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i always liked the idea of feildguns, but i never really liked the Lv3 rules. not only did they make the infantry way too powerful, they didn't make much in-universe sense. why would a motor platoon with SRM's or MG's cart around feild guns, for example? those weapons already gave them plenty of firepower. plus, while i could see a unit towing 4 AC2's, a pair of AC20's just seems remarkably unlikely. those guns have barrels bigger than a man, if the mini scale is right. imagine a rifle platoon today towing a battleship's 8 inch gun with a couple of Humvee's....it just doesn't happen. so i decided to write my own version, one a bit more balanced and unique.


Heavy Weapons Team:
Inner Sphere only. (the clans stopped using the concept about the same time they stopped using conventional infantry,)

a heavy weapons team is a unit of 7 men equipped with feild deployed heavy weapon systems. typically equipped with either a towed Autocannon or Missile pack. because the towed nature of the weapon limits it's mobility, Heavy Weapons teams are typically deployed in a stationary position, providing firesupport to more mobile units.

a heavy weapon team is actually two seperate units. the first is essentually a Motorized rifle infantry squad. this squad and their vehicle (a jeep, tractor, or other towing vehicle) crews and moves a towed weapons platform.

the weapons platform has 0mp, however, when paired with a heavy weapons team it may be towed at the teams full MP. rigging the platform for towing however takes 1 turn, during which it cannot be fired and the HWT cannot move or fire. likewise,deploying the weapons platform takes one turn, in which the platform cannot fire and the HWT cannot move or fire.
a weapons platform has to be crewed by a HWT, otherwise it cannot fire. HWT's are not restricted to a particular weapon platform, they may take control of any platform not currently crewed, even those abandoned by the enemy. however, no HWT may crew more than 1 weapon platform at a time.


Stats:
Heavy weapon Team (HWT)
Motorized Rifle Squad
7 men (7 armor)
3mp
21 BV
total damage: 2
range: 2
Cost: 500,000 C-bills.
1.5 tons.

Heavy Weapons platform: (HWP)
the heavy weapons platform is 4 tons, has 5 armor, 0 mp, and can carry a one of the following:

Weapon                     Ammo                      BV            Cost
Light AC-2                 45 shots                   43             202,000
LRM-10                     12 shots                   111           230,000
SRM-6                      15 shots                    81             207,000
MRM-10                    24 shots                    77             155,000

when figuring BV, skill modifiers apply to both the HWT and HWP. (as they count as a single unit force wise.) (essentually: BV modifier x [HWT BV+HWP BV] )

in combat, a firing unit must choose to either shoot the HWP, or the HWT. track each one seperately. in addition, a HWT can abandon their HWP, and move away without towing it, although this is generally a poor tactical option.

Good Stuff, but 1 minor correction.

AC20's are fluffed at 100MM to 200MM based on what mech/vehicle mounts them.

Battleship guns would be closer to Naval ACs if were talking "tall as a man" barrels.

I can't see most field gun units carrying more than 1 gun no matter the size.
In theory they still have to do their infantry function.
So 1 squad w/ less than a 7 ton gun is a good idea you have there : )

Not that I don't mind the idea of Heavy Gauss toting infantry, but its just not likely, hehe.

well, a 155mm howitzer is the same bore size as a naval 6 incher, so i'm only guilty of slight exageration.

but on designs like the hunchback, you have shortbarrelled guns with a bore the size of a human head, which is more like 400mm. (mostly the result of scale creep on the mini's though. most now tower more than 10 meters....)

i've only made on mod to the design, it was suggested that the HWP would enjoy the same mass reduction as BA weapons. so i've dropped the mass almost in half. given that much of the mass of the gun on a mech/Vee would be mounting aiming gear, i can see the system being much lighter.

well, i would place the Pontiac 100 and its 100 2 kg shells somewhere in the 30 mm (Sarlon Autocannon/2, 10 rounds) to 60 mm range

the Favorite in the canon for Mech Mounted Autocannon/20 is actually 120 mm... (if a modern novel gives a calibre for an autocannon 20, its 120 mm) and though they never come out and say it in the canon, the merely official materiel places 120 mm AC/20's at 8 round bursts


however...

with the RhineMetall M256 L44 Smoothbore gun delivering 1 damage with its Shot (12.5 mj per damage point, math, ohh scarey... ask fallguy about how he picked 12.5 mj for Physicals and Ballistics)

its not too hard to figure out that a single tube Cannon weighing 15% of its BattleTech Mass towed by a vehicle with the proper crew capacity (1 man per BMR bt ton ) would be effective...

and also remember... the more shells fired, the less the percentage that do damage is... so a single barrel gun woudl need less diameter / power / powder to do the same damage

I thought the Victor's AC20 was 100MM in 20 round bursts ?

I'm probably remembering it wrong, but I thought was the fluff on the Pontiac from long ago.