Author Topic: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread  (Read 170083 times)

Dark_Falcon

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #210 on: 02 December 2012, 19:13:33 »
Nothing new on Niops in ISP3 sadly.

In my ongoing 3030-ish ATOW campaign, my intrepid players are the bodyguards for an agent of the Oberon Confederation trying to broker a secret deal with the Niops Association. One of the player characters is freelancing on the side to the LIC and is trying to discover what the actual deal is about. Unfortunately for all of them, the MIM, ROM and SAFE are also aware something is going on and are all acting in some fashion against the players team. Add in that the players in the last session were tempted by two separate potentional defectors... one who's bait by Niops folks against the deal with Oberon and the other which is the genuine article. Talk about a snake pit eh?

ISP3 is about largely unknown or neglected periphery planets.  The Niops system, though it got hammered, is still viable and has gotten its share of coverage already.  What Niops might want to do, though, is to buy itself a Jumpship in a few years and go to one of those Canopian Waste worlds and offer its few thousand people the chance to immigrate to Niops.  Done right, it could provide some needed population growth that might help Niops recover.
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Col.Hengist

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #211 on: 02 December 2012, 21:08:38 »
Do you know what happened to the last bunch of immigrants that landed on their shores?
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Dark_Falcon

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #212 on: 02 December 2012, 22:10:34 »
Do you know what happened to the last bunch of immigrants that landed on their shores?

Yes, I do.  But they also know how badly their own behavior hurt themselves.  It is not written in stone that history must repeat itself.
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CanopusIV

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #213 on: 10 January 2013, 17:21:00 »
I remember reading in a Jihad book that the armed forces had to deal with a rampaging mercenary group after its infantry contingent broke the commander out of a Niops prison.  They said the damage done by the Black Heart Roses mercenary group did horrible damage, but not if that limited their ability to produce equipment or battlemechs.

Col.Hengist

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #214 on: 10 January 2013, 17:28:30 »
I think it was the WoB that crippled their production.
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Colt Ward

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #215 on: 10 January 2013, 21:27:06 »
Hmm, haven't the Black Hearts reputation taken a beating since mid 60s?
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CanopusIV

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #216 on: 10 January 2013, 22:47:44 »
Hmm, haven't the Black Hearts reputation taken a beating since mid 60s?

Well, they took a literal beating and are now removed from the payrolls I think.

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #217 on: 11 January 2013, 00:29:29 »
Most of the damage done to the Niops Association was done during the internal troubles (riots, etc), raiding by outside forces and then the Blakists directly.  The fighting between the Black Heart Roses and the Niops military was more limited (in terms of how large an area the fighting occurred in not necessarily the brutality thereof).

The Black Heart Roses were destroyed when their DropShip exploded enroute to the jump point after they were forced to leave the Niops Association.  A couple members might have survived if they split off prior to the DropShip taking off (such as those who might have helped Alicia Carmichael escape), which is what started the fighting between the Niops Association and the mercenaries in the first place.
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Vanadius

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #218 on: 11 January 2013, 16:39:53 »
Why did the Wobbies start nuking the Niops Association?

What are theu retaliating for?  Being researchers not under the Wobbie umbrella?

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #219 on: 11 January 2013, 16:42:53 »
Yea, not joining the WoB who believe they're the inheritors of the SL
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Vanadius

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #220 on: 11 January 2013, 16:52:07 »
Yea, not joining the WoB who believe they're the inheritors of the SL

That just seems weird to me.  In 3079 it appears that the Wobbies had already lost Terra, and retreated to Circinus.  That's still a full 94 days of transit time to get to Niops to nuke it.


Why waste all that time to smack an uninvolved party when they're already losing the war for survival?

I know it is the Wobbies, and they were used to plaster a HUGE hole in the Timeline, but some of it just seems so weird.
« Last Edit: 11 January 2013, 16:56:18 by anusol »

Col.Hengist

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #221 on: 11 January 2013, 16:57:09 »
I never said they nuked it. I don't know that for sure. Remember tho... they wanted to do the same thing old C* did. Keep people in the dark ages with low tech so they could be saviors.
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Vanadius

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #222 on: 11 January 2013, 17:00:38 »
I never said they nuked it.
Oh I know.  I'm referencing Sarna there.  Not saying you were wrong in any way,  just that the timeline seems weird to me as I'm researching.  It seems more like the writers wanted to cut off the potential for future advancements in the periphery by knocking down Niops.
I don't know that for sure. Remember tho... they wanted to do the same thing old C* did. Keep people in the dark ages with low tech so they could be saviors.

Yeah.  Zealots will be zealots, even when it makes no sense.

tapdancingbeavers

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #223 on: 11 January 2013, 19:52:36 »
Quote
That just seems weird to me.  In 3079 it appears that the Wobbies had already lost Terra, and retreated to Circinus.  That's still a full 94 days of transit time to get to Niops to nuke it.


Why waste all that time to smack an uninvolved party when they're already losing the war for survival?

It could have been a sleeper cell rather than the WoB traveling all that distance at that particular time.

97jedi

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #224 on: 11 January 2013, 21:12:53 »
FM3085 page 133 settles whether NIOPS was nuked by the WoB or not.

Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #225 on: 11 January 2013, 22:07:36 »
That just seems weird to me.  In 3079 it appears that the Wobbies had already lost Terra, and retreated to Circinus.  That's still a full 94 days of transit time to get to Niops to nuke it.


Why waste all that time to smack an uninvolved party when they're already losing the war for survival?

I know it is the Wobbies, and they were used to plaster a HUGE hole in the Timeline, but some of it just seems so weird.

The Word of Blake actually sent a force to invade the Niops Association.  Field Report Periphery touches a bit on the Wobbies motivation, but I suspect they were also looking for easy caches of Star League tech repair parts for their forces, as well, and perhaps another base of operations besides Circinus where they could affect repairs to their forces.
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cavalier1645

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #226 on: 24 January 2013, 08:22:02 »
FM3085 page 133 settles whether NIOPS was nuked by the WoB or not.

Well at least they survived and are rebuilding. I rather like Niops, a descendant of the Star League gets a thumbs up in my opinion (Well unless your the clans. :) )

Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #227 on: 24 January 2013, 12:57:08 »
Yup. The Dark Age source material made it clear Niops survived at least through the last novel, though hinted that the social stratification may have been making a reappearance.  Where Niops will end up post 3145, though, is anyone's guess.
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truetanker

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #228 on: 24 January 2013, 19:45:03 »
Niops, Herb's summerhome... or is that Outrech?

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #229 on: 25 January 2013, 01:40:22 »
Wouldn't you get a better tan on Outreach?  :)
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Col.Hengist

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #230 on: 25 January 2013, 11:45:24 »
Yup. The Dark Age source material made it clear Niops survived at least through the last novel, though hinted that the social stratification may have been making a reappearance.  Where Niops will end up post 3145, though, is anyone's guess.

 Part of the Marian Hegemony...  ;D
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Arkansas Warrior

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #231 on: 25 January 2013, 12:07:49 »
Part of the Marian Hegemony...  ;D
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Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #232 on: 25 January 2013, 12:51:49 »
Part of the Marian Hegemony...  ;D

Heh. Unlikely.

Seriously, though, the Marians had ample opportunity to do so after the Jihad and during the Republic era but didn't.  Post-Jihad, Niops would have been down to less than two companies of 'Mech and vehicles, a squadron of ASF, and maybe a battalion of infantry (ie. 10% of their pre-Jihad strength), appear to have lost production of one version of the Nighthawk to the Marians (the XXI is not on the master unit list for the Marians during the Jihad, but the XXII is), have lost most of their military production, and had their capitol nuked.

Given all that, why didn't the Marians conquer Niops in the near five decades between the end of the Jihad and kickoff of the Dark Age?
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cavalier1645

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #233 on: 25 January 2013, 13:35:40 »
Heh. Unlikely.

Seriously, though, the Marians had ample opportunity to do so after the Jihad and during the Republic era but didn't.  Post-Jihad, Niops would have been down to less than two companies of 'Mech and vehicles, a squadron of ASF, and maybe a battalion of infantry (ie. 10% of their pre-Jihad strength), appear to have lost production of one version of the Nighthawk to the Marians (the XXI is not on the master unit list for the Marians during the Jihad, but the XXII is), have lost most of their military production, and had their capitol nuked.

Given all that, why didn't the Marians conquer Niops in the near five decades between the end of the Jihad and kickoff of the Dark Age?

Mostly the Marian Hegemony was to busy recovering from the Jihad just like everyone else.

Stormcrow

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #234 on: 25 January 2013, 14:04:33 »
nm, previous poster said what I was going to say
« Last Edit: 25 January 2013, 14:06:51 by Stormcrow »
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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #235 on: 25 January 2013, 14:37:46 »
Add to that there were plenty of former FWL worlds just waiting to be seized by the Marian Hegemony.
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Col.Hengist

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #236 on: 25 January 2013, 15:08:56 »
The MH is being talked about way more these days than it was back then. The writers probably didn't think about adding all that stuff in because when the DA novels were being written the MH was still just a backwater bandit/pirate state.

 I believe if those same DA novels were being written now, with the information we have now about the MH, things would have turned out different. We did expand in this time period also.
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CanopusIV

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #237 on: 25 January 2013, 16:25:09 »
Well, I also suspect there's a lot of regional powers who don't want the Hegemony to take the Niops.  They still possess the technology and the means to build BattleMechs and other advanced military hardware even if it's damaged.  I doubt many former League powers would want the Marians taking Niops and turning it into a refit/resupply depot for their expansion into former League territories.

If I had to guess, I would think Niops still possesses valuable regional allies who supply them with support in both politics and industry.  In many ways, they represent a valuable buffer state that few want to see fall by the wayside.

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #238 on: 25 January 2013, 16:55:49 »
The common assumption that the Marian's conquered former FWL systems has no basis in fact, as far as I know.
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Arkansas Warrior

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Re: Empire of the Nerds: The Niops Association Thread
« Reply #239 on: 25 January 2013, 18:40:30 »
The common assumption that the Marian's conquered former FWL systems has no basis in fact, as far as I know.
Huntington, Landfall, and Hazeldean disagrees with your theories, unless something's wrong with my 3063 or 3130 maps.
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