Author Topic: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!  (Read 161281 times)

Minemech

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1260 on: 13 August 2018, 10:15:48 »
 Send them (The general) to the Council of Six. Tattoo them with a Jade Falcon insignia on their forehead, no particular reason...
« Last Edit: 13 August 2018, 10:28:37 by Minemech »

Arkansas Warrior

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1261 on: 13 August 2018, 10:44:58 »
I was just thinking tha, given the Hussars history of absorbing a lot of turncoats post-Jihad, there might be a possibility that some of the less loyal units would flee elsewhere rather than serve the nFWL.  The Hegemony seems a likely choice.  They need troops, and have their own history of absorbing former enemies.
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Minemech

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1262 on: 13 August 2018, 11:38:23 »
 I am not terribly worried about Regulan troops defecting to hostile powers, because they themselves wanted the League to reform--they just wanted this to happen under other conditions. I think that the League really should form an upper chamber based on the old League Parliament.

TwinkieMonkieIIC

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1263 on: 13 August 2018, 14:18:35 »
They probably won't get any reforms with Regulus relegated to a provisional FWL member limiting their voting rights and a decade-long waiting period before they can even try to apply for full membership.  Considering that Nikol Marik undid one of Jessica's reforms by merging the Captain-General and Warden-General positions using the "For the duration of the crisis" language, its doubtful she would give up power anytime soon.

Colt Ward

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1264 on: 13 August 2018, 14:25:40 »
Reform?  Or was it a compromise to get the band back together- was it always a plan to consolidate that power?
Colt Ward
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Minemech

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1265 on: 13 August 2018, 14:31:13 »
 If those three had to be mutually exclusive, BattleTech would be boring. It is all about narrative control.  :)

Caturix

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1266 on: 13 August 2018, 14:35:46 »
Well, the 'punishment' was that they got posted on the opposite side of the League in a active theater and fell strictly under Federal control.  Its why I said they should not be used as casualty sponges- basically do not place them under the command of a League officer who is going to have them dropping into suicide situations.  It would undo all the efforts to re-integrate Regulus and the Hussars.

Now one thing not mentioned, the war crimes line . . . would that be the general who took off with her regiment and some nukes?  Where would she go . . . Andurien?  Canopus?  Or perhaps the Hegemony?

Punishing the Regulan Hussars for defending their home and what they believe in is not the best way to earn their trust. Especially since they've been rightfully mistrusting the Captain-General office for decades, if not centuries.

As for war crimes, maybe that murderous Halas woman should be the first on trial, leading by example (Clipperton massacre, 10642 civilians killed...) ?
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Sartris

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1267 on: 13 August 2018, 15:24:57 »
As for war crimes, maybe that murderous Halas woman should be the first on trial, leading by example (Clipperton massacre, 10642 civilians killed...) ?

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Tai Dai Cultist

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1268 on: 13 August 2018, 15:29:14 »
And now you understand the value of not losing

Indeed.. the War of Davion Succession settled the legality of Mary Davion's abdication, not any pieces of paper.

Minemech

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1269 on: 13 August 2018, 21:21:19 »
 He who won the war had the correct, original documents. Ignore the fact that they have words that developed two centuries later...
« Last Edit: 13 August 2018, 21:23:31 by Minemech »

TwinkieMonkieIIC

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1270 on: 13 August 2018, 22:02:17 »
Reform?  Or was it a compromise to get the band back together- was it always a plan to consolidate that power?

Maybe it was Jessica's secret intent but supposedly she drafted the distinction into the Charter of Incorporation herself expressly as a check on the position of Captain-General.

Nikol had the Regulans over a barrel but her tactics and "compromises" seem to lay the groundwork for a lot of bitterness among run of the mill Regulans.  She basically used a Clan to starve Regulan civilians over an unsanctioned assassination and subsequently mandated that Regulan Hussars be stationed on the Lyran border while Andurien and Canopus conqured Regulan worlds.  All so that Regulans can be second class citizens for the forseeable future with no guarentee of equal treatment?

The Cameron-Jones' were looking out for themselves since they were looking down the barrel of military conquest or internal revolution and they get to stay in power and get to call themselves "Princes" by selling out the Regulan people.

Credit to Nikol for taking a page from the SunTzu Liao playbook though.  If the threat of starving their families convinced a bunch of Sarnese cadets to throw themselves at Kai Allard-Liao (ie: commit suicide), the Mariks could get way more mileage out of the Hussars.

Colt Ward

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1271 on: 14 August 2018, 01:31:23 »
Regulan worlds?  They took independent worlds in the direction of Regulus true, but they were not Regulan.
Colt Ward
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TwinkieMonkieIIC

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1272 on: 14 August 2018, 04:08:31 »
Regulan worlds?  They took independent worlds in the direction of Regulus true, but they were not Regulan.
Oops, you're right.  It just references the threat of Andurien pressure from seizing those worlds.
Though if that means that Regulus now shares a border with an expansionist state, I doubt the Hussars would find it comforting.

MarauderD

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1273 on: 15 August 2018, 16:15:16 »
Is it just me, or were there many more Andurien Regiments than I remember?

I thought there were just a few Andurien Defender units. Now there seem to be far more.  Could this be a sign of Capellan backing, or something else?

Juts curious as to your thoughts.

Colt Ward

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1274 on: 15 August 2018, 16:27:09 »
Well roughly . . . 15 years to organize before the end of Shattered Fortress.  They would also be trading with the MoC as well as Regulus so they have some decent stuff.  I am most upset about the Moltke being out of FWL hands.

Btw, the Regulus list before left off the Merkava Mk IX . . . though I want a Mk X with MML.

Anyone think the League will have trouble with the Republic over Stewart?  Or worse the Augustine Alliance?

Finally, with 3150 rolling around and Regulus back in the band, what is the best piece of equipment built in the League for type & weight class?  Like I think the Tufana is the best medium hovertank available to the FWLM.
Colt Ward
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"We come in peace, please ignore the bloodstains."

"Greetings, Mechwarrior. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Daoshen and the Capellan armada."

TwinkieMonkieIIC

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1275 on: 15 August 2018, 16:28:19 »
That seems to be the case with many FWL protostates.  The Regulans were up to the 30-somethings for Regulan Hussars.

In their scramble to field as many units as possible many of those are not full regiments of battlemechs.  Some are just a battalion or two with the rest filled out by conventional units.

Colt Ward

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1276 on: 15 August 2018, 16:32:01 »
Yeah, but they skipped numbers for units that had been lost/wiped out.  So on the Hussars 1-15 I think it had missing, and beyond that it went in numerical order . . . but as you noted, either they followed Stone or their mech production was so anemic they could not make a Hussar unit a full regiment of mechs with conventional support.
Colt Ward
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"We come in peace, please ignore the bloodstains."

"Greetings, Mechwarrior. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Daoshen and the Capellan armada."

Arkansas Warrior

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1277 on: 15 August 2018, 17:36:55 »
Is it just me, or were there many more Andurien Regiments than I remember?

I thought there were just a few Andurien Defender units. Now there seem to be far more.  Could this be a sign of Capellan backing, or something else?

Juts curious as to your thoughts.
In FM 3145 there were 15 "units": 6 Andurien Ranger units, which are notionally combined-arms regiments but in 3145 all seem to be single battalions.  Then there's 3 Andurien Cavalry units, which seem to be made up of 2 battalions of mechs, an aero regiment, and armor regiment, and an infantry brigade.  Then there are 6 Andurien Guards units which are on a similar pattern to the Cavalry, but using heavier units and reducing non-mech forces to 1 aero wing, 1 armor battalion, and an infantry brigade.  I don't have SF yet, how does that compare?
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Colt Ward

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1278 on: 15 August 2018, 17:52:25 »
No break down of units afaik, or even a garrison map, so its hard to come up with the numbers exactly.
Colt Ward
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"We come in peace, please ignore the bloodstains."

"Greetings, Mechwarrior. You have been recruited by the Star League to defend the Frontier against Daoshen and the Capellan armada."

TwinkieMonkieIIC

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1279 on: 15 August 2018, 21:26:13 »
The FWL Legionnaires and Defenders of Andurien before them were supposedly heavy users of combined arms.  I suspect that those Andurien Ranger battalions probably integrate conventional forces at the company or lance level rather than organize them as seperate supporting brigades since several of their writeups reference armor and even artillery tactics.

GespenstM

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1280 on: 16 August 2018, 00:29:08 »
I've been gone for like 20 pages. Last things I recall are Regulus rejoining the League, still waiting for stats on the Orion C, and so on. That would've been around a year ago. What'd I miss?

EDIT: Also, I see you've been talking about PPC Capacitors. Rest assured they are the devil, the damn things melt your PPC on the same roll that renders an Ultra AC useless. Unless the rules for those two things changed while I was gone?

EDIT 2: Wait, they still haven't put out stats for our Juliano with all clan weapons and other stuff they mentioned who knows how long ago? Oh dear.
« Last Edit: 16 August 2018, 00:35:33 by GespenstM »

Dies Irae

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1281 on: 16 August 2018, 03:58:15 »
I've been gone for like 20 pages. Last things I recall are Regulus rejoining the League, still waiting for stats on the Orion C, and so on. That would've been around a year ago. What'd I miss?

EDIT: Also, I see you've been talking about PPC Capacitors. Rest assured they are the devil, the damn things melt your PPC on the same roll that renders an Ultra AC useless. Unless the rules for those two things changed while I was gone?

EDIT 2: Wait, they still haven't put out stats for our Juliano with all clan weapons and other stuff they mentioned who knows how long ago? Oh dear.

Nope. Not missed anything.

Kojak

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1282 on: 16 August 2018, 04:05:31 »
Shattered Fortress came out about a week and a half ago and moved the timeline up through 1/1/51. The PDF is well worth checking out if you wanna get the skinny on what the FWL has been up to (lots!).


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Dies Irae

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1283 on: 16 August 2018, 04:16:27 »
Hmm.

Thanks to the League (well the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey anyway) painting Illyria purple, I'm tempted to add a couple of Ravager and Marauder BA platoons to the League stables due to our occupation of the Illyrian branch of the Alphard Trading Company which is responsible for the Hegemony's BA fleet.

The Ravager joins the Xiphos as an infantry scale waddling armored box. I could see myself getting up to some mischief with them. The Marauder meanwhile has Magclamps which help with the League's overall lack of OmniTaxis while also carrying LTAG which immediately means it has potential to become hilarious with the League's predilection for missile storms.
« Last Edit: 16 August 2018, 04:25:04 by Dies Irae »

GespenstM

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1284 on: 16 August 2018, 06:44:54 »
Hrm, two things come to mind.

1: Do we still have Irian in 3151? If so, this implies access to the MAD-6S Marauder II (MUL hasn't updated in ages, so I'm guessing).

2: Can I get the Cliff's Notes on what happened in Shattered Fortress? If I'm intrigued I might buy it but am hesitant to spend money on product in light of what happened with the last ones I was interested in.

Arkansas Warrior

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1285 on: 16 August 2018, 07:06:02 »
The FWL Legionnaires and Defenders of Andurien before them were supposedly heavy users of combined arms.  I suspect that those Andurien Ranger battalions probably integrate conventional forces at the company or lance level rather than organize them as seperate supporting brigades since several of their writeups reference armor and even artillery tactics.
Indeed.  FM 3145 says that each Andurien Ranger Battalion includes one company each of mechs, armor, and infantry.  Doesn’t say precisely how they’re integrated, could be 3 pure companies, but I don’t know.
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The Eagle

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1286 on: 16 August 2018, 08:15:02 »
Hrm, two things come to mind.

1: Do we still have Irian in 3151? If so, this implies access to the MAD-6S Marauder II (MUL hasn't updated in ages, so I'm guessing).

2: Can I get the Cliff's Notes on what happened in Shattered Fortress? If I'm intrigued I might buy it but am hesitant to spend money on product in light of what happened with the last ones I was interested in.

Well.  League-specific items include:  We retook Bolan, at long last.  Suck it, Steiners!  The Marians got uppity and sacked Kendall, so Fontaine invaded the Hegemony and is currently bogged down fighting in and around Illyria.  We found out how Jessica was assassinated - the Scourge of Death is still around, apparently - and how Regulus was returned to the FWL (they were getting starved by a Sea Fox embargo and then stomped by the FWLM and surrendered so long as Lester got to stay in control of the Principality; the war crimey Hussars were disbanded and the rest were sent to garrison the Lyran & Wolf border).  Nikol is in charge now, and is simultaneously holding the titles of Captain General and Warden General, while Kenyon II hangs on as Minister General.  There's a trade embargo against the Capellans, the Anduriens are starting to gobble up unaligned worlds, and Julian Davion owes one to Jessica/Nikol because Jess let him travel through from Lyran space to hit the CapCon.

In other news, the Dracs took New Avalon, the Republic liberated Robinson for the Davions, Julian liberated New Syrtis, the Kell Hound remnants are trying to regroup in the Periphery, the Lyrans are struggling against uprisings by separatists, the Wolves and Falcons are racing for Terra, the Bears/Horses/Ravens aren't doing much, and Stone appears to be planning some kind of alliance or merger with another faction, probably a Clan, to save what's left of the Republic.

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GespenstM

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1287 on: 16 August 2018, 20:37:05 »
That's... actually kind of interesting. I might stick around. Thanks for the info!

The Eagle

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1288 on: 16 August 2018, 20:49:17 »
My pleasure.
RIP Dan Schulz, 09 November 2009.  May the Albatross ever fly high.

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MarauderD

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Re: The Free Worlds League: Winning with what we've got!
« Reply #1289 on: 17 August 2018, 11:26:59 »
I'm rooting for the FWL these days.  I've liked reading about Jessica and Nikol Marik. 

Question:  is there a "true" Marik heir out there?  Some distant relation of Janos Marik but not of "the Master?"

I don't want to see more dynastic struggles.  In fact, I'd love to see Andurien and the Marians taught I tough lesson. 

If there was some heir on Janos' side of the family, I can see things getting dicey in the future.  I lot of power at stake, so to speak.

 

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