The Scorpion Empire: All your Warhawks are belong to us

[Stormy]

Only if it gets renamed the Ristar.  :)

[Nerroth]

There was something which I was minded of, in the midst of posting a few Scorpion-related notes over in the CSO feedback thread:

By the onset of the Hanseatic Crusade, there were three Keshiks in the Scorpion touman: Scorpion Keshik, Hellion Keshik, and Seeker Keshik. With a few exceptions, these protect the Khan, saKhan, and Loremaster respectively.

With the emergence of the office of zarKhan in the IlClan Era, would there be a fourth Keshik created to act as their bodyguard? And if so, from which Galaxy? Or would the zarKhan be formally removed from the touman proper, instead serving as a "civilian" leader - and thus require some alternate means of protection?

To look at the Dark Age Era Rasalhague Dominion as a point of comparison: Prince Hjalmer Miraborg (named in Era Report: 3145) resigned from the military in order to pursue a political career; thus, he is not listed anywhere on the Ghost Bear touman in Field Manual: 3145. However, so far as I can tell, FM:3145 does not list a Keshik as being assigned to his protection. Presumably the Dominion has some form of security force set up to protect the Prince, though I'm not sure if this is formally stated anywhere. (Perhaps we'll see such a thing in Dominions Divided.)

Since the zarKhan appears to be at least somewhat akin to the Prince of the Rasalhague Dominion, would the same apply here also?

For that matter, who (if anyone) serves to protect the reKhans governing the various planets of the Empire?

[Doc Swift]

Protection for such civilians would fall under the auspices of whichever portion of the touman is assigned to the world they're on. I don't envision keshiks being formed for any of these persons. (I think I was pushing it to create one for the Seekers.)

[CJC070]

Protection for such civilians would fall under the auspices of whichever portion of the touman is assigned to the world they're on. I don't envision keshiks being formed for any of these persons. (I think I was pushing it to create one for the Seekers.)

If the OvKhan is still part of the touman they may have a Star “bodyguard” unit composed of elementals or infantry veterans. 

[Doc Swift]

I am not speaking to what the Sea Foxes might do for their leaders. The Scorpions do not have any ovKhans.

[Wrangler]

Are OvKhan title considered to be a honorary title among other Clans or special tasks?  I've seen the title thrown around here and there.

[CJC070]

I am not speaking to what the Sea Foxes might do for their leaders. The Scorpions do not have any ovKhans.

Protection for such civilians would fall under the auspices of whichever portion of the touman is assigned to the world they're on. I don't envision keshiks being formed for any of these persons. (I think I was pushing it to create one for the Seekers.)

I am not speaking to what the Sea Foxes might do for their leaders. The Scorpions do not have any ovKhans.

My bad I was thinking of zarKhans the planetary military leaders of the Scorpion Empire.  Are they technically in command of a Cluster or does each planet have greater defences?

[Zeruel]

Are OvKhan title considered to be a honorary title among other Clans or special tasks?  I've seen the title thrown around here and there.

ovKhan is a Sea Fox rank of those that command one of their Aimags, below the saKhan

[Doc Swift]

My bad I was thinking of zarKhans the planetary military leaders of the Scorpion Empire.  Are they technically in command of a Cluster or does each planet have greater defences?

The position you are describing is reKhan, and they are not military positions. They fall outside the military command structure. The position of zarKhan was created later, and follows that same philosophy. They are civilian administrators, as the Clan found it difficult to maintain their military readiness while also dealing with the day-to-day needs of their growing civilian population. The Khan still commands the touman. Think of the zarKhan as the president or prime minister, while the Khan is the highest military commander; they are expected to cooperate to ensure the safety and prosperity of the nation, but the Khan would be the ultimate authority when it comes to military matters. Thus, the zarKhan might request or suggest a particular military action, but the Khan could ignore that in favor of something completely different. This, of course, might lead to friction, which is what one might expect. None of the reKhans or the zarKhan are considered to be in command of any military component of the touman, though of course it's reasonable to predict that the local police paramilitary or even a PGC might be seconded to these individuals for a specified time (such as disaster relief, or if the local Galaxy Commander is called away and thus delegates the oversight to the civilian leadership. Again, making warriors subordinate to a civilian could lead to friction, especially in the short term. As the political structure matures, these growing pains should be accommodated and a smoothly running system results. Or bloody revolts and repressions could return. That's part of the fun of BT.

[Flaresnake]

Protection for such civilians would fall under the auspices of whichever portion of the touman is assigned to the world they're on. I don't envision keshiks being formed for any of these persons. (I think I was pushing it to create one for the Seekers.)

Don't some clans use Keshiks as command units for all or most Galaxies?

[Doc Swift]

Perhaps, but the Scorpions didn't.

[glitterboy2098]

Don't some clans use Keshiks as command units for all or most Galaxies?

as i recall, one did, but they only had a handful of galaxies to start with, and they didn't have any more keshiks than normal.

[DarkISI]

You might also keep in mind that Emmy Line actually stated in Moving Forward that she would no longer be in command of her Galaxy.
She has abdicated any command position. Now, might she get bodyguards? Possible. But she would not be their commanding officer. Just like the US President is not in charge of the secret service agents who protect them. It might actually be the other way around. They can and will get the President out of a dangerous situation, whether the President likes it or not.

[Zeruel]

Don't some clans use Keshiks as command units for all or most Galaxies?

as i recall, one did, but they only had a handful of galaxies to start with, and they didn't have any more keshiks than normal.

that would be Clan Wolf...they have a Keshik for every Galaxy; still do as of FM3145--that's 14 Keshiks in 3145, albeit they are Trinary sized, not Clusters

I don't believe it's ever been stated why they have a Keshik for every Galaxy (maybe in the Wolf Clan Sourcebook?)

[Crimson Dynamo]

Don't some clans use Keshiks as command units for all or most Galaxies?

As mentioned, the Wolves have Keshiks leading most/all of their Galaxies, and the Jaguars called the command units of front-line Galaxies Keshiks as well (Jaguar Spirit, Swath, Skyrider, and Dark Prowlers) in addition to the Khans' command units.

[Starfury]

So we know what happened to Rudolph Schmidt. Did the rest of his Petraries survive the last battle of the Crusade and join up with the Empire, or was he the only one?

[Doc Swift]

Their fates have not been elucidated.

[Nerroth]

As noted over in this thread, there is as yet no unit logo or colour scheme for Eta Galaxy, nor for Seeker Galaxy's new Keshik.

While the question of colour schemes might be under CSO's remit, I was advised that they do not typically go so far as to work up new faction logos.

So, are there any experts here who might have ideas as to what, if any, new logos could be drawn up for either of these two units?

[Doc Swift]

Pretty sure I mentioned somewhere (a RecGuide entry, maybe?) that Eta Galaxy has the Greek letter eta on their 'Mechs. H for Hansa, yo.  ;) Seeker Keshik probably uses the Galaxy insignia.

[GuyIncognito]

Doc Swift: I feel like I might've said before, but I appreciate how willing you are to hang around here and provide further details/trivia on the lovely little faction you've helped flesh out. After the WoR and Jihad books I was skeptical about their long-term prospects, but the Scorpion Empire's really been built up into something fun to watch with relatively few bumps in the road along the way.

[Doc Swift]

Sometimes when we write something, it's sort of like a fire-and-forget missile. With the Empire, I got to write the OTP, a TtS, two SOs, and some RecGuide entries. It's not terribly common to have so many opportunities to write the same faction in such a short time. I'm glad it's been mostly well-received, and I'm happy to answer whatever I can. Hopefully, I get to write more for them, and maybe my participation gets someone who might be on the fence to pull the trigger and check out the new stuff and they can ask their own questions.  :)

So: Thanks! I appreciate it! I love this game and the fans and players. It wasn't that long ago I was on that side of the game as a fan and player. If I can help, I will.

[Nerroth]

Apologies for quoting myself from a post in another thread:

Are there any Free Guilds in the Scorpion Empire?

If so, is there a degree of reciprocity between Free Guild and Clan interaction between the Empire and the Inner Sphere and near Periphery?

In other words: do the Free Guilds supporting Clan Sea Fox operations in the Chaine Cluster consider the recently-acquired Scorpion enclave there as "Clan", for the purposes of providing their services? Or, indeed, what of any Seekers passing through the Inner Sphere - do the Free Guilds consider them to be "Clan" also?

And in the other direction, should any Free Guilds exist in the Empire, would they offer reciprocal services to visiting Clan Sea Fox Aimags?

[Doc Swift]

Are there any Free Guilds in the Scorpion Empire?

Until something is published to that effect, no.

[Nerroth]

Fair enough.

That still leaves the matter of the Free Guilds in support of the Council of Six Clans: so far as they are concerned, would the Scorpions in the Chaine Cluster (or on long-range Seeker missions in the Inner Sphere or near Periphery) be "Clan" enough for them to treat with?

[Doc Swift]

Same answer, I'm afraid.

[Maelwys]

Oops. Messed that up. Will try again in the right thread :)

[Nerroth]

Actually, here's a thought: might there be an introduction to the Free Guilds in BattleTech Universe?

If so, perhaps a line or two could be added there (and/or in the Scorpion Empire section of that book) addressing this topic, one way or another...

[Wrangler]

Actually, here's a thought: might there be an introduction to the Free Guilds in BattleTech Universe?

If so, perhaps a line or two could be added there (and/or in the Scorpion Empire section of that book) addressing this topic, one way or another...

There mentioned in Empire Alone.  I'm not liking how they went from free society living under the iron heel of Clans to mafia / dark caste of merchants.  One or two being bad doobies, but not entire group.

[Weirdo]

Anyone know what the platoon sizes for non-foot Hansa infantry are? Would it be easiest to just use Taurian sizes, since they're the only other faction to use 30-trooper foot platoons?

[Doc Swift]

See p. 23, OTP: Hanseatic Crusade.