The Watch

[Takiro]

Hey gang, for my campaign set in the early 3050s I wanted to go over the Watch as it existed at this time for all 17 Clans. Reestablished by ilKhan Leo Showers (according to saran.net, would like to find a date or citation for that) following the anti-Clan activities of the Great Houses of the InnerSphere. As I am reading Betrayal of Ideals it leads me to wonder if the modern Watch continues to infiltrate enemies like its historic predecessor did to the Not Named Clan. It would be an interesting standing order for any captured Clansman to act as an agent especially against the evil Successor States. Granted this is two hundred and thirty years before the Clan invasion but an interesting angle.

There was also Intelser which was formed in 2980 that operated in the Periphery to collect intelligence on the current state of affairs in the InnerSphere. A Guide to Covert Ops says it was comprised of lower castes, mainly merchants and technicians, controlled by washed-out warriors. This effort produced a ‘confused pictured’ which got the Clans thinking the InnerSphere was more like the Periphery than it actually was.

This of course was followed by the Clans most ‘successful’ intelligence effort, the Wolf Dragoons. Born out of a political compromise in the Grand Council this daring attempt to infiltrate the Successor States and gather information with a group of ‘mercenaries’ composed of freebirth warriors and old equipment debatably worked. For more than twenty-five years they served with the military of each Great House reporting on their strengths and weaknesses without revealing their origins. Keeping this secret until the Clan Invasion was well under way especially against ComStar in light of their sudden appearance from beyond is no small feat in my eyes.
 
Of course, the Dragoons defection does pour cold water on their accomplishments. Ironically the next source of information came from the Clans early allies, ComStar. Providing them with intelligence on targets and aiding in the administration of conquered worlds really helped early on. Being ultimately betrayed by these erstwhile allies during Operation Scorpion probably left a bad impression on the Clans without a doubt who must expect such deception and disappointment by intel agents. Both these examples of effective operations have to play on their psyche.

Then there are the efforts of the Great Houses to undermine their control of worlds rightfully won by the Clans in honorable combat. Continued operations by FedCom and Draconis agencies to supply guerillas, terrorize Clan overseers, kidnap personnel, steal superior technologies, and do everything they can possibly do outside the bounds of acceptable honor must be irritating at the least. Add in attempts by the Explorer Corps to find the Homeworlds and yeah the Clans have their hands full.
 
I hope to follow this overview with a look at all the Clans soon. Please let me know what you think about the Watch.

[Maelwys]

Hey gang, for my campaign set in the early 3050s I wanted to go over the Watch as it existed at this time for all 17 Clans. Reestablished by ilKhan Leo Showers (according to saran.net, would like to find a date or citation for that) following the anti-Clan activities of the Great Houses of the InnerSphere.

Well, Guide to Cover Ops (shudder) states on page 81 "The Clan Watch, loosely organized on the order of the ilKhan during the start of the Clan Invasion, diverged after the Truce of Tukayyid and in subsequent years."

That indicates that the Watch started prior to the Truce of Tukayyid, and so it could've been done by Ilkhan Showers. It could've been Ulric as well, but he seems to have been rather hands off with regards to the watch as a whole, so I doubt he would've set up the system in the first place.

Of course, the Intelligence Handbook seems to indicates that it was the losses during the Invasion, including at Tukayyid, that prompted the formation of the Watch. Which means it would've been Ulric. As for the actual date, it seems to be rather up in the air.

The Intel Handbook also states that Clan Intelligence did not exist prior to the Invasion in 3049..whether that means that the Watch kicked off in 3049 or 3050, its hard to say.

[Archangel]

Per FM: CC (p116), the Stars Adders maintained an intelligence-gathering service since the early days of the Clans when founding Khan Absalom Truscott created the position of Intelligence Adjutant.  "Clan Star Adder's warriors have appreciated the fruits of their intelligence gathering network for more than two and a half centuries."  Other Clans created their own intelligence services but most allowed them to atrophy.  Only a few, such as the Star Adders and Sea Foxes/Diamond Sharks (mostly run by their merchant caste), maintained a fairly strong intelligence service through the centuries but even they were limited in scope and capabilities.

Of course, the Intelligence Handbook seems to indicates that it was the losses during the Invasion, including at Tukayyid, that prompted the formation of the Watch. Which means it would've been Ulric. As for the actual date, it seems to be rather up in the air.

The Intel Handbook also states that Clan Intelligence did not exist prior to the Invasion in 3049..whether that means that the Watch kicked off in 3049 or 3050, its hard to say.

Much of what is written in the Intel Handbook with regards to the Clan Watch has been trumped by newer sources such as FM:CC (see above).  Even Covert Ops states on p81 that "with three hundred years of ritualized warfare and bidding practices behind them, they allowed what intelligence assets they initially possessed to atrophy."

[Frabby]

There was also IntelSer prior to the invasion or even Wolf's Dragoons, though I can remember little but the name. Don't know if it was even tied to the Watch.

[Takiro]

Yeah Maelwys, one of the reasons for my look back at the Watch is that I don't think it got a fair shot especially in Guide to Covert Ops. The Intelligence Operations Handbook does a better job but you only get to see two Clans (Wolf and Jade Falcon) with the another four (Ghost Bear, Smoke Jaguar, Steel Viper, Nova Cat) receiving passing mention for their bias suckitude. It isn't that I can't see ilKhan Leo Showers reforming the Watch (probably in 3050 or 3051 before his death) as Nicholas Kerensky did in 2822 but I can't find a canon statement on that event. As you say it could have been Ulric but I just wanted to see if anyone else had other information.

And Archangel hits on perhaps the biggest oversight regarding individual Clan Watches done in Guide to Covert Ops. The Adders are written off as a standard Home Clan when that is far from the truth. They have long valued intel assets and don't have a bias against agents that other Clans do plus I find their analytics to be most capable. But don't forget about Burrock, OTP Revival Trials mentions them in the introduction as being the spies of the Clans! The remark made by Khan Cassius N'Buta of the Star Adder Clan is not disputed or outraged at and they have a historic habit of ratting out others to the Grand Council (see Blood Spirit and Fire Mandrill) plus they are the bandit caste operations. Yeah we can dispute if this was pirate hunting or slave raids but again they were effective until caught by Star Adder.

I did appreciate Intelligence Operations Handbook efforts to say the Star League in Exile bought little intelligence expertise with them. I guess that does factor in somewhat historically.

Mention Intelser in my original post Frabby. Sounds like they were only operational in the late 2900s but I wonder if the Intelligence Service (IntelSer) was a united Clan effort under the Grand Council unlike the Watch which is more decentralized??

Hopefully the Blood Spirits will be up tonight!

[Maelwys]

Well, Guide to Covert Ops on page 81 states "The Clan Watch is the direct descendant of Intelser, a crude intelligence agency formed in 2980 by the Clans' Grand Council to gather information on the state of the Inner Sphere."

So Intelser was formed by the Grand Council and seems like it was run by them.

Strangely, the Watch originally seems to have been an "Overall" intelligence service, with each Clan running its own Branch, but everything overseen by the Grand Council, though that changed quickly.

[Iron Mongoose]

There's no question that there is a lack of information about the Watch, and much of it is contradictory.  But one way of assessing it is by its results.

The fact is, the Clans (even the Adders and Sharks, honestly) are never portrayed as being particularly savvy about what is going on in the Inner Sphere.  Even the Wolves in Blood of Kerensky, despite having access to the Wolf's Dragoons' reports and a better than average reason to have high confidence in them, seem to have a poor understanding of what is going on in the Inner Sphere and what things look like.  They seem to have been taken completely by surprise by even so massive a military build up as Operation Bulldog. 

But, Intelser and the Watch never let even a hint of their existence get back to ComStar, who were just as clueless about the Clan's origins as anyone else despite ROM.  Between the Watch and a policy of "loose lips sink ships" the Clans (mainly the Falcons) were able to keep repeated attacks into the Inner Sphere a surprise, constantly taking the Lyrans unaware even though the Falcons based on occupied Lyran worlds likely saturated with Lyran agents.  The Falcons were also able to keep their military build ups quiet from the Inner Sphere.  The Jaguars were less successful, but even they were able to nearly fool Bulldog (which was surely supported by a huge push from the ISF and ComStar ROM) and they were regarded as the least forward thinking of all Clans and were being set up to be whipping boys for the story. 

Now, I can't say if the Clan's counterintelligence capabilities are due to the Watch, or just due to their insular nature (if every trustworthy person in your life comes from one of 25 bloodlines, it does make it easy to know who to trust) but it does seem to be a strength of the Clans in general.

They don't seem to be very inward looking, of course, given the growth of the Society, but again that's probably Clan nature, and some of the Falcon books hint that they could have done more had they been set on the problem more aggressively.

[Ice Hellion]

Per FM: CC (p116), the Stars Adders maintained an intelligence-gathering service since the early days of the Clans when founding Khan Absalom Truscott created the position of Intelligence Adjutant.  "Clan Star Adder's warriors have appreciated the fruits of their intelligence gathering network for more than two and a half centuries."

My guess is that they would focus only on Dark Caste and other Clans.
If they had access to the Inner Sphere, the Clans would not have needed the Wolf's Dragoons.

[Maelwys]

But, Intelser and the Watch never let even a hint of their existence get back to ComStar, who were just as clueless about the Clan's origins as anyone else despite ROM.

 

Well, to be fair Intelser didn't really go into the IS, and seemed to stick to even the outskirts of the Periphery and just snagged the outliers of the outliers. And seemed to go the way of the dodo by the time the Dragoon Compromise was introduced. As for not finding out the Clan's origins, I'm not sure the Watch was really around to prevent that.

They don't seem to be very inward looking, of course, given the growth of the Society, but again that's probably Clan nature, and some of the Falcon books hint that they could have done more had they been set on the problem more aggressively.

Yeah, they definitely seem to have an external view, which isn't that surprising considering the Watch was created for the most part to deal with the Intelligence Agencies of the IS and the dirty tricks they were pulling on the Invasion worlds. The are exceptions to that of course, like the Diamond Sharks who seem to watch the Clans in order to profit.

[Takiro]

I equate the Clan Watch to Military Intelligence that excludes to its determent much the much larger civilian sector. Everything is warrior focused and they don't really get the big picture.

Still working on Blood Spirit gang, sorry for the delay.