the shape of things to come

STEP 4: ADD ARMOR
Armor helps protect the Combat Vehicle’s internal structure
and critical components. Depending on the tech base used
and the type of armor selected for a Combat Vehicle, armor
can vary in tonnage and item space.
Unlike BattleMechs, which limit their armor maximums by
body locations, the maximum amount of armor a Combat
Vehicle may mount is not based on the number of points of
internal structure it has, but on its total tonnage. Regardless of
the technology base chosen, a Combat Vehicle may mount a
number of armor points equal to 3.5 times the vehicle’s weight,
plus 40 (rounded down to the nearest whole number). This
limit applies regardless of the type of armor chosen, but with
the exception of VTOL rotors, no Combat Vehicle’s hit location
has an actual maximum limit (unlike BattleMechs). VTOL
rotors have a maximum armor limit of 2 points, regardless of
the unit’s size.
Armor may be mounted in full- or half-ton lots, and provides
a base amount of 16 points per ton of standard armor (8
points per half ton). The use of alternative armor types (such as
ferro-fi brous) can modify this amount as shown in the Combat
Vehicle Armor Table below, allowing for generally higher pointsper-ton
ratios at a cost in greater bulk (and fewer item slots on
the vehicle’s inventory).
To determine the armor value provided by these alternative
armor types, multiply the base armor value (16 points per
ton) by the Base Armor Multipliers shown for the appropriate
DF
Karnov UR Transport, Eleventh Lyran Regulars (House Steiner)
armor type in the Armor Table below, rounding the fi nal result
down to the nearest full point. For instance, a vehicle that uses
6 tons of Inner Sphere ferro-fi brous armor would receive 107
armor points (6 tons x 16 points per ton x 1.12 = 107.52 armor
points, rounded down to 107), while 1 ton of the same armor
would provide only 17 armor points (1 ton x 16 points per ton
x 1.12 = 17.92, round down to 17).
Conversely, if a specifi c number of armor points is sought—up
to the vehicle’s computed Maximum Armor Factor, that is—and
the weight is unknown, the designer can fi nd the weight (in tons)
by dividing the target number of armor points by 16 times the
Base Armor Multiplier. This result is rounded up to the nearest
half-ton. For example, if a designer decides to mount 92 points
of heavy ferro-fi brous armor, he will need 5 tons to accomplish
that (92 points ÷ [16 x 1.24] = 4.64 tons, which rounds up to
the nearest half at 5). Note, however, that sometimes a desired
number of points—such as many Maximum Armor Factors—
may force the designer to “waste” weight on points that cannot
be mounted. If, in the example of the heavy ferro-fi brous armor,
110 armor points were the maximum that could be installed
on the vehicle, the actual 6-ton capacity of heavy ferro-fi brous
armor needed to attain that level would produce 119 points (6
tons x 16 points/ton x 1.24 = 119.04 points, rounded down), and
would result in 9 points of “wasted” armor.
Use the Armor Diagram on the vehicle’s record sheet to
indicate the number of Armor Points protecting each part
of the unit’s body by marking out any excess armor circles in
the same way as for the internal structure. Armor circles for a
given location are located in the appropriate unshaded parts
of the diagram.
Combat Vehicles built under these rules may not combine
multiple armor types on the same design.
Tech Base: Standard armor is universally available to
both the Clan and Inner Sphere technology bases. Inner
Sphere-designed Combat Vehicles can also use Inner Sphere
ferro-fibrous, light ferro-fibrous and heavy ferro-fibrous
armors. Clan Combat Vehicles may only use standard and Clan
ferro-fi brous armors.
Space: Carrying ferro-fibrous armor reduces a Combat
Vehicle’s allotment of item slots. The number of slots reduced
by using a given armor type is shown on the Combat Vehicle
Armor Table.
COMBAT VEHICLE ARMOR TABLE
Maximum Armor Factor (Points): (3.5 x Vehicle Weight) + 40
Base Armor Points per Ton: 16
Armor Type
Base
Armor
Multiplier
Item Slots
(Inner
Sphere)
Item Slots
(Clan)
Standard 1.0 0 0
Light Ferro-Fibrous 1.06 1 NA
Ferro-Fibrous (I.S.) 1.12 2 NA
Ferro-Fibrous (Clan) 1.2 NA 1
Heavy Ferro-Fibrous 1.24 3 NA
INTRODUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
BASICS
BATTLEMECH
CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRIALMECH
CONSTRUCTION
PROTOMECH
CONSTRUCTION
COMBAT VEHICLE
CONSTRUCTION
SUPPORT VEHICLE
CONSTRUCTION
CONV. INFANTRY
CONSTRUCTION
BATTLE ARMOR
CONSTRUCTION
AEROSPACE UNIT
CONSTRUCTION
WEAPONS AND
HEAVY EQUIPMENT
INFANTRY WEAPONS
AND EQUIPMENT
COSTS AND
AVAILABILITY
BATTLE VALUE
INDEX
RECORD SHEETS
105