Kage Light Battle Armor - Technical Readout 3058U page 17
For a Light suit, the Kage is one of the best Inner Sphere Battle Armor designs available, being a viable choice in both the BattleTech tactical game and for roleplaying too. A solid performer since its introduction in 3056, the Kage Light Battle Armor has a strong claim to being the best scouting and special operations suit produced by a Successor State, and has no less than four additional variants, including the experimental Kage C that was developed towards the end of the Jihad. Found in both regular DCMS line units and the Draconis Elite Strike Teams, or DEST, the special operations branch of the ISF, the Kage has had a long and sometimes secretive history serving the Dragon.
Like most of the Kuritan Battle Armor designs, the Kage was first published in Field Manual: Draconis Combine, and was the second and lightest of the suits from that sourcebook to go into full service. Produced as an offshoot of the larger Raiden Battle Armor, the Kage spent five years in development from the project start date in March 3051 to the first batch of production standard suits, following its parent design by just three months after the latter was delayed by a redesign to strengthen its armor. From the beginning, the Kage was influenced by the needs and experiences of DEST troopers, guiding it towards the requirements of stealth and flexibility, with firepower of lesser importance. In addition to stealth, the other primary attribute was speed, and the engineers initially set themselves the highly ambitious goal of exceeding the jump capability of most 'Mech designs, presumably aiming for 150 or 180 meter jump range at least. Unfortunately, a number of fatal accidents during testing proved that this benchmark was sadly out of reach, but they were able to develop the folding Partial Wing system, the first ever fitted to Battle Armor, that increased the Kage's jump range by a third to 120 meters, allowing it to match that of the Gray Death Scout Suit fielded some five years earlier. Compared to its competitor designs at the time, the aforementioned GD Scout and the awkward and lumbering Infiltrator MK I, the Kage is the most balanced of the three, and although it lacks the advanced sensors built into both those designs, it is much less vulnerable than either and is a more capable combatant during those emergencies when a covert mission turns hot.
Although greatly outnumbered in DCMS service by the Raiden, and with the overall numbers of Battle Armor in the Draconis military initially low due to the blinkered mentality of the 'Mech-orientated commanders, DEST took to the Kage with a passion, eventually all but completely replacing the unpowered infiltration suits that had previously been the protection of choice for the elite force. The covert nature of special operations suited the Kage particularly well, allowing the troopers to wear the suit while performing missions ranging from surveillance to assassinations, while on the open battlefield, DCMS scout squads could quickly and quietly obtain the tactical information their commanders required, allowing heavier forces to then defeat the enemy. In 3063, the Draconis Combine then introduced the system that was to become perhaps the most common configuration for the suit and one that provided far more capability than a mere single 'Mech-scale weapon could ever offer. The Inner Sphere version of the Light TAG, first developed by Clan Wolf in 3054, transformed the Kage from a good Battle Armor scout to a dangerous battlefield threat that demands respect from even the mightiest of BattleMechs. Able to provide targeting data for any number of guided munitions, from air-dropped bombs to artillery to specialist LRM munitions, the Light TAG allows the Kage to create a nine hex bubble of doom around its location that can far outweigh the threat presented by the most powerful of Assault Battle Armor, given a good supply of fire support from units like the Schiltron.
Throughout all the publications where it has made an appearance, the Kage has changed little, with only a reduction in the effectiveness of its stealth capability when all the stealthy designs were rebalanced with the introduction of Classic BattleTech Companion. In the case of the Kage, the hit penalty suffered by attackers was reduced from +3 at medium range and +6 at long range to +1 and +2 respectively, as provided by Basic Stealth armor. Prior to those rules changes, stealthy designs were effectively impossible to hit at long range, and could mostly ignore medium-range fire, which simply made them too powerful. Its in-game history has avoided any revisions or controversy and has only been enriched by later sourcebooks, such as Technical Readout 3058U, and even the non-standard suits used by DEST in the Twilight of the Clans scenario pack can be accommodated with barely a ripple, a suitably quiet background for such a sneaky design. Record Sheets 3058Uu Clan & Star League provided us with the first canon record sheets of those DEST variants as well as a new configuration for the original version of the Kage, while Technical Readout 3058U, Technical Readout 3085 and Experimental Technical Readout: Kurita introduced a trio of variants to enable the Kage to expand its repetoire of roles.
The standard armor configuration for the Kage uses five points of Basic Stealth plating, making the suit a harder target at medium and long ranges, although it provides no assistance at short range. This level of protection does at least mean that the Kage can survive a hit from a Medium Laser or a full-strength LRM cluster, which perhaps offers a squad a chance to escape destruction if it accidentally wanders too close to an enemy, unlike the poor Gray Death Scout Suit which would not survive such damage. The level of stealth matches that of the earlier and uglier Infiltrator Mk I, and while the Kage might possess a little less mobility operating inside buildings, everywhere else the Kuritan design is vastly superior, and more importantly its ability to generate a +2 Target Movement Modifier by jumping 90 meters or more means that the Kage typically also survives better than the equally armored FedCom suit. As noted earlier in the article, those two designs do mount sensors that the standard Kage lacks - although it could equip Improved Sensors on its Squad Support Weapon Mount - but that is of small comfort for the scouts if their report on the opponent's location consists of, "We have found the enemy. Tell my wife I... *bzzt*." The GD Scout and Infiltrator Mk I do offer some advantages in games with hidden units, but in my experience the Kage has proven to be the much better scout and spotting unit in most scenarios.
With a pair of armored gloves instead of less agile manipulators, thus giving it the finesse to use of standard handheld equipment and weaponry, the Kage is a very adaptable design, compensating for its low payload. As discussed in the Gray Death Scout Suit's Battle Armor of the Week article, this capability allows to the wearer to perform almost any task an unarmored person could do, whether it be bypassing electronic circuits, performing combat surgery or firing a sniper rifle to assassinate an enemy of the Dragon. This makes the Kage a powerful unit in the roleplaying game, even moreso than its performance in the post-3063 BattleTech tactical game. If using the attack values of the firearm being wielded rather than the generic Ballistic Infantry Platoon attack, as per the default Total War rules, then the weapon of choice would be the Man-Portable Plasma Rifle. Probably only available to DEST and similar elite units at first, once manufacture of this impressive rifle spreads beyond the borders of the Capellan Confederation, it becomes the go to option for every commander (and player) who wants to squeeze the maximum firepower out of his or her Kage squads, although sniper squads might prefer the infantry version of the David Light Gauss Rifle, while Portable Machine Guns offer an excellent anti-infantry option. Added in Tactical Operations, units with two armored gloves may also use Disposable Weapons, those listed in Tech Manual as having a shots value of 1-D, although only the Dragonsbane Disposable Pulse Laser offers any real use for four-man squads given the other armament options available to the Kage.
Another infantry weapon can be carried on the Squad Support Weapon Mount in lieu of the heavier 'Mech-scale weapon or equipment operated by the squad leader, and even though the armored gloves can be used to carry a wider variety of small arms, the description of the Kage has always noted that the mount is the preferred method to carry an infantry weapon, thereby keeping the hands free. The squad mount offers a similar level of flexibility as the Modular Weapon Mount fitted on other Battle Armor designs; however the available firepower is much lower, because only a single trooper has the configured heavy armament, and the squad is vulnerable to losing the weapon or equipment entirely if the lead trooper is killed. That does become especially important when the configured system is a Light TAG, since it wipes out a huge amount of the squad's capability with that one crucial death, whereas Battle Armor that mounts the system on every suit can keep TAGing even if only a single trooper remains.
When first fielded, the Kage was limited to what should by now be the familiar Small Laser, Machine Gun and Laser configurations, and under the current rules the Small Laser is perhaps being the worst choice for once, due to the limited capability against infantry, while its higher damage versus heavier targets amounts to an unimpressive one point extra per squad. As per the Burst-Fire Weapon Damage Vs. Conventional Infantry Table in Total War, a Kage squad with a Flamer can kill about half a platoon of conventional infantry in a single Turn, assuming only average dice rolls. All three weapons do offer a minimal Swarm attack, but like the Gray Death Scout, the Kage is better off performing Leg Attacks when used in direct combat against 'Mechs, although it should be said that this isn't the best usage for the design, however sometimes the enemy forces you into a corner and you have to fight your way out.
As noted above, 3063 was a threshold year for the Kage, after the Combine developed the Light TAG, with the system quickly added to the standard configurations available to the Kage. Another useful capability was acquired when the ECM Suite was introduced as an option, a configuration first mentioned as a DEST refit in Technical Readout 3058U and then seen in Record Sheets 3058Uu Clan & Star League. The ECM offers some fun features, including jamming enemy C3 links, whether by standing in the line of transmission or the sneaky trick of Swarming the victim, which is a great way of cutting off an entire network if you do that to the Master unit, and more frustratingly for the victim they can't just run away. Total War does cover the jamming of Active Probes, to enable hidden units to remain hidden, but the one-hex ECM field does tend to give the game away, so when not messing with C3 or countering enemy ECM by switching to ECCM mode, I prefer to use Ghost Targets once the squad moves, helping keep them alive while they perform their mission.
Other configurations would be possible, such as Improved Sensors or even Clan Active Probes if one could be obtained, and DEST does make use of various refits for intelligence-gathering missions, as noted in the Readout, although whether that is just configurations like the Kage (ECM) or a true refit is unknown. The Kage (DEST), which was published in the Twilight of the Clans scenario pack, is an example of the latter, having removed the Partial Wing and Squad Support Weapon Mount to add a Small Laser to every suit. It's possible that the Kage (DEST) is actually equipped with a Modular Weapon Mount, and that the Small Laser is just one configuration, given that the artwork in Twilight of the Clans shows that the suits are each armed with a Gatling-style Machine Gun, but for now only the laser-armed version is known to be available. More capable in direct combat against Battle Armor, 'Mechs and tanks, this variant presumably hasn't spread to the regular DCMS ranks given its designation, although that may be because line units would rather use the Raiden instead. Unlike the standard Kage, it should be noted that the Kage (DEST) has a viable Swarm attack, able to inflict up to 12 point of damage per Turn, instead of the 2 to 3 points inflicted by the base model.
Technical Readout 3058U introduced us to another Kage variant that is in some ways merely a flavor design, although in the right circumstances it can be reasonably effective, just not very efficient. Removing its squad mount and armored gloves, the Kage (Vibro-Claw), as its name suggests, mounts a pair of Battle Vibro-Claws, providing a stronger melee attack capability at the cost of all range firepower - not even a single Anti-Personnel Weapon Mount remains. First fielded on Luthien in 3069 during the vicious fighting there, the Kage (Vibro-Claw) can slice into conventional infantry and Battle Armor alike, although the damage inflicted could be exceeded by the standard 'Mech-scale weapons available to Battle Armor. Similarly, mounting a fixed Machine Gun, for example, on every suit could inflict the same damage during Swarms, and it’s only during Leg Attacks and Marine boarding actions that the Kage (Vibro-Claw) shows any superiority. For the latter role, a specialist marine version was revealed in Technical Readout 3085, with the Kage (Space) swapping the Partial Wing for a lighter Jump Booster and also removing the squad mount, that together allow the addition of the Inner Sphere version of the Space Operations Adaptation system, plus a Battle Claw and Cutting Torch to help force entry into sealed compartments. Somewhat amusingly, the Kage (Vibro-Claw) variant is technically better at boarding operations, but the Kage (Space) does have room for additional equipment, so hopefully the DCA might get an upgraded version one day.
The experimental Kage C is perhaps a better choice for some players, although like the other variants it loses the flexibility of its Squad Support Weapon Mount, but retains its armored gloves, so it can at least inflict ranged damage via an infantry weapon attack. The core of the new design is the Battle Armor C3 System that allows a squad to tie into a C3 network as if it were a standard node; in the case of the Kage C, providing targeting data for other units since it lacks firepower itself. Of course, the Kage C can also be spotting for indirect fire or artillery while it acts as a C3 spotter, giving you a two for one deal. Since the Kage C will work best as a C3 spotter by getting close, the designers felt it needed more armor, increasing protection to the maximum allowed for Light suits, together with a switch to Mimetic plating, that can potentially make the suit stealthier, especially to infantry. The increased armor mass, and the weight of the C3 system itself, did require the removal of the Partial Wing as well as the squad mount, although the reduced speed does better suit the capabilities of the Mimetic armor. The Kage C can obtain a +3 targeting penalty if the squad remains still or jumps only a single hex, with the penalty dropping to +2 if it jumps two or three hexes; most importantly, this is not range dependent and, unlike Stealth armor, also effects conventional infantry. Developed in 3077 by New Samarkand Metals, a limited production run of the Kage C was planned, but it's probably unlikely to achieve widespread service for many years to come.
Using the Kage Light Battle Armor in the BattleTech game is similar to Gray Death Scout, although without so much risk to one-shot kills from such common weapons as the Medium Laser or Autocannon/5. Use the Kage's mobility to jump quickly from cover to cover, allowing it to observe the enemy and spot for artillery and indirect fire, and even TAGing targets if they're close enough and the squad is appropriately equipped. The armed configurations do have a degree of self-defense capability from low level opponents such as infantry and can even be used offensively if you're really pushed, but that's not really the standard Kage's forte, with the exception of ECM configurations Swarming enemy Master C3 units. The Kage (DEST) is more combat capable, but just remember that despite the Basic Stealth, it's typically not going to perform as well as the Raiden or other heavier Battle Armor designs, so again you should try to keep it out of the line of fire and use it for scouting and spotting. The same is true of the Kage (Vibro-Claw), although it does offer some use as an ambush unit, particularly for Leg Attacks on 'Mechs, where it is above average compared to the majority of Battle Armor. As noted above, the Kage C wants to wander into danger, getting as close to the enemy as it can, so that other members of the C3 network can quickly defeat them thanks to the improved targeting data. If you can get a Kage C squad to a Heavy Woods hex, you could be looking at a +5 to +6 hit penalty even at close quarters, and the closer you get to the Battle Armor, the easier it is for its fire support to hit you, so despite its relative fragility the Kage C can be a game winner if handled well.
In roleplaying usage, the Kage is one of the best you can get; much better than the similarly effective GD scout due to even heavier armor and weaponry plus the stealth effects. Obviously you can also use heavier, more capable Battle Armor in these games, but lacking armored gloves their use is limited mostly to combat, without any real role to play in other areas. The Kage is particularly well suited to covert ops campaigns involving DEST characters, although the example of the Notable Trooper, Jason “Caliper” Melichar, offers the possibility of non-Kuritan use of the suit for those players who don't want to limit their choice of background. In the more flexible roleplaying environment, gamesmasters and players may also be more comfortable with unofficial configurations, increasing the options available to the Kage player, in addition to simply picking up equipment and operating it by hand.
Like the Raiden, the Kage remains in production at New Samarkand Metals, ensuring that the Combine will retain a steady supply for years after the Jihad, unless they one day decide to procure a replacement. As impressive as the Kage Light Battle Armor might be, it could still be improved, but for now the DCMS and DEST are apparently content with the performance of the original suit and its available official variants, with the latter organization willing to produce refits to fill its specialist needs. In the Combine's shoes, I would suggest two replacements, one a stealthy scout variant of the Raiden or Void for the DCMS, which would be better capable of survival on the battlefield, and the other an improved Kage for DEST usage, retaining the flexibility that has proven so useful in covert operations. Even without a replacement, the Kage remains an excellent scout and special operations suit, with the Kage C promising an even brighter future if the experimental Battle Armor C3 System can ever reach maturity. Once Stone and the Republic start encouraging the downsizing of the House militaries, especially 'Mech forces, then Battle Armor is likely to play an even greater role, especially a design that can strike from the shadows and perhaps end a problem before it can grow to threaten the Combine.
Next up:
- Kanazuchi
- Gnome
- Achileus
- Longinus
