Will the Games relocate?

[Colt Ward]

Solaris VII has been conquered by the Wolves.  The stables still operate but their gladiatorial games have been interrupted with Crusader Wolf warriors declaring Trials of Possession for a mechwarrior (Sharpnel story) thus 'harvesting' talent from the Solaris games . . . and how can you have a tournament if all the best warriors keep getting removed from the talent pool?

Do you think the Solaris Games will relocate to another world outside of Wolf control?  Should it for in universe/character reasons?  for OOC/meta reasons?

[Metallgewitter]

There are two options: wait until the Mariks or Steiners return (maybe even a possible uprising like what happened during the Jihad) or the Games might die. After all which alternatives are there? When it comes to Mech games the only real known alternative would be the Noisiel games and those are more meant for Mech sports not Mech battles. What other big game worlds are there? Westerhand has been dead for decades. Maybe Herotitus? But that is in the Periphery.
And we still have a blackout over the Is. Promoting new games might be very difficult. Not to mention to rebuild the whole infrastructure from scratch

[VanVelding]

I assume that like wrestling there have always been lesser, local venues.

I think the TRO Dark Age fluff from 3250 suggests the games are still ongoing and their value at keeping the masses in line is noted. IIRC.

Not every booze-soaked showboating ****** who can handle themselves in a fight is going to be gang-pressed by the ilClan.

And not every disciplined winner with their eye on the prize is going to lose their Trial of Possession. After all, what match could have higher stakes than the one that makes a mechwarrior literally fight the power or else lose their Solaris career?

[Colt Ward]

And not every disciplined winner with their eye on the prize is going to lose their Trial of Possession. After all, what match could have higher stakes than the one that makes a mechwarrior literally fight the power or else lose their Solaris career?

Because like every other human endeavor, the Trial has hypocrisy built in?  If you read the Shrapnel story, the Clan warrior winning was expected though the Solaris warrior was not going to roll over.

NOW, it could have been part of Alaric's strategy to take Terra by finding talent where it could be observed and let the Games return to what they were . . . supplemented by the regular Trials of Reaving/Propagation/etc on Solaris.  But warriors went to Solaris to do something besides be a warfighter- would talent from the five Houses still travel to Solaris and run that risk?  Of course as it was pointed out, how many know Solaris is a Wolf possession by 3150?

[tassa_kay]

I think the TRO Dark Age fluff from 3250 suggests the games are still ongoing and their value at keeping the masses in line is noted. IIRC

I wouldn't read too much into that. The 3250 stuff is semi-canon at best, written and published back when a time jump to 3250 was on the table.

[paladin2019]

Something tells me that could be one of the most dangerous trials of possession ever. Like, potentially Smoke Jaguars vs. Morgan Kell on Luthien dangerous. So, of course, clan warriors would jump at the chance to dragoon a Solaris champion. How many trials of position would have to be fought for that job?

[Colt Ward]

I think the TRO Dark Age fluff from 3250 suggests the games are still ongoing and their value at keeping the masses in line is noted. IIRC.

I wouldn't read too much into that. The 3250 stuff is semi-canon at best, written and published back when a time jump to 3250 was on the table.

The Shrapnel story about the annual/semi-annual/quarterly? Trials of Reaving/Propagation would also go to give the masses circuses, especially if they sprinkle in Trials of Position/Possession/Grievance between the regular fetes to keep up some sort of action.

[Wrangler]

As far I'm aware, their still going.  Wolf Empire has been harvesting MechWarriors from the games to bolster their forces prior to their push to Terra.

Why kill the goose that lays the gold eggs?  There was short story, of MechWarrior who forcefully recruited by the Wolves and he had his son join Clan to be taken care of.  Since his wife left him and his son.

[BrianDavion]

I think you're all forgetting an obvious possiability here.
Revolt.
Alaric pulled all the frontline warriors away, now suddenly you have a planet with a population of highly armed mechwarriors and no garrison. I can't see that ending well for the wolves

[CJC070]

As far I'm aware, their still going.  Wolf Empire has been harvesting MechWarriors from the games to bolster their forces prior to their push to Terra.

Why kill the goose that lays the gold eggs?  There was short story, of MechWarrior who forcefully recruited by the Wolves and he had his son join Clan to be taken care of.  Since his wife left him and his son.

Why did Alaric screw over the Wolf Dargoons and why did he intentionally throw fire at the Dominion?  Not to mention the Clan way IS NOT PERFECT.  If the garrison makes a few to many mistakes (ie angers the stables) Solaris will become another front in war against the iClan.

[tassa_kay]

Why did Alaric screw over the Wolf Dargoons

As revenge for the Dragoons betraying the Clans.

and why did he intentionally throw fire at the Dominion? 

To be fair, we don't actually know for sure if Alaric intended for the events in DD to happen the way they did. All we know for sure is that Alaric was trying to get the Bears to kiss the ring with more enthusiasm than the tepid support he was getting from the first referendum.

[Decoy]

TBH, if the Dominion vote was challenged, at 50%+1, that's an additional clip of ammo to the forces defending the vote. at 75% approval the bidding to defend the verdict would start at 3 to 1 (If I'm wrong, math is hard!)

[VanVelding]

As revenge for the Dragoons betraying the Clans.

Eminently reasonable. That'll teach the descendants of the descendants of the original Clan mission not to arrange Tukayyid, splinter Clan Wolf, and cripple Clan Jade--oh wait.

Clan Wolf seeking 100-year-later vengeance is irrational. And irrational people are why we created stories about geese laying gilded eggs. Alaric Wolf being a dipshit is always an x-factor; this universe wouldn't turn if folks didn't make stupid decisions.

Because like every other human endeavor, the Trial has hypocrisy built in?  If you read the Shrapnel story, the Clan warrior winning was expected though the Solaris warrior was not going to roll over.

Some X are Y. That does not mean all X are Y. If every Clan challenger issued a batchall and then dropped with overwhelming force--regardless of the defender's declared opposing forces--then a Trial of Possession just becomes a "raid." My impression of the Dark Age is that Inner Sphere and Clan mechwarriors alike still engage in honor duels so some form of honor and equitable fighting has to be around, save for individual warrior skill.

Without the equity promised by the pretenses of the Clan honor system, why would a kidnapped Solaris VII mechwarrior be any better than a WWI conscript?

Alternatively, who would even want a warrior you had to cheat to beat? "I can't take this warrior in a fair fight; I can't wait until we're fighting back-to-back. They love me." If they needed warm bodies, aren't there a ****** of Trueborn washouts with actual 'mech training

Also, a one-on-one duel can only be so unfair in a universe with gauss rifles, blazers, and Clan PPCs.

Canon's gonna do what canon do, but when strained for troops, kidnapping charismatic winners from a heavily armed planet of opportunistic lucre-warriors...well BrianDavion said it in detail, but there's a reason even the elites of a society have to maintain the pretenses of the social mores they hold the populace to. When they get sloppy with their corruption--and maybe this is just conjecture--the populace takes that as a cue and the whole social fabric disintegrates.

[Metallgewitter]

I think you're all forgetting an obvious possiability here.
Revolt.
Alaric pulled all the frontline warriors away, now suddenly you have a planet with a population of highly armed mechwarriors and no garrison. I can't see that ending well for the wolves

If I remember correctly Empire Alone gave hints that Solaris VII still has a garrison even after the fall of Terra and that they are dealing with some insurgents / low level revolts. They also had to pay a premium to get new gear from the foxes and on closer inspection they realized they paid for wolf gear produced on Terra. Basically they paid for something they should get for free. The question will be if Solaris VII stays a part of the Empire or if it will fall back to the Mariks or the Steiners (my money would be the Mariks at least they are doing something). Let's not forget Solaris VII is not only home to many warriors but also a site of several companies that produce milltech. Companies like VEST or Blue-Shot Weapons not only build gear for the games but also for sale on the open market

[Decoy]

Let's remember that the Mariks decided to bombard the heck out of Solaris during the First Succession War and the Solarans have strong feelings on that. Heck, given the scorched earth campaign that the FWL inflicted on the Bolan Thumb, they may not be seen as the liberators you want them to be seen as. Alaric did something very powerful when he announced he was claiming the Archonship of the Lyran Commonwealth. He went from an outside invader to just another claimant. Who are you going to side with? The Archon, or the fiends who scorched your world?

[Metallgewitter]

Let's remember that the Mariks decided to bombard the heck out of Solaris during the First Succession War and the Solarans have strong feelings on that. Heck, given the scorched earth campaign that the FWL inflicted on the Bolan Thumb, they may not be seen as the liberators you want them to be seen as. Alaric did something very powerful when he announced he was claiming the Archonship of the Lyran Commonwealth. He went from an outside invader to just another claimant. Who are you going to side with? The Archon, or the fiends who scorched your world?

But now he is the guy who threw them away just to hide behind a wall on Terra. Not exactly the best impression. Just like his mother found out when she took over the Federated suns from Victor and some Lyrans began wondering if they had been stepping stones.

[Decoy]

It's still better than the impression having a two ton shell drop on your home from high orbit gives.

[Sartris]

Hunter's Paradise

[Gorgon]

Hunter's Paradise

Yes, gives the Timbuktu Collective finally some stagelight.

[Wrangler]

Solaris' fate depends on what the Star Lord and his Clan allies can do remake themselves into army to march across the Inner Sphere.

Will they remake the Hegemony? Its possible, it was part Star League too.   Solaris could get scooped up if they manage straighten themselves out.

[Caesar Steiner for Archon]

Let's remember that the Mariks decided to bombard the heck out of Solaris during the First Succession War and the Solarans have strong feelings on that. Heck, given the scorched earth campaign that the FWL inflicted on the Bolan Thumb, they may not be seen as the liberators you want them to be seen as. Alaric did something very powerful when he announced he was claiming the Archonship of the Lyran Commonwealth. He went from an outside invader to just another claimant. Who are you going to side with? The Archon, or the fiends who scorched your world?

Being the Archon has nothing to do with who your dad is, it's a vote of the Estates General. It's not going to sway you unless you're already predisposed to lick boot AND you have less understanding of civics than Victor.

[Minemech]

Let's remember that the Mariks decided to bombard the heck out of Solaris during the First Succession War and the Solarans have strong feelings on that. Heck, given the scorched earth campaign that the FWL inflicted on the Bolan Thumb, they may not be seen as the liberators you want them to be seen as. Alaric did something very powerful when he announced he was claiming the Archonship of the Lyran Commonwealth. He went from an outside invader to just another claimant. Who are you going to side with? The Archon, or the fiends who scorched your world?

They will not care. An Essex uses Barracuda launchers, you would be better off using naval autocannons if you wanted to bombard a planet.

[Minemech]

deleted

[Natasha Kerensky]

Responding to the OP, I don’t think the Solaris games proper would relocate, but some competitors, stables, and investors would logically relocate to other game worlds like Noisiel and Westerhand.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Galatea has some gladiatorial arenas, IIRC.

[Wrangler]

Galatea has some gladiatorial arenas, IIRC.

Issue is that's within striking distance of Terra.  Given it was part of the Republic, it could ultimately end up part of whateveritis going to be coming out of there.

Clan Star League/Hegemony-whatever it is.  Then the party will be over, for mercenaries on planet and the games there.

Hardcore in Magistracy of Canopus on other hand will likely weather storm for bit.

[Starfury]

The Games aren't going anywhere. There's a blurb in either Empires Alone or Dominions Divided about how some Solaris Mechwarriors break out of a fight to engage the local Wolf constabulary and garrison, but that's it. Solaris VII is a deeply embedded part of the lore (witness its use in the Shrapnel story about the Urbanmech rebellion), and people still come to it in droves. If the Games did movie, Nosiel would be the most logical place.

[Caesar Steiner for Archon]

Pretty shit proposition. "Hey if you do a good job at Solaris, instead of becoming a celebrity you can be a second-class citizen in Alaric's gang of bootlickers!" I'd definitely take my chances on Herotitus, Noisel or anywhere else first.

[CJC070]

Pretty shit proposition. "Hey if you do a good job at Solaris, instead of becoming a celebrity you can be a second-class citizen in Alaric's gang of bootlickers!" I'd definitely take my chances on Herotitus, Noisel or anywhere else first.

If Alaric squeezes Solaris too much I would agree.  We have to wait because we may get a lot of Wolves who may seek glory since the iClan is now a fact and not everyone was at Terra.

[Wrangler]

You never know, the Solaris arenas could be source allowing their Warriors to do Trials to vent their frustrations. 

[Colt Ward]

You never know, the Solaris arenas could be source allowing their Warriors to do Trials to vent their frustrations.

 . . . literally happened in fiction.

[tassa_kay]

You never know, the Solaris arenas could be source allowing their Warriors to do Trials to vent their frustrations.

As late as 3146, they were using the arenas as venues for Trials during the Great Reaving for that year, per Shrapnel #3. So there's definitely a precedent for it.

[Cannonshop]

But now he is the guy who threw them away just to hide behind a wall on Terra. Not exactly the best impression. Just like his mother found out when she took over the Federated suns from Victor and some Lyrans began wondering if they had been stepping stones.

Alaric: Decided he wanted to be a First Lord/ilKhan on Terra rather than the Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth.

just like his mommy decided she'd rather be a Princess on New Avalon, than a Lyran Archon.

I'd say you've got a good point there.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Says something about the Lyran Commonwealth when nobody wants to rule the place.

[BysonDamen]

The situation on Solaris VII sounds pretty intense. Relocating the Games could make sense both in the universe and for meta reasons. It'd keep the competition fresh and exciting. Plus, it'd be a smart move to preserve the talent pool. Let's see what the Mechwarrior universe has in store for the Solaris Games next! Though I like to play games for money, I enjoy this one as well. I hope it will be good!