Replacing the Highlander 732b

[Colt Ward]

So this career through HBS's BattleTech I had a difference experience & story than my first time- for one thing all the DLC mechs added changed what I ended up using and in some cases fighting against.  Which leaves me wanting to use this run as a seed for a new background merc group for my files.  I am dumping the Argo & Atlas II as well as going lighter for the company over all but still want something to replace the uniqueness of them getting the Royal Highlander- it might end up being the only assault they field, rest of the company being 3H, 6M and 2L.

What would you consider of similar nature to the Highlander and rarity among the SLDF to be placed into a cache?

[The_Big_Red_Bear]

Devastator. If we're talking Gause firepower.

That was an SLDF mech IIRC.

[Ruger]

Shogun

Ruger

[Arkansas Warrior]

What about a Spartan?  It’s not nearly as powerful as a Highlander, but given the light makeup of the rest of your force, a 5/8 assault might be helpful.  It’s certainly rare, if not quite unique.

[Colt Ward]

Shogun

Ruger

Okay, a Shogun would be interesting- 'Are they with the Dragoons?  did they find the same cache?'

[Sartris]

They were produced before the fall of the league so there might be a few hidden underground here and there

[The_Big_Red_Bear]

They were produced before the fall of the league so there might be a few hidden underground here and there

You know what an even better option would be?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE0wfjsybIQ

The King of those. lmao

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The only King Crab that really fills the same general role as the Royal Highlander is the Clanbuster version, which wouldn't be found in a Star League Cache.  But you could get the effect from a Nightstar.

[glitterboy2098]

Guillotine maybe? its a heavy but it jumps and has pretty good armor and firepower for its size. plus the star league GLT-3N's main advanced tech is the endosteel and CASE, so you'd have an aspect of "we can;t let it get beat up too badly" but at the same time they can keep the armor and weapons going as it does take damage.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

That's a good option.

[TigerShark]

Devastator. If we're talking Gause firepower.

That was an SLDF mech IIRC.

The Devastator was incredibly rare and only seen in the very last stage of the invasion of the Amaris Empire. The Highlander was widespread, being used by every House, available to mercenaries, and (therefore) to the Periphery states who hired these soldiers.

I would say the Pillager is a much more analogous 'Mech in the Star League era, having been around since the Reunification War. Only the Periphery states and Draconis Combine made no usage of it.

[Hellraiser]

Devastator was only a prototype in the SLDF era.

Only 6 of them made IIRC according to the fluff.

Pillager is much more direct fire mech & overall much more firepower with the XL engine.

I like the Shogun suggestion.

The 2H is 5 tons lighter but over all a similar amount of firepower & close in armor.

[JPArbiter]

How about the emperor. Same mobility and tonnage, weapons load is a little more common, and in Liao spce apare parts are not uncommon as the mech was still deployed, albeit rarely

[Colt Ward]

Looking through and accounting for suggestions . . .

Emperor 5A
Pillager 1N
Royal Crockett
Shogun 2F

The four designs were SL-era, avoid some of the more complicated ammo situations (Emp & other advanced Crockett's LBX, SSRM for Shogun) without being over the top deadly at range (Pillager 3Z) and keep to the Highlander's class & movement profile.  The Emperor & Pillager is kind of iffy IMO b/c it does not have any of the advanced component/weapons like the other 2 designs- so easier to maintain & repair.  The Emp is light in the firepower department and the Pillager has a range problem . . . but is a jumping pair of AC/20s lol.

Shogun gets that 'could be Dragoons!' hook into the Periphery.

[Arkansas Warrior]

No thoughts on the Spartan?

[TigerShark]

No thoughts on the Spartan?

It's very rare and not many were made before the factory was destroyed. Even then, it was invented/produced during the Star League Civil War.

[Natasha Kerensky]

I’d go with a Nightstar -9J if you want to emphasize the Gauss/hole-punching/command nature of the Highlander.  It was in production for nearly a couple decades before the Exodus.

But if you want to emphasize the jumpy/fire support/crit-seeking nature of the Highlander, then the Shogun is the way to go.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Has the Royal Stalker been suggested?

[Jester006]

If you're looking for a long range sniper, either the Nightstar (as many have already mentioned) or a Thunderhawk.

[guardiandashi]

if you consider things from Battletechnology magazine, what about the Ventilator

[Caedis Animus]

I'd say a Royal Battlemaster or Royal Black Knight.

[SteelRaven]

It would be a super rare find but a Atlas II AS7-D-H2 is the only thing that can come close to beating what has already been listed.

-Edit: never mind, I got nothing  :(

[glitterboy2098]

guys, please note the following:

I am dumping the Argo & Atlas II as well as going lighter for the company over all but still want something to replace the uniqueness of them getting the Royal Highlander- it might end up being the only assault they field, rest of the company being 3H, 6M and 2L.

he's trying to reduce the number of big mechs on the field, and trying to find something that fits that trend to use instead of a royal highlander. so proposing stuff that is even heavier and with more firepower than a royal highlander probably isn't very useful.

[Jester006]

guys, please note the following:
he's trying to reduce the number of big mechs on the field, and trying to find something that fits that trend to use instead of a royal highlander. so proposing stuff that is even heavier and with more firepower than a royal highlander probably isn't very useful.

They did say it may be the only assault they field.

[glitterboy2098]

yes but the general assumption that smaller is preferred should still be in play. go down into the 80 and 85 range rather than up to 100 and above if suggesting an assault,

[Colt Ward]

Oddly enough . . . outside the Guillotine, I cannot think of many upper end heavy or lower end assaults that are 4/6/x from the Star League era.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Hmm.  The only 4/6 assault mechs from the Star League era I can think of are the Banshee, Cyclops, Battlemaster, and Striker.

[SteelRaven]

Hmm.  The only 4/6 assault mechs from the Star League era I can think of are the Banshee, Cyclops, Battlemaster, and Striker.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I think of that more as a really well armored heavy mech.

[Insaniac99]

Hmm.  The only 4/6 assault mechs from the Star League era I can think of are the Banshee, Cyclops, Battlemaster, and Striker.

Rifleman II, Thug, Victor, Zeus, Longbow, Rampage, and Ymir all have at least one variant from the Star league with a movement of 4/6

[Maingunnery]

I think of that more as a really well armored heavy mech.

But it would fit well with the Heavy Mechs (3H), creating a strong lance.

[Colt Ward]

Rifleman II, Thug, Victor, Zeus, Longbow, Rampage, and Ymir all have at least one variant from the Star league with a movement of 4/6

Yeah, but the only one that jumps is the Victor and that is not a rare/special mech like that Royal Highlander.  I also looked at the old Hammerhands having somehow found its way into that Periphery cache.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The Zeus is listed as having been introduced in the early Succession Wars era according to the MUL.

[glitterboy2098]

perhaps drop the jump requirement in favor of other options? a Rampage RMP-5G would make for an interesting alternative, with its LBX, streak-2, LPL, and Artemis-IV, and MASC.

[Colt Ward]

Yeah, I looked at that . . . and its about the only thing I might drop the jump requirement.  But its also LOTS of LosTech and would increase the sell off interest . . .

[Hellraiser]

I still think the Shogun-2H is a good option for you.

The missile launchers work in 3025 and the extra range on the ERPPC will be very useful in that era.

Finally I think the only Lost Tech structural components are DHS/CASE which were both in early prototype stages around then.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Where are you going to get Streak SRMs at that point in time, though?

[Colt Ward]

Shogun factors highly . . . and the Streak is a easy answer . . . rip them out and sell them when you are down to 10% ammo.

[Hellraiser]

Doh,  I forgot it had Streaks.   I was just thinking it had the same SRM/LRM as the original but w/ ERPPC, lasers, & DHS.

But the streaks would last quite a while since they don't fire on misses.  And when they are gone, as stated, use regular SRMs.

Actually,  I think there used to be a rule for that, that you could shoot SRM ammo from Streaks as if it was a regular SRM.

[Notsonoble]

There's also the royal warhammer

[SteelRaven]

There's also the royal warhammer

:thumbsup:

Royal Wammys and Battlemasters don't get enough love.

[Colt Ward]

I like it . . . but it does not jump.  As I said, it seems there is a deficiency of 60-85 ton line mechs that can jump among the Star League's legions.  The Exterminator does not really count IMO, but that leaves . . .

Catapult, Guillotine, Victor, Crockett, and Shogun . . . some are not really considered 'SLDF' mechs while others are rare and compare that with the list of non-jumping line mechs of the time (21?).  Not a surprise I guess that they were developing the Grasshopper at the point the Star League was falling.

[Notsonoble]

You could find the failed experiment...
 :D


Grasshopper GHR-3X

Mass: 70 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Age of War/Star League
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/F-X-X-F
Production Year: 2780
Dry Cost: 9,820,673 C-Bills
Total Cost: 9,850,673 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,730

Chassis: Unknown Standard
Power Plant: Unknown 280 Fusion Engine
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: Unknown
    Jump Capacity: 120 meters
Armor: Unknown Standard Armor w/ CASE
Armament:
    2  PPCs
    1  LRM-5
Manufacturer: Unknown
    Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                     107 points                7.00
Engine:             Fusion Engine                280                      16.00
    Walking MP: 4
    Running MP: 6
    Jumping MP: 4 Standard
    Jump Jet Locations: 2 LT, 2 RT                                         4.00
Heat Sinks:         Double Heat Sink             17(34)                    7.00
    Heat Sink Locations: 2 LT, 2 RT, 1 LA, 1 RA
Gyro:               Standard                                               3.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA+H    R: SH+UA+LA+H
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 200                 12.50
    CASE Locations: 1 RT                                                   0.50

                                                      Internal       Armor     
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     22           31       
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  8         
                                           L/R Torso     15           22       
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  8         
                                             L/R Arm     11           20       
                                             L/R Leg     15           26       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PPC                                          RA        10        3         7.00
PPC                                          LA        10        3         7.00
LRM-5                                        HD        2         1         2.00
LRM-5 (24) Ammo                              RT        -         1         1.00
Null Signature System                        *         10        7         0.00
Chameleon LPS                                *         6         6         0.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 3

* The Null Signature System occupies 1 slot in every location except the HD.
* The Chameleon LPS occupies 1 slot in every location except the HD and CT.

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      7    Points: 17
4j         2       3       3       0      3     0   Structure:  6
Special Abilities: ECM, STL, CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Fan designs are restricted to the fan design boards.

[Colt Ward]

No stats were ever given for the Ghost Hunter, and the date of the cache likely preceded the production date of any of the experimental Grasshoppers.

I think it will come down to the Shogun or Crockett.

[Daryk]

It sounds more like a Battleaxe at that point... and I'll claim "in" before this thread gets moved to Fan Designs where it belongs...

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I think it will come down to the Shogun or Crockett.

The stock Crockett isn't bad, though six tons of ammo without CASE is frightening.  You could take the Royal Crockett, but then you're dealing with Endo Steel.