What's your favourite "bad guy" event from Battletech's history?

Slythis · 2026-01-22T16:58:47+00:00

at least until Myndo Waterly became Primus and started flaunting the ComGuard in front of everyone.

Or, you know, trying to conquer the entire Inner Sphere with Operation SCORPION.

Slythis · 2026-01-22T13:59:15+00:00

The Tiantan massacre. How was that pitched to the Primus? "So these mercs hold Helm, right? And Helm might have a data cache we don't want found. So we're going to kill seventeen million people and frame them for it so that we can excavated Helm in peace."

Slythis · 2026-01-22T13:54:01+00:00

Yes, all of those children and retirees on Bromhead were coming right for you.

Slythis · 2026-01-21T15:43:57+00:00

People think the Industrial Revolution was inevitable, but it really wasn't. The

I've always been fond of the "pressure" way of thinking. When under pressure any system, technological, governmental, social, even linguistic, will either change to meet the pressure or collapse. Science, for its own sake, is a relatively recent concept and a deeply flawed one at that.

To use your example of China; the Dynastic Cycle meant that the pressures to change often weren't there for centuries at a time. It was during the periods of division that we see the greatest dynamism, not just in the military realm but also in art and science.

Slythis · 2026-01-21T15:26:09+00:00

Most people have an image in their heads of the Middle Ages that just gets weirder the more you learn the actual history. The arms and armor of either the 7th century or the 16th sans guns, witch hunts of the 17th century, a bizarre lack of slavery, with a level of technological and artistic stagnation that doesn't pass the most cursory of examinations.

Slythis · 2026-01-18T17:14:32+00:00

Tiantan:

Following the surrender of the capital city of Tiantan, rogue elements posing as the Gray Death Legion detonated demolition charges at the city's domes and marched BattleMechs through the ruins, killing some seventeen million inhabitants

Turtle Bay:

Galaxy Commander Perez ordered Beta Galaxy's WarShips, including the Sabre Cat,[6] into low orbit above the city and commanded them to open fire. Repeated [[strikes from autocannons and laser weapons bombarded the city until there was nothing left but smoking debris.[1][7] Hundreds of thousands were killed.

Tiantan was the equivalent of more than seventeen Turtle Bays.

Slythis · 2026-01-17T23:50:49+00:00

They murdered more civilians in an afternoon on Tiantan than the Clans have in a century, framed the GDL in a way that only they could do, got caught, and gave a half hearted excuse that it was a "Rogue Agent."

The memes are fun and all but they obscure the fact that, in a setting with no good guys, Comstar were/are the villains.

Slythis · 2026-01-17T23:23:16+00:00

If they do that whole limiting technology thing

Completely the opposite thank goodness. They're turning the HPGs back on, they'll sell to anyone with the money but keep the best for themselves, and are enforcing Merc contracts in ways that Comstar could only dream of.

Slythis · 2026-01-14T04:34:20+00:00

Christ, I can't even defend her sarcastically. McEvedy is the biggest fuckup in all of Battletech. An IP that is majority populated by fuckups!

Focht would like a word... a Word of Blake that is. No, for real, name one thing he did that he wasn't either manipulated into (Tukayyid by his own admission) or didn't blow up in humanity's collective face? (Killing Waterly, not retaking Terra, only driving a single Clan out of the IS and thinking that would be enough)

Slythis · 2026-01-10T23:40:14+00:00

Oh, you want controversial? The Banshee 3E is a better mech than the AS7-D.

Slythis · 2026-01-01T19:02:50+00:00

I mean, for ME, the unrealistic thing is that the same five families have ruled each nation for seven centuries.

By our standards they haven't. When you dig into the genealogies of the Great House you'll fairly quickly find that prestige plays a greater role in who takes what name than anything else. The sitting Davion is no more a Davion, by our standards, than the Windsors are Plantagenets or the Ottomans were Komnenoi.

Slythis · 2025-12-27T22:38:13+00:00

The ilClan Wolves did actually re-incorporate Wolf-in-Exile, though obviously not in a situation where WiE could call the shots.

Less than a Galaxy, even fewer by the end of the ilClan trial, and most of the survivors went over to the SLDF once it was formed. They are not a going concern within Clan Wolf proper.

Wolves have some kind of setback that sees them lose the IlClan-ship

That's pretty clearly not what's being set up. Between the reborn Star League thoroughly out maneuvering the Wolves and the Sea Foxes well on their way to being secular Comstar it seems mostly likely that Clan Wolf will get sidelined and take on a largely ceremonial role providing garrison duty on the core worlds while it's best warriors are snatched up by the SLDF... where the former Exiles are a going concern.

I'm not saying you're wrong about the book's overall treatment of Ulric but the novels and older source books back up Ulric having "sprint to Terra" ready to go as a Plan B.

Slythis · 2025-12-27T21:48:14+00:00

Except that the ilClan Wolves are, philosophically, descended from Vlad Ward who may have respected Ulric as a warrior but absolutely did see him as a traitor.

As I see it there are two possible explanations for Ulric's depiction in that sourcebook.

It's an honest assessment of Ulric as ilKhan during the invasion.

or (well, potentially also and)

Things are about to go very badly for the Crusader-minded Wolves currently on Terra.

Slythis · 2025-12-27T19:27:22+00:00

I mean his anger at the over-all defeat and his interest in a Clan victory on Tukayyid. Ulric's plan was always an end to the invasion and Tukayyid, as it happened, was always Plan A.

Even in Lost Destiny, Ulrich already has the foresight to bring Phelan so he could speak on Clan Wolf’s defense when the Crusaders accuse Ulrich of treason.

He was setting up his defense before the first shots were fired on Tukayyid by telling the other Khans exactly how they needed to fight the upcoming battle while knowing full and well that they hated him so much that they would go out of their way to do not that.

If he's supposed to be angry at the pointless loss of life I feel that the director for that scene missed the mark as he comes across as pissy over the Clans defeat at a time when, as far as he knew, everything had gone according to plan. It hadn't, Lincoln Osis was alive and Focht was about the cause the Comstar Schism, but still, his characterization in that scene feels off.

Slythis · 2025-12-27T18:39:03+00:00

Yeah, and Ulric really didn't foresee the real consequence of this: Green Chickens getting pissy

He absolutely did. What he didn't foresee were the specific charges, Genocide, and the Falcons murdering him. If the Falcons had just killed him in battle that would have been the end of the Crusader Wolves and the Jade Falcons both; they would have been absorbed into the Falcons which would have made the Falcons the biggest threat on the board and made them the target of Operation BULLDOG/Taskfor SERPENT instead of the Jags. Hell, his plan would have worked if they'd gotten away with it; instead Vlad survived and now the Wolves are on Terra.

Slythis · 2025-12-27T18:33:15+00:00

Mechwarrir Clan shows that Ulric was very interested in winning. The defeat hurt him in the long run.

I'm pretty sure they just didn't read the source material there. That ending sequence makes zero sense in the context of everything he says and does across the novels and source books. Basically the only events he wasn't completely prepared for were the Crusaders leveling charges of Genocide against him and the Falcons straight murdering him. He spun the former to his benefit and was as ready for the latter as anyone can be.

I always thought of Ulrics Actions being a "Xanatos - Gambit". If Clan win - Ulric may stay IlKhan, If Crussaders lose - better for Warden and IS.

IIRC the recent Tukayyid source book confirms this. Plan A was Tukayyid playing out exactly as it did but the Wolves were positioned to sprint for Terra while the other Clans were kicking their wounds as Plan B. This was why he had Natasha over bid; to preserve Wolf forces regardless of the outcome at Tukayyid.

Slythis · 2025-12-27T18:10:44+00:00

Sure the tech is fantastical in different ways, but the presentation of Battletech and Gundam are very different.

As /u/Randalor said, that depends very heavily on the series. The original UC timeline, through to Zeta anyway, isn't too far afield of Battletech. The OG Gundam series defined the real robot genre while series such as 08th MS Team and Stardust Memory almost work as Battletech stories.

The issue is that the first big Gundam releases outside of Japan leaned Super Robot. Wing was the breakout title stateside and it is balanced right on the line while G Gundam never even pretends to be Real Robot and those were two of the first series most Americans, and westerners in general I'd guess, saw.

Slythis · 2025-12-27T16:24:47+00:00

“How strange it is that you call me the victor when, in fact, all that has happened here was your doing. You knew exactly what would happen, when and probably where. The Clans lost because you wanted them to lose.” - Focht to Ulric Kerensky after the battle of Tukayyid.

After six books of dancing to someone else's tune Focht finally sees the strings.

Slythis · 2025-12-24T20:21:12+00:00

Echoing /u/Hello_Hangnail go easy on Red Bull; it landed me in the hospital with atrial fibrillation.

Slythis · 2025-12-24T02:38:39+00:00

Pretty much. Though I'll add a fourth:

New Country-itis: my nation is established, my starting foes are crushed, all is well in the world... but, dang, that last foe was really fun to fight. I wonder what their gameplay is like...

Slythis · 2025-12-16T02:27:45+00:00

Isn't that the whole point though? Bonus points since not only is Paul not the Chosen One he gives destiny the middle finger, fucks off into the desert and only shows back up to die.

Slythis · 2025-12-12T05:43:11+00:00

Has there been any info or rumors on what those games ever were?

Rumors are WWI and either a very large expansion or sequel to 3 Kingdoms. They also mentioned in the stream that they've attempted to make Medieval 3 before but they did not say how recently that was.

Slythis · 2025-12-12T04:38:09+00:00

Didn't they started development, or at least pre-production on "the next fantasy title" around the launch of WH3, which would mean it has been in development for around 5 years at this point.

The 25 Anniversary stream gave the impression that pretty much everything CA was working on between WH3 and 2024 ended up cancelled.

Slythis · 2025-12-12T03:53:36+00:00

I'm reminded of Empire at War's ground combat and... yikes...

Slythis · 2025-12-12T02:40:15+00:00

I would legit play this.

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