Warhammer (BattleTech)

This page is for the 'Mech from BattleTech. If you are looking for the page about the weapon (and Geedubs' various games under that name), please see Warhammer.

Natasha Kerensky's Warhammer from her days as a Dragoon - arguably the most famous Warhammer in the setting.

The WHM-6R Warhammer is one of the most iconic BattleMechs ever put out by BattleTech. How iconic, you ask? Well, it both was the cover 'Mech all the way back when the game was BattleDroids and is considered the Heavy 'Mech of the setting.

Overview

The Warhammer was rolled out in 2515 by StarCorps Industries with the intent of the 'Mech being an absolute menace to other 'Mechs of the same or lower weight class. It achieved this using balls-to-the-wall firepower while making itself hard to kill by being relatively heavy-armored. Needless to say, it did its job and went on to practically define its weight class. Back in the heyday of the Star League, it was both a mainstay of their Defense Force and one of the 'Mechs selected for the Gunslinger Program.

After the collapse of the League brought everything to shit due to the Succession Wars, the Warhammer remained a mainstay since the factories to make it were still prevalent across the Inner Sphere, though the rate of production was a shadow of what it once was. And of course, it underwent a downgrade for a while due to the original specs becoming LosTech like almost everything else made in the era of the Star League. Eventually, the Helm Memory Core would allow the Warhammer to regain its former glory, especially after the Clan Invasion made StarCorps get off their asses and start producing significant numbers of the 'Mech again, this time making variants for each of the major Successor States.

Of course, the 'Mech is also found in the Periphery, with some Periphery powers making their own variants of the 'Mech. And The Clans get their own lineage in the form of IIC variants, based on OG Warhammers brought with them during Kerensky's Exodus and going up a weight class.

Specs

Weighing in at a chunky 70 tons, the Warhammer sits at the upper limit of the Heavy size class - any heavier and it'd be an Assault 'Mech. It's built on a StarCorp 100 chassis and powered by a VOX 280 fusion engine, the latter of which allows the 'Mech to reach a top speed of 64.8 kilometers per hour. This is in spite of its heavy protection of 10 tons of Leviathon Plus armor. The Warhammer is also noted as having an O/P 3000 COMSET communications system that, while dated by the 31st Century, is still considered reliable enough for the Mech to be able to assume a command role. An O/P 1500 ARB provides targeting and tracking, which is supported by a spotlight mounted on the left shoulder which made the 'Mech adept at night fighting. Finally, 18 single heat sinks are the standard cooling package that keeps a Mechwarrior from being microwaved by its own waste heat.

Armament

The standard loadout of a Warhammer as intended by the Star League focused on being an all-rounder of a damage dealer. For its main weapons, a pair of arm-mounted Donal PPCs were mounted for long-range shredding of other 'Mechs. When fired in unison, the resulting damage was basically like if you were hit by an Autocannon/20 that somehow could nail you from dozens of meters away. For CQC it relies on two Martell Medium Lasers and two Magna Small Lasers, as well as a Holly SRM-6 launcher on the right shoulder which was fed by 1 ton of missiles within the right side of its torso. Finally, anti-infantry was provided by two Sperry Browning Machine Guns mounted on each side of the torso with one ton of HMG ammo split between them stored in the center of said torso.

Design Quirks

In terms of crunch, a Warhammer has the design quirks of being Rugged(2) (not needing maintenance nearly as often as other 'Mechs do), having a Searchlight as previously mentioned, being Stable (needing more force for a melee attack to knock it down), and Ubiquitous (since factories to make parts for it are still prevalent, swapping a blown-out PPC is relatively easy).

Variants

Since the Warhammer's one of the oldest 'Mechs around both in-universe and out, it's accrued a long list of alternate loadouts over the years. Also, something to note is that a Warhammer variant's numerical designation does not reflect what iteration it is chronologically unlike some other 'Mech designations.

• WHM-4L
• WHM-5L
• WHM-6D
• WHM-6K
• WHM-6L
• WHM-6Rb
• WHM-6Rk
• WHM-7A
• WHM-7CS
• WHM-7K
• WHM-7M
• WHM-7M-DC
• WHM-7S
• WHM-8D
• WHM-8D2
• WHM-8K
• WHM-8M
• WHM-8R
• WHM-9D
• WHM-9K
• WHM-9S
• WHD-10CT
• WHM-10K
• WHM-10T
• WHM-11T
• Warhammer C
• Warhammer C 2
• Warhammer C 3
• Dual Cockpit refits

Warhammer IIC

The Clans, when presented with the challenge of updating the aging Warhammer, decided to have their Warhammer variants cross the weight line and become outright Assault 'Mechs capable of going toe-to-toe with the biggest boys.

• Warhammer IIC 1
• Warhammer IIC 2
• Warhammer IIC 3

Gallery

• 

  Where it all began. (Also Unseen since the design is pretty blatantly "borrowed" from Destroid with dubious legality. And let's not get started with the original name...)

• 

  A Warhammer headlining a squad of 'Mechs.