Designed at the request of John Davion for heavy armor to protect troops assaulting fortified positions or for urban warfare, the Tercio represents a bold first step towards true Battle Armor. Crude and awkward, each Tercio was custom-built to a single soldier's dimensions, ensuring that trivial factors like length of legs and breadth of shoulders would not have to be adjusted after the suit was issued. This kept costs high, but simplified construction by eliminating the need for 'smart' materials that could stretch to fill gaps or contract to properly enclose the soldier. The speed is nothing faster than the 30 kilometers per day at which infantry have advanced since the dawn of time. It was the armor-thick enough to shrug off an AC-10 shell without harm to the occupant-that was the truly revolutionary piece of equipment. After several iterations, a solution was found whereby armor and supporting structure together, weighed just more than a ton. This granted the much-desired ability to survive prolonged firefights inside a Catle Brian, or to even wade through the fields of fire outside of one, since a single 'company' of Battle Armor had as much durability as a small to medium battlemech.
What weapons the Tercio does mount are exclusively for short-range combat. A small laser in the chest actually wraps around the torso of the operator, and the over-the shoulder SRM packs include ammo storage that runs into arm-mounted cells in addition to the chest mounted ones as well. Ample reloads mean that when 'hot loaded' the suit can carry 20 SRMs, enough for five volleys. The left arm, featuring both a mount for an assault rifle and a flamer, deals with hostile infantry.
As an experimental unit, the Tercio was deployed somewhat conservatively, intermixed with more conventional infantry and with a support company of ammo-carriers, mechanics and technicians to provide the actual fighters with their needs to keep operating. Special APCs were seldom available, so they frequently were transported to and from the battlefield via common supply trucks under tarps. Coordination with tanks and Mechs was desultory and basic at best. But to those who operated alongside them, the Tercio was every bit as great a revolution as the unit it was named for.
Tercio DBA-1
IS TW non-box set
BV: 343
Cost: 2,997,000 C-bills
Movement: 1/1
(Burdened by unjettisoned body-mounted missile launchers)
Internal: 4
Armor: 52
Internal Armor
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Trooper 1 1 13
Trooper 2 1 13
Trooper 3 1 13
Trooper 4 1 13
Weapon Loc Heat
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Small Laser (Body) Squad 1
Flamer (Left arm) Squad 3
SRM 4 (Body) Squad 3
Ammo Loc Shots
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BA SRM 4 Ammo Squad 1
BA SRM 4 Ammo Squad 1
BA SRM 4 Ammo Squad 1
BA SRM 4 Inferno Ammo Squad 1
Equipment Loc
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Anti Personnel Weapon Mount (Right arm) Squad
Heat Sensor (Body) Squad
Extended Life Support (Left arm) Squad
Basic Manipulator (Left arm) Squad
Basic Manipulator (Right arm) Squad
