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So, one of my friends has been trying to get me into Battletech lately, and I've started looking at the models and reading the fluff. Well low and behold, some fanon started brewing in my head for the force I'm going to build (if I do indeed get into the game).

My inspiration was a combination of the story of the now defunct Widowmaker Clan and the infamous real life Red Army Faction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baader-Meinhof_Gang). Of course, I'm not nearly as versed in Battletech lore as I am in 40k, so this may be less than accurate, but I thought it was cool.

The Widowmaker Army Faction



The Widowmaker Army Faction, also dubbed the Brady-Radhoff Gang by Clans Wolf, Jade Falcon, and Ghost Bear, are a large and exceptionally well equipped terrorist organization that operates mainly in Clan occupied sections of the Inner Sphere, although they're attacks have been known to spill out into other areas of space. When the WAF first appeared, they were limited to typical terrorist activities; mostly bombings and shootings targeting government buildings. Little was known about the organization. Currently, the WAF has been gaining more and more of a reputation as a serious threat. When Clan Jade Falcon attempted to purge the space under its control of the WAF, Clan forces were ambushed by a surprisingly large contingent of battlemechs. Since then, not only have standard terrorist attacks increased, but full scale raids have been launched against several lightly guarded Clan holdings, with forces strong enough to wipe out the Clans' own defense forces. While some members of the WAF hide among the general population, the group seems to have a hideout somewhere in the Periphery where its Battlemechs and other large vehicles are secured in between raids.

Since the increase in attacks, the WAF has run a series of broadcasts declaring who they are and what their demands are. The WAF claims to have been founded by surviving members of Clan Widowmaker, who fled rather than be absorbed by Clan Wolf after Clan Widowmaker was defeated on its homeworld of Roche. The WAF has declared that Clan Widowmaker's absorption and end was engineered under false pretenses, and that the Clan only lost its Trial of Refusal due to a treacherous deal between Clan Wolf and Clan Goliath Scorpion. Therefore, the WAF are the rightful heirs to Clan Widowmaker, which should be restored to its status among the Clans immediately. The WAF has also demanded that Clan Wolf and Clan Goliath Scorpion be subjected to Trial by Annihilation. Lastly, the WAF has declared that the Clans must withdraw from from Inner Sphere space.

The current leader of the WAF, Jillian Radhoff, claims to be the great granddaughter of SaKhan Vordermark, once second in command of Clan Widowmaker. No record of a child of SaKhan Vordermark exists and the Clans have dismissed Radhoff as a pretender.

The WAF's large arsenal is indisputable proof that the group has a powerful financial backer behind it. Several fingers have pointed to the Lyran Commonwealth, but House Steiner has vehemently denied any dealings with the WAF. This financial backing, along with recruitment of a large number of Mechwarriors and other military members of the old Free Rasalhague Republic (now occupied by the Ghost Bear Clan) seems to be the reason behind the WAF's sudden rise to power.

Personalities:
Jillian Radhoff- A mysterious figure who claims to be the last living relative of SaKhan Vordermark of Clan Widowmaker. She is the face and voice of the group in its broadcasts. However, most of the actual military strategy seems to be organized by Elian Brady. Members of the WAF refer to her by the title of Khan.

Elian Brady- Elian Brady started out as a young Mechwarrior and officer for the Royal Rasalhague Army. When the Free Rasalhague Republic was defeated and occupied by the Ghost Bear Clan, he went into hiding, only to resurface as a leader in the Widowmaker Army Faction. Brady has been responsible for the recruitment of many Royal Army members to the WAF, as well as the training of members in piloting Battlemechs. He seems to be second in command, and the brains behind military operations of the WAF.

In game, the force would be a Mercenary one, with both Inner Sphere and Clan stuff. What do you think?

Looks nice to me.

I love the BT universe, but am not a good judge of fluff and it's compatibility with BT cannon. You might want to post this to the Battletech forums for feedback.

I would recommend adding some date information. Depending on the era, some folks might give you a bit of a hard time for having Clan and IS tech. "Large and Exceptionally well equipped" might also raise a few eyebrows, but it's your game and you should feel free to mold it as you see fit.

Best of luck!

It is an interesting idea.

Some suggestions if you wanted to bring this more in line with the canon story line:

Clan Widowmaker was destroyed in the third decade of the 2800's. The current Battletech story line is set in the very later 3000's (or 3100's depending on what era you play), so as Eilif suggested, pick an era to anchor your idea. If you want your characters to be somewhat closely descended (great grand daughter) of Widowmaker officers you will be forced to place your unit in the late 2800's or early 2900's (which is prior to the 3049 Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere, and prior to/during the Clan's technological advancements). Also note that the Clans do not place a lot of stock in biological breeding. Their eugenics program is one of the pillars of their society, so someone claiming to be directly descended from the officer of anathema Clan personnel is going to be viewed in hostile light (to make a poor real world analogy, imagine if 60 years from now someone purporting to be Bin Laden's bastard grandchild showed up and wanted to be recognized...most of the world would not be amused). If you are familiar with Dark Eldar fluff, the Clans view vat breeding the OPPOSITE of the Dark Eldar. Pure born Clanners are those that come from vats and are considered the pinnacle of human development , the cast offs are the ones that were made the messy (and fun) way and likely contain all sorts of genetic dead ends or flaws. Read up on Khan Phelan Wolf's journey from freeborn (made by biological parents) bondsman to Khan, and you can begin to understand the stigma placed on freebirths. Now add in the stigma of claiming blood relation to the one Clan that killed one of the most important personalities in Clan history (Nicholas Kerensky), and you can begin to see how your Jillian Radhoff would be perceived in Clan society.

Still, that doesn't mean this couldn't happen. Natasha Kerensky of Clan Wolf used Widowmaker references through her career and did well. She was also a loose cannon and a complete bad ass, which in the "might makes right" society of the Clans, makes up for a lot.

If your unit is hanging out in the Periphery, you could have them absorb some Periphery units, or merc or bandit outfits for personnel/equipment/base of operations. This is where the era factor becomes important. If you have this unit operating before the Clan invasion their presence and advanced technology in the Periphery is going to get a lot of attention from Comstar and the Houses. Look up the Minnesota Tribe for an example of a Clan unit fleeing Clan space, hitting the IS Periphery, and disappearing into the void about 100 years before the Clans actually showed up. That unit is now legendary to the point of being mythical and the basis of all sorts of in-character conspiracy theories in the IS. The point is, your unit would make a HUGE splash in the universe if it appeared during certain eras, less so in other eras.

But, ultimately, this is your game and your fun, so do what you want. Battletech fans can be a bit nit-picky when it comes to details (a by product of the rich, detail laden history of the game) so if you decide to flaunt canon and do your own thing just accept that you might get some comments from the purists who don't like deviation from the official story line. Much like female Space Marines for some 40k fans, super bad-ass renegade Clanners can make certain Btech fans go volcanic.

Most of what DT777 said is quite correct. Era is pretty important to BT fluff.

The only real flaw I see with the fluff from a purely canon viewpoint is what they are doing. IF you are engaging in terrorist attacks across multiple Occupation Zones, those Clans simply won't stand for it. You will have to have transport assets to pull that off, and the Clans have the advantage of WarShips. A large unit would be easy to track down, especially with significant Battlemech assets. 'Mechs just aren't that easy to hide if you need to use them quickly.

In Battletech most terrorist type organizations are special forces infantry, not so much large 'Mech forces. 'Mechs just aren't subtle enough for terrorism. They tend to just blow crap up.

All this is said without reference to rule number one: If it is good for you, go for it.