51 replies to this topic

[RL Nice]

Being relatively new to BattleTech lore, I'm making my way through the universe-related sourcebooks right now (I'm currently on 20 Year Update), and I haven't gotten anywhere near the ***** part of the timeline yet. So can someone please explain to me why exactly everyone seems to hate the Word of Blake so much?

I asked elsewhere and I was told it was because of the morally reprehensible things they've done. But that doesn't make sense, because there's lots of villains out there who've done morally reprehensible things (i.e. the Joker, the Galactic Emperor and Lord Voldemort) who are quite popular. After all, villains are supposed to be morally repulsive. I was thinking that the idea of religious fanatics conflicted thematically with previous BattleTech lore, but I can be sure without one of you insightful fellas confirming it for me.

[LogicalTightRope]

I'm not brushed up on that section of the lore either, but it seems to me that they're just fanatics with a skewed viewpoint and messed-up cause. It seems like there's no reason to like them - and as far as narrative characters go, that's what you need: a reason to like them, not a reason to dislike them. Voldemort and the Joker are both great and rather deep characters on top of their moral wrongs.

As far as hating that part of the Battletech timeline, I suppose it could be because ComStar just so happens to have a huge stock of 'mechs that they decide to bring out just now and is never mentioned before, which seems like a weak story link in my opinion.

Also, using nukes in lieu of giant walking tanks isn't only morally questionable; it's just an uncool replacement to rocking and socking in battlemechs.

Edited by LogicalTightRope, 30 September 2012 - 03:47 PM.

[Vassago Rain]

They nuke and virus bomb people.

[Lightdragon]

weak story plus what wizkids decided to do with the franchise just made the wobbies ruin it imho... tharkad being a nuclear sinkhole, mount davion being nuked to the point of collapsing into rubble, thomas marik being revealed as a comstar operative and thefree wrolds league splitting back into its various dutchies oh and then of course theres the 2 words that make every battletech fan want to lynch people DARK AGE

[Claw55]

Seriously, the Dark Age is the worst thing ever to happen to the franchise.

Edited by Claw55, 30 September 2012 - 03:51 PM.

[Gun Bear]

The Wobbies destroyed Wolfs Dragoons (and Outreach which was the governing body that made sure mercs got fair contracts), nuked several major worlds into utter oblivion, and all but destroyed Terra (Earth) with the afermantioned nukes rather than surrender. The war they start (for no real discernable reasons) splinters the entire Inner Sphere irrrevokably and rather than spread enlightenment begins the Dark Age that essentially ruined the franchise for most fans.

[Lightdragon]

wobbies basicly took every bit of lore in the battletech universe and ruined it so wizkids had a new franchise they could use with shiny new units and characters though i will admit some of their omni designs looked just plain sexy not to mention were close to unkillable as long as the pilot didnt fall flat on his *** (archangel)

Edited by Lightdragon, 30 September 2012 - 03:59 PM.

[Exilyth]

Indeed. Wizkids jumping into the future, disregarding the whole history so far and rolling out the dark ages with tech that wasn't explained as thoroughly as the rest of the BTU was not well received at the time.

A reason was needed for there being less mechs in the dark age, so the "Jee had" was later added to patch up the gaping hole between the fed com civil war and the dark ages. Which was basically "lol, word of blake is a bunch of fanatics lunatics".

Edited by Exilyth, 30 September 2012 - 03:59 PM.

[RedDragon]

The WoB is basically Battletech's Al-Qaida.
And no one likes Al-Qaida.

[Joachim Viltry]

Really it's just how things were bridged to bring the current storyline up to meet the dark age storyline. the books didnt do a good job of this from a literary perspective, on top of the story itself ticking off long time fans (destroy locations/units much loved by players to bridge things to a storyline noone liked? CHECK).

frankly i felt the whole dark age debackle should have been handled the same way the animated seris was - tell us it's in universe entertainment and not really cannon as anythign buit that. the blakests just get some residual hate for their in-story participation in these poorly concieved story events. (also for being toaster worshiping moonbats).

[RagingOyster]

Religious super-fanatics that use WMDs on civilian population centers? What is not to love?

[Lightdragon]

oh and theres also devlin stone a character that had no past and no explanation and after foundiung the republic made a mysterious disappearance i still think he was arthur steiner-davion since he died in a bombing on the same planet stone originated on but was never found

[Rorik Thrumsalr]

What everone else said. Some had been forshadowed years before (like St. Jamais being an evil psycopathic mass murduring (*&^(*&%$%^ and Thomas Marik {the real one} being the head of WOB) + things like re-education/concentration camps, ********, the works.

(really? Gen-o-cide is blocked?)

Edited by Rorik Jorgensson, 30 September 2012 - 04:09 PM.

[Dirus Nigh]

The thing about the Word of Blake uprising is that it has been apart of the battletech plot line for years. The problem with the plot line is that it was implemented before it was originally intended. This is what I learned from reading other forums about the topic who had people "in the know" as it were.

Basically the dark age time line was jumped to so wizkids or who ever could separate themselves from the established setting. Basically it was a reboot so it could market the clicky tech crap. It kind of backfired. However it is established canon.

So the WOB ***** was going to happen any way. It was just fast tracked for marketing. The result is that the events are not logical under the time that is given for them to play out.

[RL Nice]

So they are hated for their in-universe actions. I guess pulling crap like destroying Wolf's Dragoons (they really did that?) would be a huge blow to their popularity.

The rest of the gist I'm getting is that they're poorly written (i.e. it seemed as if many plot developments involving them seemed as it they were pulled out the the writers' nether regions), for being associated with the Dark Age, and for being a arbitrary bridge to take the current setting into said Dark Age.

[Gun Bear]

Basically the Wobbies are hated because they are cartoonishly evil fanatics with no real reason or motives for what they do in the game universe.

[Skye Storm]

Why you go hating the dark age, I found the clix to be fun...

[shameless]

The WOB got all the supertech toys that the other factions could only DREAM of. They Exceeded EVERYONE technologically, though not numerically. They prosecuted a war against everyone at once, and for the better part of ten years were winning. where the loss was too costly to use conventional forces they used nukes, or biological weapons. Their warship fleet was second to none, as they captured or turned dozens of ships. They possessed secret knowledge of every major house, though most of all Marik. They used this information to brutal ruthless effect, and were their approach abit more focused, they would have really stood a solid chance of reestablishing the Terran hegemony under blakist rule.

If they hand pushed abit harder, they would have been able to break down everything, but then they suffered their own factional infighting, buying everyone else the chance to band together under the Aegis of the Deus Ex Machina known as Devlin Stone who could do no wrong and suffer no defeat.

[Adridos]

Skye Storm, on 30 September 2012 - 06:41 PM, said:

Why you go hating the dark age, I found the clix to be fun...

We're getting a new era next year, muhahahah. Hopefully better than DA.

[DerMaulwurf]

Skye Storm, on 30 September 2012 - 06:41 PM, said:

Why you go hating the dark age, I found the clix to be fun...

It just made the hole ***** story line necessary. That's enough reason to hate.