Author Topic: (Answered) No/Minimal Arms vs. Hyper-Extending Actuators  (Read 2263 times)

Taliserian

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(Answered) No/Minimal Arms vs. Hyper-Extending Actuators
« on: 08 October 2015, 08:56:10 »
Having a little discussion with my AtoW group regarding Design Quirks; particularly one sticky wicket: The "No/Minimal Arms" quirk (Strat Ops pg 198; mentioned again in AtoW pg 115).  I've checked the official errata documents for both but haven't seen anything, though I may have missed something in a search of these forums.
The name of the quirk seems to imply that there's two different 'levels' of the quirk, and that's reinforced by the two different rulebooks listing two different costs.  But the text of the AtoW trait directs people to the Strat Ops rules (implying that they take precedence).  Our issue came when a player (yours truly) wanted to combine quirks to 'fluff out' their mech a bit more, by taking the "No/Minimal Arms" negative quirk in conjunction with "Hyper-extending actuators"; essentially trying for simply 'minimal arms'.

Example:
(and yes, I know art is not rules, and logic is a frequent stranger to Btech)
The Rifleman clearly has arms.  They aren't very good arms, but it can use those gunbarrels to lever itself up in a pinch or bonk someone over the head.  The Rifleman follows all the normal rules for a 'mech without lower arm or hand actuators.
The Stalker clearly has "No Arms".  It can't throw a punch, they're no good for helping it stand up, it can't throw a punch, and what're basically expanded side torso space shouldn't be able to flip an fire into the rear arc.  The Stalker gets the full "No Arms" quirk
The Raven, Longbow, Catapult, Viking, Jenner, ect. are somewhere in between.  They've clearly got arms of a sort; but they're almost universally short, stubby missile pods.  They're no help for standing up after a fall, and the closest they're getting to throwing a punch is if the Catapult's missile bay door covers are used to flick the nose of that Atlas.  But they're still separated from the torso by the same sort of pivot-capable shoulder actuator that the Rifleman has and should be able to be reversed.  These mechs have 'Minimal arms'.

Since 'Hyper Extending Actuators' (Strat Ops pg 194) is a one-point quirk that lets 'mechs with lower arm actuators flip arms; can a 'Mech with "No/Minimal arms" (-3) also take "Hyper extending actuators" (+1) to essentially create a pseudo 'Minimal Arms' (-2) quirk as described above; still able to flip but limited in melee and standing up?
« Last Edit: 08 October 2015, 11:47:57 by Xotl »

Xotl

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Re: A quirk conundrum
« Reply #1 on: 08 October 2015, 11:47:30 »
Yes, you can.
3028-3057 Random Assignment Tables -
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http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=1219.0