OBT Forum

I was wondering what would be the timeframe for the use of Primitive Tech in the bigger Periphery States?

Era Digest: Age of War has the exact dates of production for these states. The Primitives were still being produced into the 2500s, though every Periphery Power was capable of producing modern BattleMechs by this point.

The earliest date of production would be 2474 for RWR and 2471 for the TC. It's unknown whether some of the Hegemony's units were licensed out as they became obsolete, but there is little evidence of this. States were highly unlikely to export their designs, as these were all seen as cutting edge material intended to provide a huge advantage in combat. One could assume at this time each state produced the MSK-6S.


- The Rim Worlds Republic produced the modern Primitive ancestor of the Phoenix in 2471. They introduced modern (non-Primitive) tech in 2503 and the modern PX-3R in 2521.
- The Taurian Concordat produced the TR-A-1 back in 2481, finalizing the modern version (TR-A-6) in 2548. They introduced modern (non-Primitive) tech in 2505.


When is the "final" date? It's unlikely there is a universal date, since Primitives were likely to be available for some time into the Star League era. Although RATs are a very poor indicator of canon production, the Historical: Reunification War tables tell us that every House and Periphery Power heavily utilized Primitives until the end of the war.

It's likely that they continued in production in the early part of the 2600s as well, as the states re-armed. I would conceivably have them as "available" into the mid-2600s for Periphery Powers and end their use right after the Reunification War for the Great Houses.

Era Digest: Age of War has the exact dates of production for these states. The Primitives were still being produced into the 2500s, though every Periphery Power was capable of producing modern BattleMechs by this point.

Only for two of them (as you wrote under these lines) but thanks for the info.

It just means I have to find a better idea.

Quote from: TigerShark on August 04, 2013, 05:41:36 AM

The Magistracy of Canopus was formed in the 2530, after Primitive technology was considered obsolete. The Outworlds Alliance formed in the early 25th century, but was a pacifistic nation with no real native production. They purchased completed 'Mechs from other states, but as the Battle Corps story Top of the Scrap Heap tells us, it wasn't until 2787 when Alliance Defenders, Ltd. attained the rights to produce the modern Stinger and Wasp. These flimsy designs were still considered the "most powerful weapon in the Outworlds Alliance."

That should give you some indication of what they "built" during the Age of War. That is to say, "nothing".

Actually the OA's first mech was the Locust which entered production in 2549 per the Tech Manual.  The MOC's first mech was the Wasp which entered production in 2579.  I can't comment on the story Top of the Scrap Heap having not read it, but it is contradicted in several other sources- among them Handbook MPS which indicates that Mountain Wolf Battlemechs had a factory on Alpheratz during the SL era and that Alliance Defenders Limited which has been building mechs since the 2750s.

Sounds like this would be one for the Ask the Writers section of the main BT site. TechManual is the most likely source for correct info, but I've also seen their dates retconned before, so who knows? Paul or Herb could say for sure.