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BattleTech Game Systems => General BattleTech Discussion => Topic started by: Korzon77 on 09 October 2019, 02:37:27

Title: What if One of hte Successor States had tried to stay out of the 1st SW
Post by: Korzon77 on 09 October 2019, 02:37:27
They probably couldn't do it entirely, but what if, instead of fighting for the throne, they focused mainly on defending their own worlds, rather than expending forces in general offenses (tactical offenses would be usable).  Could they survive with less damage than the others?
Title: Re: What if One of hte Successor States had tried to stay out of the 1st SW
Post by: Daryk on 09 October 2019, 03:47:53
I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the Terran Hegemony was trying to do...
Title: Re: What if One of hte Successor States had tried to stay out of the 1st SW
Post by: Iron Grenadier on 09 October 2019, 04:03:33
drakensis had a pretty good take at what that might look like -

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=59371.0
Title: Re: What if One of hte Successor States had tried to stay out of the 1st SW
Post by: idea weenie on 10 October 2019, 00:35:13
The problem is that by defending their territory only, they let their neighbors grab juicy Terran Hegemony worlds (with lots of advanced tech on them) cutting that Successor state off from access to high-tech Hegemony components.

It also lets their neighbors build up forces on their border, instead of trying to whittle them down with strategic raids (i.e. hitting a fuel depot before the neighbor's fleet can do its refueling), meaning that neighbor's fleet can now attack deep into their territory, while they have to cover multiple systems where the neighbor could attack.
Title: Re: What if One of hte Successor States had tried to stay out of the 1st SW
Post by: rebs on 10 October 2019, 01:22:02
Any Successor State trying to stay out of the conflict would have been dragged in, such as when the Draconis Combine attacked the Lyran Commonwealth.  Or when the Draconis Combine got tired of the Lyrans (saving them for later) and struck the Federated Suns.   
Title: Re: What if One of hte Successor States had tried to stay out of the 1st SW
Post by: Deadborder on 10 October 2019, 07:00:18
It could be even argued that the Lyrans made the first moves of the First Succession War with their invasion of the Bolan Thumb.

But I agree entirely with Idea Weenie. By trying to stay out of the First, you'd only make yourself a target whole missing opportunities