"Wizkids LLC has sole ownership of the names, logo, artwork, marks, photographs, sounds, audio, and/or any other proprietary used in connection with the game Classic Battletech. Wizkids has granted permission to affshc.net to use any such names, logos, artwork, marks and/or any other written material for promotional and informational purposes on its website, but does not endore and is not affiliated with affshc.net in any official capacity whatsoever."
Type/Model: Sylvan Raider SR-68
Tech: Inner Sphere / 3068
Config: Biped BattleMech
Rules: Level 2, Custom design
Mass: 40 tons
Chassis: GM Sprinter Standard
Power Plant: 280 GM XL Fusion
Walking Speed: 75.6 km/h
Maximum Speed: 118.8 km/h
Jump Jets: 7 Swingline X-1000 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 210 meters
Armor: StarGuard III Standard
Armament:
8 Martell Medium Lasers
Manufacturer: General Motors
Location: Talcott
Communications System: Dalban SuperMicronics
Targeting & Tracking System: GME HiTrak-3
Overview
The aftermath of the Civil War led to increased orders of already-existing Mechs by the Federated Suns epartment of the Quartermaster. In addition, there were numerous solicitations for and submissions of new mech designs. When GM submitted their design for a Mech intended to accompany their Hellspawn design, the poor regard that Federated Suns mechwarriors held for the Hellspawn generated little more than a cold glare.
The essential philosophy of the Quartermaster was that if GM needed two mechs to satisfy requirements for one job, they needed to hit the drawing board a little harder. Their Sylvan Raider design minimized the use of newer technology. Except for the engine and heat sinks, all the equipment is old and reliable.
The outbreak of the Jihad, however, saw a renewed and necessary interest in GMs design. During the latter half of the Jihad, thanks to conscripted workforces and round-the-clock work crews, GM's Talcott plant was turning out three Sylvan Raiders a week.
Capabilities
The Sylvan Raider was prototyped in a cost-efficient manner, assembling many components from those already proven on other mechs. Except for the chassis, GM needed manufacture nothing original. This facilitated the push into the field, as the Sylvan Raider's field testing was carried out in actual combat.
The original design of the Raider incorporated the new GM Sprinter chassis. The manufacture was
much simpler than their GM Fury-M endo steel skeleton of their HSN-7D Hellspawn. The power plant was chosen to be the massive GM 280 XL, also produced on planet. As this was also the engine for the Caesar, GM would have had to increase output to meet the needs of the Raider. However, after the devastation of New Avalon, where the Caesar was constructed. With the Caesar line down, and transport to that region very dangerous, all of the engines were diverted to the Raider line. Still,production in those times was radically increased in order to push Raiders off the lines.
After the New Avalon Dervish line was closed down before the Jihad, Achernar Battlemechs had a large surplus of components. GM acquired a vast amount of these venerable and reliable components, many of which were warehoused on Talcott. This proved to be a fortuitous purchase, as that stockpile supplied the manufacture of Raiders for four full years. Those recycled components include the jump jets, which boost the Raider over 200 meters, and the Raider's complement of eight medium lasers, three each
mounted in side torsos, and one each in the head and center torso. The Raider mounts the same armor, communications and targeting systems as the Hellspawn, save that the Raider does not have an ECM system.
Many complained that the Raider's single weapon range was a liability, but when used in concert with other recon mechs, it proved its worth, esp. when paired with GM's Hellspawn. The Raider's medium lasers filled the gap in the HSN-7D's weapon ranges, making them a balanced pair. Mounting nearly as much armor as can a mech of its weight class, the Raider was able to withstand damage that the Hellspawn could not. Thus did Raiders become de facto bodyguards for Hellspawn's on patrol, as a Raider can pace nearly any mech on the modern battlefield. By closing quickly in any terrain, Raiders became famed for savaging an enemy's armor, while the Hellspawn's rained down missile fire.
Battle History
The battle history of the Raider is largely uncertain. While a participant in many battles, both losses and victories, the fact that Sylvan Raider pilots so often did not return obscures its reputation. It is known that many Raider mechwarriors were prone to recklessness in combat, closing quickly and flailing away with
both fists and lasers. While a viable tactic against smaller mechs in recon units away from support, too often was it applied to large, slow units mounting more armor and firepower than the Raiders could overcome.
Variants
Though produced in very smal numbers, there is one primary variant of the Sylvan Raider. The SR-75 was constructed with an endo-steel frame, allowing for replacement of the head-mounted medium laser with an anti-missile system. A heat sink is removed and two tons of ammo added. The SR-75 was produced in the latter stages of the Jihad and for a short time after the Jihad's end, when output demand was reduced and time was available to pursue new ideas. The anti-missile system was aimed at increasing the longevity, as, in particular, the specialized LRMs of Free World League mechs had devastated Sylvan Raiders. With little to no combat testing, the SR-75's survivability is undetermined.Though records are unclear, two prototypes, the SR-77, mounting a Beagle Probe instead of an anti-missile system, are believed to have been produced.
Deployment
While early in the Jihad, only Federated Suns units in the Crucis March received Sylvan Raiders, due mainly to the short transport time. As transport routes were re-established during the war, Raiders were delivered to more Davion units. Of the several hundred Sylvan Raiders produced during the Jihad, very few are known to have survived. This is due largely to the dangerous role they filled, and to the typical
inexperience of mechwarriors pushed through training as fast as the Raiders were pushed through assembly. All accounted-for Sylvan Raiders are currently attached to Crucis March mech units, still in accompaniment with Hellspawns.
After the Jihad was finally over, the relative few mechwarriors and leaders who survived wanted never again to experience the horror of war. No Sylvan Raiders, or any other mechs for that matter, have been produced by GM on Talcott since that time
Type: Sylvan Raider SR-68
Mass: 40 tons
Tech & Era: Inner Sphere / 3068
Config & Rules: Biped 'Mech / Level 2
Movement: Walk: 7 Run: 11 Jump: 7
Design Status: VALIDATED
Cost
Description Crits Tons C-Bills
Mass: 40 tons 40.00
Internal Structure: Standard (67 pts) 0 4.00 16,000
Engine: 280 VOX XL Fusion 12 8.00 2,986,667
Total Heat Sinks: 12 Double 3 2.00 72,000
Gyro: Standard 4 3.00 900,000
Cockpit, Life Support, Sensors: Standard Cockpit 5 3.00 330,000
Myomer: Standard Strength 0 .00 80,000
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+Hand R: Sh+UA+LA+Hand 16 .00 46,400
Armor: Standard ( 136 total armor pts ) 0 8.50 85,000
Internal Armor Points
Location: Points L / R
Head: 3 9
Center Torso F(R): 12 17 (6)
Left/Right Torso F(R): 10 / 10 15 (5) / 15 (5)
Left/Right Arm: 6 / 6 12 / 12
Left/Right Leg: 10 / 10 20 / 20
Weapons & Equipment
# Type Loc Heat Ammo
3 Medium Lasers RT 9 3 3.00 120,000
3 Medium Lasers LT 9 3 3.00 120,000
1 Medium Laser CT 3 1 1.00 40,000
1 Medium Laser HD 3 1 1.00 40,000
7 Standard Jump Jets ( 0.5 Ton each ) 7 3.50 392,000
'Mech Size Cost Multiplier (Total Cost x .40): 0 0 2,091,227
TOTALS: Combat Heat: 31 ( 24 Heat Avail ) 55 40.00 T 7,319,294
( 23 Left ) ( .00 Left ) C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,346 (5,437.81 C-Bills per BV)
Weapon Value: 1,181 / 1,181 (R = .88 / .88)
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 31, MRDmg = 5, LRDmg = 0
BattleForce2: MP = 7J, Armor/Structure = 3/2, Point Value = 13
Class = MM, Damage PB/M/L = 4/4/-, Overheat = 1
