06 IO_Alternate Eras First Draft 4/6/2013 1
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alternate Eras
The BattleTech universe is a living, vibrant entity that grows each year as more sourcebooks and fiction are published. A dynamic universe, its setting and characters evolve over time within a highly detailed continuity framework, bringing everything to life in a way a static game universe cannot match.
However, the same dynamic energy that makes BattleTech so compelling can also make it confusing, with so many sourcebooks published over the years. As people encounter BattleTech, get hooked and start to obtain sourcebooks, they need to know where a particular sourcebook is best used along the BattleTech timeline.
To help quickly and easily convey the timeline of the BattleTech universe—and to allow a player to easily “plug in” a given sourcebook—we’ve divided BattleTech into six major eras.
Sub-Eras: In an effort to keep the number of eras to a minimum, only six era names/icons are used in print/PDF books. In reality, however, the Star League, Succession Wars and Dark Age cover hundreds of years, as opposed to the mere dozens or less covered by the Clan Invasion, Civil War and Jihad eras. As such, for these rules, Sub-Eras are included.
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STAR LEAGUE (2005-2780)
Ian Cameron, ruler of the Terran Hegemony, concludes decades of tireless effort with the creation of the Star League, a political and military alliance between all Great Houses and the Hegemony. Star League armed forces immediately launch the Reunification War, forcing the Periphery realms to join. For the next two centuries, humanity experiences a golden age across the thousand light-years of human-occupied space known as the Inner Sphere. It also sees the creation of the most powerful military in human history.
Sub-Eras: Age of War (2005-2570)
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SUCCESSION WARS (2781-3049)
Every last member of First Lord Richard Cameron’s family is killed during a coup launched by Stefan Amaris. Following the thirteen-year war to unseat him, the rulers of each of the five Great Houses disband the Star League. General Aleksandr Kerensky departs with eighty percent of the Star League Defense Force beyond known space and the Inner Sphere collapses into centuries of warfare known as the Succession Wars that will eventually result in a massive loss of technology across most worlds.
Sub-Eras: Early Succession Wars (2781-2900); Late Succession Wars (2901-3049)
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CLAN INVASION (3050-3061)
A mysterious invading force strikes the coreward region of the Inner Sphere. The invaders, called the Clans, are descendants of Kerensky’s SLDF troops, forged into a society dedicated to becoming the greatest fighting force in history. With vastly superior technology and warriors, the Clans conquer world after world. Eventually this outside threat will forge a new Star League, something hundreds of years of warfare failed to accomplish. In addition, the Clans will act as a catalyst for a technological renaissance.
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CIVIL WAR (3062-3067)
The Clan threat is eventually lessened with the complete destruction of a Clan. With that massive external threat apparently neutralized, internal conflicts explode around the Inner Sphere. House Liao conquers its former Commonality, the St. Ives Compact; a rebellion of military units belonging to House Kurita sparks a war with their powerful border enemy, Clan Ghost Bear; the fabulously powerful Federated Commonwealth of House Steiner and House Davion collapses into five long years of bitter civil war.
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JIHAD (3068-3080)
Following the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, the leaders of the Great Houses meet and disband the new Star League, declaring it a sham. The pseudo-religious Word of Blake—a splinter group of ComStar, the protectors and controllers of interstellar communication—launch the Jihad: an interstellar war that will ultimately pit every faction against each other and even against themselves, as weapons of mass destruction are used for the first time in centuries while new and frightening technologies are likewise unleashed.
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DARK AGE (3085+)
Under the guidance of Devlin Stone, the Republic of the Sphere is born at the heart of the Inner Sphere following the Jihad. One of the more extensive periods of peace begins to break out as the 32nd century dawns. The factions, to one degree or another, embrace disarmament and the massive armies of the Succession Wars begin to fade. However, in 3132 eighty percent of interstellar communications collapses, throwing the universe into chaos. Wars almost immediately erupt and the factions begin rebuilding their armies.
Sub-Eras: Republic (3081-3130)
ERA rules EXPANSIONS
Almost without exception, all the rules found in the core rulebook line assume a “modern day” Era: late Succession War, Clan Invasion, Civil War or Jihad. However, beyond the simple rules of availability governing various units and weapons and equipment, the unique nature of a given era within BattleTech’s history provides storyline elements to create additional rules.
Random Assignment Tables: Providing complete Random Assignment Tables for all era would take up far too many pages and so is simply beyond the scope of this book. Many of the sourcebooks noted in this section contain their own random assignment tables, while the Master Unit List can also be used to generate Random Assignment Tables, off of which players can determine units for a given scenario (see www.masterunitlist.com).
Propagation Tables: All of the “Technology Propagation” tables in the Era Rules Expansions section assume the item is massed produced, regardless of its rules level (i.e. Standard (Std) or Advanced (Adv)). While numerous weapon systems were in “experimental” or “prototype” stages during the time frames referenced by the tables, the tables only cover items in general production across various factions. Once those technologies reach “mass produced” stages (moving from “Experimental” to either “Advanced” or “Standard” rules levels), as indicated on the Technological Advancements 3085, Technological Advancements: 3130 and Technological Advancements: 3150 Tables, then such weapons and equipment appear on the appropriate Propagation table.
Also, it’s important to clarify that the Inner Sphere Extinct Technologies Propagation Table (2785-2950) refers to when a given faction lost the ability to mass-produce an item; i.e. say when the last factory producing that item was destroyed and the ability to create a new factory with the lostech item was already gone. When a faction no longer had any units in the field mounting such lostech items varies wildly (though as the years ground on they become more rare), with some instances existing of a unit mounting an item of lostech all the way through the depths of the Succession Wars and into the technological renaissance of the 3050s.
Equipment only appears on Clan Propagation tables if the construction and/or game rules are different than the corresponding Inner Sphere equipment. For example, while the Fire Control System (see p. 217, TM) has a separate Tech Base in “Clan” and “Inner Sphere,” in all ways from construction rules to game play rules, they are identical and so they don’t appear on the Clan Propagation tables.
Finally, any item from any core rulebook noted as “pre-spaceflight” or “early spaceflight” (see p. Heavy Equipment, p. 201, TM) is not included on any of these tables; it never runs the risk of going extinct and it’s assumed that all factions have always had access to such items (the only exception is if an item has a canon-noted date during these times, in which case it does appear on these tables).
STAR LEAGUE ERA
The following rules can be used when playing in the Star League Era.
Castles Brian: Castles Brians exist in multiple eras, though each successive Era before the Jihad resulted in fewer and more ramshackle facilities being found. Each player group should decide for themselves what type of Castles Brians facility they might find based upon the Era they’re playing outside of the Star League.
Weapons of Mass Destruction: Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) were also used during the Early Succession Wars sub-Era, as well as the Jihad Era.
The Age of War Era (2398-2570)
The Age of War, which predated the Star League and saw the rise of the Great Houses in size and power, was also the dawn of the BattleMech age. At the start of this era, BattleMechs did not exist, and conventional armies waged war using tanks, infantry, and aerospace fighters. The Terran Hegemony’s debut of the Mackie changed all that, bringing about a revolution in tactics, but it would take decades before these machines became a common sight on the battlefield.
Faction Available: Review the Factions and Eras Table (see p. XX) to determine which factions are available during this era.
Unit Types: All forces generated during the early half of the Age of War—prior to the spread of BattleMech technology—must be limited to conventional infantry, conventional combat vehicles, and aerospace fighters only.
Random Assignment Tables: Players can you the Master Unit List online database (see p. XX) to generate Random Assignment Tables off of which they can randomly determine units for this era; simply apply the correct filters.
Constructing Units: While the last few years have allowed Catalyst to start filling in the gaps for units manufactured during this time period, there’s any number of units fielded by various factions during this time frame that have never been published. As such, in place of using pre-existing designs, players may find more enjoyment creating additional variety through construction their own units. To do so, use the Primitive Construction Rules (see p. XX).
In such instances, simply replace a randomly rolled unit from the MUL-generated Random Assignment Table by a vehicle or fighter that you’ve constructed that has the same tonnage, motive system, and basic design philosophy.
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INNER SPHERE TECHNOLOGIES PROPOGATION TABLE (2021-2439)
Rulebook(s)/ Year of Technology Extinction (by Faction)
Weapon/Item (Mass Produced) Rules Level CC DC FS FW LC TC Periphery*
Armor
Commercial Armor TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2400 ???
Industrial Armor TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2439 ???
Standard (or Heavy Industrial) Armor TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2439 ???
Autocannons
AC/2 TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2300 ???
AC/5 TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2250 ???
AC/10 TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2460 ???
AC/20 TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? 2500 ??? ???
Cockpit Systems
’Mechs Cockpit TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2300 ???
Engines
Combat Vehicle Fuel Cell TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2046 ???
Military-Standard Fusion TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2021 ???
Fire Control Systems
Basic Fire Control TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2400 ???
Advanced Fire Control TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2439 ???
Flamers
Standard TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2025 ???
Gyros
Standard TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
Heat Sinks
Standard TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2022 ???
Lasers
Medium, Small TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2300 ???
Large TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2316 ???
Missile Launchers
LRMs 5, 10, 15, 20 TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2300 ???
SRMs 2, 4, 6 TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2370 ???
Nail/Rivet Gun TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ~2310 ??? ??? ???
PPCs
Standard TW-TM/Std 2860 ??? ??? ??? ??? 2460 ???
Retractable Blade TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2420 ???
Spot Welder TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2320 ??? ???
Structure
IndustrialMech TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2350 ???
Standard TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2439 ???
Tracks TW-TM/Std ??? 2440 ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
Vehicular Dropchute TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2351 ???
Battle Armor Tech
Dropchute TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2351 ???
Jump Jets/Jump Pack TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2050 ???
Manipulators
Manipulator (Basic) TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2110 ???
Cargo Lifter TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2110 ???
Salvage Arm TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2415 ???
Missile Launchers
Short Range Missile (SRM) TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2370 ???
Missile Munitions
Infernos TW-TM/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
Particle Projector Cannon (Support) TW-TM/Std ??? 2436 ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
Conventional Infantry Tech
Field Artillery TO/Std ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2200 ???
Heavy Weapons Ammunition
Autocannons
Flak TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2310 ???
Tracer TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2300 ???
Flamer/Fluid Gun/Sprayer
Inferno Fuel (Flamers/Fluid Guns) TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2400 ???
Missiles
Harpoon (Standard SRMs) TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? 2400 ??? ???
Heat-Seeking (St. LRM/St. SRM) TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2340 ???
Incendiary LRMs TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2341 ???
Smoke (St. LRM/St. SRM) TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2333 ???
Tar Gas (St. SRM) TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2375 ???
Large Craft Tech
Energy Storage Batteries TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2131 ???
Light Sail TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2165 ???
Naval Autocannons TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2200 ???
Naval Comm-Scanner Suite TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2200 ???
Naval Laser TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2305 ???
Naval PPC TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? 2358 ???
Power Collector/Microwave Trans. TO/Adv ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ~2200 ???
*Unless otherwise noted, Periphery dates reflect availability to Taurian Concordat, Magistracy of Canopus, and Outworlds Alliance only
~Circa
ABBREVIATIONS
TW: Total Warfare
TM: TechManual
CC: Capellan Confederation
DC: Draconis Combine (and Free Rasalhague Republic)
FS: Federated Suns
FW: Free Worlds League
LC: Lyran Commonwealth
TC: Terran Hegemony (includes the Terran Alliance/Western Alliance)
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The Star League Era (2571-2780)
Finally weary of wars without end, the Great Houses united under the Star League, ushering in a Golden Age of technology, relative peace—and hidden feuds. House Cameron, stewards of the Terran Hegemony and “first among equals,” held a distinct edge in military technology over the other League members, with better weapons, armor, and engineering making everything from their tanks and fighters to their BattleMechs and WarShips easily superior to those of their erstwhile allies. Even this edge, however, could not overcome the ambitions and rivalries that would tear down mankind’s greatest experiment in its prime.