Clan Elemental
During the Clan Invasion of 3050, one of the most terrifying opponents Inner Sphere MechWarriors ran into was the "Toad." These eight-foot monsters would literally leap into battle, fastening themselves onto BattleMechs and tearing them apart like a swarm of armored locusts, and could shrug off multiple hits from anything but the largest weapons before going down. Only later did the Inner Sphere learn that the Toads were actually called Elementals by their foes, and had human beings inside of them, rather than being some sort of alien life form.
The Elemental came about from experimental diving suits made for the often hostile worlds of the Clans. Clan Goliath Scorpion had originally designed the suits--roughly analogous to the JIM deep-water diving suits of the 20th Century--but Clan Wolf saw martial potential in them. With added armor, a jump-pack, and weapons, the suits could be used on the battlefield--and finally give foot infantry a chance against BattleMechs. The only problem the Wolves ran into was that the suits were so heavy that, even with mechanical assistance, they were almost impossible to move. Clan Hell's Horses had the solution to that: they had been experimenting with genetically-altered infantry that were larger and stronger than normal humans. Putting these genetically-altered warriors into the suits was the perfect solution, and the Elemental was born.
As a single suit, the Elemental is at a disadvantage, but when deployed in a Point of five suits or a Star of 25, they are deadly. Elementals have enough armor that they can survive direct hits from anything up to a large laser and still be combat effective. Should the armor be penetrated and the warrior wounded, the suit will seal the breach with rubberlike HarJel and inject the warrior with powerful painkillers to keep them in the fight. For weapons, the Elemental also packs a formidable punch, with a single-shot SRM-2 missile pack, and a variety of arm weapons: usually small lasers are carried, but these can be swapped with machine guns or flamethrowers for use against infantry or tanks. As a fallback weapon, the Elemental can always use their powerful claw to tear off armor plate. Elementals' only real drawback is their lack of speed: they can barely run 30 meters at a sprint, or jump 120 meters, so a smart MechWarrior--assuming they're in a fast enough 'Mech--can simply outrun them and pick off Elementals at range.
To be able to maneuver the heavy suit, Elementals are genetically-engineered and bred solely for that job. As a result, their average height tends to be between 6'5" and 7 feet tall, with a weight of about 230-250 pounds--all of it muscle. Though their reputation as hulking brutes leads to a tendency for other Clan warriors to see Elementals as slow, mentally and physically, the truth is very much the opposite. Both male and female Elementals are bred for the Clans' constant warfare, between each other and the Inner Sphere, and though the latter are used to them now, the sight of hundreds of "Toads" leaping into combat is still a sobering one.
(Back in the real world...)
I was lucky to get into FASA's Battletech wargame just as the "Invasion of the Clans" story arc began in 1990. I fell in love with the game and still enjoy playing it almost 30 years later! Ral Partha, who at that time owned the license for Battletech's miniatures line, produced Elementals in 'Mech scale and in roughly 1/48 scale for the MechWarrior roleplaying game. The 'Mech scale Elementals are tiny (a Point of five can fit onto a quarter), but after I bought a pack of those, I decided I wanted a bigger one just to paint up for me.
This Elemental isn't supposed to belong to any particular Clan (though Clan Wolf's are usually painted overall dark gray). I painted parts of it in steel for contrast, and added some "running lights" and recognition stripes in international orange. I bought this mini in 1991, and sadly it's taken a beating in quite a few moves to and fro college since them, so the flamethrower I had attached to the right arm has disappeared. Oh well--losing a weapon is not going to keep an Elemental down!
Clan Elemental
During the Clan Invasion of 3050, one of the most terrifying opponents Inner Sphere MechWarriors ran into was the "Toad." These eight-foot monsters would literally leap into battle, fastening themselves onto BattleMechs and tearing them apart like a swarm of armored locusts, and could shrug off multiple hits from anything but the largest weapons before going down. Only later did the Inner Sphere learn that the Toads were actually called Elementals by their foes, and had human beings inside of them, rather than being some sort of alien life form.
The Elemental came about from experimental diving suits made for the often hostile worlds of the Clans. Clan Goliath Scorpion had originally designed the suits--roughly analogous to the JIM deep-water diving suits of the 20th Century--but Clan Wolf saw martial potential in them. With added armor, a jump-pack, and weapons, the suits could be used on the battlefield--and finally give foot infantry a chance against BattleMechs. The only problem the Wolves ran into was that the suits were so heavy that, even with mechanical assistance, they were almost impossible to move. Clan Hell's Horses had the solution to that: they had been experimenting with genetically-altered infantry that were larger and stronger than normal humans. Putting these genetically-altered warriors into the suits was the perfect solution, and the Elemental was born.
As a single suit, the Elemental is at a disadvantage, but when deployed in a Point of five suits or a Star of 25, they are deadly. Elementals have enough armor that they can survive direct hits from anything up to a large laser and still be combat effective. Should the armor be penetrated and the warrior wounded, the suit will seal the breach with rubberlike HarJel and inject the warrior with powerful painkillers to keep them in the fight. For weapons, the Elemental also packs a formidable punch, with a single-shot SRM-2 missile pack, and a variety of arm weapons: usually small lasers are carried, but these can be swapped with machine guns or flamethrowers for use against infantry or tanks. As a fallback weapon, the Elemental can always use their powerful claw to tear off armor plate. Elementals' only real drawback is their lack of speed: they can barely run 30 meters at a sprint, or jump 120 meters, so a smart MechWarrior--assuming they're in a fast enough 'Mech--can simply outrun them and pick off Elementals at range.
To be able to maneuver the heavy suit, Elementals are genetically-engineered and bred solely for that job. As a result, their average height tends to be between 6'5" and 7 feet tall, with a weight of about 230-250 pounds--all of it muscle. Though their reputation as hulking brutes leads to a tendency for other Clan warriors to see Elementals as slow, mentally and physically, the truth is very much the opposite. Both male and female Elementals are bred for the Clans' constant warfare, between each other and the Inner Sphere, and though the latter are used to them now, the sight of hundreds of "Toads" leaping into combat is still a sobering one.
(Back in the real world...)
I was lucky to get into FASA's Battletech wargame just as the "Invasion of the Clans" story arc began in 1990. I fell in love with the game and still enjoy playing it almost 30 years later! Ral Partha, who at that time owned the license for Battletech's miniatures line, produced Elementals in 'Mech scale and in roughly 1/48 scale for the MechWarrior roleplaying game. The 'Mech scale Elementals are tiny (a Point of five can fit onto a quarter), but after I bought a pack of those, I decided I wanted a bigger one just to paint up for me.
This Elemental isn't supposed to belong to any particular Clan (though Clan Wolf's are usually painted overall dark gray). I painted parts of it in steel for contrast, and added some "running lights" and recognition stripes in international orange. I bought this mini in 1991, and sadly it's taken a beating in quite a few moves to and fro college since them, so the flamethrower I had attached to the right arm has disappeared. Oh well--losing a weapon is not going to keep an Elemental down!