The Northwind highlanders, angry Scottish bagpipes in space | BattleTech lore

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BattleTech is known for lots of it’s factions and units being over the top stereotypes. But rarely has it ever dipped into the ridiculous and silly in quite such a way as the Northwind Highlanders. Insane Scotsman wearing kilts, never ending bagpipe music and brave heart esque charges against superior foes. We’ve even got big Scotland and a funny clan system. What’s not to love about BattleTech’s most aggressive meme.

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0:00 Intro
3:05 History
22:03 Bagpipes
26:08 Tactics
30:45 Clan system
33:32 Random stuff
36:05 Outro

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35 thoughts on “The Northwind highlanders, angry Scottish bagpipes in space | BattleTech lore”

  4. I just saw this.
    One of the most hilarious battletechs videos I've ever listened to. Best reason I've ever heard for getting a highlanders force.
    And streaming bagpipe music during the entire game
    😅😅😂

    Reply

  7. In the HBS Battletech game, I let the spirit of the Highlanders carry me through the final mission. Loaded out the Highlander you get from Castle Nautilus with a pair of Ultra AC20's I stole from the Fed Suns and reinforced leg actuators, shot out Victoria's King Crab's legs, and then proceeded to give her the proper Highlander burial. It was an amazing end to the campaign.

    Reply

  10. I’m just gonna say Steve would be perfect for the Highlanders since he loves playing the bagpipes. That way he’s a offical member of Highlanders and gives him the perfect excuse to annoy SCI with said bagpipes

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  11. I just recently realized that SC.I could double for both "Science Insanity" and "Sci-fi Illiterate".

    Hey, serious question: Are there any Battletech book that you would recommend/blacklist over others, or would you promote all of them for reading?

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  15. No mention of the jade falcon's hatred for the highlanders? According to the alpha strike box set the two groups will shoot each other on sight even if it's not part of their contract. What's the history between the two that brought them to that point?

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  23. I love plad.I wear a kilt from time to time, especially during the Highland games.My great-grandparents on my mother's side.All emigrated from scotland so maybe that's why I love the sound of bagpipes if I just had the talent I would have learned how to play them.

    Reply

  25. Hello SCI

    Way, way back, in the dim mists of time (roughly between 1984 and 1995), I played using Highlander Mechs. Getting them was a trial all unto itself, due to the rarity of the available metal figurines and their cost. So, being the penny pinching type, I traded to get a half dozen Highlanders for my use. I never ended up painting any of them, which made trading them for other Mechs later, much easier.

    Yes, the 'Highland Burial' is a real thing. I've done it. Multiple times. Most of my opponents just laughed and removed their destroyed Mech from the tabletop, having seen the Meme become real before their eyes.

    As an aside, I once hid three Highlander Mechs inside buildings on the corners of an intersection in a city. I was the defender and my opponent's forces entered the city, on the hunt for me. At one point an Atlas, which had already run afoul of a pair of Urbanmechs, made it to the intersection. Only to be ganged up in close combat by the Highlanders. Each turn, one would attempt a Death From Above attack, while the other two just pummeled their target. If memory serves me right, the 4th attempt was successful, and the Atlas's cockpit was crushed.

    Since their hiding place was compromised, the Highlanders jumped atop large buildings and sniped away at the opponent's forces. Basically denying them an entire third of the city. Again if memory serves me right, the opponent eventually retreated, having taken far too much damage to his forces and not wanting to reward me with excessive salvage.

    After the battle, the guy running it had my employer deny me most of the salvage rights. So, my Highlanders laid waste to most of the city and took the salvage anyways. The guy running the campaign and not that individual battle, basically was the Mercenary Review Board. Which agreed that my contract specified that I could take most of the salvage instead of C-Bills for payment.

    This event led to a long term bitch fest by that player, which lead eventually to the betrayal of my Mercs by Capelllans. This lead to the exiting of the Inner Sphere to colonize a solar system inside the Perseus-Cepherus Cloud Complex, that my unit renamed the Staplin Nebula.

    And that is where the Star Lions Corps ceased to be, and 130 years later, the Ghost Lions Legions came to be (which is my current 'army').

    The Highlander Mech is a pretty good unit and one I would happily recommend to players for use, provided they can even get their hands on them in the first place.

    Reply

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