Battletech: Dominions Divided Review - Do We Love it? ( SPOILERS )

[@BigRed40TECH]

Look. Mega-geniuses have needs to. Clan Ghost Bear just needs to impress him. Again. I'm sure glad the Prince, who was just undermined and was spat in the face, decided to still join up. XD Great review.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Oh praise be, thy glorious Aleric... for ye are the glory and the light...

[@terrinils3165]

Fantastic review. The Dominion civil war feels like a flash in the pan. It starts, and then it's over. I feel as if the subject should have gotten its own sourcebook.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank you. I hope it was useful.

[@yourseatatthetable]

I just started reading Damocles Sanction. I did order a copy of Dominion's Divided, mainly because I want it for my collection, of course. The more reviews that I view the more I understand that the sourcebook isn't one of CGL's better works. I think time will tell, but I am convinced that most of the fanbase are not thrilled with the Alaric' Ilkhan against the universe plot. Just my opinion, of course. From a strategic viewpoint. It is also just my opinion, mind, but Mr. Frog has it right. Davion aught to have cut off the base of the tongue, prepared for possible counter thrusts from the Combine proper, and then rolled up Toranga's forces. It is implied, though, in the opening chapters of Damocles Sanction that the Davion high command didn't think they had enough forces for a more extended campaign. Just as I felt that the Combine's 'tongue' approach wasn't a great idea. Stringing out ones forces and logistics chain is almost always a guarantee of failure down the gravity well. They might have been better served to have concentrated on taking out that pocket around Robinson than going for New Avalon. Bragging rights aside, that is.

[@MechanicalFrog]

You'd think one would tire of being told they are correct so often but as it turns out, I never do. :) I'm starting Damocles Sanction today and am hoping detail will breed clarity.

[@michaelbender5600]

Recovering the main Archenar and Corean plants on new Avalon was in my opinion the right choice even cutting the Tongue off with those plants they could have held on for a long time and made the final butchers bill even worse .

[@ssjjshawn]

Davion lost a 3rd of its military at Palmyra to the Draconis Combine, then Julian was put through the ringer reconquering New Styris and other Cappellan March worlds from Danai Liao. Davion didn't have the forces to roll up anything from the Dragons Tounge until after New Avalon was once more in the hands of the Federated Suns. Toranaga went for New Avalon under the assumption that by capturing the Captial, he could force a ceasefire and bring the Suns to the table at a disadvantage and earn consessions in return for giving Davion back their worlds. The OG plan was actually to try it by capturing Caleb Davion alive, but Caleb managed to annoy a DCMS Mechwarrior enough to get him to shoot his tank. Basically the Dragons Tounge wasnt meant to be permanent, and after years of sustaining it, but it failling in its purpose to bring Davion to the table (and infact more driving fanatics from Davion to resist with every breath) Yori Kurita was able to slip Toranaga's chain to take power for herself and then cut him off.

[@yourseatatthetable]

@@ssjjshawn Great riposte...

[@dieseljester]

I think that everyone also has to remember that Julian has A LOT of cleaning up to do after Caleb Davion's stint on the throne. The DC took advantage of Caleb's ineptitude and took New Avalon for, yeah, bragging rights. After all, what other Great House of the Inner Sphere has managed to capture anyone else's capital? (And yeah, I know an argument can be made for the FedSuns in the 4th Succession War but they didn't really capture Sian, they just raided the joint).

[@philippauli8162]

Outstanding video as always. I've got Damocles Sanction in hand and I'll be reading it soon. Re: Alaric - I'm really not sure if BT works well with a singular big bad instead of a wilderness of mirrors. But your review gives me a clear sense of why I should go get this one but what I'm getting in to. Thank you!

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm hoping there's a plan that will make sense out of some of these decisions.

[@sharlin648]

I've got this book, and yeah agree, the Combine/Suns stuff is good but the Dominion makes sense until it does not. And then it just becomes yet another vehicle to move the plot forwards to the point thats already destined. And yet more cheering for Alaric bloody Ward. You'd think that all that would turn the Dominion completely against the Wolves after all these shenanigans.

[@MechanicalFrog]

One would think...

[@AlxParrish]

There is an article on reddit philosophy I read once with a title I've since forgotten. It was something to the effect of "civil war is the starting point of democracy". It was a poignant discussion of psychoanalysis in politics. I very much appreciate your reverence to this passage in its in universe and out of universe context. I'm trans in texas atm, and the themes of terror from fellow citizens is really close to home. Great review! Thank you for all your work frog!!!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Stay safe.

[@sebastiang.5032]

The art in this book is badass.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Agreed!

[@rburt3]

Very agreed. Some of the new "painterly" style images really grabbed me.

[@Bluehairedgirl89]

Thank you for all the work you put into this review! It was very good!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ZontarDow]

Realistically the Rasalhague Dominion should have had the vote be overwhelmingly opposing joining the ilClan given even with the entire Clan Ghost Bear civilian population now living in the Dominion their numbers would be so few as to not be able to change the balance which would less be if the Dominion should revere or continue its de facto return to being the Free Republic in all but name but rather if when that happens it remains neutral or takes a side in the long standing conflict between Steiner and Kurita. It feels like the writers where told to have Rasalhague have a civil war with both sides coming together to fight the dragon but instead of going about the obvious method of the vote being overwhelmingly against causing Clan loyalists to attempt a coup that kicks off a civil war that includes Stiener and Kuritan nationalists trying to breakaway, only for a Combine commander to try and take advantage of this to take some worlds backfiring with the Snake putting the war on hold to bite the Dragon, instead we got what we did which frankly makes me wonder how it even came about in the first place.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It seems clear to me that they had the outcome in mind and tried to shoehorn it in, even if it means the Dominion acting out of character.

[@TygerYasha]

Thanks for this! Really enjoyed hearing the bit at the end. Maybe have a segment like Jerry Springer did? "And now for Frog's Final Thoughts".

[@MechanicalFrog]

The original rant was several pages but my editor stepped in and reminded me that only she can put up with my nonsense for extended periods of time. :)

[@dieseljester]

I honestly don't think that Alaric Ward had a plan on what to do after taking Terra. The way I've read him in all of the novels, he was so preoccupied with taking Terra and defeating Malvina Hazen that he never stopped to think about what he would do IF he won the ilClan Trial.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Like a dog catching a chased car? Now what?

[@dieseljester]

@@MechanicalFrog LOL. Yeah, pretty much. Now that Alaric has the throne I don't think that he knows what to do with it!

[@harvestblades]

Thanks for the overview. I fell in love with clan ghost bear when the MW2 expansion came out, & then Rasalhague was a faction I played when they were available in Heroclix so I was really excited now that I'm getting into the tabletop to play a faction that blends both a warden clan & tge spheroids. Kind of dissapointed with what you & Red have to say about the book however. Coming from 40k I do like the particular rules that apply to each faction or even within factions like the space marine chapters & it has been a struggle to remember that isn't present really in BT. It's both a positive & negative in my opinion. Anyways thanks for this video & keep up the good work!

[@MechanicalFrog]

It is a bit of a trade off, though I think 8th and 9th Ed 40k is simply too bloated with so much factional differentiation. Maybe it's something they fix for 10th but I am not optimistic. They make a lot of money selling 1 page of rules in a 40 page book supplement.

[@KillerOrca]

Presumably the Taurians were waiting for the FedSuns, shotguns in hand. “Back again are you, knight boys? Hmmm. That’s a paddlin’”

[@MechanicalFrog]

Yeah they sure capitalized on the situation...

[@saigancat]

Great review, love your honesty!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@Tzilandi]

I could maybe understand Alaric snubbing the Bears, because his Wolf-, Jade Falcon- and Smoke Jaguar Touman combined are probably less than the Bears currently possess, and if you’re paranoid, you probably wouldn’t invite someone with a bigger military than you. Still doesn’t excuse everything else.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I guess we're just too dumb to understand how smart and amazing Alaric is.

[@androssthered1157]

Yeah doesn't make a lot of sense to me either. I don't like that Alaric's rebuke was enough to set off a civil war somehow. I'm not a Wolf Hater but I'm not a huge fan of the direction the writers have been going with some stuff.

[@derekburge5294]

I am **begging** the gods of narrative that Clan Wolf eats shit at the end of the ilClan. Alric Ward is a ridiculous character from a clan that is known for ridiculousness. To see them fall would such a breath of fresh air.

[@MechanicalFrog]

No way. He is perfect. He is the space messiah.

[@jamesmaclennan4525]

@@MechanicalFrog He is destined to be the Immortal God-Emperor of Mankind

[@Kaiju-Driver]

This was solid. I adore the Dominion. Hearing all the reviews on this book has me very saddened. I will however continue to support CGL and see what the future brings.

[@105Gunner]

With you on the portrait artwork and well done summary/review.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks. I was tempted to just leave Julian Davion's picture up for 5 uninterrupted minutes of silence, but it would have killed the channel.

[@105Gunner]

@@MechanicalFrog where’s that unsub button 😉

[@wheturangi]

The Ghost Bear-Combine border has being fairly stable. Opening up a new front sounds great, but the Dragon is not known for playing nice nor rolling over at the first sign of violence. There will be blood and the GB are going to bleed. They should have attacked Hells Ponies as they havent won a war ever and could have contained war to a Clan batchall level. rather than the open no-holds-barred Inner Sphere. Plus lets be honest the Kuritans are no light weights. It is just another forced plot point. I honestly cant believe how quickly they resolved their civil war. It takes a generation or more to forgive and forget. I was in Greece in the 90s and they were still muttering over their civil war that ended in 1949. Civil Wars are the worst wars as they often pit family and neighbors against each other. I am less liking the ilClan era. I am sticking to the Clan Invasion era and not going beyond 3060. Pity as I thought the whole Toranaga saga was awesome.

[@argokarrus2731]

Yeah it's a shame too imo. For me even thr FCCW is just... Meh. Jihad is cool but handled poorly, Dark Age is Dark Age, and IlClan seems to be Wolfbait. The setting ends with Second Star League! You heard it here!

[@guitarhausdoesntknowwhatac3285]

The Thing with the ghostbears is just stupid; like everyone just inexplicably comes together at the end to happily invade the Combine who are very much a power at this point given how they've decimated the federated suns and the Nova Cats... so that they can please clan wolf? And they're all eager to re-embrace traditional clan society even though the people of Rasalhague loathed the caste system? Like, there was no way this wasn't going to be ugly for clan Ghost bear, but this is just awful.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I'm holding out hope that there is an overall plan that will guide all this to making more sense. It's just the eternal optimist in me, I suppose.

[@guitarhausdoesntknowwhatac3285]

@@MechanicalFrog I'm not sure that there is anything they could do that justifies this; Alaric ward is a blackhole of charisma who wins all his engagements and masterfully manipulates everyone else and everyone else just can't handle his sheer awesomeness. And you might think I'm being ridiculous with this summation, but the reality is that they're setting up all of the great powers for a fall while the Wolves either manipulate everyone else into killing themselves or have already broken the other great powers in half. It's like really bad fanfiction.

[@argokarrus2731]

@@MechanicalFrog Likewise, given I'm very recent to BT as a franchise, so I was looking at IlClan with some hope.

[@kathilmechworks4895]

Pretty darn good review an have to say the editorial is interesting. Sci fi has always been a safe place to explore ideas and it reminds me of a line from my favorite philosopher Frederick Nietzche. "Those who fight monsters ot care not to become monsters them selves for when you stare into the abyss the abyss begins to stare back.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Become a monster to slay a monster, and the monster has won.

[@casperionx]

Does the book have a record sheet for the Ares Apollo? Thats the only reason I'd buy it.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Dominions Divided has the Ares ARS-V1E Apollo Record Sheet in the back.

[@PaganPilot]

Would be awesome if Ghost Bears took their entire toumon (is and clan) to kick Alaric's arse after the insult, even with the "RD troubles". Then the faction with the best is/clanner union societal blue print is the true ilclan. At least my space Texans might finally reunited and get our Anglophobia. Could've done without Greta Tunberg astech influencer.

[@jacobbronsky464]

I must say, I'm a bit shocked by the lack of news about the mighty stronghold of Pomme de Terre. Surely it would be key to the Dominion's fate ?

[@MechanicalFrog]

Maybe it has a part to play later on.

[@nemo35383]

Thanks for the video. I too do not care of the faces either. Overall, all I agree that the art for all the illclan era books is an improvement over the older books.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I wish I could explain the portrait thing better. It's just a visceral reaction.

[@dieseljester]

Well, they ARE a lot better than they were back in the 80s. 😆

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@dieseljester Sometimes...

[@jacobwilliams1285]

Thanks for the review. I would like to know if this book has mech unit profiles at the end like the Ilclan book has that yiu reviewed? Might base purchase on that cause I really like it. Also,when will you review the Tudayukk supplement book?

[@MechanicalFrog]

It does not include any mech profiles in it. I should do the Tykayidd book one of these days.

[@jacobwilliams1285]

@@MechanicalFrog Thanks for the answer. Yes I hope you do that soon, is it a sourcebook like Ilclan or a smaller supplement? I cant be sure from their website.

[@jacobwilliams1285]

@@MechanicalFrog What I am really looking forward to is like a TRO but with color art. I like the technical detail of the TRO but much prefer the color art and the only thing I found so far that has that is the Battletech Legends book and the mech profiles at the back of the Ilclan book. Do you know of any others that would fit this?

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@jacobwilliams1285 Dominions Divided is much more of a Lore sourcebook than anything else. There are some optional rules for a campaign in the setting. I was partially wrong as the Superheavy mech Apollo does have a TRO page along with a record sheet. I forgot it was there.

[@GamingWithADHD]

Good review Frog! Not sure about this book… maybe one day.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank you. I don't like being negative in videos but honesty is important.

[@GamingWithADHD]

@@MechanicalFrog I don’t think you were negative. Criticism where deserved is the point of reviews. You covered the good and were critical without being hostile. Just keep up the good work.

[@steveguziec8050]

Great review!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank you!

[@mattcarper9853]

Narratively, what has happened to GB in this book just feels wrong. I will admit that I have been backing away from the IlClan era lore recently. I'm waiting to decide if I back out entirely on the next sourcebook.

[@MechanicalFrog]

It is frustrating because the Dominion is acting out of character by the end, for no identifiable reason.

[@John-Val056]

Nice review, thanks

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thanks for watching!

[@thomasrobson6370]

Good commentary on our current affairs.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Thank you. Being a history guy, I cannot help but draw those sort of connections.

[@thomasrobson6370]

@@MechanicalFrog if you don't learn from the past you're doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@thomasrobson6370 History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.

[@thomasrobson6370]

@@MechanicalFrog if there's any reason or rhyme, will we fix it in time?

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@thomasrobson6370 Si

[@punishedfink]

Yeee insomnia gang get to watch this first.

[@shaunhall960]

Indeed!

[@MechanicalFrog]

I know to reward my base.

[@shaunhall960]

Like, subscribe and comment for this wonderful channel.

[@MechanicalFrog]

Couldn't agree more.

[@justinhammer3196]

Any one who wants to join a test tube 50%Steiner clanner deserves what they get.

[@georgerowe9166]

This sludge is why I don't play past the Clan Invasion.

[@androssthered1157]

I really don't like the Dominion Civil War... it just stretches the believability to the limit and snaps.

[@death2all79zx]

Sounds like another CGL failure.

[@MechanicalFrog]

I wouldn't go that far but it does have a bit of a mixed bag.

[@michaelbarclay5016]

Throwing families in prison because we disagree with them; Democrat policy!!!

[@MechanicalFrog]

Authoritarianism is attractive to many across the political spectrum.

[@BBBJOT]

@@MechanicalFrog ah yes the both sides thing very cool

[@michaelbarclay5016]

@@MechanicalFrog Brings politics into recreation and then straddles the fence. As a Political Scientist by training, I know who is the most unforgiving politically at the moment.

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@michaelbarclay5016 Yeah, I must be the bad guy for pointing out how nasty civil wars are and how foolish it is to stumble into one.

[@MechanicalFrog]

@@BBBJOT Rolling into the comments thread of this video to imply that only one of the warring tribalist camps is capable of becoming unhinged and violent perfectly demonstrates my point. Thank you.