the shape of things to come

Introduced: 2740 (Terran Hegemony)
Extinct: 2795 (Inner Sphere)
Recovered: 3035 (Capellan Confederation)
The Star League developed MASC (Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry)
as a means to coax tremendous speed boosts out of scout ’Mechs.
Essentially an override for the standard movement circuitry regulating a
BattleMech’s leg myomers, this system can push these bundles to expand
and relax much more quickly than standard tolerances ordinarily allow. The
result is a short, ten-second burst of speed—as fast as double the ’Mech’s
normal walking rate—but the fact that the myomers and actuators are
stressed beyond their normal tolerances can lead to alignment problems
and bearing strain. With prolonged, continuous use, in fact, the likelihood
of torn bundles and complete actuator malfunctions rises dramatically.
Wiser MechWarriors thus prefer to engage MASC only intermittently, to
avoid transforming their speed demon into a tangle of ruined limbs and a
target for enemy units seeking easy prey.
MYOMER ACCELERATOR SIGNAL CIRCUITRY (MASC)
PROTOMECH MYOMER BOOSTER
[Introduced: 3068 (Clans Blood Spirit and Ice Hellion)
A similar concept to MASC, ProtoMech myomer booster technology was
fi eld-tested by Clans Blood Spirit and Fire Mandrill in a spate of Homeworld
Trials in the latter half of 3068. The technology, however, originated with
the Ice Hellions, whose obsessive love for speed prompted them to develop
this small-scale alteration of MASC technology for ProtoMechs and battle
armor around 3066 or 3067. Unlike MASC, the ProtoMech booster can
operate continuously, producing a steady running speed equal to about
twice that of a given Proto’s full walking rate. Only the unique nature of
ProtoMech design has made this possible, with their smaller sizes making
for easier heat management and their lighter chassis weights yielding a
relatively more robust myomer and actuator design compared to full-size
BattleMechs. Nevertheless, there remains some potential for internal damage—specifi
cally to the pilot—when using this system, as it still taxes the
machine’s tolerances and those of the warrior whose brain is wired into it.
Since the ProtoMech booster’s debut, the technology has spread
throughout the Homeworlds and is only now working its way into the
invading Clan forces through the Horses and Diamond Sharks. –EB]
MYOMER ACCELERATOR SIGNAL CIRCUITRY (MASC)
Tech Base: Inner Sphere (MASC only) and Clan (MASC and ProtoMech myomer booster)
Unit Restrictions: Only BattleMechs may install MASC. Only ProtoMechs may install the ProtoMech myomer booster.
Game Rules: These systems will not function if the unit’s engine is shut down or if the pilot is unable to act (or if critically hit).
Construction Rules: For BattleMech MASC construction rules, consult the Special Physical Enhancements rules in Step 2 of the BattleMech Core
Construction rules (p. 48). BattleMechs may not install MASC and triple-strength myomer on the same design.
For ProtoMech myomer booster rules, consult the Special Physical Enhancements rules in Step 2 of the ProtoMech core construction rules (p. 82).
Table Reference: Weapons and Equipment (Inner Sphere and Clan, pp. 341–343; ProtoMech, pp. 343) Game Rules: Total Warfare, p. 137 (MASC), p. 187 (ProtoMech myomer booster)
Introduced: 2587 (Terran Hegemony)
Extinct: 2795 (Inner Sphere)
Recovered: 3035 (Free Worlds League)
Though hailed as another lost-and-found innovation of the Star League,
at heart the Narc missile beacon is little more than a heavily modifi ed
and specialized single-tube SRM launcher. Rather than lobbing missiles,
however, the Narc—adapted for the electro-magnetic soup of the modern
battlefi eld—fi res larger magnetic grappling munitions called (appropriately
enough) “Narc pods.” These pods contain powerful homing beacons
capable of cutting through most standard forms of ECM—at least until
the Guardian suite came along—and are used to attract friendly missiles
equipped with properly attenuated sensors. Though the eff ect is similar to
that of Artemis-enhanced missile fi re, some consider Narc pods superior
to the Artemis because the signal lock cannot be broken once established.
An attached beacon remains fi xed to its target, calling in missiles upon
itself until its unwilling “host” is destroyed. Moreover, the eff ect of a single
unit equipped with a Narc launcher can enhance the targeting of every
friendly missile support unit using Narc-compatible missiles, while the
Artemis can only aff ect the missiles of the shooter.
Even though its functions would seem to clash with many of their battle
philosophies, the Clans never lost the ability to produce the Narc system,
and they have even managed to reduce its size and bulk. For the Inner
Sphere, it took the eff orts of Free Worlds League engineers and the Gray
Death Memory Core to bring the Narc back from the dead in 3035. Since
then, designers have made several refi nements to the system itself and the
pods it can launch, expanding on the utility of this piece of EW hardware.
IMPROVED NARC LAUNCHER
Introduced: 3062 (ComStar/Word of Blake)
The ComStar-produced improved Narc launcher (often referred to as
the iNarc) debuted in 3062—a full ten years after eff orts to enhance the
NARC MISSILE BEACON
system began. Intended to improve the fl exibility of the beacon launcher,
the fi nal result was an electronic warfare package that boasted a roughly
67 percent increase in eff ective range (longer even than the Clan model) at
the cost of increased weight, bulk and pod size. Though this last point left
the Narc with fewer rounds per ton—and these pods could now be easily
“brushed off ” during combat—the increase in size also enabled ComStar
engineers to incorporate a variety of specialized warheads unveiled at
the same time as the improved launcher. These enhanced pods range in
capability from an enhanced version of the standard homing pod to the
devastatingly cunning Nemesis pods.
NARC MUNITIONS
The special munitions outlined below have been deployed by Narc and
iNarc launchers to date. Most are specialties of the iNarc system, but two—
the homing and explosive pod types—are actually employed by both Narc
systems with slightly diff erent eff ects. To diff erentiate between them, each
pod designation is preceded by its launcher type (Narc or iNarc).
iNarc Homing Pods: A target hit with an iNarc homing pod not only
attracts more Narc-equipped missiles in a given volley fi red upon it, but is
also easier to hit with said missiles, as the much more powerful beacons
expedite friendly lock-ons.
iNarc Explosive Pods: The larger iNarc version of the Combine-developed
explosive Narc pods can deliver a more devastating charge when
activated, shearing away 50 percent more armor than its smaller cousin.
iNarc ECM Pods: The ECM pod actually latches a short-range jamming
fi eld around itself and the target to which it is attached, eff ectively negating
the benefi ts of many EW-based systems that may be mounted on the
target, including Artemis fi re control and C 3 computer systems.
iNarc Haywire Pods: The “Haywire” pod, a specialized and aggressive
variation on the ECM pod, emits powerful static and electromagnetic
“noise” that overpowers its target’s electronic systems, including tracking
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