Rus Богатырь (BOGATYR) Main Battle Tank

  RUS Богатырь (Bogatyr) Main Battle Tank

Of the Ascended, none has made as much military impact as Yuriy Voronov.  One of the earliest of those selected for Ascendancy, Yuriy was purposed with the same task that He excelled at in His life before, the creation and unification of the Rus's military forces.  To that end, Yuriy devoted His new existence with teams of engineers and scientists in large testing and manufacturing facilities for almost two centuries before presenting to the other Ascended Minds the resulting machines of war.

One of the many long-standing results of this labor is the Bogatyr Main Battle Tank.

Designed for maximum effectiveness on the battlefield during long deployments with little modification or repair, the Bogatyr (Rus for Hero-Soldier) features double weapons systems and heavier-than-normal armor.  When produced, the entire chassis is made as one single component, cast from toughened nanomized metaloid compounds.  This results in durability that allows the unit to sustain functionality decades or even centuries after noticeable structural trauma.  Indeed, the process of making the Bogatyr makes repair in most cases impossible.  Service records, however, hold that compared to an unstressed version, serviceability often remains unchanged.

Designed into the Bogatyr is a sealed and self-sustained life-support system which also includes a cramped, but adequate, habitation unit.  This allows for crew to function in some of the harshest conditions, even if away from supply lines, for days at a time.  Living in the tank, although not usually required, is often preferred by many who are assigned to them.  Often enough the Bogatyr will outlive its crew, who learn the peculiarities of their mechanical charge.  Making modifications is strictly prohibited, but most tankers living and serving in the Rus army end up developing names and special vocabulary particular to the operation of their Bogatyr.

It is common to find Veteran Bogatyr crew as well as those with a streak of independence being Elite or even Commanders if the situation needs.  Sometimes there are Bogatyr left behind due to lack of space or to leave a more fortified garrison for the defense of an outlying system, where the local militia will have a limited amount of fuel to use in the event of emergencies.  In these cases, an inexperienced crew may be used with the Mercenary rules.


DESIGNER NOTES:

As my first tank, I didn't want to get too fancy with it.  I took inspiration from the DI Morgan miniature I used to play with in my youth (though rather elongated in the MW:AoD line) and to be less heavy in tonnage.  A good all-arounder and a tough take-all comers to bulk up the ranks of the Rus before I get to any wild specialist units (still thinking bear-cavalry).  Thinking in contrast to the MBT I want to build for the SoH faction, I wanted this to be tougher, more rugged, and slower, but set in it's ways vs the SoH faction's Swiss Army Knife kit-for-the-mission alternative.

I'm rather satisfied how it turned out.  Barrels are harder to do than they look, and while they do rather look cartoonishly large for real life, I think it's appropriate for the Rus, the faction that goes with what works and goes bigger on it when it stops working.

As usual, you can find the file for this on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/596787544102795/