OK, one more time- if you have requests, PLEASE RESUBMIT THEM. My request to do so last week in the Ku article resulted in a single response- and what do you know, in thanks I'm covering that vehicle today. So, if you want your vehicle covered... gotta get the request in. I again remind you that my previous request list was lost, and so I'm rebuilding on the fly here- if you've requested something, or have something in mind, send it in now so I can get you covered.
So. With that in mind, let's talk hovertank. The Republic has built some very intriguing units since their inception following the Jihad. It's a unique situation, watching a new nation slowly form its military into a cohesive fighting force from the battered and jumbled bits that came together to form the RAF in the beginning. As any Battletech player knows, it's not all about 100-ton two-legged monoliths- particularly in the post-Jihad Inner Sphere, combined arms forces are incredibly important. A fast strike hovercraft, something akin to the old Condor or Drillson, was a must. But where to turn? Grumman Industries on Terra proved to have the answer- and modern technology proved to be just the thing to combine flexibility, ridiculous speed, and surprising toughness to create the Scapha. Get comfy, this'll take a while.
The Scapha is an excellent fast-strike platform on offense, able to easily flank opponents with its speed and survive the occasional lucky hit. On defense, a few Scaphas are a great way to lock up the holes in your lines, raid rear areas to blunt an enemy's advance, and just be a general pain in the ass. The fact that the vehicle is built on Terra means that, much like the Vindicator in previous centuries for Liao, the Scapha's supply lines are simple- unless Terra itself is attacked, your assembly line will keep pumping out Scaphas. (This begs the question of how the Steel Wolves pulled an invasion of Terra off early in the Dark Age, but we'll ignore that.) This also means that Scaphas are now behind the wall, so those on the outside may be starting to show wear and tear by now between tough fighting and no access to spare parts.
Cracking open the engine block we see an enormous and shockingly expensive 265 XXL engine. Ye gods, that's more expensive than a whole platoon of Condors! Is it worth it? You make the call, I suppose, but it means that the 40-ton Scapha moves at the kind of speeds that used to be the territory of Savannah Masters and Gabriels alone. 11/17, even in the Dark Age, is respectable stuff, meaning this is a VERY hard target to hit. This author has long held that upgrading from a standard engine to an XL on a Battlemech is worth it IF the cost and vulnerability really improves the machine in ways that just aren't possible otherwise- and the same holds here. Flat out, this vehicle can't be accomplished anywhere near what it is with an XL opposed to the XXL- so while it's expensive, it's also the core of the unit. Your opinion may vary- to me, it's tough to look at this unit and say 'worth it'.
One of the threats to a fast hovercraft is pulse lasers- with their accuracy, the high speed of a hovercraft is negated somewhat, and since they tend to be fragile units that's not good news. The Scapha takes advantage of modern technology again here, using Grumman reflective armor (one assumes, again, made right there on Terra). Who cares about pulse lasers now? Even if they hit, they amount of damage is drastically reduced, although the chance of motive and critical hits aren't changed. While the vulnerability to physical attacks is increased, a Scapha in danger of being stomped on by a Mech is a poorly used Scapha. It's again an increase in cost over something more conventional, but makes for a much more durable unit. Seven and a half tons are split nicely between the turret and front getting thirty points each, and twenty points covering the rear and sides. Solid protection overall, and against energy weapons even stronger than it looks.
Big engine, tough armor... so we're lacking in guns, right? Nope. That engine weighs so little that we ended up with thirteen tons of pod space on the Scapha. Oh yes, this is an Omni- another big cost that pays rich dividends. Nothing makes for a flexible unit like modular weaponry, and thirteen tons of it on a fast frame like this makes for some really fun possibilities. This author hates writing about Omnivehicles because it takes a lot longer to write these damned configurations up, so there's hope that you all understand how I suffer for your entertainment. ;) Of note, not a single configuration uses missile weaponry at all, a very unusual thing to find on an Omni with this many configurations.
The Prime is an electronic warfare interdictor, combining an Angel ECM with a Bloodhound probe to make for a handy scout/jammer. Twin light PPCs sit in the turret, backed by a targeting computer- a pretty handy sting for a unit in the electronic warfare role! A supercharger makes the already-fast Scapha able to jet about even faster when needed, definitely a good thing when the enemy has had enough of your electronic shenanigans. This is just a blissful unit, one that should be at the forefront of any Republic player's thoughts when it comes to dealing with C3 networks, hidden units, and other dirty tricks.
The A config is a bit more basic- less 'fun and games', more 'raw punch'. The only weapon is a nasty RAC-5 in the turret, able to cause a hefty amount of pain to a target- and able to be quickly brought into range for use by the Scapha's high speed. The three ton ammo bay is deep enough to offer the chance for a few wild shots now and then, and keep the Scapha on the field through the whole battle. One can't help but compare this favorably to the FedSuns' classic Musketeer.
B config is similar to the A, but losing power for range- the turret now contains a light Gauss rifle. A single ton of ammo is plenty for most engagements, and the Scapha's movement again means that the LGR's massive range can always be used to advantage- few units will be able to corner the Scapha, and so it can always find a position to fire from. The author found that to his surprise, this ended up his favorite configuration in testing.
C continues the 'big ballistic' theme, this time with the author's favorite weapon. The LB-10X combines power, range, and utility into a handy package, and here the Scapha turns into an anti-aircraft/vehicle nightmare, quickly moving in and out of range and delivering cluster rounds to the enemy where it will do the most damage. The two-ton ammo bay allows one to carry slug and cluster rounds, but really this should just be cluster munitions and plenty of it- find enemy armor and make it miserable with flanking strikes. Testing resulted in a badly-wounded Scapha, and a thoroughly ventilated Ajax A- not a bad trade.
The D changes things up with a snub-nose PPC, a weapon that has rapidly become a favorite of many players. Here, the speed allows one to rapidly move into the weapons' large short-range bracket from even a full mapsheet away. The remaining tonnage goes to a rare post-Jihad sighting of an iNarc launcher fed by two tons of ammo. With the wide array of options available for the launcher (the author loves the panic-factor of Nemesis pods in particular), this is a very dangerous and tricky vehicle, and is highly recommended.
Config E is a surprise- a Thumper cannon makes it an extraordinary battle armor killer, able to rapidly deploy to a good position to attack the troopers, hit them all with each strike, and keep out of range of most return fire. A cavernous three-ton ammunition bay means it can keep firing throughout the battle, to boot. Very unusual design, but a lot of fun to experiment with. (Admittedly, one test of this config resulted in tragedy when, after wiping out a squad each of Purifiers and Grenadiers, the move to engage a squad of Raidens and their supporting Owens was interrupted with a sideslip into woods...)
F is designed to utilize the Federated Suns' special munitions for autocannons, with an old-school AC-5 in the turret. Two tons of ammo mean you can use a couple of different kinds depending on the situation at hand. TAG helps you call in artillery support, and a computer helps aim the cannon. This one didn't appeal much overall compared to the others, but the TAG is a handy thing to have on the modern combined-arms battlefield for sure. (To be fair, I'm also an old-time hater of the AC-5, so I went into this one with eyerolls)
Config G is a variation on the F, with twin LAC-2s replacing the AC-5 and keeping the computer. The ammo bay remains two tons, plenty for special munitions if you wish (and you should). The TAG is replaced with a handy C3 slave module, making for a nasty surprise- this was a fun one to use against vehicles in particular, plinking away until getting that golden-BB shot, and hitting its shots almost every time. While the shots don't do much damage, the utility of this config was second to none.
We move on to the H, which returns to the Prime's twin-energy weapon turret. This time we see a pair of medium VSP lasers, backed by a C3 slave module. Four extra heat sinks allow the lasers to be used. While the author is not a fan of the VSP as a concept, it's hard to argue with what this can do on such an impressive quick-strike platform, particularly with the C3's assistance. This is handy as a scout hunter, able to run down other fast units, easily survive the light energy weapons such units often use to defend themselves, and hit them hard with the VSPs.
The intriguing I configuration starts with a C3 master computer, making it a good choice to work with other C3 configs like the H. The turret contains a TSEMP unit with a targeting computer, a very intriguing setup. In the interests of being honest, this was the sole config that didn't get any testing, but TSEMP is a very high-risk high-reward thing- backed by other units, this could be the Scapha's best configuration, or a waste of time depending on the roll of the dice. Shutting down a target and then utilizing battle armor swarming attacks from the troopers riding the Omni-tank's sides could be a pretty great combination.
And then we get to the oddball. Configuration J is a love letter to Kanga fans. Three medium pulse lasers provide accurate (if short-ranged) punch, with two extra heat sinks to back them. A Guardian ECM mucks with enemy probes and C3 networks, always a handy thing on the modern battlefield. But it's the seven jump jets that get the most attention here, making for a unit that can leap entire city blocks at a moment's notice. As with the Kanga, the author is still saddened by the ruling that vehicles cannot make DFA attacks, but in this case with the reflective armor it may be just as well.
*whew* That's a lot of configurations! What would you build on a Scapha? Experiments on this computer have resulted in SRM-heavy configurations, an APC with an eight-ton infantry bay and a few backup lasers, and one ill-advised but amusing fore-mounted MRM-40 with a single ton of ammo as a fast-strike unit. What would you do? How would you use the above configs? When can I stop typing? So many questions, and YOU have the answers, so get to it folks!
