OBT Forum

If the Clans have the high ground then I could see Focht surrendering under those circumstances.

Of course there is the wild card: the Clans are using their warships. The ComGuards have warships of their own. With the Scorpions having bid warships, would Focht have brought one or more of his own?

Regarding your timeline, why did you drop the different Scorpions units? (not that I am against it, I just want everything to be well thought).

WarShips have been bid away since the Battle for Rasalhague in 3050!  He bluntly informs Nikolai that he cannot bid his ships—Nikolai asks the ilKhan was he now speaking as Khan of the Scorpions?  The Scorpions, he said, have not agreed to the convention to bid away a valued asset of the Clan.  And they will not.

I don't remember everything but wasn't it an order from the ilKhan?

Finally, Ulric relents, but he warns Nikolai that those ships are not to be used except in the most dire of circumstances—and promises his own Trial of Grievance if that order is disobeyed.

Your definition of dire might seem a bit too flexible.

Again, I just want everything to be logical and coherent (or as much as possible).

For toghtening I still go back to my earlier point of Focht bum rushing one of the last three Clans and calling it off agasint the other two.  With the Wolves and Scorpions the most moderate, he would know this from his time with the Clans, he can avalanche the Bears ad still get a win.  Additionally, this leaves the Wolves and Scorps as the only undefeated Clans.  However, I do see how this would alter where you wnat the universe to go.

So . . . is it better for the story if Focht lives or Fochet dies?

Master Arminas

A few comments since I just discovered this.

On the Orbital Bombardment:   

I'd suggest targeting all the Airfields the Comguards are using / could use.   This effectively grounds a majority of the surviving ASF, and also demonstrates that yes the Scorpions are serious about using their big stick.   

It demonstrates the overwhelming strategic fire power of the Scorpions Naval Star in action, heavily degrades the ComGuards ability to deploy ASF, and doesn't trod on the Mechwarrior's domain.

On the Scorpion Fleet:

Serket as the Flagship Does Not Appear in my copy of Warden Clans. Instead it can be read that the McKenna Lei Kung is the Flagship of the Einheriar Battlegroup and of the Scorpion Fleet.

Instead of dropping the NightLord for the Cameron (really keeping a Cameron? A 2/3 Cruiser instead of a new built 3/5 Battleship that's designed to carry a Galaxy into action).

I'd suggest dropping the Scorpions down to two Naval Stars, plus transports:
Star 1:  McKenna, Conqueror, 3 x Congress,   
Star 2: Nightlord, Conqueror, 3 x Congress

Note the Conqueror's, which the Snow Raven's had started building for the Bears in the mid 3040's ~ Essentially an updated Aegis Design.  The Scorpions Fleet now has a standard movement of 3/5, 1 Battleship, 1 Cruiser, 3 Frigates and 14 / 12 Collars between the respective stars.

Thematically this build is suggestive of Clan on the way up.  They've put aside older, worn out designs for newer more capable ones. 

Not to mention gotten rid of the sluggish Camerons, Soyuz and Aegis Cruisers. 

As an alternative to the Conqueror's I'd suggest the Kimagure Class Cruiser, as a fast, and armed with energy weapons cruiser.


On the Heart Vemon (Cateran Cluster):

The Scorpion's have been the go to "Special Forces" Clan, from Operation Klondike onwards with SaKhan's Scott airdrop on the SDS, and with the "Sea Wolf" Incident.  It's been one of their strongest bits of flavour & fluff.

I'd ditch the Scorpion's Keshik and replace it with the Cateran Cluster as presented in the Field Manual: Warden Clans.  Everybody else has a bog standard Keshik filled with Mechs, ASF and Elementals.

No other Clan has a Special Forces Cluster.

Ciao,

Depends where you want the story to go at this point.

If Focht surrenders (or dies and the rest of the Scorpions) then his remaining forces are bondsmen to the three victorious clans. That could be leveraged into their recovering faster and offsets the blame on Ulric and Focht, laying it all on Waterly. This isn't good for ComStar but is relatively good for the Bears, Wolves and Scorpions.

If Focht survives and withdraws, then the clans may decide he and Focht are jointly responsible, dezgra and that Ulric catches blame for letting him go. ComStar and the ComGuards are going to be treated very harshly by the clans and Ulric's position is weakened although he'd probably survive. Focht overthrowing Waterly would offset it if he then surrenders Terra to the clans and tries to pull ComStar service from the Successor States (the latter of which would not be possible given the HPG stations are occupied post-Scorpion). If he doesn't try to do these then he bargained in bad faith and is even more despised than Waterly.

Personally I'd lean towards Focht being captured and becoming a bondsman to Ulric, the ComGuards being absorbed into the Wolves, Ghost Bears and Scorpions. Waterly does not surrender, and the Clans push on for Terra with an uneasy rivalry between Ulric and Djerassi. Don't know how that fits in with your plans though.

Sounds good.  Let me work it into the plans.

MA

Admittedly i have not read everything but warships? What of the ComGuard fleet? Likely within the area helping to transport the vast ComGuard Armies to Tukayyid.

Ah, but were ComGuard WarShips actually bid by Focht?  If not, he is breaking his own bid, which might well bring the other Clans WarShips into the fight.

Maybe.

Master Arminas