Author Topic: Torpedoes: Fifth Succession War (long) [originally by Liam's Ghost]  (Read 1848 times)

Trace Coburn

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[[posted by Liam's Ghost, 06-01-2007, 08:03:36]]


Author's Note: I bet you thought I'd forgotten about this whole thing. Well I didn't, however I find myself unsettled by the prospects of these weapons, much in the same way I was unsettled by the Adcap when I first wrote that, only like ten times as much. I'm not sure if I need to find some fixes, or if their relatively low thrust and the ease with which they can be hit is enough of a balance.

The Equalizer: Torpedoes

While the strength of a House Lord's army is irrevocably tied to the support of the vassals that command the actual loyalty of most of their troops, a House Lord's navy, especially his fleet of major capital ships, is entirely his own. Only the combined industrial might of an entire great house could help to build and support such an epic achievement as the armadas that now roam the Inner Sphere. For the House Lords a battleship is more than just the single most powerful weapon available to him, it is a symbol, proof that no matter how much the pendulum has swung to the common man, the House Lords will always be in control.

Of course the common man and the minor lord likewise recognize this, and eager to protect their new, hard won (if somewhat limited) autonomy, many set out to find a way to change the odds against them. At first, some lords and worlds hoped to build their own autonomous fleets, and many succeeded in constructing or acquiring considerable numbers of capital ships to protect themselves. But even then, these fleets had little chance of standing against a determined house fleet. It wasn't a question of money, but one of resources and industrial capacity. There simply weren't enough shipyards producing enough warships for the open market to allow a world to stand on its own, and trying to change that would be a long, arduous process.

So instead, those who wanted to challenge the status quo had to embark on a different path. They turned to fusion powered missiles.

Staggeringly expensive and sophisticated, the first of these weapons, the Adcap (or Advanced Capital Weapon System) was developed for the SLDF in the last days of the Star League, but never saw widespread deployment before the Amaris Coup halted all production. None the less, design specification, and perhaps even a handful of the weapons themselves, survived the generations in Comstar's archives and may even have seen use during the Blakist Jihad. Now their successors would become one of the most important weapons of the Fifth Succession War.

Game Rules (liberally drawn from the original ADCAP writeup):

All torpedos are internally guided and are launched from their parent vessel during the weapon attack phase. When the weapon is launched, the controlling player must designate a target for the weapon, which cannot be changed (save for Norn naval torpedoes, which may be retargeted at will). On the turn of its launching, the weapon may use its full thrust and may attack any targets it reaches in that round. Afterwards it moves in the same manner and in the same order of initiative as a fighter, with the ultimate goal of smacking itself into the side of the target.

When the weapon reaches its target, it initiates a ramming attack against it (AT2 Revised, pg 30), using a piloting skill level of 3 to make the attack. A successful ram by the weapon deals the listed capital scale points of damage to the target. Normal ramming damage is not applied. If the weapon misses, it can be manuevered to attack again as long as it has fuel and the target still exists. In most cases, if the target is destroyed before the weapon hits it, the torpedo self destructs. Norn naval torpedos, however, may be retasked against different targets at will as long as the launching platform remains intact within the same star system.

While in flight a torpedo can be attacked like any fighter. With the exception of the Desperado, torpedos have only one hit location, however it is still necessary to role for location for the purpose of determining critical hits. Cargo and life support obviously have no affect, while any to hit modifiers from critical hits apply directly to the difficulty to attack, and any control roles warented by critical hits use the torpedoe's piloting skill of 3. A weapon critical hit detonates the warhead, destroying the missile.

As all of these weapons, save the Desperado, are spheroid frames with all the inherent limitations, most torpedos handle lousy in an atmosphere. They are useless against airborn targets, and can only be dropped in a balistic fasion against ground targets. Treat them as standard capital missiles for the purposes of orbital bombardment, albiet with a significantly bigger warhead.

The Desperado, as it is basically a drone aerofighter, is equally effective against targets on the ground and in the atmosphere. Atmospheric targets may be attacked as normal, while ground targets are treated a little bit differently. No attack role is needed in this case. The weapon simply flies to its target, then unceremoniously drops on it. The affects of this are quite spectacular, and are resolved in the same way as a normal successful orbital bombardment on the target hex with the proper warhead yield, which for a desperado is pretty damn big.

Construction:

The majority of these weapons were designed using the small craft construction rules, minus the 100 ton mass minimum (in other words like battlespace except without the fractional accounting). No crew space is required, and all necessary control systems are accounted for in the mass of the bridge/control (which for most of these birds works out to a half a ton). Warhead yield amounts to ten capital scale points for every ton of warhead weight. All armor is, as noted before, allocated to a single location.

The Desperado was designed as a standard fighter with all of the space usually reserved for weapons going over to warhead weight. Within these vague guidelines an infinite variety of weapons become possible, ranging from tiny little buggers perhaps even smaller than the LAT, to 200 ton intrasystem capable bombs lofted from the jump point, to things that even I'd rather not contemplate.



Aerospace Torpedos:

The first pratical modern fusion powered missiles developed were classified as Aerospace Torpedoes. Designed to be employed by aerofighters and torpedo bombers, aerospace torpedos come in light, medium, and heavy varieties. Though it is a grossly inneficient design carrying a tiny half ton warhead, the light torpedo is by far the predominant variety because of its low cost and small size, suitable for use even by many light aerofighters. Heavy torpedos are generally the province of the torpedo bomber, the only small spacecraft suitably large enough to transport more than a single weapon.

Deployment:

Though manufactured on only a relative handful of important industrial worlds, aerospace torpedos are an enormous comodity for export, and can be found on nearly every inhabited world worth the name in the Inner Sphere. While some backwater worlds might have only a handful, major worlds will have thousands stockpiled and enough bombers to deliver them. Their effectiveness and simplicity simply outweighs their staggering monetary costs.

Though they were the impetus for their development, individual worlds are far from the only users of the aerospace torpedo. Indeed such weapons are regarded as an integral part of the house fleets' fighter forces as well, though the limits of cargo space for munitions limits the numbers that a house fleet can carry into battle.

All aerospace torpedos share the following characteristics.
Thrust capacity of 9/14
Structural integrity of 14, armor rating of 14

Light Aerospace Torpedo:
Bomb slots: 5 
Fuel: 40 points
Warhead yield: 5 capital scale points

Medium Aerospace Torpedo:
Bomb slots: 10 
Fuel: 80 points
Warhead yield: 20 capital scale points

Heavy Aerospace Torpedo:
Bomb slots: 20 
Fuel: 160 points
Warhead yield: 45 capital scale points


The Torpedo Bomber

The following is an example of a fairly standard torpedo bomber, produced in large numbers by many different manufacturers and used from one end of the Inner Sphere to the other. Despite its staggeringly high thrust capability, when fully loaded the Torpedo Bomber is a lumbering pig, unable to even leave the atmosphere. Bombers based on planet therefore will only carry seventy five percent of their maximum bombload on the attack, while space based craft can expect to enter the battle fully loaded, usually with a pair of heavy torpedoes. Escort for these vunerable craft is absolutely vital unless they are facing an undefended enemy.

In addition to its most well known role as a torpedo carrier, the torpedo bomber is also widely used as a conventional strategic bomber, able to carry a huge bombload over interplanetary distances. Some will also see use as reconaissance craft. Unloaded, their staggering thrust capabilities and long range allow them to escape most defenders.

Class/Model/Name:  Torpedo Bomber
Mass:              200 tons

Equipment:                                                              Mass
Power Plant, Drive & Control:                                          130.00
Thrust:  Safe Thrust: 10
      Maximum Thrust: 15
Structural Integrity: 15                                                15.00
Total Heat Sinks:    2 Single                                             .00
Fuel & Fuel Pumps:                                                      10.50
Bridge, Controls, Radar, Computer & Attitude Thrusters:                  1.50
Fire Control Computers:                                                   .00
Armor Type:  Standard  (364 total armor pts)                            19.00
                           Standard Scale Armor Pts
   Location:                            L / R
   Fore:                                121
   Left/Right Wings:                  91/91
   Aft:                                  61

Cargo:
   Bay 1:  Cargo (1)                                                     3.00


Crew and Passengers:
      3 Crew (3 minimum)                                                21.00
Weapons and Equipment      Loc        SRV    MRV    LRV    ERV  Heat    Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                                                     Heat: 0    200.00
Tons Left:                                                                .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost:        11,805,200 C-Bills
Battle Value:      760
Cost per BV:       15,533.16
Weapon Value:      0 (Ratio = .00)
Damage Factors:    SRV = 0;  MRV = 0;  LRV = 0;  ERV = 0
Maintenance:       Maintenance Point Value (MPV) = 3,004
                   (1,534 Structure, 1,450 Life Support, 20 Weapons)
                   Support Points (SP) = 3,150  (105% of MPV)
BattleForce2:      MP: 10,  Armor/Structure: 9 / 0
                   Damage PB/M/L: -/-/-,  Overheat: 0
                   Class: DS;  Point Value: 8



Naval Torpedos:

While the aerospace torpedo was the first weapon of its type to see general service, larger varieties suitable for use aboard naval vessels were not far behind. The first weapons, developed by the Republic of the Sphere with the assistance of the Norns, were patterned directly off of the Star League's original Adcap SGW prototypes (hence the SGW, or standoff guided weapon, designation) and the first of these saw action during the battles for Devil's Rock. Comstar quickly followed suit with its own version, and it was only a matter of time before each house had developed its own versions, each suitable for use with any of the three standard missile systems currently in service. Though their use in this manner is rare, Both the Barracuda and White Shark SGWs can also be adapted for use by torpedo bombers.

The Republic of the Sphere, or more specifically their Norn allies, retains the lead in naval torpedo design. Norn weapons make use of the same FAX communication link as their drone fighters, and it is not uncommon for invaders to find their vessels under attack by both torpedos and aerofighters while the Norn mothership remains safely out of harms way on the other side of the system. Even more impressive, Norn vessels are able to use their fax communication link to retain direct control over the weapons, and may therefore retarget their torpedos at will.

Most frightening of all, the Norns have in recent years begun employing the Kraken SGW, known among those that employ them as the Skuld Bomb. This one hundred ton weapon possesses a staggering thirty eight ton warhead, granting it destructive power greater than even the Desperado. It is not known how many of these weapons are currently in service.

Deployment:

Unlike the aerospace torpedo, many houses regard the naval torpedo as too expensive and bulky for its capabilities to justify massive use aboard large capital ships. Major warships still tend to rely on their own gunpower, loading their missile tubes with conventional capital missiles, ironically to defend themselves against naval torpedos. Most of a house fleet's dedicated torpedo carriers are smaller, faster ships, usually corvettes or destroyers, but often dropships as well. There are only a few exceptions to this rule, and most of these are minor powers that have the money to burn but not the resources to spend on large fleets of major warships. The Norns, Republic of the Sphere, Taurian States, and Free Worlds League are all heavy users of the naval torpedo.

All naval torpedos share the following characteristics:
Thrust capacity of 8/12
Structural integrity of 12, armor rating of 84
Fuel capacity of 160 points
In addition the Barracuda and White Shark SGWs are small enough to be transported by torpedo bombers, if just barely.

Barracuda SGW:
Bomb slots: 30 
Warhead yield: 60 capital scale points

White Shark SGW:
Bomb slots: 40 
Warhead yield: 100 capital scale points

Killer Whale SGW:
Warhead yield: 150 capital scale points

Kraken SGW (Skuld Bomb):
Warhead yield: 380 capital scale points



The Desperado:

While the Norns and the Republic of the Sphere were developing their own naval torpedos based on the old Star League's example, the Taurian States were likewise hard at work developing their own standoff guided weapon. With no baseline to work from to develop the same sort of advanced, compact missile system, the Taurians found it necessary to go another way, in the process producing what was for two decades the king in anti-ship weaponry, the Desperado.

Unlike the naval torpedos that other powers were developing, the huge desperado was based on a standard, ninety ton aerofighter frame, basically an unmanned drone fighter with the weaponry replaced by a thirty six ton warhead. When word spread of the weapon's existance, it was universally mocked as a crude, poorly concieved design.

During the Mithron crisis, a handful of small dropships carrying less than a dozen of these crude, poorly concieved weapons succeeded in killing or crippling three of House Davion's proud battleships in the course of a single day, and left the Davion fleet scrambling for a counter.

Deployment:

Though the Taurian States now make use of standard naval torpedos, the Desperado remains a major part of their arsenal, and a big ticket export item. Currently the weapon is liscenced for production by the Federation of Three Stars, and is employed in considerable numbers by such states as the Federation, the Marian Hegemony, the Filtvelt Coalition, and most recently the provisional government of the Tortuga Dominions.

The desperado is designed and transported like a fighter, therefore a ship can only carry one for each fighter bay it has available.

Class/Model/Name:  Desperado
Mass:              90 tons

Equipment:                                                              Mass
Power Plant:  360 Fusion                                                33.00
Thrust:  Safe Thrust: 6
      Maximum Thrust: 9
Structural Integrity: 9                                                   .00
Total Heat Sinks:    10 Single                                            .00
Fuel:                                                                    4.00
Cockpit & Attitude Thrusters:                                            3.00
Armor Type:  Standard  (224 total armor pts)                            14.00
                           Standard Scale Armor Pts
   Location:                            L / R
   Nose:                                 74
   Left/Right Wings:                  52/52
   Aft:                                  46

Weapons and Equipment      Loc        SRV    MRV    LRV    ERV  Heat    Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Warhead (yield: 360 capital points)                                   36.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTALS:                                                     Heat: 0     90.00
Tons Left:                                                                .00

vidar

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Well those would make warships much more likely to disappear.

worktroll

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Not a lot they couldn't make disappear ... New Avalon, Luthien, Sian, etc etc.
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Liam's Ghost

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Wow, I was a little bit crazy ten years ago.  :))

Somewhere or other I have a significantly revised and arguably more balanced version.
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.

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HobbesHurlbut

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Wow, I was a little bit crazy ten years ago.  :))

Somewhere or other I have a significantly revised and arguably more balanced version.
Was the Teleoperated Missile around ten years ago? If not...you foresaw it  ;D
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