Sarna News: Bad 'Mechs - Icestorm

Editing Watch

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When the Clan Invasion began, the Watch was formed by order of ilKhan Showers as a blanket service for all of the Invading Clans, each one maintaining their own semi-independent branch, primarily as a counter to the activities of Inner Sphere operatives infiltrating their [[Occupation Zone]]s; at the same time the [[Home Clans]] formed their own branches in anticipation of future operations.  However, centuries of ritualized warfare had caused the Clans to regard covert operations as not only dishonorable but unnecessary given their clear martial supremacy.  Thus the Watch was ill-trained, underfunded, and ill-equipped, staffed largely by merchants, technicians and the proverbial "bottom of the barrel" from the warrior caste.  The infiltration of opposing factions was practically nonexistent, intelligence-gathering operations usually little more than eavesdropping on local newsvids prior to an attack, and even what data was gathered could not be properly analyzed given the Watch's insufficient capabilities.  The resulting intelligence failures, numerous and spectacular as they were, would only heighten the Clans' disdain for such cloak-and-dagger methods.<ref name=AGCO81/>
 
When the Clan Invasion began, the Watch was formed by order of ilKhan Showers as a blanket service for all of the Invading Clans, each one maintaining their own semi-independent branch, primarily as a counter to the activities of Inner Sphere operatives infiltrating their [[Occupation Zone]]s; at the same time the [[Home Clans]] formed their own branches in anticipation of future operations.  However, centuries of ritualized warfare had caused the Clans to regard covert operations as not only dishonorable but unnecessary given their clear martial supremacy.  Thus the Watch was ill-trained, underfunded, and ill-equipped, staffed largely by merchants, technicians and the proverbial "bottom of the barrel" from the warrior caste.  The infiltration of opposing factions was practically nonexistent, intelligence-gathering operations usually little more than eavesdropping on local newsvids prior to an attack, and even what data was gathered could not be properly analyzed given the Watch's insufficient capabilities.  The resulting intelligence failures, numerous and spectacular as they were, would only heighten the Clans' disdain for such cloak-and-dagger methods.<ref name=AGCO81/>
  
While some Clans, most notably the Wolves and Jade Falcons, took steps to upgrade their intelligence-gathering capabilities, the Watch as a whole would remain ineffective during the invasion and the years following the [[Truce of Tukayyid]].  The organization's greatest success came following the election of [[Kael Pershaw]] of [[Clan Jade Falcon]] to the position of Loremaster of the Clans, when in [[3054]] the Watch succeeded in a campaign of misinformation directed at [[ComStar]]'s [[ROM]], causing them to mistake the location and allegiance of many Clan units.<ref name=FMCC98>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 98</ref> Never formally abolished, the Watch and its component branches would diverge from their original mission until finally the invasion was ended in [[3060]] with the [[Great Refusal]].  Lacking any central authority, each Watch branch began to develop in different directions based on the needs and history of their parent Clan.  Those with firsthand experience of the enemy's deceptions and subterfuges during the invasion attempted to adapt as quickly as possible to better match their Inner Sphere counterparts, while the Home Clans' programs remained woefully underdeveloped, stuck as they were in their ways and with little to worry about save other Clans.<ref name=AGCO81/>
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While some Clans, most notably the Wolves and Jade Falcons, took steps to upgrade their intelligence-gathering capabilities, the Watch as a whole would remain ineffective during the invasion and the years following the [[Truce of Tukayyid]].  The organization's greatest success came following the election of [[Kael Pershaw]] of [[Clan Jade Falcon]] to the position of Loremaster of the Clans, when in [[3054]] the Watch succeeded in a campaign of misinformation directed at [[ComStar]]'s [[ROM]], causing them to mistake the location and allegiance of many Clan units.<ref name=FMCC98>''Field Manual: Warden Clans'', p. 98</ref> Never formally abolished, the Watch and its component branches would diverge from their original mission until finally the invasion was ended in [[3060]] with the [[Great Refusal]].  Lacking any central authority, each Watch branch began to develop in different directions based on the needs and history of their parent Clan.  Those with first-hand experience of the enemy's deceptions and subterfuges during the invasion attempted to adapt as quickly as possible to better match their Inner Sphere counterparts, while the Home Clans' programs remained woefully underdeveloped, stuck as they were in their ways and with little to worry about save other Clans.<ref name=AGCO81/>
  
 
By [[3067]], although no individual Clan Watch was a direct match in every intelligence specialty compared to any of the Inner Sphere intelligence agencies, their overall capabilities had improved and many had achieved a measure of parity in certain areas.<ref name=AGCO81/>
 
By [[3067]], although no individual Clan Watch was a direct match in every intelligence specialty compared to any of the Inner Sphere intelligence agencies, their overall capabilities had improved and many had achieved a measure of parity in certain areas.<ref name=AGCO81/>
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* Loremaster [[Arthur Stoklas]]
 
* Loremaster [[Arthur Stoklas]]
  
The Steel Vipers are traditionalist in every way and as a result put little resources in intelligence operations, despite participating in the invasion and experiencing firsthand Inner Sphere covert warfare.  This refusal to adopt "barbarian ways" lasted long enough for the Steel Vipers to be ejected from the Inner Sphere in a Jade Falcon surprise attack, whereupon Khan [[Perigard Zalman]] ordered a restructuring and strengthening of all aspects of his Clan, including the Watch.  Despite this however the Viper Watch remains little better than other Home Clan programs, its field agents ''[[solahma]]'' or ''[[abtakha]]'' warriors supported by similarly ill-equipped and ill-trained technicians.<ref name=AGCO83/>
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The Steel Vipers are traditionalist in every way and as a result put little resources in intelligence operations, despite participating in the invasion and experiencing first-hand Inner Sphere covert warfare.  This refusal to adopt "barbarian ways" lasted long enough for the Steel Vipers to be ejected from the Inner Sphere in a Jade Falcon surprise attack, whereupon Khan [[Perigard Zalman]] ordered a restructuring and strengthening of all aspects of his Clan, including the Watch.  Despite this however the Viper Watch remains little better than other Home Clan programs, its field agents ''[[solahma]]'' or ''[[abtakha]]'' warriors supported by similarly ill-equipped and ill-trained technicians.<ref name=AGCO83/>
  
 
===Clan Wolf===
 
===Clan Wolf===

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