Battletech is a wonderfully rich universe created by the gaming company FASA. It is possibly one of the richest universes in creation. It's been around for 30 years, has had a multitude of novels released, an animated series, source books, RPGs (three now), table-top board games, miniatures, keychains, clothing, mousepads, and everyone even seems to think the idea for a movie is being kicked around Hollywood.
The year is 3062 and the universe is strife with war. 300 years ago mankind has moved to the start and was in a golden age, working together and exploring the universe. The five major star Houses under the collective government known as the Star League were finally working together.
A usurper to the throne, however, quickly desolved what man had put together and dropped the five houses into a series of brutal wars fought with Battlemechs, Aerospace Fighters, Warships, Armor, and infantry to see who would be the new Star Lord of the Inner Sphere, to see who would once again reunite man under a common banner. The great General Kerenksy, formerly of the Star League was discusted by this behavior and took 800 of his loyal soldiers and left the Inner Sphere on a mission of exploration. He vowed to return once the Inner Sphere needed him to defend them under the banner of the Star League.
For 300 years they fought war after war, trying to pumel each other into submission. The wars were so brutal, and so completely destructive that all of mankind lost much of its advanced technology and was reduced to a modern dark age. Most machinery working today is over a hundred years old, held together by skill and a prayer.
This new Dark Age forced man to agree to rules on their warfare, essencially legalizing it, making it an accepted method to a means. This aggreement was made at the Ares Convention, and among it's rules were the banning of chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, attacks on civilians, and attacks on Jumpships (the only means humans have of traveling between the stars).
In the year 3050, nearly 300 years after the Star League disolved an outside threat came to hinder the Inner Sphere. These new creatures piloted similar Battlemechs to the Inner Sphere, but much more advanced. These alien invaders quickly took control of large portions of the Inner Sphere in the shape of an arrow pointed directly at Terra, birth place of humans and capitol of the entire Inner Sphere. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the Clans are not aliens after all, but humans descended from Alexander Kerensky, the great general that left the Inner Sphere 300 years ago. They were back to re-establish the Star League, whether it meant cooperation with the Inner Sphere, or total destruction of them. They had evolved their society to be based on war, growing new warriors in vitro rather than regular birth to ensure a pure warrior's DNA. They are trained as infants in the art of war and are given technology far greater than that of the Inner Sphere.
The Inner Sphere slowly realized that this Clan Jugernaught was not unstopable after all, but defeatable if they took advantage of the Clans strick adherance to battlefield guidlines and attack the Clans where they were most vunerable...their honor. Comstar, representing the whole Inner Sphere challenged the Clans to a single honor battle on a single planet, Tukkayid. If Comstar won, the Clans would stop their assault for 15 years in order for the Inner Sphere to prepair itself and pose a more honorable challenge. The Clans, who's military docterine was set on short concise battles, were not prepaired for the long drawn out battle that Comstar had planned, nor were they used to Inner Sphere tactics of a large number of comrades all grouping their fire on a single enemy to drop him quickly. The Clans were soundly defeated.
This 15 year respite was put to good use in the Inner Sphere. While still involved in bickering, they advanced their technology, not to the point of the Clans, but better than before. They trained themselves on how to defeat the Clans, and finally decided to once again unite under a common banner. The Star League was reborn, and under this new alliance the Inner Sphere targeted the single most brutal Clan, the Smoke Jaguars. They decided to destroy this powerful Clan as an example to the other Clans, to send a message. This message was "We are not lowly animals that you can just step on. We are the new Star League and we will defeat you."
A two-pronged attack was planned against the Jaguars, Operation Bulldog and Operation Serpent. Operation Bulldog would be a large frontal attack force made up of all 5 of the Houses of the Inner Sphere, as well as Comstar, that would simply roll over the Smoke Jaguar territory that used to belong to the Inner Sphere and claim that back with sheer size and power. Operation Serpent was a task force. Using information on the location of the Clan homeworlds (a previously unknown location) given to them by an ex-Jaguar, they were to sneak around and destroy the homeworld of the Jaguars, a world that meant a great deal to the Jaguars. Both Operations would completely destroy every last ounce of Jaguar military might and essencially erase them from the universe.
It was a bloody war that cost the Inner Sphere a great deal, while costing the Jaguars everything. The Star League was triumphant and showed to the other Clans it was here to stay. After the defeat of the Jaguars, the Star League Defense Force, Taskforces Serpent and Bulldog, under the leadership of General Victor Steiner-Davion, made way to the Clan Capitol, a planet called Strana Mechty. They Star League Challenged them to one last fight, a fight that would all or nothing. If the Star League lost, they would hand over the Inner Sphere and the homeworld Terra. If they won, the Clans would never resume their invasion of the Inner Sphere. Some of the Clans saw honor in the newly reformed Star League and joined them. Others simply decided to abstain from the battle, believing that the Inner Sphere was still not worthy of such an honor. As such they believed they would not be held to the outcome of this final battle.
The final battle was fought and the Star League was successful. They had saved the Inner Sphere from the Clans. The army quickly made its way home and realized in the year they were gone, much had changed. A former weak Nation, the Capellan Confederation was gaining much ground in terms of strength and the former superpower that was the Federated Commonwealth was now split in two rival nations under the leadership of one woman. It seemed that the Star League saved the Inner Sphere from the Clans, but it could not save it from itself.
This is where our universe is currently at, in this turbulant time of celebration and rivalry. The game Mechwarrior 3rd Edition (MW3) is a role-playing game in the Battletech universe. It is the only valid RPG for the Battletech universe at this time, the previous 2 editions are no longer usable. In MW3 you take on the role of a character you create to interact with the universe. In our particular game, we are looking for any kind of warriors, or someone that can aide the Knights in their missions (such as technicians and medics)
