Stone Rhino (Behemoth)

Description
The Stone Rhino was one of the most remarkable surprises sprung upon the Inner Sphere by the invading Clans. The Inner Sphere named the 'Mech Behemoth. It was apparently derived from the Matar, which was also known as "Amaris' Folly".

Developed during the Golden Century as somewhat of a passion project, the Scientist Caste of Clan Smoke Jaguar sought to prove the superiority of the Clans by turning the flawed Matar into a successful design to achieve what the Inner Sphere could not. The resulting 'Mech was christened the Stone Rhino in honor of the nearly indestructible beast native to Eden. Mainly seen in the Smoke Jaguars touman, scattered examples of the Stone Rhino do appear in other Clans even though it was produced in somewhat limited numbers. Because of these low production numbers, most Stone Rhinos in existence are ancient machines with long and storied histories of their combat actions and their quirks in the hangar.

Following the fall of the Smoke Jaguars, Clan Goliath Scorpion's need for new machines to defend their captured Jaguar holdings led them to revisit the Matars original design specs. They rapidly developed a visually different and powerful "new" 'Mech that was immediately put into production on Tokasha while still using the Stone Rhino name. However, the Scorpions would soon need to scramble to establish new production elsewhere after Clan Hell's Horses captured their Tokasha holdings. This allowed the Horses to produce new variants, and the Horses ultimately established a production line for the 'Mech on Csesztreg following their ejection from the Clan Homeworlds.

Weapons and Equipment
Though visually resembling the Matar, the Stone Rhino is ten tons lighter than "Amaris' Folly", marking it an assault-class 'Mech instead of a superheavy design. Despite the reduced weight it achieves a roughly similar damage output through superior Clan weaponry. The design features a Kolibri Delta Series Large Pulse Laser in each arm, a Thunderstroke Series 2B Gauss Rifle mounted in each side torso, and an almost superfluous Chi Series Small Pulse Laser located near the cockpit. The Stone Rhino also sports an interesting feature; each arm contains a retractable, shock-absorbing cowl covering the weapon barrels. This allows MechWarriors to use the arms as battering rams without damaging the weaponry.

Similar to its progenitor, the Stone Rhino is a fairly slow design with the additional of Jump Jets barely mitigating the mobility issues over short distances. Eighteen tons of armor provides reasonable protection until the 'Mech becomes a target of priority. Thus, despite bringing awesome firepower to the battlefield, these machines often cannot be used effectively by field commanders because they ultimately cannot afford to lose one.

Variants

 * Stone Rhino 2 : In order to plug holes in their touman, Clan Goliath Scorpion scientists revisited the Behemoth. Like Clan Smoke Jaguar before them, they upgraded and improved upon the design. This version used an Extra-light Engine to mount a pair of Thunderstroke Series 2b Gauss Rifles along the top of the 'Mech. Each arm carried a Series 4D-2 Heavy Large Laser, a Series 22a Heavy Medium Laser, and a General Systems Heavy Small Laser. It retained the shock-absorbing cowls of the original. Another pair of Heavy Mediums protected the rear of the 'Mech. A head-mounted Shield-3 Anti-Missile System defended against missiles, while an Anti-Personnel Pod in each leg discouraged unarmored infantry. This design had jump jets, nineteen tons of armor, and a meager sixteen double heat sinks. BV (1.0) = 2,531, BV (2.0) = 3,107


 * Stone Rhino 3 : A Clan Hell's Horses variant made use of two Large Pulse Lasers in each arm and two ATM 9s with four tons of ammo in the torso. Two ER Micro Lasers to protect the 'Mech's rear arc, while the other equipment was removed to add heat sinks. BV (1.0) = 2,795, BV (2.0) = 3,072


 * Stone Rhino 4 : A Smoke Jaguar test platform, the Stone Rhino 4 is a variable range variant which uses an XL Engine to provide weight savings for four LRM 10s to lay down impressive long range fire. Backing these up are a pair of Ultra AC-10s for mid-range engagements.  From there, four ER Medium Lasers provide a solid short range punch.  Lastly, four Machine Guns provide anti-infantry support.  These combine to make a solid and well rounded configuration.  BV (2.0) = 2,601


 * Stone Rhino 5 : A design based off of early specifications for Amaris's Folly, the Stone Rhino 5 uses a 400XL engine to reach speeds up up to 64.8kph. It is armed with four LB-5X Autocannons mounted in the torsos backed up by six ER Medium Lasers in the arms. BV (2.0) 2,157


 * Stone Rhino 6 : A close combat dueling design based on the Stone Rhino 5, the Stone Rhino 6 is armed with a simple yet effective loadout of 14 Medium Pulse Lasers. These are backed up by a single ER Small Laser.  BV (2.0) = 2,981


 * Stone Rhino 7 : A space combat 'Mech based on the standard model, the Stone Rhino 7 replaces twin Gauss Rifles with a trio of ER Large Lasers, one mounted in each torso section, with the remaining space devoted to additional Double Heat Sinks. BV (2.0) = 2,804


 * Stone Rhino 8 : A Dark Age variant of the standard model produced by the Hell's Horses, the Stone Rhino 8 drops the jump jets for an Actuator Enhancement System in each arm, trading modbility for enhanced accuracy. BV (2.0) = 2,981

Custom Variants

 * Behemoth Zed : Including a Stone Rhino among his forces fully aware it would stand out, Colonel Jaime Wolf's decision appears to be one of sheer cheek, a means of announcing his Wolf's Dragoons mercenary unit as something out of the ordinary. Assigned to Gordon Zed of the Zalman Bloodname, even downgraded with primitive Succession Wars era technology his Behemonth was a powerful 'Mech that caused mass panic and confusion whenever it took to the field with Alpha Regiment during the Third Succession War. Like many Dragoons, Zed and his Behemoth would fall during the brutal Battle of Misery, and though the Draconis Combine might have salvaged the 'Mech, they were never able to repair or reproduce it.

Related BattleMechs

 * Matar - The original failed prototype, the Matar massed over one hundred tons and experienced extreme stresses on its leg actuators that effectively prevented the 'Mech from moving. The project ended when Stefan Amaris had the design staff executed for "treasonous incompetence".

Design Quirks
The Stone Rhino (Behemoth) has the following Design Quirk:
 * Barrel Fist
 * Protected Actuators
 * Oversized
 * Poor Performance
 * Weak Head Armor (1)