LANCE ORGANIZATION: THOUGHTS AND RATIONALES
Okay, not everyone agrees with my organization, so I wanted to take a few minutes to explain my reasoning. If, at the end of the day, I haven't been able to convince y'all, let me know. I'll rework it--but first let me have a say here.
My first priority in assigning 'Mechs to specific lances was to consolidate similar speeds/jumping capabilities together. I've never been a fan of lances that have widely disparte speeds/jumps between the various 'Mechs--if only because you want the lance to travel and operate as a coherent group (a team, if you will) rather than just being a collection of Warriors piloting their own machines who happen be in the same unit for purposes of drawing a paycheck!
Second, there was goal of being 'thematic'. RED Team, for example, has wildly divering speeds along with 'Mechs that are jumpers as well as others who aren't. But Grognard based them on the movie--and that was funny enough to earn them a slot. As a team.
Same goes for Team Skeeter. Giovanni Blasini has a point--the capabilities of the individual 'Mechs are quite different . . . but as a thematic whole, it works. And it gives the author (me) and the reader (hopefully you) the chance for story-telling gold.
To that end, I've not gone the traditional route of Missile Lances and Pursuit Lances and Strike Lances . . . I did this my way (to borrow from Sinatra and Presley).
Team SKEETER and Team RED are self-explanatory (plus I've already touched on them above). So we will press on with the others.
Scout Team. Everything moves 8/12 or faster (the Hermes clocks out at 9/14). Nothing jumps. The pair of Talons give the lance some long-ranged firepower, while the Mongoose has the Beagle Active Probe and the Hermes deals with hostile infantry and incendiary work (plus all four 'Mechs have a multitude of smaller lasers for close-in work).
Firepower is light to be sure--but it is also the lightest (in tonnage) lance within the Regiment. Besides, what part of scout did you not understand?
Strike Team One; Strike Team Two. Everyone jumps. No one quits. Fall behind and I'll shoot you my--oh, wait, this is BattleTech, not Starship Troopers. :)
Both lances move at 7/11/7 (and each has a Spider for an 8/12/8 member as well!) with a solid (if not overly powerful) array of firepower at both range and in close. I called them Strike Teams because these guys are our fast moving skirmishers and harassers that get behind an enemy and dare them to turn around and give chase (opening up their backsides to our heavies and assaults!).
And, like Odd-job (from Kelly's Heroes) says, "Like man, we can get out of trouble faster than we got into it."
Team BLUE. No jumpers here. But the entire lance moves at 6/9 and has pretty decent firepower and armor. These guys are flankers that screen the big boys and pursue the enemy once he has broken.
Team GREEN. Back to jumping Jehosaphats! But they are all moving at 6/9/6. Fairly light firepower, but when operating in conjunction with the heavier Regimental elements (or as a two-lance unit with Team BLUE) they can be highly effective.
Strike Team Three. Slower than Strike 1 or Strike 2 (with three 6/9/6'ers and one 7/11/7'er) Strike Three is intended to engage the enemy when it is simply too hot for Strike 1/Strike 2 to play their games. Good armor with enough firepower to drive the enemy crazy until the umpire yells "You're OUT!"
Team BADGER. The odd-ball unit. A mix of jumpers (5/8/3, 4/6/4, and 4/6/4) and one fast non-jumper (5/8/0) with excellent armor and solid firepower. Now, how did I decide on this? Well, I ran out of jumping 'Mechs suitable to team up with the rest of Badger. So, I added the Ostsol in compensation.
Team VIXEN. All jumpers. Slower than the Strike Teams above, this unit is very capable at close range and no slouch at ranged combat either (with the Blackjack, Hatchetman, and Catapult able to lay down the pain at range).
Team HART. Another fairly slow (3 @ 4/6/4 and 1 @ 5/8/3) unit of jumpers. But this one is almost entirely energy based and thus capable of just going and going and going like the Energizer Bunny from Hell.
Team GATOR. Jumpers ahoy! Man, us CBT'ers really like their jumping 'Mechs, don't we? But this one is slow and powerful--while the ammunition lasts, at least.
Team WOLVERINE. We had four Wolverines in our submissions--so you know what THAT means! Yep, a lance with nothing but Wolvies! Cigars and sideburns are not optional, folks.
Team BLACK. Pairing up the Griffins and Lynxs makes for a good lance. Fast, maneuverable, well-armed, and enough armor for their weight, this team is a prize catch.
Team SHRIKE. Ground pounders (finally!). But every last one of them move at 5/8 and they work very nicely together.
Cavalry Team One. The first of our dedicated Heavy-weight elements. And can you get anymore classic than teaming up a pair of Warhammers with a pair of Marauders? Talk about PPC pain! Take eight and eject, then call your doctor in the morning!
Cavalry Team Two. Another classic combo is Thunderbolts and Archers--unfortunately we only had the one Archer. But we did have a Zeus moving at the same 4/6/0 speed and with pretty matching weapons to the rest. I'd buy that for a dollar!
Cavalry Team Three. A bit heavier, with that pair of Hatamotos leading the lance, and an utterly lethal array of guns. Still every bit as fast (well, not fast, but not slow either, not for 3025/3039/early 3050's, at least) as the other Cavalry Teams.
HAMMER Team. Had to do it. Had to, I say. We've got four Warhammers left, so why not a lance comprised soley of 'Hammers? Sure, it should be against the law (or basic human decency), but overkill is our middle name, ain't it? Ain't it?
TONGS Team. No, not those kind of tongs. Or those. Hammer and Tongs - - - get it? Sigh. Just as fast as HAMMER Team . . . but these guys are ALL Assaults. This is the anvil upon which the 'Hammers drive their opponents. And then they listen to the lamentations of their women.
Team PORCUPINE. And this is probably the lance that has most people so upset. I mean, how on Earth could I possibly dilute the combat ability of a Highlander and a Marauder II by teaming them up with a pair of URBIES?!?
Well, they all jump and they all work really good in an urban environment. And the 2/3/2 Urbies really don't slow down the other (3/5/3) 'Mechs all that much. Plus, who is going to shoot at an UrbanMech when they've got a Highlander and a Marauder II bearing down on them?
Oh, did I mention one of those Urbies is packing an AC-20? And the other one is piloted by "The Stig"?
OH. YEAH.
Shock Team. The rest of our front-line 3/5/0'ers. This is the mailed fist of our Regiment, right here, folks. Shock and awe. Shock and awe. When it gets there, at least.
Reserve/Support Team. I paired up our pair of artillery 'Mechs with the very rarely seen Daboku because I really hope that this lance doesn't get it stuck in the middle of combat all that often! And where better to stick that incredibly ancient Mackie than right here?
Anyway, that is what was going through my mind when I posted the Lance/Team organization.
MA
