Editing The Clans (section)

== Clan Military ==
Each Clan has it's own military collectively called a Touman. They share some common practices and conventions laid out by Nicholas Kerensky, but within said boundaries each Clan is free to set up their forces more or less as they see fit, and usually each does according to their Clan's ouvre. Of course, what makes the Clans so dangerous regardless of their individual affiliation is their [[OmniMech]]s, which were often lightyears ahead in terms of modular design and technological strength of the Inner Sphere's BattleMechs. On top of that, their tendency of using jump-jet equipped power armored infantry piggybacking off of their OmniMechs enabled them to have swarms of MEQ’s either ripping vehicles or bunkers when BattletMech use would be deemed overkill.

But while they hold a technological edge, where the Clans falter greatly is in tactical strength. Most Clan warfare prior to the invasion was limited to the honor-bound, extremely skirmish-heavy battles fought between each other where both sides showed up, told each other what they'd be fighting with, and often fighting only in significant duels. All this was supplemented with a heavy emphasis on Mech warfare (or whatever hat the individual Clan wears), a massive culture-wide bias against intelligence gathering due to it being "dishonorable", and what the Zellbringen code allows; which meant they often plopped only the bare minimum of assets down to complete their missions as a personal dare to win with as little as possible. While in theory this is done to both minimize casualties and keep valuable resources alive and working for the Clan to use, the simple fact of the matter is Clanner warfare is continually hamstrung by itself; The Inner Sphere Successor States are under absolutely no delusions about war being an honorable thing, and were able to effectively fracture their entire society by daring to be cute with their own ideas of warfare, coming to one of the harshest wake-up calls they ever got in the Battle of Tukayyid, and any gains they took from the Inner Sphere from the initial invasion almost immediately began to crumble as their attitudes towards their new subjects ultimately plopped them into a series of guerilla wars, something utterly alien to them. Some Clans wised up and decided to try and learn something from this, others have yet to understand why things happened the way they did and returned to the Periphery.

The Clans tend to organize themselves depending on their culture, but generally speaking have their own military structure. Unlike the Inner Sphere which uses the traditional "chain of command", "grunt to general" approach, the Clans do not necessarily have an officer system by the traditional method. Every Warrior is considered roughly the same until you get to the Point Commander rank, at which point traditional methods kick back in, but even so the relationship is much less formal. In contrast to the Inner Sphere's "Base Four" or ComStar's "Base Six" system, every part of the Clan Touman is organized into a "Base Five" system, which organizes everything into even groups of five.

The Clan Toumans are (typically) organized into:
* Point: 1 Mech, 2 Tanks, 5 Elementals or 25 Regular Infantry. Commanded by a Point Commander/MechWarrior.
* Star: 5 Points. Considered the "base" unit of Clan warfare. Most Stars are all of one combat role, as mixed Stars tend to do poorly. Commanded by a Star Commander.
** Nova: combined arms Stars (between a Star and a Binary in size) that have to be trained extra rigorously to be competitive. Commanded by a Nova Commander.
* Binary: 2 Stars. The point at which Combined Arms becomes feasible. Either they or a Trinary is commanded by a Star Captain.
** Trinary: expanded variant with 3 Stars. If they're the Khan's personal bodyguard unit, they're called a Keshik.
** Super Nova: combined arms Binaries or Trinaries. Commanded by a Nova Captain.
* Cluster: 3-5 Binaries. Commanded by Star Colonels. Among Clan Sea Fox, they’re called Aimags commanded by OvKhans.
* Galaxy: 3-5 Clusters, plus an extra Trinary for Command. Commanded by either Galaxy Commanders, the LoreMaster, or either the Khan or SaKhan. Generally a logistical designation because the process of Clan warfare bidding down typically ensures that Galaxies will only ever be deployed rarely. Among Clan Sea Fox, they’re called Khanates commanded by SaKhans. 

===== Notable 'Mechs =====

Due to the fact that they showed up out of nowhere unannounced besides a few Batchalls, Clan Battlemechs have both official names and Inner Sphere code names. The following "original sixteen" are the most common frontline OmniMechs used in the invasion, and found in most Clans' toumans:

* '''''IIC BattleMechs''''' - As the Clans never lost their technology, they continued to develop and evolve the Star League-era 'Mechs into stronger and deadlier versions. Curiously, by the time of the Clan Invasion, these were considered obsolete by Clanners due to them lacking the modularity of OmniMechs, and were not used in the frontlines with a few exceptions. While less versatile than OmniMechs, they're more than a match for most Spheroid designs; a lesson many Spheroids learned the hard way when they tried raiding Clan territory behind the front lines.
** '''''Hunchback IIC''''' - Basically a suicide weapon for ''solahma'' (old) and/or ''dezgra'' (disgraced) MechWarriors, which is the source of their Bad Reputation among the Clanners. Compared to the normal Hunchback, they have two AC/20s instead of one (and the IIC has ULTRA ACs, which can fire twice as fast as a normal AC), allowing them to hit as hard as a ''King Crab'' while having only six tons of armor, making them dangerous glass cannons.
** '''''Conjurer/Hellhound/Wolverine IIC''''' - The evolution of the SLDF's ''Wolverine II'', with a different name to avoid mentioning the Not-Named Clan. It's quite versatile for longer battles thanks to its mostly energy arsenal.
* '''''[[Timber Wolf|Timber Wolf/Mad Cat]]''''' - The Clanners' most famous 'Mech. Actually quite a preposterously expensive thing, but the fact it can blast it's way through Assault 'Mechs makes it a favorite. It's Inner Sphere name comes from their targeting computers being incapable of deciding whether or not it's a ''Marauder'' or a ''Catapult'', and so flashed MAD CAT over and over whenever it showed up. Developed (and produced exclusively) by Clan Wolf, though most other Clans acquired them by trade or salvage during the century leading up to the invasion.
* '''''[[Mad Dog|Mad Dog/Vulture/Hagetaka]]''''' - The Clan's OTHER most famous 'Mech.  Basically the Timber Wolf's leaner, scrappy little brother, resembling the Inner Sphere's Archer. Follows the same basic concept of shoulder mounted missiles and arm mounted energy guns, but has a little more pod space in exchange for a lighter chassis and armor. Can hot-swap the LRMs for an absurd number of SRMs, [[What|or its entire loadout for a pair of Gauss Rifles]]. First built by Clan Smoke Jaguar but most popular with the Ghost Bears.
* '''''[[Summoner (BattleTech)|Summoner/Thor]]''''' - The Summoner fills the unusual role of being a heavy 'Mech that sacrifices weaponry for mobility, generally giving up redundancy in its weapons in order to carry jump jets and maintain a flexible loadout with less capacity.  The result is a 'Mech that's pretty good at moving in fast and bullying things smaller than itself, but doesn't want to tangle with assault class stuff unless it has weight of numbers; not because it doesn't have the armor (see the Hellbringer and Executioner) but because it doesn't bring [[dakka|enough guns]]. Resembles the Inner Sphere's Thunderbolt. The favorite 'Mech of Clan Jade Falcon.
* '''''Hellbringer/Loki''''' - A glass cannon, carrying a versatile array of weaponry at the cost of having laughably weak armor for a heavy 'Mech. Its primary configuration resembles the Inner Sphere's Warhammer, with twin ER PPCs in the arms mated to a targeting computer, backup lasers and anti-infantry weapons. The other favorite mech of Clan Jade Falcon.
* '''''[[Dire Wolf (BattleTech)|Dire Wolf/Daishi]]''''' - The last word in mech-to-mech encounters. Where the Summoner is happy being a schoolyard bully and the Hellbringer is minmaxed for DPS, the Dire Wolf is just one huge chungus that simply does not care what the enemy brought.  100 tons, unapologetically slow, with an absurd amount of firepower and armor, this is the ultimate assault mech. Barring a lucky headshot this mech will outlast and crush anything you throw its way; underestimate it at your own peril. This is the mech every Mechwarrior dreams of piloting, and many important figures(Natasha Kerensky, Victor Steiner-Davion, Hohiro Kurita) design their own(even stronger) custom variants. This design was fought over between Clan Wolf and Clan Smoke Jaguar and also produced secretly on Outreach by Wolf's Dragoons.
* '''''Executioner/Gladiator''''' - A strange take on the concept of an Assault Mech. At 95 tons it can mount a lot of equipment, but focuses on mobility through jump jets and MASC. As the downside to this, it has anemic side torso armor, meaning it gets cut in half whenever faced with any real attrition. But as an upside, its speed and good leg armor make it a great Elemental transport, and carrying Elementals can help guard its side torsos... sadly most of its configurations have long range weapons while Elementals need to be brought in close. The stereotypical Ghost Bear omnimech.
* '''''[[Warhawk|Warhawk/Masakari]]''''' - Pure evil, bringing this to a friendly game will turn some heads. Heavily armored, average speed, the classic Warhawk carries [[Rape|FOUR CLAN ER PPCS]] in its arms, mercilessly vaporizing limbs and heads of anyone unfortunate to be caught in its sights. If that isn't enough, every variant carries a massive Targeting Computer, essentially giving the pilot an aimbot. A common variant swaps two ER PPCs for Large Pulse Lasers, allowing it to better manage its heat while firing with even greater accuracy. One of Clan Smoke Jaguar's signature designs.
* '''''Gargoyle/Man o'War''''' - The infamous SpurdoMech is somewhat of an unusual design, an assault mech that moves above its weight class but has (relatively) weak leg armor. Its Prime also has the misfortune of having ballistic weapons yet too many heat sinks, its twin LB5X autocannons forcing it squarely into an anti-vehicle role. Its lack of torso weapons and its speed make it a good Elemental transport and Clan Wolf builds them in large numbers: however overall it is weaker than the lighter Timber Wolf (unless mech quirks are in play). Also somewhat popular with Clan Ghost Bear. (apparently the weird configuration works well under specialized Clan duel rules)
* '''''Stormcrow/Ryoken''''' - The close combat star of the clan mediums, usually packing fists and lasers although sometimes fitted for long range.  At 97 km/h it's faster than everything it can't take down.  Doesn't get much time in the spotlight compared to its slower, heavier cousin the Mad Dog, but it comes from the same family of flexible second-gen omnimechs.  A workhorse design for many Clans but most popular with the Smoke Jaguars.  
* '''''Nova/Black Hawk''''' - One of the oldest OmniMech designs still in use, the Nova is uncommon yet universal among the Clans as a medium mech that can (briefly) throw dakka like mechs 20 tons heavier than itself. Infamous for running HOT with TWELVE ER Medium Lasers, the king of alpha strikes. Also has a PPC sniper variant which is quite good, and a couple configurations that try to pack ballistic weapons and missiles despite the fixed heat sinks.  
* '''''Ice Ferret/Fenris''''' - A swift yet well armored scout that can do some sniping to boot. Originally built as a harasser to counter the Timber Wolf, Clan Wolf liked it enough to capture a factory and started producing it themselves. Now is a ubiquitous sight in their touman.
* '''''Viper/Dragonfly''''' - A fast jumper, often described (incorrectly) as lacking punch. [[Cheese|Known for being one of the first mechs to combine jumping 8 hexes (extremely hard to be hit) with pulse lasers (extremely easy to hit the enemy).]] A great Elemental transport and infantry killer popular with the Ghost Bears and Wolves.
* '''''[[Adder|Adder/Puma]]''''' - The largest of the Clans' ubiquitous light OmniMechs is a bit of an oddity. While not particularly fast for a light mech, it carries a pair of ER PPCs with a targeting computer, making it a true sniper. As an OmniMech, it can switch to being a gnarly missile boat in an hour or two. Most often found among Clan Wolf (though the Fenris fits the scout role of a light mech better).
* '''''Kit Fox/Uller''''' - Similar to the Adder in most respects, though lighter armored, the Kit Fox tends to carry a more balanced assortment of weapons in its variants, rather than boating one thing in particular. Except for the EW/anti-infantry variant, which happens to have a whopping three anti-missile systems. Recently canonized as having a dedicated Arrow IV variant(read: a guided, auto-loading cruise missile launcher), meaning it can be equipped with [[Exterminatus|nuclear weapons]]. Unsurprising, given that it is produced by Clan Jade Falcon.
* '''''Mist Lynx/Koshi''''' - A 25 ton dedicated scout OmniMech packing more weapons than its Inner Sphere equivalents, but nothing special as far as Clan mechs go. [[Derp|Infamous for having one less jump jet than needed to be truly evasive, putting nearly half its torso armor on its rear facing, while fully armoring the head]]. Used by Clan Smoke Jaguar in the rare OOC instance that they attempt reconnaissance.
* '''''Fire Moth/Dasher''''' - [[Meme|GOTTA GO FAST]]. A derpy little machine with arms that stretch high above its head, and speed that far exceeds anything the Inner Sphere thought a BattleMech could be capable of. It still manages to have more guns than Inner Sphere mechs twice its size, too- Clan tech is just that powerful. Surprisingly the light mech of choice for Clan Ghost Bear, which actually makes a lot of sense: the Clan that prefers Elementals and plays American Football loves a mech that runs up and flings the battle armor overhand at the enemy.