Author Topic: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!  (Read 3319 times)

Liam's Ghost

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Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« on: 14 March 2017, 15:51:37 »
Fooling around with the implants listed in interstellar operations. You ever notice how few of them were actually limited to the Word of Blake and the Jihad? I thought it might be fun to turn out some augmented infantry useable during the succession wars (or pretty much any era after the age of war).

Let's start with some infantry scouts.

Pathfinders (Augmented)
IS experimental

BV: 24
Cost: 760,446 C-bills

Movement: 1/1

Men: 7 (7/1)
Armor: 1.0 (Camo)  (IR)  (ECM)

Primary Weapon: Laser Rifle (Marx XX)
Secondary Weapon: Grenade Launcher (Auto) (1)
Damage per trooper: 0.436

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Laser Rifle (Marx XX)          MEN     0

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
Sneak Suit (Camo/IR/ECM)       MEN

Notes:
Infantry Specialization: Paratroops
Cybernetic Comm Implant
Sensory Implants (IR/EM Optical)
Sensory Implants (Laser/Telescopic Eyes)


I limited them to a squad, because they're mighty expensive, and also I don't imagine the great houses would have a lot of volunteers to have their eyes pulled out and their heads cracked open for implants. As scouts, I optimized them for range instead of hitting power, though with that short ranged active probe ability, one might argue that having extra hitting power might be useful. For variation, the autorifle is an obvious choice. Another thing to consider might be the mauser 960. The houses had small numbers available even during the worst times, and what better troops to give them to?

Affects of the implants: -1 to indirect fire the unit is spotting for, -1 for spotting mines, -1 to all ranged to hit numbers, 2 hex ranged active probe.

Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Daryk

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #1 on: 14 March 2017, 19:06:19 »
If you go with Mauser 960s, consider adding two Inteks as secondary weapons.  That will give you 5 points of damage per squad out to 9 hex range (0.724 damage per trooper), and both weapons only consume two power points per shot (though the Mauser can burst fire).  Both could be customized with AToW Companion rules to reduce that to one power point per shot, which I think you'd want to do with infantry this expensive.  Using the Intek trick with auto-rifles won't significantly increase your damage over the grenade launcher, unfortunately.

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #2 on: 15 March 2017, 22:52:17 »
I'd use the same Mark XX's I've got them equipped above as secondaries. Just a tiny bit more damage. :)

Anyway, let's consider getting some use out of the dregs of society. Penal units are a popular theme among autocratic powers across the Inner Sphere. I mean, you've got all those people sitting around eating your food and living in your cells, why not put them to work?

Of course, keeping them in line is a problem. Barrier Troops are one historical method of doing so, making sure they run the right way when the shooting starts. But that just eats additional manpower. If only there was a way to ensure the same compliance without tying up some machineguns watching them?

Hey, how about bombs in their heads? Great idea miss Waller.

So that's what these are. Basically standard riflemen, except they have suicide charges implanted. As fundamentally unwilling, possibly untrained units, you should probably limit these to green experience rating. Beyond that, the explosive suicide implant has a tech rating of C, an availability rating of A across all eras, and is available since the age of war (all as per interstellar operations). So the real limitation to their use is actually ethics. Factions playing up their nobility and ethics aren't likely to put bombs in the heads of their own troops, even criminals. Capellans might see the practicality of it, maybe the Combine as well. Any pirate kingdom would probably be happy to follow suit if they have the capability to put bombs in heads.

For bonus points, detonate them among the enemy's infantry. The total raw damage is a bit more than you can get from their autorifles, and it's area affect, which is bad news for both conventional and battle armored troops. Fair warning, this probably makes you a monster.

Penal Unit (augmented)
IS experimental

BV: 83
Cost: 500,879.23 C-bills

Movement: 1/1

Men: 28 (7/4)
Armor: 1.0

Primary Weapon: Auto-Rifle
Secondary Weapon: None
Damage per trooper: 0.52

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Auto-Rifle                     MEN     0
Swarm Mek                      MEN     0
Stop Swarm Attack              MEN     0
Leg Attack                     MEN   

Implants:
Suicide Charge

Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #3 on: 15 March 2017, 23:48:37 »
I am marking this thread with interest, though upon first glance at the title, I was expecting something more like powered armor that isn't. ;)
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes / When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
-- Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #4 on: 17 March 2017, 20:24:31 »
This might seem a bit of a cheat, but the Pain Shunt is available to all factions in all eras. Clans are supposed to be resistant to the idea of implants, but if you're a Solahma desperate to die with honor, maybe a little edge to let you push yourself just a little harder is worth it? In this case, the tendency of pain shunted troops to ignore crippling injury is a feature, not a bug.

Solahma Point (augmented)
 Mixed (Base IS)

BV: 125
Cost: 2,645,094.86 C-bills

Movement: 1/1

Men: 25 (5/5)
Armor: 2.0

Primary Weapon: Pulse Laser Rifle (Clan)
Secondary Weapon: Laser Rifle (ER) (2)
Damage per trooper: 0.31

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Laser Rifle (ER)               MEN     0

Implants: Artificial Pain Shunt

Implant Effects: Reduce all damage from flame based weapons by half. -4 target number modifier for all morale checks.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #5 on: 17 March 2017, 20:29:11 »
I am marking this thread with interest, though upon first glance at the title, I was expecting something more like powered armor that isn't. ;)

Would word of blake infantry equipped with blakist body armor, dermal armor implants, triple strength armor implants, and belter infantry modifications count? :) Because that would be more of a Jihad thing I think.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Daryk

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #6 on: 18 March 2017, 06:14:32 »
For that Solahma unit, I recommend four Mauser IICs and a Bear Hunter as a single Support Weapon per squad for 8 damage at 9 range with no movement penalty.  Rounding cuts it down a little at the Point level ("only" 39 damage... ::)).

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #7 on: 18 March 2017, 17:04:25 »
Bear Hunter is out of era (still sticking with pre invasion). The Mauser IIC has a notably higher availability rating in the pre invasion era (f versus d for the ER and Pulse lasers), so I'm assuming that it'll be reserved for the most tactically effective infantry. Ones who aren't so desperate as to resort to brain surgery in other words.

Though as the timeline moves forward, you might see them appearing with Mauser IICs. Heck, during the Wars of Reaving the Society might combine the pain shunt with their own virotherapies to use as shock troops.
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Daryk

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #8 on: 18 March 2017, 17:20:54 »
Ah, sorry about that... I missed the era caveat...

idea weenie

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #9 on: 18 March 2017, 17:38:54 »
For that Solahma unit, I recommend four Mauser IICs and a Bear Hunter as a single Support Weapon per squad for 8 damage at 9 range with no movement penalty.  Rounding cuts it down a little at the Point level ("only" 39 damage... ::)).

That'd be an interesting infantry record sheet.  One for the Solahma unit with the Mausers and Bear hunter, one for just the laser rifles themselves (in case the Clan doesn't want to 'waste' Bear Hunters on Solahma).  All it needs is a thin second line below the main damage line.

So that's what these are. Basically standard riflemen, except they have suicide charges implanted. As fundamentally unwilling, possibly untrained units, you should probably limit these to green experience rating. Beyond that, the explosive suicide implant has a tech rating of C, an availability rating of A across all eras, and is available since the age of war (all as per interstellar operations). So the real limitation to their use is actually ethics. Factions playing up their nobility and ethics aren't likely to put bombs in the heads of their own troops, even criminals. Capellans might see the practicality of it, maybe the Combine as well. Any pirate kingdom would probably be happy to follow suit if they have the capability to put bombs in heads.

These can also be done with bomb collars.  A smart opponent will also put those same collars on people the other group is trying to rescue, so the attacker gets nothing.

The 'defender' has a couple options:
1) transmit to detonate - simple to implement, but means that if the attacker has ECM the charges won't go off
2) constant transmit to not detonate - a little more complex, but there is the potential for battle damage to damage the collar and detonate it in the middle of the penal troops.  It also means that if the attacker has ECM the loss of signal will cause the detonation of whole swaths of the penal troops.  It also means if the attacker destroys the wrong unit(s) all the attacking infantry will detonate.

(You'd also want a transmission option to safe the collar, so the penal units can be recovered without as much worry by the handlers.  That's an RPG mission to find out that transmission so you can rescue people.)

Transmit to detonate can also be used on a low-power transmitter that is constantly transmitting and off to the sides and rear of the penal unit.  If they slow down or try to divert, they get in range of the transmitter and go boom.

Constant transmit to not detonate means if the penal troops run away, they will get out of the signal range and go boom.  Great for keeping prisoners in one location, and if the defender has remote control over the transmitter, all they have to do is turn off the signal (changing the signal being transmitted or just disconnecting the power) to kill the prisoners.  The down side is the prisoners have daily access to the transmitter, so you are taking the chance that one of them could try to disarm it.  Best done by pairing collars so if one person tampers, it will kill someone else.  Since nobody knows who the partner is, the prisoners do their best to prevent anyone from tampering with their collar.

Liam's Ghost

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #10 on: 19 March 2017, 07:42:03 »
So anyone wonder where the Word of Blake got the idea for the Manei Domini?

The Terran Belters have never shied away from implants. In fact, they've got three unique options all their own. Well, not entirely. Actually Belter augmentations are listed as available to Comstar as well during the succession wars. Most likely representing the rare belters who decide to go out and see the world.

And if you've got them, why not put them to use? With that in mind, I present the Branch of Terran Affairs Crisis Response Team (Department 9). Think of them as a small special operations unit, good for dealing with problems both in space and on the ground. Ooh, another note, the fluff for the belter infantry modification from way back in ISP2 indicates that the implants are basically unnoticeable, so they can walk the streets without drawing attention.

As a bonus point for other eras, Belter augmentations are available to the Terran Hegemony during the Star League, the Word of Blake during the Clan invasion and Jihad, and the Republic of the Sphere during the Republic Era, meaning you can always get some use out of them. Word of Blake and Republic troops might upgrade their primary weapons to Mauser 1200s (or even Mauser IICs for those cheesy Republicans), but I wouldn't modify the size of the unit any. Six jump troops is the maximum you can fit in a one ton infantry compartment, convenient if you don't want to draw attention by swooping in with one of those big troop carriers.

BOTA Department 9 CRT
IS experimental

BV: 54
Cost: 2,632,960.64 C-bills

Movement: 1/1/3

Men: 6 (6/1)
Armor: 3.0 (Spacesuit)

Primary Weapon: Laser Rifle (Mauser 960)
Secondary Weapon: Grenade Launcher (Auto) (1)
Damage per trooper: 1.023

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Laser Rifle (Mauser 960)       MEN     0

Implants
Terran Belter Infantry Modification
Terran Belter Vacuum Modification
Cybernetic Comms Implant
Sensory Implant (IR/EM/Optical)

Bonuses: The belter infantry modification increases the damage divisor by 1 (already accounted for). The Belter Vacuum modification negates the double damage infantry take in vacuum conditions. Comms and sensory implants provide -1 to indirect fire the unit is spotting for, -1 for spotting mines, and a 2 hex ranged active probe.
« Last Edit: 19 March 2017, 07:46:01 by Liam's Ghost »
Good news is the lab boys say the symptoms of asbestos poisoning show an immediate latency of 44.6 years. So if you're thirty or over you're laughing. Worst case scenario you miss out on a few rounds of canasta, plus you've forwarded the cause of science by three centuries. I punch those numbers into my calculator, it makes a happy face.

(indirect accessory to the) Slayer of Monitors!

Daryk

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #11 on: 19 March 2017, 08:05:10 »
Sweet!  I like these guys!

Giovanni Blasini

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Re: Augmented Infantry, for the succession wars!
« Reply #12 on: 19 March 2017, 15:13:50 »
Very nice. All they need now are Tachikomas.
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes / When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
-- Gordon Lightfoot, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"