’Mech of the Week: PWR-1X* Prowler
Prowler. One who prowls. A predator, whether animal or human. A type of criminal who commits break-ins and more. Also a 55-ton BattleMech created on Solaris VII in the late 3060’s.
It is also the last Solaris design to be covered from Technical Readout: 3055 Upgrade.
The story of the
Prowler begins with the founding of Zellbrigen Stables on Solaris. A stable of Clan warriors who wished to prove their superiority over the Spheroid best. And with Solaris getting so much attention, they chose to make their statement there. After some time, new blood was needed to get the stable running more efficiently. Enter a Diamond Shark named Marcin Hammond, since Sharks know a little something about presentation.
At the same time, Innovative Design Concepts had sent a design team to the stable when it first was announced, and had been shown the door. They bided their time, since everyone eventually either went belly-up or called upon them. When Hammond took over, he contacted the head administrator of IDC and explained that while a Solaris-built machine was fine, the warriors in the stable required it to carry Clan weaponry. IDC agreed to the stipulation (they always wanted to get their hands on Clan technology).
Hammond ordered two medium BattleMechs, and even supplied a pair of
Wolverine chasses for the task. IDC delivered both fully operational and ready for testing. Thing is, testing took long enough that the
Prowlers did not see action until 3068. Just in time for the Blakists to pay a visit. I will also note that with two machines, technically each variant has a total of one in existence.
The “primary” variant, the
PWR-1X, starts with the reworking of the chassis. Though in sound shape, it still needed some work. The replacement material was with experimental composite structure. While as light as endo-steel, it lacks the bulk of that material, at the cost of being extremely brittle. Damage done to this structure is twice as brutal as to normal structure. A Core Tek 385-rated superlight engine and seven jump jets give the design a speed profile similar to the older
Wraith. A supercharger gives short-term bursts of additional speed, though with the risk of explosive burnout. To protect these fragile and costly components, nine and a half tons of experimental (at the time) heavy ferro-fibrous armor was used, giving maximum protection in a 9, 27/9, 20/6, 18, 26 pattern (head, center front/rear, side front/rear, arms, legs respectively). In order to fit the Clan weaponry, a compact gyro and small cockpit were also used. Twelve double-strength heat sinks are overwhelmed by the weapons-load. That weaponry consists of an extended-model large pulse laser in the centerline, an extended-model medium pulse in each arm, and an extended-model small pulse laser rear-mounted in each side torso. ER pulse weaponry have longer ranges, but only give a -1 to-hit modifier. The weaponry is the only Clan technology used on the design.
The other model, designated the
PWR-1X1, differs by removing the jump jets, supercharger, and the advanced weaponry and replaces them with five heat sinks, an extended-model large laser in each arm, and a 4-pack SRM launcher in each side torso. One ton of ammunition is in the left torso. Also, the lasers are tied into a targeting computer. Again, only the weaponry is Clantech. (Possibly the targeting computer is too, but since it weighs the same in either tech, it is a moot point.)
This design appears to my eye to be meant as a fast, striking unit. As in, move in, fire, get the heck out. While the armor can take a lot of damage for its weight, the fragile engine and internal structure mean that a breach can soon be quite lethal. You have accurate weapon fire (the ER Pulse lasers have that -1, and the targeting computer helps the second variant’s more standard lasers do the same). Hunt for openings and strike when you can.
Fighting one is a bit trickier. As the first variant has a lot of advanced weaponry and other components, it is a pain to deal with. Best option is to knock it down and pound it until it cannot move again. Though, if you can force him to overuse the supercharger that can also assist greatly. Heat-inducing weaponry will exacerbate his issues in that regard, too. The second variant is slightly less annoying, if only for the lack of jump jets and less volume of fire. Still, pounding him until he stops moving is a good plan. Targeting the left torso also works as hitting the SRM ammunition will destroy the ’Mech, since it is not CASEd.
We do not know what happened to the
Prowlers. Since the Word of Blake soon landed on Solaris, and their hatred of the Clans was so pronounced, it is likely they targeted the Clansmen for annihilation. If I remember correctly, Zellbrigen was one of the stables that was completely wiped out. As for IDC, it was reduced to building RetroTech designs by the battle. If their design plans survived the onslaught, they either had to wait until they could regain the ability to produce BattleMechs, or they would have to license the designs for outside production. And frankly, the
Prowler was a bit too cutting edge for outside licensing (though the second variant is a bit easier).
