OBT Forum

I hear ya Bradshaw but I found the original Mirage quite flawed. Seems like it was over armored to me and I am no fan of Small Lasers either. However, I like the name and was thinking of FedCom or ComStar recon specialist on par with the Raven. We might have a bit of extra time here too as I discovered this in my criteria.

Figure that all entries have to be completed and posted on these forums by Friday December 27, 2019 by 11:59 PM which should give you all a full two weeks for this contest, good luck!!

So it seems like we have another week here and I was in error about the 6 hour warning. Please continue your Firestarter musing.

Perhaps Tak simply miscalculated

Just super busy, hopefully this will give me time to do some other BattleTech stuff.

This is fine for me as I was too busy to deal with this project until now.
I have the stats and the fluff idea. I just need to write it down after doing some other things (3rd rank on my to-do-list).

Great, looking forward to seeing what you can cook up with the Firestarter.

And here is my "simple" upgrade.

Firestarter FS9-SAS

Mass: 35 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-D
Production Year: 3052
Dry Cost: 4 290 300 C-Bills
Total Cost: 4 290 300 C-Bills
Battle Value: 908

Chassis: Foundation Ultralight Endo Steel Endo-Steel
Power Plant: Omni 210 Fusion Engine
Walking Speed: 64,8 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97,2 km/h (129,6 km/h)
Jump Jets: Luxor Load Lifters
    Jump Capacity: 180 meters
Armor: Lexington Ltd. High Grade Ferro Fibrous Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
    2 Defiance/B3M Medium Laser Medium Lasers
    2 Coventry Metal Works/Hotshot Flamers
    1 Coventry Metal Works/Cyclops Beagle Beagle Active Probe
    1 Winston-CherrySeed Consolidated/CherrySeed Cloak Guardian ECM Suite
    1  Remote Sensor Dispenser
Manufacturer: Coventry Metal Works
    Primary Factory: Coventry
Communications System: Cyclops 14 with Guardian ECM
Targeting and Tracking System: Cyclops Beagle Sensory Probe

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel                    58 points                2,00
    Internal Locations: 6 LT, 6 RT, 2 LA
Engine:             Fusion Engine                210                       9,00
    Walking MP: 6
    Running MP: 9 (12)
    Jumping MP: 6 Standard
    Jump Jet Locations: 3 LT, 3 RT                                         3,00
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             10                        0,00
    Heat Sink Locations: 1 LL, 1 RL
Gyro:               Standard                                               3,00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3,00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA    R: SH+UA+LA
Armor:              Ferro-Fibrous                AV -  98                  5,50
    Armor Locations: 1 HD, 1 RT, 5 LA, 7 RA

                                                      Internal       Armor     
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     11           14       
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  7         
                                           L/R Torso     8            9         
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  7         
                                             L/R Arm     6            9         
                                             L/R Leg     8            9         

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MASC                                         CT        -         2         2,00
Guardian ECM Suite                           RT        0         2         1,50
Beagle Active Probe                          LT        0         2         1,50
Remote Sensor Dispenser                      LT        0         1         0,50
Medium Laser                                 RA        3         1         1,00
Flamer                                       RA        3         1         1,00
Medium Laser                                 LA        3         1         1,00
Flamer                                       LA        3         1         1,00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 2

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      3    Points: 9
8/6j       1       1       0       0      1     0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: PRB, RCN, ECM, ENE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA

Onboard the CJF Kessel Run, Scout-Class JumpShip,
Time: 31st May of 3052
To: Loremaster Kael Pershaw
From: Merchant Michael
Subject: Invasion of Barcelona

Loremaster,

As requested, we headed towards the Barcelona system to check for details about the latest invasion by the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth and their successful retake of the system over our forces. In spite of the Federated forces still in system, we managed to get into system and do a successful survey of the planet before extracting ourselves to a Jade Falcon world and prosecuted with the interrogations of the remains of our defending forces.

I must say that the approach via a Pirate Jump Point was very efficient and allowed us to perform our mission. I would not recommend such Dezgra tactics for true war operations lead by our Touman against the Freebirths of the Inner Sphere but it is perfect for the type of “merchant business” you sent me to do on Barcelona.

You will find enclosed the results of these debriefings and I will let you judge if the Provisional Garrison unit assigned to Barcelona is still worth of the trust of our Khan for its defeat against the Federated Commonwealth.

You will find below some information regarding a new BattleMech that seems to have appeared among the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth operating under Kommandant Adam Steiner. Some of our Warriors even said that this BattleMech was only assigned to the 1st Sommerset Strikers or that it was assigned to a kind of ghost elite unit (a shocked veteran Warrior that had done all Operation Revival and was in the hospital even told me that he had seen the Callandra Witch coming for him, this coward was discharged with dishonour from our troops and his legacy erased from our genetic banks) but I found no evidence behind these claims in the battle footages and Battle ROMs I got access to as there seems to be several of these Firestarters among the Federated troops, each pairing distinctive marks quite recognisable. This could also be part of an elaborated trick to make us believe that there are more units being produced than in reality and thus confusing us about their real strength.
This is why I took the liberty to ask my fellow Merchants to look for any sign of this new BattleMech during their trips or in the reports they manage to get. So far, none has been find apart those from the battle of Barceona.

I do believe that the eyes of our Clan did not fail us as the look of this Firestarter, that we christened FS9-SAS both for S Model Adam Steiner (as we do believe he was involved in its development) and for the Special Armed Services of the Star League Defence Forces, whose deep raids and head hunting missions, this BattleMech should be able to perform, the look of this Firestarter is far more angular than the classical one, a proof of the use of Ferro-Fibrous Armour. If like I think it is this BattleMech is a prototype or a retrofit of the existing FS9- S, this armour is probably the same that could be seen on the different BattleMechs produced by Coventry Metal Works, which could meant that its protection has been increased.

Apart from this slightly different look, it seems to have the same capacities as the standard FS9-S, being able (according to our Warriors) to fool our battle computers or to do “its” job of burning everything down but without any real data we cannot know this for sure and we might see this as an overreaction of defeated Warriors making a new “wonder weapon” responsible of their defeat (see two paragraphs above).

What further complicates the estimates is that this Firestarter is not meant to fight in the front lines like all true Warriors should do but rather to act as a deep reconnaissance unit, being able as our forces experimented on several occasions to jam our sensors and to detect hidden units. This probably means that it is using a combination of Guardian ECM and Beagle Active Probe.

However on one footage, I was able to see a Firestarter reach the speed of an Ice Ferret, which means that it is either using an advanced Extra Light Engine or a special equipment like a Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry. Since this footage was the only one where we could see such a ground speed, I would dismiss the first option for the second one.

Before I close this email, I would also like to inform you that our Warriors reported on several occasions running into remote sensors and destroying them. No one knows if this has a link with the new FS9-SAS or if this is a new Dezgra tactics used by the Federated Commonwealth Armed Forces. This is a matter that could be further investigated but if proved right, it would only be a further proof of their total lack of honour and that we, the Children of Kerensky, his Chosen, should be able to bring the light back in the Inner Sphere.

Since we know so little about its real capacities but knowing the fondness of Kommandant Adam Steiner for information (“Information is ammunition”) and the likeness to have other Federated Commonwealth unit adopt his tactics as he was successful twice against our Clan because of his Dezgra tactics, I would suggest that the capture or the analysis of any Battle ROM with a Firestarter in it becomes a top priority for our Watch.

Yours,

Merchant Michael


Idea dismissed for now. We do not have the resources to micromanage everything. Let us focus our efforts on the bigger picture for now.
Kael Pershaw

Engineers at the Earthhwerks facility on Calloway VI developed these two variants of their Firestarter from salvage taken over the past two centuries of warfare with the Lyran Commonwealth. The two variants are intended to serve alongside the new PHX-3M Phoenix Hawk on scouting and raiding missions. In a cost savings measure an endo-steel structure was not incorporated in the design, especially with the inclusion of the 210XL fusion engine. Armament consists of a pair each of medium pulse lasers and the ever present flamers along with a Streak SRM2 launcher. The rest of the weaponry is defensive in nature with the addition of an anti-missile system and an active probe or an ECM suite.

Initial trials have proven the Firestarter can keep up with the Phoenix Hawk on the battlefield and works well in the close support and anti-infantry role. Armor protection is adequate for a light Mech and it is excellent a short-ranged combat by Inner Sphere standards.



Beagle Variant

Firestarter FS9-M

Mass: 35 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-E
Production Year: 3054
Dry Cost: 5,694,300 C-Bills
Total Cost: 5,752,300 C-Bills
Battle Value: 777

Chassis: Unknown Endo-Steel
Power Plant: Unknown 210 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97.2 km/h
Jump Jets: Unknown
    Jump Capacity: 180 meters
Armor: Unknown Standard Armor w/ CASE
Armament:
    2  Medium Pulse Lasers
    1  Streak SRM-2
    2  Flamers
    1  Anti-Missile System
    1  Beagle Active Probe
Manufacturer: Unknown
    Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel                    58 points                2.00
    Internal Locations: 2 LT, 4 RT, 2 LA, 2 RA, 2 LL, 2 RL
Engine:             XL Fusion Engine             210                       4.50
    Walking MP: 6
    Running MP: 9
    Jumping MP: 6 Standard
    Jump Jet Locations: 3 LT, 3 RT                                         3.00
Heat Sinks:         Double Heat Sink             10(20)                    0.00
    Heat Sink Locations: 1 LA, 1 RA
Gyro:               Standard                                               3.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA    R: SH+UA+LA
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 104                  6.50
    CASE Locations: 1 LT                                                   0.50

                                                      Internal       Armor     
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     11           15       
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  6         
                                           L/R Torso     8            11       
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  4         
                                             L/R Arm     6            10       
                                             L/R Leg     8            12       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anti-Missile System                          HD        1         1         0.50
Beagle Active Probe                          CT        0         2         1.50
Streak SRM-2                                 RT        2         1         1.50
Flamer                                       RA        3         1         1.00
Medium Pulse Laser                           RA        4         1         2.00
Flamer                                       LA        3         1         1.00
Medium Pulse Laser                           LA        4         1         2.00
@Anti-Missile System (24)                    LT        -         2         2.00
@Streak SRM-2 (50)                           LT        -         1         1.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 5

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      3    Points: 8
6j         3       2       0       0      1     0   Structure:  2
Special Abilities: AMS, PRB, RCN, CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA


Guardian Variant

Firestarter FS10-M 2

Mass: 35 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-E
Production Year: 3054
Dry Cost: 5,711,850 C-Bills
Total Cost: 5,767,850 C-Bills
Battle Value: 858

Chassis: Unknown Standard
Power Plant: Unknown 210 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97.2 km/h
Jump Jets: Unknown
    Jump Capacity: 180 meters
Armor: Unknown Ferro-Fibrous w/ CASE
Armament:
    2  Medium Pulse Lasers
    1  Streak SRM-2
    2  Flamers
    1  Anti-Missile System
    1  Guardian ECM Suite
Manufacturer: Unknown
    Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      58 points                3.50
Engine:             XL Fusion Engine             210                       4.50
    Walking MP: 6
    Running MP: 9
    Jumping MP: 6 Standard
    Jump Jet Locations: 3 LT, 3 RT                                         3.00
Heat Sinks:         Double Heat Sink             10(20)                    0.00
    Heat Sink Locations: 1 LA, 1 RA
Gyro:               Standard                                               3.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA    R: SH+UA+LA
Armor:              Ferro-Fibrous                AV - 107                  6.00
    Armor Locations: 3 LT, 2 RT, 3 LA, 2 RA, 2 LL, 2 RL
    CASE Locations: 1 LT                                                   0.50

                                                      Internal       Armor     
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     11           16       
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  6         
                                           L/R Torso     8            12       
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  4         
                                             L/R Arm     6            10       
                                             L/R Leg     8            12       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anti-Missile System                          HD        1         1         0.50
Guardian ECM Suite                           CT        0         2         1.50
Streak SRM-2                                 RT        2         1         1.50
Flamer                                       RA        3         1         1.00
Medium Pulse Laser                           RA        4         1         2.00
Flamer                                       LA        3         1         1.00
Medium Pulse Laser                           LA        4         1         2.00
@Anti-Missile System (12)                    LT        -         1         1.00
@Streak SRM-2 (50)                           LT        -         1         1.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 6

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      4    Points: 9
6j         3       2       0       0      1     0   Structure:  2
Special Abilities: AMS, ECM, CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA


Simplistic fluff has been completed.