With not one but TWO new BattleTech games (BattleTech itself AND MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries), I thought some people who like to delve in lore could use a jumping off point, with a bit of humor. This takes it up to 3025, which is when this game starts - there are no spoilers for this game because this game is in an entirely unforeseen area of space, and we know nothing about it. MW5: Mercs apparently at least starts in 3015, near the end of the VERY long 3rd Succession War.

So, without further ado... (names and things that are important are bold)

BATTLETECH HISTORY

A Cliff Notes

by

Sky Shadowing

• Kearny and Fuchida, two Earth scientists, posit a way to travel FTL. They are ridiculed and demeaned for 'bad science' and thrown out of their professions.
• GUESS WHAT? They were RIGHHTTTTT!
• For a few hundred years the Terran Alliance colonizes a circle, centered around Earth (renamed like every scifi thing ever as 'Terra'), roughly 500- 600 radius (I think, the sources are inconsistent about 'radius' and 'diameter'). This is called the 'Inner Sphere', and is surrounded by the 'Periphery'.
• Periphery and other realms get uppity. The Terran Alliance tries to win the fight. They lose, badly.
• Those DIRTY STINKING LIBERALS take control of the Alliance Parliament from the Expansionists and grant independence to all planets beyond 30 lightyears from Earth... whether they like it or not.
• After 70 years Earth's situation is still fucked, so it's overthrown and replaced by the Terran Hegemony by James McKenna, later ruled by the Cameron dynasty.
• 5 significant nations coalesce from the independent colonies. Each is ruled and dominated by a single family, a Great House:
  • The Draconis Combine of House Kurita, inspired by Feudal/Imperial Japan. HONORABURU SAMURAI
  • The Federated Suns of House Davion, inspired by Western Europe and America to certain authors.
  • The Capellan Confederation of House Liao, inspired by China. Defining family trait: lunatics
  • Free Worlds League of House Marik, inspired by Byzantine Empire. Would be a powerhouse if not constantly at war with itself.
  • Lyran Commonwealth of House Steiner, inspired by Victorianera German states. Firm believer in 'sledgehammer'.
• All 5 are still weak compared to the Hegemony.
• Neo-Feudalism becomes the dominant system of government.
• There are also a few minor states on the Periphery, the only one you need to know being the Rim Worlds Republic of House Amaris
• Relevant to this game are the Taurian Concordat and the Magistracy of Canopus.
• Age of War: everyone fights everyone.
• Ares Conventions: shit hits the fan so everyone decides to develop rules of warfare to make war clean and safe. It backfires: all it does is make war acceptable, and people ignore it to their content, usually by stating they are ignoring it.
• Eventually the Hegemony develops BattleMechs, which are piloted by MechWarriors, which everyone agrees are super rad and awesome and steals the tech, or buys them from people who stole it.
• The Camerons convince all the other 5 Great Houses into joining up with the Star League, a sort of super UN with its own defense forces.
• They invite the 4 major Periphery states to join. All politely decline. The Star League military (the Star League Defense Forces) informs them that the invitation was... not optional. (i.e. they invade and force them to join the Star League)
• Things are kickin rad and great for everyone (at least compared to what comes later). Tech is booming, economies are great.
• The Star League develops the HyperPulse Generator, which allows interstellar communication.
• Simon Cameron dies. His 8 year old son Richard is named First Lord of the Star League. His regent is General Alexandr Kerensky of the SLDF.
• Stefan Amaris of the Rim Worlds Republic manipulates Richard against everyone, making Richard believe Stefan is his only friend.
• Periphery rebellions promptly keep Kerensky occupied and his forces occupied. Amaris convinces Richard to replace the departing SLDF forces with RWR troops. You can totally trust him.
• Amaris promptly goes full Cersei Lannister and murders the entire Cameron dynasty, including Richard, and names himself Emperor.
• The Great Houses are peeved but not enough to do anything about it.
• Kerensky does something about it, declares himself 'Protector of the Star League', and uses his army to destroy Amaris's forces and executes Amaris.
• The Five Great Houses meet. They strip Kerensky of his power, appoint Jerome Blake Star League Minister of Communications, and fail to decide the next First Lord. They dissolve the Star League.
• Kerensky tells his forces "I'm out, wanna come with?" 80% go with. They head Coreward (North) and vanish, NEVER EVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. FOR REALZ. He sends a last message pleading for the Inner Sphere to not bomb themselves into oblivion.
• The Great Houses start bombing themselves to oblivion. Every one of them says 'hey, I know we disbanded the Star League, but I'm First Lord now.'
• The Periphery are salty about that whole "invaded and forcibly joined to the Star League thing" (except for the RWR which was destroyed and mostly annexed by the Lyrans), especially since the Star League forcibly made the Periphery dependent on the League with luxuries like 'water' and 'food' and 'terraforming technology'.
• Jerome Blake sees what's coming and uses some of the remaining SLDF forces to seize Terra. He informs the Great Houses that all Ministry of Communication(ComStar) facilities are strictly neutral. And if you fuck with them they'll stop sending any of your mail. Zero interstellar communications is... a very bad thing.
• First Succession War. 35 years of war. Borders change. Lots of people die because, as stated, TOTAL WAR.
• ComStar adopts a religious aspect and CERTAINLY doesn't become EVIL, hoarding all advanced technology that has been 'lost' to the Successor States (the 5) so ComStar can save humanity later. Certainly NOT. (They do).
• 9 years of peace.
• SECOND Succession War. Lots more people die. Borders change further. TOTAL WAR. 34 years.
• During said war House Marik fucks with ComStar (who certainly did not manipulate the FWL in any way to join in the fun of the War, no siree), who Interdict them (shut down the mail) in response. The FWL eventually meet's ComStar's demands so the interdiction can be lifted, mostly because the interdiction had made there about to no longer be a FWL.
• 2 years of peace.
• THIRD Succession War begins. Everyone knows that they're fucked if they keep Total War. JumpShips (the ones that travel FTL) become literally unthinkable to destroy, since people forgot how they work and only have a few automated factories that keep making them. 129 YEARS.
• 3005 A mysterious and huge Merc outfit named Wolf's Dragoons appear and start whoring themselves out to each Successor State in turn. Their leaders are Joshua and Jaime Wolf. Joshua Wolf's lover is the Black Widow, Natasha Kerensky. They most assuredly ARE NOT a scouting force for the RETURN OF KERENSKY'S ARMY as a Warrior Society calling themselves THE CLANS.
• 3025: Third Succession War ends. Hanse Davion of the FS and Katrina Steiner of the LC make a deal to ally and marry Katrina's daughter Melissa to a man 27 years older than her (feudalism, everyone). (Federated Commonwealth)
• The other 3 Successor States 'ally' themselves because the FS and LC could kick their shits in. (Concord of Kapetyn)