Draconis Combine
Encyclopedia
The Draconis Combine is one of the five major factions known as Successor States
in the fictional BattleTech
universe. It is featured prominently in many BattleTech and MechWarrior products including tabletop games, video games, and novels. Its significance within the BattleTech
universe has resulted in strong background development, which possesses a rich 300-year "history".
The Draconis Combine is located in the "north-east" quarter of the Inner Sphere
.
The Combine is ruled by House Kurita, under the guise of the position known as the Coordinator.
Universe
, The Combine started from a single planet known as New Samarkand. It was divided by several warlords controlling their respective city-state
s.
Through the use of guile, deception and personal charisma, Shiro Kurita was able to unite the city-state
s through various means to become ruler of New Samarkand. However, his ambitions did not end there. Once he acquired complete control of the planet, Shiro Kurita started to look outward in order to expand his reach.
The OMA maintained a blatantly arrogant stance in believing these colonies needed their support in order for them to survive. This belief bred increasing resentment from the colonies. This gave Shiro Kurita the opportunity to draw up an alliance with the colonies under the guise of shared goals. This alliance would give Kurita leverage to fight against the OMA.
Shiro's first step was to contact Galedon to form an alliance. Over a brief period of time, Shiro was able to create the Alliance of Galedon. With the combination of the technological and military power of the two planets, Shiro began to bring the other colonies into the alliance. Colonies were brought into the alliance either through agreement or by force.
The alliance began to strike against OMA targets directly, seizing vessels and bombing of OMA installations. This quickly led to the downfall of the Ozawa Mercantile Association, bringing all of its resources under the control of Shiro Kurita.
Over the next few decades, Kurita made many strides to add even more planets into the fold. He used different strategies to accomplish this. One example was to convince a colony of the fear of looming threats from another planet with the guarantee of military protection if they joined. Another method was the use of brute force to bring certain planets in the growing nation.
At the time of Shiro Kurita's death, the Draconis Combine (as it had become officially known), included territories reaching form the Rasalhague Republic all the way to the Federated Suns
.
With the aid of outside forces a scion of the kurita family under the guise Martin McAllister disposed of the Von Rohr Family. With assistance of the Rasalhague, McAllister had the current Von Rohrs imprisoned and had another family member of the Rohrs take rule of the Draconis Combine. As a reward McAllister was placed in command of a regiment. Martin used this power with the assistance of the Imperial Guard overran the Von Rohrs compound killing the entire Von Rohrs family. Later Martin released his true lineage with the announcement that he would take the throne and rule over the Draconis Combine as the Coordinator.
. Bringing enlightenment to the combine unparallelled to anything that has happened in the history of the Combine. Due to the Star League and all the technological advanments the DCMS became more advanced than ever before; thus being able to survive the turmoil following the with end of the Star League.
waged a conquest against the Pehriphery states that were not willing to join the League. Leonard Kurita coordinator during this period, Leonard left the military actions of the Combines part of the war to the Warlords of the districts involved and sought personal pleasure. With this personal greed came the fear of illegitimate heirs to the throne of the Combine. Leonard had Combine forces enter other regions space to remove the children he had gave fruition during his escapades. Most notably into the Terran Hegemony were due the Hegemony's' large participation in the war meant that many of the Hegemony's' forces were in the Periphery and unable to through the DCMS form the incursions into Hegemony space. The issues with Leonard came to an in with a strange illness that brought an end to the of coordinator.
.
Through many publications in the series, signs of trouble within the Combine are evident, such as the many minor cultures that have joined the combine. Throughout the Combines' history, fear of those that were also citizens of the combine caused many hard aches and prejudice towards those that did not follow the way of bushido. Through change of leadership throughout the Combine ruling body, starting with the coordinator and many other military and political leaders, many social changes were brought about for the greater good.
Throughout the history of the Draconis Combine, militant attitudes have saved the combine on many occasions. These attitudes have also occasionally been a hindrance.
Two rival intelligence agencies, the Internal Security Forces
(ISF) and the Order of the Five Pillars (O5P) keep watch against any potential external and internal threat from lowly commoners, ambitious nobles, and members of the Coordinator's own family. The duty of physical protection of the Coordinator falls to the Otomo, a regiment of palace guards who are recruited from the military, not from the intelligence services.
The idée fixe
of the Combine and the Coordinator is conquest. Since the days of Takashi Kurita, the Coordinator has been called the Unifier of Worlds. This is ironic: under Takashi's rule, many worlds slipped from the Combine's hands, first to the succession of Rasalhague Prefecture (now the Free Rasalhague Republic), then to the invasions by Clans Smoke Jaguar, Nova Cat and Ghost Bear.
universe, is usual slightly less technologically advanced in comparison to the other Successor states. This is due to the constant distance and fear of outside influences, thus causing the combine to be viewed as a very tempting target...a problem which was made evident during the Fourth Succession War.
This change was brought about by secret negotiations with Comstar for release of the Rasalhague district in return for the exchange of several regiments worth of Star League
-era mechs. This allowed the DCMS to supplement its meager mech forces already in existence and create entire mech regiments from scratch.
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Successor States
In the fictional BattleTech universe, the Successor States are the major military powers of the Inner Sphere, each governed by one of the Great Houses...
in the fictional BattleTech
BattleTech
BattleTech is a wargaming and science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2000, and owned since 2003 by Topps. The series began with FASA's debut of the board game BattleTech by Jordan Weisman and L...
universe. It is featured prominently in many BattleTech and MechWarrior products including tabletop games, video games, and novels. Its significance within the BattleTech
BattleTech
BattleTech is a wargaming and science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2000, and owned since 2003 by Topps. The series began with FASA's debut of the board game BattleTech by Jordan Weisman and L...
universe has resulted in strong background development, which possesses a rich 300-year "history".
The Draconis Combine is located in the "north-east" quarter of the Inner Sphere
Inner Sphere
Inner Sphere can refer to:*A region of space in the BattleTech universe*Inner sphere electron transfer, a chemical reaction involving closely associated atoms*Inner sphere complex, a type of ion-surface binding...
.
The Combine is ruled by House Kurita, under the guise of the position known as the Coordinator.
Intro
Like the other four nations that dominate the BattletechBattleTech
BattleTech is a wargaming and science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2000, and owned since 2003 by Topps. The series began with FASA's debut of the board game BattleTech by Jordan Weisman and L...
Universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
, The Combine started from a single planet known as New Samarkand. It was divided by several warlords controlling their respective city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
s.
Through the use of guile, deception and personal charisma, Shiro Kurita was able to unite the city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
s through various means to become ruler of New Samarkand. However, his ambitions did not end there. Once he acquired complete control of the planet, Shiro Kurita started to look outward in order to expand his reach.
Beginnings of an Empire
The first immediate threat to the future Combine was the Ozawa Mercantile Association (OMA). The OMA was built around several corporations that owned private vessels capable of "faster-than light" travel. Its operations spanned the sector which included the planet of New Samarkand. These operations included the trade and logistics of various colonies which existed in the sector. In addition, the OMA possessed a large wealth of resources which were used to maintain the OMA's grip in the sector.The OMA maintained a blatantly arrogant stance in believing these colonies needed their support in order for them to survive. This belief bred increasing resentment from the colonies. This gave Shiro Kurita the opportunity to draw up an alliance with the colonies under the guise of shared goals. This alliance would give Kurita leverage to fight against the OMA.
Shiro's first step was to contact Galedon to form an alliance. Over a brief period of time, Shiro was able to create the Alliance of Galedon. With the combination of the technological and military power of the two planets, Shiro began to bring the other colonies into the alliance. Colonies were brought into the alliance either through agreement or by force.
The alliance began to strike against OMA targets directly, seizing vessels and bombing of OMA installations. This quickly led to the downfall of the Ozawa Mercantile Association, bringing all of its resources under the control of Shiro Kurita.
Over the next few decades, Kurita made many strides to add even more planets into the fold. He used different strategies to accomplish this. One example was to convince a colony of the fear of looming threats from another planet with the guarantee of military protection if they joined. Another method was the use of brute force to bring certain planets in the growing nation.
At the time of Shiro Kurita's death, the Draconis Combine (as it had become officially known), included territories reaching form the Rasalhague Republic all the way to the Federated Suns
Federated Suns
In the fictional BattleTech Universe, the Federated Suns is the Successor State ruled by House Davion. The Federated Suns is considered the military powerhouse of the five Successor States. In fact, one of the requirements for the title of First Prince of the Federated Suns is at least five years...
.
Rule of the Von Rohrs
For period of time the Von Rohrs were to take power through a coup to usurp the Kuritas from power. With rule of the Von Rohrs much of the Combine came to a complete stand still with elimination of all those that were deemed a threat to the power of the Rohrs brought much political and economical distraught. With this the Combine came close to near internal collapse. Only the DCMS gained anything from the Von Rohrs dominion of the combine through conquest of several Lyran worlds.With the aid of outside forces a scion of the kurita family under the guise Martin McAllister disposed of the Von Rohr Family. With assistance of the Rasalhague, McAllister had the current Von Rohrs imprisoned and had another family member of the Rohrs take rule of the Draconis Combine. As a reward McAllister was placed in command of a regiment. Martin used this power with the assistance of the Imperial Guard overran the Von Rohrs compound killing the entire Von Rohrs family. Later Martin released his true lineage with the announcement that he would take the throne and rule over the Draconis Combine as the Coordinator.
Renewal of the Draconis Combine
Under the guise of Martin McAllister and his daughter Siriwan McAllister-Kuirta, they brought a golden age to the Combine. Instead of Military conquest the Combine with its shattered economy was in desperate need of peace. With political deals struck under the rule of the Siriwan the many merchants that had stayed undeground to survive the Von Rohrs dominion resurfaced thus the trade with the Combine and external nations flourished. Many citizens came to feel pride through severing the Combine through more than the enlistment into the DCMS.The Star League
Siriwan's son, Hehiro Kurita, thanks to the inspriations of his mother during his rule had the Combine become part of the Star LeagueStar League
Within the fictional BattleTech universe, the Star League was an interstellar empire that united the various states of the Inner Sphere into a single alliance of nations.-The Terran Hegemony:...
. Bringing enlightenment to the combine unparallelled to anything that has happened in the history of the Combine. Due to the Star League and all the technological advanments the DCMS became more advanced than ever before; thus being able to survive the turmoil following the with end of the Star League.
Leonard Kurita Reign
Period of when the Star LeagueStar League
Within the fictional BattleTech universe, the Star League was an interstellar empire that united the various states of the Inner Sphere into a single alliance of nations.-The Terran Hegemony:...
waged a conquest against the Pehriphery states that were not willing to join the League. Leonard Kurita coordinator during this period, Leonard left the military actions of the Combines part of the war to the Warlords of the districts involved and sought personal pleasure. With this personal greed came the fear of illegitimate heirs to the throne of the Combine. Leonard had Combine forces enter other regions space to remove the children he had gave fruition during his escapades. Most notably into the Terran Hegemony were due the Hegemony's' large participation in the war meant that many of the Hegemony's' forces were in the Periphery and unable to through the DCMS form the incursions into Hegemony space. The issues with Leonard came to an in with a strange illness that brought an end to the of coordinator.
Society
The society and culture of the Draconis Combine is inspired by traditional Japanese culture. This is evident in the Combine's concept of the Five Pillars and in its embracing of bushidoBushido
, meaning "Way of the Warrior-Knight", is a Japanese word which is used to describe a uniquely Japanese code of conduct and a way of the samurai life, loosely analogous to the concept of chivalry. It originates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, martial arts mastery, and...
.
Through many publications in the series, signs of trouble within the Combine are evident, such as the many minor cultures that have joined the combine. Throughout the Combines' history, fear of those that were also citizens of the combine caused many hard aches and prejudice towards those that did not follow the way of bushido. Through change of leadership throughout the Combine ruling body, starting with the coordinator and many other military and political leaders, many social changes were brought about for the greater good.
The Five Pillars
Combine society can be described in five pillars, each representing an aspect vital to the Combine's continued success and survival.- Pillar of Gold: the ruling house House Kurita and the rest of the ruling governing body
- Pillar of Jade: trade and commerce
- Pillar of Teak: the people and culture
- Pillar of Ivory: religion and philosophy
- Pillar of Steel: the military arm, known as the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery (DCMS).
Bushido Code
Bushido, literally "the way of the warrior", lies at the heart of Combine society. For the warrior class, bushido is more important than mere obedience or religion.Throughout the history of the Draconis Combine, militant attitudes have saved the combine on many occasions. These attitudes have also occasionally been a hindrance.
Politics
The Coordinator, the hereditary leader who rules over the Combine, is armed with a well-equipped, fanatical military in one hand and an ever-pervasive, all-seeing civilian bureaucracy in the other.Two rival intelligence agencies, the Internal Security Forces
Internal Security Forces
The Internal Security Forces – ISF or Forces de Sécurité Intérieure in French, are the national police and security force of Lebanon. Modern police were established in Lebanon in 1861, with creation of the Gendarmerie...
(ISF) and the Order of the Five Pillars (O5P) keep watch against any potential external and internal threat from lowly commoners, ambitious nobles, and members of the Coordinator's own family. The duty of physical protection of the Coordinator falls to the Otomo, a regiment of palace guards who are recruited from the military, not from the intelligence services.
The idée fixe
Fixation (psychology)
Fixation: 'concept originated by Sigmund Freud to denote the persistence of anachronistic sexual traits'. Subsequently '"Fixation" acquired a broader connotation...
of the Combine and the Coordinator is conquest. Since the days of Takashi Kurita, the Coordinator has been called the Unifier of Worlds. This is ironic: under Takashi's rule, many worlds slipped from the Combine's hands, first to the succession of Rasalhague Prefecture (now the Free Rasalhague Republic), then to the invasions by Clans Smoke Jaguar, Nova Cat and Ghost Bear.
The Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery
The DCMS, for most of the timeline of the BattletechBattleTech
BattleTech is a wargaming and science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation in 1984, acquired by WizKids in 2000, and owned since 2003 by Topps. The series began with FASA's debut of the board game BattleTech by Jordan Weisman and L...
universe, is usual slightly less technologically advanced in comparison to the other Successor states. This is due to the constant distance and fear of outside influences, thus causing the combine to be viewed as a very tempting target...a problem which was made evident during the Fourth Succession War.
This change was brought about by secret negotiations with Comstar for release of the Rasalhague district in return for the exchange of several regiments worth of Star League
Star League
Within the fictional BattleTech universe, the Star League was an interstellar empire that united the various states of the Inner Sphere into a single alliance of nations.-The Terran Hegemony:...
-era mechs. This allowed the DCMS to supplement its meager mech forces already in existence and create entire mech regiments from scratch.
Coordinator
The Coordinator is the titular head of the DCMS, although a significant amount of authority can be delegated to the Gunji-no-Kanrei.Gunji-no-Kanrei
The Gunji-no-Kanrei (Deputy of Military Affairs) is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the DCMS, reporting only to the Coordinator himself. Prior to the Fourth Succession War, the only figure to hold the position was Urizen Kurita I, and it has been a matter of speculation whether the position will remain active.Military District Commanders
Each Districts is ruled by a Tai-shu (Warlord) commanding all DCMS troops in their own districts. DCMS regiments assigned to a district are assigned to defensive roles. All regiments not assigned are sent as needed are sent across the entire Combine for political posturing or when raids or full-scale invasions are planned.- Pesht Military District
- Galedon Military District
- Benjamin Military District
- Dieron Military District: Formed after the fall of the Star League. Relinquished to the Republic of the Sphere. Later to be reformed by the Combine.
- Rasalhague Military District: Relinquished upon the formation of the Free Rasalhague Republic. Remaining worlds reformed into the Alshain Military District.
- Alshain Military District: Formed from the remaining Rasalhague Military District worlds. Almost completely conquered by Clan Ghost Bear.
Luthien
Luthien, the traditional seat of House Kurita, remained relatively untouched during the succession wars, but was invaded by Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Nova Cat in 3052, during the Clan Invasion. The Combine's warriors prevailed, thanks to the assistance of the mercenary units the Kell Hounds and Wolf's Dragoons, which were sent by House Davion. But Luthien was left heavily scarred by the battle and remained so for many years despite the population's reconstructive efforts. In 3059, the planet became a staging ground for Operation Bulldog, an effort of the newly formed Star League Defense Force under the leadership of Victor Steiner-Davion. The battle drove Clan Smoke Jaguar from Combine territory. In 3067 (during the Jihad), the Word Of Blake savagely attacked Luthien with nuclear and chemical weapons.Sources
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