The 4th Succession War remains one of the most popular eras for Battletech gamers. It was the “original” era of Battletech and is fleshed out in much more detail than earlier conflicts. The grand story is described in Michael Stackpole’s legendary Warrior trilogy. More detail is given in FASA’s various products from the time, and it has been the topic of a lot of research by fans, too.
Battlemech production
Battletech does not have a lot of special rules to add flavor to its different factions. Heck, the five houses and most mercenary companies even use the same unit organization! Instead, what gives each faction its unique flavor is the ‘Mechs that it uses.
- Some ‘Mechs are produced by several houses and are thus available to each or at least most of them. This includes the three “bug” 20-ton ‘Mechs (Locust, Stinger, Wasp), but also many of the other classic designs that once were unseen.
- Other designs are exclusively produced by a single house and are their signature ‘Mechs.
- 300 years of war also mean that their has been plenty of opportunity to capture or salvage ‘Mechs from other factions.
So, which ‘Mechs were in production where at the beginning of the 4th Succession War? This information is scattered through several publications. Luckily, other people have already compiled this information, and there are two topics about it on the Battletech forum:
- Topic by Cazaril
- Topic by Elmoth with Excel sheet
Battlemech availability
So, what does this mean for ‘Mech availability, and which ‘Mechs could be considered typical or even iconic for each house?
Concerning availability, there are several resources available:
- The Random Assignment & Rarity tables give rarities for a number of eras.
- There are five fan-compiled Army Reports that give information for each individual house, including random assignment tables.
There’s also an interesting discussion topic about iconic ‘Mechs for each faction. This can be summed up quite easily:
- Davion: Valkyrie, Enforcer
- Steiner: Commando, Zeus
- Kurita: Jenner, Panther, Dragon
- Liao: Vindicator
- Marik: Hermes II, Trebuchet, Orion
If you’re building a force for one of these houses, including one or more of these signature ‘Mechs is a good way to add faction flavor. These ‘Mechs also show that different houses can differ quite a bit in force composition. Take for example the Draconis Combine (Kurita) – the Panther is not a typical light ‘Mech, being slow on the one hand but quite sturdy and heavily armed on the other. The Panther is essentially Kurita’s medium ‘Mech. And with the Dragon being a relatively lightweight and quick ‘Mech, this naturally leads to a different fighting style than with an army that has heavier slower ‘Mechs. The challenge is to facilitate these different fighting styles in play. In symmetric fights with equal Battle Value for all, “realistic” units are often abandoned for min/maxing. That’s why it might be more fun to play with a game master and generate scenarios that cater to specific styles without punishing players for building a force that follows Battletech lore.