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BattleTech: Era Digest: Golden Century
TM
ERA DIGEST
A BATTLETECH HISTORICAL SUPPLEMENT
CREDITS
Project Development
: Herbert A. Beas II
BattleTech Line Developer
: Herbert A. Beas II
Primary Writing
: Ken’ Horner
Additional Writing:
Herbert A. Beas II
Production Sta
:
Art Direction:
Brent Evans
Cover Design and Layout
: Matt Heerdt
Original Illustrations
: David White
Record Sheets
: David L. McCulloch
Factchecking/Playtesting:
Joel Bancroft-Connors, Ron Barter,
Roland Boshnack, James Brown, Rich Cencarik, Joshua Franklin,
William Gauthier, Keith Hann, Johannes Heidler, Ross Hines, Glen
Hopkins, Daniel Isberner, Edward Lott, Chris Marti, Aaron Pollyea,
Craig “No Last Name” Reed, Luke Robertson, Andreas Rudolph, Eric
Salzman, Je
Skidmore, Sam Snell, Chris Wheeler and Patrick Wynne.
Special Thanks:
I’d like to thank my parents, Roy and Lynette, for
putting up and eventually encouraging this strange hobby they
didn’t understand. Ken Petruzzelli for introducing me to the game
and getting me involved in rec.games.mecha. My brother Doug
for not giving me too hard a time for being a dork growing up.
Herb Beas for giving a fan
c writer a chance or two. To the folks at
Catalyst Game Labs, who kept
BattleTech
going as well as all my
fellow authors, playtesters and fact checkers who help us turn out
great material. And of course, our wonderful fans for giving me
encouragement, keeping me grounded and keeping us all busy
giving you new material.
STAR LEAGUE
STAR LEAGUE ERA
ERA
CLAN INVASION ERA
CLAN INVASION ERA
JIHAD ERA
JIHAD ERA
®
SUCCESSION WARS ERA
CIVIL WAR ERA
CIVIL WAR ERA
DARK AGE ERA
DARK AGE ERA
©2010 The Topps Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Era Digest: Golden Century, Classic BattleTech, BattleTech, BattleMech and ’Mech
are registered trademarks and/or trademarks of The Topps Company, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries.
Catalyst Game Labs and the Catalyst Game Labs logo are trademarks of InMediaRes Productions, LLC. Printed in Canada.
CHANGES,
CITY OF ROENICH, BABYLON
KERENSKY CLUSTER
13 JUNE 2854
1330 BST
OUTSIDE ROENICH, BABYLON
KERENSKY CLUSTER
13 JUNE 2854
1530 BST
Star Captain Anja Halstead sat in the cockpit of her
Great Wyrm
,
waiting for the report to come through from her advanced scouts. When
the Coyotes issued their
batchall
for Roenich, they had listed most of
their forces as piloting some new ’Mech massing forty-
ve tons. It wasn’t
unlike that Clan to trot out a new design and test it in battle over some
nearly insigni
cant goal, but Roenich was a mining town of signi
cance.
Anja’s bid had included a Star of
solahma
to contest the enemy’s landing,
but more importantly to gather intelligence on this new ’Mech.
A breeze
owed through the open cockpit. The spring air was a
refreshing reminder of what made Roenich more than just a resource.
She raised her bottle to toast the wind then tossed back a swig of the
arti
cially orange-
avored drink.
“Venom Command, this is Eyes One, over.” The old man’s voice cut
through minor static. A hint of sadness, likely of being the one to retreat
and report rather than
nd some restoration of honor in a
ghting death,
lled his voice
Anja tapped the respond key on her keyboard. “I read you, Eyes. Give
us your sitrep, over.” She opened the transmission to her entire Trinary. Or
rather, Binary, now that the
solahma
Star had spent itself.
“We encountered a Binary of ’Mechs, including a
Hussar
which we de-
stroyed. Half of these were new, likely that
Coyotl
included in the
batchall
.
It has an arm-mounted PPC, ten LRMs, a quad Streak and a medium pulse
laser. Seemed to top out at 120 klicks or so, no jump capacity. When we
pulled back….” A hiss of static interrupted the transmission as the scout
hovercraft passed through the rough terrain outside of Roenich.
“Repeat that, Eyes. Over.”
“
A
. Top speed 120, no jump capacity. They went back into the Drop-
Ship to top o
their ammo. One of these
Coyotl
s has a scar where I got
them over the cockpit. End sitrep. Over.”
“Head back to base, Eyes One. Over and out.” A tap of the keyboard
switched the communication system over to her Binary. “Alright troops,
we are going to hunker down in the wadis north of the city. That bro-
ken terrain will limit their mobility. I want the jumpers in between the
non-jumpers. Let us roll out.” As she closed her canopy, Anja frowned
in disappointment, no doubt adding to the wrinkles that the Babylon
sun had given her in twenty-nine years of life. She was sacri
cing some
of her force’s advantage by reducing the engagement to close range,
but taking even more from the enemy. She would have preferred to
sacri
ce none.
Anja waited halfway patiently in the sti
ing cockpit. An hour and a
half of laying low, waiting for the Coyotes, was taking its toll. Part of her
knew that this waiting game only favored her. The other part wanted to
nish this Trial and be done with it.
“Venom Command, this is Coil Command, over.” Her XO, Star Com-
mander Wallace, was young and it showed in his voice.
“I read you, Coil Command, over.”
“Sir, we have got movement on the edges.”
Finally, something was happening. She adjusted her grip on her joy-
stick, feeling the hard plastic beneath her hand, the unyielding surface
assuring her that her ’Mech would not crumble under enemy
re.
“Roger, Coil. They have two jumpers, the
Horned Owl
s. Light them up
as soon as you see them. And stick to
zellbrigen
, over.”
“Rog…” Wallace’s reply was cut o
by gun
re. In her tactical display,
Anja saw that three of her units had engaged the enemy. Likely their
screening force of light ’Mechs. Again using her keyboard, she calmly
opened a channel to her entire unit.
“Cobras, hold that line fast. We have their recon engaged, so their
main force will need to either get down into the wadi or run up and
down on the edges. I want you to engage the
rst opponent you can and
keep them in front of you. Good hunting, over.”
She smiled, feeling an elation she had only recently discovered. As
a younger warrior she would have charged ahead and left one of her
subordinates to cover the rear. Now she wanted to see her success on
a grander scale, as her unit captured glory for her. Blue dots indicating
the enemy closed on the red dots indicating her forces. The
Horned Owl
s
jumped around, followed by her
Gri
n
and
Shadow Hawk
, both slower
but ten tons heavier than their opponents. The rest of the forces made a
ragged but respectable line about 150 meters apart, like some old Terran
forces
ghting in the trenches.
Anja’s smile faded as she watched
ve of the blue dots surge forward
over 200 meters behind her line. She smacked the display. Her hand
stung. There was no way they could move that fast over broken terrain.
Voices erupted through her earpieces.
“Sir, they are behind us!”
“Pull back!”
“Hold the lights, I—”
“They are jumpers!”
Hussar
stroyed. Half of these were new, likely that
Coyotl
included in the
batchall
.
It has an arm-mounted PPC, ten LRMs, a quad Streak and a medium pulse
laser. Seemed to top out at 120 klicks or so, no jump capacity. When we
pulled back….” A hiss of static interrupted the transmission as the scout
hovercraft passed through the rough terrain outside of Roenich.
“Repeat that, Eyes. Over.”
“
A
Hussar
which we de-
“ . Top speed 120, no jump capacity. They went back into the Drop-
A
. Top speed 120, no jump capacity. They went back into the Drop-
Shadow Hawk
but ten tons heavier than their opponents. The rest of the forces made a
ragged but respectable line about 150 meters apart, like some old Terran
forces
ghting in the trenches.
Anja’s smile faded as she watched
ve of the blue dots surge forward
over 200 meters behind her line. She smacked the display. Her hand
stung. There was no way they could move that fast over broken terrain.
Voices erupted through her earpieces.
“Sir, they are behind us!”
“Pull back!”
“Hold the lights, I—”
“They are jumpers!”
A
Ship to top o
their ammo. One of these
Coyotl
s has a scar where I got
them over the cockpit. End sitrep. Over.”
“Head back to base, Eyes One. Over and out.” A tap of the keyboard
switched the communication system over to her Binary. “Alright troops,
we are going to hunker down in the wadis north of the city. That bro-
ken terrain will limit their mobility. I want the jumpers in between the
non-jumpers. Let us roll out.” As she closed her canopy, Anja frowned
in disappointment, no doubt adding to the wrinkles that the Babylon
sun had given her in twenty-nine years of life. She was sacri
cing some
of her force’s advantage by reducing the engagement to close range,
but taking even more from the enemy. She would have preferred to
sacri
ce none.
1
CHANGES,
THEY ARE THE TIMES
THEY ARE THE TIMES
CHANGES,
THEY ARE THE TIMES
CHANGES,
CITY OF ROENICH, BABYLON
KERENSKY CLUSTER
13 JUNE 2854
1330 BST
OUTSIDE ROENICH, BABYLON
KERENSKY CLUSTER
13 JUNE 2854
1530 BST
Star Captain Anja Halstead sat in the cockpit of her
Great Wyrm
,
waiting for the report to come through from her advanced scouts. When
the Coyotes issued their
batchall
for Roenich, they had listed most of
Anja waited halfway patiently in the sti
ing cockpit. An hour and a
half of laying low, waiting for the Coyotes, was taking its toll. Part of her
knew that this waiting game only favored her. The other part wanted to
nish this Trial and be done with it.
“Venom Command, this is Coil Command, over.” Her XO, Star Com-
mander Wallace, was young and it showed in his voice.
“I read you, Coil Command, over.”
“Sir, we have got movement on the edges.”
Finally, something was happening. She adjusted her grip on her joy-
stick, feeling the hard plastic beneath her hand, the unyielding surface
assuring her that her ’Mech would not crumble under enemy
re.
“Roger, Coil. They have two jumpers, the
Horned Owl
s. Light them up
as soon as you see them. And stick to
zellbrigen
, over.”
“Rog…” Wallace’s reply was cut o
by gun
re. In her tactical display,
Anja saw that three of her units had engaged the enemy. Likely their
screening force of light ’Mechs. Again using her keyboard, she calmly
opened a channel to her entire unit.
“Cobras, hold that line fast. We have their recon engaged, so their
main force will need to either get down into the wadi or run up and
down on the edges. I want you to engage the
rst opponent you can and
keep them in front of you. Good hunting, over.”
She smiled, feeling an elation she had only recently discovered. As
a younger warrior she would have charged ahead and left one of her
subordinates to cover the rear. Now she wanted to see her success on
a grander scale, as her unit captured glory for her. Blue dots indicating
the enemy closed on the red dots indicating her forces. The
Horned Owl
s
jumped around, followed by her
Gri
n
and
Shadow Hawk
, both slower
batchall
their forces as piloting some new ’Mech massing forty-
ve tons. It wasn’t
unlike that Clan to trot out a new design and test it in battle over some
nearly insigni
cant goal, but Roenich was a mining town of signi
cance.
Anja’s bid had included a Star of
solahma
to contest the enemy’s landing,
but more importantly to gather intelligence on this new ’Mech.
A breeze
owed through the open cockpit. The spring air was a
refreshing reminder of what made Roenich more than just a resource.
She raised her bottle to toast the wind then tossed back a swig of the
arti
cially orange-
avored drink.
“Venom Command, this is Eyes One, over.” The old man’s voice cut
through minor static. A hint of sadness, likely of being the one to retreat
and report rather than
nd some restoration of honor in a
ghting death,
lled his voice
Anja tapped the respond key on her keyboard. “I read you, Eyes. Give
us your sitrep, over.” She opened the transmission to her entire Trinary. Or
rather, Binary, now that the
solahma
Star had spent itself.
“We encountered a Binary of ’Mechs, including a
Hussar
which we de-
Adrenaline surged through her veins but she didn’t let it overwhelm
her. Instead, she focused it into activity. Tapping the pedals, she moved
her ’Mech forward while overriding the channel, forcing her unit to com-
municate only within their Star while she spoke to all of them.
“Settle down, Cobras. Keep to your target or engage one if you have
not. Keep the chatter down. Over.” She knew that her advice would help
some but others would remain panicked. Her forces were by no means
the elite of her Clan. An alert chirped as the tactical display showed three
lights fade out. One of the blue
Horned Owl
s was down but so were two
of her ’Mechs. Turning a corner, she ran head
rst into an enemy.
The
Coyotl
leapt on plasma jets over Anja’s head, raining laser pulses
and missiles on her. She managed to track it with her autocannons but
the too-few rounds that hit barely scratched the armor of the squat
’Mech’s body. The Coyotes had tricked her. They swapped for a second
variant of their ’Mech in violation of
batchall
, something that the Khan—
or even the Grand Council—would address. She spun her
Great Wyrm
around to face her opponent and prevent a good chance of having her
rear armor penetrated.
Time slowed to a crawl. Perhaps combat was so ingrained in her
that her mind seemed to work faster. But it was if all her senses ceased
working except vision. The enemy was readjusting after the jump to get
a good shot at her. The wide arms raising, the deadly barrel of a large
energy weapon, no doubt a pulse, swinging into line with her while the
missile launchers loaded another salvo.
But all she could see was the cockpit. A gouge ran across it, like
an eye patch on a giant metal frog. Her body was in motion, aim-
ing weapons and juking her forty-five ton machine while backing
up. What were the consequences of such a new machine? One able
to change weaponry in minutes instead of days? An alert beeped as
one of the enemy’s Streak launchers found a lock and fired. The noise
brought her to the moment. It wasn’t her job to figure it out. It was
her job to fight.
She mashed the trigger to
re all of her weapons. About half hit
the enemy ’Mech, the lasers causing the most damage as they melted
over a ton of armor. Explosive shells from her autocannon popped like
reworks across the enemy’s leg while both of their machines rocked as
missiles peppered them. She turned her ’Mech to the left and ran up the
wall of the wadi, trying to
nd a way to put some distance between her
and the
Coyotl.
A glance at the amount of red on the wireframe display
of her ’Mech’ told her she was coming out on the poor end of close-
quarters exchanges.
A wave of heat washed over her cabin as the cooling system failed to
keep up with the heat her ’Mech was generating. She
red her cannons
and missiles again as her opponent leapt out of the wadi to shoot at her.
A few shells exploded across the Coyote’s machine but it was too little.
She watched as the red dots on her tactical display disappeared faster.
This wouldn’t be the only battle the Coyotes would win with these new
machines. But would they ever lose?
batchall
or even the Grand Council—would address. She spun her
Great Wyrm
around to face her opponent and prevent a good chance of having her
rear armor penetrated.
Time slowed to a crawl. Perhaps combat was so ingrained in her
that her mind seemed to work faster. But it was if all her senses ceased
working except vision. The enemy was readjusting after the jump to get
a good shot at her. The wide arms raising, the deadly barrel of a large
batchall
, something that the Khan—
2
Adrenaline surged through her veins but she didn’t let it overwhelm
her. Instead, she focused it into activity. Tapping the pedals, she moved
her ’Mech forward while overriding the channel, forcing her unit to com-
municate only within their Star while she spoke to all of them.
“Settle down, Cobras. Keep to your target or engage one if you have
not. Keep the chatter down. Over.” She knew that her advice would help
some but others would remain panicked. Her forces were by no means
the elite of her Clan. An alert chirped as the tactical display showed three
lights fade out. One of the blue
Horned Owl
s was down but so were two
of her ’Mechs. Turning a corner, she ran head
rst into an enemy.
The
Coyotl
leapt on plasma jets over Anja’s head, raining laser pulses
energy weapon, no doubt a pulse, swinging into line with her while the
missile launchers loaded another salvo.
But all she could see was the cockpit. A gouge ran across it, like
an eye patch on a giant metal frog. Her body was in motion, aim-
ing weapons and juking her forty-five ton machine while backing
up. What were the consequences of such a new machine? One able
to change weaponry in minutes instead of days? An alert beeped as
one of the enemy’s Streak launchers found a lock and fired. The noise
brought her to the moment. It wasn’t her job to figure it out. It was
her job to fight.
She mashed the trigger to
re all of her weapons. About half hit
the enemy ’Mech, the lasers causing the most damage as they melted
over a ton of armor. Explosive shells from her autocannon popped like
reworks across the enemy’s leg while both of their machines rocked as
missiles peppered them. She turned her ’Mech to the left and ran up the
wall of the wadi, trying to
nd a way to put some distance between her
and the
Coyotl.
A glance at the amount of red on the wireframe display
of her ’Mech’ told her she was coming out on the poor end of close-
quarters exchanges.
A wave of heat washed over her cabin as the cooling system failed to
keep up with the heat her ’Mech was generating. She
red her cannons
and missiles again as her opponent leapt out of the wadi to shoot at her.
A few shells exploded across the Coyote’s machine but it was too little.
She watched as the red dots on her tactical display disappeared faster.
This wouldn’t be the only battle the Coyotes would win with these new
machines. But would they ever lose?
Coyotl
and missiles on her. She managed to track it with her autocannons but
the too-few rounds that hit barely scratched the armor of the squat
’Mech’s body. The Coyotes had tricked her. They swapped for a second
variant of their ’Mech in violation of
batchall
, something that the Khan—
INTRODUCTION
Since our relocation to the Inner Sphere, our new citizens have not learned our history. To them, after the liberation of the Pentagon worlds in
Operation Klondike, the Clans sprang, fully formed as they are, to simmer until Revival. As annoying as that is, worse still is the danger that future
generations will not know, and we will forever be an occupation force and never a uni
ed society. Some of our future warriors may come from these
people. In light of that, I have commissioned this work, an overview of when most of the Clans became who they are, including ours. This document
will touch on the most important events and parties of the Golden Century. Hopefully this will spur some readers to investigate deeper into our his-
tory, to read more detailed accounts and become more involved in our new family.
—Temuchin Amirault
Loremaster
Clan Hell’s Horses
14 April 3081
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
Era Digest: Golden Century
is a stand-alone product that takes a deeper look at the time when the Clans formed their distinct cultures and
philosophies. While this book is primarily a sourcebook about an era and setting often glossed over in
BattleTech
lore, it also contains rules both for
playing within the Golden Century and with early Clan units in this pivotal time in history.
The
rst section,
The Golden Age
, is a summary of the events of the Golden Century and the changes that the Clans experienced during that time.
This section goes in depth into some of the turning points of the era, both for individual Clans as well as the Clans as a whole.
Clan Mongoose
takes a look at the only Clan that didn’t survive the Golden Century. Unlike Clan Widowmaker, Clan Mongoose had a brief
chance to begin to shape their personality and culture before their fall. The writings of one of the last Mongoose warriors provide a deep look into
that lost Clan.
Order Through Con
ict
is a mixture of sourcebook material and guide for players and gamemasters who wish to use the Clan Trial systems in their
games. Each individual Trial is looked at with suggestions on how and when to apply them to your campaign.
Finally, the
Golden Century Rules
section describes four ’Mechs that were important or indicative of the Golden Century, including the
rst Om-
niMechs as well as some other notable
rsts of that time. This section also includes Random Assignment Tables (RATs) to make it easy to quickly roll
forces that
t well in that era, and role-playing information for players wishing to experiment with the early Clan development setting.
The book concludes with
Record Sheets
, a collection of record sheets for units found in this book. Not only are the variants from the featured
Golden Century ’Mechs presented, but also a WarShip and aerospace
ghter that were important to the late Clan Mongoose.
One
nal note for wary players: Each sourcebook section re
ects the bias and writing style of the author, this should be taken into consideration
before declaring a Trial of Grievance on fellow players over interpretations of these sections.
Order Through Con
ict
games. Each individual Trial is looked at with suggestions on how and when to apply them to your campaign.
Finally, the
Golden Century Rules
section describes four ’Mechs that were important or indicative of the Golden Century, including the
rst Om-
niMechs as well as some other notable
rsts of that time. This section also includes Random Assignment Tables (RATs) to make it easy to quickly roll
forces that
t well in that era, and role-playing information for players wishing to experiment with the early Clan development setting.
The book concludes with
Record Sheets
, a collection of record sheets for units found in this book. Not only are the variants from the featured
Golden Century ’Mechs presented, but also a WarShip and aerospace
ghter that were important to the late Clan Mongoose.
One
nal note for wary players: Each sourcebook section re
ects the bias and writing style of the author, this should be taken into consideration
before declaring a Trial of Grievance on fellow players over interpretations of these sections.
3
INTRODUCTION
Since our relocation to the Inner Sphere, our new citizens have not learned our history. To them, after the liberation of the Pentagon worlds in
Operation Klondike, the Clans sprang, fully formed as they are, to simmer until Revival. As annoying as that is, worse still is the danger that future
generations will not know, and we will forever be an occupation force and never a uni
ed society. Some of our future warriors may come from these
people. In light of that, I have commissioned this work, an overview of when most of the Clans became who they are, including ours. This document
will touch on the most important events and parties of the Golden Century. Hopefully this will spur some readers to investigate deeper into our his-
tory, to read more detailed accounts and become more involved in our new family.
—Temuchin Amirault
Loremaster
Clan Hell’s Horses
14 April 3081
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
Era Digest: Golden Century
philosophies. While this book is primarily a sourcebook about an era and setting often glossed over in
BattleTech
lore, it also contains rules both for
playing within the Golden Century and with early Clan units in this pivotal time in history.
The
rst section,
The Golden Age
, is a summary of the events of the Golden Century and the changes that the Clans experienced during that time.
This section goes in depth into some of the turning points of the era, both for individual Clans as well as the Clans as a whole.
Clan Mongoose
takes a look at the only Clan that didn’t survive the Golden Century. Unlike Clan Widowmaker, Clan Mongoose had a brief
chance to begin to shape their personality and culture before their fall. The writings of one of the last Mongoose warriors provide a deep look into
that lost Clan.
Order Through Con
ict
is a mixture of sourcebook material and guide for players and gamemasters who wish to use the Clan Trial systems in their
Era Digest: Golden Century
is a stand-alone product that takes a deeper look at the time when the Clans formed their distinct cultures and
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