Pillager

Description
The largest BattleMech ever built by HildCo Interplanetary, the Pillager is built as a larger version of the Victor, and is intended for assaulting urban centers and hardened fortifications. These design parameters were paramount as the SLDF mobilized to wage the Reunification War. Later Pillagers were upgraded with more cutting-edge Star League technology. Production of the Pillager halted not because its facility was destroyed, but the advanced Gauss Rifle and XL Engine production lines had been obliterated by the end of the Second Succession War. Curiously, Hildco did not restart production of the original PLG-1N, rather the Pillager lines only began production again in Reintroduction Year::3058 when advanced components were once again available for the PLG-3Z.

Weapons and Equipment
The PLG-3Z Pillager is built using a lightweight Vlar 300 XL Engine, which weighs half as much as a standard fusion engine and gives the Pillager a top speed of 54 km/h. The small mass of the engine allows the 'Mech to mount an obscene array of weapons. The 'Mech's mobility is enhanced with three HildCo Model 13 jump jets that allow it to jump up to ninety meters. The Pillager has excellent armor protection at nineteen and a half tons and has fourteen double heat sinks that provide more than enough heat dissipation capability for the Pillager's needs.

The primary weapons on the Pillager are a pair of Poland Main Model A Gauss Rifles, which allow the Pillager to engage an enemy at up to six hundred and sixty meters. The Gauss Rifles are supported at intermediate ranges by a Defiance B3L Large Laser. For close range combat, the Pillager has four Ceres Arms Medium Lasers that provide a devastating close range barrage.

Variants

 * PLG-1N : The original Pillager, designed in Introduction Year::2575 and fielded for the first two decades of the Reunification War, uses a standard Fusion Engine instead of the Extralight model that went into production. Other limitations include a 60 meter jump range and 17 tons of armor. The weapons suite was also different, relying on twin torso mounted Autocannon/20s, a single SRM-4, and three Medium Lasers; one mounted in each arm and a head-mounted laser firing to the rear. Sixteen single heat sinks kept the heat under control. BV (2.0) = 1,812


 * PLG-4Z : The 4Z variant of the Pillager is built to provide an almost perfect long range sniper 'Mech. It walked off Hellespont Industrials' production line in the mid-3060s, as HildCo did not have the ability to produce the Capellan Confederation's new Stealth Armor, which the Strategios insisted be incorporated. The armor makes it harder to hit, as does the required Guardian ECM Suite. In order to do this, the 'Mech has had two Medium Lasers and the Large Laser removed. The remaining Medium Lasers have been upgraded to ER Medium Lasers. The Pillager has also replaced the XL engine with a standard engine and added CASE for more reliability, so the 'Mech can survive a side torso destruction. BV (1.0) = 2,542, BV (2.0) = 2,868


 * PLG-5L : The 5L is an upgrade to the original 3Z. It removes one of the Gauss Rifles to make room for an Arrow IV Artillery piece and three tons of ammunition for it. The remaining rifle has four tons of ammunition. Three lasers remain, all of them ER Medium Lasers, though the large is upgraded to an ER PPC. Only ten double heat sinks remain, potentially causing serious heat problems for a MechWarrior who wishes to fire indiscriminately. Finally, a Guardian ECM Suite aids the 'Mech defensively. BV (1.0) = 1,911, BV (2.0) = 2,656


 * PLG-5Z : This upgraded version of the 4Z removes the jump jets and a ton of Gauss ammo to mount an ER PPC. It takes advantage of the heat buildup from the Stealth Armor and PPC to mount Triple Strength Myomer so that it can move on the ground more quickly. BV (1.0) = 2,240, BV (2.0) = 3,008


 * PLG-4X Pillager "Anvil" : Created as a defensive artillery unit, the Pillager Anvil replaces all the standard weaponry, equipment, and torso with two Long Tom Artillery Cannons. A head mounted Laser AMS required the use of a Small Cockpit. A Light Engine allows the Pillager Anvil to retain the movement curve of the original, but the jump jets and two tons of armor were replaced by experimental Coolant Pods to keep the Pillager Anvil's heat under control. BV (2.0) = 1,927

Design Quirks
The Pillager has the following Design Quirk:
 * Battlefists

Notable pilots

 * Solaris VII gladiator Michael Searcy piloted a 3Z model of the Pillager during his last fights and the Solaris Riots, which in turn were the first spark of FedCom Civil War, until his apparent death..