the shape of things to come

Secondary Weapon Limits
The use of Secondary Weapons by an infantry platoon
comes with a number of restrictions, which can aff ect the
choice of such weapons, their quantity and the mobility of
the platoon. These limits are described below.
Type Limits: The type of weapon (Melee, Standard or Support)
chosen for a platoon’s Secondary Weapon is related to
the type chosen for the platoon’s Primary Weapon. If the platoon
has a Standard Primary Weapon, the designer may select
a Melee, Standard or Support Weapon as a secondary. If the
platoon uses a Melee Primary Weapon, it may only select a
Melee or Standard Secondary Weapon. For example, if a backwoods
infantry platoon chooses vibro-swords as its Primary
Weapon, it cannot pick an SRM for a Secondary Weapon, but
could pick an auto-rifl e, which is a Standard Weapon.
Crew Limits: A platoon may employ a maximum of 2 Secondary
Weapons per squad, or a number of weapons equal to
the number of troopers in one squad divided by the weapon’s
Crew Value (rounded down), whichever is lower. A standard
Inner Sphere platoon—which uses 7-man squads—may fi eld
2 Secondary Weapons with a Crew Value of 3, as the squad
has sufficient manpower for both weapons (7 troops per
squad ÷ 3 crew per weapon = 2.333, rounded down to 2). A
Clan Point, however, which uses 5-man squads, may only fi eld
one Secondary Weapon, as the squad has insuffi cient troops
for more (5 troopers per squad ÷ 3 crew per weapon = 1.667,
rounded down to 1). The Inner Sphere squad may not fi eld
3 Secondary Weapons with a Crew Value of 2, even if they
have the bodies for it, because doing so would exceed the
maximum of 2 Secondary Weapons per squad.
Mobility Limits: At 2 Support Secondary Weapons per
squad, a platoon loses an appreciable amount of mobility.
Foot platoons may move or fi re in a turn, but not both.
Motorized, jump and mechanized (hover or wheeled) platoons
suff er a –1 MP rating for carrying 2 Support Secondary
Weapons per squad. Mechanized (tracked) platoons suff er no
DF/MD
mobility restrictions for carrying 2 Support Secondary Weapons
per squad.
These limits only apply when the Secondary Weapon is a
Support Weapon. Platoons using Melee or Standard Secondary
Weapons do not modify their mobility.
Assigning Secondary Weapons
Once chosen, Secondary Weapons are assigned to the
platoon with one trooper per weapon. Even if the weapon is
crewed by multiple soldiers, only one is required to aim and
fi re it, while the others are free to use their own Primary Weapons
in combat. Troopers designated as Secondary Weapon
operators may not use their Primary Weapon at the same
time, and so receive the Damage Value for their assigned
Secondary Weapon instead.
Darrell decides that his Motorized Laser Rifl e infantry
platoon will not employ Secondary Weapons.
For his Marian Foot Platoon, Eberhard decides to
back up their ballistic rifl es with Secondary Weapons
and chooses machine guns for the job. From the Infantry
Weapons List, he chooses the Support Machine Gun,
which is listed as an Inner Sphere-available weapon, its
type given as “Support (B)B”. The Infantry Classifi cations
Table tells Eberhard that this weapon will function normally
in infantry combat as a ballistic weapon. It also
notes that the “B” special feature grants the machine
gun heavy-burst capability, which adds an extra 1D6
damage against other conventional infantry, as well
as a –1 to-hit modifi er for attacks at Range 0 (changing
the Range 0 to-hit modifi er from –2 to –3—but
only if Eberhard assigns 2 of these weapons per squad.
(Because his platoon is broken into fi ve sub-platoons
for construction and game play, each of Eberhard’s
sub-platoons will receive this bonus ability.)
A detachment from the Eleventh Lyran Guards secures a perimeter for the approaching Karnov UR Transport.
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
151