Raging Horde
Sarna News
Contents
History
The Raging Horde is unique among mercenary units in that it was founded entirely by a group of ex-Clansmen - specifically, Elementals from several Invasion Clans, although the majority of the Raging Horde came from Clan Nova Cat. Claiming to follow the visions of their founder, a former Nova Cat named Calvin Moon, the Horde took several contracts across the Inner Sphere.[1]
The transition into being mercenaries was difficult for a number of members of the unit, as the Clans traditionally looked down upon professional soldiers; to help ease the transition and overcome the qualms of those in his unit, Jeremiah West encouraged the Raging Horde's members to maintain Clan customs and beliefs and thereby keep their Clan heritage alive. As a result leadership positions within the Raging Horde were decided by Clan-style Trials of Position; this was the route by which a number of personnel from Clan Nova Cat and Clan Diamond Shark joined the Raging Horde, and the explanation for the two co-leaders of the Raging Horde during the early years of the Jihad were members of these two Clans.[1][2]
Initially ill-suited for the finer points of negotiating employment contracts, the Raging Hordes were reliant upon a lesser nobleman named Bartholemew Alexander, who sponsored the Raging Horde in exchange for a twenty percent management fee; despite his eccentricity, Alexander was able to assist the Raging Hordes in obtaining their first few contracts within the Inner Sphere. Those initial contracts saw the Raging Horde fight against Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf, and the losses taken during those contracts saw the Raging Horde recruit its first personnel from the Inner Sphere - although only those who could pass the requisite Trials were permitted to join the Horde.[1][2] While Alexander's recommendation that the Horde recruit personnel from the Inner Sphere allowed the Horde to rebuild, it also proved a source of tension between those personnel from the Inner Sphere and those from the various Clans, with occasional conflicts flaring up even as late as 3067.[2]
The Raging Horde were serving on the Federated Suns world of Lindsay in 3066 when forces from the Taurian Concordat overran the world briefly as a part of the Taurian campaign to reclaim the Pleiades Cluster. When Alexander learned of the Taurian capture of Lindsay he promptly emptied the Raging Horde's bank account and fled Galatea, assuming the worst. When the Raging Horde escaped from Lindsay and learned of Alexander's actions they swore to enact vengeance against him, going so far as to sell two of their four Sassanid-class DropShips to finance their quest for revenge.[1][2]
The Horde's spokesperson, one Captain Caroline, subsequently conducted an interview with MercNet that generated both new notoriety for the unusual mercenary unit and an influx of experienced battle armor personnel - including several former Clansmen. The personnel influx gave the Raging Horde access to enough people to rebuild their losses and to expand; after six months of rebuilding the Raging Horde had increased in size to a full Cluster and began an intense twelve-month training period to acclimatise their new personnel to the Horde's customs and tactics.[1]
The Raging Horde returned to the mercenary market in June 3069, accepting a contract to conduct garrison and cadre training duties on Skye, which was still rebuilding after the brief war between the Lyran Alliance Bolan and Skye Provinces and the Free Worlds League. As an incentive, the Skye recruiters offered the location of Bartholomew Alexander; this generated a brief and heated discussion between Colonel Jeremiah West, Major Maine and their various sub-commanders before the Raging Horde accepted the contract.[1]
As the Raging Horde assembled to transfer to Skye, the various Trinary commanders within the Horde conducted a bidding process for the honor of killing Alexander. The overall winner of the bidding process was Captain Jason Henne, who bid himself, unarmed; as a consequence, when the Horde acted on the intelligence given to them by the Skye government and travelled to Callisto V, Henne departed the ship alone to hunt for Alexander. Henne reportedly found Alexander but spared him when Alexander confessed to his crimes and requested surkai. Henne returned to the Horde's DropShips with two very large security cases containing the bulk of the Horde's misappropriated funds; Colonel West recognised Henne's success and his tact in completing the mission by formally adopting the Spheroid as a Clan warrior.[1]
The Raging Horde took advantage of a sweetener offered by Duchess Hermione Aten when accepting employment on Skye and as a result was one of the first mercenary units to purchase a number of Saxon APCs at a notable discount as a part of their employment contract.[3]
Officers
| Rank | Name | Command | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commanding Officers of the Raging Horde | |||
| Colonel | Calvin Moon | 3067 | |
| Colonel | Jeremiah West | 3072 | |
Notes
The commanding officer of the Horde in 3067 was Colonel Calvin Moon, a former Nova Cat who led the unit based on his visions of the future; he was a charismatic individual, as evidenced by his ability to form the Raging Horde in the first place. Colonel Moon's XO was Major Roberto Maine, a Clan Diamond Shark warrior who failed his Trial to remain active but who remained adept at infantry tactics, logistics and futures trading and who retained a number of contacts within the Diamond Shark merchant caste.[2]
The commanding officers of Omega and Gamma Trinaries at this point were Captain Jason "Verlog" Henne, a giant ex-Com Guard armored infantry officer who left ComStar after Anastasius Focht retired, and Captain Caroline "Bulldog" MacIntosh, a former Federated Commonwealth officer who survived the Civil War and left the FedCom after Princess-Regent Yvonne Steiner-Davion returned to power.[2]
Tactics
The Horde uses a fusion of traditional Inner Sphere and Clan anti-Mech tactics, utilizing the various abilities of the different kinds of Battle Armor suits they employ.
Composition History
3067
Raging Horde (1 Cluster/Veteran/Questionable)
- CO/Command Star: Colonel Calvin Moon
- XO/Alpha Trinary: Major Roberto Maine
- Omega Trinary: Captain Jason "Verlog" Henne
- Gamma Trinary: Captain Caroline "Bulldog" MacIntosh
- - At this point in time Omega and Gamma Trinaries were predominantly staffed with Inner Sphere personnel, while Alpha Trinary was still predominantly staffed with Clan personnel. Each Trinary was short approximately a Star, and while the unit was organized along Clan lines, each Star contained either five points of Clan battle armor or four points of Inner Sphere battle armor depending on the makeup of the Star. While the Elemental forces within the Raging Horde used a mix of Elemental battle suits, the Spheroid troopers were equipped primarily with either Longinus or Infiltrator Mk. II suits.[2]
3072
Raging Horde (1 Cluster)
- CO: Colonel Jeremiah West
- XO: Major Roberto Maine
- The Horde fields a full five Trinaries of armored infantrymen, equally mixing troopers of Inner Sphere and Clan heritage in each Star.[1] The Clansmen use Elemental suits of various loadouts, while the Spheroids mostly use Longinus and Infiltrator Mk. II suits.
Surprisingly, the Horde has enough transport assets to mobilize the entire unit. Aside from a captured Invader-class JumpShip, they also field two Sassanid-class DropShips - the Slasher and the Pouncer - and a single Triumph-class DropShip, Stormbringer. Due to battle damage, however, the Slasher and Pouncer have had to refit their weapons bays with Inner Sphere equipment instead of their original, superior Clan loadout.[2] The Horde also fields a number of brand-new Saxon personnel carriers.[1]
Notes
Rules
3067
- The Raging Horde cannot be intimidated.[4]
- The Raging Horde may attempt to intimidate non-elite units within three hexes of a Raging Horde squad/point. The unit being intimidated must make a successful Piloting Skill Roll, or Gunnery Skill Roll for units lacking a Piloting Skill characteristic, to resist being intimidated. Regular units suffer a +2 Penalty to the roll, while Green units suffer a +4 Penalty to the roll. Any unit which fails the roll must move away from the Horde unit that intimidated it in the following turn, and must move at it's maximum run or flank MP.[4]
- When a Raging Horde unit engages a target within six hexes of itself it receives a -1 To hit modifier for any non-missile, direct-fire weapon.[4]
- Raging Horde units receive a -2 hit modifier for making any anti-BattleMech Swarm or Leg attack. If the unit attacked is not disabled after the initial attack, the Horde infantry must continue to attack that unit until the target or the Horde unit has been destroyed.[4]
- Characters from the Raging Horde may automatically receive a +1 skill bonus in one of the following skills: Interest/Football, Interest/Hockey, Interest/Lacrosse, Interest/Rugby or Interest/Soccer.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 97, "The Raging Horde"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 56, "Raging Horde: The Mongrel Huns"
- ↑ Mercenaries Supplemental Update, p. 146, "Saxon APC"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Mercenaries Supplemental II, p. 71, "Raging Horde (A)"