the shape of things to come

version, by comparison, is a bit more compact and one ton lighter, but
gains an extra fi fty percent of thermo-kinetic damage at no signifi cant
increase in reach.)
ER PPCs reached their apex in the fi nal days of the Star League with
Terra-based Martinson Armaments’ Kinslaughter H-Class, mounted on the
SPT-N2 Spartan. The Draconis Combine managed to revive the technology
shortly before the War of 3039, but only a handful of these weapons
reached the fi eld during that confl ict. By the time of the Clan Invasion,
this re-proven technology was back in broad production, with Ceres Arms,
Defi ance Industries and Johnston Industries all among the chief producers
of the upgraded models.
HEAVY PPC
[Introduced: 3067 (Draconis Combine)
The Combine was on a veritable PPC binge in the early months of 3067,
with several variant models under development and even shared with
the Free Worlds League in a dubious tech trade. Reportedly, Coordinator
Theodore Kurita was aware of the deal, but was trying to shield the project
from the new Star League’s prying eyes. Whether the Coordinator did this
to preserve Combine security or merely to test the reborn Star League’s
intelligence capability is anyone’s guess.
The heavy PPC was an eff ort to match the destructive force of the Clan
ER PPC without overloading a BattleMech’s heat sink system. The weapon
achieves this eff ect, but at a cost in range, tonnage and size. The heavy
model is nearly half again as massive as the standard and ER models, and
has the same range profi le as the standard PPC—complete with focusing
issues at distances of less than 90 meters.
LIGHT PPC
Introduced: 3067 (Draconis Combine)
The light PPC, an eff ort to produce a more compact versions of the
same weapon, also proved a limited success. Once more achieving the
same range profi le as the standard Inner Sphere PPC, this model has half
the heat and damage potential as well—with a weight and size profi le
roughly half that of the standard PPC. Only the fact that its reach is
still half again better than the Spheroid ER medium laser has kept this
weapon viable.
PPC
SNUB-NOSE PPC
[Introduced: 3067 (Draconis Combine)
The snub-nose PPC was a Star League-era experiment in “overcharging”
the standard PPC design that died before it was fully completed and
deployed. The intent of the experiment was to achieve the same devastating
eff ect at a reduced weapon size, and to eliminate the standard model’s
minimum-range eff ect. The net result, unfortunately, was a weapon that
lost eff ectiveness over range and lacked some of the reach of the standard
PPC, but had a better short-range envelope nonetheless. The weapon failed
to reach widespread production before the Exodus, and its lessons were
integrated with early Clan eff orts to refi ne the standard PPC (a process that
fi nally resulted in the hard-hitting power of the Clan ER PPC). Combine
engineers, however, apparently managed to revive this abandoned concept
while developing their light and heavy PPC models. –EB]
STANDARD PPC
Introduced: 2460 (Terran Hegemony)
Extinct: Circa 2820 (Clan only)
The standard PPC is the favored “big gun” of lighter ’Mech classes and
long-distance raiders that can’t aff ord to pay the tonnage for big ballistics
like the Gauss rifl e or autocannon/20. Once considered the apex of energy
weapon technology, these particle cannons have excellent reach for the
tactical battlefi eld and can vaporize about two tons of standard militarygrade
armor in just three solid hits. Unfortunately, they are less eff ective at
ranges of less than 90 meters, as the particle fi elds at this range are deliberately
inhibited by the weapon design. This feature—hardwired to every
standard PPC model from the Donals produced in the Taurian Concordat
to the Parti-Kills made on New Earth—is an electronics safety feature,
intended to prevent the unfocused static of a discharging PPC from
overloading the fi ring unit’s electronics. The enhancements that make
ER models possible overcame this drawback, though the original models
have remained popular for their lower cost and centuries of reliability.
The Clans discontinued use of the standard PPC after developing their
own ER version, which is lighter and more compact than the original
design. Akin to their treatment of standard autocannon and laser weapons,
the heirs of Kerensky apparently relegated the somewhat “advancedstandard”
models they had designed to the scrap heaps or solahma duty
sometime around the 2820s, leaving only a handful to survive to the
modern era—typically on DropShip hulls.
Tech Base: Inner Sphere (Standard, ER, Light, Heavy and Snub-Nosed) and Clan (ER only)
Unit Restrictions: No restrictions
Game Rules: PPCs may not be fi red if the unit is shut down or if its pilot/crew is otherwise prevented from acting.
Construction Rules: PPCs may be mounted on any unit in accordance with the unit’s standard core construction rules. In addition, OmniMechs
must remove lower arm or hand actuators in any Arm location selected to carry a PPC of any size.
Table Reference: Weapons and Equipment (Inner Sphere and Clan, pp. 341–343) Game Rules: Total Warfare, p. 98
[At the time of this document, plasma weaponry—which uses a lasing
process to fl ash cartridges of plastic foam into white-hot projectiles—was
an infantry support weapon fi elded by the Capellan Confederation for
battle armor use only. That changed in 3068, when the Capellans fi elded
the first vehicular-scaled models during their counter-assault on the
Federated Suns’ Capellan March. Since then, two such weapons have
entered service. Though classed as energy weapons, the plasma rifl e and
cannon both require ammunition to function, making them a curious
hybrid of energy weapons and ballistics.
PLASMA CANNON
Introduced: 3069 (Clan Diamond Shark)
Clan Diamond Shark engineers were stymied in their own eff orts to
utilize fusion plasma as an eff ective long-range weapon when news of the
Capellan innovation somehow reached them in late 3068. After some hasty,
PLASMA WEAPONS
desperate eff orts, the Sharks apparently managed to obtain enough samples
of the Capellans’ man-portable technology to reverse-engineer the process
and adapt it to their own weapon design, ultimately producing their plasma
cannon by mid-3069—a year after the Confederation had already begun to
fi eld its own vehicle-scale version. Compared to the Spheroid plasma rifl e,
the Clan version is much smaller and more compact, with a slight advantage
in range for the same battlefi eld endurance of 10 shots per ton. However,
the Clan model cannot match the armor-defeating capabilities of the House
Liao innovation, and is eff ectively a “heat gun” in battle, able to spike a target
’Mech’s heat levels without infl icting hard armor damage.
PLASMA RIFLE
Introduced: 3068 (Capellan Confederation)
The plasma rifl e began as an attempt to deploy a long-range fl amer
technology for use as a heat-inducing “’Mech stunner” weapon system.
i