’Mech of the Week: SCP-*** Scorpion

[Auren]

I had the hilarious thought from this tread of a "Legged Tank," which is some sort of horrible crossbreed of Tank and Mech. It gets better movement in rough terrain but a Hover-esque vulnerability to getting a limb (And mobility) lopped off.

[YingJanshi]

I had the hilarious thought from this tread of a "Legged Tank," which is some sort of horrible crossbreed of Tank and Mech. It gets better movement in rough terrain but a Hover-esque vulnerability to getting a limb (And mobility) lopped off.

Check out the new QuadVees from TRO: 3145 (and TRO: 3145 Clans).
The Cyllaros, the Harpagos and the Arion.


The rules for them are in FM: 3145.

[Auren]

They're so horrible its awesome.  :D

[glitterboy2098]

I had the hilarious thought from this tread of a "Legged Tank," which is some sort of horrible crossbreed of Tank and Mech. It gets better movement in rough terrain but a Hover-esque vulnerability to getting a limb (And mobility) lopped off.

IIRC, there was a hover-quad mecha in an anime awhile back.. think it might have been one of the tank police ones.

and Multi-ped tanks (aka 4 legged mecha tanks) have been a big part of the ghost in the Shell universe.. where they come in full sized (MBT sized) and mini (heavy /assualt BA sized) forms..

[Auren]

Yeah, I know about the Adorkable Tachikomas and the very less adorkable MBT variants. I'd treat the Tachikomas as souped up quad protos, while the big eight legged tanks as quads with fluff 8 legs instead of four (Ease of play on that one.)

Nah, these are the kind of tanks that would walk around so you could kick dudes out the back and such. At least they'd look like the Scorpion rather then the Sirocco or Thunder Horse (The Quad LB-20X/Trip LRM 20 clan standard mech).

[garhkal]

Could be done by adding a turret maybe.  (my 2 cents.)

The turret more works for what we see the Unseen Goliath having, not how i envision the tail and stinger of a true scorpion being.

[Moonsword]

Let's get back to the actual Scorpion, guys.

I wound up with one off of a RAT and was thinking of sticking it into a lance with a couple of Hermes IIs as a lance leader.  Thoughts?

[Weirdo]

I see that working quite well in any era. In all cases the Scorpion can easily keep up with the Hermes IIs, and in some cases the maneuverability means it's faster. This is always good for a low-tier commander that might need to reinforce any one of his subordinates at a moment's notice. It has the firepower to noticeably hurt anything that won't utterly kill a Hermes, allowing it to provide fire support and/or push an enemy back long enough to get them out of trouble. The armor may be thin in some models, but it's still thick enough to handle the aforementioned threats that won't just roast a Hermes before help can arrive, allowing it to fight long enough for the smaller 'mechs to get away. Finally, most models are focused on an energy weapon, so they can easily handle the long-range deployments a scout lance would be sent on.

And if your lance is using all the latest models of both, it's a DAMN scary strike lance. #P

[martian]

Let's get back to the actual Scorpion, guys.

I wound up with one off of a RAT and was thinking of sticking it into a lance with a couple of Hermes IIs as a lance leader.  Thoughts?

What variant of Hermes II? HER-5SA? HER-5Sr? Or HER-7S?

I would go with something like this:

• SCP-10M Scorpion
• HER-5Sr Hermes II
• HER-5SA Hermes II - LPL is useful against fast movers + it can contribute with its UAC-5
• HER-5SA Hermes II - LPL is useful against fast movers + it can contribute with its UAC-5

Or you can go with HER-7S. In the Dark Age those technologies are not too extravagant anymore.

[Moonsword]

Sorry, should have specified.  I was rolling on Xotl's 3025 RATs, so we're talking about the SCP-1N and a couple of HER-2S models.

[martian]

Sorry, should have specified.  I was rolling on Xotl's 3025 RATs, so we're talking about the SCP-1N and a couple of HER-2S models.

Okay.  :)
Easy way would be one SCP-1N and 3* HER-2S.

But I would go with something like this, just for fun:

• SCP-1N Scorpion
  - the heaviest punch thanks its PPC
• HER-2S Hermes II
  - multi-purpose 'Mech, its AC-5 has range comparable with the Scorpion's PPC
• HER-4K Hermes III
  - even though its pair Large Lasers has slightly shorter range, they won't run out of ammo and can cover the minimum range of SCP-1N and HER-2S
• HER-2M Hermes II "Mecury Elite"
  - this 'Mech is as fast as Jenner and is useful both against enemy 'Mechs and enemy infantry

I would say that you will get a good lance of 'Mechs that are both mobile and pack some firepower. A good unit for the Marik Guard or the 1^st Atrean Hussars.

[Weirdo]

Should still work just fine. It's like a Panther leading a lance of Jenners, only this time the PPC carrier can keep up with the scouts, who are also well-equipped for long-range combat. This would actually be a REALLY good unit in Battleforce or Alpha Strike, able to keep the speed up and the range open, peppering enemies with 1-point hits from long range.

[Moonsword]

Yeah, what I've got available is a lot of 2S and some 2M Hermes IIs, no 4Ks, and some other 6/9/6 'Mechs like Vulcans and Phoenix Hawks I'm leaning toward pairing together instead of tying them to the ground-bound forces.

[Weirdo]

I'd go that way as well. I'm a big fan of grouping like movement curves together, to alow coherent forces to make the most of their speeds. It's why I'm actually not that big a fan of superfast designs like the newer Locusts, as they frequently have to be tied to slower lancemates or operate solo unless I can set up a pure lance of that specific design.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Hm...I'd find some way of adding a Javelin to that, just because half a light lance with a PPC and 18 SRMs is mean and awesome.  Add some lasers and such to the mix, maybe a Firestarter if you can get it for the antipersonnel work that the Scorpion is so fluffily vulnerable to, or else a Pixie and a Hermes of any color.

[Moonsword]

I'd go that way as well. I'm a big fan of grouping like movement curves together, to alow coherent forces to make the most of their speeds. It's why I'm actually not that big a fan of superfast designs like the newer Locusts, as they frequently have to be tied to slower lancemates or operate solo unless I can set up a pure lance of that specific design.

I've got a Hermes that I have no idea what to do with.  The vast majority of that regiment (okay, so I was bored) is a truly ridiculous number of heavies, so the 6/9 lances actually work very well as a scout/cavalry screen for the main force.