136 replies to this topic

[Fearful]

Cause Davion is boring.

[KalebFenoir]

Pretty much the same as OP, though for less specific reasons.

I looked at the Houses, and realized that while Davion and Steiner are real powerhouses (I had to search Sarna.net to find a mech that didn't have its design yards in either location), I had no interest in them. Kurita is nice, but I was never that fond of Kurita mechs while I was playing, unlike one of my friends who insisted on having one or two in his inventory.

Sad to say, I completely discounted Rasalhague, based on the fact they only had a few worlds left after the invasion, even into Twilight of the Clans, and had no real industrial base for designing new mechs (I could not find a single mech with a 'built in FRR' on it. Most were Kurita or Fed-Com bought designs)

I absolutely discounted Liao just because I really didn't like House Liao in the novels. I always felt Sun Tzu and his relatives should have been punished harder long ago, and these days equate them with House Lannister from Game of Thrones. (I know this isn't fair to Liao fans, but I'm not trying to insult the house, just explaining my choice. Liao DID come up with some nice designs)

So I looked at Marik and realized that here was a House that was very powerful in terms of industrial base and the mechs it created (to the point of being used by the other houses as a kind of brute-force approach at mech building), and had some designs I liked. While the Marik line does run the House, I got the impression that they were only in power because people wanted them there, not because they were royalty born to it, and thought they deserved it. I kind of liked that.

Looking around the MWO matches, I also saw a distinct lack of Mariks playing. Every 5 rounds, I might see two or three...but I'll see dozens of Davion, Steiner and Kuritas. Even FRR had more representation than Marik.

I've always been one for the underdog, even when the underdog isn't really that.

Also, Marik's design trend is for mechs with more energy-based platforms than solids, which appeals to me greatly.

So... added up, that clinched it for me. Marik.

[Kraven Kor]

Well, House Marik Nobility was actually centralizing power for quite some time when the Clans arrived, so not everything about the Marik-named folks was rainbows and cake for all.

Battletech did very well at not having any cookie-cutter factions of "Good Guys vs. Bad Guys." Everyone had their own agenda and their own sense of morality or ethics.

That is one of the aspects of the setting and lore that I always found to be a step above most anime or other fantasy / role-playing stuff; actual believable characters and factions and less black-and-white morality.

[CyclonerM]

Kraven Kor, on 23 October 2013 - 10:11 AM, said:

Well, House Marik Nobility was actually centralizing power for quite some time when the Clans arrived, so not everything about the Marik-named folks was rainbows and cake for all.

Battletech did very well at not having any cookie-cutter factions of "Good Guys vs. Bad Guys."

Besides the Davions.

[Joseph Mallan]

CyclonerM, on 23 October 2013 - 10:33 AM, said:

Besides the Davions.

Davion's used Mercs as cannon fodder when needed to protect their house units health. Other than that what was wrong with 'em?

[CyclonerM]

Joseph Mallan, on 23 October 2013 - 10:50 AM, said:

Davion's used Mercs as cannon fodder when needed to protect their house units health. Other than that what was wrong with 'em?

That is the point. Other than that and the fact Hanse Davion started a new bloody Succession War, with Victor the Davions become the good guys. Victor himself is almost as modest as Kai, hates injustice, choices to not fight when he can, defeats the Clans and becomes the hero of the Inner Sphere.. The "no good guy rule" does not convince me very much after Victor

Do not get it wrong, i like Victor and his friends Phelan, Kai & Hoiro, this just seems to be the classic group of heros you see in most of the cartoons

[JTAlweezy]

because in the lore of battletech its the only true republic. No dictatorship bs

[Aym]

Except it's run as a dictatorship focused on money to not upset the Mary-Sue nature of the particular story's hero, since it's never a Marikan.

[AnotherOne]

Basically it comes down to the other choices:

- Liaos are just plain crazy (okay, Sun-Tzu later turns out not to be, but still)
- Kuritas are too focused on honor (I **** up too much )
- Davions... other than the whole fourth succession war-thingy I feel this is where I'd guess most {Noble MechWarriors} tend to
- Steiners... while up to Melissa they seem half-decent, her daughter completely galled them for me

Which leaves the FRR and Marik. I'll be honest, I don't have half a clue what the FRR is about other than they used to be with the Combine. This combined with the sympathy I feel for the not-quite Marik-family led to my decision and thus, here I am.


[e: just using this opportunity, to congratulate the forum on their filter. I love it ]

Edited by AnotherOne, 30 October 2013 - 10:57 PM.

[Odanan]

As a player, I chose to have a character born in FWL because they are not mainstream (like the Davions, which get all the kiddos), they are multicultural (less Anglo-American centered), they are less stereotyped (like the Kuritan and Liao are), they are not feudalistic and they have very solid mech designs.

Purple is not my color, tough.

[Voivode]

Because the guys in the 25th Marik Militia are worst best people to drop with.

[NocturnalBeast]

Voivode, on 30 October 2013 - 06:58 AM, said:

Because the guys in the 25th Marik Militia are worst best people to drop with.

Yeah, the guys in the 25th are pretty cool, but you should come back to the FWLM TS more often and hang out with the rest of the cool Mariks.

[Adridos]

Odanan, on 30 October 2013 - 04:30 AM, said:

Purple is not my color, tough.

Actually, purple is a pretty rad color. If used properly, of course, but that applies to every color in existence... some are just easier to get right (like black, which goes with almost anything).







... although, yes, the purple was "The reason" why I didn't go for Marik back in the day. Hey, at least I've got to try something different (since Marik are more in line with the factions I associate myself in games, rather than crazy green Asians ) for a change.

[Nathan Bloodguard]

One reason. Knights of the Inner Sphere!

Oh and my brother is Davion.

[AntiSqueaker]

Because I'm dedicated to liberating the hell out of some poor unenlightened plebians.

[Voivode]

Ed Steele, on 30 October 2013 - 07:13 AM, said:

Yeah, the guys in the 25th are pretty cool, but you should come back to the FWLM TS more often and hang out with the rest of the cool Mariks.

HA! For sure man, for sure

[Oboseala]

Same as Odwalla, I'm Romanian and I love my language.
Also, I like to choose my own battles.

[Kai Lae]

Why Marik? Because it's fun. While I joined well before I heard the story I'll relate to you, I think it's true from what I've seen. I was on NGNG during a marik monday madness when someone mentioned that one of the guys who ran it had given his assesment of the houses. I can't recall what he said about steiner and FRR but I remember these:

"Davions are about control - they are very regimented and inflexible. Liao is crazy, with goon antics (good or bad depending on your point of view). Marik? They're all about fun. They could care less about anything as long as they have fun doing it."

If you're looking for a house, you could do worse than ours.

[Kai Lae]

Adridos, on 30 October 2013 - 07:18 AM, said:

Actually, purple is a pretty rad color. If used properly, of course, but that applies to every color in existence... some are just easier to get right (like black, which goes with almost anything).



... although, yes, the purple was "The reason" why I didn't go for Marik back in the day. Hey, at least I've got to try something different (since Marik are more in line with the factions I associate myself in games, rather than crazy green Asians ) for a change.

Above colorscheme is that of every unit in the marik militia, the main combat force of the FLWM. Purple with blue highlights on one side and red on the other. Unfortunately you can't get it just right in MWO but you can get close, and it looks good

[Iskareot]

Kraven Kor, on 11 October 2013 - 03:11 PM, said:

The only table-top campaign I ever did where faction and such mattered was a Mechwarrior Mercenaries campaign where we started as a House Marik hired merc unit and then got hired on to a periphery job that ended up being the beginning of the clan invasion.

As such, it was / is the only house I really know much about lore-wise, thus the only house I have any real knowledge about or "allegiance to."

This -- pretty much the game and the lore... plus it just seemed right to carry over into the game.