Wolf's Dragoons and the new toys they bought with them

[roosterboy]

The Kell kids were basically decanted

No, the Kells used in vitro fertilization but the kids were carried normally by Simone.

[Black_Knyght]

Didn't the Wolves also introduce/reintroduce the Hornet?

[Firesprocket]

Didn't the Wolves also introduce/reintroduce the Hornet?

They did not.  While it is nominally a Davion mech, when reintroduced it was as unpopular when it was first created.  The Dragoon's were the most frequent user of it later, but in general it was more popular with mercs.

[Black_Knyght]

Hmmm..., Oh well. Thought I remembered it being in a Wolves related sourcebook or something. I believe that Wolfs Dragoons (FAS1631) is the first book it showed up in though.

[Sartris]

the hornet is indeed in the WD sourcebook, thought that book states the -151 has been available since 2990, a date well past the exodus.

[Black_Knyght]

Weird how "canon" and release reality in this game seldom align. How did a clan group like Wolf's Dragoons arrive in the Inner Sphere with so many of a mech designed AFTER Kerensky's exodus?  ::) ;)

[Liam's Ghost]

Weird how "canon" and release reality in this game seldom align. How did a clan group like Wolf's Dragoons arrive in the Inner Sphere with so many of a mech designed AFTER Kerensky's exodus?  ::) ;)

They didn't. The Hornet was featured because the Dragoons were a regular buyer of the design, same as the Wolfhound, Flea, and Marauder II, and I think basically all the vehicles in the sourcebook. The dragoons didn't show up with them, but they did use them a lot once they started buying from Inner Sphere companies.

[Firesprocket]

Weird how "canon" and release reality in this game seldom align. How did a clan group like Wolf's Dragoons arrive in the Inner Sphere with so many of a mech designed AFTER Kerensky's exodus?  ::) ;)

The mech originally debuted in 2760 which was before the Exodus.

[Black_Knyght]

They didn't. The Hornet was featured because the Dragoons were a regular buyer of the design, same as the Wolfhound, Flea, and Marauder II, and I think basically all the vehicles in the sourcebook. The dragoons didn't show up with them, but they did use them a lot once they started buying from Inner Sphere companies.

Now THAT makes more sense to me

[VhenRa]

They did not.  While it is nominally a Davion mech, when reintroduced it was as unpopular when it was first created.  The Dragoon's were the most frequent user of it later, but in general it was more popular with mercs.

Hmmm..., Oh well. Thought I remembered it being in a Wolves related sourcebook or something. I believe that Wolfs Dragoons (FAS1631) is the first book it showed up in though.

They didn't. The Hornet was featured because the Dragoons were a regular buyer of the design, same as the Wolfhound, Flea, and Marauder II, and I think basically all the vehicles in the sourcebook. The dragoons didn't show up with them, but they did use them a lot once they started buying from Inner Sphere companies.

The mech originally debuted in 2760 which was before the Exodus.

Interestingly, from my memory of Dragoons sourcebook, it was outright "Completely new design", it was essentially a retcon/later book correction that clarified it was a revived design by Kallon.

[Firesprocket]

It states in the WD SB that it is made by Kallon.  The only item that was added later is it was originally created far earlier and then discontinued.

[Hellraiser]

Now THAT makes more sense to me

IIRC the Goons set up several trade/purchase agreements when they were on their first Davion contract.
The Biggest of which was the investments they made in Blackwell.
But they were also purchasing Hornets from Kallon & Wasps from New Avalon to replenish their light mech losses over the years.
The Hornet was in/out of production during the Succession Wars, much like the part time Guillotine production runs that House Marik would do of & on.

The big issue with the goons wasn't the Hornets.  It was the Falcon/Firefly/Hoplite/Shogun that had stopped all production & were very very rare, along with the Imp/Annihilator that were never before seen & to a lesser extent the Marauder-II plans.

[Nightlord01]

The big issue with the goons wasn't the Hornets.  It was the Falcon/Firefly/Hoplite/Shogun that had stopped all production & were very very rare, along with the Imp/Annihilator that were never before seen & to a lesser extent the Marauder-II plans.

The big issue with the Dragoons wasn't any of the mechs they had, it was simply assumed that they had found a large Star League cache in the periphery, which, canonically, had shrunk in size over the centuries. The really big issue that drove all of the house intelligence services to distraction was the fact that a merc unit consisting of five regiments of mechs appeared one day using odd customs and simply offered their services to House Davion.

It had been theorised forever that the Dragoons were ex-SLDF troops who had returned home, but no-one had definitive intelligence.

Personally, I never liked the FASA era Dragoons story arc, they were one of the very few openly plot driven units in game, and drove suspension of disbelief to extremes.

[(SMD)MadCow]

And the orbital mech factory.

[grimlock1]

i don't think that they ever demonstrated anything obviously superior tech wise (none of the regrowing organs the clans could do for example) but instead their doctors were just really skilled and able to perform medical care that in the IS would be more commonly the provenance of the highest classes,

I thought there was a line in Wolves On The Border about Tetsuhara being jealous of Kelly Yukinov's regrown limbs but I was wrong.  Yukinov received high end, myomer prosthetics, while  Tetsuhara's must have been something a bit simpler.

[Phobos101]

That's right, Tetsuhara just got run of the mill prosthetics, Wolf shelled out to get a myomer item for Yukinov. Presumably some of this kind of support capability would have been lost when Hephaestus station went the way of the Death Star.
Is it weird that I feel bad dropping spoilers on a book that's nearly as old as I am?

[glitterboy2098]

what i find interesting is that art of Tetsuhara clearly set after that incident fails to show his mechanical limb. while probably just a case of artists and writers not coordinating, it creates an opening for him to have managed to obtain myomer rebuilds at some point later, perhaps after becoming master of the Ryuken (and thus in higher favor)

[grimlock1]

probably just a case of artists and writers not coordinating,

FASA was unfortunately notorious for that being an issue.

[beachhead1985]

yes, it would be a Battledroid's reference. TRO3055 was in 1992, while the Wolfs Dragoons sourcebook was 1989. the original battledroids (aka battletech 1st ed) was in 1984.

that said, i would love to see an official record sheet for an Introtech heavily modified Stone Rhino, with a weapons loadout recalling the battledroids visual. since a Stone Rhino is standard engine, structure, and armor, it shouldn't require as much refittign as other clan mechs might.

certainly the Battledroids version has some similarity to the Reseen miniature.

a while back someone posted a really excellent intro tech design that fit the imagery for the BD behemoth perfectly. I'm doubtful how well 4x AC/5 and 6x ml would perform against a mech of similar weight...but there you go

[guardiandashi]

I know I did a variation on that idea years ago... quad PPC and 6 medium lasers in the arms, even with 30 plus heat sinks it had heat issues

[glitterboy2098]

I know I did a variation on that idea years ago... quad PPC and 6 medium lasers in the arms, even with 30 plus heat sinks it had heat issues

so a super Awesome?

hmm.. maybe switch to LL's instead of PPC's? would let you fit a few more heat sinks (if there was room), or tweak the armor.

[guardiandashi]

so a super Awesome?

hmm.. maybe switch to LL's instead of PPC's? would let you fit a few more heat sinks (if there was room), or tweak the armor.

Yes and no, it was modeled as the monster... so 2ppc in each side torso,was slow like 2 3 had max armor, and as many heat sinks as could fit

[Sharpnel]

It can be done with 2 Large Laser and 6 mediums and still go 3/5

Laser Monster

[Kit deSummersville]

That was not mentioned until the ComStar SB, which was published after the BoK trilogy gave us the Clans.

Well, it was probably in the ComStar House Book, too.  #P

[Luciora]

It's funny how when we try to rectify weapons with the source mech, it's usually reversed.  The P-Hawk and associated bugs should have autocannons or light ACs for the main gun while the Marauder should be reversed with twin ACs in the arm and the PPC in the torso.

[Black_Knyght]

It's funny how when we try to rectify weapons with the source mech, it's usually reversed.  The P-Hawk and associated bugs should have autocannons or light ACs for the main gun while the Marauder should be reversed with twin ACs in the arm and the PPC in the torso.

An excellent point and observation  8)