1) Would the Gamma Galaxy cluster have a bloodnamed warrior as the Star Colonel?
1a) If yes, would there likely be any other bloodnamed warriors?
2) What kind of rough structure should I be shooting for in each? (e.g. how many binaries/trinaries of battle armor/aerospace would each cluster contain?)
3) Would the Gamma cluster contain exclusively omnimechs, or would some second line mechs like a stray Warhammer IIC 8 or Orion IIC slip in?
4) Is there any precedent for oversized/reinforced clusters with more than five bi/trinaries?
thanks
1) Absolutely. In FM:3145 all the clusters in Gamma Galaxy have a bloodnamed commander.
1a) Again, Absolutely. There will always be a mix of bloodnamed and unblooded warriors in any cluster.
2) At full-strength I would assume a Trinary of fighters and a Trinary or two of Elementals. These don't have to be separate units, but can be mixed in at the star-level (particularly the Elementals if you choose to use Nova stars). FM:3145 states that Gamma recently rid itself of all its vehicles, so any task a vehicle would perform needs to be handled by a 'Mech, fighter, or infantry/battle armor.
3) In FM:3145 the only Gamma unit listed at 100% Omni is the Bronze Keshik. So I would include a good mix of Omni and non-Omni, maybe organizing it at the Star level, but that's just me.
4) Sure, the Golden Keshik is losted at 105% strength. But at this time the Wolves are working to fill out their forces, so I think its more likely to bring another Cluster up to 100% strength before going over. That's not to say a Cluster of only 3 Trinaries is worthless, but one with more is better.
Even though you specifically asked some of the questions for Gamma Galaxy, I'll answer them for Theta Galaxy too.
1) Yes it's possible for the Star Colonel of a second-line/solahma Cluster to be a bloodnamed warrior. In the past there's been examples where aging warriors who had a bloodname were put in charge of a lesser Cluster since they were still useful enough to retain their rank. Another example is Ristars given a chance to prove their command skills in a unit where it's not as big a deal if they screw up. Also, there's cases of a warrior who wins a bloodname, but it has a lesser heritage or a bad reputation, and this is the best fit.
1a) Basically all the examples I gave above for the bloodnamed Star Colonel apply here too.
2) Reading FM:3145 it implies that all of its vehicles have been passed on to other second-line Galaxies. But in any case, I would organize the vehicle units in Trinaries. They will already be at a disadvantage in capability compared to 'Mech formations and I think a Clan commander thinking this would want to concentrate his firepower in case it is needed.