the shape of things to come

armed IndustrialMechs are themselves a rarity). On par with standard
combat targeting and tracking systems, advanced fi re control enables
support units to function with equal effi ciency to combat units, and even
allows compatibility with the advanced capabilities of targeting computers
and C 3 systems.
Introduced: Pre-spacefl ight (Vehicle Flamer), 2025 (Western Alliance,
Terra [Standard Flamer])
Flamers are a simple weapon with a long history, designed as much for
psychological warfare as for devastation. Most eff ective as anti-infantry
weapons, today’s heavy-weapon models of the fl amer come in two basic
types: fusion-powered plasma fl amers (often regarded as the standard
today), and the fuel-based chemical variety (often dubbed the “vehicle
fl amer”). Both are marketed by a number of well-known manufacturers
across the Inner Sphere, from Flame Tech of Fletcher in the Free Worlds
League to the Hotshot series out of Coventry, or the Zippo available from
factories on Furillo and Hesperus II.
As anti-’Mech weaponry goes, the fl amer is a poor weapon choice, lacking
the range and damage potential of even the typical small laser. Most
BattleMech-mounted models are the Standard type, which taps into the
reactor to produce heat in the form of a plasma release, but these can
deliver fi re in short bursts only. Still devastatingly eff ective against infantry,
fl amer fi re may raise an opposing ’Mech’s heat levels as well. Compared to
a solid engine hit or two, however, fl amers today can do little to imperil
technology now so well protected by innovations like double heat sinks.
FLAMER
Though IndustrialMech models of this equipment are essentially
weightless, swapping out the extant sensor suites with a military-grade
version, the less-effi cient Support Vehicle version of advanced fi re control
masses twice that of the basic version, coming to ten percent of the weight
of all the vehicle’s mounted heavy and medium weapons.
FLAMERS
Because of their poor range and eff ectiveness against other units in
aerospace combat, aerospace units rarely use fl amers. However, their
limited range and “spray” eff ect has made the Standard fl amer marginally
eff ective as a point-defense weapon. Chemical-based vehicle fl amers,
which are functionally useless in space, almost never appear on aerospace
units.
VEHICLE FLAMER
The vehicle flamer is so known because it is favored more by ICEpowered
units, such as lower-cost Combat Vehicles and IndustrialMechs.
Drawing on a store of chemical fuels—typically petroleum-based—these
weapons may be mounted without any need for heat sinks or power
amplifi ers. Though technically available to BattleMechs as well (but not
to aerospace units), the fact that even these fl amer types can cause internal
heat spikes when used—and possess an “ammunition” far less stable
than the rounds in a typical machine gun’s magazines—prompts most
BattleMech designers to pass on the concept.
Tech Base: Inner Sphere and Clan
Unit Restrictions: Aerospace units cannot use Vehicle fl amers. Units not powered by fusion or fi ssion engines may not use Standard fl amers.
Game Rules: Flamers may not be fi red if the unit is shut down or if its pilot/crew is otherwise prevented from acting, but loaded or partially
loaded Vehicular fl amer ammo bins are always live and will explode per standard rules if critically hit during game play.
Construction Rules: Units powered by fusion or fi ssion (including aerospace and ProtoMech engine types, non-standard fusion engines and
Support Vehicle fusion and fi ssion engines) may install either Standard fl amers or Vehicle fl amers as desired. Units powered by non-fusion/fi ssion
engine types may only use Vehicle fl amers. Note that even though they are classifi ed as energy weapons in game play, Vehicle fl amers do not require
power amplifi ers when mounted on non-fusion/non-fi ssion units, nor do they require heat sinks.
Table Reference: Weapons and Equipment (Inner Sphere and Clan, pp. 341–343) Game Rules: Total Warfare, p. 98
In all its forms, the Gauss rifl e is one of the most devastating ballistic
weapons on the battlefi eld today. Developed by the Terran Hegemony
(with prototypes in the fi eld as early as 2587), this weapon system uses
a series of magnets, rather than chemicals or powder, to propel an inert
nickel-ferrous projectile through its rifl e barrel. Through this process, the
weapon achieves incredible muzzle velocities with almost negligible heat.
Though it requires a great deal of power, and the charged capacitors represent
an explosion hazard if damaged in combat, the raw kinetic damage
a Gauss rifl e can infl ict—and the excellent ranges at which it can deliver
such damage—easily surpasses these drawbacks.
ANTI-PERSONNEL GAUSS RIFLE
[Introduced: 3069 (Clan Jade Falcon)
In 3069, Clan Jade Falcon began to deploy a new, lightweight Gauss
system specifi cally aimed at anti-personnel work. Though fi rst carried by
Falcon Elementals in a bid to give themselves a decisive edge against the
host of new Spheroid battlesuits they were encountering, the anti-personnel
(AP) Gauss soon found its way to ’Mech and vehicle usage. Reliable
reports from the Homeworlds suggest that the weapon has since been
duplicated across Clan-held space, with the Blood Spirits recently deploying
this weapon on some of their newer ProtoMech designs.
GAUSS RIFLE
Essentially a Gauss-based variation of a needler weapon, the AP Gauss
fi res a deadly hail of metal fl echettes at supersonic speeds. Thanks in part
to their added acceleration, these fl echettes can scour their way through
battlefi eld armor, unlike normal needler shot, which makes this weapon
particularly deadly to battle-armored troops and conventional infantry
alike. –EB]
HEAVY GAUSS RIFLE
Introduced: 3061 (Lyran Alliance)
Seeking a weapon that would not simply close the Clan-Sphere
technology gap, but surpass it in terms of raw power, Lyran engineers
at Defi ance Industries developed the immensely powerful heavy Gauss
rifl e in 3061. With energy needs so great that only a nuclear engine can
keep it charged, the heavy Gauss rifl e actually generates—through sheer
kinetic energy—enough recoil to destabilize its fi ring unit. Coupled with
the weapon’s extreme bulk, these factors have severely limited its options
for vehicle and BattleMech design, as the weapon creates too much structural
strain to be mounted in a turret or arm. Worse, despite all the raw
power, the weapon is most devastating only at its closest ranges, because
the projectile experiences dramatic loss of kinetic energy over longer
distances.
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