the shape of things to come

SRM or LRM warhead, these multi-purpose missiles (sometimes called
an SRM/T or LRM/T to emphasize their role) can be used as a torpedo or
a normal missile with a standard launcher, and made it possible for the
Scorpions’ Undine battlesuits to function equally well underwater and on
land. The drawback, of course, is weight. Weighing in at double the mass
of a comparable short- or long-range missile, multi-purpose warheads can
limit a battle armor’s options for secondary equipment just to have the
To call a spade a spade, what battle armor designers call “mission equipment”
is little more than a small cargo bay built into the suit. This protected
storage area can carry items of reasonable size—typically around a cubic
meter or so—up to the weight limits set aside by the chassis’ design. This
Tech Base: Inner Sphere and Clan
Battle Armor Unit Restrictions: Only quadruped (quad) battlesuits
may install turret mounts. Only humanoid battlesuits (including exoskeletons
and power armor) may install standard modular weapon mounts.
Both body types may install anti-personnel weapon mounts.
Game Rules: Modular weapon mounts (including the confi gurable turret
mount, but not the standard turret mount) enable a battlesuit to mimic
the confi gurable capabilities of Omni units, but have no direct impact on
Total Warfare game play.
Construction Rules: Humanoid battle armor may place a maximum of 1
standard MWM in each arm and 2 in the body. Quad battlesuits may place a
maximum of 1 turret (confi gurable or standard) in the body only.
For specifi c rules on the modular equipment adaptor or squad support
weapon mounts, see Manipulators (p. 259) and Squad Support Weapon
(p. 270), respectively.
The weights of standard, AP and turret mounts are shown in the table
below. Also listed (under the Space column) is the number of weapon slots
occupied by the mount, followed by the number of weapon slots available
for any equipment to be mounted in it (under Capacity). An entry of “As
Location” under Capacity means that all slots remaining in the mount’s
location (after those occupied by the mount itself or any gear placed there
before the mount was installed) are considered part of the modular mount.
(For example, if an arm has three slots open, and then installs a standard
MWM for 1 slot, the remaining 2 slots in that arm may be used for a weapon
placed in that standard MWM. In another example, an 80 kg confi gurable
turret—with a Capacity of 4—has a set limit of 4 slots for its mount, and
occupies 2 more slots for the mount itself).
The weight and weapon slots of any items placed in any modular mount (including ammunition) may be found under their appropriate entries
throughout this section. Only standard battle armor weapons may be mounted in standard modular weapon mounts. AP weapon mounts may only
accommodate AP-scale light and medium weapons (see Weapons, Anti-Personnel, p. 271).
Table Reference: See Chart
MODULAR/TURRET MOUNTS
capability of striking submerged targets in the relatively unlikely event of
subsurface combat.
Torpedoes: Rather than taking the BattleMech and vehicular-scale approach
to torpedo technology, torpedoes used by battle armor are more
missile-based, requiring simply that the missiles themselves—which use a
specialized alternative chemical propellant and aquatic thrust system—be
modifi ed, rather than the munitions and their launcher.
MISSION EQUIPMENT
space is commonly used to carry such diverse cargo as explosive charges,
tools, spare ammo for other units, or even remote sensors and mines, if the
unit in question does not already have the proper dispensers.
Tech Base: Inner Sphere and Clan
Battle Armor Unit Restrictions: No restrictions
Game Rules: Mission equipment is the battle armor equivalent of cargo space. The contents of a mission equipment item have no impact in Total
Warfare standard rules play.
Construction Rules: A battle armor suit (including exoskeleton and power armor designs) may mount only one mission equipment item, the
contents of which may be any weight desired up to any remaining weight after the installation of all other battlesuit components.
Table Reference: Battle Armor Weapons and Equipment (Inner Sphere and Clan, pp. 346–348)
The fact of the matter is, battle armor gains one design benefi t that
BattleMechs didn’t have during their early development, and that is
hindsight. Where OmniMech technology revolutionized the BattleMech
during the height of the Clans’ Golden Century, battle armor came onto
MISSION EQUIPMENT
MODULAR/TURRET MOUNTS
the scene after the benefi ts of Omni design were a proven technology.
This mindset appears in the development of the modular weapon mount
(MWM) technologies available to both Inner Sphere- and Clan-made
armor and exoskeleton designs. Five main MWM types can be identifi ed:
Space Capacity
(Slots (Slots
Modular Mount Type Weight Occupied) Available)
Standard Modular Weapon Mount 10 kg 1 As Location
Anti-Personnel Weapon Mount 5 kg 1 As Location
Modular Turret Mount -- -- --
40 kg* 1 1*
50 kg 1 2
60 kg 1 3
70 kg 1 4
80 kg 1 5
90 kg 1 6
100 kg 1 7
110 kg 1 8
120 kg 1 9
130 kg 1 10
Modular Turret Mount (Configurable) +10 kg** +1** –1**
*Modular turret mounts in this size cannot be classifi ed as confi gurable.
**Weight, space and capacity modifi ers apply to the desired standard turret mount size.
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