...Wow, that was a hell of a slog, but after three complete rewrites the section on hardpoints is done. They finally balance, but you wouldn't want to meet a 200 ton with a pair of these.
Hardpoints
Participating in development teams to develop innovative new Battletechnology, Laborers from Clan Frost Ape were inspired by the use of netting to allow BattleMechs to carry cargo. Investigation into modular, hand-held weapons proved impractical, but further investigation eventually concluded external clamps to take advantage of their lifting capacity were technically feasible.
Field tests eventually concluded heatsinks and coolant pods, canisters of highly pressurized coolant, to be the most efficient use of the new hardpoint concept, allowing higher rates of fire and movement with minimal expense and risk.
Construction Rules
Composed of a mechanical clamp system and interchangeable ‘Pods’, hardpoints allow a Mech to use the lifting capacity of its arms to carry additional weapons and equipment into battle. Hardpoints have several rules regarding their use and construction of the individual Pods.
· Hardpoints require a single critical slot in each Arm (or Leg) for the necessary Internal Structure and hookups, which requires .5 tons.
· Because of the difficulty creating Pods, designers are not required to use the entire mass allowed them.
· Some or all of the weapons and equipment in a H-ACs hardpoints may be mounted in a turret. Such a Pod must follow the rules for turrets, as well pay the IS cost of the Pod.
· Because they are unenclosed, hardpoints supply a number of critical slots based on the formula (Payload/.5)+1. Pods are similar to vehicles in their use of a single item per critical slot, allowing larger pieces of equipment to be carried.
· Individually designed and mounted, Pods have a single point of Internal Structure regardless of size and require .25 tons of mass for every ton of weapons and equipment allowed on the Pod, according to the chart below;
Tonnage 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 150 200
Lift Capacity 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 4.00 4.25 4.50 4.75 5.00 7.50 10.0
Max IS Tonnage0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.25 1.75 2.50
Max Payload 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 2.25 2.25 2.50 2.75 3.00 3.00 3.25 3.50 3.75 3.75 5.75 7.50
· Weapons mounted on the hardpoint connect to the ‘Mech’s electronics and cooling systems. Ammunition-fed weapons must carry their ammunition in the Pod, but Pods may supply ammunition to a single arm-mounted weapon as well.
· Pod-mounted equipment operates normally, but not all equipment may be used Check the Allowable Equipment Chart for more information.
· Armor is allocated normally and is limited to the type found on the Arm. Ferro-Fibrous and other specialty armors require a single critical space on the Pod, while standard armor does not.
Game Rules
Hardpoints offer standard BattleMechs some of the versatility of Omnis, but offer unique problems and benefits in game play.
· Designers may add single hardpoints to a unit, or use Pods of a different weight, but if the difference in mass between hardpoints is equal to or greater than 1 ton, a ‘Mech becomes unbalanced and suffers a +1 to all Piloting Skill Rolls.
· Damage to a Pod from weapons, physical attacks, and falls is a potential result of an Arm or Leg hit on the limb carrying the hardpoint. To determine if the Pod is hit, roll a d6 every time the limb is hit, on a result of ‘6’ the Pod is hit and takes damage normally.
· The loss of a Pod or hardpoint can be accomplished in several ways; destruction of the Arm critical which clamps the Pod to the limb, destruction of the Pod’s Internal Structure, and jettisoning the Pod. To Jettison, the player must announce its loss at the end of the Heat Phase before beginning a new Turn.
· Ammunition stored in Pods will explode if the Pod is destroyed for any reason. Damage caused by ammo explosions are reduced by half, and applied against the armor of the limb carrying it.
· Ammunition in Pods does not roll to explode if a ‘Mech has high heat; it is surrounded by open air, which is a poor conductor. Instead Pods suffer an increased chance of explosions from attacks by inferno missiles and Plasma Rifles. Plasma Rifles must hit the Pod itself and causes an ammo explosion, but Inferno missiles force a player to roll a separate ammo explosion check taking into account only the heat generated by the number of missiles.
· In order to supply ammunition from a Pod to an arm-mounted weapon, the arm must have a critical slot dedicated to ammunition for the same weapon and the limb’s hardpoint critical slot must be placed next to it. (Note that after the first ton of ammunition is used, the ‘Mech will become unbalanced, unless it uses ammunition from both Pods equally.)
