the shape of things to come

hunters, or as a desperate “backup weapon” to a pistol or rifl e. While a few
more modern variations on these weapons have come into play over the
ages—such as vibroswords and stunsticks—archaic weaponry remains an
uncommon sight in massed combat.
Despite this, a number of these may appear on today’s battlefi eld.
House Kurita’s DCMS forces, for instance, maintain an infatuation with
the katana sword. The Capellans—especially since Chancellor Liao’s Xin
Sheng movement—have taken to bringing dao blades into battle. Our
own more practical troopers always carry combat knives in the fi eld.
Pistols
Overall, pistols are any non-archaic ranged combat weapon that can be
fi red one-handed by an average trooper. The earliest form of these weapons
dates back to the days when our ancestors on Terra crossed the oceans
on rickety wooden sailing ships and still had trouble grasping that the
world was not fl at. Even today, the simplistic technology of gunpowder-
or chemical-based slug throwers dominates the pistols category. Modern
technology, however, has introduced additional pistol types, including the
self-propelled gyrojets, magnetic-accelerated gauss weapons, energybased
laser pistols and even the shredded-polymer “needler” weapons.
The variety of such weaponry is astounding. Today’s AFFS soldier,
for instance, prefers the Serrek Arms 7875D auto-pistol as his standard
sidearm, while his Lyran counterpart might favor automatic slug throwers
or fl echette weapons made by Mauser & Gray. In Kurita space, the
Nambu auto-pistol or Nakjima hand laser are popular weapons, while
some Capellans fi eld a two-shot gauss pistol dubbed the Mandrake.
On the modern battlefi eld, pistols have largely eclipsed the role of
some archaic weaponry thanks to their ease of use, portability and
greater damage potential against armor. Still, their use by infantry
platoons en masse is exceedingly rare, because pistols still lack the
range and damage capabilities of more powerful and eff ective rifl es.
Rifl es
The third broad category of small arms, rifles share a common
developmental history with pistols, emerging at about the same time
and following the same general progression of advancement. Larger
than pistols, rifl es are designed for two-handed fi ring. Their ability to
deliver greater damage potential with longer range and improved accuracy
over pistols has made rifl es the quintessential primary weapon
of modern infantry. A skilled marksman with a rifl e will likely drop an
enemy combatant in one shot—even if the target is wearing body
armor. There have even been tales of Elementals in their battlesuits
being dropped by a well-placed rifl e shot—though these tales, if true,
are obviously more exception than rule.
Like pistols, rifl es are a varied weapon choice—particularly when
considering shotgun and SMG varieties. Still, most state armies employ
standardized arms to simplify logistics. Federated-Boeing products,
for instance, dominate our own AFFS, with examples like the long rifl e
and the M42B rifl e system. The Lyrans, as we all know, prefer the TK
assault rifl e, the M&G fl echette rifl e or the Gunther MP-20 submachine
gun. Our neighbors in Kurita and Liao space, respectively, prefer the
Magna ML8 or the Intek laser rifl es. Free Worlds League troops are
more inclined to use the Imperator AX-22 assault rifl e.
CONVENTIONAL INFANTRY WEAPONS
Submachine Guns and Shotguns: While they technically form a
fourth and fifth category of infantry weapons, submachine guns
(SMGs) and shotguns are technically an outgrowth of the rifl e, though
both often lack the range and accuracy that makes the rifl e such an
eff ective killer. Instead, submachine guns make up for their relative
inaccuracies by spitting out a stream of slugs, while shotguns blast a
cloud of pellets for a devastating “splash” eff ect. Both of these weapons
are ideal anti-personnel weapons, mind you, but on the modern
battlefi eld, they remain poorer cousins to the rifl e because of their
generally reduced range and anti-armor potential.
Support Weapons
At the heaviest tier of modern infantry weapon systems—often so
big that it takes more than one trooper to handle them in battle—are
support weapons. Designed for far greater range, punch or even
volume of fi re, support weapons are most typically employed in antiarmor
work. In this category, one fi nds the bigger brothers to almost
every type of rifl e in existence, with heavy machine guns, lasers and
gauss rifl es easily outclassing their smaller cousins, grenade and missile
launchers putting gyrojet guns to shame, and even heavy fl amers
for anti-infantry work.
Also thrown into this category (like SMGs and shotguns, they can
be classed either by themselves or as support weapons) are hand
grenades: high-explosive or fragmentary weapons delivered by
little more elaborate means than how far a man can throw them.
Unsurprisingly, these weapons are considered ill-suited to the modern
battlefi eld, as their range of eff ect is often too limited to make the likes
of a battlefi eld vehicle worry.
Typical support weapons one might encounter today include the
Grand Mauler or Magshot gauss weapons employed by our own troops.
The LAAF and CCAF both favor SRM launchers, such as the Lyranmade
DynaCo S2 TwinShot, or the Capellans’ Mark-II Harpoon LiteFire.
Combine forces have introduced the somewhat dubious Dragonsbane
disposable support laser as well as the Tsunami gauss rifle, while
ComStar’s Hellbore may set the standard in support laser weapons.
Special Purpose Weaponry
In almost every one of the above categories, there exist special
variations on the infantry weapon’s theme. Stunsticks and neural
whips, for instance, are advanced forms of archaic weapons intended
to subdue or inflict pain without damage. Dart guns and sonic
stunners provide a similar capability for the pistol class. Meanwhile,
the Capellan Confederation’s Ceres Arms Crowdbuster or the Free
Worlds League’s Buccaneer gel gun are intriguing adaptations of
shotgun-style rifl es. The Lyrans’ Firedrake support needler, with its
hypergolic-laced fl echettes, and the Capellan plasma rifl e add even
more incendiary options to the support weapon category. While
many of these weapons are intended for off -battlefi eld usage (such
as riot duty or boarding actions), and special munitions enable many
ballistic weapons and ordnance launchers to achieve the same eff ects,
these unique special-purpose weapons can occasionally turn up in an
enemy’s order of battle.
Tech Base: Inner Sphere and Clan
Conventional Infantry Unit Restrictions: No restrictions.
Game Rules: Under Total Warfare game rules, conventional infantry retains the same weapon to-hit modifi ers, attack rules and special
weapon eff ects (if any) regardless of the amount of damage sustained, though overall damage and anti-’Mech capability will be reduced
with platoon damage. Special weapons features are defi ned with the weapons types described under Step 2 of the Conventional Infantry
core construction rules, starting on p. 148.
Construction Rules: The rules for choosing a conventional platoon’s primary and secondary weapons, and determining their overall
damage values and range modifi ers, are found under Step 2 of the Conventional Infantry core construction rules (starting on p. 148).
Under these construction rules conventional infantry weapon and ammunition weights need not be tracked. These values appear on the
Conventional Infantry Weapons and Equipment Table as a means of tracking such weight values for infantry weapons mounted on Small
Support Vehicles and battle armor units (see Light Weapons and Heavy Weapons, p. 271, and Weapons, Anti-Personnel, p. 271, respectively).
Table Reference: Conventional Infantry Weapons and Equipment, pp. 349–352 Game Rules: Total Warfare, p. 214
i
INTRODUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
BASICS
BATTLEMECH
CONSTRUCTION
INDUSTRIALMECH
CONSTRUCTION
PROTOMECH
CONSTRUCTION
COMBAT VEHICLE
CONSTRUCTION
SUPPORT VEHICLE
CONSTRUCTION
CONV. INFANTRY
CONSTRUCTION
BATTLE ARMOR
CONSTRUCTION
AEROSPACE UNIT
CONSTRUCTION
WEAPONS AND
HEAVY EQUIPMENT
INFANTRY WEAPONS
AND EQUIPMENT
COSTS AND
AVAILABILITY
BATTLE VALUE
INDEX
RECORD SHEETS
273