2nd Succession Wars Spoilers

[Deadborder]

I just want to say that Intentions blew my mind. Talk about changing your view of the universe...

[ColBosch]

I just want to say that Intentions blew my mind. Talk about changing your view of the universe...

****** RIGHT!? What a fantastic piece of work! Not only does it answer one of the great mysteries of the BattleTech universe, it's also so damn...human.

[SCC]

Page 77 has interesting bit the New Peace and Everything After part.  [blank]

The map on the next two pages is more interesting, look at how much territory the FS gains before 3025!

[Pat Payne]

The map on the next two pages is more interesting, look at how much territory the FS gains before 3025!

And the sheer pre-Hanse magnificent bastardry of how they kept it:

First Prince: And we will magnanimously conclude peace with you so long as you give over title to all the planets taken during both the First and Second Succession Wars (inwardly: This'll never work, he'd have to be a complete idiot to --)
Otto Liao: Done. Just stop shooting at us.
First Prince:  :o OMG THAT ACTUALLY WO-- *ahem* I mean, we graciously accept your offer, Chancellor. And with that, may a lengthy peace reign between our two realms.

[Adrian Gideon]

I just want to say that Intentions blew my mind. Talk about changing your view of the universe...

30 years in the making. That piece of fiction wouldn't have been worth a darn in the 80s, but now after all that's been published, it's truly a moving story on many levels.

And the sheer pre-Hanse magnificent bastardry of how they kept it:

First Prince: And we will magnanimously conclude peace with you so long as you give over title to all the planets taken during both the First and Second Succession Wars (inwardly: This'll never work, he'd have to be a complete idiot to --)
Otto Liao: Done. Just stop shooting at us.
First Prince:  :o OMG THAT ACTUALLY WO-- *ahem* I mean, we graciously accept your offer, Chancellor. And with that, may a lengthy peace reign between our two realms.

its really sad all told. Once you read Second Succession War, you can spot the very moment that The Capellan Confederation became the inept cartoon villain we know from the 3025-era. The death of Ilsa Liao. Which is why I commissioned Turning Points: Orbisonia.

[YingJanshi]

its really sad all told. Once you read Second Succession War, you can spot the very moment that The Capellan Confederation became the inept cartoon villain we know from the 3025-era. The death of Ilsa Liao. Which is why I commissioned Turning Points: Orbisonia.

Oooh...I wants that! Can I pre-order? XD

[Doom]

Which is why I commissioned Turning Points: Orbisonia.

When might we see this and other Turning Points start coming out again? Any PDF-only products for that matter.  :D

[Iracundus]

its really sad all told. Once you read Second Succession War, you can spot the very moment that The Capellan Confederation became the inept cartoon villain we know from the 3025-era. The death of Ilsa Liao. Which is why I commissioned Turning Points: Orbisonia.

Hope we never get back to that state.  I really hope Daoshen Liao is not a return to the bad old days. 

I admit I ended up switching my personal preferences from the FedSuns to the Capellans precisely because the Capellans never seemed to catch a break or succeed with a plan, even with their reasonable well meaning Chancellors.  I'm glad the 3150 era at least shows some Capellan gains beyond the original Star League border so it offers more story telling potential than "Let's reclaim another former Capellan world (again) after losing it a few years earlier."

[wantec]

When might we see this and other Turning Points start coming out again? Any PDF-only products for that matter.  :D

This is a better question for the upcoming products thread, but we may not see anything until after GenCon. That's less than 4 weeks away from opening day and less than that for when folks need to leave to get there & setup. Ray mentioned he has a TRO pdf to prepare for release as well as recovering from exhaustion over rushing things for GenCon. My guess is that if Ray already had some pdf products laid out and ready to go we might see something between now and GenCon, but if he had it ready already it probably would have released already.

[SCC]

Hope we never get back to that state.  I really hope Daoshen Liao is not a return to the bad old days.

What, Sun-Tzu not good enough for you?

[Iracundus]

What, Sun-Tzu not good enough for you?

No, he was bad by being too good in the other direction.  I can see why he was needed though as he was the sharp correction to achieve the meta goal of rebalancing the Sphere.  Could it have been done better or more gradually?  Perhaps but what's done is done.  As I have stated before, even if it had been done more gradually, there would still no doubt have been complaints about how the Confederation kept nibbling away at the FedCom or FedSuns.   

I just would prefer more balanced rulers for all factions going into the future.  It doesn't need to be the factions rotating around each getting a Mary Sue each generation.  There don't need to be black hats or white hats at all.  I generally find the House Lords of the Succession Wars prior to Hanse and Max to be more interesting for just that reason. 

[Frabby]

To echo what others have already said, the intro fiction and the new spin they put on the foundation of ComStar is... really good. Bravo.

"If I do this wrong, they'll name WarShips after me. Or BattleMechs." - Conrad Toyama.
Priceless.  O0

[RomulusDC]

So what was the one little blurb that talked about the current/ future timeline? 

[Empyrus]

So what was the one little blurb that talked about the current/ future timeline?

There is a quick framing device note from a loremaster to the IlKhan talking how it makes a good primer about the Inner Sphere for sibkos. The note is set in about 3250, maybe a bit earlier.
The only real info we got from the note is that the Roshak Bloodname survives by this time.

[wantec]

There is a quick framing device note from a loremaster to the IlKhan talking how it makes a good primer about the Inner Sphere for sibkos. The note is set in about 3250, maybe a bit earlier.
The only real info we got from the note is that the Roshak Bloodname survives by this time.

...And that there is an ilKhan at some point around 3250
...And that there are still sibkos, Loremaster(s), and an Exarch
...And there's some some kind of rank/title of Gunslinger

[Empyrus]

...And that there is an ilKhan at some point around 3250
...And that there are still sibkos, Loremaster(s), and an Exarch
...And there's some some kind of rank/title of Gunslinger

Err, right. The first point we've basically known before, since IlClan is more or less advertised as "the fall of the RotS" (at least it is implied). Ironically, i noted the other points myself... in this thread, i think?

[Maelwys]

Also that the file had to be "recovered" which could indicate that while there's an Exarch, there might not necessarily be a Terra like we know it. Its also called a Draft, which means it might not have been finalized, meaning whatever happens to Terra could be rather close to the 3150 date that its written. We also know that apparently the Clans, or atleast in this case the Loremaster is fine with calling the Wolverines "Wolverines" and not "The not-named." And we also know that the Gunslinger that recovered the file is named Eli Sender. Sender is a Bloodname that was originally Widowmaker, then exclusively Wolf for a while, and then after the WoR became shared by the Wolves, Diamond Sharks, Snow Ravens and Jade Falcons. And yes, its possible that the name is a coincidence of course.

And the final bit, is that we know Eli Sender, who recovered the document felt the need to comment on the Minnesota Tribe section (the only place he did), and that his comment was redacted.

[Wrangler]

Err, right. The first point we've basically known before, since IlClan is more or less advertised as "the fall of the RotS". Ironically, i noted the other points myself... in this thread, i think?

It maybe going way of the Rasalhague Dominion. Having Exarch and IlKhan suggest it's like that. Just hint/suggestion mind you.  :D

[wantec]

Err, right. The first point we've basically known before, since IlClan is more or less advertised as "the fall of the RotS" (at least it is implied). Ironically, i noted the other points myself... in this thread, i think?

It may be advertised as the fall of the Republic, but that doesn't necessarily mean that things are still the same ~100 years later. Heck, 100 years after the RotS formed is it still around?

As for the other points, I just wanted to specify them, since I can't keep track of what's in which thread, so I figured someone else might get confused too.

[Kit deSummersville]

Heck, 100 years after the RotS formed is it still around?

No, but really because they had a pragmatic leader who realized the constant wars made it so hard to keep the borders intact that they renamed themselves the Republic of the Polygon.

[Doom]

No, but really because they had a pragmatic leader who realized the constant wars made it so hard to keep the borders intact that they renamed themselves the Republic of the Polygon.

Republic of the Polyhedron would make more sense. :D

[Empyrus]

Since BT has "hyperspace" travel, wouldn't it be hyper-polyhedron? Or whatever the 4-dimensional version of a polyhedron is called.

[Sartris]

this is why they need a bi or tri-annual conference to assess the current shape of the republic's borders and label accordingly

[Liam's Ghost]

Since BT has "hyperspace" travel, wouldn't it be hyper-polyhedron? Or whatever the 4-dimensional version of a polyhedron is called.

Republic of the Shining Trapezohedron.

(hey, there's canon support for it.  :P )

[RomulusDC]

Is it significant that the comment is for inner sphere sibkos?  That would suggest that there might still be homeworld clans as well if the author drew that distinction.

[Doom]

Or that there just aren't any sibkos in the Periphery.

[O5P_Ghost]

The Big Belly Burger bag on pg 53 was a nice shout out.

Also, that opening story...I never thought I'd like Toyama and Blake WAS the bad guy. Sigh. Its all gray here.

Also, that spoiler bar...gah trolled by the devs

[ssfsx17]

The intro story reminds strongly of Foundation and Dune - except there are no immortals, no magic equations, no seers. Just normal humans. And the rest, as they say, is history.

About Page 101 - it seems likely that there would be all sorts of dances and music from the 20th and 21st centuries that would be known only to a few by 29th. Perhaps, Conrad Toyama was the only one who had seen them, and had already been practicing them privately for quite some time. So, given the opportunity to make a mark on culture, he attached religious significance to them and made everyone else do them as a sacred ritual. And that's why the Harlem Shake represents the condition of being repressed but suddenly gaining enlightenment.  [blank]

[RomulusDC]

With two products released in a very short window featuring comments from 3250, it would seem like the fan base is being slowly eased into the notion that the timeline will come to settle into this new time. I was waiting for the IlClan book, but now I am increasingly excited about a fresh start. After a long draught, Catalyst has spoiled us with a bolus of releases. It gives me hope that we might see the start of a new era before the end of the year.
I look forward to the opportunity to financially support Catalyst by purchasing the Second Succession War book and the new TRO hard copies. Please take my $$ and put it in the wrap up the old era/ start the new era jar.

[Tai Dai Cultist]

Is it significant that the comment is for inner sphere sibkos?  That would suggest that there might still be homeworld clans as well if the author drew that distinction.

I don't believe it's significant/signalling that there are known sibkos outside the inner sphere.

I see usage of the term "inner sphere" by in-universe characters as being an analogue for our real world usage of "the world".  If I say I'm the best in the world at something, I'm not signalling that I think there might be aliens who do it better than I do out there somewhere.  I'm just saying I'm the best.

In this particular context, why did the author write "inner sphere sibkos" rather than just "sibkos"?  I presume it doesn't go any further than referencing that the book is about the Inner Sphere, and their sibkos today need to know their inner sphere history because they are part of the inner sphere.  This book is apparently useful because it's a) an inner sphere perspective on the inner sphere's history and b) a period of history that purely Clan sources presumably are scant on details.