Swordsman

Swordsman
Production information
Manufacturer	Jerricho Industries
Production Year	2463
Model	SWD-1
Class	Medium
Introduced	2463
Technical specifications
'Mech type	Primitive Inner Sphere BattleMech
Mass	40 tons
Chassis	Unknown
Armor	Primitive Armor
Engine	145 Primitive Fusion Engine
Communications System	Unknown
Targeting Tracking System	Unknown
Heat Sinks	10
Speed	54 km/h
Armament	1x LRM-5 1x AC/5 2x medium laser
BV (2.0)	692

Description

The Swordsman was an early Federated Suns medium BattleMech which was originally built in 2463 with Primitive Technology. The Swordsman was authorized by First Prince James Davion upon his ascendance to the throne of House Davion. As the Federated Suns' third in-house designed BattleMech, it was created to be an inexpensive design for production in large numbers to bolster the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns. At the time of its commission, the AFFS's ranks were laden with heavier designs.

The design's legacy was tainted with corruption, first stemming from its manufacturing run at Jerricho Industries on Robinson. While the design was intended to be used in general service throughout the realm, Jerricho Industry leadership was partially owned by the Terran March Prince, Mikhail Rostov. Rostov helped guide and push the design process which was ultimately rushed into production after five years of development. Because the design was rushed, it eventually yielded a number of flaws which marred its performance. The March Prince's efforts to push the design's production led to it being not dispersed through the Federated Suns, but solely in the Terran March's regional forces. The primitive early versions of the 'Mech were only made in handfuls, while a new better and modern variant would ultimately become more common.

The design received additional disparagement after serving with rebel forces during the Davion Civil War in 2525. By the war's end in 2540, its production was shut down. The majority of Swordsman 'Mechs remained in service with the various Terran March units, and production of the design stopped when First Prince Alexander Davion ushered in changes to the organization of the Federated Suns that included dismantling the Terran March, in part as punishment for the rebellion raised by Dmitri Rostov that marked the last major conflict of the Davion Civil War. By 2571, the bulk of these operational 'Mech were shuffled with those regimental units as gifts to the newly formed Star League. The Swordsman would end up serving with Star League Defense Force units during the Reunification War and survived in smaller numbers that were held in reserve planetary militias through the League until the Star League Civil War.

Weapons and Equipment

The Swordsman is a general purpose design. Its original 145-rated primitive fusion engine was chosen to give the design the mobility to keep up with contemporary 'Mechs such as the BattleAxe and Mackie.

Its arsenal consists of a combination of long-range and mainly intermediate-range weaponry. Its long-range weapons include a 5-tubed Long-Range Missile Launcher mounted in the right torso with twenty-four rounds of ammunition. On the left torso it has a highly accurate Class-5 Autocannon which suffers from an ammo feed problem that creates the possibility of an ammunition explosion. Providing for intermediate and close range combat are a pair of medium lasers, with one found in each arm actuator.

Other features of the design include a Primitive Cockpit, Searchlights, and 10 tons of primitive armor.

Variants

SWD-2

A product of tinkering and updating the original design, this variant uses modern technology which is equal to tech used during the much later Succession Wars. It was placed in production until the end of Davion Civil War. Improvements to the design included replacing the Mech's primitive armor, cockpit, and fusion engine with modern equivalents. The design's weight savings allowed for expansion to the weapons it was originally designed to carry, which included a 4-Tubed SRM Launcher and a Small Laser mounted in the cockpit. BV(2.0)=803

Resurgence Era Update

Nomad Republic would be the first nation to bring this mech back to life after their loss at Terra in 3150. In need of a simple design that is not subject to the fragility of the XL-Engines, this mech became a solid option among the Nomad MechWarriors.

SWD-3

Brought back to life in 3152 at the order of General Jeremy Lee of Nomad Republic, the Autocannon 5 is replaced with a Light AC5. The Medium Lasers are upgraded to Extended Range versions. Missile flexibility is also increased with the addition of an MML-5 with a ton of LRM and SRM ammo contained in CASE. BV(2.0)=997

SWD-4

A striker 'mech, the autocannon is replaced with a Light Gauss Rifle. With the speed bracket of 50-80 KPH the mech can snipe at range or wait for the prime time to charge into battle. The missile launcher mounts an SRM-4 and the arms each have an ER Small Laser. BV(2.0)=941

SWD-5

Most advanced of the three Nomad variants, it holds an Angel ECM for the purpose of handling Word of Blake C3 networks. Removing the ammo dependent main weapon reduces tonnage spent on the ammo and CASE, allowing a Large Laser to replace it. When the battle gets up close and personal, two Medium X-Pulse Lasers and two ER Small Lasers begin to melt away armor. Finally a Streak SRM-6 rounds off the potentially hot and dangerous loadout. BV(2.0)=1250

[Note: Resurgence Era variants would be considered "custom units" in normal gameplay, before using, verify with the Game Master if they are approved for use.]

Design Quirks

The Swordsman has the following Design Quirks:

• Accurate Weapon (AC/5)
• Ammunition Feed Problem (AC/5)
• Bad Reputation
• Poor Workmanship
• Searchlight

Bibliography

• Era Digest: Age of War
• Experimental Technical Readout: Primitives, Volume 4