Lets All Play Battletech and rewrite Inner Sphere history

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W.T. Fits: Apr 21, 2010; Ready to Poyozo Dance all over your face.

Not that it matters, but voting A. Somebody needs to get the damned Helm Core out of ComStar's hands, might as well be these guys.

# ? May 22, 2011 21:51

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# ? May 10, 2024 08:22

Teledahn: May 14, 2009; What is that bear doing there?

I vote A.

I can only assume that the most likely event is not 'they just waltz in, find the core, also miraculously find production plants to start building new toys'.
Still sounds like a fun thing, but we're assuming they'll get the core.

# ? May 22, 2011 23:02

AtomikKrab: Jul 17, 2010; Keep on GOP rolling rolling rolling rolling.

Defiance Industries posted:

According to Phelan, Salome's parents were cousins.

Yeah. When Stackpole found out how bloodnames work he decided Salome should just be inbred.

one generation of inbreeding especially between two highly successful people will actually result in a better child.

What inbreeding does is increase the emphasis of traits, this disrupts the normal spread of children, making average ones very rare, and extremely bad/good ones much more common, the problem of course is that anyone competent in a feudal society is at risk of assassination, the incompetent are manipulated and left to breed. :goonsay:

just me

if this is wrong the college professor was an idiot and I will be happy for it, just so that smug bastard would be wrong.

# ? May 22, 2011 23:02

Polaron: Oct 13, 2010; The Oncoming Storm

Stackpole earned an infinite amount of leniency from me because of I, Jedi, wherein he made another author's entire trilogy not suck and start making sense in about five chapters.

# ? May 22, 2011 23:06

Felime: Jul 10, 2009

AtomikKrab posted:

if this is wrong the college professor was an idiot and I will be happy for it, just so that smug bastard would be wrong.

Well, that, and if you happen to have any of a number of horribly rare recessive genetic disorders, kid's suddenly got a good shot at getting them.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemophilia_in_European_royalty

# ? May 22, 2011 23:08

Angry_Ed: Mar 30, 2010; Grimey Drawer

Trast posted:

I will enjoy seeing what twist PTN has waiting on Helm. Something crazy like the Helm memory core becoming sentient and programming mechs to be its own army.

Or the Memory Core turns out to be Brian Cameron's porno stash.

# ? May 23, 2011 00:10

Runa: Feb 13, 2011

LosTech pornography in an age without easy access to the internet? That's a lot more valuable than you realize.

# ? May 23, 2011 01:21

Arquinsiel: Jun 1, 2006; "There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first."

God Bless Margaret Thatcher
God Bless England
RIP My Iron Lady

PoptartsNinja posted:

There's a reason the Capellans haven't just looted the place; and it's not 'idiocy' or 'laziness'.

I'm relatively sure the reason they didn't loot the place is there wasn't that much known to be there, it was a primarily agricultural planet with tourism taking over after a while they dying off again once the collapse of the Star League cut off trade. The nuking happened during the Jihad. Wolf's Dragoons only took the place because they knew there was stuff there for them thanks to <plot tokens>.

# ? May 23, 2011 01:25

The Merry Marauder: Apr 4, 2009; "But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own."

Arquinsiel posted:

I'm relatively sure the reason they didn't loot the place is there wasn't that much known to be there, it was a primarily agricultural planet with tourism taking over after a while they dying off again once the collapse of the Star League cut off trade. The nuking happened during the Jihad. Wolf's Dragoons only took the place because they knew there was stuff there for them thanks to <plot tokens>.

The Martial Olympiads were held there in the closing decades of the Star League, and as such, there are any number of training and practice fields for Mechs. Whether or not there's also factory facilities etc as hinted by the Prologue of Lethal Heritage is an openish question, as far as I know. I assume the location of the Martial Olympiad is common knowledge among the Clans, considering their fetish for individual achievement and illustrious warrior families.

# ? May 23, 2011 03:54

Fraction Jackson: Oct 27, 2007; Able to harness the awesome power of fractions

You know, I think it's time I got added to the pilot list. What do I need to do exactly?

edit: I don't have PM, so, email: joelwalker44 at hotmail.com

Fraction Jackson fucked around with this message at 04:28 on May 23, 2011

# ? May 23, 2011 04:20

Felime: Jul 10, 2009

Fraction Jackson posted:

You know, I think it's time I got added to the pilot list. What do I need to do exactly?

Post, maybe PM Poptarts.

# ? May 23, 2011 04:24

ShadowDragon8685: Jan 23, 2011; Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember SD from such films as "Guys, I'm not sanguine about this Mech choice", "The Millstone of the Clans", and "Uppity Sperglord ilKhan"! Make sure to clear the date for his upcoming documentary, "How I ran a Star of Clan Mechs into the ground!"

Well, PTN decided to recruit some #MegaMek goons to play out the "background story battle" between the Red Corsair's group and the local Mariks.

Let's just say it was loving epic to watch. Doc Banzai is one :black101:

motherfucker.

# ? May 23, 2011 06:11

GhostStalker: Mar 26, 2010; Guys, find a woman who looks at you the way GhostStalker looks at every bald, obese, single 58 year old accountant from Tulsa who managed to win $4,000 by not wagering on a Final Jeopardy triple stumper.

ShadowDragon8685 posted:

Well, PTN decided to recruit some #MegaMek goons to play out the "background story battle" between the Red Corsair's group and the local Mariks.

Let's just say it was loving epic to watch. Doc Banzai is one motherfucker.

Interesting. So are you going to post what actually went down there or do we just have to wait for PTN to write up a new story post to go alongside our vote for next theater? Probably the latter, I guess.

# ? May 23, 2011 06:20

ShadowDragon8685: Jan 23, 2011; Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember SD from such films as "Guys, I'm not sanguine about this Mech choice", "The Millstone of the Clans", and "Uppity Sperglord ilKhan"! Make sure to clear the date for his upcoming documentary, "How I ran a Star of Clan Mechs into the ground!"

GhostStalker posted:

Interesting. So are you going to post what actually went down there or do we just have to wait for PTN to write up a new story post to go alongside our vote for next theater? Probably the latter, I guess.

Some serious poo poo went down, that's what.

# ? May 23, 2011 06:25

Rivensteel: Mar 30, 2010

GhostStalker posted:

Interesting. So are you going to post what actually went down there or do we just have to wait for PTN to write up a new story post to go alongside our vote for next theater? Probably the latter, I guess.

Even better with video, epic soundtrack and color commentary by John Madden. "Oh my, I think that mech just got shot and fell down!"

# ? May 23, 2011 06:27

Preechr: May 19, 2009; Proud member of the Pony-Brony Alliance for Obama as President

There is only one true Battletech commentator, and that is Duncan Fisher.

# ? May 23, 2011 06:34

GhostStalker: Mar 26, 2010; Guys, find a woman who looks at you the way GhostStalker looks at every bald, obese, single 58 year old accountant from Tulsa who managed to win $4,000 by not wagering on a Final Jeopardy triple stumper.

ShadowDragon8685 posted:

Some serious poo poo went down, that's what.

So we will have to wait for PTN's next update then. Looks like I'm going to be :f5:

ing this thread until then... Dammit.

# ? May 23, 2011 06:38

Keru: Aug 2, 2004; 'n suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us 'n the sky was full of what looked like 'uge bats, all swooping 'n screeching 'n divin' around the ute.

I was in that fight and I'm still going to be F5'ing this for the writeup.

# ? May 23, 2011 11:45

ShadowDragon8685: Jan 23, 2011; Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember SD from such films as "Guys, I'm not sanguine about this Mech choice", "The Millstone of the Clans", and "Uppity Sperglord ilKhan"! Make sure to clear the date for his upcoming documentary, "How I ran a Star of Clan Mechs into the ground!"

Keru posted:

I was in that fight and I'm still going to be F5'ing this for the writeup.

It's probably even more :f5:

for those of us who were privledged to watch that madness ensue. A real This! Is! Sparta! moment.

# ? May 23, 2011 12:35

Affi: Dec 18, 2005; Break bread wit the enemy

X GON GIVE IT TO YA

Will this replace the normal LP or will it just be a regular behind the scenes thing to move history along or was it a one time deal?

# ? May 23, 2011 13:26

Arquinsiel: Jun 1, 2006; "There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first."

God Bless Margaret Thatcher
God Bless England
RIP My Iron Lady

ShadowDragon8685 posted:

Well, PTN decided to recruit some #MegaMek goons to play out the "background story battle" between the Red Corsair's group and the local Mariks.

Let's just say it was loving epic to watch. Doc Banzai is one motherfucker.

So *that's* what was going on last night..... I should have paid more attention instead of watching Castle.

# ? May 23, 2011 13:34

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

Affi posted:

Will this replace the normal LP or will it just be a regular behind the scenes thing to move history along or was it a one time deal?

No, something like that, no.

# ? May 23, 2011 13:45

AtomikKrab: Jul 17, 2010; Keep on GOP rolling rolling rolling rolling.

it was very enjoyable to watch, did anyone save what happened on restart number 2 for future gooning reference?

# ? May 23, 2011 14:05

Affi: Dec 18, 2005; Break bread wit the enemy

X GON GIVE IT TO YA

PoptartsNinja posted:

No, something like that, no.

Awesome! Will have to hang out in the megamek channel more then.

# ? May 23, 2011 14:08

landcollector: Feb 28, 2011

ShadowDragon8685 posted:

Well, PTN decided to recruit some #MegaMek goons to play out the "background story battle" between the Red Corsair's group and the local Mariks.

Let's just say it was loving epic to watch. Doc Banzai is one motherfucker.

I'm sorry I missed this...I wish I could have seen it.

# ? May 23, 2011 14:40

ShadowDragon8685: Jan 23, 2011; Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember SD from such films as "Guys, I'm not sanguine about this Mech choice", "The Millstone of the Clans", and "Uppity Sperglord ilKhan"! Make sure to clear the date for his upcoming documentary, "How I ran a Star of Clan Mechs into the ground!"

AtomikKrab posted:

it was very enjoyable to watch, did anyone save what happened on restart number 2 for future gooning reference?

It's still in my IRC log.

code:

Weapons fire for Catapult CPLT-A1 (Helmdown North Militia)
 ����LRM 15 at BattleMaster BLR-1G (Red Corsair Pirates); needs 12, rolls 8 : misses.
 ����LRM 15 at BattleMaster BLR-1G (Red Corsair Pirates); needs 12, rolls 12 : 5 missile(s) hit.
 ��������BattleMaster BLR-1G (Red Corsair Pirates) takes 5 damage to LT (critical). 23 Armor remaining.
 �������� Critical hit on LT. Roll is 8; 1 location.
 ������������CRITICAL HIT on SRM 6 Ammo (15).
 ������������
 *** SRM 6 Ammo EXPLODES!  180 DAMAGE! ***��������

 BattleMaster BLR-1G (Red Corsair Pirates) suffers catastrophic damage, but the autoeject system was engaged.������������
 BattleMaster BLR-1G (Red Corsair Pirates) must make a piloting skill check (landing in clear terrain).
 ����������������Needs 5 [6 (ejecting) + 1 (automatic ejection) - 2 (landing in clear terrain)], rolls 7 : succeeds.��������������������
 The pilot ejects safely!
 *** BattleMaster BLR-1G (Red Corsair Pirates) DESTROYED by ejection! ***���
�����BattleMaster BLR-1G (Red Corsair Pirates) takes 180 damage to LT. SECTION DESTROYED,
 LIMB BLOWN OFF Left Arm blown off.
 ��������162 damage transfers to CT.
 �������� Critical hit on LT. Roll is 4; no effect.
 ��������BattleMaster BLR-1G (Red Corsair Pirates) takes 162 damage to CT. SECTION DESTROYED,
 �������� Critical hit on CT. Roll is 9; 1 location.
 ������������CRITICAL HIT on Engine.

The Red Corsair was someone very, very important, whom PTN decided in the end to give a 10 Edge score to prevent that sort of shenanigan. Which is good, because otherwise she would've been head-splattered by an Atlas's foot.

# ? May 23, 2011 14:50

Dolash: Oct 23, 2008; aNYWAY,
tHAT'S REALLY ALL THERE IS,
tO REPORT ON THE SUBJECT,
oF ME GETTING HURT,

Goddamn plot armour! :argh:

# ? May 23, 2011 14:57

TildeATH: Oct 21, 2010; by Lowtax

Wow, that was double-lucky. As much as I love a needs-a-twelve-TAC-Assault-Mech-Destroyed, if I was PTN I would have simply taken my dice home and ended the LP right there.

# ? May 23, 2011 17:06

ShadowDragon8685: Jan 23, 2011; Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember SD from such films as "Guys, I'm not sanguine about this Mech choice", "The Millstone of the Clans", and "Uppity Sperglord ilKhan"! Make sure to clear the date for his upcoming documentary, "How I ran a Star of Clan Mechs into the ground!"

TildeATH posted:

Wow, that was double-lucky. As much as I love a needs-a-twelve-TAC-Assault-Mech-Destroyed, if I was PTN I would have simply taken my dice home and ended the LP right there.

He restarted the fight. Does that count?

# ? May 23, 2011 17:15

Fuzzy Mammal: Aug 15, 2001; Lipstick Apathy

So can someone explain what's going on with the story here for those not so well versed in the fluff? The whole operation was a cover so that someone could get a data chip to Lestrade's son, which he disregarded, except he's in on it anyway with Steiner's double, and he knew about Heimdall and the entire operation? I'm confused.

# ? May 23, 2011 18:20

cafel: Mar 29, 2010; This post is hurting the economy!

Fuzzy Mammal posted:

So can someone explain what's going on with the story here for those not so well versed in the fluff? The whole operation was a cover so that someone could get a data chip to Lestrade's son, which he disregarded, except he's in on it anyway with Steiner's double, and he knew about Heimdall and the entire operation? I'm confused.

The Heimdall operatives inadvertantly took part in a double false flag operation. They thought that they were trying to subvert Lestrade, but Loki had infiltrated their network some how and had been running things the whole time. The Heimdall operation was really cover for a Loki agent testing the loyalty of Lestrades's son, who saw through the attempt because he's a lot smarter then they expect, and was also apparently an attempt to damage the status of military units not loyal to Lestrade.

# ? May 23, 2011 18:36

GhostStalker: Mar 26, 2010; Guys, find a woman who looks at you the way GhostStalker looks at every bald, obese, single 58 year old accountant from Tulsa who managed to win $4,000 by not wagering on a Final Jeopardy triple stumper.

cafel posted:

The Heimdall operatives inadvertantly took part in a double false flag operation. They thought that they were trying to subvert Lestrade, but Loki had infiltrated their network some how and had been running things the whole time. The Heimdall operation was really cover for a Loki agent testing the loyalty of Lestrades's son, who saw through the attempt because he's a lot smarter then they expect, and was also apparently an attempt to damage the status of military units not loyal to Lestrade.

I also got from the story post that Simon Johnson was somehow involved? That part didn't really make sense to me.

However, I did get that Lestrade's forces had somehow gotten into Heimdall's network and were testing Clovis' loyalty with that chip from someone pretending to be his mother, although he didn't get fooled because he was already in on Heimdall's Red Corsair op. Also, Lestrade was trying to discredit the Home Guard in order to replace them with people more loyal to him than the Archon, but that fell through as well due to how well the Home Guard will look taking down the "Clan Widowmaker" raiders.

# ? May 23, 2011 19:12

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

GhostStalker posted:

I also got from the story post that Simon Johnson was somehow involved? That part didn't really make sense to me.

The implication is: in this timeline, Johnson's not with Heimdall or affiliated with them in any way.

Which adds another question: in this timeline, is the Smiling One secretly a member of Kokuryu Kai?

# ? May 23, 2011 19:16

GhostStalker: Mar 26, 2010; Guys, find a woman who looks at you the way GhostStalker looks at every bald, obese, single 58 year old accountant from Tulsa who managed to win $4,000 by not wagering on a Final Jeopardy triple stumper.

PoptartsNinja posted:

The implication is: in this timeline, Johnson's not with Heimdall or affiliated with them in any way.

Which adds another question: in this timeline, is the Smiling One secretly a member of Kokuryu Kai?

That does throw quite a wrench into my admittedly minor knowledge of BattleTech backstory... What else have you changed behind the scenes? I guess we'll find out when we get to the point where those things become relevant.

Also, still waiting on the writeup for the MegaMek thing you did last night, PTN... No rush, though.

# ? May 23, 2011 19:20

jng2058: Jul 17, 2010; We have the tools, we have the talent!

GhostStalker posted:

I also got from the story post that Simon Johnson was somehow involved? That part didn't really make sense to me.

However, I did get that Lestrade's forces had somehow gotten into Heimdall's network and were testing Clovis' loyalty with that chip from someone pretending to be his mother, although he didn't get fooled because he was already in on Heimdall's Red Corsair op. Also, Lestrade was trying to discredit the Home Guard in order to replace them with people more loyal to him than the Archon, but that fell through as well due to how well the Home Guard will look taking down the "Clan Widowmaker" raiders.

As far as I can tell it goes like this:

Simon Johnson, who apparently works for Lestrade now, discovered the Heimdall lance and passed that info onto Aldo Lestrade. Aldo decided to use it for three goals:

1) To get the people of Tharkad and the Commonwealth pissed at the Clans. (Succeeded! (Probably))

2) To test Clovis' loyalty by using the distraction to pass him a bogus message. But, as noted, Clovis knows full well that his mother is with the real Red Corsair out in the Periphery somewhere and couldn't be on Tharkad handing him a microchip. (Seems to have worked as far as Aldo is concerned but actually Failed!)

3) To discredit the Home Guard, one of the few units directly loyal to Melissa. (Failed!)

So at the end of the operation, the Heimdall cell's been wiped out (Bad!) but the Commonwealth is likely to take the Clans more seriously now (Good!) but they'll probably do so by giving Lestrade and Frederick Steiner more power. (Bad!)

On the other hand, Clovis is even more in the clear as far as his father is concerned (Good!) and the Home Guard came out smelling like roses since they dispatched the invaders almost immediately upon arrival, and didn't take any damage (except to the Von Luckner) while doing so. (Good!)

So, for the most part, the mission went pretty darn well. Lestrade may grab more control of the military, which could sting a bit, and Loki's infiltration of Heimdall is definitely bad news, but the players managed to mitigate the situation as best they could.

# ? May 23, 2011 19:26

PoptartsNinja: May 9, 2008; He is still almost definitely not a spy; Soiled Meat

GhostStalker posted:

Also, still waiting on the writeup for the MegaMek thing you did last night, PTN... No rush, though.

It's going to be a little while; I have four hours of video to edit down to something manigable; get to kick myself for not being as aggressive as I should've been in the early game, and have to hammer a few background details into shape (such as: why the hell were there five FWL regiments on Helm) first.

The other updates and the vote for the next campaign is coming up. You're about to lose out on the ComGuard for quite a while, though. Their window for 'accomplishing something' is now extremely narrow.

# ? May 23, 2011 19:27

Defiance Industries: Jul 22, 2010; A five-star manufacturer

Seems like we have really just one option now, then.

Time to show them the light of Blake's Wisdom until the barrels glow!

# ? May 23, 2011 19:38

KnoxZone: Jan 27, 2007; If I die before I Wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

PoptartsNinja posted:

The other updates and the vote for the next campaign is coming up. You're about to lose out on the ComGuard for quite a while, though. Their window for 'accomplishing something' is now extremely narrow.

Poor ComGuard. Blake will guide you to victory, you just need to believe!

We need to go with the ComGuard first and foremost, but if not the Blessed Order, hopefully a good DCMS mission will be available. We need to be fighting the clans, but have already seen the Lyrans quite a bit. We need to eventually pilot some of the fun Draconis mechs.

# ? May 23, 2011 19:40

GhostStalker: Mar 26, 2010; Guys, find a woman who looks at you the way GhostStalker looks at every bald, obese, single 58 year old accountant from Tulsa who managed to win $4,000 by not wagering on a Final Jeopardy triple stumper.

Yeah, I'd be down with a DCMS mission. Not really feeling the ComGuard, but if the goon hivemind want to head in that direction, who am I to stop them?

As for the writeup, get to it as best you can, PTN. Eagerly anticipating it and the choice of next campaign.

# ? May 23, 2011 19:44

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# ? May 10, 2024 08:22

landcollector: Feb 28, 2011

I am going to find it darkly amusing if the goon hivemind's reluctance to guide ComGuard units in battle leads to no Star League era stuff being mass distributed by Comstar to the Successor States, thus resulting in a curbstomp of the Inner Sphere in favor of the Clans. The hivemind will only have itself to blame for the fall of the Inner Sphere, quiaff?

# ? May 23, 2011 19:54

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > Lets All Play Battletech and rewrite Inner Sphere history

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