JuggernautBackgroundBuilt for the battlefields of the Solaris Arenas the Juggernaut is rarely seen outside of the Arena. Designed and built by Solaris Arms’ at 90 tons its one of their biggest offerings and is a brutal close quarters fighter.
Unlike many assault weight Mechs the Juggernaut does not have the 1-2 punch of other designs like those in use with House Militaries, instead it is built to chew its opponents apart in point-blank fire fights.
The Juggernaut first walked into the Arenas in 3057 where Solaris was used as a testing ground for new technology and the Juggernaut was no exception. The first units featured the then new pulse weapons, and the Mech proved to be a big hit with its pilots and with fans although there were some significant design flaws such as a worryingly exposed sensor suite that proved to be vulnerable to damage.
As the 3060’s rolled around and arms manufacturers across the Inner Sphere continued to use Solaris as a testing ground for bleeding edge weapons development the Juggernaut received the first of several overhaul and updates. Probably built in such low numbers that you couldn’t call them a variant, more a custom job for customers who were willing to pay the c-bills necessary.
Only seen within the arenas, the odd Juggernaut did turn up in service to the Word of Blake, but the number of these Mechs could be counted on one hand.
Design At 90 tons the Juggernaut is very much an assault Mech and despite it being a bit of a testbed it features very little in the way of advanced technology in its construction. Endo-steel and Ferro-fibrous materials are not used in its skeleton or armour which is a rock solid 16.5 tons of standard plate for nearly maximum protection. The engine is also a standard type, a definite boon in the brutal firefights of a Solaris arena where an XL engine could be viewed as a distinct liability despite the advantages of the weight it would save.
With a lot of internal room available the Juggernaut can be fitted with a wide verity of systems and weapons. The Juggernaut’s speed is a rather average 56kph, but it is not built for speed, it is built to lumber towards an opponent and rip them apart at short range.
VariantsJG-R9T1 - The first production models of the Juggernaut that featured the then newly developed pulse lasers made by Sutel Precision Line. A trio of large pulse lasers, one in each arm and one with its circuitry buried in the chest despite it firing over the Mech’s broad shoulders and cockpit were not its primary armament. Nor were the trio of medium pulse lasers that were mounted in the left and right arm (two and one respectively). Together these weapons produced a significant amount of firepower at short to mid-range, but it was at point-blank where the T1 shined. A massive 16, yes sixteen, machine guns were jammed into the left and right torso, eight a side and these were backed up by a quartet of small pulse lasers, two in each torso. Fed by two tons of CASED ammunition, at short range a Juggernaut could shred a hostile Mech with a storm of bullets and laser fire.
Unfortunately what the Juggernaut packed in firepower, it grossly lacked in cooling, the three large lasers alone easily overwhelming the T1’s 12 double strength heatsinks. The T1 also had a chunk of its sensor array exposed and this proved worryingly prone to damage, the Mech’s blocky design suited its crude nature though. But still it was thought that improvements could be made.
JG-R9T2 – The first Juggernaut we were introduced to as players as it featured in TRO3055 Upgrades the T2 is a HUGE upgrade, but does not change the overall flavour of the machine. Keeping with the Bleeding edge tech Solaris stables so often use, the T2 keeps abreast of these developments and gets a significant upgrade to its energy weapons. All the pulse lasers, all 3 large and all 3 mediums are now upgraded to X-pulse lasers, giving them greater range at the cost of a staggering heat load that utterly overwhelms the sixteen double heatsinks.
This huge heat issue was such a problem that the T2 features four Coolant Pods, but even using one of these will JUST let you fire the three large X-pulse without undue issue, adding the medium X-pulse into the mix will overheat you. Still like its T1 progenitor the lasers are not really the main armament. A dozen (12) machine guns make the T2 a Buzzsaw at point blank ranges (even more so if you used the enhanced rules) but it only has two half bins of ammo meaning you’ll go through that rather quickly. Still this thing is a brute, better able now to defend itself at long range thanks to the X-pulse laser and coolant pod combination too.
JG-R9T3 – The T3 is near identical to the T2 but instead of the dozen machine guns, it features half a dozen (6) of the newly developed Magshot gauss rifles. Whilst these do the same damage as a Machine gun, they do so at a far greater range, allowing the T3 to start wearing down an opponent quicker than the T2 could.
But, and this is a rather big but, it comes at a huge risk. Magshots explode when hit, and for a light weapon, they are quite bulky. And Mr Sod and Murphy of Law are definitely going to be grinning broadly if someone gets a lucky crit on the side torso. One hit could set off a chain reaction that could put a T3 pilot into a bruised brain coma from all the explosions. The biggest change for the T3, mugshots aside is the addition of another 2 coolant pods (each of which have their own explosive issues, this thing really can go up like a bag of popcorn)
JG-R9TX1 'Leapin' Lil' – The chosen ride of Solaris star Richard Fulton completely rebuilt his T1 after it was smashed into ruin in a title fight with a Berserker. The now T2 upgrade then suffered a lucky hit to its MG ammo during another fight which gutted its torso and left Fulton to rebuild his Juggernaut AGAIN. Third time is the charm as the saying goes, but the TX1 is a VERY different beast compared to the standard Juggernaut.
Some of the Juggernaut’s toughness is lost as Fulton upgraded the powerplant to a Light engine all be it of the same rating and thus the speed remains unchanged. Light Ferro-fibrous armour is also fitted instead of the Juggernauts traditional standard plate. The weapons fit is also a significant departure from the standard Juggernaut faire.
It retains the arm mounted Large and medium X-pulse lasers as well as the four Coolant pods to help battle the heat surges these weapons pump out. But for close range work the TX1 now has a snub-nosed PPC in the chest, as well as an ER Medium laser under the cockpit. Finally, there’s no machine guns, not a sausage (probably heresy to some Juggernaut aficionados at Solaris), in their place is a quartet of M-Pods. These can do a huge amount of damage at short range and will flay a target’s armour, but they are a one-shot weapon, leaving Fulton to have to use the lasers and PPC to finish off a crippled foe. As a final surprise, look to the Mech’s name, yep this thing jumps. Kind of.
As far as I’m aware this is the only time we see the Mechanical jump booster, in essence a huge assembly of hydraulics and myomer muscle, being used in canon. It lets the TX1 jump up to 60 meters, but as its not got the power of a normal jump-jet behind it, the TX1 can’t attack someone with a DFA attack and the jump boosters are purely for mobilities sake.
Thoughts on the Juggernaut.This thing, save the TX1 all have the same modus operandi.
A – run forwards
A1 – Are you in range?
If yes proceed to B, if not, See A.
B – Open fire and keep advancing
Are you in Machine gun range? If yes, proceed to C, if not, see B
C – DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA!!!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22wZnXu5F2AD – Is the enemy dead?
If not, see C.
The TX1 just misses out D, as you only get one shot with the M-pods, but at point blank range, if all four hit, then congrats, you’ve just hit someone with four Silver Bullet Gauss rifle shots, something that very few Mech’s will be able to shrug off.
Its brutal and its simple, this thing is a Glaswegian kiss (IE grabbing someone by their shirt and pulling them forwards as you headbutt them) given the form of a Mech. Its direct and utterly brutal but it has its own problems. Its slow, and whilst this isn’t too much of a problem in a Solaris arena where the battlefields tend to be quite small and with LOTS of cover, a smaller, faster Mech could avoid the Juggernaut’s firepower and peck away at it. Its weapons are quite short ranged, IS pulse lasers are very short ranged and X-pulses only have the range of standard lasers, so a target can engage well before the Juggernaut can. And then there’s the heat, oh sweet Kerensky the heat. Alpha strikes WILL over heat you, cooling pods or no, and as you have a fair bit of ammo onboard. Unless you’re really desperate, don’t push the big red button.
Still it is good fun, and if you get in point blank range. ROLL ALL THE DICE!! Simple to use but tricky the master, the Juggernaut is a fun Mech. The T3 is probably the worst of the family because you KNOW that sods law will come out to play when you get a hit, and all its going to take is one crit on the side torso and you could end out with a braindead pilot.
Leapin' Lil
Its good to get back into the swing of things, as always, thoughts, comments and ideas are most welcome!