Scott's Game Room’Mech Manual: Sojourner Prime
The Sojourner entered production after Clan Jade Falcon defeated the Kell Hounds and Clan Wolf-in-Exile on Arc Royal. The survivors of Clan Wolf-in-Exile relocated to Donegal and launched an effort to rebuild their forces. In addition to building as many of their existing designs as possible, the exiled Wolves also began to manufacture the Sojourner.
Thanks to the partnership between Clan Wolf-in-Exile and the Lyran Commonwealth, they shared the output of the Sojourner production line. Some of the design also reached Clan Wolf during the Dark Age, and with the exiled Wolves rejoining Clan Wolf on Terra, many of the Sojourners are now operating under the banner of the reborn Star League.
Read This First
- Get to a good firing position and act as a sniper
- Your plasma cannon’s effectiveness varies a lot with targets – focus it on vehicles, infantry, buildings, or ’Mechs where it can push up their heat to the point of taking penalties
- Be careful with when you engage your supercharger
Sojourner Prime
- Role: Sniper
- Tech Base: Clan (3147)
- Chassis: 60 tons (Endo Steel)
- Movement: 4 / 6 (8)
- Jumping: 3
- Armor: 201 (Ferro Fibrous)
- Heat Sinks: 10 (20)
- Weapons:
- Gauss Rifle (ammo: 16)
- ER Large Laser
- Plasma Cannon (ammo: 10)
- Equipment:
- AES
- Supercharger
- CASE II
- Design Quirks:
- Easy to Maintain
- Easy to Pilot
- Rugged (×2)
- Battle Value: 2,491
Mobility
Unlike most Clan heavy OmniMechs, the Sojourner chassis is not built for a cavalry role. Its 4 / 6 movement profile means that it is slower than average for a heavy ’Mech, especially a 60-ton one. It does have a supercharger that can give it a more competitive top speed with shorts bursts of running at 8 MP, but every use comes with risk. The best option is going to be to hold that in reserve for turns when it is necessary to reach a valuable position, and avoid consecutive use to minimize the risk of taking engine damage. With its normal movement profile only allowing for a +2 target movement modifier, the Sojourner will be better off standing in defensive terrain than trying to evade incoming fire with movement.
In the Prime configuration, the Sojourner also mounts 3 jump jets. This is useful to bypass particularly dense terrain, such as leaping to the top of a level 3 building or up a hill covered in woods, but otherwise offers very little benefit compared to staying on the ground.
Durability
The Sojourner chassis is rugged. It has maximum armor for a 60-ton ’Mech and a standard engine that allows it to continue operating even after losing its side torsos. The only explosive component in the Prime configuration is the gauss rifle in the right arm, and that location has CASE II to minimize the impact of it being hit.
Weaponry
The Prime configuration of the Sojourner has a gauss rifle as its primary weapon with an ER large laser and a plasma cannon as its secondary weapons. The rifle and laser give it the potential to deliver two significant hits at ranges in excess of 20 hexes. The plasma cannon can hinder opposing ’Mechs with additional heat or do considerable damage to vehicles, infantry, and buildings.
Maximum and Expected DamageThe gauss rifle is in the Sojourner’s AES equipped right arm which gives it both improved accuracy and a wide firing arc. It does suffer from a minimum range though, so even though it can be fired directly behind the ’Mech, it can be lackluster against short-range backstabbers. The other two weapons are in the left torso and can only fire into the Sojourner’s front arc.
Maximum Damage for Firing ArcsTwo of the Sojourner Prime’s three weapons require ammunition. It has two tons for the gauss rifle and one for the plasma rifle. That is 16 and 10 shots respectively, so in most engagements, it will have enough ammunition to fire whenever it has a shot.
Heat Management
In the Prime configuration, the Sojourner will usually build some heat during a battle. It has 10 double heat sinks and its weapons will produce 20 heat when its fires them all, so each turn of that it will overheat by whatever heat its movement generates. If it is acting as a sniper standing, then it can fire indefinitely, but it can only fight on the move for a couple turns before starting to slow down. When it does get hot, a single turn of holding fire with either the large laser or plasma cannon, depending on available targets, will give it a chance to cool back off.
Heat-Adjusted Maximum and Expected DamageBrawling
In the Prime configuration, the Sojourner doesn’t generally want to be at point-blank range due to its gauss rifle’s minimum range. When it does find itself there, its left arm is free for punching. It has a full set of actuators in that arm and no weapons, so the punch for 6 damage is a good choice with no real downsides. It can also kick for 12 damage, but that carries the risk of falling over on a miss.
OmniMech Chassis
As an OmniMech, the Sojourner can carry mechanized battle armor and be reconfigured between engagements. The Prime configuration does lose the ability to use its laser or plasma cannon when battle armor is mounted. Its relatively slow speed also limits its utility for delivering battle armor to an objective. For reconfiguration, the Sojourner hard mounts its right arm AES and supercharger which reduces some of its flexibility and encourages the placement of the main weapons in its one arm.
Capacity25.5 tonsHead1Center Torso1Right Torso9Left Torso7Right Arm5-7Left Arm4-6Right LegnoneLeft LegnoneMiniature
Iron Wind Metals has a miniature for the Sojourner Prime. They also offer kits for the B and C configurations, so you can pick the one that you like the most and use it to represent any Sojourner config on the table.
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