Zahn Heavy Transport, page 19 TRO3145 Capellan Confederation
Fire truck? I'll show you a fire truck!If you ever used the old Heavy Wheeled APC maybe you thought "I'd really like this to either have an 8 ton bay or improved weapons and armor". Fret not, for those sneaky Capellans found a way to accommodate these requests. The Zahn Heavy Transport is, in a sense, a bigger, better version of the stock Heavy Wheeled APC that came from TRO3060. But, before you go buying Zahns by the dozen, take consider the downsides that each of these improvements creates.
At 65 tons the Zahn is more akin to a city bus than an APC. The 50/40/28/25/25 armor profile provided by 10.5 tons of Heavy Ferro Fibrous armor might make you think of it as something more like a locamotive. In case you were wondering, that second 25 isn't a typo. that the 2nd turret mounted on the top.
The Zhan's weaponry, split between the two turrets screams utility and is equally at home with an infantry company or special forces operation. Two vehicular flamers fed by 2 tons of ammo allows for a variety of sneaky tactics. Fire setting, fire fighting, riot busting or heck, just standard flamer ammo, you got options. The 2nd turret features a MML7 backed by three tons of ammo, allowing for even more options. A TAG system is also built into the 2nd turret, which fits right at home in the traditionally artillery enamoroued CCAF. None of these weapon systems are particularily threatening. But, they do offer some abilities through alternate ammunitions that will help their infantry or battle armor passengers take on their opponents with inferno support, a slight peppering of frag missiles against enemy infantry positions, or knocking down buildings with standard SRMs. With 3 tons of ammo the Zahn has options. Better yet, TAG allows the Zahn to call on hard hitting firepower anywhere it goes, adding to the overall versatility of the design to perform a variety of tasks.
A spacious 8 ton bay is doesn't allow the Zahn to outright replace old standby like Maxim Infantrys and Maxim IIs for mass troop movements. It does, however allow for some fun combinations of battle armor and infantry. When combined with the support based weaponry in the Zhan's turrets, the passengers can become a real threat to objectives. Bringing TAG along also allows the Zahn to punch through hardened resistance and use it's turret weaponry and that of it's passengers to finish off weakened prey. There is something to be said about the Zahn as a raider when supported by homing/copperhead artillery and Semi-Guided LRMs.
Quirks are excellent this time around. A Low/Narrow Profile provides a frustrating +1 to all attempts to hit the Zahn. At flanking speed the Zahn can pull a +4 target modifier. Combined with robust armor, it can shrug a few shots directed at it, whether by agility or durability. And no drawbacks. How frustrating for the enemies of the Confederation...
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I did mention liabilities, and the Zahn is riddled with them. Every feature undercuts the mission profile by overdoing certain aspects and not others. For example, the dual turret configuation is really nice for getting the most out of your multi function weaponry, but divides the armor between two locations. While the Zahn is mobile that isn't an enormous problem. But, once the Zahn is immobilized the turrets can be targetted. Their split armor will come back to haunt you in that case. Being wheeled complicates matters further. The Zahn is only able to accomplish all of it's capabilities (speed, armor, hauling capacity) because it is a wheeled chasis. The additional comprimises made for a tracked motive type would require the infantry bay, weaponry or armor profile to shrink. But, it's still a wheeled chasis hauling infantry or battle armor, which means it will have difficulty with terrain restrictions and easy motive crits.
Weaponry forms another liability. The MML7 is a nice weapon and you can get some interesting utility out of the vehicle flamers. But, unless you are really familiar with alternate munitions or use rules like fire and smoke, you won't get the full value of the weapons. Normally that isn't an issue. But, the Zahn is 792 BV. That isn't the kind of BV you pay for your weapons to make a margainal difference in a combat situation. TAG is the bright spot of the weapons because no matter what, your Zahn can cross the battlefield with the power of Capellan Lightning, Arrow IV. Using TAG to spot for indirect LRM fire is also a nice way of providing your disembarking infantry with the support they need to tackle hardened targets. But, TAG is bound to attract attention to the Zahn, which is neither fast nor armed well enough to defend against concerted efforts to destroy it. This is the opposite of what you want in an infantry carrier that depends on mobility to deliver their passengers.
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Using the Zahn might seem difficult from my blathering on about flaws and liabilities. Don't be mistaken. This is a well made machine with a specific purpose in mind. And that purpose is creating havok. The Capellans used them to commit war crimes, but you don't have to be so... unsimpathetic. Load up your Zahn with the battle armor of your choosing, or conventional infantry, since the combined cost of BA can soar over 1K BV. Send it toward an objective site. Once the Zahn is on target, unload the passengers and use the Zahn's TAG, MMLs and flamers to neutralize enemies that will cause problems. Or, set the woods on fire, clear/lay mines, etc. The Zahn is really good at entering close quarters and causing trouble.
On the defense a Zahn can be used to reinforce a threatened combat zone in a pinch with it's passengers and weaponry. Even if reduced to 0 MP the Zahn is a bit of a brick, and there's nothing wrong with that. In urban combat a Zahn forming an impromptu roadblock can save your objective site from being overrun. It also turns into a battering ram on roads. 65 tons of metal flying at 6/9 is not to be taken lightly.
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Battling a Zahn can be a little tricky, depending on the composition of other forces in the area. You don't want to get too close, as the MML7 and TAG are certainly stronger at short range. Better to pepper a Zahn with LRMs or LBX pellets before targetting a weakened spot. Engaging at range is the best bet out fo consideration of the infantry or battle armor passengers, as well. Any old long ranged gun will do. The extra +1 to hit from Low/Narrow profile might force you forwarded into medium range, but maintaine that instead of going for an esier close ranged shot. If a Zahn gets close try to immobilize or slow it down, then get the heck out of there. You may not find a pair of flamers and a MML7 threatening, but the guns of a Kopis or Shen Long squad might put some pep in your step.
