’Mech of the Week: GRF-** Griffin
Griffin. A mythological creature with the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion. A symbol seen on many noble crests. And one of the most iconic BattleMechs in history.
Originally designed as an assault ’Mech (quick assault, not weight class), the 60-ton GRF-1A
Griffin was the eleventh BattleMech to be introduced, first appearing in 2465. Produced by Maxwell Manufacturing and built with primitive materials, this design is based around a primitive 290-rated engine, giving it a ground speed similar to the much later
Panther. Three prototype jump jets were also used, which while useful, brought with them balance issues. Fourteen and a half tons of armor plate were used, laid out in a 9, 21/7, 21/6, 14, 18 pattern. Weapons consisted of a 5-rack LRM launcher and a prototype Particle Cannon (which produced heat like that of the later extended-model versions). Eleven heat sinks try and mitigate the heat output.
Maxwell Manufacturing ran into issues when their financial officers got into some trouble. During the liquidation, Earthwerks, Incorporated bought the design, and with the advent of advanced materials, the
Griffin soon found itself surpassed. However, enough of a following had been built that the designers kept it in production, though it became a 55-ton medium. In 2492, one thousand years after Columbus, the GRF-1N entered service. Built around a CoreTek 275-rated engine, the
Griffin has ground speeds equivalent to its contemporaries, the
Wolverine and
Shadow Hawk. Five Rawlings 55 jump jets allow it to jump as far as the baseline
Wolverine. Nine and a half tons of armor provide 82% of maximum protection in a 9, 20/7, 20/6, 14, 18 pattern (head, center front/rear, side front/rear, arms, legs respectively). Weaponry consists of a right arm-mounted Particle Cannon and a 10-pack LRM launcher in the right torso. Two tons of ammunition feed the missile launcher. Twelve heat sinks struggle with the heat load.
For over two hundred years this machine soldiered on, proving itself both popular and durable. However, the SLDF decided that they needed to upgrade the design. Two variants came from this. The first, the GRF-2N2 arrived in 2702, and swaps the LRM pack for twin 6-shot SRM racks. A Guardian ECM suite was added. An endo-steel skeleton and ferro-fibrous armor was used as weight-saving measures. Armor was now laid out in a 9, 27/7, 20/6, 18, 24 pattern. Eleven double heat sinks deal with most of the heat output. In 2751, the GRF-2N arrived, swapping the standard Particle Cannon for an ER model.
These two Royal variants disappeared along with the majority of the SLDF. As the Succession Wars broke out the
Griffin soldiered on. Towards the end of the Second Succession War, a new variant showed up. Premiering in 2857, the GRF-1S swapped the -1N’s LRM rack for a 5-shot version. The Particle Cannon was traded for a large laser and two mediums. The remaining weight went into heat sinks, upping the total to 16.
The next variant to enter service arrived around 3020, and was an experimental testbed. Unfortunately for the GRF-2N-X, Black Widow Company dropped by and blew it up. The
Super Griffin, as it was known weighed in at 60 tons, dropped the engine to a 240-rated model, mounted a medium and a small laser in addition to the Particle Cannon and LRMs, upped the armor to ten tons, laid out in a 9, 24/7, 22/6, 14, 18 pattern, and used ten standard heat sinks. It also served as the first testbed for the Federated Suns’s “freezer” double-strength heat sinks, carrying five of those. Also, it was the only known testbed for a type of improved jump jets that weighed as much as normal ones, but used a very volatile propellant (which led to the prototype’s destruction). Six of these improved jump jets were used to give the design greater mobility.
Around 3035, MechWarrior Elle Bennett joined the Fifth Donegal Guards of the Federated Suns. Customizing her
Griffin, which she nicknamed “Sparky”, her variant, designated the GRF-1E, trades the LRM pack for five medium lasers, a heat sinks, and a ton of armor. Protection is now in a 9, 24/7, 20/6, 18, 20 pattern.
As newer technologies proliferated, the
Griffin received two new variants, both arriving in 3049. The first, the GRF-1DS takes the original -1N and upgrades the engine to an extralight version. The Particle Cannon was swapped for a large pulse laser, and the LRM upgraded to a 20-pack. The missile ammunition is stored in the CASEd left torso. Fourteen double heat sinks deal well with the heat loads. The other, the GRF-3M differs in having a ER PPC instead of the large pulse, thirteen double heat sinks, a small laser, and a half ton more armor (9, 24/7, 20/6, 16, 18).
The next variants showed up during the Project Phoenix uproar. Two showed up in 3066. The first was the GRF-5M which dropped the LRM rack to a Size-10, and swapped the ER PPC for a light Gauss Rifle. Ammunition is in the CASEd right torso. The other was the GRF-6S, which mounts a light engine, ten double heat sinks, two extended-model medium lasers, an ER PPC, and a 15-rack LRM with Artemis IV. Armor was enhanced to maximum in a 9, 27/9, 20/6, 18, 26 pattern.
In 3067, the GRF-6CS arrived. Differing from the -6S by using an extralight engine and the addition of a Guardian ECM suite and Improved C3 unit. Twelve double heat sinks deal with some of the heat woes, and the armor is reduced to ten tons, laid out in the pattern of the -3M.
The first variant to arrive in the fires of the Jihad was the GRF-5L in 3070. This design mounts a Guardian ECM Suite, along with eleven and a half tons of stealth armor, laid out in a 9, 26/9, 20/6, 18, 26 pattern. Weapons-load consists of a plasma rifle, three medium lasers, and a 5-pack MML. Fourteen double heat sinks struggle with the full heat load.
Around the same time, a sibkin warrior named Francine earned her place in the Black Widow Company. Her
Griffin at the time was a modified GRF-6S model. This model has a similar armor layout to the -5L, save one point being moved from the center rear to the front (and it being standard plate). Weapons load was a Snub-Nose PPC, three medium lasers, one rear-mounted small laser, and a 15-pack LRM with Artemis IV. Ten double heat sinks struggle with the heat output.
After the Company defeated the Blakist forces on Outreach the next year, Francine had her machine upgraded with Blakist salvage. This variant drops the Artemis IV fire-control and small laser to add a supercharger and swap the armor for laser-reflective.
The next variant arrived in 3071 as well, the GRF-5K. This variant uses a light fusion engine, upgrades the jump jets to improved models (upping the total to eight), uses a Light-class Particle Cannon, and uses light ferro-fibrous armor, laid out in a 9, 26/8, 18/6, 16, 23 pattern.
The next variant to show up is the personal ’Mech of Leftenant Natasha Ergen of the Fifth FedCom RCT during the Battles of New Avalon. The daughter of Elle Bennett, Leftenant Ergen had her mother’s machine retooled into “Sparky 2.0”. The upgrade uses a light fusion engine, upgrades the PPC and three of the medium lasers to extended models, adds a targeting computer, and uses ferro-fibrous armor in a 9, 26/10, 20/6, 18, 23 pattern.
In 3076, the GRF-4R arrived. This model uses a 330-rated extralight engine, nine improved jump jets, and ten and a half tons of armor (9, 25/8, 19/5, 16, 23). Eleven double heat sinks deal with most of the heat loads, and weapons consist of a Snub-Nose PPC, extended-model medium laser, and a 5-rack MML. 3083 premiered the GRF-4N, which uses ferro-fibrous armor in the pattern of the -1N, ten double heat sinks, wields a plasma rifle and three extended-model medium lasers, and uses a heavy-duty gyro.
A final variant showed up sometime between the 3080’s and the Dark Ages, the GRF-6S2 differs from the -6S by dropping one medium laser, swaps the LRM-rack and Artemis for a Clan 15-rack LRM without fire-control, a targeting computer and a C3 Boosted Slave unit.
Using one of these starts with being patient and for the most part protecting your right side. Several variants have an issue of losing most (or all) of their weaponry if they lose that torso. (To be fair, some of those are extralight engine designs.) For the most part, I’ve seen
Griffins used more as stand-off and snipe units, assisting more close-in designs. Jump as much as needed, and use cover when possible.
Fighting one starts with trying to knock it down so it does not jump and up its to-hit numbers. Frankly, every time I’ve fought one, its ammo goes up rather quickly. Must be the GM’s bad luck… Most of the variants have ammunition to light off, the exceptions mostly being both Sparkys. So, if you can target their ammunition dumps (or Gauss Rifle) do so.
The
Griffin has long been one of the icons of the game, and looks to be continuing on through the Dark Ages. It has one of the longest service lives of any BattleMechs in history. The only “3025” designs to have longer ones are the
Banshee,
Archer, and
Orion. Among its other effects has been the
Griffin IIc.
