AFFS High Command, Generals and Gentlemen

[Lord Harlock]

I guess ilClan wasn't the end of Suns. I guess I am here for awhile longer.

[ArkRoyalRavager]

Those RoTS refugees won't matter much, given their pitifully low numbers. Nothing surprising with the Suns section.

[Rorke]

I'm going to be full on miffed, if we have to wait another three years for something.

Even more so if a raft of yet more historic stuff gets ploughed out, while we wait.  Our entry
read like treading water, as did the other Successor States to be honest.  A hint towards coming
things, but little of substance.

[rebs]

I feel your pain, Rorke.  Perfectly good factions are languishing in the wings. 

Our chosen factions have business to attend to, as well.  I can't wait to see how it turns out. 

[ArkRoyalRavager]

I'm going to be full on miffed, if we have to wait another three years for something.

Even more so if a raft of yet more historic stuff gets ploughed out, while we wait.  Our entry
read like treading water, as did the other Successor States to be honest.  A hint towards coming
things, but little of substance.

This has ever been the style with the Suns'(and a few other factions) writing since the timeskip to 3145.

Hopefully the LCG gets to rebuild instead of coming back to die.

[Paladin1]

I'm going to be full on miffed, if we have to wait another three years for something.

Even more so if a raft of yet more historic stuff gets ploughed out, while we wait.  Our entry
read like treading water, as did the other Successor States to be honest.  A hint towards coming
things, but little of substance.

I understand the frustration Rorke, but to be honest I find myself to be in the exact opposite position.  The historical stuff is a major part of what's keeping me active in the Universe right now rather than just chucking the entire story and writing my own timeline for my own group.  Not that I haven't decided to rewrite large portions of it, but I still hold to the basic story arc for now.

Honestly, I've gotten so used to the idea that the writers feel like the Federated Suns has had it's day and now only exists to serve as an illustrator of the greatness of the Combine and Confederation that I've quit worrying about where we stand post-Jihad, as I expect us to just continue along in the shadows, only getting attention when someone else needs a boost in the fiction.

Would I enjoy seeing our return to glory?  Certainly, what kind of Davion would I be if I didn't, but let's be honest here, I don't see it happening because I see the majority of the attention going towards the Capellans and Clan Wolf in the near future.  So instead, I look forward to the Historicals being released to fill in more of the backstory and I browse the boards, looking specific data for my own homebrew campaign.

[Rorke]

Oh Paladin I get you, I absolutely do.  I disagree of course, but it doesn't mean I
do not understand your viewpoint.

I've always moved with the universe, and I've been on this ride a frighteningly long time.  Frankly
the seemingly eternal waits, for new up to date content have made me a touch judgemental. 
Anything that gets in the way of new stuff, will frustrate me.  Though I'm aware of how there've
been behind the scenes changes, that wouldn't help.

[Arkansas Warrior]

This has ever been the style with the Suns'(and a few other factions) writing since the timeskip to 3145.

Hopefully the LCG gets to rebuild instead of coming back to die.

You know, that brings up something that kind of bothered me about the FS section.  Tye head of the new LCG is granted the Viscounty of Tecumseh, right?  Two problems with this: 1) Viscount isn’t a FedSuns title.  The system has always gone straight from Baron to Count.  I mean, I guess Julian can create a new step in the noble staircase, but it’s still an odd choice.  2) Counts are said to rule “particularly important cities, planetary continents, moons, or even sparsely-populated worlds.”  So...how empty is Tecumseh that, as an entire world, it still doesn’t merit even a Count?

(Ok, actually 3 problems because, in part because it’s mostly just a name on a map that’s almost never referenced in the fiction, I’ve used it on occasion in my headcanon, which I’m going to have to rewrite now.  But I can hardly blame the writers for not respecting the ideas in my head.  lol)

[ArkRoyalRavager]

I'm guessing it's called a Viscouncy instead of a County because Viscount is a non-hereditary title, which was mentioned in that section.

Another possibility is they are granted planetary landholds instead of the entire planet or system itself(which is under a Duke), which checks them from getting too powerful if they decide to go rogue or go Davion Warrior Cabal in the future.

Although pre-existing big merc units with landholds already go back centuries, such as 12th Vegan Rangers.

[Arkansas Warrior]

You’d think if it was sub-planetary, it would say “The Viscounty of Tecumseh’s Geronimo continent” or “a Viscounty on Tecumseh” or something though, right?  The way it’s phrased suggests it’s the whole world.

The non-hereditary idea is interesting, but it still seems to be unprecedented in FedSuns peerage.  HB:HD talks about the title of Marquess being granted for set time periods (5-10 years), with the option of making it permanent if the holder did well enough, so it seems like existing titles can be granted on a non-hereditary basis.  From an OOC perspective, I wish the writers would stick to the existing source material instead of reinventing things on the fly without explanation.  It’d be different if there was a blurb along the lines of “so Julian created a new step in the nobility: non-hereditary viscounties...”, but when it just shows up out of nowhere it’s frustrating.

[Rorke]

If memory serves, Viscount is a position mentioned in the FS Handbook.  But you're not
wrong, regards it being a title as best I recall.

[Arkansas Warrior]

Now that you mention it, there is a notation for Viscount in the Typical Salary and Price Guide fable on page 185.  But that’s the only mention, there’s nothing about them in the section on Nobility (pp. 108-109).  Curious.

[The Mighty ACHOO]

Viscount is a uniquely Lyran rank of nobility falling between a Graf and a Margrave. It is a minor noble title.

[Decoy]

I think the title they wanted was Marquess, which served a similar role in the old book.

[Rorke]

I'd hate to ruffle feathers, but I do wonder if continuity is as strong these days
as it was a few years back. 

Of course I don't mean that unkindly, but I seem to recall a few years back it being
as tight as a drum.  I also recall the FASA days, when it was regrettably somewhat
lacking.

[GreekFire]

There have been mentions of FedSuns Viscounts in the past. That HB:HD doesn't mention them directly in the text doesn't mean they don't exist; both it and the older House book, for example, also exclude the rank of Earl--another noble title established to exist within the FedSuns.

[Arkansas Warrior]

There have been mentions of FedSuns Viscounts in the past. That HB:HD doesn't mention them directly in the text doesn't mean they don't exist; both it and the older House book, for example, also exclude the rank of Earl--another noble title established to exist within the FedSuns.

I’m not doubting, but where are Earls referenced?  I couldn’t find any occurrences on a search of the HBHD or HDSB.

[The Mighty ACHOO]

Earl was a rank of nobility in the Terran Hegemony. It may be a relic of the fallen Star league on the former worlds of the Hegemony. It was mentioned in the Mechwarrior, Third Edition (I think) and of course the Star League sourcebook.

[Arkansas Warrior]

You’d think if it was sub-planetary, it would say “The Viscounty of Tecumseh’s Geronimo continent” or “a Viscounty on Tecumseh” or something though, right?  The way it’s phrased suggests it’s the whole world.

I finished IlClan yesterday and, on reading back through the FS section, I actually got this part wrong.  It does say “a viscounty on Tecumseh.”  So probably not the whole world.  Still an odd choice of title though, I think.

[Rorke]

Whatever the import of the title, it's still an interesting angle being crafted with it.

I'm sort of glad the Lexingtons are back, I never quite felt it with them as a line
AFFS unit.

[CVB]

Earl was a rank of nobility in the Terran Hegemony. It may be a relic of the fallen Star league on the former worlds of the Hegemony. It was mentioned in the Mechwarrior, Third Edition (I think) and of course the Star League sourcebook.

Viscount (via French: Vicomte from Late Latin "Vice" [deputy] + "Comes") is a rank between Baron and Count/Earl. It remained an administrative, nonhereditary position longer than most other noble titles, and was even never used in some areas (e.g. the Holy Roman and later German Empire).

"Earl" is the Anglo-Saxon equivalent (cognate with old Norse "jarl") of the Latin ("Comes")->French ("Comte")->Anglo-Norman "Count". The German equivalent is "Graf", as used in the LC/LA.


"Marquess/Marquis/Margrave" (ultimately derived from "Marca/Marche" in the Latin/French branch and the Germanic "Mark", both meaning a border area) in is a rank above Count/Earl but below Duke.
The German equivalent is "Markgraf".

[five_corparty]

I'm sort of glad the Lexingtons are back, I never quite felt it with them as a line
AFFS unit.

same!  :)

[Lord Harlock]

Whatever the import of the title, it's still an interesting angle being crafted with it.

I'm sort of glad the Lexingtons are back, I never quite felt it with them as a line
AFFS unit.

It probably sounded better on paper. Let's preserve the Lexington Combat Group as a part of Ceti Hussars. However, it was really a much reduced Ceti Hussars. So instead of preserving the unit, it made them just a rump of what was left of the LCG.

[The Mighty ACHOO]

There are a lot of things the writers come up that sound good until us nitpicking players look at it, scratch our heads and wonder what bodily orrifice the writer pulled that one out of.

[MarauderD]

What I could never understand is if the LCG were the 4th Ceti Hussars, who were the 5th Ceti Hussars?  I saw them mentioned somewhere, and thought to myself, wait, what?

[Arkansas Warrior]

Everybody was raising new units after the Blackout.

[Doc Swift]

After the Jihad, the Ceti Hussars were reduced to LCTs. This meant that the Fourth (former LCG) had too many troops. The excess formed the Fifth Ceti Hussars, who were destroyed at Palmyra.

[MarauderD]

That being the case, it would be cool to see the newly reformed LCG drop onto Palmyra to hunt for the survivors of the disaster and any remaining 5th Ceti Hussars.  Sounds like a novella to me!

[Doc Swift]

Check the new Upcoming Releases thread for the announcement of Turning Points: Helm, by the High Command's own Shadow6!
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/general-discussion/upcoming-releases-xxi-urbie-s-beer-run/

[Hellraiser]

I really hope there is more there than what we already know from the book & the scenario pack.
New cool tidbits of info would be awesome.
If on the other hand its a rehash of old stuff then, meh.


I didn't mind the FS/CH org absorbing the LCG so much as the total reduction in size, going from 4? Regiments to part of one seemed like..... uhm... overkill?

But such was the Jihad I guess.

As far as a Viscount being in charge of a single world....... Grayson was "Baron von Glengary",  getting an entire world for just a Baron title.