Editing House Ricol

{{Update Needed|[[BattleTech: Legends]]|[[Tamar Rising]]}}
{{InfoBoxHouse
| image               = HouseRicolCrest.jpg
| name                = House Ricol
| titles              = 
[[Duke of Chekaar]]
----
[[Duke of Kirchbach]]
----
[[Duke of Rodigo]]
| founded             = 
| died out            = 
| affiliation         = [[Draconis Combine]]
| cadet lines         = 
}}
==Overview==
'''House Ricol'''<ref>"House Ricol" is expressly mentioned as such in ''Mercenary's Star'', ch. 14</ref> was an influential noble house from the [[Draconis Combine]], holding the title of [[Duke of Chekaar]]<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'', ch. 27</ref> (though apocryphally, the principal duchy was that of [[Rodigo]]; see below) and implicitly that of (a) Duke of the [[Rasalhague Military District]].<ref name=CMK47>''Combat Manual: Kurita'', p. 47: Duke Hassid Ricol sidebar</ref>

Having several other worlds in the Rasalhague Military District placed under the duchy's administrative jurisdiction gave the ruling duke the actual power of an archduke (whereas dukes generally had responsibility for only a single world).<ref>''The Price of Glory'', ch. 22</ref> As of [[3018]] Duke [[Hassid Ricol]] had petitioned to be elevated to the position of Archduke over the five worlds he governed at the time, and his enemies at the court in [[Luthien]] had almost, but not quite, the power to deny his petition.<ref>''Heir to the Dragon'', ch. 3</ref> Ricol was elevated to Archduke at some point.<ref name=CMK47/>

House Ricol essentially lost their holdings in the [[Fourth Succession War]], and Hassid Ricol, the last ruling Duke, apparently dismissed his title in [[3072]], shortly before his death as "Not even a title, but a mockery of one. A flimsy shell from decades ago, when my name brought fear to many."<ref name=JHS72>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3072'', p. 77: "Passing the Gem"</ref>

==History==
{{ApocryphalContentStart}}
Author [[William H. Keith]], who had created the character of Hassid Ricol, provided a detailed (but technically [[apocryphal]]) write-up on Hassid Ricol and House Ricol in [[BattleTechnology#Issue 0102|''BattleTechnology'', Issue #0102]] (Hiring Hall: The Red Duke). The magazine is written as an in-universe publication from October [[3027]].

According to this write-up, the Ricols are an old and established family on [[Rodigo]] dating back to when the world was first settled in the [[twenty-third century]]. In [[2785]] one General Henri Ricol became the first Duke of Rodigo. The third duke, Stefani Ricol, was the first to adopt the descriptive honorific "Red Duke" that would be revived by Hassid Ricol in the [[thirty-first century]].

Beyond Rodigo, thirteen [[Lyran Commonwealth]] worlds, several of them formerly belonging to the [[Tamar Pact]], were annexed for the Draconis Combine in three separate campaigns since ca. [[2997]] (more likely after Hassid Ricol came to power in [[3002]] and began to build a personal army for conquests<ref name=CMK47/>) and put under the administrative jurisdiction of the Duchy of Rodigo.

Hassid Ricol was 34 years old when he inherited the Duchy of Rodigo from his father in [[3011]] and became the twelfth ruling Duke of Rodigo in his line. (He was granted permanently detached duty from the [[DCMS]] to assume the mantle of Duke of the Rasalhague Military District in 3002, it is possible he was only formally made Duke in 3011.) The ducal seat is in Alexis on [[Rodigo]]. Duke Hassid Ricol is described as the de facto lord of 14 worlds within the Rasalhague Military District from [[Kufstein|Kufstein's World]] to [[The Edge]]; other named worlds include [[Verthandi]], [[New Caledonia]], [[Basiliano]], [[Dahlgren]], and [[Harvest|Auric II (Harvest)]].

It was noted that the double setbacks at Trell I and Verthandi had seriously jeopardized Duke Ricol's political standing.
{{ApocryphalContentEnd}}

The [[Seventeenth Rasalhague Regulars]] attempted to seize [[Tamar]] in [[3016]] at the behest of Duke Ricol, but failed.<ref>''Combat Manual: Kurita'', p. 43</ref>

House Ricol apparently lost most if not all of its holdings to the [[House Steiner]] invasion in the [[Fourth Succession War]]. When the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]] was formed in [[3034]], Duke Hassid Ricol used his copy of the [[Helm Memory Core]] as a bargaining chip to become governor of the newly formed [[Alshain Military District]] (formed from what remained of the Rasalhague Military District and ten worlds of the Buckminster Prefecture).<ref>''Heir to the Dragon'', ch. 51</ref> Besides the civilian administrator, he also became the district's Warlord (''Tai-shu'') at some point prior to the [[War of 3039]].<ref>''Combat Manual: Kurita'', p. 46</ref>

In [[3046]] Duke Ricol used his influence to create a training cadre battalion of [[MechWarrior]]s who would not have been considered for the old [[DCMS]] but who would have a chance to prove themselves in [[Theodore Kurita]]'s reformed army. Ricol had invested much in the training battalion, which he hoped would place officers loyal to him into the DCMS. However, their first trial raid against [[Ryde]] ran afoul of the [[Twelfth Donegal Guards]] whose presence on Ryde the [[ISF]] had failed to notice or to report. The cadre suffered devastating casualties, losing seven out of nine lances.<ref>''Vengeance''</ref>

The Alshain Military District fell to the [[Clans]] in the [[Clan Invasion]], and House Ricol apparently lost whatever wealth and infrastructure they had retained or regained. By [[3062]] House Ricol was apparently essentially reduced to the person of the visibly aged Duke Hassid Ricol who now was an influential shadow agent and leading conspirator with the [[Black Dragon Society]] (''Kokuryu-kai''), his power apparently based in his connections rather than his actual wealth. He was a chief engineer of ''[[Operation Batsu]]'' that saw the [[Alshain Avengers]] lured into launching their unsanctioned attack against [[Alshain]] (which triggered the [[Combine-Ghost Bear War]]).<ref>''Path of Glory'', chs. 12, 21</ref> Although Ricol's involvement was suspected, there was no proof and no official action was taken against him.<ref>''Path of Glory'', ch. 29</ref>

Unconfirmed transcripts of ''Kokuryu-kai'' meetings suggest that Duke Hassid Ricol suffered from deteriorating health after ca. [[3072]].<ref>''Jihad Hot Spots: 3072'', p. 53: "Council of Gems"</ref> He was dead by [[3074]] and his connection with the ''Kokuryu-kai'' was officially considered proven by then.<ref>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 43: "Black Dragons Unmasked"</ref>

In a message written to Warlord [[Kiyomori Minamoto]] in 3072 that is attributed to Duke Ricol, he designates Minamoto his heir over ''Kokuryu-kai'' member "Jade" and warns Minamoto that Jade will be unhappy with this arrangement and probably become an antagonist; he goes on to call Jade just a tool and suggests that one discards of a tool once it is dulled. Jade is expressly described as his own flesh and blood and had referred to Ricol as ''otosan'' ("father") at one point in the recorded meetings, suggesting Jade is in fact Duke Ricol's child but was disinherited. Jade's actual name or gender is not revealed.<ref name=JHS72/>

In the same message the author (Ricol) mentions that he has no lands or riches to bestow and only a mockery of a title.<ref name=JHS72/> This, together with the fact that he apparently disinherited his only known child in favor of Minamoto, suggests that House Ricol effectively ceased to exist after Hassid Ricol's death in or shortly after 3072.

==Known members of the family==
The best known scion of House Ricol is arguably [[Hassid Ricol]], also known as the "Red Duke" or "The Red Hunter".

As of ca. [[3025]], one General [[Voren Ricol]], [[Duke of Kirchbach]], was the CO of seven regiments in the Rasalhague Military District's Kirchbach Prefecture<ref name=HKDCp134>''House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)'', p. 134</ref>

==Family Heirlooms and Holdings==
House Ricol, in the person of Duke Hassid Ricol, were considered to possess a vast wealth and resources at least up until the Fourth Succession War.

Duke Ricol owned at least one private [[JumpShip]], the ''[[Huntress (Individual JumpShip)|Huntress]]''.

He was also known for owning the only privately operated ''[[Behemoth (DropShip class)|Behemoth]]''-class [[DropShip]] in existence.<ref>''Handbook: House Liao'', p. 162: "Mówáng-class courier"</ref> Beyond that, he used his private DropShip ''[[Alpha (Individual DropShip)|Alpha]]'' as a command/HQ vessel during military ventures abroad; although the class of the ''Alpha'' is indeterminate, it is not a ''Behemoth'' as it is shown to be capable of landing on standard gravity planets, something the ''Behemoth'' class is incapable of. It is implied that Ricol had several additional DropShips at his disposal; he brought six DropShips to [[Helm]] in [[3028]] on two [[JumpShip]]s<ref name=PG23>''The Price of Glory'', ch. 23</ref>

===Military===
Although technically a civilian administrator position, the noble title and his military background allowed Duke Hassid Ricol to build and maintain what seems to have been a sizeable private army including [[BattleMech]]s but also professional interrogation teams.<ref name=MS14>''Mercenary's Star'', ch. 14</ref> They had their own uniforms sporting a characteristic piping<ref name=MS14/> and kana symbols spelling out "Kurita" and "Duke Ricol" and displaying the House Kurita crest.<ref>''Mercenary's Star'', ch. 5</ref> On Helm in [[3028]], Hassid Ricol had brought a [[company]] of twelve 'Mechs and also deployed a lance of [[Galleon]] tanks and an infantry company of ninety men from the ''Alpha''.<ref name=PG23/>

Duke Hassid Ricol also commanded [[House Kurita]] forces on occasion, including a [[DEST]] unit and aerospace assets in one instance (at Verthandi).

Duke Hassid Ricol was a renowned [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] in his ''[[Marauder]]'' which was painted red with black legs and trim. Both the pilot and the 'Mech were known as "The Red Hunter".<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'', ch. 10</ref> However, his heydays as a MechWarrior appear to be behind him as of 3024, judging from his internal dialogue on Trellwan.

House Ricol war leader Captain Lord [[Harimandir Singh]], who had been serving under Ricol for fifteen years as of [[3024]] (i.e. since [[3009]]), commanded the "[[Red Hunter Special Operations Group]]" from a ''[[Crusader]]'' painted in a similar red-and-black scheme. He was killed in action on [[Trell I]] in 3024, and his 'Mech was destroyed.<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift''</ref> The Red Hunter Special Operations Group was not mentioned again afterwards.

At an unspecified time in ca. [[3027]], several years after Duke Hassid Ricol had lost several 'Mechs in his private service in an adventure across the border in [[House Steiner]] space (implicitly, the abortive invasion of Trell I in 3024), he recruited [[dispossessed]] MechWarrior [[Salvadore Tyrell]] and charged him with creating a new private BattleMech company that Tyrell would name [[Tyrell's Terrors]]. They were garrisoning the unruly world of [[Verthandi]] in the aftermath of the [[Gray Death Legion]]-supported uprising there, but were ordered to meet Duke Ricol at [[Kajikazawa]] upon his return from the [[Free Worlds League]] where he had recovered the Helm Memory Core.<ref>''Dance of Vengeance''</ref>

==Crest==
A House Ricol crest or flag is mentioned, and at one point described in the context of a DropShip bearing "the red chevron of [Ricol's] flag".<ref>''Decision at Thunder Rift'', ch. 26</ref> Over the course of the [[2023 Mercenaries Crowdfunding Campaign]] an official crest for House Ricol was shown as part of the campaign description.

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* [[BattleTechnology#Issue 0102|''BattleTechnology'', Issue #0102]]
* ''[[Combat Manual: Kurita]]''
* ''[[Dance of Vengeance]]'' (in: ''Shrapnel'')
* ''[[Decision at Thunder Rift]]''
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: 3072]]''
* ''[[Heir to the Dragon]]''
* ''[[Mercenary's Star (novel)|Mercenary's Star]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Path of Glory]]''
* ''[[The Price of Glory]]''
* ''[[Shrapnel (anthology)|Shrapnel]]'' (anthology)
* ''[[Vengeance (novella)|Vengeance]]'' (novella)

[[Category:Noble Houses|Ricol]]