Welcome to the Inner Sphere – the world of Battletech
Humanity has spread to the stars and has established massive empires. Mechwarriors and their heirloom Battlemechs tower over the field of battle. With the founding of the Star League, the Great Houses found peace and common purpose. Humanity prospered in a golden age. However, after almost 200 years, the Star League came crashing down, restarting the cycle of perpetual war.
As a property, Battletech has existed in one form or another for almost 40 years. Unlike some other settings, the timeline of the Battletech universe has always advanced as rulebooks and novels are released. As a result, the setting of Battletech could be compared to the timeline of the Star Wars universe. Any Rebellion era game would be profoundly different from a game set in the days of the Old Republic.
So, I shall take you on a brief journey through the histories of the Battletech universe, starting at the dawn of the 22nd century where project Demios resulted in the first FTL jump and the subsequent colonization of New Earth. For 400 years, humanity spread across the Inner Sphere. There was constant conflict and eventually there were six Great Houses that controlled the majority of the Inner Sphere: Davion, Liao, Steiner, Marik, Kurita and Cameron. From the mid 25th century onward, the Battlemech reigned supreme, outclassing and over-matching all other conventional weapons of war.
However, in 2571 the Star League was formed. A pact between all of the Great Houses, uniting the majority of the Inner Sphere and proclaiming the dawn of a new age for humanity under Ian Cameron’s leadership. There was at last a tenuous peace between the Great Houses. The Star League lasted until 2765, when a devious plot by an insane man ended our golden era and sparked a war unlike any other, which blazed across the Inner Sphere. The Cameron line was destroyed and the five remaining Great Houses went back to fighting over territory in the power vacuum.
What followed was 300 years of strategic warfare, intrigue and retaliation. This time is known as the Succession Wars. By the end of the Third Succession War in 3025, humanity has lost the means of producing most of the weaponry upon which it relied in combat. Over 200 years of industrial sabotage, bombing and scorched-earth asset denial has placed the baseline of our technology far below that of the Star League. Some factories still operate that can produce Battlemechs, though few could hope to go up against one of its ancestors. Mechs are prized as both salvage and as an inheritance. Many mercenary companies now operate, deploying their Mechs to fight on a faction’s behalf, should the coin be suitable. The shadowy corporation Comstar now maintains control of every remaining FTL ship as well as the HPG network, which facilitates inter-system communication. War has slowed from the rapid and brutal blitzkrieg of centuries past into a careful game of prodding and plausible deniability.
It is at this point that the vanilla Battletech experience is set; this is our “A New Hope.” It is the lowest and most basic technology level in Battletech. The next 50 years will depict a brutal and hard fought technological renaissance. In time I will discuss the Fourth Succession War, the Clan Invasion and the Jihad. This would take us as far as 3081, and the timeline goes on until 3139! Furthermore, it will likely keep on going as that is what the setting does. But please, don’t be overwhelmed or put off. Most people play their games in 3025 and 3050, just as most people play Star Wars in the Clone Wars or the Galactic Civil War. Yes, you can go dive into the Old Republic or the New Empire era, but that is typically a niche setting.
The world of Battletech is steeped in lore, and there are many games are set within it from traditional RPGs, tabletop games, videogames and more. One of my favorite things about the setting is that everything that takes place within it is plausible and makes sense. There is rarely an event or decision that forces you to suspend disbelief; it feels like a very possible future for us as a species. That is, other than the mechs themselves, but those are awesome.
Next time I will further explore the main ways people engage with the Battletech universe. I hope to see you then.
Thanks for reading this HPG Newsburst. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below I would love to hear from you!
Joseph Poultney
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