Alien Megafauna

[Inxentas]

Hi guys,

After reading CO I got inspired by the concept of alien life. By that I don't mean intelligent life like in Star Trek, but alien life as classified by CO and how it interacts with the local populace (fish, repiles, mammals, etc). The booklet I got with one of the box sets speaks of these bug swarms and, perhaps in opposition to long-term players, I do find the idea of extremely hostile alien lifeforms quite enticing to bring to the table. Think xenomorphs, godzillas, pretty much anything that comes down to a predatory animal that could threaten typical BattleTech units. With BT's ruleset I'd be able to use Infantry to represent swarms, and by renaming some TO:AUE equipment I'm sure I'd be able to generate something like a bile-spewing monstrosity.

Has anyone ever used construction rules to express alien megafauna and do you have some tips for me? I'm pretty much looking at this from a GM perspective, so I'm not too concerned about such units being competative or anything. Think of them as a property of a planet that's either controlled by the GM or acts autonomous (like a drone).

[DarkISI]

We have stats for beast mounted infantry in TRO 3085.
And Sarna has a big (though, incomplete) list of alien fauna https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Category:Alien_fauna (It's missing the elephant sized Tukayyid Boar Spider, for example ;) )

[ANS Kamas P81]

(It's missing the elephant sized Tukayyid Boar Spider, for example ;) )

Thank god, that's ten pounds of nope in a five pound bucket.

[Mendrugo]

Has anyone ever used construction rules to express alien megafauna and do you have some tips for me? I'm pretty much looking at this from a GM perspective, so I'm not too concerned about such units being competative or anything. Think of them as a property of a planet that's either controlled by the GM or acts autonomous (like a drone).

The non-canon Blackthorne comics led off with a story where the DCMS had created a "BioMech" - essentially a 'Mech-sized, cyber-enhanced, mega fauna with clawed arms, a bludgeoning tail, and a "head" that unfolded into a mass of tentacles and a mouth.  I tried to combine the beast creation rules and cyber enhancement rules, and found them not terribly compatible.  (The cyber rules, of course, having been intended for human-size enhancements.)

[Swankmotron]

In Chaos Theory, the short included with the Alpha Strike Box Set, I included dinosaurs and they affected the outcome of the battle. I thought about some ideas about how to include those on the table and hopefully they'll end up in Shrapnel one day.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The planet Hunter's Paradise is known for its dinosaur-like megafauna.

[Mendrugo]

Towne also has a lot of megafauna running around. 

The Hell's Horses have been importing exotic fauna of all sizes for use as racing steeds.  A moratorium on megafauna for this purpose was imposed after the catastrophic Grand Stampede at Black Death Pass.

[Hellraiser]

The planet Hunter's Paradise is known for its dinosaur-like megafauna.

Towne also has a lot of megafauna running around. 

I think Caph is the first one I can recall.

IIRC,  They had to build massive walls/fences to colonize there, and Amaris ripped them down to terrorize the population with dino attacks.

[Kit deSummersville]

Shrapnel #10 has Bainbridge's Guide to Impactful Exofauna in it.

[Prospernia]

From the House books, the alien-fauna has been traditionally primitive and not a factor in Battletech or Mechwarrior games.

I think they wanted to say clear of giant sand-worms and rancors.

However, a good Kiju attack could open some eyes.

[Paul]

We have stats for beast mounted infantry in TRO 3085.
And Sarna has a big (though, incomplete) list of alien fauna https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Category:Alien_fauna (It's missing the elephant sized Tukayyid Boar Spider, for example ;) )

Of possible particular note to OP:

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Mkuranga_Titanodon
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Megasaur

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Nolan_(species)

Cute widdle genocidal (you deserve it) marsupial:
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Isesakian_Kodama

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

There's also the sauropod-sized Hipposaur from Vixen.

[Charistoph]

I do rather wish there was Total Warfare-style rules for some of that megafauna.  All I've found so far is the RPG stuff.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

That's because it's not really relevant in a mech fight.  You ever see elephants intruding during a tank battle?  Of course not, they run like hell when they hear it.

[Charistoph]

There is a difference between an herbivore weighing in at a couple tons (at most) and a carnivore weighing in at 7 tons that is as tall as a Mech.

Not to mention that saurian wrangling is a job on some planets.

[GRUD]

The Hell's Horses have been importing exotic fauna of all sizes for use as racing steeds.  A moratorium on megafauna for this purpose was imposed after the catastrophic Grand Stampede at Black Death Pass.

Ok, Where can we find info on this?    Sarna only lists "Mad Stampede", and they only mention 2, 1 each on a LC and CJF planet.   

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

There is a difference between an herbivore weighing in at a couple tons (at most) and a carnivore weighing in at 7 tons that is as tall as a Mech.

The aggressive nature of carnivores is often heavily exaggerated. In reality, most predators are highly reluctant to attack anything they think might be a threat to them, and a huge mass of metal that's got all sorts of weird smells (none of which are going to be thought of as food for most carnivores) isn't something they're actually likely to regard as prey.

[GRUD]

Of possible particular note to OP:

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Mkuranga_Titanodon
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Megasaur

https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Nolan_(species)

Cute widdle genocidal (you deserve it) marsupial:
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Isesakian_Kodama

But there's this on Sarna.   

Nolan (species)
There is currently no text in this page.

The Megasaur link seems the best of the lot, as it not only lists Planets known to have Megasaur Populations, it also has a list of the References apparently used to find/compile the list, as well as a Bibliography, which seems to have links to the Sarna Articles/pages mentioned in the References.   

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

The link to the Nolan fails to include the ) at the end as part of the link.  You have to add it manually to get the correct page to display.

[GRUD]

The aggressive nature of carnivores is often heavily exaggerated. In reality, most predators are highly reluctant to attack anything they think might be a threat to them, and a huge mass of metal that's got all sorts of weird smells (none of which are going to be thought of as food for most carnivores) isn't something they're actually likely to regard as prey.

From what I've seen on the Internet, it SOUNDS like Badgers and Geese are both more likely to attack you than a Grizzly Bear.      Granted, the badger is a semi-small predator, but it doesn't seem to back down from ANYTHING.   

[Karasu]

There are megafauna that are dangerous enough for herding them to be a job for IndustrialMechs.  Allow me to present the https://www.sarna.net/wiki/CattleMaster.

The most likely way to include such things on a Battletech or Alpha Strike game would be IndustrialMechs trying to protect a herd of 'domestic' dinosaurs from their giant predators.

(Honestly, I think that this whole bit of lore was only written for the sake of the pun.)

[Mendrugo]

Ok, Where can we find info on this?    Sarna only lists "Mad Stampede", and they only mention 2, 1 each on a LC and CJF planet.   

The Mad Stampede is a vehicle race.  The Grand Stampede was an animal race.  It’s in a sidebar in Tamar Rising - p. 59.

[Kit deSummersville]

I do rather wish there was Total Warfare-style rules for some of that megafauna.  All I've found so far is the RPG stuff.

Shrapnel #10 has Bainbridge's Guide to Impactful Exofauna in it.

[Mendrugo]

There are megafauna that are dangerous enough for herding them to be a job for IndustrialMechs.  Allow me to present the https://www.sarna.net/wiki/CattleMaster.

The most likely way to include such things on a Battletech or Alpha Strike game would be IndustrialMechs trying to protect a herd of 'domestic' dinosaurs from their giant predators.

(Honestly, I think that this whole bit of lore was only written for the sake of the pun.)

I've been in scenarios where dino-stampede rules reduced all movement through the affected areas to 1/4 normal.  There's also a short story in 25 Years of Art and Fiction where a future Caballero uses a Ranchhand agromech to stampede a herd of giant ranger bulls into a pirate DropShip, toppling it.

[trboturtle]

Why not move up to Kaiju? I mean, want to give your players some heartburn? Make them take a mission to stop what they think is a pirate band only to find the Battletech Version of Godzilla......

Craig
(I find it interesting my grammar checker has the right spelling for Godzilla.....)

[Charistoph]

Shrapnel #10 has Bainbridge's Guide to Impactful Exofauna in it.

No true Megafauna in it.  At best, we're looking at exotic Battle Armor, nothing like the 'Mech-sized Megasaur.

Why not move up to Kaiju? I mean, want to give your players some heartburn? Make them take a mission to stop what they think is a pirate band only to find the Battletech Version of Godzilla......

Craig
(I find it interesting my grammar checker has the right spelling for Godzilla.....)

Even if it's just a April Fool's Joke or one-off crazy scenario packet like PsuedoTech, this needs to be done.  At most anything else is pure Fan Design, which can sometimes work.

[glitterboy2098]

i wouldn't mind seeing some more megafauna being used as mounts for new infantry units. add some variety to the beast Mounted infantry category.

[Mendrugo]

Here's a 'Mech sized cyber-enhanced critter - the BioMech from BattleTech Annual #1.

[GRUD]

The Mad Stampede is a vehicle race.  The Grand Stampede was an animal race.  It’s in a sidebar in Tamar Rising - p. 59.

Cool, Thanks! 

[GRUD]

Why not move up to Kaiju? I mean, want to give your players some heartburn? Make them take a mission to stop what they think is a pirate band only to find the Battletech Version of Godzilla......

Craig
(I find it interesting my grammar checker has the right spelling for Godzilla.....)

But neither of those is spelled Correctly?

Gojira

And Apparently, from the Wiki:

Godzilla's Japanese name, Gojira (ゴジラ), comes from a combination of the Japanese approximation of "gorilla" (ゴリラ, gorira), and kujira (クジラ), the Japanese word for "whale." The name is said to have been chosen to represent the size and strength of both animals.

So, he's a Gorilla Whale?   


About 25-30 years ago, I saw some Fan Magazine that had Gojira and some of his buddies in it, maybe even King Kong also.  Maybe Future Wars or 'Mech/'Tech Factory?  In the short bit of fiction for the scenario, it didn't end well for the House Kurita MechWarriors that encountered them!!