Mook Mechs!

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  • Last Post 20 March 2018
Prince posted this 12 March 2018

Got onto an odd kick recently of making cheap "mook" battlemechs for campaigns, like your Zaku/Scopedog enemy trash for players who wanna blow off steam and stress for a power fantasy trip, or for super-cheap BV units to fill out already turned forces for competitive games.

First: the aptly-named.

Mook MK-1

Mass: 40 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Dark Ages
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-F-A
Production Year: 3132
Cost: 3,400,227 C-Bills
Battle Value: 929

Chassis: Unknown Endo-Steel
Power Plant: Unknown 200 Fusion Engine
Walking Speed: 54.0 km/h
Maximum Speed: 86.4 km/h
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Unknown Ferro-Fibrous w/ CASE
Armament:
1 Light PPC
1 Light AC/5
1 MML-5
1 Small Vibroblade
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown

Overview:
Mook 'mechs are in short supply in battletech, and this is one idea for
someone's game. The idea here is a simple, cheap mech in both cost and BV that
can do a lot of things decently, but really shines with other units.


I avoided jump jets and MASC things for the BV bloat, and the use of MMLs /
Light ACs was nessessary for multipule ammo types. I also decided to turn the
tech rating up for a vibroblade- for one extra ton and fewer crits versus a
sword, the vibroblade essentially negates actuator damage when used while still
maintaining all the advantages and abilities the sword provides. To be frank, I
don't see many uses for swords when you have access to the vibroblades; at
worst, you exchange a ton or two for equal crits and deal far more damage in
exchange for heat. Finally, a little space is left by the light PPC so a ton of
MML ammo can be pulled for a capacitor.

QURIKS:
Easy to Pilot


================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel 67 points 2.00
Internal Locations: 1 HD, 1 LT, 4 RT, 2 LA, 4 RA, 1 LL, 1 RL
Engine: Fusion Engine 200 8.50
Walking MP: 5
Running MP: 8
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: Double Heat Sink 10(20) 0.00
Heat Sink Locations: 1 LT, 1 RT
Gyro: Standard 2.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA+H R: SH+UA+LA+H
Armor: Ferro-Fibrous AV - 125 7.00
Armor Locations: 2 CT, 2 LT, 2 RT, 3 LA, 3 RA, 1 LL, 1 RL
CASE Locations: 1 LT 0.50

Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 12 17
Center Torso (rear) 5
L/R Torso 10 15
L/R Torso (rear) 5
L/R Arm 6 12
L/R Leg 10 15

================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Light PPC RT 5 2 3.00
MML-5 LT 3 3 3.00
Small Vibroblade RA - 1 3.00
Light AC/5 LA 1 2 5.00
@MML-5 (LRM) (24) LT - 1 1.00
@MML-5 (SRM) (20) LT - 1 1.00
@Light AC/5 (20) LA - 1 1.00
Free Critical Slots: 1

BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 4 Points: 9
5 2 2 1 0 2 0 Structure: 3
Special Abilities: MEL, CASE, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA

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Prince posted this 12 March 2018

Second, a redesign of an ACTUAL canon mook 'mech- the Storm Raider, a 'mech few truly understand.

Storm Raider STM-T1

Mass: 35 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Dark Ages
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-A
Production Year: 3132
Cost: 5,641,785 C-Bills
Battle Value: 560

Chassis: Unknown Endo-Steel
Power Plant: Unknown 210 Fusion XL Engine
Walking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Maximum Speed: 97.2 km/h (129.6 km/h)
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Unknown Light Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
1 Thumper Art. Cannon
1 Mace
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications System: Unknown
Targeting and Tracking System: Unknown

Overview:
HAHAHA MOOK


The Storm Raider sucks- and thats the whole point of it. For the record, I
seriously believe nobody at Catalyst made this mech- it's too SMART for anyone
like Blaine or that Magistracy-fetishist Kit to have thought it up. See, the
base Raider doesn't even crack 800 BV thanks to it's combination of being a
light 'mech with SHS, the smallest rotary AC, and he use of a Mace whos +1
to-hit makes it VERY cheap- a 4/5 pilot makes the -R3 822BV, so you could toss
this 'mech into most grinders as a pest and crit-seeker.


But we CAN make this cheaper- and therefore, better (outside of the -R1 at
593BV, but that fails using a threatening gun, the AC/10). We cut CASE
completely and keep the XL/SHS and Mace, since those lower Defensive BV
further. We also keep MASC- while a supercharger weighs 25% of MASC and crits
engines on fail, it has the same BV- so we drop armor to 5.5 tons to drop BV
even more.


For guns I went with an odd one- outside of fluid gun shennanigans and the
rifle cannons, or even the awful battlemech taser, I feel like the artillery
cannons are the best since they deal poor damage versus their weight and heat
in exchange for targeting hexes and having AoE. The thumper in this case is
juuuuust small enough to not raise an eyebrow while still dealing enough damage
to actually matter- much like the RAC/2. And what do we get for all this? A BV
of 560(!), meaning that for less than 600 BV you can have some 4/5 schmuck
running around with a sawn-off artillery piece. And, thanks to some armor BS
with light ferro so it can tank some 10-pointers, meaning your opponent might
have to focus on it for a turn to kill it- hilariously meaning that it has done
its job.


Finally, one word- no Small cockpit. For the ton you get back you pay in BV,
which while in some mech's is fine here means less mook. One extra ton would be
nice for more armor, but that would make the STM-T1 more expensive and make the
mace harder to use so nyeah.


================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Endo-Steel 58 points 2.00
Internal Locations: 1 HD, 3 LT, 3 RT, 1 LA, 2 RA, 2 LL, 2 RL
Engine: XL Fusion Engine 210 4.50
Walking MP: 6
Running MP: 9 (12)
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: Single Heat Sink 10 0.00
Heat Sink Locations: 1 LT, 1 RT
Gyro: Standard 3.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA+H R: SH+UA+LA+H
Armor: Light Ferro-Fibrous AV - 93 5.50
Armor Locations: 2 LT, 3 RT, 2 RA

Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 8
Center Torso 11 15
Center Torso (rear) 4
L/R Torso 8 11
L/R Torso (rear) 4
L/R Arm 6 8
L/R Leg 8 10

================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MASC CT - 2 2.00
Mace RA - 4 4.00
Thumper Art. Cannon LA 5 7 10.00
@Thumper Cannon (20) LT - 1 1.00
Free Critical Slots: 4

BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 3 Points: 6
8 1 1 0 0 1 0 Structure: 2
Special Abilities: MEL, ARTTC, SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA

icehellion posted this 13 March 2018

Mook?

Fabrizo posted this 14 March 2018

I don't really understand either Ice.

If you want a cheap, low BV unit, whats wrong with the 3025 Stinger?

Total Cost:        1,615,440 C-Bills
Battle Value 2:    359 (old BV = 320)

Far cheaper and lower BV then either of these.

I really don't get the second one. Has Battletech changed so much (my personal BT timeline stops at ~3070) that Mechs with XL engines are now considered cheap?

Prince posted this 17 March 2018

I don't really understand either Ice.

If you want a cheap, low BV unit, whats wrong with the 3025 Stinger?

Total Cost:        1,615,440 C-Bills
Battle Value 2:    359 (old BV = 320)

Cuz' a 3025 Stinger can't break 10 damage.

Far cheaper and lower BV then either of these.

I really don't get the second one. Has Battletech changed so much (my personal BT timeline stops at ~3070) that Mechs with XL engines are now considered cheap?

Kinda. Part of it is the "oh god finally" rollback of FASA-era economics, that really went under the radar in one of the "Wars of the Republic Era" sourcebooks- it detailed how the average household in the Inner Sphere makes far more money than usual and the increase in value of a house bill. The other is the whole legality of having to use Dark Age/Age of Destruction in the universe, which does FAR WORSE than proclaim that an XL can be cheap.

Thunder posted this 18 March 2018

400 rated XXL engines can be cheap...

For some reason, Sentinel, Vulcan, wyvern, Hoplite come to mind.  Call it the early day's mechs that really don't stand out.

Prince posted this 20 March 2018

Economies of scale man

Huh, the old Sentinel DOES fit the mold, and the Hoplite does too for that matter.

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