Clan Nova Cat - Zombie Catgirl Extravaganza

[False Son]

The Draconis Combine is a bad place for sure.  However, after having dwelt on Mr. Rome's piece for a day i'm becoming less and less sympathetic towards the plight of the Nova Cats.  Bear in mind, this is directed toward the Warrior caste.  The civies as always are along for the ride.  The Nova Cats as history would prove were terrible guests in someone else's house.  Autonomy or not, the majority population of the Irece Prefecture was Combine.  If the Cats had taken the those planets by force the cultural associations of population wouldn't matter because they would be Isorla.  As it so happens the warriors negotiated a deal in which they couldn't demolish the native Combine culture as the other clans have done.  They had to continue good relations with the Draconis Combine.

[Jellico]

We forget that the game is about nobles. For the first decade or two it was a good deal for the Nova Cat warriors. Plenty of resources. No one is going to hit your homeland cause it means hitting a Great House. Autonomy to go and play white hat in the Star League or later with Stone.

Ironically the best result may have been for the Warriors to let the civilians wither on the vine. Survive as the museum piece noble savages on the reservations using Combine equipment.

If the Cats had taken the those planets by force the cultural associations of population wouldn't matter because they would be Isorla.  As it so happens the warriors negotiated a deal in which they couldn't demolish the native Combine culture as the other clans have done.  They had to continue good relations with the Draconis Combine.

Population is always going to get you in the end. There aren't enough Clan civilians in any OZ. The Bears aren't Clan any more beyond the nobles while the rest of the Clans live on reservations with the Falcons and Wolves hoping like heck education and repression kick in eventually.

[False Son]

Population is always going to get you in the end. There aren't enough Clan civilians in any OZ. The Bears aren't Clan any more beyond the nobles while the rest of the Clans live on reservations with the Falcons and Wolves hoping like heck education and repression kick in eventually.

The Falcons have resorted to violence more than once.  It may not be the most effective tool, but it is one they have to use and the Nova Cats do not.  The Exiles stayed in their own enclaves.  I believe that was largely their own choice, though.

[Istal_Devalis]

Merry Christmas, fellow Nova Cats!
I hope Santa brought plenty of anger and revenge on our enemies, next year! And catgirls. Cant forget the catgirls.

[Dragon Cat]

Merry Christmas, fellow Nova Cats!
I hope Santa brought plenty of anger and revenge on our enemies, next year! And catgirls. Cant forget the catgirls.

Never forget those girls

Hope you and the other Cats had a good one Istal

[Pa Weasley]

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night of simmering anger!

[jklantern]

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night of simmering anger!

That's a good greeting for anyone, really.

[GhostCat]

To begin a new year with a new look for my Nova Cats, I've added a few new figures that might fit in with the post-jihad era.  So, two new mechs acquired this holiday were a Kodiak and a Nova Cat, filling out a heavy Star with a Linebacker, Sunder and a Flashman.  So, it's a little more than just heavy, and battle value is out the window, mostly because it's just window dressing for the Spirit Cats in the Republic.

Yep, there are full trinaries of big heavy mechs standing around waiting for the little guys to call for help after being bid away by an overachieving Star Commander.  "What? You Captured another one?" 

The light star has four Koshis and a Hankyu, and it does have the full aura of Invincible, Invulnerable, Immortal, and Incredible. 

It'll be interesting to see what else survives from the Invasion Era to the New Century.

GC

[Istal_Devalis]

Shoot all the things!

And then we can have pizza and marguerite shooters.

[GhostCat]

So, now comes a question.  Let's call it a Provisional Cluster, the remains of several Galaxies reformed under a single command.  Many Nova Cat and Spirit Cat units using (by now) mostly captured and salvaged Inner Sphere equipment of all types. 

With the Clan fondness of counting things in groups of five, the average Cluster can have up to five Trinaries of mechs, with a possible number of random support groups that perhaps replace some of the mech formations. 

1.. Should there be Foot infantry in addition to Battle Armor?

2.. Ten tanks make a Star, how many of those should be incorporated in Nova Binaries?

3.. Four Trinaries of mechs with a separate Keshik that can add more to the pile?

GC

[Dragon Cat]

Well the average Cluster has 3 Trinaries, the biggest and best have 5...

In the DA era you'd be looking at near full combined arms down to star level

I'd say for a trinary maybe

2 Mechs, 4 vehicles and a BA point
3 Mechs, 2 BA points
1 Mech, 4 vehicles and 2 BA points

You could use non armoured infantry but only if you were really scraping the barrel they are still Clanners

[Istal_Devalis]

Three trinaries seems small for 'average'. I think most units would aim for 5 units still, but replace trinaries with binaries.

In any case, going back to the original idea for cluster make up might not be a bad idea for something like this. That, and if the earlier DA stuff was any indication, mixed units due to the ad hoc nature of things. I'd continue to use 2-vehicle points for vehicles. A lot of them work best in pairs.

[GhostCat]

At first, my interest was in establishing how many units of Clan origin had remained after being Abjured and rebuilding on Irece, then fighting heroically for the Combine in the Jihad, and so on.

What became clear is that after so much destruction, most of the remaining forces would be filled with old Star League designs, and late model Inner Sphere designs taken as Isorla. 

As this is a "Provisional" Cluster of Clan Nova Cat, it may seem "over strength" but it is one being formed in the Clan Protectorate and might be forced to admit that this is all that's left of them.  Sure there might be a large part that can claim to be Spirit Cats, and perhaps only a dozen or so mechs remain from the original Clan Invasion era.

Dragon Cat's example might be loosely described as a Binary Nova and adding a second AFV/CBA Nova would still be within the limits of a Trinary Supernova.  Yeah, putting all your baskets in one egg is what we do best.  Of course that does mean that half the tanks are tasked with transporting Foot Infantry Platoons or Points of Battle Armor, but a Maxim still packs respectable firepower even at that level.  My goal was to have four Stars of armored infantry and this gets me half way there with a lot more tanks than I expected.

So, still begging the question, how big can a Cluster be without converting into a Galaxy and having several clusters and a separate keshik within it?

GC

[Dragon Cat]

I think the biggest I saw was an Adder unit 5 or 6 Supernova Trinaries

[GhostCat]

Well, it seems like I was trying to stuff all my baskets into one Easter Egg.  Part of the problem was trying to include as many mechs as possible that never get used in any other factioned battle group I've used.  After a more thorough inventory search on my collection, it seems that I've acquired over fifty mechs that are both unique in number and nature.

Mostly these are Star League and Jihad era (one Nexus, one Hellhound, one Imp, etc.) units that proved to be little more than trophy mechs decorating cargo bays and parade grounds. 

So four trinaries might not seem so much if each one had only ten mechs.  Adding a Star of AFVs and a Star of CBAs in a Nova to the ten mechs makes a nice strike team.  One more binary of mechs can be added as a Command Star and Assault Fire Support Star.  An Aerospace Fighter Star might be enough to any need for Air support.  Drop Ships will be added as needed, two modified Overlord class ships might be enough to fit two battle groups each and a Union "C" for the extra Binary Strike team. 

It's still a Work In Progress, but the numbers and strength seem more reasonable with auxiliary units forming a second cluster as a new Galaxy begins to grow.  This does seem to be what the Nova Cats do best.  Periodically reinventing themselves with stuff nobody else wants or needs and proving they can still do amazing things with it.

GC

[Dmon]

Chipping in with a quick question for you hardcore Nova Cat types.

The Sarna wiki page for Zeta Galaxy says this

In 3062, The 1st Dragoncat Cluster was decimated in action against the 11th Alshain Avengers on Yamarovka while trying to prevent the Combine-Ghost Bear War. The last of Zeta's units -- nearly two clusters -- lifted off-planet and were never heard from again. By 3067, the Galaxy had been removed from the Nova Cats' TO&E.

I have not gone and read the source material yet but I also suspect that there is a lot more information to be had, so I am wondering what books to get out.

First do we know what two units it was who vanished off into the great blue yonder?

Second the Shoden page in TRO 3067 talks about a reformed Zeta being a little unhappy about the Shoden. Are there any other / later sources to support the units reformation?

Cheers.

[Dragon Cat]

The novel Path of Glory deals with Zeta Galaxy's formation they were mostly survivors from the Homeworlds Galaxies

No clue where they ended up

[Dmon]

The novel Path of Glory deals with Zeta Galaxy's formation they were mostly survivors from the Homeworlds Galaxies

No clue where they ended up

Exactly my issue, I want to know :-p

[Dragon Cat]

Exactly my issue, I want to know :-p

My guess would be WoB in Blake Documents they stated there was former Clansmen mainly Abjured Nova Cats and survivor Jags in their number

I'd bet that the Blakists would draw them in with the promise of reaching and defending Terra or getting revenge on the Succession States and Clans under the auspice of the new Star League once the Blake army had been revealed

[Archangel]

The Line Developers intentionally leave certain matters unresolved in order to provide GMs with potential campaign material.

[rebs]

And it helps to keep the ground fertile for stories that feel new, and are not complete "by the book" regurgitation of existing canon.  At least a little new ground should be broken in some small way with every story.  Those are the ones we as fans tend to like best.  Line developer has final say, no doubt, and it would have to fit.  But authors are notoriously bad artists if restricted like crazy.

[WONC]

The novel Path of Glory deals with Zeta Galaxy's formation they were mostly survivors from the Homeworlds Galaxies

No clue where they ended up

Come now, we all know that they followed their visions to find a new home for the true Nova Cats. Free from the impotent rage of the Bears, removed from the den of the snakes, and divorced from the walking corpse of their fallen brethren. They have been patiently rebuilding in the void, awaiting the flame's portent that signals the purification of all that they left behind. In the passing of that holy fire shall the true Nova Cat clan ascend to their rightful place as guardians of the sacred jewel of Terra. Their wisdom will be the light of humanity, their strength its sword, and their OmniMechs its shield. Seyla.

[Dragon Cat]

New "Nova Cat" unit in XTRO Republic I the Strix Stealth VTOL built on Shitara

Overall I like it, reminds me of the Orca from Command and Conqueror.

My problem is the location where its built a former Combine world which apparently was a centre for the Nova Cats within the Republic which is great... until you notice Shitara ends up back in the Combine after the fall of the Republic  :'(

[Nightgaun7]

What worlds did the Nova Cats hold in 3065-3067 or so? Was it everything in the Irece prefecture? Anything outside of it?

[WONC]

What worlds did the Nova Cats hold in 3065-3067 or so? Was it everything in the Irece prefecture? Anything outside of it?

Nope, just all of the prefecture, except for Itabiana, which goes to the Sharks at some point in the timeframe. IIRC, of course.

[Dragon Cat]

Nope, just all of the prefecture, except for Itabiana, which goes to the Sharks at some point in the timeframe. IIRC, of course.

Yes and other than our secret Homeworlds which we have built our legions on and will return to strike fear to our enemies... Zeta Galaxy did not go AWOL it returned to us... :-\ I'm not dreaming honest... :'(

[jklantern]

Yes and other than our secret Homeworlds which we have built our legions on and will return to strike fear to our enemies... Zeta Galaxy did not go AWOL it returned to us... :-\ I'm not dreaming honest... :'(

If the writers don't disprove it, it can totally be legit.

[WONC]

If the writers don't disprove it, it can totally be legit.

Hey now, let's not go invoking "writers" or "line directors" or "timeline influencers" around here. We've had enough trouble with that sort of thing, thank you very much.  #P

That said, I agree with you completely.

[Pa Weasley]

Hey now, let's not go invoking "writers" or "line directors" or "timeline influencers" around here. We've had enough trouble with that sort of thing, thank you very much.  #P

Then I should stop my plans for tonight of saying "timeline influencer" in front of a mirror three times?

[Dragon Cat]

Then I should stop my plans for tonight of saying "timeline influencer" in front of a mirror three times?

Just remember to click your heels three times at the same time