OBT Forum

So it is 1+2 for every 'Mech/Fighter and they would be on the 'Mech bay?
And they wouldn't have access to Medics...

If I follow this theory, a Leopard should hold:
- 9 crew members
- 6 warriors
- 18 techs

This would make 33 people in it plus the 4 'Mechs and 2 Aerospace Fighters.

Honestly, there is some confusion on this on my part. I'm not sure if the 1 tech + 6 astechs fit in the bay or not. StratOps seems to indicate that only the tech travels with the unit, and then a common pool of Astechs is used on arrival. That seems to indicate the bay holds the 'Mechwarrior, the 'Mech, repair gantries, and only the tech. However, Techmanul mentions this:

Each component cubicle in these bays includes maintenance and/or launch facilities for a single ’Mech (or aerospace craft, as appropriate), as well as basic facilities and bunking for said unit’s crew and technical support personnel

Newer (StratOps in this case) trumps older, I guess? Honestly, no clue.

The simplest rules reference is found on p. 155 in Strategic Ops.

Advanced aerospace units of all types receive no free crew quarters, and must therefore allocate tonnage to personnel quarters. In most cases, these quarters are installed at a standard rate of 7 tons per non-commissioned crew, gunners and second-class passengers, and 10 tons for officers and first-class passengers. Alternative quarters, however, may be installed to save on weight, reflecting a more spartan arrangement, such as applying steerage-quality quarters to all crew and passengers, or even allocating crew quarters in the form of a dedicated infantry bay, where the crew sleeps in cramped bunks with no private space whatsoever.

Bay personnel—which includes personnel associated with other units being transported, such as infantry, vehicles, fighters and ’Mechs—need not be allocated quarters, as their bays already incorporate basic amenities. Additional quarters for such personnel may be added as passenger quarters, reflecting an added level of comfort and support, but are not required.

Okay, I'm confused (no surprise there, right).  Was the original question about in universe lance staffing or about the rules for staffing a lance for a campaign or fiction?  Also, from what I've been reading here it looks like my Compendium with an inch of dust on it is out of date.  Bummer.

Not sure? Both?

According to the latest set of rule, a ‘Mech Transport Bay (not to be confused with other means of transporting a ‘Mech) has enough equipment included in the tonnage (150 tons per) to provide the gantries/harness, etc. that a ‘Mech needs, plus accommodations for a MechWarrior and a single Technical Support Person.

For campaign purposes you can decide/pay for what type of tech support the included individual is: an AsTech, Senior Tech, etc. You can also add additional bay personnel or passengers to a vessel by subtracting from the generic cargo tonnage available.

Interestingly, some transport bays have an additional tech support individual included in the bay's total weight.

That said, given the 1+6 Tech Support Team setup I would think that units operating in the field would add additional Infantry Bay-type quarters for the extra Techs (if they can afford them). So if the single Tech assigned to the ‘Mech Bay is a senior technician, then each ‘Mech would only require six extra AsTechs. Rounding out - a Union class DropShip's 12 ‘Mech Company would require three 5 ton Infantry Bay-accommodations to supply the ‘Mech company with full tech support. 15 tons, plus food and water from the available cargo tonnage, and the ‘Mech Company is ready to rock n' roll.     

 

Okay, I'm confused (no surprise there, right).  Was the original question about in universe lance staffing or about the rules for staffing a lance for a campaign or fiction?  Also, from what I've been reading here it looks like my Compendium with an inch of dust on it is out of date.  Bummer.

The first one 

I wonder (setting aside "realism" for a moment, though realism should always be tossed out the door in relation to BT, settling instead for internal consistency) if a minor retcon might be in order for my own campaigns. Bays offer free steerage quarters for all personnel, and the bays also cover the full assigned tech teams. Otherwise, the amenities offered with bays sounds absolutely horrific. And during any major campaign that requires more than a single jump, you'll easily have combat personnel in these awful quarters for weeks or maybe even months in the case of some mercs.

Go for it.

Some of the older and smaller DropShips are a pretty tight fit (cargo wise) when it comes to modifying their bays, and it seems to me that ships like the Leopard and Union were poor candidates for a self contained unit.

Definitely. But I look at ships like the Hercules, the Fortress, pretty much any of the combined arms transports that talk about how they are meant to conduct operations "nearly solo." And I start thinking? "Uh...how? You have shit cargo space, and you can't even carry half your support needs on the technician side, setting aside doctors or even a damn clerk." Plus, really? You want to jam your pilots and 'Mechjocks in bunks and a chamber pot for weeks on end...and then have them fight worth a damn?! You can't even manage to pull off the shit bunkrooms that Galatica made possible?

Those are the kind of moments that I really wish BT wasn't so restricted by the future of the 1980's vibe.

Looking at bays versus compartments is even more confusing. According to TM, what is called an Infantry Bay in a Maxim...isn't. It's an Infantry Compartment. And for some reason, that infantry compartment on a hovercraft can be generalized to say "It has this many tons available. Whatever combination of BA or conventional infantry types you want to fit in there, up to that tonnage, go to town."

But then you come to just about every canon DropShip ever...and they list Foot Platoon Infantry Bays mainly. And that means...BA can't use it under TM rules. Which is beyond silly.

Throw in the mess of quarters (so crew quarters are bunk bed style barracks at 7 tons, but steerage quarters are "cramped bunk beds" at 5 tons...when were bunk beds ever spacious? And what's the difference here?)...I'm at a loss.

I'm starting to think lrose has it right.