Proposed Goblin Chassis for Gio's Niops Idea

[Daryk]

This is just a bare bones sketch based on a couple notes back and forth with Giovanni Blasini over in the BattleMech design forum.

He's working on some Niops Wasp variants over there, and has some very interesting fluff.  The basis is Niops trying to rebuild their industrial capacity after the Jihad.  What I propose here is that Niops manages to pull off an industrial espionage campaign against the Alphard Trading Corporation plant on Leximon that manufactures Goblins sufficient for Niops to build their own production line.  Throw in a side project against Alphard's fuel cell production line on Alphard itself and a little Niops ingenuity, and you can get a very nice chassis with 20 tons to throw into a turret.  That's more than enough to fit an AC/20, Gauss Rifle, Thumper, or pretty much any selection of smaller weaponry you could desire.  The base chassis, which includes the signature one ton infantry compartment common to all Goblins, also sports integral CASE to keep them and the crew alive in case of an ammunition explosion.  It costs a nice round 957,000 C-Bills, though filling out the turret will certainly increase that significantly (e.g., an AC/20 with 3 tons of ammo and two Machine Guns sharing a half ton kick up the total price to 1,417,375, though a Thumper with 2 tons of ammo is only 1,254,250).

Code: [Select]

Niops Goblin Chassis

Mass: 45 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Experimental Tech
Era: Dark Ages
Tech Rating/Era Availability: D/C-F-D-A
Production Year: 0
Cost: 957,000 C-Bills
Battle Value: 411

Power Plant:  180 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 43.2 km/h
Flanking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Armor:  Standard Armor
Armament:
    None
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      25 points                4.50
Engine:             Fuel-Cell Engine             180                       8.50
    Cruise MP:  4
    Flank MP:   6
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             1                         0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         2.50
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Turret:                                                                    0.00
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 128                  8.00

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor     
                                               Front     30       
                                          Left/Right   24/24       
                                              Turret     30       
                                                Rear     20       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CASE                                         BD        -         1         0.50
Infantry Compartment (1.0 tons)              BD        0         1         1.00

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      4    Points: 4
4t         0       0       0       0      2     0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: ENE, EE, TUR()

[Giovanni Blasini]

Oh, that's just perfect.

[Daryk]

Thanks!  I was hoping you'd like it...  O:-)

[Giovanni Blasini]

OK, basic all-purpose chassis. Had 0.5 ton left over, realized I couldn't fit anything else in the turret, so added a half-ton for supplies.

Code: [Select]

Goblin GB-N1

Mass: 45 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Advanced Rules
Era: Dark Ages
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-A
Production Year: 0
Cost: 1,656,625 C-Bills
Battle Value: 683

Power Plant:  180 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 43.2 km/h
Flanking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Armor:  Standard Armor
Armament:
    1  LB 10-X AC
    1  MML-5
    1 Unknown CASE
    1  Infantry Compartment (1.0 tons)
    1  Cargo, Standard (0.5 tons)
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      25 points                4.50
Engine:             Fuel-Cell Engine             180                       8.50
    Cruise MP:  4
    Flank MP:   6
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             1                         0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         2.50
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Turret:                                                                    1.50
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 128                  8.00

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor     
                                               Front     30       
                                          Left/Right   24/24       
                                              Turret     20       
                                                Rear     30       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MML-5                                        T         3         1         3.00
LB 10-X AC                                   T         2         1        11.00
CASE                                         BD        -         1         0.50
Infantry Compartment (1.0 tons)              BD        0         1         1.00
Cargo, Standard (0.5 tons)                   BD        0         1         0.50
@LB 10-X (Cluster) (10)                      BD        -         0         1.00
@LB 10-X (Slug) (10)                         BD        -         0         1.00
@MML-5 (LRM) (24)                            BD        -         0         1.00
@MML-5 (SRM) (20)                            BD        -         0         1.00

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      4    Points: 7
4t         2       2       1       0      2     0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: CASE, EE, TUR(2/2/1), FLK 1/1/1



[Giovanni Blasini]

OK, something perhaps a bot more straightforward.


Goblin GB-N2

Mass: 45 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Advanced Rules
Era: Dark Ages
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/D-F-D-A
Production Year: 0
Cost: 1,413,750 C-Bills
Battle Value: 865

Power Plant:  180 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 43.2 km/h
Flanking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Armor:  Standard Armor
Armament:
    1  Gauss Rifle
    1  Machine Gun
    1 Unknown CASE
    1  Infantry Compartment (1.0 tons)
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      25 points                4.50
Engine:             Fuel-Cell Engine             180                       8.50
    Cruise MP:  4
    Flank MP:   6
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             1                         0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         2.50
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Turret:                                                                    2.00
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 128                  8.00

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor     
                                               Front     30       
                                          Left/Right   24/24       
                                              Turret     20       
                                                Rear     30       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gauss Rifle                                  T         1         1        15.00
Machine Gun                                  T         0         1         0.50
CASE                                         BD        -         1         0.50
Infantry Compartment (1.0 tons)              BD        0         1         1.00
@Gauss Rifle (16)                            BD        -         0         2.00
@MG (1/2) (100)                              BD        -         0         0.50

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      4    Points: 9
4t         2       2       2       0      2     0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: CASE, EE, TUR(2/2/2)

[Random]

As a variant how-about an expanded infantry compartment.
Maybe with a LBX-10 for some crit seeking.
 

[tomaddamz]

OK, basic all-purpose chassis. Had 0.5 ton left over, realized I couldn't fit anything else in the turret, so added a half-ton for supplies.

Half ton, VGL, RL-10, I use both extensively to bulk things out.

[Giovanni Blasini]

Half ton, VGL, RL-10, I use both extensively to bulk things out.

Thought about it, though I'm thinking of using it as padding, and saying all versions actually have a two-ton turret.

[Giovanni Blasini]

As a variant how-about an expanded infantry compartment.
Maybe with a LBX-10 for some crit seeking.

Something like this?

Code: [Select]

Goblin GB-N3

Mass: 45 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Advanced Rules
Era: Dark Ages
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/E-F-D-A
Production Year: 3132
Cost: 1,439,125 C-Bills
Battle Value: 626

Power Plant:  180 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 43.2 km/h
Flanking Speed: 64.8 km/h
Armor:  Standard Armor
Armament:
    1  LB 10-X AC
    1  Machine Gun
    1 Unknown CASE
    1  Infantry Compartment (5.0 tons)
Manufacturer:
    Primary Factory:
Communications System:
Targeting and Tracking System:

================================================================================
Equipment           Type                         Rating                   Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard                      25 points                4.50
Engine:             Fuel-Cell Engine             180                       8.50
    Cruise MP:  4
    Flank MP:   6
Heat Sinks:         Single Heat Sink             1                         0.00
Control Equipment:                                                         2.50
Lift Equipment:                                                            0.00
Turret:                                                                    1.50
Armor:              Standard Armor               AV - 128                  8.00

                                                      Armor     
                                                      Factor     
                                               Front     30       
                                          Left/Right   24/24       
                                              Turret     20       
                                                Rear     30       

================================================================================
Equipment                                 Location    Heat     Spaces     Mass 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LB 10-X AC                                   T         2         1        11.00
Machine Gun                                  T         0         1         0.50
CASE                                         BD        -         1         0.50
Infantry Compartment (5.0 tons)              BD        0         1         5.00
@LB 10-X (Cluster) (10)                      BD        -         0         1.00
@LB 10-X (Slug) (10)                         BD        -         0         1.00
@MG (1/2) (100)                              BD        -         0         0.50

BattleForce Statistics
MV      S (+0)  M (+2)  L (+4)  E (+6)   Wt.   Ov   Armor:      4    Points: 6
4t         1       1       1       0      2     0   Structure:  3
Special Abilities: CASE, EE, TUR(1/1/1), FLK 1/1/1



[Daryk]

A common two ton turret isn't a bad idea, but it does risk wasting tonnage for the smaller weapon loads.  Another angle to consider is a turret-less "assault gun" version.  Removing the turret armor and two more points off the glacis (to carve a hole for whatever it is) gets you two more tons back.

[Giovanni Blasini]

True. Of course, the only reason the gauss version went to a 2-ton turret was the coaxial machine gun. Had it been front-mounted, it wouldn't have been an issue.

[Daryk]

I contemplated going for a hull mounted machine gun, but that would have made the turret tonnage a less elegant 19 tons.

[DOC_Agren]

OK, basic all-purpose chassis. Had 0.5 ton left over, realized I couldn't fit anything else in the turret, so added a half-ton for supplies.

I recommand a nice TDI Stake ADAT missile, or in cbt terms a RL10.  :thumbsup:

[kaliban]

As a standard "Main Battle Tank", I believe the Gauss Rifle version is the best choice. It makes all older ACs obsolete and compares to the newer LB-Xs, UACs and LACs. Damage and range of the Gauss Rifle is good and with a single main gun it can be employed without complicated tactics - find some Light Woods spot and fire from there!

A second version with LB-10X and missiles can be an interesting complement to target vehicles, faster mechs and VTOLs

If UACs are available, maybe a UAC/20 version for urban warfare can be produced in smaller numbers. Between the regular AC/20 and SRMs, I would probably prefer SRMs.

I just believe the armor is insufficient - you probably need to go to 55-60tons to have 10+tons of standard armor

[Daryk]

Glad to see some life in this old thread!  :thumbsup: