In the years I've been posting and lurking online, I've found that everybody is inexact (or lazy, or exaggerated, or wrong) with their terminology at some time or another. Not to mention that variant usages and unfamiliar jargon (which won't appear in any standard English vocabulary) get invented all the time. So I figure that discussions are most efficient (in terms of productivity and camaraderie per unit grief) when people are willing to let each other pry out their *intended* meanings, rather than getting hung up on conflicting usage.
Still, some terms cause more grief than others, so maybe it's useful discuss a few of them.
CanonFacts and events are neither canon nor non-canon. It's the
accounts of facts and events (i.e., the book or film) which can belong to a canon. This distinction may seem trivial, but it becomes important when your narrators vary in their reliability and perspective. The audience has to make judgments of those accounts in order to construct a reasonable interpretation of the continuity; fans who use "canon" as a synonym for the
output of that interpretation risk mistaking their own inferences for canonically-given facts.
Authors and developers sometimes reveal something of their intent and plans, thereby helping fans to construct a more reasonable interpretation of canon. However, because these revelations appear outside canonical accounts, they are not themselves canon. Note also that the creators are a collection of human beings, and as such, their opinions are neither wholly static nor wholly free of error.
RetconThere are a few ways that existing continuity can be changed retroactively:
Isolated Addition which has no effect on the text, context or subtext of other existing continuity. (It's rare that any large addition, such as to BattleTech's manufacturing history, could be considered isolated.)
Insertion of events or facts which put a different spin on existing continuity. (I have heard this was the original usage of the term "retcon.") One subset of this, called a "two-step" by the BattleTech staff, inserts new data in order to reconcile two seemingly contradictory accounts of an event or fact.
Replacement of events or facts with new events or facts. (When the first author's intent can be identified--like TR:3025's Zeus using the wrong page in MW1e to date the First Battle of Hesperus, or a typo like the Clint's "Star League Armaments Act of 2507"--I don't think a correction counts as a "replacement" because the text wasn't properly set to begin with.)
Deletion of events or facts from continuity, either by decanonizing every account in which the thing appears, or by altering the surrounding continuity to the point where the thing becomes impossible. (Decanonization is rare, and the use of unreliable narrators means impossible narrations are also rare.)
Restoration of events or facts which were previously retconned out.
Obviously, these types of changes can all be individually described using regular, everyday words. The word "retcon" only seems necessary or useful when you're trying to distinguish the transformation of old content (any of the latter four types) from a mere addition of content.
RevisedThe word "revise" has a confusing pedigree in BattleTech.
- For the BattleTech Master Rules, "revised" means what you'd expect--a good number of rules were altered slightly, wording was clarified throughout, and some minor content was added.
- For TR:3025, TR:3050 and TR:3055, "revised" instead means that large swaths of content were cut (and only sometimes replaced) for business reasons.
- For Maximum Tech, "revised" means the repair tables were cut, and Heavy Lasers and ATMs were added to the weapon tables.
- For Field Manual: Mercenaries, "revised" means the rules were expanded, and the mercenary listings were completely replaced.
- I don't know what it means for AeroTech 2.
Succession WarMore correctly termed something like "Wars of Star League Succession," these are periods of conflict in which one or more claimants press for dominion over the Human Sphere.
- The First Succession War destroyed most of the infrastructure which supported technological civilization.
- The Second Succession War finished off each state's ability to recover that infrastructure.
- The Third Succession War consists of each state trying to regain critical mass by capturing populations and resources from their neighbors.
The First, Second and Third Succession Wars each encompass a number of lesser wars and campaigns; the Fourth Succession War is much shorter (only seventeen months, including a five month lull in the middle).
The next period of conflict lasts as long as the First or Second Succession War, also encompasses a number of lesser wars and campaigns, and is conveniently bookended by time jumps. It has two major lulls: the first comes at the very start, when the Clans pause their Invasion for a year to choose a new IlKhan; the second follows the Great Refusal. The Clan Front remains in a state of war through both lulls.
Mad MaxThere are many similarities between BattleTech and the Mad Max movie trilogy. From the first movie, there's a weak central government which relies on distant vassals (the highway patrol) to maintain order; these forces are poorly supplied, possess minimal technical support, and are largely on their own; it's rare to find a vehicle in mint condition (even before the nuclear apocalypse which occurs between movies 1 and 2); travel is rare; "Dispossession" of your ride is extremely bad; "warrior"ing depends on scarce resources; limited production of scarce resources continues after the apocalypse; improvisation, scavenging and the collection of physical capital are of vital importance; and the whole thing feels like a western.
The Third Succession War is generally regarded as the "Mad Max" period, and has at least three renditions:
- BattleDroids: as above, but BattleMechs are no longer produced in any number. (Possibly means armies are/were magnitudes larger.)
- MechWarrior RPG: as above, but BattleMechs et al remain in limited production.
- House Sourcebooks: as MechWarrior RPG, with specific references to production pushed backwards in the timeline.
(TR:3025 has entries from each rendition. E.g., the Spider entry was written for BattleDroids, the Valkyrie for the RPG, and the Vindicator for the House sourcebooks.)
The Fourth Succession War is generally considered to mark the end of the "Mad Max" era. Technology is beginning to be recovered, BattleMech production is increasing, and House governments seem to exert more direct control over their subjects. However, this is deceptive. Jumpship production and interstellar trade remain a small fraction of what they were during the Star League, and that is what causes "Mad Max"-like resource scarcity.
MagicThere are many things in BattleTech which fans refer to as magical.
Advanced Technology: BattleTech's fusion engines, armor, interplanetary drives, KF drives and the neurohelm's deep connection between 'Mech and MechWarrior (as seen in the neural feedback during ammo explosions) are called "magical" because real world science hasn't caught up and made them comprehensible yet.
Ki: as shown in the novels, "Ki" has to do with the connection between a warrior and their weapon; superior calm and focus; and heightened awareness of their surroundings (similar to the "Sixth Sense" RPG trait). It's akin to what a basketball player may refer to as "being in the zone," and which allows a master swordsman to cut an unseeable airsoft pellet in half. This, combined with "magically" advanced technology, gives us things like Phantom Mech Ability.
Telekinesis and Clairvoyance: the House Kurita Sourcebook (and later, the Guide to Covert Ops) talks about occult practitioners using their "Ki" to harm opponents without touching them, and to conduct remote viewing. Such things are not evident in contemporary novels.
Prophetic Dreams: from the Cult of Saint Cameron to Clan Nova Cat mystics, prophecy is rare but persistent in BattleTech sourcebooks. Habeas2, then line developer for BattleTech, once famously said that magic does not exist in BattleTech, calling out prophetic visions specifically. At least one case however, that of Egan Telosa in the 20 Year Update, cannot be shaken off easily.
