Ruppell Vulture RAF-03
Overview
The final battles of the ilClan War were brutal affairs, slugfests which were determined more by raw anger and tenacity than clever maneuvers and tactical surprise. Warriors would face their Blooding in a live action and be placed in command of a cluster of sibkin. Bloodnames were awarded by fiat or default. Clan warships dating their origins to the first Star League were crashed with a frequency that would make an AFFC admiral blush.
In this carnage, the Jade Falcons saw sophisticated, front-line ‘Mechs like the Turkina and Night Gyr cut down brutally by the Wolves’ tandem charge missiles and plasma cannons. However, allied and second-line Kingfishers and Highlander IIC’s endured battles on dogged persistence, often surviving long enough to take glory the Falcons had fought so hard for.
After the war, the specter of that combat hovered over the fractured remnants of Clan society. Too haughty to ask the Ghost Bears for help, the Falcons began the creation of the Ruppell Vulture, a hearty, cost-effective front-line OmniMech made to rebuild their forces.
The speed with which the Ruppell Vulture moved from design to production was so fast that it’s suspected that its design was based heavily on a pre-existing BattleMech.
Capabilities
Lightly armed compared to other Jade Falcon front-line assault ‘Mechs, the Ruppel Vulture often carries the best weapons available. Heavy laser variants are popular as they carry the most punch per ton of gear. Advanced tactical missiles are also popular as they can fill the role of two different weapons depending on the ammunition used.
The Steel Talon Assault Cluster in the rebuilt Beta Galaxy seems to have received the most Ruppell Vultures, according to Lyran Commonwealth encounters during the second incursion. Their light payload has earned them something of a reputation among Inner Sphere enemies, who often call them RV’s, in reference to a specific type of vehicle used by motorized nomads of the 20th Century.
Battle History
In 3068, Henry Sagan was a Federated Commonwealth Civil War veteran and reservist for the Hood IV Militia. The Jade Falcons gutted the militia when they claimed Hood IV. They then reorganized the militia and filled its command staff with Clanners, creating the Hood IV Provisional Garrison Cluster.
Sagan’s depression was no obstacle to militia service, but he was expelled from the PGC and spent the next eleven years managing military construction projects for the Falcons, including their Ruppell Vulture factory.
In their dash from the Clan homeworlds, Clan Ice Hellion and Clan Hell’s Horses jointly divided the Jade Falcon/Lyran Commonwealth Periphery border. The Horses got Hood IV, and its factory.
The Horses’ combined numbers, technology, and experience--"Mechs, techs, and ex"--shamed the PGC and the Horses claimed the world easily. The last of the defenders ringed Sagan’s Ruppell Vulture factory where, exasperated, the veteran and his allies took ‘Mechs off of the production line, led the militia to regroup, and staged a fighting withdrawal.
Over the next few weeks, Sagan and his Ruppell Vulture, Sword, continued harassing the Hell’s Horses forces. Jade Falcon reinforcements eventually arrived and pushed the Horses off-world.
It was during that withdrawal that Sagan challenged the Hell’s Horses Khan to a duel. Sword was shot out from under him and taken as islora. In 3085, Sword, with its complete battle history, was captured from a pirate band by Commonwealth forces on Timbuktu.
Jade Falcon warriors should have executed Sagan for being a lower casteman taking arms against Clan warriors, but intelligence reports indicate he’s been made Garrison Chief of Hood IV.
Variants
The Ruppell Vulture Prime carries three additional heat sinks to offset the intense heat created by its pair of heavy large lasers. Twin Advanced Tactical Missile Launchers back up the lasers with plentiful firepower at all ranges.
The A configuration carries a trio of extended range lasers and a pair of particle projection cannons. It can’t fire all of its weapons at once, but it can stagger fire and find the right combination for any strike. Its lack of ammunition and the Ruppell Vulture’s unusually high speed for an assault ‘Mech mean that this configuration can run hot before suffering significant impairment from heat buildup.
A twin-pack of accurate, Artemis IV-guided LRM 15 racks makes the Ruppell Vulture B dangerous at range. A quartet of heavy medium lasers ensures it can close and finish opponents quickly once it runs out of ammunition or if an enemy is foolhardy enough to initiate a proximate engagement.
Ruppell Vulture RAF-03
Type/Model: Ruppell Vulture RAF-03
Tech: Clan / 3077
Config: Biped OmniMech
Manufactured: Jade Falcons
Fielded:
Jade Falcons (Common)
Mass: 90 tons
Equipment: Crits Mass
Int. Struct.: 7 4.50
(Loc: 4 LT, 3 RT) 138 points
Engine:360 Fusion 6 33.00
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 16 Double 4 6.00
(Loc: 1 LL, 1 RL)
Gyro: 4 4.00
Cockpit: 5 3.00
Actuators: 12 0.00
L: Sh+UA R: Sh+UA
Armor Factor: Ferro 7 14.50
*(Loc: 1 HD, 3 LT, 3 RT) 278 pts
Internal Structure Armor Value
Head: 3 9
Center Torso: 29 44
Center Torso (Rear): 13
L/R Side Torso: 19 28/28
L/R Side Torso (Rear): 10/10
L/R Arm: 15 30/30
L/R Leg: 19 38/38
Weapons and Equipment Loc Crits Tons
---------------------------------------
Primary Configuration
iATM-9 RT 4 5.00
iATM-9 LT 4 5.00
Heavy Large Laser RA 3 4.00
2 Double Heat Sink RA 4 2.00
Lower Arm Actuator RA 1 0.00
Hand Actuator RA 1 0.00
Heavy Large Laser LA 3 4.00
Double Heat Sink LA 2 1.00
Lower Arm Actuator LA 1 0.00
Hand Actuator LA 1 0.00
@iATM-9 (7) CT 1 1.00
@iATM-9 (ER) (7) RT 1 1.00
@iATM-9 (7) RT 1 1.00
@iATM-9 (HE) (7) LT 1 1.00
Crits & Tons Left: 5 0.0
A Configuration
ER Large Laser CT 1 4.00
ER PPC RT 2 6.00
Double Heat Sink RT 2 1.00
Lower Arm Actuator RA 1 0.00
Hand Actuator RA 1 0.00
ER PPC LT 2 6.00
ER Large Laser RA 1 4.00
ER Large Laser LA 1 4.00
Lower Arm Actuator LA 1 0.00
Hand Actuator LA 1 0.00
Crits & Tons Left: 17 0.0
B Configuration
2 Small Pulse Lasers CT 2 2.00
LRM-15 RT 2 3.50
Artemis IV FCS RT 1 1.00
Active Probe RT 1 1.00
LRM-15 LT 2 3.50
Artemis IV FCS LT 1 1.00
2 Heavy Medium Lasers RA 4 2.00
ECM Suite RA 1 1.00
2 Double Heat Sink RA 4 2.00
Lower Arm Actuator RA 1 0.00
2 Heavy Medium Lasers LA 4 2.00
2 Double Heat Sink LA 4 2.00
Lower Arm Actuator LA 1 0.00
Hand Actuator LA 1 0.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (16) RT 2 2.00
@LRM-15 (Artemis) (16) LT 2 2.00
Crits & Tons Left: 0 0.0
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