Field Report - Periphery.pdf - Jihad era - brathac

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Jihad Plot SuPPlement

TO: Devlin Stone

FROM: David Lear

Date: 12 October 3079

state’s aggressive history points to future conlicts with its neighbors.

Fomented rebellions in the Lothian District have escalated greatly of late,

though the Caesar has curiously focused on acquiring new territory rather

than securing those worlds within his domain.

The Periphery sufered less in some regions than in others. While

the major realms sustained heavy damage, the Jihadists seemingly

ignored most of the smaller states. The Fronc Reaches, for instance,

has apparently prospered with the massive inlux of refugees from

all corners, while Randis IV continues to grow more self-suicient.

The breakaway Filtvelt Coalition has yet to experience its “teething

phase” as a nation, while the pirate realm of Malagrotta died stillborn

and was reabsorbed by the FedSuns. What little news comes from the

Niops Association is grim. The Calderon Protectorate has spent the war

vacillating between raiding and protecting the neighboring Taurian

Concordat, while the Mica Majority has tried to remain unnoticed in the

face of Clan Snow Raven’s rising dominance in the Outworlds region.

In the deeper Periphery, the Hanseatic League is reportedly

courting disaster by confronting both Clan forces and Nueva Castile at

once. This conlict may become quite severe, but at this time, we feel

it is too remote to be of immediate concern. (Nevertheless, our people

will continue to investigate.)

Given the independence-mindedness that so iercely embodies

Periphery nations and their peoples, one should never discount their

ferocity or their short tempers. While reserved when left alone, they

are quick to retaliate and escalate beyond any perceived threats or

attacks. They may eventually become valued trading partners, but we

would be well advised never to take these distant powers for granted.

Attached you will ind our most comprehensive report on the

status of the various militaries of the Periphery. Note that the distance

between our borders and the Periphery is vast and may make the

information seem irrelevant. However, given our knowledge of history

and how according little respect for the Periphery doomed the Terran

Hegemony, we should take care to monitor developments in this

region of space lest we repeat the errors of our predecessors. Our

people have deemed this compiled data as accurate, but relying as we

are on shared information from multiple sources, errors are expected

to be inherent in the information to a degree not easily quantiied.

The primary nations of concern are the Magistracy of Canopus, the

Taurian Concordat and the Marian Hegemony, though information on

the burgeoning Fronc Reaches, Filtvelt Coalition, Calderon Protectorate,

and various pirate factions is also included; the Circinus Federation is not

included; efectively little more than a Blakist vassal state at this time, the

Word’s counter-intelligence has made it diicult to solidify an accurate

picture of the military situation there at this time. The forces deemed

most likely to encounter our own are the Canopians, given that their

alliance with the Confederation has been cemented through matrimony.

The Taurians sufered greatly in the Jihad against the Federated Suns and

are expected to be a minor risk in terms of military power and political

inluence as they seek to rebuild their shattered economic and military

might. The Hegemony is still in lux under its young new Caesar, but that

How to Use tHis Book

Field Report: Periphery is a BattleTech supplement designed to provide players with information about the state of the various

militaries in the Periphery in the aftermath of the liberation of Terra during the Jihad (and before the eventual formation of the

Republic of the Sphere).

This irst section of this book—the Periphery Overview —is divided into two broad sections, a Strategic Update and the Goals of

the States . Strategic Update is a brief overview of the Periphery militaries’ current conditions and perceived objectives, while Goals

of the States presents the political and suspected military benchmarks the Periphery nations are likely to use in the future.

The next chapter, Logistical Status , covers the state of Academies and Command Centers throughout the Periphery, while

Infrastructural Integrity will present an overview of the state of various Periphery support assets in the wake of the Jihad.

The next chapter, Military Readiness , will present a speciic update on the status, oicers, and notable events of the various

brigades in the Periphery militaries, with an eye toward their likely future employment. Included are ratings for the experience and

estimated combat strengths of each regiment within the subject brigade.

Finally, Irregular Forces covers non-Periphery forces serving with their Periphery allies. These include the most prominent

mercenary commands serving in the Periphery.

Credits

Project Development: Herbert A. Beas II

BattleTech Line Developer: Herbert A. Beas II

Ass ist ant Line Developer: Ben H. Rome

Writing: Geof Swift

Strategic Assistance: Øystein Tvedten

Production Staf

Factchecking/Playtesting: Joel Bancroft-Connors, Roland M. Boshnack, Bill Derer,

Joshua Franklin, William Gauthier, Keith Hann, Johannes Heidler, Daniel Isberner,

Mike Miller, Craig Reed, Luke Robertson, Andreas Rudolph, Chris Smith, Peter Smith,

Øystein Tvedten, Chris Wheeler, Patrick Wynne

Special Thanks: Thanks to Herb for giving me this great assignment. Thanks also

to Nick, Ken’ and Øystein for their advice and assistance. Thanks to all the Periphery

players out there, whose appreciation for the frontier area of the BattleTech Universe

is so infectious.

Developer’s Note: For more information about militaries of the Periphery, or the state of

warfare before and during the Jihad, see Field Manual: Periphery , Field Manual: Updates,

Masters & Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers, Jihad: Terra, or Technical Readout: 3085.

Cover Design and Layout: Ray Arrastia

Evolved Faction Logos Design: Jason Vargas

Map: Øystein Tvedten

PeriPHery overview

While the Periphery has shown lashes of brilliance and

cooperation in recent decades, much of that was lost during the

Jihad. The Trinity Alliance that united the Canopians and Taurians

with the Capellan Confederation threatened to destabilize the

Rimward Periphery beyond anything since the Reuniication War.

The Jihad, however, put the inal nail in the Alliance’s coin, when

the bitter and marginalized Taurians inally withdrew. The ties

between the Canopians and Capellans, however, only grew stronger

as a new Magestrix assumed the throne, married the Capellan

Chancellor and bore their children. The Taurians, meanwhile, railed

against the Federated Suns, and now seek to rebuild and regain

some semblance of stability while still holding on to their meager

gains in the Federated Suns.

The Fronc Reaches reasserted its independence from the

Canopians when the latter’s military forces withdrew during

the Jihad. In the Marian Hegemony, the death of the Caesar in a

radiological attack demoralized much of the populace, but only

strengthened their military resolve.

Pirates remain a problem to stability and reliable trade, but

those who now ply the spacelanes for ill-gotten gains have changed.

Some bands over-reached themselves during the war, and were

overwhelmed by the responses they provoked. Meanwhile, the

Filtvelt Coalition made a (so far) successful play for independence

from the Federated Suns in the wake of the Suns’ apparent

abandonment of the region.

Most minor nations of the Periphery, including the Rim

Collection, Mica Majority, and the Fiefdom of Randis, have weathered

the Jihad with ease, largely because they are simply too small to

have attracted the ire or attentions of the various forces ighting in

the recent war. Likewise, the Deep Periphery has been spared the

ills of the Jihad, though conlicts between them and with stray Clan

forces continue to threaten their well-being.

will relax in any meaningful time frame, meaning the possibility of

another unrestrained series of attacks remains high. The Calderon

Protectorate’s open opposition to the Concordat’s military junta has

had little efect on this conlict. With planetary allegiances swinging

from Concordat to Protectorate to neither, a de facto neutral zone

now exists between the two. This could lead to increased and more

aggressive pirate activity in the region, with less central authority to

contain it.

The Canopians’ lost their beloved Magestrix and a great deal of

their military elite when Crimson was irebombed. Hadji Doru, one

of the few surviving leaders, led the opposition against the Blakists

until Canopian forces deployed within the Confederation could

return to reclaim their nation. The fact that the Canopians allowed

this to happen through the ill-advised spread of their defenses

through the Fronc Reaches is unlikely to be repeated in the future

and will surely afect their relationships with Sian and Fronc.

The Fronc Reaches took steps during the Jihad to build a true

military force, especially after the Magistracy’s withdrawal. While the

Colonial Marshals remain as a law-enforcement body, the Reaches’

Sentinels were created to serve regional defense. Though this is a

small force at present, the proto-state’s willingness to cede land and

titles to troops in exchange for loyalty and defense has seen several

small private commands join the Sentinels. The most prominent

of these are the Fronc Cuirassiers, formed around the Derek’s

Devils mercenary force, whose pursuit and destruction of Blakists

masquerading as pirates netted them both prestige and high-tech

salvage. Primarily, President Carver Trondel and Force Commander

Dirk McEvans believe that the Magistracy will be too distracted

with its own rebuilding, and the Concordat too consumed by their

war against the Federated Suns to pose any immediate threat to

the Reaches. Still, Trondel has made overtures to the Calderon

Protectorate for cooperation against pirate forces.

The Marian Hegemony lost a great number of troops through

their opposition to the Blakist-backed Circinians, but the greatest

loss was that of Caesar Julius and much of the military hierarchy

in the neutron bombing of Nova Roma. Nevertheless, the struggle

against the Federation’s enhanced technologies forged the Legions

into a cohesive and deadly force. Though depleted in numbers, they

are now regarded as more formidable than ever, a fact demonstrated

by their conquest of several nearby systems formerly claimed by

the Free Worlds League. Young Caesar Cassius’ choice to ight the

Circinians hardest in the Lothian province—where the collateral

damage would presumably weaken the resident Lothian rebels—

may have seemed a brilliant strategy at the time, but the outcome

has only exacerbated the insurrection beyond his ability to control.

The Filtvelt Coalition, seen by many as an upstart breakaway,

capitalizing on the Federated Suns’ upheavals during the Jihad, is

actively soliciting any AFFS forces, mercenaries and even privateers

who might prove willing to defend their new realm (or at least turn

their guns away from it). While their overtures for military aid are

so far generating few warm responses, the fact they can draw on

strategiC UPdate

As to why the Periphery militaries did not participate in our

Coalition against the Blakists, the reasons are as varied as the various

powers themselves.

When Taurus was bombarded by asteroids, the decapitated

Taurian leadership naturally responded by blaming the Federated

Suns, who they were already in conlict with. Taurian fervor led

them to launch genocidal attacks against many Suns worlds; that

the AFFS had to task large numbers of troops against this fanatical

enemy speaks to the quality of the Concordat’s forces and the

savagery of their actions. Millions of civilian casualties to date can

be traced to the bombardments by the Taurian’s solitary WarShip

Vendetta , a gift from their Blakist allies. Meanwhile, Taurian ground

forces in the Pleiades remain entrenched there, and continue to

cause problems for our FedSuns allies. Though attrition is taking its

toll, it is unlikely that the Taurians’ posture towards House Davion

Field Report - Periphery.pdf

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