Long time coming on this article- and for that I apologize. What seemed like a straightforward request meant first learning more about superheavy vehicle rules, trailer rules, etc., things that I rarely have bothered learning since they don't show up in games I'm part of regularly. Combine that with some unfortunate real-life occurrances, and... you knwo what, that all sounds like excuses, and I'd rather avoid that. The bottom line is that I borked this up pretty bad, and I need to just own that. So I'm sorry for the delay on this, and for what I'm assuming will end up being a low-water mark for VotW as I try to pretend I have some clue what I'm talking about here.
With that in mind... the Destrier.
Now, first and foremost, this is a unit that left me confused. After all, the Federated Suns has long prided itself on its cavalry-style combat tactics, hitting targets fast and using mobility to their advantage. While that works great on the attack, it can suffer a little in defending a target against a heavy assault- which is why you have units like the Ajax and Devastator, of course. But, a little artillery support is never a bad thing, and so having a big, beefy artillery hauler can always-
Oh. Right. The Paladin is literally on the preceding page in the TRO.
So why build the Destrier AND the Paladin? Well, that's a question above my head, since there's a lot of similarities. I do point out that one of the Dark Age novels featured Julian Davion marveling at the Republic's Paladin system and wishing for the FedSuns to use it, so I think it might be a unit that was intended for Republic forces- which would then explain the Destrier as the result of those lessons, perhaps. But, that's not what the TRO says, so we have two very similar units doing the same job in the same army. (I don't have the page reference handy on that, by the way, but I'll see if I can find it another time)
Despite the superheavy status on this monstrosity, we'll start with the usual- by looking under the hood (so to speak) and seeing what we have. The answer is a 400XL fusion plant similar to those in some large Battlemechs like the Berserker and the newer models of the Atlas- at least in theory. Since it's working to propel this thing, it is enough to give it a stately 2/3 movement curve. Don't plan on using Davion cavalry tactics today, kids- outrunning the infantry is going to be a challenge. The obvious answer seems to be moving it from point to point via dropship, as with the Jade Falcons and their equally ponderous Huitzilopochtli artillery carrier, but the Destrier doesn't fit in a standard vehicle bay- so that option doesn't work all that well, since you have to use cargo space instead. This is a unit best driven into a position during the lead-up to battle and left there- it's not advancing with you if your lines advance, and it's not leaving if the enemy overruns you.
That engine is encased in what we can all agree is some of the most ridiculous armor a non-naval unit can boast. Thirty-seven tons of hardened armor (sweet mother of Blake!) coat this thing to the point that I'm not even warming up the VotW autocannon test- I'll run out of ammo before this thing runs out of 'screw you' plating. That's a whopping sixty points up front, another forty-one on the turret, the sides... right, it's a super-heavy vehicle, so it has four sides. The front sides get another forty-five points, while thirty-five points adorn the rear sides. The rear of the vehicle gets an impressive thirty-five as well. Remember that each of those points is counted basically as two points for all intents, so killing one of these is NOT easy. Immobilizing it is your best bet- a couple of good solid motive hits and it's a pillbox in practice as well as theory, and so it's much easier to deal with.
So. At two hundred bloody tons, one expects to find a pretty solid payload of weapons, right? Get comfy. The obvious place to start is with the main weaponry. Two mighty Long Tom cannons sit in the turret. What's more fun than shelling someone from a couple dozen maps away? Doing it TWICE. The guns are fitted with a handy twenty rounds each, and while that might seem a little short for long deployments it's worth remembering that this vehicle isn't going much of anywhere- so building a field base around it makes some sense, including ammo resupply facilities. Ever play the old Command & Conquer games? Think of this as less 'mobile artillery' and more as the mobile field bases from that game- it doesn't unfold into a base, but it forms a good foundation to build one around.
MAJOR EDIT: In keeping with the slapdash mess of the article from start to finish, I managed to copy and paste the WRONG VERSION of this. The guns are indeed not artillery, but the snub-nosed bastards intended for making battle armor and close-formation troops miserable. These guns therefore lack the ability to make artillery attacks, and... if I'm honest, are the reason I had so much trouble with this article. If it's this slow, lacks artillery, etc... it makes for a less useful defensive platform, and is still too slow for even a Steiner-style assault force. Very odd. Anyway, apologies for the continued malf-ups with this mess of an article, and I promise next week will resemble something less disastrous.The rest of the defensive weaponry is a little less awe-inspiring, but won't leave you too upset either. A pair of ER medium lasers sit between the main cannons, using the heat sinks that the engine came with, and providing the ability to sting a snooping scout vehicle or Mech at least. These shouldn't be relied on, however, and really if they're your best weapon against such units you have miserably failed to protect your Destrier. Bad FedRat. The vehicle also boasts four anti-missile systems, always good news for a vehicle vulnerable to SRM hits- these are mounted in side sponsons, the rear, and another in the turret. These are fed by a somewhat light 48 rounds, but again resupply shouldn't be an issue for it. And in case infantry are a problem, a gaggle of light machine guns coat the vehicle as well- paired LMGs are found in each side sponson, as well as in the rear. This should be plenty enough to keep you safe from infantry, but again the Destrier's main defense should be other units, and not its own weapons. Wrapping things up are a C3 slave module, a handy Guardian ECM system, and a full ton of extra communications gear.
Good lord, what a beast. Glad that's over with, we can get to- what, there's a trailer? Come on now, we're rapidly entering overkill territory here, Davion! Fine, fine, let's go over it.
The stats for this aren't found in the TRO entry, but CAN be found in the record sheet at the back of the Davion mini-TRO. Called the 'Ballista', we get more of the same. The same coating of hardened armor applies here- thirty points on each location, with the turret getting thirty-two. The equipment is terrifying- another C3 slave, another Guardian, and more comm gear (four tons this time) are backed by... more AMS mounts, more LMGs, more ER mediums, is this sounding familiar at all? The Long Toms of the original, however, are replaced with twin Arrow IV launchers, equipped with a total of forty rounds- pick what kinds you like, but since you already have area-effect nastiness with the Long Toms I'd advise homing rounds primarily, and FASCAM as well if you have them available- after all, few things tell someone to keep away like dropping mines around your semi-mobile monster, right? (Of note is that the trailer is... well, a trailer, and has no movement of its own, but is marked as having a fusion power plant to provide it with the heat sinks for the lasers. I'm not aware of what the rules are on that, I admit, but waiting even longer to post this article wasn't happening.)
It's not over. Both the Destrier and Ballista have four-ton infantry compartments, handily providing you a way to bring a squad of battle armor along to help the lasers and LMGs keep baddies away. I recommend using lesser types like the Cavalier, since having top of the line gear held in the back means it's not at the front lines like it should be, but to each their own.
So. Using one. What is the enemy on your world to attack? A dam? A factory, perhaps? Park your Destrier nearby. Instant fortress. Now the enemy has to approach through a hail of artillery fire (tube and missile), and spend a year and a half pummeling it to get it to shut up and leave them alone. But leaving it there alone is a recipe for disaster, natch, so leave it some good defenses- heavy tanks like the Alacorn are a handy way to tell an enemy to go away, and the old Sagittaire is handy if anything still gets in close. This is the king of your army- protect it well.
Attacking one... is just going to suck, ok? That's a lot of arty it's putting down on your head- and that's assuming it's all alone. It's probably parked right where you need to go, too, so it's not like you can ignore it. So... flak rounds are painful, but airstrikes are probably your best bet, or at least fast-moving units like Spiders and Harassers. Using slower units means they'll be stripped bare of armor by the time they arrive to do their job, no matter how tough they are. Battle armor dropped from the air might be handy, but with what artillery do to battle armor I sure wouldn't approach any other way- they'll never make it.
All in all, it's an impressive enough unit, but I'm still not sure why it and the Paladin are both in production in the FedSuns- one or the other I could see, but not both. As it stands, this is a menacing unit every bit worthy of serving in the FedSuns military, but its expense, slow speed, and difficulty in moving between locations make it something I'm not a particularly big fan of.
You know the drill. Thoughts, complaints, etc... apologies again on the article, and I'll try to make up for it next week by covering something I DO know well.
