Okay, let's see where we're going with this idea...
Turrets and Casemates
Available to: Warships, Primitive Core Jumpships and large space stations.
Types:
Primary turrets may mount large naval weapons (capital scale weapons) of the 'Capital Missile', "Naval Autocannon", "Naval Gauss", Naval Laser, Naval PPC.
Secondary turrets may mount Subcapital weapons, Capital missiles, or Figher/battlemech scale weapons including AMS and/or point defense armament.
Turrets: replace available Bay spaces on the record sheet. Turrets and Casemates require the same weapon installations, (meaning if a turret is carrying a naval autocannon, it is carrying nothing but that same type of naval autocannon. same for a turret mounting a naval laser-if it's mounting multiple weapons, all of those weapons are the same type and class.) Turrets cover end arc, plus both broadside arcs, plus half the other end arc. a Forward mount Turret therefore would cover Nose, all broadsides, and a wedge of the aft arc. an aft mounted turret covers aft, all broadsides, and a portion of the forward arc. (effectively a 270 degree sweep.)
Casemates: Replace available Bay spaces on Record sheet. Casemates require the same weapon to be mounted, both type and class, in a uniform manner. Casemates are mounted to the ship's side mounts, and cover half the nose and tail arc, in addition to the rear arc, (Effectively a 180 Degree sweep)
Costs:
Mass cost: The mass of a given turret is (Weapons weight plus 50%), the cost for a Casemate mount is (Weapons cost plus 25%)
Fire Control: Standard cost plus 10% due to the wider arc, and the ability to use bracketing fire with Turret or Casemate mounts.
Restrictions:
NOT available to: Dropships, Pocket-Warships (Dropships), Small Craft, Fighters, or (non-Canon) Monitors.
Clan Units may not mount full Turret installations, but may mount Casemate installations.
Turreted ships must mount turrets on the fore or aft hit location arcs. Units do not gain bonus armor or locations from carrying turrets, instead, an additional critical location for each turret replaces each 'roll again' on the critical hit chart for all relevant facings. (iow it's possible to nail a Turret on a critical hit from the aft left broadside when the turret is mounted on the nose/forward arc of the chart.) This is the "Turret Locked" position, and traps the turret at whatever facing it was at during the relevant firing phase. (meaning if you were firing at a target off your left rear arc, and he hits one of your nose turrets with a crit, that nose turret is locked on that arc and may not traverse to fire at targets in the nose, or forward/broadside arcs-only targets in the aft broadside.)
Casemate mounts: if a 'turret locked' result is rolled on a casemate, the same restriction applies-it remains pointed at the last firing arc it was aimed at.
this is functionally similar to the "Turret locked" critical hit on vehicles, and may not be cleared while in combat.
Due to the nature of Turreted design, ammunition is considered 'CASEd' on an ammunition crit, and will only destroy the weapons in THAT turret. (along with whatever unlucky crewmen were manning things there.) this is likewise with Casemate mounts. For multiple turrets with the same weapons, (say, imagine three NAC 40 turrets each carrying 3 NAC 40s) divide total ammunition quantity for the ship by three, representing the individual magazine spaces for each turret. Ammunition is abstracted and (it is presumed) feeds can cross-feed between turrets and/or casemates if it is the same type.
Ships with Turrets may not run double heat sinks. They must run singles. This is due to the large number of moving structures inside the ship to make the turrets do their 'thing'. Neither Clan nor InnerSphere DHS may be used in a vessel carrying turreted weapons. Clan vessels carrying Casemates may use CLAN double heat sinks as the system doesn't have as MUCH motion as a full-turreted design.
Periphery/Inner Sphere tech bases may build vessels carrying full turrets OR Casemates, but Clan forces may not.
Clan forces may build vessels with Casemates in place of Bays, but may not build full-turreted vessels.
You can put anything you want in a Casemate if you can afford the mass.
Class and Mass restrictions:
Primitive core Jumpships/subcompact core vessels:
Below 50,000 tons: May not mount Main Turrets. May mount up to 1 secondary turret
51,000 to 100,000 tons: may mount 2 Secondary class turrets or Casemates, or ONE Primary turret (not 'and' but 'or')
Compact Core Warships:
100,000 tons to 200,000 tons May mount 1 Primary turret, plus 2 Secondary turrets or casemates,
200,000 tons to 300,000 tons may mount 2 primary turrets, plus 2 secondary turrets or casemates.
350,000 tons to 400,000 tons may mount 2 primary turrets, plus 3 secondary turrets or casemates
450,000 tons to 550,000 tons may mount 3 Primary Turrets, plus 4 secondary turrets or casemates
600,000 tons to 700,000 tons may mount 3 Primary Turrets, plus 5 secondary turrets or Casemates
750,000 tons to 850,000 tons may mount 4 Primary Turrets, plus 6 Secondary turrets or Casemates
850,000 tons to 2,000,000 tons may mount 4 Primary turrets, plus 8 secondary turrets or casemates.
any additional 'bay spaces' are fixed-arc equipment, weapons etc. Be mindful of your Heat load, as ships with full turrets have restricted heat venting (Single heat sinks ONLY).
[note: yeah, I know, it seems contradictory that IS and Periphery tech bases would come up with Turrets first, while Clan warship design wouldn't, but it actually fits: the cooling issues are such with the heat-sink restrictions, that the Clans would take one look and go 'nah, not worth it', since Casemate ships can be fitted with CLAN dhs, they'd go that route instead, methinks, or just be supremely confident in the superiority of their existing architecture and design.]
Campaign Rules:
It costs less to replace a Turret, than it does to replace a Bay. If the mass fits, the part fits...but you're replacing the entire turret. Shipyard time to do so is measured in man-hours, instead of man-weeks. Thus, the quirk "Easy to modify" and "Easy to maintain" in spite of also having "complex design".
On turreted ships, DHS are a NO. Let me repeat that again-if you want to run DHS, don't build turreted ships. Be clan and build casemates instead.
There is a reason for the 'size limit' where diminishing returns hits in the 850,000 to 2000,000 ton range-this is because it's generally more cost-efficient and cost-effective to either build it with a bigger engine, or thicker armor, or just conventional fixed-arc bays, than to pay for the cost of Turrets or Casemates on something that large, particularly with how much you'll be spending on heat-sinks.
BV Multiplier:
Turrets: same as Vehicle turrets
Casemates: same as vehicle sponson turrets
