TM p.146 states: When building infantry platoons under these rules, designers looking for more flavor may wish to explore these options, which appear in the Conventional Infantry Formations (by Tech Base) Table (see p. 147). Any platoon with an Inner Sphere Technology Base may use the Inner Sphere (General) line or the line that applies to their particular affiliation, while any platoon with a Clan Technology Base must use the Clan (All) line.
TM p.146 further states: If, however, a designer chooses the Marian Hegemony formation or a custom arrangement that yields more than 30 troops per platoon, he or she must break up the formation into subplatoons of no more than 30 troopers each. These troops must be divided as evenly as possible, regardless of the squad size chosen, with any odd troopers assigned to the first subplatoon.
1) (Note): The above sentence in the second quote explicitly states "more than 30 troops per platoon". Based on the previous sentence in the same paragraph, this number is dependent on motive type, with "30" only valid for foot infantry.
2) (Question): The first quote above implies (to me) that any infantry platoon constructed under TM rules should/must adhere to the layouts given in the table on p.146 p.147. The second quote above implies that a custom arrangement is possible. Hence, custom or not?
Example: Can I construct a wheeled mechanized infantry platoon with a 5/6 or 10/3 custom arrangement for a IS mercenary unit, or do I have to adhere to the default 6/4 given in the table?
3) (Question): Does the platoon have to broken up into as few subplatoons as necessary to bring their strength below Max Platoon Size, or are more subplatoons than this number possible?
Example/Question a: Can a wheeled mechanized infantry platoon of 30 men be broken up into three subplatoons of 10 troopers each, or does it need to be two subplatoons of 15 troopers each?
Example/Question b: Can a platoon under these rules simply be broken up into individual squads operating "autonomously"? Provided 3) above is answered in the sense of multiple subplatoons, would there be a minimum size to subplatoons (e.g. "squad size", "maximum weapon crew for support weapon in platoon" or "1")?
4) (Observation): Apart from two items, oversized infantry platoons are effectively treated as multiple formations for gameplay purposes. These two items are damage calculation and weapons outfit (p.148-153). Beyond fluff, provided custom arrangements are possible, the rules do not seem to stop me from creating those formations as actual - smaller - platoons, calculating their weapons outfit and damage individually (identically), and for fluff purposes "grouping" these individual formations later on by sticking a label "this is platoon XYZ" on them. Correct?
