[quote=@Starlance]
Are we married to the default loadout listed in the document you provided, or can we mess with it and if so, under what rules?
[/quote]

The doc is mostly for people who aren't familiar with the setting and could use help picking the faction and Mech they want. If you've got a specific 'Mech that isn't on the list, or a variant (like the all-laser Hunchback or the PPC Catapult), those are fine, with the following restrictions:

-It must be a 'Mech in regular service by the year 3030; extinct Star League mechs or ultra-rare models are off the table.
-While it should go without saying, Clan 'Mechs like the Timber Wolf or later-era stuff like the Barghest are also out, since that would require the invention of time travel (with the exception of the Raven; I know the sourcebooks say it doesn't come online until the 3040s, but the Warrior Trilogy has it in the Fourth Succession War, and the recent Battletech PC game has it in service as early as 3018, so I'm counting it).
-Assault 'Mechs are off-limits at least for the early game; the whole concept of the Green Knights being a band of rag-tag underdogs doesn't really work if everyone is stomping around in an Atlas.