[hider=CODEX] Any and all information here can be found on [url=https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page]Sarna[/url], even if not word-for-word. I highly recommend the site, it has all the necessary details you need to get started and then to get hooked. I will also likely miss a lot of core details and skip over the history, so I highly recommend checking it out if you want to learn more. [hider=Inner Sphere] From Sarna: [quote]The Inner Sphere is a region of interstellar space surrounding Earth to a radius of roughly 450 - 550 light-years, generally demarcated by the outer borders of the "Great Houses." Within this region of about 2 million stars, there are approximately 2000 inhabited planets. Beyond the Inner Sphere is the Periphery.[/quote] The Inner Sphere is the standard setting for Battletech, and it consists of the stars and systems nearest to Terra, humanity's ancient capital. Historically it has been ruled by the Terran Hegemony and the Great Houses. After the fall of the Star League, it was only the Great Houses, who since then have fought endless wars over the control of the Inner Sphere, the largest of which have been called the "Successions Wars". Up to the current date of the RP, there have been 4 of these, the first two effectively wiping out large portions of the population and setting back the technology in most of the Inner Sphere to levels before the collapse of the Terran Hegemony. [img]https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/fde9d02a-1653-4e9d-8347-88bcee23cba5/desbbh8-81362bde-f87a-4014-b621-a11dcf14de9f.png/v1/fill/w_1024,h_878,q_80,strp/3040___war_of_3039_by_lazurez_desbbh8-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9ODc4IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZmRlOWQwMmEtMTY1My00ZTlkLTgzNDctODhiY2VlMjNjYmE1XC9kZXNiYmg4LTgxMzYyYmRlLWY4N2EtNDAxNC1iNjIxLWExMWRjZjE0ZGU5Zi5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTAyNCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.Krm0zG3lpPl_4i_LuJ9w5otyCfdlb27uI2xiNGAe21k[/img] [/hider] [hider=Great Houses/Successor States] From Sarna: [quote]The Successor States (named as such due to their being the "Successors" of the Star League) are the major military powers of the Inner Sphere, each governed by one of the Great Houses with its own customs and culture. After House Cameron was wiped out in the Star League Civil War, the five remaining Great Houses spent the next several centuries fighting each other to determine who would succeed as the next First Lord. By the mid-thirty-first century the endless pursuit of this goal had left the Successor States ravaged by apocalyptic wars and widespread technological decline, but with no clear winner.[/quote] The five major Great Houses/Successor States in a clockwise fashion from Terra's point of view: [list] [*] House Kurita/Draconis Combine: [quote]The Draconis Combine is one of the five Successor States of the Inner Sphere. Founded in 2319 by the empire-builder Shiro Kurita, the Combine has been ruled as a hereditary dictatorship by the Coordinators of House Kurita. Culturally the prevailing mores of the Combine are based upon Shogunate Japan of pre-spaceflight Terra, with a pervasive class system in which the nobility and modern samurai of the military are dominant. House Kurita's rule is also upheld by the Internal Security Force and Order of Five Pillars intelligence agencies, and an all-encompassing government bureaucracy.[/quote][hr] [*] House Davion/Federated Suns:[quote]The Federated Suns has traditionally been the most powerful and largest of the Successor States to occupy the Inner Sphere. From their ancestral home of New Avalon, the scions of House Davion have ruled the Federated Suns since its founding by Lucien Davion in 2317. While tracing their family line to French and English nobility of ancient Terra and ruling as constitutional monarchs, the Davions have always positioned themselves and the Federated Suns as champions of liberty and personal freedoms in the Inner Sphere. This view has bred a sense of righteousness in the Davion cause, serving as both a source of strength and weakness during their history.[/quote][hr] [*] House Liao/Capellan Confederation:[quote]The Capellan Confederation is the smallest and youngest of the Successor States. A socialistic police state with strong Chinese and Russian influences, the Confederation is ruled by the authoritarian Chancellor, who has almost always been a member of House Liao. During the years of the Succession Wars the Capellan Confederation was the perpetual underdog, losing territory to its aggressive neighbors and verging on the brink of total collapse before regaining much of its strength by the middle of the thirty-first century.[/quote][hr] [*] House Marik/Free Worlds League:[quote]The Free Worlds League is one of the five Successor States of the Inner Sphere. Founded in 2271 it is the oldest of these realms, and unlike the others is technically a federation of smaller states ruled by a democratic Parliament rather than a single nation under one Great House. In practice, the League has usually been a de facto military dictatorship under the Captains-General of House Marik, although their authority has been more contested than that of other House Lords. This internal strife and the League's strength as a mercantile and industrial power have arisen from the same source: the sheer diversity of the League's member provinces. From before the Age of War through the Star League and Succession Wars eras, the Free Worlds League held its own against its external enemies but was plagued by factionalism and occasionally civil war. [/quote][hr] [*] House Steiner/Lyran Commonwealth:[quote]The Lyran Commonwealth is one of the five Successor States of the Inner Sphere. Founded in 2341 as a union of three smaller mercantile alliances, the Commonwealth has traditionally been regarded as the wealthiest of the Successor States. This industrial might and a number of talented military leaders enabled the realm to survive the Age of War and the Succession Wars despite the Lyran Commonwealth Armed Forces - ever-plagued by the notorious "Social Generals" - often failing to match the Commonwealth's mercantile strength.[/quote][hr] [/list] The Federated Commonwealth: [quote]The Federated Commonwealth was the union of the Lyran Commonwealth and Federated Suns. The accession of Archon-Prince Victor Steiner-Davion in 3055 formally brought the nation into being, though in practice it had existed as the Federated Commonwealth Alliance since 3028[/quote] Essentially a super-state aimed at controlling the politics of the Inner Sphere by the sheer might of their military, it kept in check the other successor states with relative success (at least until it was disbanded, but that didn't yet happen when this RP takes place) Free Rasalhague Republic: Space Vikings. It's hard to describe them as any more or less, without losing the essence of Rasalhague. Occupied since early in the history of BattleTech, these territories have historically belonged to the Draconis Combine, but have always been quite rebellious. Created as a buffer state in the wake of the Fourth Succession war, Rasalhague is the newest of the "major" states of the Inner Sphere, however they are by far the weakest and most ill-equipped out of them all. [/hider] [hider=Mechs] [quote]A BattleMech (often abbreviated 'Mech, although that could technically also refer to IndustrialMechs) is an armored combat vehicle of roughly humanoid shape, standing 8 to 14 meters tall and typically massing from 20 to 100 tons. 'Mechs are best suited for ground combat, although they are also capable of operations underwater, in hazardous environments and in space. In general, BattleMechs are considered superior to conventional combat vehicles, being faster, better armed and better protected, creating a firepower-to-manpower ratio which also gives them a logistical advantage. 'Mechs replicate many of the movements humans are capable of performing, which allow them to avoid, deflect or otherwise lessen the impact of weapons fire. There are even some stories about MechWarriors who are able to perform acrobatic feats such as shoulder rolls. The downside is the incredible expense associated with producing and maintaining 'Mechs - even the cheapest 'Mech can cost millions of C-bills - ensuring cheaper combat vehicles a continued role in warfare. Still, the best way to fight a 'Mech is with another 'Mech, preferably one larger and more powerful: duels between evenly matched 'Mechs have been known to last for hours.[/quote][hr] In essence, the Mech is the quintessential fighting machine, able to be modified and tinkered in a variety of ways by the manufacturer or a skilled enough MecTech to fill just about any battlefield role. They come in 4 primary types, based on their weight: Light, Medium, Heavy and Assault. Almost without an exception, bigger is better, and you wouldn't want to face an [url=https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Atlas_(BattleMech)]Atlas[/url] when piloting a [url=https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Locust]Locust[/url]. Mechs usually operate in "Lances", groups composed of 4 mechs that usually perform a similar purpose (so a Scout Lance will mostly have Light mechs, whilst an Assault Lance will almost always be from Heavy and Assault mechs), and are deployed together by landed DropShips or Leopard shuttles. Of course, not all Lances are made of exactly 4 mechs, as often there isn't a neat multiple of 4 mechs that can be deployed, so armies and more often than not merc companies will have a "lance" that is roughly 4-6 mechs, when the number isn't big enough to warrant a second lance with it's own command structure. There are also a few other sub-types of Mechs: most notably LAMs, and triped/quadruped mechs, but both of these are so rare and gimmicky that we probably won't be including them in the RP. However, it is a fun reading material on Sarna if you are interested. [/hider] [hider=Mechwarriors and Mercenaries] To keep this one brief, a MechWarrior is anyone trained in the use of Mechs. A lot goes into using a mech, and these vehicles truly become an extension of their bodies, rather than just vehicles to pilot. Truly skilled pilots who are ale to handle the massive amount of data provided to them, and who are fast enough to input the necessary controls will find themselves able to match or beat mechs a weight size or more above them. Whilst a large portion of these Mechwarriors are operated by the Successor States in their militaries, a large number of them also serve in Mercenary companies. During the Third Succession war which lasted a quite a long time (read: more than a hundred years), these mercenaries did most of the fighting. Though privately owned, some of them are bankrolled by certain Great Houses to carry out clandestine operations whilst offering plausible deniability to their employers. However, for most non-aligned mercenary companies, there is a system called the [url=https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Mercenary_Review_and_Bonding_Commission]Mercenary Review Board[/url] which serves to rate these companies and offer a platform where they can browse and accept contracts. From these contracts they are usually awarded either C-Bills, the standard currency in the Inner Sphere and most Periphery nations, as well as Salvage, a portion of the equipment left behind on the battlefield by both forces, which the mercenaries will be able to take home alongside their usual payment. Usually mercenaries get the first pick but are only allowed to take home a part of the salvage, however there are rare cases when the opposite is true.[/hider] [/hider]