BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
BattleTech Player Boards => Novel and Sourcebook Reviews => Topic started by: Dubble_g on 17 June 2023, 00:15:39
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To capitalize on the roaring success of Shrapnel #12 CGL has, in a shock move that has stunned the gaming world, followed up by publishing a little book they're informally calling "Shrapnel #13".
https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/collections/battletech/products/battletech-shrapnel-issue-13-the-official-battletech-magazine
https://www.amazon.com/BattleTech-Shrapnel-Issue-Official-Magazine-ebook/dp/B0C83J3C3J/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=2U7F1UAVHF0CY
I'm excited about this one since it features my third story, which was plenty fun since it's written backwards. But if you're happy living in normal linear time there's plenty else to enjoy here. Anyway, thought I'd follow tradition and start a thread for people to share their thoughts!
Love to all. Bless.
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I'll just give author's notes on two, for now, since deadlines for fun new stuff are creeping up on me:
Ascending the Pecking Order: The Snow Raven Clan has frequently been described as Machiavellian, but usually in a very broad sense of being "kinda vaguely scheming, I guess". The note in Field Manual: Warden Clans that one of the Sukhanovs was a particularly ardent fan of Niccolo Machiavelli got me wondering how well the Snow Raven actions throughout history actually matched up with Machiavelli's philosophy. One quick purchase of "The Prince" later, I was combing through it looking for quotes that would fit the BattleTech universe. Turns out, there was a rich vein there, and I'm guessing that prior Snow Raven authors did some of that as well, given how well the Raven actions fit recommendations in The Prince. I didn't want it to just be a dry recitation of these linkages, though, and I was intrigued by a mention that candidates for top SR leadership positions were put through a harrowing series of exercises where they had to both compete against each other and cooperate in strategic, physical, and mental contests that sometimes led to murders as the contest heated up. If the Snow Ravens are expected to master multitasking like that, why not frame the analysis as a pop quiz during a live training skirmish? While it all covered familiar territory - a retrospective of the Ravens "greatest hits" from prior sourcebooks - this was a chance to see those actions from the Raven POV and get a sense of their motivations and goals, not to mention a chance to show that when we say they're Machiavellian, it's because they regard "The Prince" fundamentally on an equal level with "The Remembrance" in terms of their guiding philosophy. I think it turned out well, and I'm hoping Fleur gets a chance to strut her stuff in ilClan era Snow Raven actions.
A Ship Out of Time: The call went out for stories of unlucky things. Looking back at Interstellar Players' "canon rumor" of JumpShips "cutting in" and getting time-displaced being a regular, if rare, event and the whole "Living Legends" saga, I wanted to create the tale of people who believed their fortune had come in, only to have things go horribly pear shaped on them, not just once, but twice. I wanted to leave some ambiguity, so that players favoring mystical elements can speculate about whether the crew was actually hearing the ghosts of the murdered Camerons, and players hating the mystic elements can attribute the space madness to the misjump and/or exposure to the weird shuksam and mirst radiation. For Game Masters running RPGs in the current era, there's now a JumpShip full of weird-ass crystals that has demonstrably created a repeatable time travel "cutting in" event multiple times. The Sea Foxes have it, the Wolves might want it back, and Interstellar Expeditions might want their long lost research team back. Not to mention, if the Cult of the Saints Cameron is still around (as hinted at in the epilogue of a recent novel), what might they do to get their hands on a treasure trove of their sacred crystals? Lots of fun hooks here, I think.
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I'll just give author's notes on two, for now, since deadlines for fun new stuff are creeping up on me:
Ascending the Pecking Order: The Snow Raven Clan has frequently been described as Machiavellian, but usually in a very broad sense of being "kinda vaguely scheming, I guess". The note in Field Manual: Warden Clans that one of the Sukhanovs was a particularly ardent fan of Niccolo Machiavelli got me wondering how well the Snow Raven actions throughout history actually matched up with Machiavelli's philosophy. One quick purchase of "The Prince" later, I was combing through it looking for quotes that would fit the BattleTech universe. Turns out, there was a rich vein there, and I'm guessing that prior Snow Raven authors did some of that as well, given how well the Raven actions fit recommendations in The Prince. I didn't want it to just be a dry recitation of these linkages, though, and I was intrigued by a mention that candidates for top SR leadership positions were put through a harrowing series of exercises where they had to both compete against each other and cooperate in strategic, physical, and mental contests that sometimes led to murders as the contest heated up. If the Snow Ravens are expected to master multitasking like that, why not frame the analysis as a pop quiz during a live training skirmish? While it all covered familiar territory - a retrospective of the Ravens "greatest hits" from prior sourcebooks - this was a chance to see those actions from the Raven POV and get a sense of their motivations and goals, not to mention a chance to show that when we say they're Machiavellian, it's because they regard "The Prince" fundamentally on an equal level with "The Remembrance" in terms of their guiding philosophy. I think it turned out well, and I'm hoping Fleur gets a chance to strut her stuff in ilClan era Snow Raven actions.
A Ship Out of Time: The call went out for stories of unlucky things. Looking back at Interstellar Players' "canon rumor" of JumpShips "cutting in" and getting time-displaced being a regular, if rare, event and the whole "Living Legends" saga, I wanted to create the tale of people who believed their fortune had come in, only to have things go horribly pear shaped on them, not just once, but twice. I wanted to leave some ambiguity, so that players favoring mystical elements can speculate about whether the crew was actually hearing the ghosts of the murdered Camerons, and players hating the mystic elements can attribute the space madness to the misjump and/or exposure to the weird shuksam and mirst radiation. For Game Masters running RPGs in the current era, there's now a JumpShip full of weird-ass crystals that has demonstrably created a repeatable time travel "cutting in" event multiple times. The Sea Foxes have it, the Wolves might want it back, and Interstellar Expeditions might want their long lost research team back. Not to mention, if the Cult of the Saints Cameron is still around (as hinted at in the epilogue of a recent novel), what might they do to get their hands on a treasure trove of their sacred crystals? Lots of fun hooks here, I think.
Thank you for that.
Haven't got to the short stories yet, but read all the non-fiction pieces and the Snow Raven one is my equal-favourite with the Clan culture shock one. The ship out of time story was also quite interesting, wouldn't mind reading a fiction piece involving Spheroids (or Clanners) jumping from 3049 to the ilClan.
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I only bought this issue for "Ascending the Pecking Order" (I generally only read Shrapnel for the articles, as I don't really care for most short stories), and I have to say, it's one of the best stories I've read in Shrapnel yet.
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For once I ordered a physical copy, because it contains two articles that are my first published BattleTech writing: I wrote Unit Digest: Wilson's Hussars and Planet Digest: Gandy's Luck.
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For once I ordered a physical copy, because it contains two articles that are my first published BattleTech writing: I wrote Unit Digest: Wilson's Hussars and Planet Digest: Gandy's Luck.
Thanks for the Wilson's Digest! Always loved the original write-up!
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I'll post my thoughts about each story later this week, but I honestly feel this one of the strongest issues from across the series. Just good stuff, across the board.
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For once I ordered a physical copy, because it contains two articles that are my first published BattleTech writing: I wrote Unit Digest: Wilson's Hussars and Planet Digest: Gandy's Luck.
Absolutely, cheers to Kojak for getting not one but two, yes, 2 entries into this issue. I'm the opposite of the other poster, I tend to read fiction and skip the game stuff, but these were both well written entries. Nostalgia for Wilson's Wimps possibly a factor.
Cheers also to Mendrugo for the Ship Out of Time, always love it when writers get wild with the style and a story told through logs was an interesting twist.
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This was my first crack at a TRO entry, I'm curious what people thought of the Albatross writeup.
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I'm the opposite of the other poster, I tend to read fiction and skip the game stuff, but the
*sad scenario writer noises*
I snuck some highlanders lore into my scenario in #12
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*sad scenario writer noises*
I'm feeling trepidation over this myself right now...
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This was my first crack at a TRO entry, I'm curious what people thought of the Albatross writeup.
I liked it. I was curious to know what happened to the design post-Jihad.
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Agreed, I have always had a aoft spot for the Albatross, and it was great to see it get some new variants.
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This was my first crack at a TRO entry, I'm curious what people thought of the Albatross writeup.
some were SPICY. Looking forward to putting them on the table!
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For once I ordered a physical copy, because it contains two articles that are my first published BattleTech writing: I wrote Unit Digest: Wilson's Hussars and Planet Digest: Gandy's Luck.
weirdly enough i thought wilson survive all the way into the dark age era. but i could had been wrong as i don't remember where that thought came from.
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just finished a few thing that i want to share. First i love the last story it nice to see the merlin once more. The two story involving mountain wolf product have been good but i think i like this one best out of the two cause sometimes it not the mech but the mechwarrior. The lone wolf story was also another that i enjoy as the patrol finally discover that they relied to much on luck. The rest was ok but those two stories where what struck me the most.
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Huzzah! Only blew the deadline by one day.
So, my impressions:
The Swamp Fox - Ben Klinefelter: A very well done expansion of the blurb in the Monitor entry for the original TRO: 3026. Whereas that blurb placed the action in 3025, Ben corrected it to match the timeline in Mercenary's Star, which had the fighting start about a decade before Grayson arrived on Verthandi. You get a good sense of the harshness of the Combine occupation, what motivates Frances, and the practical realities of operating a guerrilla gunboat.
Cushioning the Culture Shock - Wunji Lau: The collection of perspectives on culture clash and cultural osmosis in various facets and locations offers a diverse perspective on how the Spheroids and Clanners view each other in 3150. Be interesting to see how that changes once the ilClan starts expanded the borders of its new Star League. Also, how can they bash Clan holovid productions? What about the glory that is The Adventures of Clan Spaniel?
Acceptable Losses - Adam Neff: Sets up the conflict between what a person might want to do based on what feels right, and what their contract allows them to do. Plus a good look at the consequences of not following orders in scenes packed with well written emotion.
Albatross - Stephen Toropov A good update to the Albatross' production and combat history, last visited in 3055 Upgrade. The battle histories not only shed light on some of the overlooked border wars of the Republic Era, but also had a nice shout-out to a character from JHS: Terra named for a late forum member, who passed in 2009.
Drawing the Short Straw - David G. Martin: A rare visit to Illyria takes us into the Marian Hegemony conflict covered in Empire Alone. It does a good job focusing on the importance of the maneuver portion of the engagement, not just the pew pew pew part.
The Curious Case of Colin Coolidge's Cursed Cooling Suit - Joshua C. Perian: The title alone had me thinking of the Venture Bros. plot device of "Grover Cleveland's Presidential Time Machine". It's a neat "cursed item" tale that fits well into the lore, given that the prototype neurohelmets were apparently equally dangerous to their users. Hegemony Research and Development apparently had wide latitude in terms of human experimentation, back in the "good ol' days".
Reversal of Fortunes - Giles Gammage: The use of the reversed chronology is an effective technique, previously seen in Travis Heermann's "Swords of Light and Darkness" in the Legacy Anthology. Giles pulls it off very well here, too. The metaphor of the broken relationship and animosity being like cancer, growing from something small, then festering and spreading, until it becomes the cause of death, works for me.
Bainbridge's Guide to Impactful Geography - Ken' Horner: The latest in the Bainbridge's Guide series, I was pleased both to see the inclusion of the infamous acid sand (how do they deploy it out on the perimeter of the ISF facility if it eats through everything, and what happens on windy days?) and a collection of new freaky alien terrain features.
Wilson's Hussars - Zac Schwartz: Zac does a nice job cleaning up the hot mess of continuity issues from the original writeup in the Mercenary's Handbook. Their post-Small World exploits were new to me, so it was good to have a conclusion to their story that read more heroically than "they all ran out of food and died in a ditch," which is where they seemed headed in the 3025-era profile.
Run, Locust, Run - Westin Riverside: A fun deep-dive into the physical skills and mental state required to succeed as a Locust pilot. I wonder if the title is a reference to the German film "Run, Lola, Run"?
Lone Wolf and Fox - Bryan Young Bryan Young continues the adventures of his breakout character and her unit. Whereas prior installments have focused on assignments on backwaters or an exploration of Galatea, this serial throws us right into the action of Tamar Rising as the Alyina Mercantile League determines it has a need for mercenaries. The Lone Wolves didn't get a huge amount of page time in Tamar Rising, so it's nice to see Katie join Bugsy and his mob, and witness the narrative of the AML taking shape.
Tinker, Tailor, Seamstress, Spy - Joshua Perian: A highly unusual adventure hilariously centered on Solaris VII's cutthroat fashion scene. I think this is the first fashion-centric BattleTech product since Dayle Dermatis' "Stitch in Time" short story for BattleCorps. A welcome change of pace for any GM looking to take his characters out of the "grimdark" for a session or three.
No Rest for the Accursed - Matthew Cross: A lighthearted, semi-supernatural tale from the early Dark Ages. The Banshee of Sadachbia came across as a fun character who really enjoyed screwing with the Dragon's Fury.
Starving Vultures - Joseph A. Coscgrove: The timing's interesting on this one - set between the dissolution of the Star League and the Exodus. The nearby Taurian Concordat got pretty wrecked by the Periphery Uprising, but that was 20 years ago. Once the Succession Wars started, there was at least one world that got cut off from JumpShip routes for years and had starvation issues as a result, but this is the Federated Suns at its pre-First War peak, having been untouched by either the Periphery Uprising or the Star League Civil War. Other Great Houses didn't abandon systems until after the wars started. Sucks to be part of the Davion Outback, no matter the era, I guess. The combination of neighborly friendliness and desperation shows a nice contrast.
Gandy's Luck - Zac Schwartz: Definitely the first time the Peruvian Nikkei culture has appeared in BattleTech. Makes for a unique and interesting world. Reminds me of the writeup for the Mica Majority worlds in many ways (domed settlements on a mining world).
Strike and Fade - Ed Stephens: This scenario makes effective use of the components in the Alpha Strike boxed set, so that players can have a solid engagement with just what's in there. The "hired by parties unknown" was a bit vague for my tastes, but I suppose it gives GMs flexibility to insert this into a campaign.
The Wreckoning - Russell Zimmerman: Another outing by the Merlin crew, a fun sounding arena engagement format, and lots of technical detail for those who like to see every element of the TRO on the page. Focusing on the advantages of the Merlin's versatility made for a fun story. Good art piece for the final swarm battle, too. Would've been perfect if there'd been a "Mercer Ravannion Was Right!" banner in the crowd.
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The Wreckoning - Russell Zimmerman: Another outing by the Merlin crew, a fun sounding arena engagement format, and lots of technical detail for those who like to see every element of the TRO on the page. Focusing on the advantages of the Merlin's versatility made for a fun story. Good art piece for the final swarm battle, too. Would've been perfect if there'd been a "Mercer Ravannion Was Right!" banner in the crowd.
Thanks! I'm glad you dug it! I was this close to putting in some sort of joke or other name-drop about Ravannion, but I couldn't figure out a way to wedge it in there gracefully. I felt like the latter half of the story already had enough moving parts and people/organizations/etc getting named, in the end I didn't want to wing one more curveball into the mix.
The story is, in large part, a love letter to the Merlin, who I've been making myself learn to love. They're not a 'Mech I've ever particularly liked in the past, but (a) I'm writing about Mountain Wolf a lot, (b) for about half a century they're all Mountain Wolf makes, and (c) I think part of the job is to make 'Mechs in my stories sound cool, so I've (d) got to make myself find what to appreciate about them. And...this is what I landed on, after some gameplay. It really is the jack of all trades ability (which is nominally what I hate about it, I tend to prefer a jack of all trades lance but specialized individual 'Mechs) that makes them work. A gaggle of Merlins can put down more long-range fire than a pair of Warhammers. A gaggle of Merlins spams the joint up with eight medium lasers during the plentiful mid-range fight phases of a game. An individual Merlin has the same anti-infantry firepower as a Vulcan does, nominally a dedicated anti-infantry 'Mech. A Merlin can take a lot of hits, and those jump jets push it from thoroughly mediocre movement to mildly above average, again, it can handle rough terrain albeit unremarkably.
And...that's not bad, y'know? It's not sexy. It's not a badass flashy one-on-one 'Mech you'd ever catch Phelan Kell or Natasha Kerensky in. But it does what it's supposed to do, which is provide an affordable Heavy 'Mech option to factions that otherwise don't have a lot of affordable Heavy 'Mech options, and, working together, Merlins can do most battlefield jobs well enough. Maybe not well, but well enough.
And as I slowly grew to love the dumb things through gameplay, Megamek play, and diving into this ~250k words of Mountain-Wolf-centric fiction (where, yes, the main protagonist pilots a stock Merlin throughout), I thought it would be fun to show that love in a short story, too. I wanted a nice 'in between' story as Mountain Wolf evolved, I wanted to show how they got an influx of money after scraping by for so long, and I wanted to write a Solaris yarn. Everything fell into place nicely. :D
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Huzzah! Only blew the deadline by one day.
Lone Wolf and Fox - Bryan Young Bryan Young continues the adventures of his breakout character and her unit. Whereas prior installments have focused on assignments on backwaters or an exploration of Galatea, this serial throws us right into the action of Tamar Rising as the Alyina Mercantile League determines it has a need for mercenaries. The Lone Wolves didn't get a huge amount of page time in Tamar Rising, so it's nice to see Katie join Bugsy and his mob, and witness the narrative of the AML taking shape.
It was so fun to send them to this setting and I'm glad you are all enjoying where they're heading. I really, really, really loved leaning into the serial novel format, too. I'd never quite written anything like it and I had so much fun with this.
I'm happy to answer any questions about it, too, if anyone has any!
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I assume the cliffhanger ending means a fake-out is coming, but I did think it was an interesting choice to allude to one of the few gay characters in BattleTech being killed during Pride Month.
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I'm happy to answer any questions about it, too, if anyone has any!
Curious how "The Committee" in charge of the Lone Wolves functions in 3151, compared to how it was described in "The Galtor Campaign" - does Katie have to sign a "willing to fight" agreement every day to get her pay? Does she get a vote on the Committee? Is the vote proportional to the amount of fighting strength a sub-unit brings to the party? Or was the Committee stuff chucked out and now Bugsy makes all the calls?
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Curious how "The Committee" in charge of the Lone Wolves functions in 3151, compared to how it was described in "The Galtor Campaign" - does Katie have to sign a "willing to fight" agreement every day to get her pay? Does she get a vote on the Committee? Is the vote proportional to the amount of fighting strength a sub-unit brings to the party? Or was the Committee stuff chucked out and now Bugsy makes all the calls?
As I understand it, each member of the Lone Wolves is paid every day, but in return, you have to fight that day. As for Bugsy, I think he's the Committee's "public face" and the nominal leader.
Craig
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The Wreckoning - Russell Zimmerman was outstanding and a great story to end Shrapnel 13 on. Especially with the theme of bad luck in the stories and the editorial.
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The Wreckoning - Russell Zimmerman was outstanding and a great story to end Shrapnel 13 on. Especially with the theme of bad luck in the stories and the editorial.
Eyyy, thank you so much! :) That's really lovely to hear. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I look forward to more of my stuff making it through the pipeline soon.
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I assume the cliffhanger ending means a fake-out is coming, but I did think it was an interesting choice to allude to one of the few gay characters in BattleTech being killed during Pride Month.
Giving how early you have to make this story i am pretty sure the writer has no clue what exact date a story will be publish so am pretty sure that was just a coincidence thing. That being said you been writing their relationship well where i don't feel am getting smash with a shovel about how gay they are but how well they are as a couple. Too many stories particular in comic (which is famous for not letting character grow) just seem to do the opposite so i appreciate the care taken in how they are represented.
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Eyyy, thank you so much! :) That's really lovely to hear. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I look forward to more of my stuff making it through the pipeline soon.
The changes of POV were a good touch
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I assume the cliffhanger ending means a fake-out is coming, but I did think it was an interesting choice to allude to one of the few gay characters in BattleTech being killed during Pride Month.
I will say that I wrote this last year and had no idea when it would be printed. I anxiously await the next installment.
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Curious how "The Committee" in charge of the Lone Wolves functions in 3151, compared to how it was described in "The Galtor Campaign" - does Katie have to sign a "willing to fight" agreement every day to get her pay? Does she get a vote on the Committee? Is the vote proportional to the amount of fighting strength a sub-unit brings to the party? Or was the Committee stuff chucked out and now Bugsy makes all the calls?
They still do all of that in my head, but it's all off screen. There was a deleted scene in this part where Bugsy and another commander from a unit signed up with them (you'll met them in the next installment) talk about what's going on. But yeah, Bugsy is empowered to negotiate as the Chairman and people can stay and go.
I'm trying to get John to approve me releasing the deleted scene. I liked it.
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Giving how early you have to make this story i am pretty sure the writer has no clue what exact date a story will be publish so am pretty sure that was just a coincidence thing. That being said you been writing their relationship well where i don't feel am getting smash with a shovel about how gay they are but how well they are as a couple. Too many stories particular in comic (which is famous for not letting character grow) just seem to do the opposite so i appreciate the care taken in how they are represented.
Yeah, I really just wanted them to be a great couple and they're some of my favorite people to write.
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Wilson's Hussars - Zac Schwartz: Zac does a nice job cleaning up the hot mess of continuity issues from the original writeup in the Mercenary's Handbook. Their post-Small World exploits were new to me, so it was good to have a conclusion to their story that read more heroically than "they all ran out of food and died in a ditch," which is where they seemed headed in the 3025-era profile.
This piece was a fun exercise in sewing together a dozen and a half sources across thirty-odd years of material with only a thousand words. Of course, very little material in there is original to me -- but I did get to add a fictional history book to the setting, a tribute to the 1976 Norman F. Dixon classic On the Psychology of Military Incompetence.
Gandy's Luck - Zac Schwartz: Definitely the first time the Peruvian Nikkei culture has appeared in BattleTech. Makes for a unique and interesting world. Reminds me of the writeup for the Mica Majority worlds in many ways (domed settlements on a mining world).
This was the one where I spent most of my time and creative energy. Since the planet was basically a blank slate, the very first idea was the notion of the roach-goat, and then I kinda engineered everything backward from giving that a reason to exist. I also am pretty happy I managed to get an "Evil Zibler" into the canon -- the trope of that family being a bunch of noble do-gooders has a little more flavor to it when they have skeletons like this guy in their ancestral closet, IMHO.
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This was an excellent issue of Shrapnel. Both the fiction and the articles were well written. It was especially nice for us poor Marik fans to get new Albatross variants.
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Going through the short stories now, starting with the AML one since that's a faction I'm interested in. Overall I liked "Lone Wolf and Fox", glad to see Marena and the AML in fiction, and the Fox Patrol stories are a series I'm following with interest. The cliffhanger ending has me eager for the next one and finding out if Evan survived or died for real.
I'd give it 4 out of 5, taking one point off for something early on that totally broke the immersion hard:
Marena was used to being underestimated. She was a Black woman and a merchant in a world dominated by barbarous Clan warriors like the lilywhite Malvina Hazen. Yes, she was a Trueborn Jade Falcon, but that did not matter, since she was a member of a caste considered “inferior” to the warriors.
Since when did a Clanner's skin colour matter? In a quarter century of reading BT fiction, I do not recall one instance or even suggestion that the Clans are old-fashioned racists. According to all previous sources I've read on the Clans - fiction and sourcebook - Marena's 'inferior' position and Malvina's place as Khan would have been based upon caste and that eugenics pseudo-science BS, not their skin tone. In fact, it's one of their positive traits IMHO, that for all their numerous flaws the Clanners don't exhibit this kind of racism (or sexism), in stark contrast to certain Inner Sphere societies.
Rant over, hopefully I've respectfully raised a dissenting opinion without causing undue offence.
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Going through the short stories now, starting with the AML one since that's a faction I'm interested in. Overall I liked "Lone Wolf and Fox", glad to see Marena and the AML in fiction, and the Fox Patrol stories are a series I'm following with interest. The cliffhanger ending has me eager for the next one and finding out if Evan survived or died for real.
I'd give it 4 out of 5, taking one point off for something early on that totally broke the immersion hard:
Since when did a Clanner's skin colour matter? In a quarter century of reading BT fiction, I do not recall one instance or even suggestion that the Clans are old-fashioned racists. According to all previous sources I've read on the Clans - fiction and sourcebook - Marena's 'inferior' position and Malvina's place as Khan would have been based upon caste and that eugenics pseudo-science BS, not their skin tone. In fact, it's one of their positive traits IMHO, that for all their numerous flaws the Clanners don't exhibit this kind of racism (or sexism), in stark contrast to certain Inner Sphere societies.
Rant over, hopefully I've respectfully raised a dissenting opinion without causing undue offence.
I absolutely agree with this, and this little snippet took me right out of an otherwise entertaining story.
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So, naturally this one is on me. It was pointed out to me in edits that this was the case and I thought I'd made it so she was merely looking at her differences, all the things that separated her from Malvina Hazen and the hoity-toity Warriors.
I understand it could have been more clear and that's on me.
But I'm glad you liked the rest of it! I can't wait for the next part to be out!
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The Wreckoning was good outing, among many stories in the book.
Though, I have to say I did like idea of the LRM boat variant of the Merlin. I Realize the owner of Mountain Wolves were trying get MechWarriors to work as a team, since he intended the Merlin to work in teams.
I still like having specialist helping too double the long range firepower. I wish the custom variant had been published with the Albatross Shrapnel #13 record sheets.
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So, naturally this one is on me. It was pointed out to me in edits that this was the case and I thought I'd made it so she was merely looking at her differences, all the things that separated her from Malvina Hazen and the hoity-toity Warriors.
I understand it could have been more clear and that's on me.
Thanks for answering that. I did consider that possibility, sort of like how Samantha Clees blamed supposed sexism for stalling her early career until another female warrior showed her otherwise.
Quibbling aside, it was good to see the AML & its Merchant Queen in fiction and you did well with that part :thumbsup:
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Thanks for answering that. I did consider that possibility, sort of like how Samantha Clees blamed supposed sexism for stalling her early career until another female warrior showed her otherwise.
Quibbling aside, it was good to see the AML & its Merchant Queen in fiction and you did well with that part :thumbsup:
I have say I have to agee with that view of Samantha. I remember the book where she had to talk to Dana Pryde's (Forced) sponsor and she reflects on her sexism and how she was rocked on her heels of Joanna support bitterness and how had she not gained her bloodname, she would have ended up like her.
I have to also agree I loved reading about AML bits in Fox Patrol. I hadn't realized they were part of the Lone Wolves mercenary group.
I can't wait to read more of their exploits in the league.
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The Wreckoning was good outing, among many stories in the book.
Though, I have to say I did like idea of the LRM boat variant of the Merlin. I Realize the owner of Mountain Wolves were trying get MechWarriors to work as a team, since he intended the Merlin to work in teams.
I still like having specialist helping too double the long range firepower.
Thanks, I appreciate the kind words and I'm glad you dug it. :) There are a few more mildly/moderately customized Merlins on the way, in my ongoing...*gestures broadly*...stuff. Mountain Wolf's trying to keep the spirit of the 'Mech, individual MechWarriors are trying to turn them into a ride they like, and they're gonna be trying to settle somewhere in between. :)
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This was my first crack at a TRO entry, I'm curious what people thought of the Albatross writeup.
I liked the idea that the Albatross was something that figuratively hung around the AMSC's neck due to its close relationship with Thomas Marik, but they had to play the ball as it lied. It kind of made me wonder if the Caesar and Axman would have gotten the same fate if not for Caesar and Adam having better reputations than Tommy.
Thanks for answering that. I did consider that possibility, sort of like how Samantha Clees blamed supposed sexism for stalling her early career until another female warrior showed her otherwise.
Quibbling aside, it was good to see the AML & its Merchant Queen in fiction and you did well with that part :thumbsup:
To me, it's a line that shows how Marena perceives things. It need not actually be true for her to think that way, like Clees.
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To me, it's a line that shows how Marena perceives things. It need not actually be true for her to think that way, like Clees.
Neither of those examples really make much sense to me, to be honest. I mean, both women are members of a relatively closed society that not only have absolutely no history of either racial or gender-based discrimination, but which took great pains to erase and whitewash their own pre-Clan histories, so they should have no reason to perceive those things in the first place.
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Bainbridge's Guide to Impactful Geography - Ken' Horner: The latest in the Bainbridge's Guide series, I was pleased both to see the inclusion of the infamous acid sand (how do they deploy it out on the perimeter of the ISF facility if it eats through everything, and what happens on windy days?) and a collection of new freaky alien terrain features.
I am curious why the synthetic sand doesn't immediately kill the crew of a vehicle without an operational sealed life support in Alpha Strike? In Alpha Strike, a "Crew Stunned" cannot move the vehicle, hence vehicle will never leave the sand area. At least in TW, the vehicle can still move when the crew is stunned
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"A ship out of Time" was well written, gave me "Event Horizion [1996]" vibes
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No Rest for the Accursed - Matthew Cross: A lighthearted, semi-supernatural tale from the early Dark Ages. The Banshee of Sadachbia came across as a fun character who really enjoyed screwing with the Dragon's Fury.
I had a lot of fun writing this one. Was inspired completely and totally by a single song with the image of a highlander taking on a larger force. I don't think we'll ever see the Banshee again, but I hope we do.
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a non supernatural reason she did what she did can be explain that their was a mole somewhere in the fury command that gave the banshee the head up include what units would be sent so she mind f them before they made landfall. I suspect she was the only person in the area and was a former northwind. why i say she a former northwind? cause the bagpipe to use as a jammer is standard highlander stuff.
Perhaps she had help from one of the republic paladins. OF course this is all speculation take it with the grain of salt cause she could also be a dead warrior that just like to f people mind.
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a non supernatural reason she did what she did can be explain that their was a mole somewhere in the fury command that gave the banshee the head up include what units would be sent so she mind f them before they made landfall. I suspect she was the only person in the area and was a former northwind. why i say she a former northwind? cause the bagpipe to use as a jammer is standard highlander stuff.
Perhaps she had help from one of the republic paladins. OF course this is all speculation take it with the grain of salt cause she could also be a dead warrior that just like to f people mind.
So one thing I did when I was writing was to NOT think hard about how she was able to do things. Her 'Mech was painted in a Highlanders scheme, minus the black head. We could have had some mystical stuff but it could be easily explained by a mole in the Fury. The names, the mech roster (knowing Yuri was in the Wight, etc.) , alll of that could have been explained easily enough. The jamming and bagpipes could have been a wider Highlanders op and she could have easily had a lance sitting behind her just in case. Plenty of explanations, but its more fun to leave it to speculation :)
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"A ship out of Time" was well written, gave me "Event Horizion [1996]" vibes
Glad you liked it. I wanted to leave it ambiguous - was the Cult of the Saints Cameron onto something with their crystals, or was it just a really bad idea to put exotic materials so close to a jump drive?
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So, you recommend issue 13, I guess. I will get hold of it for vacations.