Wednesday, August 03, 2016

3087: El Dorado

3087 is a Battletech alternate universe where The Jihad never happened. Instead, political fracturing continues in the wake of the technological and military upheavals of the 3050's. Its history is told through the pages and designs of TRO: 3087. With any luck this series will be the last anyone hears about 3087.

EHF-01 El Dorado
Overview
The El Dorado started out as the vanguard of a new paradigm shift in the Clan Coyote tauman in the late sixties. The great costs associated with the project forced them to find collaborators and their attempts were frustrated at every turn.
Luckily, Clan Jade Falcon was gearing up for an offensive against the Lyran Commonwealth. A mobile, second-line unit with easy access to the Coyote’s new Advanced Tactical Missile System was an appealing offer. Given that the Falcons would perform a live-fire shakedown in the Incursion of ‘68, the deal was sealed.
With the involvement of a wealthier clan, the El Dorado was upgraded by ten tons, gained an extralight engine, and shed its old name which was too closely linked to Clan Coyote.
Unfortunately, the El Dorado was a mainstay of Coyote efforts during the ilClan war and many were crippled with backdoor software vulnerabilities. It wasn’t until the line was completely rebuilt by the Jade Falcons in 3084 that the software was rebuilt securely.
Capabilities
Considered fast for a heavy ‘Mech amongst the Clans, it’s often assigned a variety of roles. Clan Coyote used them for escort roles, much to the consternation of their warriors. The Falcons, however are comfortable assigning them equally to front-line and second-line units.
That’s thanks to their Advanced Tactical Missile Systems. Sniping, brawling, and stand-up fights are all specialties of the El Dorado depending on the ammunition its carrying. That versatility is one of the reason it’s seen among the front-line formations of Clan Wolf, the Ghost Bears, and the Jade Falcons despite not being an OmniMech.
Its pulse lasers, heavy armor, and jump jets also make it an exceptional duelist. The possibility of wielding two tons of high explosive ammo ensures that warriors are happy to take it in close quarters.
The El Dorado once mounted three distinct ATM systems. Subsequent redesigns created a set of self-contained systems which could continue even if a single part was damaged. This eased maintenance, even if it burdened an already taxed heat system.

Battle History
The ilClan War heralded an upswing in coreward Periphery piracy unseen since the time just prior to The Clan Invasion. That rise has been checked by the Goat Home, a collection of civilians, dropship captains, and Mechwarriors pledged to a mysterious figure piloting an El Dorado.
It’s believed that The Bruce, as he’s called, has coordinated efforts across over a dozen periphery and near-periphery worlds in a hybrid of brush wars and community policing. Collecting eyewitness accounts and rumors about dispossessed ‘Mechwarriors, fractured mercenary units, and new deep periphery settlements, the Goat Home has managed to strangle piracy at its source.
Word of mouth has The Bruce being a freshly-blooded member of the 7th Falcon Regulars when they were decimated by pirates in a nuclear strike in 3082. The cluster’s command staff--incidentally including both of her gene donors--were annihilated in the attack. Instead of rejoining with the Regulars and pulling off world she withdrew to the local village of Coppersworth and founded the Goat Home a few months later.
The El Dorado’s hearty, compartmentalized systems have allowed The Bruce’s ‘mech to continue operating without raiding Clan supply depots, but the Ghost Bears and The Dragoons Pact have both been accused of “losing” shipments of military materiel on the edge of the Periphery to support her efforts, charges which they deny, as both the Jade Falcons and Clan Wolf have slightly less ire for The Bruce than the criminals she hunts.

Variants
Some complain about the El Dorado’s lack of punch. So much so that some have dropped the pulse lasers for paired extended range large lasers. The ‘Mech absolutely cannot deal with the heat buildup from both lasers, but that hasn’t stopped aspiring warriors from trying it anyway. 
The alternative is the “classic” configuration which carries three different missile launchers with independent ammunition supplies (instead of the -01’s fluid set of ammunition from which all launchers can draw). It upgrades three of the pulse lasers to harder-hitting heavy models. It suffers from drops in versatility, range, and heat efficiency, but the lack of options has tested better with green MechWarriors who are sometimes dazzled by the on-the-fly options presented by tactical missile launchers.

EHF-01 El Dorado
Mass: 65 tons
Tech Base: Clan
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Advanced Rules
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: F/X-X-D-A
Production Year: 3070
Cost: 14,579,537 C-Bills
Battle Value: 2,358

Chassis: Unknown Endo-Steel
Power Plant: Unknown 325 Fusion XL 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:
    4  Medium Pulse Lasers
    6  ATM-3s
Manufacturer: Unknown
    Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel                   104 points                3.50
    Internal Locations: 1 HD, 2 LT, 1 RT, 2 LA, 1 RA
Engine:             XL Fusion Engine             325                      12.00
    Walking MP: 5
    Running MP: 8
    Jumping MP: 5 Standard
    Jump Jet Locations: 1 CT, 2 LT, 2 RT                                   5.00
Heat Sinks:         Double Heat Sink             17(34)                    7.00
    Heat Sink Locations: 1 LA, 1 RA, 1 LL, 1 RL
Gyro:               Standard                                               4.00
Cockpit:            Standard                                               3.00
    Actuators:      L: SH+UA+LA    R: SH+UA
Armor:              Ferro-Fibrous                AV - 201                 10.50
    Armor Locations: 1 LT, 4 RT, 2 LA
    CASE Locations: CT, LT, RT                                             0.00

                                                      Internal       Armor      
                                                      Structure      Factor     
                                                Head     3            9         
                                        Center Torso     21           26        
                                 Center Torso (rear)                  14        
                                           L/R Torso     15           20        
                                    L/R Torso (rear)                  10        
                                             L/R Arm     10           20        
                                             L/R Leg     15           26        

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat    Critical    Mass  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Medium Pulse Lasers                        RT        8         2         4.00
2 ATM-3s                                     LT        4         4         3.00
Medium Pulse Laser                           RA        4         1         2.00
3 ATM-3s                                     RA        6         6         4.50
Medium Pulse Laser                           LA        4         1         2.00
ATM-3                                        LA        2         2         1.50
@ATM-3 (HE) (20)                             CT        -         1         1.00
@ATM-3 (20)                                  RT        -         1         1.00
@ATM-3 (ER) (20)                             LT        -         1         1.00
                                            Free Critical Slots: 0

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      7    Points: 24
5j         7       6       2       0      3     0   Structure:  4
Special Abilities: CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA

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