OBT Forum

Did this one a while back inspired by GiovanniBlasini’s Post Your Puma! thread, Black Panther, and Combat Manual House Kurita. Love to hear what you guys think about it and see if you can beat it!!

PNT-10ALAG GRAND PANTHER

Mass: 35 tons
Chassis: Alshain 560-Carrier EndoSteel
Power Plant: Hermes 210 XL
Cruising Speed: 64 kph
Maximum Speed: 97 kph
Jump Jets: None
   Jump Capacity: None
Armor: Maximillian 42
Armament:
2 Lord’s Light 2 Extended Range Particle Projector Cannons
Manufacturer: Alshain Weapons
Primary Factory: Tok Do
Communications System: Sipher CommCon SCU-4
Targeting and Tracking System: Cat’s Eyes 5 with C3 Slave

Overview:
The Amphigean Light Assault Group was one of the few DCMS contingents with an affinity for light BattleMechs. Throughout the Succession Wars they had utilized these fast units to deadly effect by darting around enemy formations and in packs descending on isolated targets. While extremely dangerous these ‘shock’ tactics proved most effective against some of the Dragon’s more cumbersome adversaries. In order to facilitate the Groups operations a modified Panther, the PNT-9ALAG, was designed for maximum speed which dropped the jump jets for a larger engine. Able to run at eighty-six kilometers per hour this variant was their preferred model in spite of the loss of jump mobility.
   Unfortunately, this unique design and the Amphigean’s hit and run tactics were not enough to stop the Clans whose fearsome Puma regularly outmatched them at every turn. Ultimately the Invaders destroyed both the 2nd and 5th Light Assault Groups on Avon and Krenice respectively. One member of the unit was confident he could get his Panther to match the performance of the high-tech intruders. Challa Udaku was an elite Mechwarrior of African descent with the 1st Amphigean who set out to conduct this upgrade on his personal ‘Mech. Naming it the Grand Panther in the same vein as the Grand Dragon both Draconis upgrades share the same primary weapon.

Capabilities:
   The key to the entire upgrade process was obtaining a 210 Extra Light Engine to power the new design. Thankfully Irian BattleMechs Unlimited in the Free Worlds League manufactured the Hermes 210 XL and was willing to export it the Combine. Originally made for the Capellan Confederation’s Raven this power plant increased the maximum speed of the Panther to ninety-seven kilometers per hour matching the Puma. To compensate for the larger engine a three-ton gyroscope had to be included in order to maintain proper design equilibrium. Of course, the rest of the Panther’s secondary weaponry also had to be dropped in order to make way for a second Extended Range Particle Projection Cannon. These two big guns are identical to the Puma’s primary arsenal and despite inferior to their hard-hitting Clan counterparts can equal their effective range. To compete with the ultra-advanced Targeting Computer and apply a new Kurita innovation Udaku convinced his superiors to allow him to mount a C3 Slave. While some traditionalists expressed doubts in this new equipment the C3 network feed into Amphigean Light Assault Group’s pack mentality.
Unfortunately, there were some design limitations which could not be overcome. Efforts to improve the Mech’s armor with Ferro-Fibrous were thwarted by a lack of internal space. Proving too bulky to fit on the existing chassis along with the rest of its weapons and equipment this concept had to be dropped ultimately. While one radical design proposal dropped the existing arms for weapon barrels which would have made such an armor upgrade possible it proved too costly. With a price tag nearly double the PNT-10K retaining the venerable Maximillian 42 armor which already provided excellent protection, eight-seven percent of maximum, became a no brainer. Also despite adding eleven Double Heat Sinks, which again matches its Clan adversary, firing both ER PPCs will cause overheating. So, like the Puma this InnerSphere design must also alternate between firing both of its primary weapons and firing one to mitigate a high heat curve.

Deployment:
The forced relocation of the Panther plant on Krenice to Tok Do and the high cost of this advanced model has so far limited its deployment. Only the 1st Amphigean Light Assault Group currently fields the Grand Panther and it is fast becoming a favorite. No doubt the design will spread to the 7th Amphigean Light Assault Group soon as that new regiment continues to form up in the Dieron Military District. The BattleMech has quickly proven its worth in repeated strikes against Clan held worlds targeting supply depots. Helping to capture or destroy impressive amounts of advanced equipment from the Invaders has stamped its place in the Light Assault Group. The exceptional performance of the Black Panther Lance, composed entirely of Grand Panthers, during these raids in particular earned public recognition from the Gunji-no-Kanrei. His praise bought with it requests from Genyosha and Ryuken for refit kits as well as additional production. Also, the Order of Five Pillars new military unit, the Sohei, has also expressed interest in obtaining the Grand Panther for its frequent operations against the Clans.

Type: Grand Panther
Technology Base: Inner Sphere - Level 2
Tonnage: 35

Equipment                        Mass
Internal Structure:         EndoSteel         2
Engine:            210 XL         4.5
Walking MP:         6
Running MP:         9
Jumping MP:         0            0
Heat Sinks:            11 (22)            1
Gyro:                           3
Cockpit:                         3
Armor Factor:            104            6.5

Internal Structure   Armor Value
Head            3         9
Center Torso         11         14 / 7
R/L Torso         8         10 / 5
R/L Arm         6         10
R/L Leg         8         12

Weapons and Ammo      Location      Critical   Tonnage
ER PPC         Right Arm      3      7
ER PPC         Left Arm      3      7
C3 Slave          Head         1      1

When news of the Clans arrived on Rasalhague, the Board of Directors at Gorton, Kingley and Thorpe acted quickly and put together a plan that would get as much production equipment off planet at all three Republic production facilities and to a location coreward of Rasalhague yet still within in the FRR. The planet chosen was Orestes. Their facility on Jarett was a left out of this plan as it was in the Combine and too far away to bring any hard assets to the Republic. A small number of key personnel from New Oslo and Satalice were able to make it as far as Al-Hillah before their JumpShip were dragooned in Kungsarme service. Roughly 25 percent of the production was able to get off Rasalhague before the Clans claimed that world. The most important assets that managed to make it to Al-Hillah were the design specs for the Panther, Phoenix Hawk and Archer Battlemechs being built at the Satalice facility. This and nearly two dozen Panther-9R chassis and engines and the necessary tool and dye works also made it to Al-Hillah before continuing on to Orestes.

Orestes, at the lacked the necessary orbital facilities to manufacture endo-steel frames, so all of the designs would have revert to using the heavier standard chassis. As a makeshift repair and refit was being built on an old airstrip. GKT engineers set about designing new configurations for the Panther. The first featured a binary laser and a Streak SRM-2 launcher. The Streak was readily available from sources in the Lyran Commonwealth. While the binary laser was developed in house from plans acquired in 3041 from a  team of treasure hunters working in the Free Worlds League.

The second new variant uses a standar 175 fusion engine acquired from sources in the Capellan. Once used for the Raven battlemech, they found new life in the Panther. after being refit with double heat sinks by the Capellan factory, two dozen of the powerplants were sent to the GKT facility on Orestes. Unable to acquire any ER PPCs due to there being a shortage due all of the new Mechs that needed, the GKT team settled on using the ER large laser matched with couple of pulse lasers and a Streak SRM-2 launcher.

Both Mechs take advantage of using ferro-fibrous with 9FR model having a half-ton more than the 9BL. The 9BL retains the use of single heat sinks as the refitting of double heat sinks was next to impossible at the makeshift Orestes facility.



Panther PNT-9BL

Mass: 35 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-E
Production Year: 3054
Dry Cost: 2,460,060 C-Bills
Total Cost: 2,514,060 C-Bills
Battle Value: 807

Chassis: Unknown Standard
Power Plant: Unknown 140 Fusion Engine
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: Unknown
    Jump Capacity: 120 meters
Armor: Unknown Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
    1  Binary Laser Cannon
    1  Streak SRM-2
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:             Fusion Engine                140                       5.00
    Walking MP: 4
    Running MP: 6
    Jumping MP: 4 Standard
    Jump Jet Locations: 2 LL, 2 RL                                         2.00
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             12                        2.00
    Heat Sink Locations: 3 LT, 3 RT, 1 RA
Gyro:               Standard                                               2.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA+H    R: SH+UA+LA+H
Armor:              Ferro-Fibrous                AV - 107                  6.00
    Armor Locations: 1 HD, 1 CT, 5 LT, 5 RT, 1 LA, 1 RA

                                                      Internal       Armor     
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     11           16       
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  4         
                                           L/R Torso     8            13       
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  3         
                                             L/R Arm     6            10       
                                             L/R Leg     8            13       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Streak SRM-2                                 CT        2         1         1.50
Binary Laser Cannon                          RA        16        4         9.00
@Streak SRM-2 (50)                           LT        -         1         1.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 16

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



Panther PNT-9FR

Mass: 35 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-D-E
Production Year: 3054
Dry Cost: 2,847,060 C-Bills
Total Cost: 2,901,060 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,007

Chassis: Unknown Standard
Power Plant: Unknown 175 Fusion Engine
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets: Unknown
    Jump Capacity: 150 meters
Armor: Unknown Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
    1  ER Large Laser
    1  Medium Pulse Laser
    1  Streak SRM-2
    1  Small Pulse Laser
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:             Fusion Engine                175                       7.00
    Walking MP: 5
    Running MP: 8
    Jumping MP: 5 Standard
    Jump Jet Locations: 1 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL                                   2.50
Heat Sinks:         Double Heat Sink             10(20)                    0.00
    Heat Sink Locations: 1 LT, 2 RT
Gyro:               Standard                                               2.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA+H    R: SH+UA+LA+H
Armor:              Ferro-Fibrous                AV - 116                  6.50
    Armor Locations: 1 HD, 4 LT, 3 RT, 3 LA, 3 RA

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

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Streak SRM-2                                 CT        2         1         1.50
ER Large Laser                               RA        12        2         5.00
Small Pulse Laser                            RA        2         1         1.00
Medium Pulse Laser                           LA        4         1         2.00
@Streak SRM-2 (50)                           LT        -         1         1.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 13

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      4    Points: 10
5j         3       2       1       0      1     0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj3DBcpfMNQ

I lost my saved file for the Panther work I had ready for this challenge.

How do you lose your designs? I heard you were up to Assaults already. Hope you didn't lose them all.

So looking up research on Panther production sites....I can't find a single one still in Kurita hands.

Wakazashi Enterprises
New Samarkand not open until 3132


Alshain Weapons
Alshain lost to GB in 3051
New Oslo lost to Wolf in 3050
and Tok Do not built until 3083

Alshain Weapons lost its factory on New Oslo to Clan Wolf in 3050 and was forced to destroy the factory on Jarett that same year to prevent its use by Clan Ghost Bear

You state Tok Do but also it says can only do spare parts and refit kits not production of new mechs

As for Satalice

Since taking control of the lion’s share of the Free Rasalhague Republic, Clan Ghost Bear has done their utmost to integrate as much as possible with the occupied populace. Although such factories as Gorton, Kingsley and Thorpe on Satalice might seem of dubious value to the Clan’s touman, Clan Ghost Bear continues to train the workers here and hope to be able to have them trained to manufacture up to Clan standards soon. Until then, they continue to accept modest numbers of the factory’s original products for use as training ‘Mechs and to be issued to the lowest of garrison and solahma troops.

Couldn't read the picture you sent Tak phone is too small screened.

But the new canon doesn't change the old canon. Satalice is in clan hands just wolf now instead of GB so either way its not able to make mechs for DC

Your post states Tak Do is only doing refits and spare parts.