Author Topic: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!  (Read 213172 times)

Deadborder

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #360 on: 15 October 2015, 17:50:26 »
I'd imagine that your average Frontline cluster has a binary or trinary of vees, but mostly as support elements like artillery and troop transports
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JadedFalcon

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #361 on: 15 October 2015, 19:19:54 »
So while the mechs and battle armor are different, I guess a Dark Age CJF raiding force would look similar to those from previous era? Except maybe the battle armor transports are now fighting alongside their troopers.

I could see second-line Clusters having a greater mix of conventional troops outside of support roles, given the usual supply and personnel shortages.

Been considering a 3145 CJF nova or binary as a project for next year.

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #362 on: 15 October 2015, 20:47:53 »
We know the Falcons have been buying Carnivores from the Wolves, so I'm guessing they still have some use for tanks other that transports.
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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #363 on: 15 October 2015, 21:48:11 »
I like using the Standard and HAG Carnivores in pairs in the same point. The Standard opens the enemy up, then the HAG goes to town on the squishy innards.

I once had a hillarious "nice shooting" moment with that duo. Both of them opened up on an Exile Heimdall at 10+ hits because I felt like it. The Standard missed with both Gauses. The HAGivore hits... and gets 32 pellets, the most it could roll at long range anyway. And to make it even better, the stray "two" immobilised it.
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Diplominator

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #364 on: 16 October 2015, 00:17:37 »
Falcon vehicle formations are really pretty nifty. I would not think twice about a 2 'Mech, 2 conventional/infantry, 1 Aerospace setup for a Cluster. They've got HAGnivores, Gurzils, and some Huitzilopochtli variants that we don't have stats for yet for assaults. Nothing comes to mind for heavy tanks, but then they've got Chalchiuhtotolins, Skandas, Skadis, Nacons...all sorts of nice stuff, or at least usable stuff. The upgraded ferrolam Chalchiuhtotolins are particularly horrifying.

Really, I would think that an idealized Dark Age Falcon force would probably be using vehicles as the main assault formation, and then using the incredible mobility of their new 'Mechs to put additional guns where they're most needed. There's plenty of exceptions to that, of course, but the exceptions (Hels, Turkinas, Jupiters, etc.) tend to have lots of very useful properties of their own (prop·er·ty /ˈpräpərdē/ noun definition: gun).

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #365 on: 16 October 2015, 00:21:28 »
Unfortunately away from my books, but there are some cracking battles in the latter books with Falcons laying down the wroth on Lyrans.

I do clearly recall vehicles being involved, but can't say whether they were integrated at the star or binary/trinary level. Will check the books tonight, with luck.
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JadedFalcon

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #366 on: 16 October 2015, 02:02:39 »
We know the Falcons have been buying Carnivores from the Wolves, so I'm guessing they still have some use for tanks other that transports.

True, but I'm looking at a difference between front-line and second-line Clusters. Lambda Galaxy would be much more likely to deploy armor in an offensive force than a front-line Cluster in Vau or Omega Galaxy. And that's the sorta thing I'm trying to get a feel for, what a CJF attack force looks like in the 3140s.

It does looks like there are some good options for light and medium vehicles, with MWDA models being an option for some.

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #367 on: 16 October 2015, 07:11:43 »
I had been aware of Battletech for many years, but Mechwarrior 2 is what really got me into it. CJF had vision and captured the imagination: https://youtu.be/rEf7r314_cQ

For me, it was the intro that got my attention:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7_rSyRD8XM
So amazing.

If I would not dislike the clans so much, I might think about being a Falcon just because of that intro.

JadedFalcon

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #368 on: 16 October 2015, 19:24:47 »
Crud. Vehicle stars are expensive, in more ways than one. Ten vehicles racks up some high PV/BV2. And there also needs to be a Skanda model that's easily acquirable. The Gurzil could use a model, too.

Looking at vehicles, I like some of their slower machines, like the Chalchiuhtotolin and the Carnivore.

For me, it was the intro that got my attention:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7_rSyRD8XM
So amazing.

If I would not dislike the clans so much, I might think about being a Falcon just because of that intro.

There's never been a better time to go green.  O0

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #369 on: 18 October 2015, 08:16:45 »


Made my interpretation of the insignia for the 1st Falcon Strikers Cluster; 'a peregrine in full pursuit of a larger flying reptile'.

I really wanted to do it in colour but I couldn't get the shapes to look right on the falcon (dark ash blue body top and whitish undersides).

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #370 on: 18 October 2015, 09:55:57 »
Black and gray looks good.  Has a very tribal appearance.

Make the Falcon eyes a jade green, and maybe that's the only color you need, quineg? 
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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #371 on: 18 October 2015, 15:52:24 »
Piercing green eyes on a black falcon is the distinguishing feature of the Falcon Guard insignia - I wouldn't want to have them be that similar. I'll just have to take a break and revisit this when I can think of a way to make it look good in colour.

In the meantime this can serve as somewhat of a 'low-visibility roundel' dirtside I guess. :)

Von Jankmon

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #372 on: 19 October 2015, 12:02:46 »
How come people like Jade Falcons? A lot of people seem to really identify with them...

Why are you guys into Jade Falcons?

It was 60% Stackpole 40% Thurston.

I hate Stackpoles writing, when he applies fiat to a hero its in your face with a double helping of smugness.  I chose House Liao as my first faction when I started Battletech in the 80's, because they were underdogs.  When we had personal campaigns most chose a heavy or assault company or premium mechs, at the time clans didn't exist.  My personal company was light-medium militia, and more light than medium.  I wasn't interested in gaining 'weight' I was happy to fight over scraps in Locusts.
Anyway I digress, along came Lethal Heritage, about six months after I started regularly playing again.  I quickly learned to hate Phelan, because the smug little git had no flaws, a smart answer to anything and anything opposing him might as well pack up and go home, because he will win and smile when he does so.  Stackpole isn't that great a plot writer either, he makes his heroes look smart by making his enemies completely stupid whenever they oppose the heroes directly.
Phelan isn't the only culprit, there are arguments to say Allard Jnr and Prince Victor are worse, but Victor had humanising flaws, he also lost once in a while, and Allard did heroic stuff but didnt generally mess around in high politics.
Phelan on the other hand spammed the win button like a kiddie on a console, to ub3r pow3r and became a Khan.

It wasnt the Wolves fault I hated them, I rather like Wolves as animals, more so than Falcons, never really been a bird fan.

Two years passed and I picked up Way of the Clans, and loved the Jade Falcons from the first page.  I was re-introduced to them from their perspective, and saw it from the sibko up.  Which is the way to be introduced the the clans.  They are too needlessly brutal for my liking to be honest, but this is a game background and brutality is fine, so I set that aside.  Yet they knew loyalty and sense of purpose, and other virtues I admire and they knew compassion, even if it was buried deep.
Most of all they had heroes, but those heroes had flaws.

I have never had a single moments problem with Aidan Pryde's fiat, even though it technically went over the top as Tukkayid.  Tukkayid was fine because Aidan paid the ultimate price.  Everything up to then was Aidan the underdog, and Horse would be an underdog all his years because he was a freebirth.  Marthe had guilt issues, Joanna just had Issues.  They were likable heroes, followable heroes, heroes I could root for.

If Phelan defended the Prezno plain extraction site, I just know he would escape without a scratch with a cocksure smile and having killed twice as many Com Guard, and he would have a smug one liner to toss off when boarding the dropship that the universe would remould itself around and make true and wise.

It was the writing of ther six intro books to the clans that made me a Jade Falcon.

Everything else, the clan its fluff its choices and histories is why I stayed faction loyal long enough that I will always be Jade Falcon.  Its odd then that I normally play 3025, and one of my mates who collects Jade Falcons plays them, and I oppose him.  To my knowledge I have only twice played clans on the tabletop, both as Wolf opfor to my Jade Falcon playing buddy.
He is also a Jade Falcon because of the novels, I lent my set to him.  But only he went as far as to collect them, I still like playing 3025 though.

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Von Jankmon

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #373 on: 19 October 2015, 12:07:32 »


Made my interpretation of the insignia for the 1st Falcon Strikers Cluster; 'a peregrine in full pursuit of a larger flying reptile'.

I really wanted to do it in colour but I couldn't get the shapes to look right on the falcon (dark ash blue body top and whitish undersides).

I think your image would look better in colour, and think it could be done.  However miltiary insignia often has a two tone low vis version for field use.  This could be it, the colours look right for low vis field insignia.
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Fowl Weather Friend

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #374 on: 19 October 2015, 15:43:43 »

First off, I love that logo Bren! 


What are some good light and medium 'mechs that were produced by our Clan, or widely used by?   I already have an Eyrie and Gyrfalcon, but I'd like to have a couple more options. 

Planning on getting
-Cougar
-Black Lanner
-Kit Fox
-Shadow Cat (A Nova Cat 'mech, but I like the sculpt)
-Spirit

Also, I know the Turkina is pretty boss, but what's the word on the Night Gyr and Shadow Cat II?

Deadborder

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #375 on: 19 October 2015, 16:14:06 »
If you want to go all the way to post-Jihad, the Falcons also produce the Black Hawk.

Myself I like the Night Gyr, though some of it's configurations are... interesting. It does have issues with its critical spaces, but those are far from terrible.
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Kitsune413

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #377 on: 20 October 2015, 03:34:48 »


Ok, took a stab at colour since you believed in me Von Jankmon ...

Terrace

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #378 on: 20 October 2015, 12:25:14 »
Anyone wanna start a betting pool on how Malvina kicks the bucket?

Myself, I'm going for dying at the hands of a Hogarth due to a combination of her own paranoia and insanity, as well as the Hogarth's sheer incompetence setting off a domino-chain of events that outside observers (read: us) find hilarious.

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #379 on: 20 October 2015, 14:59:01 »
Narrative forces demand she's defeated either by Alaric Wolf, Roderick Steiner, or at a stretch Julian Davion. No other outcome would discredit the Mongol philosophy. Hogarthing Malvina would turn the Mongols into a more vicious, unthinking genocidal force. Than they already are, that is.

IMHO anyway.

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DarkSpade

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #380 on: 20 October 2015, 15:04:15 »
I'm hoping for a curveball via Malvina's "pet".  I'd hate to see something like that through a game book though.  I want to read that story in a novel.
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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #381 on: 20 October 2015, 18:43:35 »
No other outcome would discredit the Mongol philosophy.

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #382 on: 20 October 2015, 20:19:48 »
Shadow Cat II: Meh. It's ok, but I'm not a fan personally. Makes for an interesting anti-aircraft platform, but it's a bit undergunned for its size. (Some humor- if you build it as listed in the MWDA dossier, it comes up with 1.5 tons of armor. And you thought the Hellbringer was rough!)

Night Gyr: Mini is a joke. Boooo. And the stats? Oh hell yes. It's a bit slow for a Clan heavy, but the jets help in that regard. And because it skimped on the engine, it's just cavernous in terms of pod space- this is the assault a Falcon should use, even if it's a few tons shy of the official designation. It's one of the few Omnis that (to me) lacks a real dog config- they all are pretty good really, some more than others. I personally adore the H- one of the few H configs that doesn't overheat, in fact it's neutral despite three heavy-hitting weapons and a backup laser. They don't keep up well with mobile battles, but they dominate the area they can make it to. One of the Falcons' best hidden weapons... And, according to the WoR supplemental, it's going the way of the dodo quickly.
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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #383 on: 20 October 2015, 21:10:52 »
Anyone wanna start a betting pool on how Malvina kicks the bucket?

Myself, I'm going for dying at the hands of a Hogarth due to a combination of her own paranoia and insanity, as well as the Hogarth's sheer incompetence setting off a domino-chain of events that outside observers (read: us) find hilarious.

My money is she is killed by Tucker Harwell in a cage match!!!

Alaric Wolf killing her doesn't fill right. I hope that Trillian Steiner gets her... and survives. Trillian Steiner is the next Hansen Davion/Ulrich Kerensky in my book. On one hands things look really really bad for the Lyrans. But if anybody can bring it back it's TrillRoderick Steiner.
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Diplominator

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #384 on: 20 October 2015, 21:59:29 »
The Shadow Cat II 3 is pretty handy, if only because two dozen Streak SRM tubes is never not handy. The rest of them are tolerable but I wouldn't use them on purpose.

The Night Gyr is an incredible walking pile of guns and I'm sad that it's no longer manufactured. In 3145 it feels wrong to give one to anyone less than a Star Captain. Happily, the Night Gyr-shaped hole in the Falcon arsenal is pretty easy to paper over with the Hel and Flamberge. Oh, and the Executioner got a bunch of cool new variants and I think the Falcons still have some of those. It used to be pretty common on their RATs, although it looks like in 3145 it's been largely replaced by the various flavors of Shrike.

Fletch

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #385 on: 20 October 2015, 22:22:37 »
Anyone wanna start a betting pool on how Malvina kicks the bucket?

I have said it before and I will say it again; under the foot/tread of a CHH QuadVee.

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #386 on: 20 October 2015, 22:44:18 »
I have said it before and I will say it again; under the foot/tread of a CHH QuadVee.

I'd say that I can get behind this, but I'm afraid of also being trampled by the QuadVee.
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rebs

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #387 on: 21 October 2015, 00:54:36 »
Malvina will be in front of the trampling quad vee, 99% likely, so you have a small 1% (+/-) of dying.  While these numbers won't make a calculator produce a happy face, they are better than Sianese Roulette.
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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #388 on: 21 October 2015, 01:17:49 »
Ok, took a stab at colour since you believed in me Von Jankmon ...

I think the color version is working better. The black version places more emphasis on the lizard than the falcon, on account of the extra detail. The color contrast on gives the falcon more prominence in the second design.

I'm hoping for a curveball via Malvina's "pet".  I'd hate to see something like that through a game book though.  I want to read that story in a novel.

This seems like a particularly poetic ending for Malvina, given what I've read about her. I agree on the portrayal of the act, even if it's only short fiction in a supplement instead of a clinical paragraph. It'd be even more interesting if it was set in some way as a valid trial.
« Last Edit: 21 October 2015, 01:37:07 by JadedFalcon »

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Re: Clan Jade Falcon Thread II: Falcon Harder. I SAID HARDER!
« Reply #389 on: 21 October 2015, 08:43:34 »
I suspect a nuking.  If you live by the Mongol Doctrine, you’ll die by the Mongol Doctrine.

Seriously, if I was in charge of defending what’s left of the Lyran Commonwealth or Republic, I’d have a special wing of nuclear armed fighters in strategic reserve waiting for her to appear.  As soon as she arrives on a battlefield, they move as fast as possible to her location and blow everything away regardless of collateral damage.  She’s just too good a mechwarrior to leave it to conventional combat. 

And I suspect she dies on Terra at the hands of the Republic just prior to the Alaric/Stone fight.  Sort of like King Harold of England defeating Harold Hadrada, then going to Hastings to die at the hands of the William the Conqueror.