the shape of things to come

tion is devoted to one or more of the vehicle’s weapons of
the same type (for example, a Support Vehicle armed with 2
Autocannon/2s may store all AC/2 ammunition in a single bin
of any size). All ammunition on Medium and Large Support
Vehicles is presumed to have a Body location.
Remember that, depending on the number of weapons
and types of fi re-control systems used, a Support Vehicle may
require additional crew (and any applicable accommodations)
to handle its fi repower (see Additional Crew Table, p. 131). For
Light and Medium-weight weapons, the gunners required
are based on the weapon’s Crew value shown in the Infantry
Weapons and Equipment Tables. For Heavy weapons, gunners
are required only for any item that requires a Gunnery Skill
roll to use in combat, and which has a range of more than 1
hex. (Thus, automatic defensive armaments like Anti-Missile
Systems, A-Pods, and the like require no gunners, nor do nonweapon
items listed on the Heavy Weapons and Equipment
Tables, like Active Probes and ECM gear.)
Heat Sinks: Heat sinks are required only for Heavy energy
weapons used by the Support Vehicle, and the number of
heat sinks required equals the heat value of all such energy
weapons fired simultaneously. (Medium and Light energy
weapons, which represent infantry combat weapons, do not
require sinks.)
Power Amplifi ers: Any Medium- or Large-sized Support
Vehicle not powered by Fission or Fusion engines may carry
Heavy energy weapons such as lasers and PPCs, but to do so, it
must also mount power amplifi ers. Power amplifi ers weigh 10
percent of the weight of the energy weapons carried (rounded
up to the nearest 0.1 ton, rather than the nearest 0.5 ton), but
take up no equipment slots on the vehicle’s record sheet.
(Medium-weight and Light energy weapons, which represent
infantry combat weapons, do not require power amplifi ers.)
Turrets/Pintles: All Support Vehicles (except VTOLs,
Fixed-Wing craft and Airships) may possess one turret at the
designer’s option, the mass of which must equal at least 10 percent
of the weight of all weapons and equipment (excluding
ammunition) mounted within. This weight must be rounded
up to the nearest kilogram for Small vehicles, or to the nearest
half-ton for Support Vehicles 5 tons and up. A turret counts
as an extra section on the Support Vehicle, requiring its own
internal structure and armor.
Pintles—available to Small vehicles only—may mount only
Light and Medium weaponry, and must weigh no less than 5
percent of the weight of all weapons and equipment mounted
within (rounded to the nearest kilogram). Pintles do not count
as separate locations and do not receive internal structure or
armor. They must be mounted instead in side locations (Left,
Right, Front or Rear).
Small Items on Medium and Large Units: Several items
that may be installed on Medium and Large Support Vehicles
have a weight presented in kilograms rather than tons. When
mounting such items, the designer must keep a running total
of the number of kilograms used. At the end of this step in
the Support Vehicle design process, divide this quantity of
kilograms by 1,000 to fi nd their total weight in tons. The fi nal
result must be rounded up to the nearest half-ton.
Note that if space is available for cargo, this can also be
accomplished by allocating any “loose” kilograms to cargo, so
a 100-ton unit that comes to 96.36 tons because of small items
may simply add a 3.64-ton (3,640-kilogram) cargo bay to reach
an even 100-tons.
Support OmniVehicles: Though it is unusual, weapons
and equipment may be established as fi xed components of a
Support OmniVehicle’s base confi guration just like heat sinks,
armor and the like. These “fixed” items must be mounted
(placed in the vehicle’s Weapon Inventory and assigned to
vehicle locations) before the completion of the base confi
guration. Afterward, these items may not be altered in the
completed Primary or Alternate confi gurations of the Support
OmniVehicle.
For turret- or pintle-equipped OmniVehicles, the tonnage
of the turret or pintle(s) may not be changed across confi gurations.
Developing a Support OmniVehicle therefore requires
the designer to consider in advance how much weight in
equipment (not counting ammunition) may be placed in the
turret and/or pintle location(s), so as to establish the weight of
the turret and/or pintle(s) for the base, Primary and all Alternate
confi gurations of that OmniVehicle. As indicated earlier,
turrets weigh 10 percent of the weight of all weapons located
in the turret. Therefore, the weight of any equipment placed in
a turret (discounting ammunition) may be no greater than 10
times the turret’s weight. Pintles, which weigh 5 percent of
their weapons’ weight, may carry no more than 20 times the
pintle’s weight in items.
With 1,346 kilograms remaining for
his Simca and only 5 item slots, Simon
decides to install 1,000 kilograms’
worth of paramedic equipment, which
will occupy 4 item slots (each slot of
paramedic equipment weighs 0.25
tons or 250 kilograms; 250 kg x 4 = 1,000 kg). For
another 300 kilograms, he adds 4 seats to represent
passenger stretchers (75 kg per seat x 4 seats = 300 kg;
seats occupy no item slots). Finally, Simon assigns the
last 136 kilograms to cargo, taking up the last item slot
in the bargain. As none of these items requires a fi ring
arc, he places all of them in the Simca’s Body location.
As a final touch, Simon adds a rear bay door at
no weight or slot cost, to reflect the large doors
used to quickly load and unload the ambulance’s
precious cargo.
Todd’s Swiftran has only 2 tons of
unspent weight remaining, with 7 item
slots. As his vehicle is a medivac, Todd
also decides to devote much of this
to paramedic equipment, investing a
total of 1.5 tons to 6 slots’ worth of such gear (each
slot of paramedic equipment weighs 0.25 tons x 6
= 1.50 tons). The remaining half-ton is diverted to a
cargo bay that takes up the Swiftran’s fi nal item slot.
Like Simon, Todd allocates all of these items to the
VTOL’s Body location, and installs a 0-ton, 0-slot door
in the rear to designate where passengers are loaded
and unloaded.
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
137