Light Industrial Exoskeleton (Combat)

[Slightlylyons]

This is an attempt to bring the concept of elite troops in Light Industrial Exoskeletons with Man-Pack/Semi-Portable PPCs from the original TRO 3026 onto the modern tabletop

More a set of equipment for a Trooper then a formally designed combat unit the Light Industrial Exoskeleton (Combat)A trooper in Ballistic Plate armor wears a Light Industrial Exoskeleton, Gyro mounted Semi-Portable PPC, and standard infantry Jump Pack. The result serves as a sort of of proto PA(L) for the Succession Wars.

Light Industrial Exoskeleton (Combat)
Type: Light Industrial Exoskeleton
Manufacturer: Various
    Primary Factory: Various

Tech Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Chassis Type:  Biped
Weight Class: Ultra Light/PA(L)/Exoskeleton
Maximum Weight: 400 kg
Battle Value: 22
Swarm/Leg Attack/Mechanized/AP: Yes/Yes/Yes/Yes


Equipment                                              Slots      Mass   
Chassis:                                                              80 kg    
Motive System:                                                   
     Ground MP:          1                                        0 kg    
     Jump MP:             2                                        50 kg    
Manipulators:                                                    
    Left Arm:             Armored Gloves                    0 kg
    Right Arm:           Armored Gloves                    0 kg
Armor:                    Standard (Basic)        0          50 kg    
    Armor Value:         2 (Trooper)                             

                                         Slots           
Weapons and Equipment         Location (Capacity)   Mass 
Cutting Torch                         Left Arm        1        5 kg 
Power Pack                            Body             1        25 kg 
Searchlight                            Right Arm      1        5 kg 

Notes: The current rule set doesn't allow SP-PPC to be carried in armored gloves because the required crew is two and it doesn't account for a gyro mount reducing the crew to one, however a Hellbore Assault laser will provide the same range of 2/4/6 and 1/1/2/3 damage with a four man squad and can be legally carried.

What do you all think, it comes out with half the armor and two thirds the speed of a Nighthawk so it becomes obsolete as soon as real battle armor is introduced but may still be kicking around the Periphery or mercenary units for some time as everyone has some Exoskeletons in their dropship bays. Another way to do the same thing would be to design a Jump/Motorized infantry squad with infantry armor, blazers, and sp-ppcs, but while that might even be more effective it loses the feel of a poor mans battlesuit..

[Easy]

cleanup

[Daryk]

The problem I've had with PA(L) since Tech Manual came out is that you can't environmentally seal an exoskeleton without actual BA armor (which is well beyond the Early Spaceflight introduction of exoskeletons).  The original 3026 had space adapted exoskeletons as an option, and I'm disappointed they couldn't square that circle.  Especially since they gave us the ability to mount armor with BAR values less than 10 on support vehicles.

That said, your idea is interesting, but I'd encourage you to look at other infantry armor with divisors of 2 (or that should be 2, like the Davion and Steiner vests from the 3025 era).  The trick becomes lining up BA and conventional infantry weapons.  I think there could have been more congruence than we got between AToW and TW scales here.

[The_Caveman]

I've been doing this for a while to have 3020s foot infantry who can keep up with 'Mechs, but for Succession Wars tech I keep them at a single point of armor and equip them with standard infantry rifles and SRM launchers. But I do jump jets making them 3/3.

Run in 6-man squads for a 24-man platoon, so they fit inbetween jump infantry and foot infantry.

[truetanker]

You can always equip them with Filter Masks.

TT