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. This also saved the design from having its original specs become LosTech like several other 'Mechs, though some of its League-era variants would meet that fate. 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 - One of the 31st-century StarCorp variants, this one for the Capellan Confederation and their Shadow Lances. This 3067 'Mech completely overhauls the Warhammer to be a sneaky fucker. It now uses an XL Engine, Double Heat Sinks, and Stealth Armor, while its weapons are now two ER PPCs, four Medium Pulse Lasers, and a Streak SRM-6.
• WHM-5L - Another Capellan variation introduced in 3081, though this one is in-house. The 5L utilizes plasma rifles in place of PPCs, three ER medium lasers, and a Streak SRM-4 launcher. However, the most important addition was 5 Improved Jump Jets allowing it to rocket across the battlefield with a 150-meter jump range.
• WHM-6D - A Federated Suns-favored alternate loadout introduced in 2835, this variant of the standard 6R ditches the machine guns and SRM-6 launcher in favor of 4 more tons of armor, reinforced legs, and two more heat sinks.
• WHM-6K - Another 6R mod, this time common to the Draconis Combine. It simply removes the machine guns and their ammo in favor of two more heat sinks. This was explicitly done in order to make the Warhammer's PPCs more efficient.
• WHM-6L - Yet another Capellan variant, but much older than the first two above. It swapped the Machine Guns for Flamers, earning the 6L the nickname of the "Hot Hammer".
• WHM-6Rb - A Star League-era Warhammer used by the SLDF Royal units. No weapon changes for this one - instead, this 2599 variant upgraded to use 17 double heat sinks and ferro-fibrous armor, as well as an Artemis IV fire control system.
• WHM-6Rk - A Combine variant that's also from the days of the Star League. It uses an XL Engine and 15 double heat sinks, and has 13 tons of armor. This weight reduction brings its top speed to an abnormally high for its weight 86 km/h.
• WHM-7A - An upgraded 6Rb also used by the SLDF Royal units during the time of the First Star League. Its internal structure is now Endo Steel, and it now uses 16 double heat sinks instead of 18 standard ones. It's PPCs are upgraded to have extended range, and the SRM-6 had an Artemis IV FC installed. The machine guns and small lasers, meanwhile, are swapped for two Small Pulse Lasers and two more Medium Lasers.
• 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

Bigger, sleeker, and Dakka-ier. STILL IZN'T ENUFF!

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. Now weighing 80 tons, the beefier Warhammer IIC is built upon an SFX-80 Endo Steel chassis, powered by a Type 10 320 standard fusion engine (giving a top speed of 65 km/h), and protected by 12 tons of Forging ZM15 Ferro-Fibrous armor - protection that lets it stand up to even 100-ton Assault 'Mechs. Comms are provided by a TDWS-37 Mk 2.2 and targeting/tracking by a "Hermes" CT-44. Finally, 20 double heat sinks are more than enough to keep everything nice and chill.

This gets traded out for losing the Rugged(2) and Ubiquitous design quirks of its Inner Sphere counterpart.

• Warhammer IIC 1
• Warhammer IIC 2
• Warhammer IIC 3
• Warhammer IIC 4
• Warhammer IIC 5
• Warhammer IIC 6
• Warhammer IIC 7
• Warhammer IIC 8
• Warhammer IIC 9
• Warhammer IIC 10
• Warhammer IIC 11
• Warhammer IIC 12
• Warhammer IIC 13

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.