BattleTech - The Board Game of Armored Combat
BattleTech Player Boards => Fan Designs and Rules => Battle Armor => Topic started by: AngryButler with a KNIFE! on 24 August 2017, 00:28:09
-
While one would initially view the Fuath (named for a malevolent Scottish water spirit) as an eccentric 'generalist' when coming from the Clans that tend to take their Battle Armor and specialize them to the extreme, one would be mistaken. While not nearly at home in deep waters as the Undine, the Fuath is just as much an amphibious unit, with the clue being in its name. Rather than taking on the Undine's role of oceanic combat, the Fuath is designed to make submerged river crossings. Navigating along the riverbed while using their vibro-claws to cut loose any entangling objects in their path (or if on the defensive, making submerged traps) before using a series of powerful myomer boosters in their legs to jump out, and storm the opposing riverbank with little to no warning for their targets. Just like the Undine, they can have their missile launcher tubes sealed, if being reduced to only a single volley, allowing for a Point of Fuath to provide LRM-support at just the right moment. Alternatively, they can instead carry normal LRMs with up to three reloads, which are generally used either just prior to making a riverine assault crossing, to disorient any defenders, or immediately after crossing with better accuracy against any dug-in units.
It is after they've made the crossing that Fuath become the most dangerous. A single Anti-Personnel Gauss Rifle over the right shoulder is a terror for standard infantry to face and is even capable of chipping away a noticeable amount of armor off even a BattleMech. The pin-point accuracy of a micro-scale laser, with the same range and damage as the old 'Toad' Elemental's, but with the accuracy of being a pulse laser, just adds to any defender's woe. To heap upon the problems for any infantry already having to deal with the hyper-velocity Gauss flechettes and laser, the same arm that brandishes the three vibro-blade tipped claws, also has two hardpoints on the back of the forearm for dedicated anti-personnel armaments. Normally a heavy auto-rifle paired to a laser based off the Mauser IIC are used, but it seems that Clan commanders have taken to allow their Elemental warriors to view them as a kind of miniaturized Omni-mount, as normally only warriors fresh from sibko training, will be seen using the standard issued kit. More seasoned warriors tend to customize and tailor these two hardpoints to their preferences.
Unfortunately, as with all things, some trade-offs had to happen in order to fit in such performance. While its movement is well above average for a heavy Battle Armor, its armor plating is markedly sub-par. In fact, most medium Battle Armors actually can carry a heavier amount of protection, as the Fuath is at only 90% of what a medium can max out at. On paper, this makes them something of a wet paper-tiger that the uninformed might skip over to use a more dedicated assault unit, like the Undine. However as previously mentioned, one needs to take into account its movement capabilities, which makes it the equal of any ground-specialized medium Battle Armor. As such, tactics involving Fuath generally involve a heavy emphasis towards an extremely aggressive, and mobile, shock based offensive. Once they take the far shore, they generally don't stop to be bogged down by any initial opposition, but bound ahead at a sprint to get into the very teeth of their opponents. On several occasions during various border clashes and raids, even veteran units were unnerved by this relentless leapfrogging attack pattern, swinging around to engage the Fuath who were tearing into their infantry and conventional vehicles, only to be battered senseless by the OmniMechs fording the river only moments behind the Battle Armor. Such shock tactics means that by the time their opponents can accurately bring fire onto Fuath units, they're already so mixed in, that they'd risk hitting their own troops, thus somewhat degrading the amount of fire being directed at the Fuath. That, and the aforementioned OmniMechs making for a far more pressing target to deal with. Or at least until several Fuath swarm them from behind, having counted on being ignored as the 'lesser evil'.
Fuath (Clan Heavy) BattleArmor
Clan experimental
BV: 587
Cost: 3,765,000 C-bills
Movement: 3/3/1
Internal: 5
Armor: 45
Internal Armor
--------------------------------------
Trooper 1 1 9
Trooper 2 1 9
Trooper 3 1 9
Trooper 4 1 9
Trooper 5 1 9
Weapon Loc Heat
----------------------------------------
AP Gauss Rifle (Body) Point 1
Swarm Mek Point 0
Attack Swarmed Mek Point 0
Stop Swarm Attack Point 0
Leg Attack Point 0
Micro Pulse Laser (Left arm) Point 1
LRM 2 (Body) Point 0
Ammo Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
BA LRM 2 Ammo Point 3
Equipment Loc
----------------------------------
Battle Vibro Claw (Right arm) Point
Basic Manipulator (Left arm) Point
Mechanical Jump Booster (Body) Point
Anti Personnel Weapon Mount (Right arm) Point
BA Standard None
Anti Personnel Weapon Mount (Right arm) Point
Please comment. I live off knowing if its good/bad/meh, and how to tweak things, or just flat throw an idea out.
That and MegaMek screws up on occasion and lets me mount things that are technically illegal.
-
I was liking it until I saw that it was a heavy chassis. Heavy chassis can't make leg or swarm attacks, which in my opinion is vital for battle armor shock and awe tactics.
You can make something very similar as a medium battle armor:
Clan experimental
BV: 381
Cost: 3,096,250 C-bills
Movement: 3/3
Internal: 5
Armor: 40
Internal Armor
--------------------------------------
Trooper 1 1 8
Trooper 2 1 8
Trooper 3 1 8
Trooper 4 1 8
Trooper 5 1 8
Weapon Loc Heat
----------------------------------------
AP Gauss Rifle (DWP) Point 1
Micro Pulse Laser (DWP) Point 1
LRM 2 (OS) (Body) Point 0
Ammo Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
LRM 2 Ammo None 1
Equipment Loc
----------------------------------
Detachable Weapon Pack (Left arm) Point
Detachable Weapon Pack (Body) Point
Anti Personnel Weapon Mount (Left arm) Point
Anti Personnel Weapon Mount (Right arm) Point
Anti Personnel Weapon Mount (Body) Point
Armored Glove (Right arm) Point
Battle Vibro Claw (Left arm) Point
It has only 8 points of standard armor, but has the claw, the laser, and the AP gauss. The LRM 2 is a one shot. It uses detachable weapon packs to to save weight on the laser and gauss, and this slows it's ground speed a little. It's performance isn't quite up tot he heavy version, but it can do leg and swarm attacks. Pulling the crew out of an enemy tank is something this suit can do.
That is just an option though. If you don't want it swarming enemy vehicles, then keeping it as a heavy is fine and it works better that way too. This thing is really gonna make infantry cry.