Sven - “welp here I go covering the 150+ years of the the 3rd succession war” Catalyst Team - “you mad man even we haven’t had the balls to produce a 3rd succession wars book yet, covering the entire thing.”

Hello everyone. Hope you are all doing well. This episode marks the beginning of the Third Succession War series. I'm still not quite certain how long it's going to be as I keep going back to the scripts to change around the dividers. Relatively short chapter to begin things and that's going to be the case for the next half dozen videos. The plan is to get one out every week, with the second episode already up on my Patreon. I meant to upload this yesterday but I legit lost track of the days after staying up all night to watch the election results and then sleeping through Friday. It will be on Saturday again going forwards. Thanks for all your support and patience while I took some time away from the channel in May/June. Hope it proves worth the wait.

"They'll never see it coming *this time,"* said the entire Inner Sphere to itself.

The beginning of the Third Succession War, the longest conflict in the history of the Inner Sphere.

"...Yeah, but they would never be foolish enough to have a Third Succession War...right?" -Former SLDF Officer somewhere in the Kerensky Cluster, probably

You've already had Succession War. We've had two, yes. What about 3rd Succession War? Sven: I don't think he knows about 3rd Succession War.

It has begun, for a third time. I love Battletech.

I have never played this or read anything but have watched all your videos for it a few times at work the last week straight. You definitely need more subs for the work put in

And so it all begins again... I imagine this is going to be a longer one overall, just for shear time passed over the 3rd and the sort of "recap episode" in the middle you were talking about might be a useful thing. Always appreciate the gargantuan amount of research that must be going into these.

Millions are about to die and all I can think of is "yesss, let's go!" to more Succession War history.

Mechs at the end of the 3rd war that started in the first: "I'm tired, boss."

I was genuinely surprised when Sven said the Dragon was the closest thing to a winner. You generally don't think of that kind of balls-out aggression paying off for a nation-state long-term.

"You've already had a succession war." "We've had two yes, but what about a third succession war?" "I don't think he knows about the third succession war."

yess, new succession war vids. My cappie heart fears this war tho

I'd think itd be great if you started doing a "story retrospective" with the games now youve started entering their time periods.

So excited for this part. The game started during the 3rd Succession Wars. It is still my favorite era.

YES! The Third War! You know what, I haven't even started the video, this one gets a 5 out of 5!

I love your videos! They're such a great way to get into the lore, for fans both new and old. Keep it up :)

Yes! 3SW content!

Aamazing job! These videos have pulled me deep into the complex Battletech world :) thank you

On the whole jumping back in time for each future video, you could start them with a "Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Inner Sphere..."

I’m so used to listening to these as I do something else that when this auto started I didn’t recognize it was new. Lol. Woot new lore summary!

First - man I love these videos. Do you think you will eventually make it into the Il Clan era or whatever the modern era is by the time that you get there? Or is there a point at which you think you might stop? If so, is it because of a nostalgia/appreciation for a specific era vs less interest in another? If you do catch up with modern era, what kinds of videos will you make then? Or will you slow down/do something else?

Awesome. Looking forward to the new series on the next war.

A pleasant surprise to see this video.

Nice work Sven. Look forward to more.

Oh! So unexpected, But SO welcome! Fantastic to see you getting into this. Continue to love your work and appreciate everything you do.

Good morning and Thank you

I've been waiting for this series to kick off!! Thanks for all your hard work Sven.

Thanks for doing these!

Glad to see you back Sven! I can't believe I missed this video, but I was at a buddy's having a cookout. Hope you're having a great day today!

Once more into the breach, dear rivals! Surely this time will be worth something!

Thank you for your effort and for teaching us more. I love the videos, and will be waiting for more eagerly

Been wondering how you'd handle the longer, but sparsely described 3rd war. Looking forward to it.

Totally looking forward to this series!

Here we go. Here we go. The big one, the war with no end.

Great stuff, kick it off and do what you need to do. Thus far you've not disappointed.

The long war begins. Looking forward to seeing a few notable characters pop up.

The Deagon strikes 😎.

I’m looking forward to the next episode.

leaving a comment to support this content creator

A summary or two (maybe one for each 50ish years?) sounds like a great plan

I love these stories. Thanks very much

Missed your premier!!! Painting minis hasn’t been the same without your voice. Glad to see a new one. Any new megacuts coming out soon? I paint houses for a living so those eight hour episodes definitely help to make a day go by quickly! Also on a personal note… love your collaborations with Tex of the black pants legion. Would love to hear more of you two as a duo. I think it would go well. Thank you for all the awesome you do! Make mine Van der Plank!

Sounds like a good plan I look forward to the story of the early Davion action!

Holy hell, you are actually doing it. This was great man, looking forward to more!

Oh I have been looking forward to this!

here we go! I've got some opinions on the 3rd succession war and how it tends to be discussed, but I'm going to hold off on them for now because it wouldn't be the first time that you videos changed my mind about something.

Loved it Sven. I particularly liked that you worked in the bit about MIIO recruiting an ISF Dark Assassin. I’ve always thought that bit from the sourcebook sounded fascinating, but we’ve never gotten to see anymore about them. Even the various intelligence and special ops books written over the years fail to cover them.

What an epic intro video.

Thank you so much for all the time and effort you put into this video! I really appreciate it and I wish you good luck with your future videos as you figure out a format for the Third Succession Wars! Always nice to see the dracs just being the absolute worst.

This isn't what they meant by "third time's a charm," is it? On a more serious note, it's honestly wild to see how far this playlist has gone...so many unknowns of the storyline has come to light thanks to your efforts and it all has made me really take a step back and really appreciate how it all started and how it might come to an end. The Inner Sphere map itself is so truly unrecognizable from that old colorless map you started with back in the day, both in your videos and in universe. It's also ironic that you hardly, if at all at times, ever make mention of BattleMech's themselves beyond simply saying when units of them get thrown into the fray. It's makes the setting, to me at least, way more interesting given so much of the games revolve entirely around the damned things and yet so much of the universe they take place in don't. Makes the big old bastards seem awfully small in the grand scheme of things, doesn't it?

Worked all night. Finally I can sl….the Third Succession War! Sleep can wait. ::clicks play::

Great work!

i cant wait for the next one mate and thank you very much catching up on all this history is amazing and i cant wait to pass where i left off at 3067 thank you

I've been waiting for the 3rd so patiently. If you ever need fans to record lines to do something like thr SL Civil war, i so volunteer.

excellent as always. ty sven

What's interesting abut this as a history buff is that I can't think of a real-world paralel example from out own world. A war that happens almost immediately among multiple countries after several other knock-down, drag-out wars have already been fought. Maybe the Napoleonic Wars of the various Coalitions? (but it doesn't quite match up)

Literally started watching the 2nd Suc war super cut today cause i needed my hyper detailed battletech lore fix and part 1 one of Suc war 3 drops. Fuck yeah

Third time's the charm. Surely we'll get a winner this time and the Inner Sphere will be united.

Hello been a Battle Tech fan and player since it was a board game and has evolved into computer games over the years past and I cannot wait until the Clan wars begin friend soi far you are doing well, I have been a a clan member of the Ghost Bear clan for many years .... Yeah Freebirth!

And so it begins again. Great work Sven.

So, it begins.... *starts screaming in terror*

Excellent work Sven! This is fantastic as always. I am happy you are covering this murky era of Battletech. I also want you to know that I have switched from my traditional Whiskey/ Bourbon to Gin and tonic featuring Tanqueray. 😎

Let's fucking gooo

HELL YEAH, LET'S GOOOOOOOO

So it begins! Most revered time period of BattleTech! Thanks for doing it! Are you going use the Technical Readout books? Original ones had battle history that capture moments which were part history of the Third Succession War.

Hey Sven ^_^. Thanks for the the effort, your videos are amazing. You mentioned you'd use a visual to help us keep track of where/when in 3rd Succession War we are. Maybe a timeline that shows major points as you do a recap when jumping to a new region of The Sphere?

It has begun.

Ah snap. Great timing.

Seems the devs give Lyrians a nice role: punchbag. I always wonderd, how Lyrian state even still exist? How the different regions do not cede from it, because seemingly, it is not a functional state that could prevent or reverse it. It not even able to utilize its industrial might to mount some noticable defence.

Well done. I didn't expect it so soon, but it's fitting considering how fast things go downhill, again. And of course, Kurita causes trouble again, ironically with themselves first this time. All out of what was likely more miscommunication (or just none at all) and paranoia rather than ill intent. And all that was achieved was the ruination of Zabu's legacy and their own internal security force. Of course, this won't set them back at all, because of the Combine's ridiculous plot armor. Warning : Here be ranting and rambling. 7:08 - While he ultimately turned out to be right, this seems like a repeat of old mistakes. At least get Robinson back. 8:15 - How did he get back from Hesperus if he was leading the ground attack? I suppose it doesn't matter, but it seems like a potential story was missed. Likewise, his high influence seems odd, considering, you know...he *lost*. Sure, it wasn't necessarily his fault, but when has that ever stopped the need for a scapegoat? 11:04 - 11:16 The supposedly rebellious, resistant Rasalhague District has been awfully quiet during the era of the Star League and throughout the Succession Wars, at least as far as what information I've found indicates. Odd, that. And leave it to the Combine to think that cross border trading (and a potential peace) is a reason to start warring again. I'm surprised they didn't start out by executing the traders first. 11:52 - What. Barring some Comstar shenanigans, this is just stupidity. They're next to the nation that started this mess and refused any peace agreement, but their leader is considered a potential warmonger? Despite not even having done anything particularly malicious or stupid so far? 12:15 - 12:52 - Here we go again. _Long sigh._

Oh boy, I sure hope third time's the charm and the great powers will be able to finally settle their differences for the good of all!

Here we go guys... Finally past the background lore preamble and into the game proper.. it only took 18 hours..

Even in the future when we nuclear powered walking battle mechs, it always comes down to some dudes with swords in a hallway duel.

Thanks

Let’s gooooooooo!

It might still be a ways off yet but are you planning to do a series on the SLDF exodus fleet/formation of the clans? Your work is incredible.

We're here boys, time for the main Stretch.

Thankyou thankyou and thankyou

Wow, this war was long.

Cheers

I see Kurita, you know what I'm about

instaclick, like and comment for teh algorithm gods. keep it up Sven

This is gonna be good! (Bad for the Inner Sphere)

IT BEGINS

whooo boy

Two words: Border skirmishes. There. I just saved you months of work

In the words of Tex of the Black Pants Legion: "Fucking Kurita."

A 30 year recovery feels overly generous. Edit: And I'd hardly Cal Rowina's position a house of cards. She was winning the hearts and minds of the common people, she had strong backing from a substantial portion of the intelligence services, and had seized control over vital logistics.

Just Fourth Succession War foreplay.

Also, which mix is playing in this one? I cant find it in his Ambience playlist.

OK. Here. We. Go! Man, these people just don't learn, do they?

Comment for the algorithm

As bad as the clans are, you know what? I get it. Looking forward to the new series, but man can these get depressing.

War. War never ends... So. Game? [Pulls out map packs, minis, etc.] All those [hinted but not covered in the lore] raids & battles being the meta of table-top wargamers playing BT.

You good dude?

Are you going to be doing anything on the clan war with the new game coming out I want to learn more its

So are we not doing the premieres anymore? 😢

Woohoooo