Solahma mechs recommendations

[epic 2.0]

I am endeavouring to build a Clan Wolf Solahma unit circa 3050ish for some Alpha Strike and CBT games.  What I am curious about is what mechs would be suitable for such a unit, considering their Solahma status.

This then led me down a rabbit hole of discussion as to what exactly solahma is, and what they would warrant gaining.  My own thoughts, though I am curious about what others think, is that a "proper" solahma mech is one that is probably poorly armored, but has great short range weaponry; basically, for a death or glory charge into short range. 

To that end, the Hunchback IIC is a great solahma mech but obviously I want more than that for some variety.

Noting the timeframe, would there be any other suggestions for 2nd line battlemechs/star league cache units?  I can ALSO use 1 or 2 captured mechs from the Periphery (so should be avail on the Periphery general mul) but mostly it should be 2nd line Clan gear/old Star League units.

I was oddly, thinking of the Mercury for some skirmishing - not good armament, but gets in close and still has a bit of short range firepower. 

That could form the basis of a light star, with an "assault" star based around the Hunchie IIC.  My 3rd star in the trinary is going to be Clan conventional infantry with APCs, for taking objectives and being general cannon fodder. 

Still, looking for mech suggestions that fit solahma otherwise.  Not worried about the PV/BV so much as the flavour in this case, as I'll adjust skills as needed to fit points/BV (or bid away units as needed to bring down PV for a fight). 

[idea weenie]

Considering that solahma can be given a pistol and told to stop Mechs, the lower limit for what they can be equipped with can be very low.

You could have Inner Sphere designs, but with missing armor as that armor was requisitioned by the Trueborn warriors for their second-line forces.  Another mix might be Inner Sphere forces with some Star League grade tech, but with pre-existing damage and Clan skill levels.  If you are using the Hunchback IIC mech, then that should be the rough ammo loadout where you have 5-10 turns worth of shots. (4+1d6?)

For real fun pick 6 Mechs that total 20% more than the BV agreed-upon, but before the battle you shuffle them face down and randomly remove one of them.  Until you place the other five on the map your tactics will be like blindfolded archery; you won't know what you're missing.  For extra difficulty you instead let your opponent select the one being removed.  This would reflect a Trueborn making sure that good war machines are assigned to good pilots.

[Natasha Kerensky]

The Clans have old, boring, unflashy, slow, secondline mechs, like the Corvis, Grizzly, Wyvern IIC, and Urbanmech IIC.  The Clans also have some faster, but still old, unflashy, and not very powerfully armed secondline mechs like the Commando IIC, Clint IIC and Great Wyrm.  I think all these garrison “line” mechs would see use among lower-tier formations, including solahma and other dezgra units.

The Clans also have other “expendable” but fast, powerfully armed, and potentially dangerous secondline mechs, like the Pirahna, Jenner IIC, and Solitaire.  For solahma, freeborns, former bondsmen, and other dezgra warriors still trying to make a name for themselves, these kinds of designs may serve the same basic function as the Hunchback IIC.

Artillery and fire support in general gets a bad rap among the Clans, so the Bowman would probably find its way to dezgra and solamha units.  The Sharks/Foxes sell cheap, low-grade designs, like the Ha Otoko (and the aforementioned Piranha), which would probably also be purchased to round out fire support in low-tier formations.

Although it’s not explicitely stated anywhere, I think quads would be looked down upon by most Clans besides the Horses.  Although a totem design, the Fire Scorpion, for example, is an old, slow quad that would probably be relegated to dezgra and solahma  formations  in most Clans.  Newer, faster Stalking Spiders may get the same treatment.

Depending on your timeframe, some of these designs are also from failed, dead Clans.  The Great Wyrm was a Mongoose design, for example.  The Wyvern IIC was a Burrock upgrade.  Designs like those are probably doubly marked for dezgra and solahma.

If you’re interested in conventional forces, pretty much any Clan combat vehicle is a possible solahma unit outside the Horses, but I’d throw in some ancient Bandits, Badgers Pike C, Demolisher C, and Gun Trailers to make the point that they’re really stuck with outdated/poor equipment.  And then there’s the Surat Battle Armor, as well as the unarmored Elemental Solahma infantry formations in TRO: 3085.

Instead of potentially revered SLDF designs, I like to use the Clan “C” variants of salvaged Spheroid Succession War-era units in low-tier units.  Stuff like the Victor C, Marauder C, Warhammer C, Archer C, Shadow Hawk C, etc.

Here’s a Raven solahma/dezgra unit that I was working on years  ago.  It’s an “elite” penal  unit (think Dirty Dozen) so some of this stuff may be too high-end or Raven-specific for your purposes.  But there’s also a lot of  good junk for a solahma unit.

Xi Solahma —> https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,63221.msg1453302.html#msg1453302

Hope this helps.

[Colt Ward]

SO . . . for the Wolves, it is sort of simple.  You have the old phonebook with the Epsilon clusters listing out mechs and both Tukayyid scenario books.  Keep in mind the WCSB and original Tukayyid SB lack the later material doing backfill with things like Guillotine IIC or the other IICs (except the Orion IIC) and the standard designs such as the mention Grizzly or Great Wyrm.  We also got TRO Golden Century which has some wonderful filler like the Coyote's Masagwu (or however that is spelled) and the Pulverizer.  The -ECs were also a good option from that book.

But again echoing Nat you also have your choice of old Star League and the refurbished IS commons in the C series.  Nice of the RecGuides to add more Cs that were missing, things like the Rifleman C & Archer C.  I would stay away from Star League Royals for two reasons- A, they would have been the first thing the newborn Clans were grabbing to run thus likely destroyed before more standard models and B, if they were still in the Clan's inventory they would be in secondline or regular garrison clusters- not solahma.  IF you do give a Royal (or uber-designs that came out before Royals like the Pillager, Thunder Hawk or Devastator) then IMO it should go to a officer, one that preferably has a bloodname . . . and it might need to be saddled with a quirk.

For PCs, or just spice/variety, you could also use those old Star League but slap in Clan experimental tech.  I have a PC in Tau Galaxy going into the Refusal War who has a Spartan with a Enhanced ERPPC & other prototypes . . . something that was pulled from a cache of forgotten materials and dusted off to field in the new galaxy.  Heck, the Wolves were buying Clint IICs from the Ravens so IMO they emptied their vaults to build those new clusters.

Final thing to think about is the reputation of designs.  You have salvage from your rival Clan?  Consign that thing to the solahma ranks to make a statement . . . FREX, the Wolves ended up with a lot of Redbacks after absorbing the Widowmakers.  Good solid machines, but what Wolf frontline warrior is going to want those instead of a Excalibur?

[Alan Grant]

I'm going to swing the other way with this and suggest some rationales for how you can toss in some "good" machines into a solahma situation.

We have absolutely seen situations where some good solahma got to keep their better machines. You can find a Cluster here or there in Clan history where some unit of solahma got to keep the good stuff. They've been good warriors, a good unit. Probably well-connected as well. Lots of members with good codexes and of prominent Bloodname Houses.

You can also potentially say the same thing about rather prominent solahma. Warriors who were very successful in their careers, earned a Bloodname, high rank such as Star Colonel or higher. When it's finally their turn to seek that warrior's death, sometimes they get to do it in that machine that's practically been theirs for so many years that the Clan is willing to do them the honor of letting them take their personal ride out on this solahma death ride.

Finally, even a machine that you might think of as very good, might be very old, worn out and tired. Let's say it's 3054 and we got a Timber Wolf here, it was built in 2947. It's been in service for over 50 years. It's been involved in countless Trials and in Operation Revival. Every core component is worn out. It is developing some frustrating quirks and gremlins that nobody has been able to solve. Every second-line warrior they assign it to complains that it's defective and every tech hates working on it. The techs have concluded that it needs an entirely new Endo-Steel Skeleton and a new fusion engine and an entirely new set of myomer (for starters). The Clan decides it's not worth it, it's become a source of waste at this point. A drain on work hours and resources at a time when fresh replacement 'mechs are arriving a dropship load at a time as part of the post-Tukayyid rebuilding of the touman.

They might scrap it. Or they might decide that the next solahma operation is an opportune moment to try to get rid of this troublesome machine.

I'm not trying to suggest that these scenarios would be incredibly common. But if you wanted to toss in a better machine or two, I'm giving you a few ways to justify it.

[Metallgewitter]

I would also add that some solahma are pilots who earned a bloodname but slowly faded away. They might be given an Omni Mech just to give them a sort of "incentive" to do their best in their twilight years. Or perhaps even as a reward for their long service and accomplishments. And perhaps to add: a warrior might even trial to get his Mech upgraded or even earn the right to an Omni Mech. After all might still makes right

But I would also agree it depends on the timeline: in thje Golden Century or in the runner up years to the invasion most solahma Mechwarriors probably pilot old secondline Mechs like 2C versions or even old SL Mecvhs dug up from the old Brian caches. During the invasion and later they might even have captured and traded IS gear. The invading Clans often pressed captured IS Mechs into service after updating the electronics. Heck, some were even rebuild with Clan weapons and cooling gear. And come the Refusal time some Clans begin to upgrade their garrison units with modern equipment (especially the Invader Clans as their forces are split). Then we have the Adders who make extensive use of upgraded Garrison Mechs in thgeir frontline Glaxies (especially Beta Galaxy) to punish and humiliate the Blood Spirits.

Mayxbe also to be taken iunto consideration: the economic situation of each Clan. I would expect the Diamond Sharks to have their warriors perhaps better equipped just to protect their trading posts and production facilities. But perhaps poorer clans use what they can get to keep the best units for their "best" warriors

[Natasha Kerensky]

One could always justify a Timberwolf or other “current” generation omnimech for the young, trueborn commander of a solamha unit.  He/she is not solahma, freeborn, dezgra, etc..  He/she is just stuck keeping them in line and pointed in the right direction until transferred to a better unit.  I’ve always imagined that such assignments are part of Clan “officer training”.  Yeah, you may have won command of a star or trinary in your Trial of Position.  But until you prove your tactical acumen and leadership abilities, you’re stuck commanding an old or disgraced unit.  After you prove that you can do more than win a gladiatorial duel, then you can move up to the same command in a secondline or frontline unit.

The other option on omnimechs is the older, first-generation ones:  Woodsman, Lupus, Coyotl, etc.  These are actually pretty good designs that outperform some “current” omnis.  My impression from the high percentage of omnis in Coyote secondline clusters is that these old omnis are still around in numbers there and could be found in smaller amounts in other Clans.

In the modern era, the sucky, stop-gap Naga II is probably another omni that is headed for solahma/dezgra units, if not already there.

Lastly, these aren’t omnis and logically would have been melted down to remove all evidence of the Not-Named Clan.  But Wolverine designs like the Stag and Pulverizer might be an option for solahma in particularly desperate Clans like the Spirits.


 

[Colt Ward]

Except the Pulverizer was kept by the Ravens.

[Metallgewitter]

One could always justify a Timberwolf or other “current” generation omnimech for the young, trueborn commander of a solamha unit.  He/she is not solahma, freeborn, dezgra, etc..  He/she is just stuck keeping them in line and pointed in the right direction until transferred to a better unit.  I’ve always imagined that such assignments are part of Clan “officer training”.  Yeah, you may have won command of a star or trinary in your Trial of Position.  But until you prove your tactical acumen and leadership abilities, you’re stuck commanding an old or disgraced unit.  After you prove that you can do more than win a gladiatorial duel, then you can move up to the same command in a secondline or frontline unit.

Redemption Rites actually has this written down. When Othar asked Radu where he thinks he would have been posted first Radu answer "A frontline cluster of course!" and Othar says "nope. You would have been posted to a garrison cluster" He further details that once you earned entry into the touman you learn what the life within the touman really is. So as you say after entry into the touman the "real" learning process begins. Command, logistics, bidding (if you are a commander)

[Fire Scorpion IIC]

...
Finally, even a machine that you might think of as very good, might be very old, worn out and tired. Let's say it's 3054 and we got a Timber Wolf here, it was built in 2947. It's been in service for over 50 years. It's been involved in countless Trials and in Operation Revival. Every core component is worn out. It is developing some frustrating quirks and gremlins that nobody has been able to solve. Every second-line warrior they assign it to complains that it's defective and every tech hates working on it. The techs have concluded that it needs an entirely new Endo-Steel Skeleton and a new fusion engine and an entirely new set of myomer (for starters). The Clan decides it's not worth it, it's become a source of waste at this point.....

This is excellent point

I'm certain that any warrior with even minimum amount of experience would immediately choose something like freshly built Black Python over decrepit Omnimech like this Timberwolf even before techs and pilots start complaining

They would see the writing on the wall

[Colt Ward]

Redemption Rites actually has this written down. When Othar asked Radu where he thinks he would have been posted first Radu answer "A frontline cluster of course!" and Othar says "nope. You would have been posted to a garrison cluster" He further details that once you earned entry into the touman you learn what the life within the touman really is. So as you say after entry into the touman the "real" learning process begins. Command, logistics, bidding (if you are a commander)

This is also backed up by Galaxy Commander Fetladral's entry in WCSB which is appropriate to the discussion.  He takes command of Epsilon as a way to advance in rank as well as IMO a challenge- they needed improvement & to be straightened out.  The short bio makes it seem like he is younger for the rank than normal, but that he was also seriously considering not being promoted to stay with his previous cluster.

[Hellraiser]

I would point out that Epsilon is garrison level v/s full on Solahma.  And the "Lead" galaxy of Clan Wolf's "Garrison Galaxies" at that.
Additionally, wasn't his Bio also mentioning something about he took it because no of the higher ranking Star Colonels wouldn't? 
Almost to prove he wasn't so stuck on "politics" as his superiors appeared to be?  (IMO)

That said, somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Conal Ward still have his Gargoyle after his fraud/disgrace & took over a Solahma cluster?

Something like 1st Gen Omnis (Woodsman) or early/simple tech 2nd Gen Omnis (Crossbow/Hellbringer/Kingfisher) might have made there way to a Solahma cluster especially with pre-existing damage like the old Scenario Book mechs that had developed permanent "glitches" due to faulty repairs.  Like Extra heat for a weapon or a leg that shorts out on a failed PSR causing it to take a "fake" actuator damage till the mech can be rebooted or heatsinks that only do 1/2 the heat venting, etc etc.

Honestly, if I was going for a unit, I'd give it no more than 1/3 of its total size in mechs at all.  Filling in the rest with lots of Infantry & vees.
And of the portions that I used as mechs I'd probably go something like a 40-30-20-10 split of Intro, SLDF, Clan 2nd Line, Omni as the various tech levels.

[Metallgewitter]

Yeah Conal still piloted his Gargoyle after his disgrace. Also the TRO 3055 has a Solahma fighter pilot still flying a Visigoth. So it can happen that youz have Omnius in Solahma units

[phoenixalpha]

I think it depends exactly what "level" of Solahma we're talking about.

There are garrison clusters and then there are solahma units designed to literally throw themselves at their opponent with nothing more than a rifle as a delaying tactic to allow "better" warriors to regroup/escape.

So long in the tooth warriors at the end of their rope, or warriors with issues & maybe sibko warriors who have just scraped through might form a garrison "solahma" unit which is designed to be a garrison force with 2nd line clan mechs, as well as some IS mechs and a few SL mechs out of a storage cache somewhere. Warriors will either wash out of that kind of unit or shape up and move in to better units. Wash outs will end up being literally infantry & security irrespective of what they were beforehand. They will be disregarded by all line and 2nd line units until they have to perform one last glorious charge to buy their clan some time.

[Colt Ward]

A couple other things to add . . .

We also tend to find solahma warriors as the scientist test pilots.  This means if a project fails (see Falcon protos), then that warrior piloting the equipment they were testing (if it survives) could be transferred into a cluster.  Thus the testbed is not wasted.

As for Epsilon . . . well, we run into 'no Clan secondline mechs existed' and early Clan lack of data.  They would certainly be above the 26 "PGCs" that Ulric called in to cover the OZ, but IIRC their WCSB entry is pretty clear about their status . . . but there was also new fiction in Shrapnel IIRC that had a Epsilon cluster story, that would get you a updated idea of what the opinion was on them.

[Marveryn]

was waiting for someone to say the best for solahma the hunchback II

[Hellraiser]

They would certainly be above the 26 "PGCs" that Ulric called in to cover the OZ, but IIRC their WCSB entry is pretty clear about their status . .

My comment came from some quote that had Epsilon as being in charge of the other PGCs.
I'd have to go digging to find the source but its stuck in my brain from somewhere.
I have no doubt that Alpha-Delta looked down on them however.