BA transport in Star League Era in MML 49.17

[Wolf72]

So ... the Nighthawk PA(L) is available for the SL in 2720ish.

I would like to include a BA bay for them on a warship (or dropship or smallcraft) ... They are not available according to the transport bay options.

BUT I started off at year 3100, made my warship (a Rodger Young clone) ... then back dated the production year to 2720.  The BA bays were not removed (my hyperspectral scanner was) however the option for adding a BA bay was (as was the option for BA marines).

my questions:
Should I be able to keep the BA bay?

How else would I fluff that (not a MM question, I know) -- assuming provide an Infantry bay for them and designate appropriate cargo space for their PA(L).

[Lanceman]

There's an option in MML settings to allow units set to "Unofficial" rules level to ignore tech introduction and extinction dates.

Fluff wise, the Nighthawk suits are not really much larger than the standard SLDF infantry kit. They aren't an overly large suit of armor like an Elemental, they're just a fancier sneak suit. They don't require the same specialized transport that later battle armor does.

[Wolf72]

rules wise, I believe they do.  If I reference TO in the BA transport section there are optional rules for transport weights of BA ... instead of all of them requiring 1 ton of transport, they get weights based on their class ... from .25 to a full 2 tons.  So PA(L), while very light, require a standard BA bay for transport (well, other than transporting gear as cargo and the troopers as infantry or marines).

My unit is only set at "advanced" not "unofficial".

[Lanceman]

rules wise, I believe they do.  If I reference TO in the BA transport section there are optional rules for transport weights of BA ... instead of all of them requiring 1 ton of transport, they get weights based on their class ... from .25 to a full 2 tons.  So PA(L), while very light, require a standard BA bay for transport (well, other than transporting gear as cargo and the troopers as infantry or marines).

My unit is only set at "advanced" not "unofficial".

That's why I said "fluff wise".

And the only way to get BA bays on a Star League year unit is to set it to Unofficial. It's going to be a custom unit anyway, so Unofficial doesn't really change anything.

[Wolf72]

I hear what you are saying, but I would like to know if it is possible under RAW and MML.

because what happened is that I started my ship under 3100 availability, then decided to move it back to 2700s.  When I did that the few pieces of new equipment were removed.  All except the BA bays I had installed ... they remained however, the selection for BA bays in the transport tab did disappear.  I would like to know officially if that should be.

If that is a total flub then fluff and rules wise I'm going to make them infantry units and create a new cargo bay that would cover the weight of their suits and other equipment.  If they are going to be deployed I imagine they will have to go as cargo and require a very quiet and/or protected LZ.

[Lanceman]

The equipment table on page 43 in IO for Battle Armor Transport bay shows an availability rating of XFCB, meaning it doesn't exist in the Star League Era, rules as written.

[dgorsman]

If they are going to be deployed I imagine they will have to go as cargo and require a very quiet and/or protected LZ.

That's consistent with the lore.  They were limited to a select few special operations groups and never deployed in ways that could compromise knowledge of their existence.  They would likely have been moved around in conventional cargo haulers manned with spec ops support crews, and when needed moved off ship disguised as other cargo before being donned in a secure operating position.

[Wolf72]

The equipment table on page 43 in IO for Battle Armor Transport bay shows an availability rating of XFCB, meaning it doesn't exist in the Star League Era, rules as written.

time to rearrange some items in MML ...

thanks Lanceman and dgorsman.

[2ndAcr]

 MML you should be able to turn off the availability date and make everything available to you. I think it will make your unit experimental though. Since the tech is not really avail at that time.

 Under the file tab, select configuration, tech progression, then select ignore year. I then selected tech level unofficial on the unit screen at tech level and the year 2623 I can add BA marines and even BA cubicles to a Pentagon

 Note I am using 47.17 MML but I bet it still applies

[Wolf72]

thanks for the other work around.

I did try to stay in the time period fluff.  which means one of the two dropships my WS can carry is now a giant wagoneer carrying 100 infantry in bays with another 40t bay carrying the PA(L) ... so get in "quiet-like" or "casual" as Captain Solo put it.