Mechs on a faction RAT that aren't available to them according to the MUL

[tristanaqaueusrodentbane]

Hey, I've been recently fleshing out a few dark age forces and ran into a conflict between the MUL and the Wolf Empire RAT contained in Era report 3145.

The RAT lists the Bruin as available to the wolves, however the MUL lists it as a Rasalhague Dominion exclusive machine. Additionally the other RATs show numerous variants in use that are not listed in the corresponding faction/era MUL. Should I ignore the RAT or the MUL in instances of this nature.

Any info or advice would be greatly appreciated,
Cheers!

[Empyrus]

Whatever works for you. BT doesn't have hard rules for stuff like this, hell, it barely has guidelines. Do you want a Bruin for the Wolves? The Wolves could've traded some from Ghost Bears, but not in large numbers enough to show up in MUL.

If you do need a rule, then my rule would be: Fluff text first (since there are cases when MUL and fluff are in conflict), MUL secondary, RATs tertiary.
RATs are meant for quick force generation, and are something of snapshots what may be available right then, but they aren't really indicative of what's common among faction and doesn't tell anything about how common things truly are.

EDIT Swapped MUL/fluff order for more logical one.

[Sartris]

The other thing about the MUL is that it doesn’t tell you what’s a faction-grown design and what’s either imported or possessed in large number due to salvage. Fluff will help you zero in on those nuances.

[TigerShark]

From what I've been told, the MUL is canon while RATs are completely non-canon and not reflective of what a faction has at any given time. They may have appropriate units (like the CCAF having the Koshi on their table, or the Dragon on the DCMS list), but these don't necessary show the canon availability. They're just meant to be a quick start guide to building an army.

[nckestrel]

Also, you are welcome to ask in the MUL thread in errata.  Often we do something, then somebody writes something else and we don’t know they contradicted.
Generally, speaking for myself not as a rule, I’ll add anything that is on a RAT. Unless there’s something like it’s a specific force RAT and not reflective of the faction as a whole, or salvage, or actually I don’t think I’ve rejected any :).

[tristanaqaueusrodentbane]

Whatever works for you. BT doesn't have hard rules for stuff like this, hell, it barely has guidelines. Do you want a Bruin for the Wolves?

Oh, he's already painted up, and definitely sticking around even if I have to say they picked it up as Isorla.

I know battletech is flexible on faction availability, I've been playing for 23 years lol. I just noticed today that the Bruin wasn't on the Wolf Empire MUL and thought it odd, considering the RATS are supposed to provide a reasonably accurate random force for any given faction in the given time frame. It seemed odd for the bruin to be present in the Wolf Empire touman in great enough numbers to be on the RAT, but not be on the MUL. Especially considering every discussion I can find about the MUL laments that it lists things present in tiny numbers for a faction.

I suppose it might be explainable by the wolves purchasing a large number of mechs from the bears before the wolves took their jaunt accross the lyrcom. But again, it would show on the MUL if present in such numbers. I suppose I'll just ignore the RATs, even if that level of canon innacuracy in official products tends to leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Thanks Gents!

[Empyrus]

I suppose I'll just ignore the RATs, even if that level of canon innacuracy in official products tends to leave a bad taste in the mouth.

It isn't necessarily an inaccuracy per se. IIRC, MUL is largely volunteer effort, so things may end up being overlooked. There is a million sources for things after all...
Since the Clan Wolf OZ and Ghost Bear Dominion share border, trade and/or isorla is extremely plausible, even if it isn't mentioned in the fluff. Presumably whoever made the RAT may have been thinking about the proximity, but no one in the MUL team noticed or remembered this.

[TigerShark]

Also, you are welcome to ask in the MUL thread in errata.  Often we do something, then somebody writes something else and we don’t know they contradicted.
Generally, speaking for myself not as a rule, I’ll add anything that is on a RAT. Unless there’s something like it’s a specific force RAT and not reflective of the faction as a whole, or salvage, or actually I don’t think I’ve rejected any :) .

Added some stuff from Era Report: 2750 that exists on the RATs and in the text. :)
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=47774.msg1452976#msg1452976

[Sartris]

the obsessive demon in the back of my brain is telling me to go back through all the RATs now and double check now

[tristanaqaueusrodentbane]

the obsessive demon in the back of my brain is telling me to go back through all the RATs now and double check now

I'm fighting that same demon, mate. Lol

[SteveRestless]

as a Wolf, that particular RAT disappoints me. a lack of coordination between the effort to write FM3145 and the effort to write the corresponding TRO, means that the Tomahawk II is omitted entirely from that RAT because no one expected it to exist until the TRO came out.

[skiltao]

The MUL hasn't finished availabilities for every era yet, right? Anyone know if 3145 is one of the 'finished' or 'unfinished' eras?

[Empyrus]

The MUL hasn't finished availabilities for every era yet, right? Anyone know if 3145 is one of the 'finished' or 'unfinished' eras?

Unfinished, i think. Some unit availabilities stop at Jihad.
I think the late-SW to Jihad are complete, others are unfinished or "beta".
But don't quote me on this.

[cawest]

the wolverines are missing in total.

[Empyrus]

the wolverines are missing in total.

Well, early-SW Clan lists don't exists at all (i think) so naturally there are no Wolverines. Most Clan lists seem to start at 3050 or late-SW earliest.

[Sartris]

There is no clan data before 3050 unless they recently added some

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

My rule of thumb is that if a design has been in production/deployment for at least ten years, small numbers of the design can be found being used by the forces of any nation that shares a border with the faction that produces it thanks to battlefield salvage.

[Charistoph]

My rule of thumb is that if a design has been in production/deployment for at least ten years, small numbers of the design can be found being used by the forces of any nation that shares a border with the faction that produces it thanks to battlefield salvage.

And even some of those can be rumbled around a bit.  Cappellans, Free Worlders, and FedRats can all access Clan tech due to a lot of it being in Merc units or pilots being moved from Clan areas to opposing borders (to say nothing from residuals from Bulldog, etc).  To say nothing of the general mercantile capabilities of the Fox Sharks.

Now I'm not saying it would be at a high enough level to be seen on a RAT or MUL, but enough for your own unit to run something odd, like an odd Lyran in a Marshal.