The Kapteyn Universe

[Blacknova]

The Kapteyn Universe is Back!

Thirteen years ago I started writing a story that turned into a PBEM and then a huge alternate universe setting for BattleTech. Dozens of people were involved over the years, and now I am working to publish our universe as a coherent whole.

What is the Kapteyn Universe?
This is an alternate timeline story starting from 3022, which rewrites the lead up too, and outbreak of the 4th Succession War. It is based on the side bar on page 57 of the original House Marik Sourcebook, but quickly diverges into an alternate reaction by ComStar and the Kapteyn powers. I had an epiphany that started with the question “What if…”. What if Marik, Kurita, and Liao had struck first, before Davion and Steiner were ready, all manipulated by ComStar.

For the Clans, the premise was "What of Andery Kerensky lived?" and how could all twenty Clans survive down to the present day? This meant creating new events, but coming back to key touch points of canon along the way, making for a familiar, but very different set of Clans for the KU.

What is Coming for the KU?
Over the next few months, I'll be posting the story as a PDF and the sourcebooks of the universe as well, before getting into new stories set in the KU.

If you prefer reading the story via a thread and seeing the conversation that went with it, you can view it here: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,60667.0.html

The product list is below and I'll update it as each sourcebook is published over the coming weeks and months, along with a brief synopsis of each book here in the thread.

To access the published materials, use this link https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

Novels
KU-A The Other Option: Kapteyn’s First Strike
KU-B The Other Option: Kerensky’s Lost Hope
KU-C The Other Option: Cameron’s Dream

Sourcebooks
KU-01 The Fourth Succession War
KU-02 Inner Sphere Supplemental
KU-03 Field Manual: Clans
KU-04 Field Report: Terran Hegemony
KU-05 Field Report: Federated Suns
KU-06 Field Report: Lyran Commonwealth
KU-07 Field Report: Minor Powers
KU-08 Field Report: Capellan Confederation
KU-00 Field Report: Periphery
KU-10 Field Report: Draconis Combine
KU-11 Field Report: Free Worlds League
KU-12 Inner Sphere Supplemental II
KU-12 Field Report: Loyalist Clans
KU-14 Field Report: Crusader Clans
KU-13 Field Report: Warden Clans
KU-16 Field Report: Unaligned Clans

Want to Chat about the KU?
You can do that here, or come and join the new KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Blacknova]

NOVEL: The Other Option - Kapteyn’s First Strike

This is an alternate timeline story set in 3022, which rewrites the lead up too, and outbreak of the 4th Succession War. It is based firstly on the side bar on page 57 of the original House Marik Sourcebook, but quickly diverges into an alternate reaction by ComStar and the Kapteyn powers.

The results of the invasions were gamed out and the story of the alternate war slowly written as we progressed the results of the war, using a highly detailed version of Succession Wars/Inner Sphere in Flames.

The full novel is available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

Original thread is here: https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,60667.0.html

Special Thanks: An enormous number of people have contributed to the Kapteyn Universe (KU), and I hope I have not forgotten any of them below: Matthew “Blacknova” Alexander, Joshua “Knightmare” Perian, Jason “Panzerfaust150” Wiser, Michael “drakensis” Brown, Eugene “Centurion03” Klopper, Dan “Coriendal” Waugh, Glenn “Rainbow 6” Miller, Andrea “Magestric_ Artbitch” Hamann, Xavier “Ice Hellion” Lugherini, Bruce “Kwic” Jensen, Jeremy “shwagpo”, “Manne”, “Epoch Rooster”, “Recon-5”,
Chris “Alex Knight” Marti, “Dragon Cat”, “Potenza”, “Dread Moores”, “Hessian”, “VhenRa”, “Shadow Wraith”, Nathan “Valles” Baxter, Robert “Chaosextreme”
Johnson, John “Col. Chiang” Almond, Christopher Damour, Tony Crum, David “Slencgb”, “Red Pins”, Michael “DragonCat” Middleton, Matthew Stohner and anyone else we may have missed!

[Blacknova]

KU 01 - The Fourth Succession War Sourcebook

Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

Fourth Succession War is a Kapteyn Universe fiction supplement designed to offer information on the progress and conduct of the Fourth Succession War. This book provides the wider scope and background for the novel The Other Option: Kapteyn’s First Strike.

The first sections of the book provide a short look into the pre-war state of the Inner Sphere and the planning for and lead up to the Fourth Succession War.

The second section, details the Fourth Succession War through its three distinct phases, each of which covers approximately six months of the war.

Finally, the results of and fallout from the Fourth Succession War are details at the end of the book, tallying the losses and gains of each of the many nations involved.

Want More From The Kapteyn Universe
For more from the Kapteyn Universe, come and join the KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Wrangler]

Oh wow! you guys are still kicking around, that's awesome!

[Blacknova]

We are indeed.

Clans, Supplement 3032, HAF, and AFFS are laid out, and LCAF in is lay out, so with one a week, and about a week to prep, the next ones should keep you in reading for a couple of months.

[Iron Grenadier]

This is awesome! Very glad to see this back!

[Blacknova]

This is awesome! Very glad to see this back!

Thanks mate, appreciate it. Hope you enjoy the books as they come out.

[Daryk]

Congrats on such progress on a massive project!  Keep up the momentum! :)

[Dragon Cat]

Tagged the KU was good fun, I'm looking forward to more

[Ice Hellion]

We are back !!! Or our adventures are back !!!   

[Blacknova]

We are back !!! Or our adventures are back !!!   

Adventures, or megalomaniacal fever dreams?

[Ice Hellion]

Adventures, or megalomaniacal fever dreams?

Not mine. I only dream about unifying the Periphery or Clans Ghost Bear and Ice Hellion 

[Blacknova]

Though you all might like to know the publication pipeline and how things are coming along.

The Fourth Succession War [RELEASED]
Inner Sphere Supplement: 3032 (Ready for publication, releases 27 January)
Field Manual: Clans (Ready for publication, releases 3 February)
Field Report: Terran Hegemony (Ready for publication, releases 10 February)
Field Report: Federated Suns (Ready for publication, releases 17 February)
Field Report: Lyran Commonwealth (Ready for publication, releases 24 February)
Field Report: Minor Powers (In Layout, releases 2 March)
Field Report: Capellan Confederation (Writing Complete, releases 9 March)
Field Report: Periphery (Writing Complete)
Field Report: Draconis Combine (60% Written)
Field Report: Free Worlds League (15% Written)
Inner Sphere Supplement: 3034 (50% Written)
Field Report: Loyalist Clans (30% Written)
Field Report: Crusader Clans (20% Written)
Field Report: Warden Clans (20% Written)
Field Report: Unaligned Clans (10% Written)

[Daryk]

Outstanding planning! :)

[Kwic]

Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.   

[Blacknova]

Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.   

Woohoo, the Black Prince of Oberon is back.  :)

[Blacknova]

If you are reading Fourth Succession War and getting whiplash from the way the first six months is narrated, compared to the two latter periods, there is an explanation for that.

As we played the game for the KU, the rules were constantly evolving, and one hole that needed plugging as the game developed was unit stacking. As you can see from battles like Marduk and Sirdar, things were getting pretty ridiculous.

I tried lots of solutions to fit with the system, none of them very good mind you. Although none of the fixes were ideal, they did disperse the massive concentrations of troops.

The narrative was built around a shift in operational goals from the Kapteyn powers, as re-writing the first third of the war was beyond the realm of sanity.

Recently, I finally managed to work out a far better fix, one that focuses on a simple mechanic creating apparent but not actual complexity in the way it interacts with a realm's forces and prevents unit stacking.

And that's why the Fourth Succession War goes from monumentally huge battles to smaller ones during the middle of 3025.

[Daryk]

Which actually kind of fits 3SW attempts at fighting... it may have been unintentional, but I think it works! :)

[Blacknova]

KU 02 - Inner Sphere Supplement: 3032

Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

Six years have passed since the Fourth Succession War, with a wary peace beginning to tatter as grudges and perceived slights force nations once more towards war.

At the centre of the Inner Sphere, the Terran Hegemony moves slowly from dream to reality, while the Great Houses seek to re-establish their own power bases within the new reality, joined by ever more minor powers snapping at their flanks.

Inner Sphere Supplement: 3032 provides an overview of the period from 3026 to 3032, covering major events, players, and campaigns. Also provided are national summaries, an in-depth review of the new Martial Olympiads and an overview of the Terran Hegemony.

Book Structure:

• The first section of the book provides a short look into the history of the Inner Sphere since the Fourth Succession War.
• The second section, details various powers and their comparative strengths, with the third providing an in depth look at the reformed Martial Olympiads.
• The final section delves into the structure and operation of the reborn Terran Hegemony, following its founding only six years earlier.

Want More From The Kapteyn Universe
For more from the Kapteyn Universe, come and join the KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Shadow_Wraith]

after a quick review, its awesome!

[Daryk]

That's a skinny Atlas on the cover, though... ;)

[Blacknova]

after a quick review, its awesome!

Thanks.

That's a skinny Atlas on the cover, though... ;)

Archon put the LCAF on a diet.

[Daryk]

LOL... excellent parry! ;D

[Centurion03]

This makes me so happy to see!

I may not always have be as present as I should have be, nor as co-operative as was needed, but I had an absolute blast getting to play as ComStar *Cough*Terran Hegemony*Cough* and later the Draconis Combine for a bit. The shell game of moving all those units around the Inner Sphere was so much fun.

Great to see you back at it @Blacknova!

[Blacknova]

Great to see you back mate, it was indeed such a blast to reshape the Inner Sphere.

[Blacknova]

KU 03 - Field Manual: Clans

Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

The arrival of the Great Destiny over Terra in early 3032 stunned the Terran Hegemony. Becoming ever more comfortable in their ability to control events in the Inner Sphere, the Hegemony is now faced with the coming of the Clans.

Led by the Loyalist faction, the Loremasters of the Clans to the Terran Hegemony have shared much of their people’s history as they seek to fathom out the reality of the Terran Hegemony for themselves and determine if the reborn Hegemony is worthy of its ancient name.

Field Manual: Clans provides the history and social structures of the Clans of the Kapteyn Universe, ones that though similar to those of canon BattleTech vary in several notable ways –  most importantly, the survival of all twenty Clans.

Book Structure:
Field Manual: Clans is broken into six key parts, providing readers with an overview of the Clans of the Kapteyn Universe.

• Part one provides a history of the Clans from the survival of Andery Kerensky until to eve of the invasion of the Inner Sphere. Within the history are the seeds and explanations of the changes that shaped the Clans of the KU.
• Parts two and three detail Clan governance and society, giving readers insights into how the Clans of the KU differ from canon and how those differences have effects the Clan’s approaches to fundamental matters such as Bloodnames and Trials.
• Part four provides a broad overview of the Clan’s military capabilities, as well as the way Omni Technology has been adapted by the Clans to be fully embraced across the entire Clan military.
• Part five details the advances in Clan naval warfare and the recent naval arms race.
• The final part of the book provides an overview of each Clan and a biography of their Loremaster from the point of view of the Terran Hegemony, a springboard to the more detailed individual Clan summaries in the upcoming Clan Field Reports.

Want More From The Kapteyn Universe
For more from the Kapteyn Universe, come and join the KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Blacknova]

KU 04 - Field Manual: Hegemony Armed Forces

Available here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/68p8roygnszkdw4s83rtb/h?rlkey=hqj6s2oeu8faa4g6ejzilzkpc&dl=0

From the hubristic ruins of ComStar the Terran Hegemony has arisen, claiming the core worlds of humanity for its own. Though strong, the Hegemony is still young, and its greatest need is the defence of the realm. For this, the Hegemony Armed Forces stand ready.

Within this volume is a detailed accounting of the HAF, and the massive fleets of the Terran Hegemony Navy. The shields of Terra and the Hegemony are carefully measured and provide readers with a full accounting of the HAF’s might.

Brigade and regimental summaries, industrial listings, strategy and operational thinking, as well as the newest WarShips in the THN inventory are all detailed. Additionally, a deeper analysis of the HAF and how it functions is also provided.

Book Structure:
Field Report: HAF is a Kapteyn Universe fiction supplement designed to offer information on the state of the Hegemony Armed Forces (HAF) following the Fourth Succession War and prior to the coming of the Clans of Kerensky.

• The first section of the report—Terran Hegemony Overview—provides a short look into the current state of the HAF’ present condition and efforts. Broken into three sections, the Strategic Update details the military’s current objectives, while Future Plans provides some potential insight into the future of the HAF and the Terran Hegemony.
• The second section, Industries and Support, presents a overview of Terran Hegemony military industries, production and fleet after the end of the Fourth Succession War.
• Line Units presents a short update on the history, current status and notable facts for each brigade of the HAF. A complete review of the Terran Hegemony Navy is also presented.
• Finally, The HAF covers the basic organization of the new army as ordered by Angus Hamilton in the wake of the Fourth Succession War.

Want More From The Kapteyn Universe
For more from the Kapteyn Universe, come and join the KU Discord https://discord.gg/YjHSU3PSyM

[Takiro]

I gotta get me some of these!

[Blacknova]

Plenty of reading there for you already Takiro.

[David CGB]

Not mine. I only dream about unifying the Periphery or Clans Ghost Bear and Ice Hellion 

And mine