what could make for an interesting Niops specific variant might be if they got the bits from the highlander production line.. and the line for the St. florian industrial mech? and then cobbled both together with any tooling left from the old workshops, and managed to produce a Primitive technology version Highlander?
A 2/3/2 Primitive Highlander would use a 220-rating engine, same as the Prowler Explorer Vehicle, and with maximum primitive armor would leave you with 41 tons available to really pile on the weaponry.
On a separate note, I had a thought on the "What MUL list should Niops players look to in the ilClan era?" question, for those sticking to canon units and playing games where MUL selection is important.
Go with the Pirate list.
The Pirate list is described on the MUL as "Equipment typically used by pirate bands and small bandit polities." Niops may not be a bandit kingdom per se, but in terms of practicality, that's probably what they most closely resemble.
The Periphery General list, meanwhile, is listed as being for:
- Dark Age: Calderon Protectorate, Filtvelt Coalition, Fronc Reaches, Magistracy of Canopus, Marian Hegemony, Pirates, Taurian Concordat.
- ilClan: Calderon Protectorate, Filtvelt Coalition, Fronc Reaches, Magistracy of Canopus, Marian Hegemony, Pirates, Taurian Concordat.
That's very specific.
Meanwhile, the Pirate list still has the BL-6-KNT, both the 732 and 740 models of the Highlander, plus a variety of Urbies and Panthers, and even the VLK-QA Valkyrie, for light troopers. For vehicles there are Prowlers aplenty, and while you lose the Burke, you gain the Schrek, and the "OmniSpad" Issedone is available for aerospace fighters.