The BLR-1D variant of the BattleMaster was introduced by the Federated Suns at the beginning of the Third Succession War. It was designed to trade away some of the firepower of the BLR-1G in exchange for more survivability.
The BattleMaster BLR-1D served the Federated Suns from its introduction until the Early Republic era. The only other faction that made use of it was the breakaway Filtvelt Coalition that used it into the Late Republic era, but by the Dark Ages the BLR-1D was no longer in service anywhere.
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- You’re most dangerous at close range with your medium lasers
- Close quickly unless a target is especially dangerous up close
- Fire everything that is in range, you don’t need to worry about heat or ammo
- Stay on the battlefield to provide an initiative bonus to your side
BattleMaster BLR-1D
- Role: Brawler
- Tech Base: Inner Sphere (2867)
- Chassis: 85 tons
- Movement: 4 / 6
- Armor: 248
- Heat Sinks: 24 (24)
- Weapons:
- PPC
- Medium Laser × 4
- Machine Gun × 2 (ammo: 200)
- Design Quirks:
- Command ’Mech
- Jettison-Capable Weapon (PPC)
- Weak Head Armor (1)
- Cost: 8,146,043 C-Bills
- Battle Value: 1,522
Mobility
The BLR-1D retains the movement profile of the BLR-1G. Its 4 walking MP and 6 running MP make it relatively fast for an assault ’Mech. It is a close-range brawler, so it is important to be able to close the distance with its targets. The BattleMaster can obtain a +2 target movement modifier when running as long as it moves at least 5 hexes.
Durability
The BattleMaster BLR-1D is more durable than the BLR-1G. It carries one additional ton of armor bringing it up to 94% of the maximum for an 85-ton chassis. It carries only a single ton of ammunition, so it has less risk of a devastating explosion. That ton is in the right torso which means that 20% of critical hits to that location will be lethal. The Weak Head Armor quirk also reduces its effective armor in the head by 1 point.
Weaponry
The BattleMaster BLR-1D retains a PPC as its primary weapon with a set of medium lasers as short-range firepower. Then it has the pair of machine guns to deal with infantry. The PPC gives it fairly good reach with a potential 10 damage out to 18 hexes. The lasers add another 20 damage out to 9 hexes. The BLR-1D’s peak damage output is at 3 hexes where the lasers reach their short-range distance. The PPC becomes less effective at ranges shorter than that, and the machine guns are insufficient to counteract that loss in accuracy with the big gun.
With most of the damage potential coming from its medium lasers, a MechWarrior in a BLR-1D should aim to get close to most targets. Using only the PPC at longer ranges leaves a lot of its firepower wasted, but it can be a good choice if a target completely lacks long-range weapons.
The BLR-1D wants to keep its enemies in front of it as much as possible. The PPC and machine guns are arm-mounted with wider firing arcs, but all of the lasers are only able to fire into the forward arc. The BLR-1D also lacks the rear-facing lasers found on the BLR-1G, so it has to rely on a torso-twist to be able to fire one of its arm weapons if an enemy gets behind it.
The only non-energy weapons carried by the BLR-1D are its pair of machine guns. They can each be fired a hundred times before its ton of ammunition is exhausted, so there is no reason to ever hold fire with them if a target is within their maximum range.
Heat Management
The BattleMaster BLR-1D’s cooling system is perfectly balanced for its armament. It carries 24 single heat sinks, and when running and firing every weapon it generates 24 points of heat. With no concerns about ammunition, that means a MechWarrior should feel free to fire every weapon that has a target in range even when the chance of hitting is low. Of note, this improved heat curve gives the BLR-1D comparable, and increased for some range, heat-neutral damage output to the BLR-1G despite the loss of the SRM 6.
Brawling
The BLR-1D retains the good brawling abilities of the BLR-1G. It has complete actuator sets in both of its arms giving it the ability to punch for 9 damage. The PPC and machine guns cannot be fired when punching. The machine guns are an easy trade due to their low damage. The PPC has a little more damage potential than a fist, but at point-blank range it is generally less accurate and has a less focused hit location table. The BattleMaster can deal 17 points of damage with a kick.
Other Capabilities
The Command ’Mech quirk makes the BattleMaster a useful addition to any force. As long as it remains active in a battle, its side is more likely to win initiative rolls and gain advantages to positioning across the battlefield.
Cost & Upkeep
As an introductory tech design, the BLR-1D is fairly inexpensive. The reduced number of weapons makes it marginally less expensive than the BLR-1G variant it is derived from. It is also less expensive to maintain, because it only rarely requires fresh ammunition.
When using the Warchest Point system, these are the expected costs for the BattleMaster BLR-1D:
| Action | Cost |
| Purchase | 850 SP |
| Armor Repair | 85 SP |
| Structure Repair | 170 SP |
| Reload | 0-5 SP |
Miniature
The new plastic BLR-1G miniature included in the A Game of Armored Combat box is a good for representing the BLR-1D or any other BattleMaster variant.
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