Battlemech Turret Rules

[FedComGirl]

I was talking with Paul about mech turrets. I started off asking about chin turrets like the one on the Locust and the one mentioned in Wolf's Dragoons for the Marauder II. Then we moved on to the prototype Jenner's turret.

He gave possible explanations for the chin turrets but we're still talking about the Jenner as the text clearly calls it a turret with multiple weapons that can be disabled. We both agree though that the current rules don't allow for the Jenner to the turret the text describes. I know an easy fix for that but didn't know where to post it since I'd like to see official stats for an original Jenner. He directed me here. So here's my house rules on it. What do you think?

Quad Turrets (Jenner)
May be mounted on bi-pedal mechs with the no torso twist quirk and function identically to those found on Quads.

Chin Turret (Locust)
May be mounted on the underside of mechs with the no torso quirk. These function like VTOL chin turrets, weighing 10% of all weapons mounted in them and taking 1 critical slot in the center torso. Chin turrets can not be rotated into the rear arc, limiting the range of fire to the side and front arcs only.

Pintle Mount (Marauder)
Functions like vehicle pintle mounts weighing 5% of the weapons tonnage, rounded up to the nearest half ton and occupy 1 critical slot.

Wolverine's ball turret
This one is tricky. The text says it was originally meant to rotate 360 degrees but that had to be restricted because of the electronics blister and the SRM Lancher. The stats for the laser also mount the laser in the head. My fix would be to give it a head turret but to limit the rotation to a 180 degree arc in front of the mech.

Other turrets
Other places where it says turreted or the art shows a turret, I would go with what Paul said. Basically the "turret" mount is part of the weapon's mounting system.

What do you think? Would those fixes work?

[wartang]

Quirk? where do I find those?

[FedComGirl]

The quirk rules? They start on page 193 of Strategic Operations. There's also a quirk in Age of War but most are in the other book.

[A. Lurker]

To be honest, it seems more trouble than it's worth to me. The forward firing arc of any given 'Mech is already a pretty generous 120 degrees, which can be increased to an effective 240 by torso twisting. Any "turret" that doesn't significantly add to that (in particular, that can't be pointed to the rear the way plain old arm-mounted weapons already can if you twist just right) can IMO safely remain a fluff element instead of eating up tonnage and slots.

I'd even go as far as to extend that argument to the original Jenner. So it had a "turret" that was easily disabled if hit? Well and good, but was that really a Turret (tm) in the game term sense of the word...or did the designers simply put all of its weapons into the same side torso and the Prototype quirk (+2 to critical hit rolls, significantly increasing the chance of both crits in general and multiple ones in particular) did the rest?

[FedComGirl]

Turrets, with the exception of the chin turret which is only a house rule, allow mechs to fire into the rear arc. However Shoulder Turrets don't allow the turret to fire into the other side. Quad turrets can fire in all arcs.

Also not every Mech can torso twist. Yes the basic rules say otherwise but the quirk rules let us play mechs as they're presented. The Jenner can't torso twist. Neither can the Locust. Turrets would allow them to fire in to arcs other mechs could rotate their torsos into, and even into the rear arc for the Jenner. That increases their field of fire.   

The problem is that their turrets can't be legally built. That's why the house rule for allowing Quad and Chin turrets on mechs with no torso twist. That would allow them to be built as they're presented.

Furthermore all Mech turrets are disabled by a hit to their critical slot. Giving the Jenner the Prototype Quirk would make it even easier to disable the turret as well as the weapons. A Mech with its weapons locked out of position effectively disarmed. It's going to find itself always being attacked from the other side and unable to use its weapons.

However your reminding me of the Prototype Quirk makes me wonder if the Turret was unfairly blamed. Risking your weapons being locked out of position is a calculated risk for an increased field of fire. The lasers mounted in the original Jenner though suffered from targeting problems. That would be the Inaccurate Weapons Quirk. Between the two negative quirks, it's no wonder they went back to the drawing board.

And yes they really put the original Jenner's weapons in a turret. The weapons were disarmed by a hit to the turret. Not the weapons themselves. Although that would do it too. But the original Jenner really does have a turret. There just aren't official rules for it.