Second Succession War (Sourcebook)

The Second Succession War is a Historical-type sourcebook. It is notably framed as a document originally written by Republic of the Sphere Paladin Constance McGuire in 3150 but presented "nearly a century" later, i.e. shortly before the year 3250, to the ilKhan by one Loremaster Stephan Roshak as a primer for Inner Sphere history, going hand in hand with the similar in-universe backstory of the Technical Readout: Succession Wars document from 3250. The introductory story Intentions was also considered notable by many fans as it turns a long-held belief in the BattleTech universe on its head.

The main body of the book details the Second Succession War, in which all the major nations of the Inner Sphere would exhaust themselves in a second attempt for each of them to bring the former Star League under their respective control after only a brief moment of uneasy peace after the First Succession War. The book chronicles the course of the conflict and reveals ComStar's secret rise of power behind the curtains of intrigue in their attempt to steer the Inner Sphere into a technology downswing so that they may take power.

The book includes rules for the creation of scenarios based on the events detailed in the book, profiles of individuals who were major characters during the war, and conversion rules for various forms of BattleTech gameplay such as Interstellar Operations's Abstract Combat System, Inner Sphere at War, and Strategic BattleForce. There is also a small Technical Readout section detailing units once featured in the original Technical Readout: 3025 and later Technical Readout: 3039, with new images for some Unseen designs.

From the back cover
"''WAR TO END ALL WARS By 2821, the "Great Succession War" has ground to a halt, the participants seeking desperate respite and to forge a new peace and hope for mankind. Yet not everyone shares this ideal and soon secret machinations undermine the peace efforts and propel the Inner Sphere into a new round of violence. Soon brother will be set against brother and madness will reign once more: The Second Succession War.

The Second Succession War covers the aftermath of the titanic First Succession War and the Great Houses efforts to survive before the machinations of Conrad Toyama propel them into a new round of blood-letting. Detailing the efforts to build a peace while preparing for a new war, this volume showcases the causes and consequences of the Second Succession War, as well as the politics and stresses between and within the Great Houses."

Contents

 * Intentions (short story)
 * Introduction
 * Crucible
 * Rise and Fall
 * Tribes
 * Apocalypse
 * Breathing Room
 * The Second Succession War (2825 - 2863)
 * War Renewed (2825-2830)
 * The Commonwealth-Combine Front
 * The Combine-Suns Front
 * The Suns-Confederation Front
 * The Quiet Eagle
 * Tightening of the Screws (2830 - 2840)
 * The Dragon Strikes: Black Wind, Red Wind
 * Crossed Swords
 * The Eagle Swoops
 * In The Manner Of A Fantasy
 * The Four-Front War: Operation Cookie Jar and ComStar War (2837 - 2842)
 * The Politics of Succession (2835 - 2840)
 * The Advances And Reversals (2840 - 2850)
 * The Steiner-Kurita Front
 * The Davion-Kurita Front
 * The Confederation’s Travails: A Three-Sided War
 * Marik Resurgent
 * Running on Empty (2850 - 2860)
 * Regency And Revenge
 * The Sixth, Seventh, And Eighth Battles Of Hesperus
 * The Marathon Offensive
 * The Last Grasp (2860 - 2863)
 * A New Peace...and Everything After (2863-)
 * Timeline of The Succession Succession War
 * Legacy of Destruction
 * The Losers
 * War Resumed
 * Personalities of the Second Succession War
 * Zabu Kurita
 * Yoguchi Kurita
 * Roweena Kurita
 * Miyogi Kurita
 * Ilsa Liao
 * Michael Davion
 * Peter Davion
 * Laurelli Liao
 * Dainmar Liao
 * Charles Marik
 * Gerald Marik II
 * Philippa Marik
 * Melissa Nin
 * Claudius Steiner
 * The Triumvirate
 * Elizabeth Steiner
 * Conrad Toyama
 * Raymond Karpov
 * Second Succession War Deployment Table
 * Rules Annex
 * Creating Second Succession War Scenario
 * Technical Readout
 * GRF-1S Griffin
 * TDR-5L/5LS Thunderbolt
 * BLR-1D BattleMaster
 * Inner Sphere at War (Expansion)
 * Converting ISW Combat Commands to Other Systems
 * Technology and Research (Inner Sphere At War)
 * Intelligence Operations (Inner Sphere At War)
 * Intelligence Operations Phase
 * Interstellar Communications (Inner Sphere at War)
 * Other Communication Methods
 * ISW Combat Command Conversion Tables

Errors

 * In the first publication of the PDF, the end year is mislabeled as 2742 instead of 2842 in both the table of contents on p. 2 and in the header proper on p. 45.

Fan Submitted Mercenary Units
In March 2017 Catalyst Game Labs announced the opportunity for BattleTech fans to submit names for mercenary units for inclusion in the Second Succession War book. In June 2017 that announced the following unit names had been selected -
 * Armored Combat Escalation Service - Submitted by Adam G, Yannick Sherenco and the General Hobbyist.
 * Big Kev's Brigade - Submitted by Alex Fauth
 * Boudica's Wrath - Submitted by Michael Ciaravella
 * Cupric Byzantium - Submitted by Mike Johnson
 * Cŵn Annwn - Submitted by Thomas S. Wolf
 * Damage Inc. - Submitted by Ben Myers, David Najarian and Dave Thompson
 * Lacadon Vengeance Legion - Submitted by Eric Salzman
 * Levithian's Wake - Submitted by Tyron Butson
 * Mary's Little LAMs - Submitted by Lee Rosenberg
 * Murphy's Law - Submitted by Gerhardt Reichenbach and Vincent Spencer
 * Oosik Irregulars - Submitted by Tom Loughead, Matt Walker, Thomas Knipple and Henry
 * Quinn's Quads - Submitted by Troy Lee Cowell
 * Scrap Metal - Submitted by Jared Saunders
 * Tamar Pikemen - Submitted by Glenn Miller
 * The Abased - Submitted by Lance Scarinci
 * The Isengrim - Submitted by Marco Mazzoni
 * The RattFraggs - Submitted by Lloyd Calvin
 * The Red Barons - Submitted by John Mayernik
 * The Wylde Cards - Submitted by Ayden Ryken
 * Xiao's Cassions - Submitted by genkimediko