Author Topic: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)  (Read 1792 times)

Daryk

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Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« on: 06 August 2023, 09:01:37 »
The wide popularity of the Suns Killer Sniper Rifle encouraged one bright manufacturer to take a shot at increasing ammunition commonality.  The bog-standard Auto-Rifle used lighter ammunition and was a known ammo hog.  Rechambering to use the same ammo as the Suns Killer improved individual round penetration sufficiently to provide similar overall performance with a nearly halved cyclic rate.  Of course, it also increased the weight of both the weapon and the ammunition, not to mention the cost.  The lower fire rate also eliminated the common jamming issues of the Auto-Rifle, somewhat justifying the increased cost.  The shorter barrel of course reduced the effective range of the weapon compared to its sniper specialized parent.

Taurian Auto-Rifle (TAR)
(Taurian Concordat/Calderon Protectorate)
Equipment Rating: C/C-C-C/B
AP/BD: 4B/5
Range: 40/110/220/440
Shots: 24
Cost/Reload: 200/16
Mass/Reload: 5kg/115g
Notes: BURST 8, RECOIL -1
TW Damage: .55
TW Range: 1/2/3

DOC_Agren

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #1 on: 07 August 2023, 01:35:02 »
What if you added in the Extended Capacity modifier, and threw Recoil Compensation on top like you did on your AR+

and what about with a GL like the AR++

Yes I am Interested
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

Daryk

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #2 on: 07 August 2023, 03:26:47 »
I'll look into adding those after work tonight, thanks for the ideas! :)

Grand_dm

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #3 on: 07 August 2023, 16:46:16 »

Yes I am Interested

That makes two of us.
Big ideas and gaming outside the box. #Gametavern proprietor. Plus Ultra.

Daryk

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #4 on: 07 August 2023, 17:05:25 »
Ok, Recoil Compensation is a straight 10% premium, and cranks the Legality to D (even in the Concordat).  That's 220 C-Bills per unit that includes that.

Extended Capacity triples the cost of the weapon, and ammunition is 25% more expensive for the custom magazines.  As this only takes it from 24 rounds to 36 (3 bursts to 4.5), I don't think this one is worth it.  The AR+ went from 2 bursts to 3.

Adding the Grenade Launcher, on the other hand... >:)

TAR+
Equipment Rating: C/C-C-C/D
Armor Piercing/Base Damage: 4B/5 or by ordnance type
Range: 40/110/220/440 meters
Shots: 24/4
Cost/Reload: 600/16 and by ordnance type (yes, the manufacturer rounded to the nearest 50)
Affiliation: TC/CP
Mass/Reload: 9kg/115g+800g
Notes: BURST 8; Recoil Compensation built in (0 recoil)
TW Damage: 1.02
TW Range: 1/2/3

Jeyar123

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #5 on: 07 August 2023, 17:33:05 »
Ooh! Nice Weapon! This may sound silly as you seem to have explained it, but what exact numbers get plugged into the cost calculation for forming a Taurian 30 person platoon around this weapon?  :cool:

B

Daryk

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #6 on: 07 August 2023, 19:51:06 »
The costs for Conventional Infantry are laid out on page 282 of Tech Manual.  TacOps has alternate armor (which I pretty much always use), but I have yet to find a "rules as written" (RAW) way to calculate it.

If you use the TAR+, be aware their damage is limited to 0.60 when used as primary weapons by the latest errata to Tech Manual, but they gain the Heavy Burst Special.  Throwing two Suns Killers into each squad would extend the reach of that platoon out to 5/10/15 TW hex range (still with the Heavy Burst Special).  The cost for that model in a 30-trooper Foot Platoon (with bog-standard Divisor 1 armor) would be:

24 x 2,000 x SQRT(600) (for the TAR+s) + 6 x 2,000 x SQRT(600) (for the Suns Killers) = 30 x 2,000 x SQRT(600) = 600,000 x SQRT(6) = 1,469,694 C-Bills.

Such a platoon would do: 24 x 0.60 + 6 x 0.35 = 16.5 damage, rounded to 17 points per platoon at 5/10/15 range with the Heavy Burst Special.  If you use Squad Deployment (from TacOps), the do 8 x 0.60 + 2 x 0.35 = 4.8 + 0.7 = 5.5, which rounds to 6 points per squad.

Now, for Divisor 2 armor, you have a few options.  Surplus OG Lyran of Davion Armor Jackets will get you there, as will Ballistic Plate Vests (NOT Suits... Suits are encumbering... vests aren't, nor are any of the other options I lay out here) and Tanker Smocks (which my "More Taurian Than Taurians" Lothians use with a heater instead of a cooling system).  I generally just add the unit cost of those to each trooper and call it good in the absence of any other guidance from TPTB.

DOC_Agren

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #7 on: 07 August 2023, 20:24:23 »
I likes it

My Merc's will be in touch to buy
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

Daryk

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #8 on: 08 August 2023, 03:11:41 »
Glad you like it, DOC! :)

Cannonshop

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #9 on: 09 August 2023, 13:00:54 »
And once again, I am reminded that Battletech is full of some BEEFY boys.  That TAR with the GL weighs as much as an M-60 light machinegun-that's a crew-served weapon in the real world folks.

over twenty pounds makes it heavier than the world war 2 Browning, just for comparison, and that beast was considered FAR too heavy to be a general issue rifle (the Dept. of the Army actually studied doing that in the 1920s.)

1 Kilo=2.1... pounds (the fraction gets a bit long after the first tenth of a pound).

M-1 Garand, dressed out and loaded, was around 9 pounds. (divide 9 by 2.1 to get a rough kilogram weight).

M-14 (.308, 20 round mag, select fire) sits around about the same.

M-16 is just a bit over eight pounds fully loaded if you have the neat gear, it was initially a hair over 7 during trials.

M-1918 Browning Automatic Rifle: 7.5 Kilos (15.98 pounds) dry (no ammo.)

M-60 Machinegun: 10.5 Kilos (23.15 pounds empty)

so we're looking at an infantry rifle that weighs in the same class as a Light Machinegun  (20 pounds, near enough).

you're going to need some right FIT lads to huck that sucker around.
"If you have to ask permission, then it's no longer a Right, it has been turned into a Privilege-something that can be and will be taken from you when convenient."

DOC_Agren

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #10 on: 09 August 2023, 13:35:54 »
5kg without the GL undermount.. 

But then most scifi games play fast and loose with weapon weights   :rolleyes:
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

Daryk

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #11 on: 09 August 2023, 18:54:07 »
The underbarrel grenade launcher is where the rules are loosest... ;)

The Taurians are known for beefy infantry too... ;D

Also, the national level solution I was looking at was 8 TARs and 2 Suns Killers per squad (5 damage per squad, 15 per platoon, at 5/10/15 range).  That's lighter and cheaper (with ammo compatibility as a straight bonus)... :)

I'm not the one who decided the Taurians could just issue jump packs to everyone (like all the other factions SHOULD have done)... :D

DOC_Agren

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #12 on: 09 August 2023, 20:55:01 »
wait the TC infantry is all Jump??
"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed:And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"

Daryk

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #13 on: 10 August 2023, 03:15:39 »
No, but Taurian Jump Infantry platoons are the same size as their Foot Platoons (3 squads of 10).

Daryk

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Re: Taurian Auto Rifle (TAR)
« Reply #14 on: 09 October 2023, 07:22:16 »
I just realized I forgot to give the cost calculations for platoons with the "normal" and "military" (with recoil compensation) versions:

8 TARs and 2 Suns Killers per squad:
24 x 2,000 x SQRT(200) (for the TAR+s) + 6 x 2,000 x SQRT(600) (for the Suns Killers) = 678822.5 + 293938.8 = 972,761 C-Bills (324,254/Squad).

8 "Military" TARs and 2 Suns Killers per squad:
24 x 2,000 x SQRT(220) (for the TAR+s) + 6 x 2,000 x SQRT(600) (for the Suns Killers) = 711955.1 + 293938.8 = 1,005,894 C-Bills (335,298/Squad).

 

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