Vehicle of the Week: Shamash Reconnaissance Vehicle(This is an updated version of the article originally posted in 2010.)The Shamash is named for the Akkadian god of the sun and justice, lighting the darkness, which means that despite not being a war god unlike your usual Clan vehicle eponym, the name is appropriate for a reconnaissance vehicle. After the loss of Foster, the Blood Spirits concluded they had a need for a lighter, faster counterpart to the Asshur, and the result was a blindingly (some, such as Weirdo, might prefer "obnoxiously") fast hovercraft. This is one of the rare vehicles that doesn't fall on a multiple of five for tonnage, at 11 tons, and it carries a 2.5 ton 60-rated fusion engine, driving it to 216 kph in flat terrain, leaving it at a 13/20 movement curve. The sheer speed can pull off a +4 movement modifier cruising even after losing three hexes to turns or elevation change. Flank? Try +5, with two hexes to play with, or +4 and blow half your MPs on dealing with terrain. To keep it alive when someone
does manage to hit the elusive little beastie, the Spirits piled on two tons of ferro fibrous, mounted 9/7/7/8. The weaponry is impressive and fits the speed, a quartet of ERSLs in the turret. Personally, I might prefer a pair of ERMLs to keep my distance and increase relative accuracy, but the Shamash's speed (and consequent ability to get into places no one wants someone with a quartet of 5 point lasers) means it can make excellent use of the short-ranged weapons, and I've never had that much of an issue with IS MPL ranges on something mobile anyway. This thing is a fast, annoying little bastard of a hovercraft, suited to outer shell recon duty, flanking, backstabbing, raiding, whatever you want. Unfortunately, according to TRO3060, the only ones using them are the Blood Spirits and the Star Adders... but that may not have been accurate for much longer given the new variants surfacing and the way the Clan homeworlds have dropped off the radar.
The RS3060 Unabridged variant comes to us with some... interesting fluff, considering TRO3060. ComStar reports through MilSpec about having spotted a new Shamash in the hands of the Ghost Bears. No real clue where they're getting them from, although if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say the Diamond Sharks are involved somehow. Generally, this is more of the same. The difference comes in with the turret. Someone replaced the lasers with a pair of extended-range flamers. To summarize, they have a 3/5/7 range bracket, dealing the same anti-vehicle damage as normal flamers but half the heat effects or infantry damage. The difference in BV is eloquent, with the original having 504, and the new one a mere 228. While there are a number of dirty tricks flamers can do, the lack of general effectiveness is quite disappointing. One option to combine all the fiery goodness with some retention of general capabilities is to use a pair of flamers with a pair of ERSLs. They can do the job, but this isn't really an infantry hunter - the flurry of 2 point hits if infantry does manage to hit can cripple or kill a Shamash surprisingly easily, and the speed has better uses.
In RS3085 Unabridged Old is the New New, Welshman and his merry minions gave us only one Clan vehicle, a new Shamash termed the Interdictor variant. Like the other interdictor models, it features ECM, replacing one pair of the lasers, while the other was replaced by an ERML, giving it some ability to fence instead of being obliged to close, hopefully keeping your ECM cover intact. Get it into position aggressively but remember that a Shamash relies on speed, not armor, so it can't really take fire. You probably want to bring more than one given the low BV, only 520, barely above the original's, and the likelihood that someone's going to object to your ECM games.
Using either model is about two things: speed and position. Embrace the motto that "speed is life" - anyone who gets two sustained hits on a location with any decently heavy weapon (including Clan ERSLs or IS mediums) will generally kill it, headcappers will kill one outright, and 10 point hits will send anything but the front straight to hell. (IS LPLs can pull the same stunt if they hit the sides or stern.) You want to maneuver around someone and try to hit their rear armor to maximize the utility of those lasers, or the pitiful damage of the flamers, but the five point hits can do plenty of damage on their own, especially to other light units. If you're not currently working to play tag, keep your distance. Unlike a lot of hovers, the Shamash has the sheer speed to maneuver through surprisingly rough terrain and still keep its modifiers up, especially if you're willing to run the risk of flank speed turns. Veteran crews (this means 4/5 in Clan vees) will help a lot, and as a fringe benefit, you won't have to calculate the change in BV. (Purchased skill levels start at 4/5.)
Killing a Shamash is no small task, despite the fragility I just mentioned. They're frail, but they're also (when run properly) an incredible pain in the neck to hit. Area-effect weapons are a good starting point if you have them, and certain ones can be fired quite readily in the same weapons phase. Another
excellent answer is the infamous Clan LPL/TC combo. I don't normally recommend sheer munch, but the Shamash is one of those things that justifies Clan LPLs and then some. Even without that, pulse lasers (with their -2 modifier) make a good option, and if one is obliging enough to wander into short range of a VSPL, teach it a lesson. Spheroids who have the right weapons in hand can avail themselves of precision ammo (an old Succession Wars Partisan or a Zhukov can both be of use, as can the old Age of War
Hammerhands models), and a targeting computer can also be used. The next general option is the LB-X autocannon family. Between the -1 and the high probability of inflicting MP penalties, which will start to slow the zippy little nuisance down, it's not a bad answer if you don't have something more vicious on hand. Whatever you do, you may also want to consider defensive maneuvers, such as putting your back against terrain to keep the Shamash out of a rear arc (remember that they can't enter woods or rubble, but will quite cheerfully run over water hexes).
MUL: The
Master Unit List is always a good place to check for imagery these days and it also gives me a convenient place to make a few notes. The original Shamash is on the general Clan list for the Inner Sphere clans during the Jihad at a price of 504 BV; Dark Age availability is still "To Be Announced". The Interdictor model, keeping that 520 BV I mentioned up above, and is on the IS Clan General list with the Republic also picking up a few during the Dark Age. My guess about the Diamond Sharks was correct for the flamer model and it actually isn't on the Ghost Bear list.
