A brief History of the Qizilqum Independence Movement

(This is a rather quick and dirty summary ripped from an online fact-file, but it's enough to cover what we're doing here. I'll go into more depth on the current situation when we get on-world and have the latest news - Irisz)

The roots of the movement stretch back to the time of the Terran Alliance and the destruction of the Central Asian Alliance. A repressive authoritarian regime, the Central Asian Alliance’s demise bought freedom to millions and was a part of the unification of Terra. In the aftermath of its destruction the Alliance, it was effectively purged, symbolically destroyed in much the same way as the Rim Worlds or Word of Blake’s imagery were eliminated.

While to the majority of the population, the fall of the Alliance was a boon, those who had been among the ruling elites had quite literally lost everything, even down to their national identity. In the survivors of those elites and their families, this bread a degree of resentment and a desire to recreate what had been lost, if not on Earth then somewhere else.

Colonisation provided that chance. A group of families, largely ethnic Uzbeks who were descendants from those disenfranchised elites, arranged a way off Terra, pooling resources to find their own way to the stars while ‘encouraging’ others to join as colonists. Choosing a potential world, they made their home in a dry, remote district of a world they named Qizilqum (“Red Sands”), creating a new government modelled on what they had left behind.

Bonus for MegaMek players

 For anyone reading this who also plays MegaMek, you can now add Magyari's Irregulars (and their enemies) to your games with themed pilot portraits and camo schemes.

From the personal journal of Irisz Magyari

The new recruits are now formally into the unit. I took them down to the MRBC for a simulator battle, less to test their skills and more to see how these three strangers would be able to gel as a team. I knew that it wouldn’t be easy, given that they had never met before, had come from completely different backgrounds and had ‘Mechs with rather radically different capabilities. (Of course, the potential fourth lance member backing out at the last minute only made things a that much harder for me)

I’d put them up against Mao’s Rifles. Mao owes me a favour, and I think that he was hoping to get a victory over some rookies that he could use to bump up his unit a little. From what I’ve gathered, he’s hurting financially and his unit’s been taking quality hits, two things that rarely end well in the mercenary world. Unfortunately, the battle didn’t go his way, a fact made even worse by Mao’s using himself, his XO and one of his lieutenants in the battle.

After Action Report

Simulator Battle Report

MRBC Area E266

01013145

Battlefield: Beach Hills

Time of Day: Midday

Weather: Clear

Scenario: Seek and Destroy

Outcome:  Blue Team Victory (Red Team surrender)

Magyari's Irregulars BattleMech Gallery

A collection of modified and colourised BattleMech images, reperesenting the members of Magyari's Irregulars.

Irisz Magyari's Mad Cat Mk IV

Mao's Rifles

MRBC Update 01-01-3145

Mao's Rifles insignia

History

While the Cappellan confederation depicted its push into the Republic as a victory of it and its people, liberating their long-oppressed brothers from the hands of the Republic oppressors, not everyone saw it as such. Mao Xingyang was a wealthy businessman who, despite his Cappellan background, actually enjoyed life in the Republic. An active leader in his community, he enjoyed the Republic’s ideals of freedom and responsibility, rather than the restrictive nature of the Confederation.

As the Republic’s forces began to wither and withdraw, Mao turned a lot of his wealth towards trying to build his own militia unit to help protect those who, like him, had no love for the Confederation and no desire to rejoin it. Support from the Swordsworn helped train the unit, but with the RAF’s withdrawal into Fortress Republic, it quickly became clear that fighting the CCAF was a losing cause. Battered, Mao’s forces were forced to abandon their posts, retreating across the shrinking Republic to Galatea.

While now serving as mercenaries, Mao and his people harbor a desire to return to their homeworlds and reclaim them for the Republic. However, Mao is also a realist, and knows that is unlikely to happen given the current strength of the CCAF. Like many, he holds out against the idea of the Republic re-emerging from behind the Fortress Walls and reclaiming its lands, at which point he will gladly join them. For now, his unit serve as mercenaries, doing what they can to survive and build their strength.

Personnel Files - Misc. NPCs

(EDITOR'S NOTE: These NPCs are other members of the unit that the PCs may encounter)

Personnel Files - Command Staff NPCs

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following NPCs are key commanders or officers in the Irregulars that the PCs will typically be reporting to)

Personnel Files - Player Characters

(EDITOR'S NOTE: The following are the Player Characters of the campaign. At the start of the game, three of them are new hires, bought in to replace the recently lost Assault Lance. The fourth is a long-time ally of the unit who's player will be unable to regularly attend. The actual number of player characters present at any one given time is highly variable)

Magyari’s Irregulars Roster, January 3145

Magyari’s Irregulars Roster, January 3145

Alpha Company

Command Lance

Major Irisz “Invisible Space Fairy” Magyari, Mad Cat Mk IV

Lieutenant Charlie Bull, SCG-WF1 Scourge

Dimitri “Pythagoras” Matthias, ARC-9M Archer

Larry M. Lamont, SKW-2F Shockwave

Assault Lance

Lieutenant Takahashi Oda, AKU-1X Akuma

Nikola Kardos, CNR-7M Carronade
Lee Zheng, Vulture Mk IV

Randy R. Georges, UZL-8S Uziel

Recon “Peril” Lance

Lieutenant Will “Boof” Owens, HVC-P5 Havoc

GFN-4R Griffin

Bruce Wolf, SCB-9T Scarabus

OTT-9S Ostscout

Bravo Company

Support Lance

Captain Joon Dae-Ho, Sniper Artillery

Sniper Artillery

Sniper Artillery

Sniper Artillery

Air Cavalry Lance

Lieutenant Katrya Dernko, Lamprey Transport Helicopter

Lamprey Transport Helicopter

Hawk Moth II Gunship (MML)

Hawk Moth II Gunship (MML)

Battle Armour Platoon ("The Mexicans")

Lieutenant Maria Perez, Longinus (Magnetic)

Inner Sphere Standard (LRR)

Spectre

Grey Death Heavy

Air Wing

Lieutenant Alan “Sinker” Morrison, F-95 Stingray

F-95 Stingray

Miscellaneous/Support Units

Cecelia Stanley, Savour Repair Vehicle

Dr. Hadrian Cartwright, MIT 23 MASH

Transport

Trutzburg-class TBD

Gazelle-class Duchess Royston

Magyari's Irregulars, MRBC Report

Magyari’s Irregulars

MRBC Update 01-01-3145

Force Strength

At present, the Irregulars field two full companies of troops. Alpha Company is made up entirely of BattleMechs, and is commanded directly by Major Magyari. The recent replacement of the entire assault lance has left the company somewhat disorganised; while the new ‘Mechs in the lance would be better suited to other units then working together, Irisz is loathe to break up existing and proven lances at this stage.

Bravo company is something of a mixed bag of different units. Originally made up of an all-armour company and an all-infantry/Battle Armour one, a combination of battlefield attrition and Irisz’s restructuring of the unit to trim out the dead wood has seen it slimmed down to its current state. Bravo is rarely deployed as a whole unit but rather as needed in support of Alpha. Captain Joon sees this as an erosion of his position, but his loyalty to the unit as a whole has kept him in line.

An air lance rounds out the unit’s structure; primarily used for support of their ground forces, the Irregulars’ two fighters are both well-maintained but often see little use. As a result, while their pilots are capable, the quality of their performance is slipping due to a lack of activity.

The history of Magyari's Irregulars

Part V – New Age

The Blackout caught everyone unprepared, and in its aftermath the mercenary Market exploded as chaos set in across the Republic of the Sphere. Like many others, the Irregulars began casting about in the suddenly active market for work, while also trying to recoup their depleted strength with whatever assets they could find and procure.

By early 3133, the Irregulars were active in the Republic, working contracts for whatever faction would hire them. The Swordsworn proved to be an especially lucrative source of work, the Irregulars serving as a quick response unit while also raiding across several prefectures. While the unit scored several successes, it also became clear that Bors was not the best commander. More and more often he would be delegating command decisions to his subordinates while spending his time rubbing shoulders with his employers, and his actual battlefield value proved to be somewhat dubious.

The history of Magyari's Irregulars

Part IV – Busy doing nothing

By the end of the Jihad, the Irregulars were somewhat changed. Absorbing several other commands had given them a more combined-arms structure, while the ravages of the Jihad had taken their toll. Besides battlefield losses, the Irregulars had lost experienced personnel, both to combat and those who chose to stand down after the Jihad. (One of them, Chaver Hohsq, a veteran Longbow pilot, would go on to open a string of pubs across the fledgling Republic). The Grunthos Group had all but ceased to exist with the fall of Outreach, reduced to a small cadre of technicians working directly for the Irregulars.

And yet, Anika persisted. Consolidating and continuing, she slowly rebuilt the unit, growing at a pace they could support rather than simply bounding outwards for the sake of it and outpacing their depleted financial reserves. This measured approach saw them recover enough to field a full BattleMech company by 3085 with expansion of other elements to follow. By 3100, the Irregulars boasted a full combined-arms Batallion with a mixture of BattleMechs, Armour and Battle Armoured infantry forces.

The history of Magyari's Irregulars

Part III – Feud

In late 3067, the Irregulars had cycled back to Campoleone as a part of their downtime following a successful pirate hunting expedition when disaster struck. In November, a terrorist bomb in the capitol killed Captain Jelek Magyari as well as his XO and several representatives of the Commonality military during a planning meeting. Within hours of the explosion, traffic control reported pirate dropships burning their way towards the capitol.

Command of the unit very suddenly and unexpectedly fell to Jelek’s only child, the then 22-year old Anika Magyari who had only just graduated to active duty from training. Nearly overwhelmed by the combination of her father’s death and the situation she had been thrust into, Anika turned to the best source of advice that she had available; her grandmother.

With Sel’s help, Anika was able to rally the irregulars and turn back the pirate force, stopping them outside the planetary capitol before they could do any significant damage. While the Irregulars had suffered losses, given the situation they were far less severe than they could have been with Anika showing a surprising amount of determination and confidence, given the situation. However, their greatest boon came in the form of a captured Pirate Mechwarrior, one who yielded a lot of useful information.

The history of Magyari's Irregulars

Part II – Fortuitous Timing

The low-intensity raiding that characterised the dying years of the Third Succession Wars were a good time for small mercenary units, and the Irregulars were no exception. Stabilising at the company level, the Irregulars saw plenty of work along various borders, engaging in largely small actions of little consequence, but growing in skill and experience along the way, as well as building a reputation.

Sel Magyari herself gained a lot from this period; her previously vain and superficial nature slowly changing as she became more professional and driven, her leadership skills blossoming over time. Her experience as a battlefield commander showed, as well as a growing ability to work with non-combatant and support personnel to help run the unit.

Similarly, Professor Grunthos expanded and developed his skill base, helping to support the unit’s ‘Mechs and supplanting their growing technical support. By 3025 he was also managing a workshop on Galatea, the Grunthos Group, which provided technical support and BattleMech modification to other mercenary units.

The history of Magyari's Irregulars

Part I – Formation and Early Years

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This section is based in the very vague recollections of a Mechwarrior Second Ed. game I played in over a decade ago. Set in the early 31^st century, it was about the misadventures of a small mercenary unit. My character, Sel Magyari, was its commander and also horribly ill-suited for the job… so how it always ends up going.)

Magyari’s Irregulars first came together in 3012 on Galatea, formed by a quartet of then unemployed mercenaries who had all arrived on-world relatively recently. Between them, Sel Magyari (A former bikini model), “Professor” Grunthos (Lecturer in Mechatronics at the university of Helsinki), Mackie Kusanagi (Rumoured to be a former bounty hunter) and George W. Butros III (Some guy) were big on ambitions but lacking in actual experience, making the formation of the unit an ad-hoc affair. Sel somehow wound up becoming the newly-formed unit’s commander for reasons that remain unclear. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Sel was the only one of the PCs that had the Leadership or Tactic’s skills)

The newly-minted Magyari’s Irregulars managed to do well for themselves, finding a niche in the low-level warfare that was so common in the early 31^st century. A combination of skill, planning and more then a little luck saw the unit not only survive but also thrive with the unit managing to avoid severe defeats and losses. Even if they were on only short-term contracts for the most part, the unit still managed to do well for themselves.

Obligitiry introduction and background post

Magyari's Irregulars Insignia
c3145

Magyari’s Irregulars is a tabletop roleplaying campaign for the Battletech RPG, A Time Of War. Set in the year 3145 the Player Characters are a group of new recruits to a long-lasted mercenary group. This blog, largely intended to be an in-world one, will be used to chronicle the events of the campaign.

The campaign begins on January 1, 3145, and is intended to be indefinitely ongoing (or until the players and/or GM gets sick of it and does something else). The Blog will be (hopefully) regularly updated to report on events in the game.