The following new BattleMechs recently debuted or came into noteworthy use during the past few years of the Jihad.
TUNDRA WOLF Mass: 75 tons
Chassis: Mark XX Heavy Endo Steel Power Plant: 300 XL
Cruising Speed: 43 kph
Maximum Speed: 65 kph (86 kph with MASC) Jump Jets: BMP Series XV
Jump Capacity: 120 meters Armor: Beta Compound (Standard) Armament:
1 Type 9 Series Advanced Tactical Missile System 4 Series 2b ER Medium Lasers
1 Type XX “Long Bow” LRM-20 1 Series 7K ER Large Laser 1 Smartshot MkV Streak SRM-4 Manufacturer: W-7 Facilities Primary Factory: Tamar
Communications System: Khan Series (Type 3a) Targeting and Tracking System: Build 4 MadCat TTS
Overview
Cut off from homeworld industry and under constant pressure on multiple fronts, Clan Wolf found itself in dire need of hardware to keep its touman up and running. For some time, the merchant caste maintained the fl ow of supplies through deals with fellow Invading Clans, but the disruptions of the Jihad soon took their toll. As the supply problem became critical, Khan Vlad Ward authorized a crash course in production site upgrades, with an eye toward manufacturing Clan technology designs within the Wolf Clan Occupation Zone. This decision, delayed for decades before (perhaps to avoid putting superior Clan technology within reach of Spheroid insurgents), also forced the Wolf Khan to allow the engineering teams broader latitude in design.
The product of this unparalleled production drive was the Tundra Wolf, the fi rst all-new Wolf Clan BattleMech to step off the W-7 assembly lines on Tamar in 3076. Heavy but capable of speed bursts of almost 90 kilometers per hour, the Tundra Wolf is well armored and equipped with a broad range of weapons, aptly suited for the ever-changing battlefi elds of the Jihad. Its ECM suite, specifi cally installed to counter Word of Blake electronics, helps to negate the one advantage Spheroid technology has off ered against the Clans.
As the fi rst Clan Wolf BattleMech designed and built entirely
in the Inner Sphere, the Tundra Wolf has become a symbol of the Wolves’ new roots in the occupation zones. But since its limited production just started this year, only a handful of these machines have made it into the Clan’s ranks. Most of these have been shipped directly to Delta Galaxy, the Wolf Clan force assigned to fi ghting alongside Devlin Stone against the Blakists.
Despite the design’s recent inception and presently low production volume, however, Clan engineers have already produced two variants of the Tundra Wolf. The fi rst addresses concerns about ammunition dependency of the base model, and replaces its arsenal with a single extended-range large laser, an extended-range PPC, and six extended-range medium lasers, plus an LRM-15 rack and some additional heat sinks. Although this variant sacrifi ces some armor, the inclusion of a targeting computer helps ensure this machine’s accuracy in tight combat.
The second variant was clearly designed with Clan duelists in mind. This variant uses the Tundra Wolf 2 as its baseline but sacrifi ces the targeting computer, three tons of armor, and two medium lasers. In this saved space, engineers have fi t a second ER PPC and a four-tube Streak SRM launcher.
RULES ANNEX
Type: Tundra Wolf Technology Base: Clan Tonnage: 75
Battle Value: 3,131
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure: Endo Steel 4
Engine: 300 XL 9.5
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6(8)
Jumping MP: 4
Heat Sinks: 17(34) 7
Gyro: 3
Cockpit: 3
Armor Factor: 231 14.5
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 3 9
Center Torso: 23 34
Center Torso (Rear): 12
L/R Side Torso: 16 24
L/R Side Torso (Rear): 8
L/R Arm: 12 24
L/R Leg: 16 32
Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage
4 ER Medium Lasers RA 4 4
Adv. Tact. Msl. 9 LA 7 5
Ammo (ATM 9) LA 3 3
LRM 20 RT 6 5
Ammo (LRM 20) RT 2 2
ER Large Laser LT 1 4
Streak SRM 4 LT 2 2
Ammo (Streak 4) LT 1 1
ECM Suite CT 1 1
MASC LT 3 3
2 Jump Jets RL 2 2
2 Jump Jets LL 2 2
NH-1A ROOK
During his mercenary command’s long trek home from Galatea through Blake Protectorate space, General Pat Hampton got a hard, fi rsthand look at the danger and oppression of the expanding Blake Protectorate. Upon fi nally returning to his home system of New Hessen, Hampton devoted his eff orts to a massive buildup of the New Hessen defense forces. At fi rst, this defense force consisted of conventional vehicles, fi ghters, and mass formations of unarmored infantry, backed up by the Hampton’s Hessens. But when Hampton’s command staff obtained a copy of the New Dallas Memory Core, the mercenary general quickly realized that New Hessen’s extensive maintenance and repair
facilities could be retooled to assemble less sophisticated BattleMech designs such as the BattleAxe and Hammerhands.
Unfortunately, while the ancient heavyweights seemed promising, their reliance on ammunition-based weapons promised a burden on the RetroTech machines’ logistical tail.
General Hampton therefore requested that New Hessens’ crude new ’Mech producers focus on a complementary design that did not rely on ammunition. In late 3074 under a veil of secrecy, the New Hessen Defense force began mass production of their fi rst original design, the Rook.
Slow for its size, the fi fty-fi ve ton Rook relies on a battery of lasers for close-in city fi ghting, backed by a torso-mounted PPC for a solid long-range punch. While the Rook is prone to overheating, the lack of ammunition dependency allows this
’Mech to participate in protracted fi ghts while others resupply, and two articulate hand actuators allow it to transport cargo and assist in civic activities during peacetime.
Although the Rook remains unable to stand up to modern designs on a one on one basis, its relative ease of construction and low cost have allowed New Hessen to assemble almost a hundred of these designs to date, bolstering their growing numbers of RetroTech Hammerhands and Battleaxes. In addition, a fair amount of these machines has been assigned to supplement conventional forces made up of fast strike vehicles, using the Rook as an anchor while hovercraft and combat WiGEs fl ank and surround enemy combatants—a tactic successfully
RULES ANNEX
used when the Word of Blake fi nally attacked New Hessen in August of 3076. Though the Rooks fell in large numbers, the damage done and time bought allowed New Hessen’s defenders to break up and drive off the invaders’ main force.
With Devlin Stone’s coalition now repaying New Hessen’s aid in modern supplies and parts, approximately a dozen Rooks have been upgraded to various degrees. Some have been constructed to a Succession Wars level of technology, while a handful has reportedly been tweaked to meet more modern standards, with signifi cant increases in speed and fi repower.
Battle Value: 1197
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure: 5 .5
Engine: 200 Primitive 8.5
Walking MP: 3
Running MP: 5
Jumping MP: 3
Heat Sinks: 14 4
Gyro: 2
Cockpit (Primitive): 5
Armor Factor (Primitive): 160 15
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 3 9
Center Torso 18 22
Center Torso (rear) 7
R/L Torso 13 20
R/L Torso (rear) 6
R/L Arm 9 17
R/L Leg 13 18
Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage
PPC RT 3 7
Medium Laser RA 1 1
Medium Laser LA 1 1
Medium Laser RT 1 1
Medium Laser RT (R) 1 1
Medium Laser LT 1 1
Medium Laser LT (R) 1 1
Small laser H 1 .5
Jump Jet RT 1 .5
Jump Jet LT 1 .5
Jump Jet CT 1 .5
OWR-2M OSTWAR Mass: 65 tons Chassis: Ost-I
Power Plant: Hermes 235 Cruising Speed: 32 kph Maximum Speed: 54 kph Jump Jets: None Jump Capacity: None Armor: Regulus Basic Armament:
1 Doombud Long Range Missile 20-Rack 2 Shannon SH-40 SRM 4 Launchers 2 Martel Medium Lasers
Manufacturer: Harmony MetalWorks Primary Factory: Harmony
Communications System: Barret Party Line-200 Targeting and Tracking System: Wasat Watchdog W100
Overview
Almost forgotten today, the Ostwar was the fi rst of the
“walking pods” pioneered by Ostmann Industries. Although designed in 2470, Ostmann’s limited resources delayed full-scale production until 2500—by which time their fl agship BattleMech was already considered obsolete by the standards of the Terran Hegemony Armed Forces.
As orders to Ostmann began to dry up, the company’s director, Ernst Ostmann, looked beyond the Hegemony’s borders for new markets. Lagging behind the rest of the Inner Sphere’s BattleMech technology, both the Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation were more than happy to purchase older weapons from the Hegemony-based company. These foreign orders provided enough capital to save Ostmann from fi nancial ruin and spawned the eventual debut of the improved Ostroc
RULES ANNEX
design. (Many of Ostmann’s later ’Mechs—including the Ostroc and the Ostsol—benefi ted from so many design similarities to the Ostwar that it was not uncommon for parts from one to be used on another in a pinch; during the Succession Wars many of these later Ostmann machines were seen sporting limbs salvaged from this ancient progenitor—even though the Ostwar itself did not survive long after the fall of the Star League.)
In 3075, the Principality of Regulus was engaged in a simmering war against the Word of Blake and the Atrean government, and it called for an increased production from its few ’Mech factories to replace grievous losses to its BattleMech forces. Ronin Inc. on Wallis—one of the Principality’s largest weapons manufacturers—could not even come close to meeting Regulus’ demands for replacements at cutting-edge technology levels, especially after pouring resources into their new Patriot support-’Mech line.
With supplies of critical components drying up, SelaSys—
Ronin’s parent company—turned its attention to upgrading an old WorkMech assembly plant on Harmony. Stumbling over the schematics for the antiquated Ostwar and diverting experienced personnel from the booming Ronin facilities to aid the overhaul, SelaSys managed to activate a new BattleMech line at Harmony MetalWorks in less than a year’s time. Although the obsolescence of these new designs was met with skepticism from Regulus’ Prince Titus Cameron-Jones, the Principality’s need for new weapons and Harmony’s promise of boosted production overrode the Regulans’ reluctance. Production of the new Ostwars has steadily increased since the closing weeks of 3075, as several local industries have streamlined to produce more basic components.
Reasonably armored for its size, the resurrected Ostwar has proven itself a solid addition to the defensive ’Mech forces of the Regulan Principality. Even though the machine remains outclassed by modern designs one-on-one, it is cheap and quick to build—allowing the Regulans to throw two or even three BattleMechs against their enemies where previously they could fi eld only one.
In conjunction with Ronin, Harmony MetalWorks has started to explore proposed upgrades. The most promising replaces the basic armor with over eleven tons of light ferro-fi brous material, adds CASE, and installs an ECM system in the center torso. Short range fi repower is improved by upgrading the SRMs to Streak
racks and replacing the medium lasers with extended-range models. Similarly, adding an Artemis IV fi re control system to the Doombud LRM system enhances long-range fi repower.
Finally, the power plant is replaced by a modern Hermes 260 unit and the heat sinks are upgraded to double effi ciency models.
Unfortunately, with so many upgrades, the design would require a new assembly line on Wallis, as the technologies required remain beyond Harmony’s capacity.
Type: OWR-2M Ostwar
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Primitive) Tonnage: 65
Battle Value: 1,205
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure: Standard 6.5
Engine: 235 Primitive 11
Walking MP: 3
Running MP: 5
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 12 2
Gyro: 3
Cockpit (Primitive): 5 Armor Factor (Primitive): 187 17.5
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head 3 9
Center Torso 21 30
Center Torso (rear) 10
R/L Torso 15 21
R/L Torso (rear) 7
R/L Arm 10 18
R/L Leg 15 23
Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage
SRM 4 RA 1 2
LRM 20 RT 5 10
Ammo (LRM) 18 RT 3 3
2 Medium Laser LT 2 2
Ammo (SRM) 25 LT 1 1
SRM 4 LA 1 2