the shape of things to come

Introduced: Pre-spacefl ight
The squad support weapon (SSW) concept is not so much a piece of
technology as a general allowance for communal space and carrying capacities
among the members of a given battle armor squad (or Clan Point).
A common practice in conventional infantry platoons, the application in
battlesuit operations allows designers to “under-load” all like-model suits
in the squad with the intention to carry a larger support weapon than
any one of the same suits otherwise could. In this eff ort to circumvent
the design ceiling of a given suit’s weight and bulk capacities (squad support
weapons tend to appear among lighter-model suits), one trooper in
SQUAD SUPPORT WEAPON
SQUAD SUPPORT WEAPON
a given squad is selected to operate the squad’s support weapon and is
entrusted with the core components of the weapon itself. Meanwhile, the
rest of the squad carries all the removable parts, such as the magazine or
power pack, targeting scopes or even the fi ring muzzles. Once in position,
the squad reassembles the weapon quickly and can move for short
distances while using the weapon. A typical example of an SSW in action is
the use of light TAG by a Kage squad, or the small pulse laser that—according
to the latest fi eld trials on Orestes, anyway—may become standard
SSW gear for the Rasalhagians’ upcoming Kobold battle armor.
Tech Base: Inner Sphere and Clan
Battle Armor Unit Restrictions: Quadruped (Quad) suits may not mount a squad support weapon.
Game Rules: In combat, only one trooper in the squad may be designated as the support weapon unit. Under Total Warfare game play, the squad
support weapon remains operational as long as the designated support weapon suit is not destroyed and its trooper is capable of acting.
Construction Rules: To mount a squad support weapon, each battle armor suit (including exoskeleton and power armor designs) in a given squad
must allocate a certain percentage of the largest desired weapon’s weight (including the weight of its ammo) to the squad support mount. This percentage
is 50 for Inner Sphere squads, 40 for Clan Points. The fi nal weight allocated to the squad support weapon mount must be rounded up to the nearest
kilogram. Also, each suit in the squad must have enough equipment slots in a single location to mount the entire weapon and its ammunition.
A battle armor suit may install only one squad support weapon mount.
Table Reference: Battle Armor Weapons and Equipment (Inner Sphere and Clan, pp. 346–348) Game Rules: Total Warfare, p. 229
Introduced: 3054 (Clan Wolf), 3053 (Draconis Combine)
An even further scaled-down version of the larger battlefi eld systems,
the Light TAG used by battle armor (battlesuit TAG) operates in the same
way as the vehicular version of the light TAG system, and may be used to
designate targets for Arrow IV homing missiles or semi-guided LRMs. At
the battle armor scale, this system is perhaps one of the best candidates
Introduced: 3059 (Clan Goliath Scorpion)
First seen on Clan Goliath Scorpion’s sub-aquatic Undine battle armor design,
underwater maneuvering units (UMUs for short) have not yet appeared
in the Inner Sphere for battle armor. Though this may seem incongruous—at
their core, UMUs simply replace the jet units of standard jump jets with propellers—this
technology has yet to be duplicated in the Inner Sphere. Part
of the reason, of course, is that it really is not so simple as slapping props on
a battlesuit. It also involves adjusting the musculature and pressurization
TAG (LIGHT)
UNDERWATER MANEUVERING UNITS (UMU)
UNDERWATER MANEUVERING UNITS (UMU)
TAG (LIGHT)
for the squad support weapon treatment, because while each member of
a given squad may be equipped with this item, the squad cannot designate
multiple targets at once without confusing the incoming friendly fi re.
Strangely enough, the Kurita Kage suit fi rst deployed with a TAG system
in just such a capacity in 3053—a year before Clan Wolf debuted its own
light TAG system.
Tech Base: Inner Sphere and Clan
Battle Armor Unit Restrictions: No restrictions
Game Rules: Under Total Warfare game play, a battlesuit’s TAG remains operational as long as the suit is not destroyed and its trooper is capable of acting.
Construction Rules: A battle armor suit (including exoskeleton and power armor designs) may mount multiple TAGs if desired, but only 1 (per
squad) may be used in combat.
Table Reference: Battle Armor Weapons and Equipment (Inner Sphere and Clan, pp. 346–348) Game Rules: Total Warfare, p. 229
systems of Inner Sphere suits to deal with the increased rigors of submerged
combat, while simultaneously miniaturizing aquatic propulsion systems to a
point where they are both eff ective and combat viable. It would, after all, prove
pointless to send battle armored troops underwater who could not move as
freely as their Clan counterparts due to a bulky prop system and an inability to
adjust to shifting depths. In this, the Goliath Scorpions held a distinct advantage
in their UMU design; the technologies they needed merely descended
from those they pioneered back before the dawn of the Elemental.
Tech Base: Clan only
Battle Armor Unit Restrictions: Exoskeletons using UMUs may not be constructed with an Inner Sphere chassis type. Quadruped (quad) battlesuits
may not install UMUs.
Construction Rules: The rules for installing UMUs on battlesuits may be found under Determine Non-Ground Movement in Step 2 of the Battle
Armor core construction rules (starting on p. 164). UMU MP may not be combined with any other non-Ground MP types.
Table Reference: Battle Armor Non-Ground Motive Systems, p. 165 Game Rules: Total Warfare, p. 56
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