(http://k003.kiwi6.com/hotlink/3di0f9idp3/oni.jpg)
Oni Battle Armor - Technical Readout 3145 Draconis Combine page 7
Whenever I hear the name of the Oni Battle Armor, I hear Roy Orbison singing "Only the Oni", and given the awesome ugliness of the suit, it'd be no surprise if it was lonely. But luckily for the Oni, this isn't a beauty contest, this is BattleTech, and it instead gets judged on its ability to curb stomp.
The Oni is the middleweight of the three battlesuits introduced in Technical Readout 3145 Draconis Combine, and is the first of the suits inherited from ClickyTech to be covered in this series. The Constable also originates from the ClickyTech era, but only in a novel and not as a game unit.
jymset: The MWDA stats meant that there were certain things to aim for. For one, it determined that the Oni would not jump. I needed it to be unique, and it looked cool as a MWDA miniature, so I wanted it to be strong, real strong. The basic Oni draft is now... about 3 years old. *Lots* of prep going into this TRO, it's certainly not a lifeless rush job.
The Oni is a powerful medium design that was initially intended as the replacement for the Raiden. Sadly, within the universe looks do matter and the warriors of the DCMS took one look at the gruesome visage of the Oni and collectively said, "Do not want." That has consigned the suit to the dark and grubby corners of the Combine's military, serving with those regiments that find themselves out of favor with the higher ups. Planetary militia across the New Samarkand and Dieron Military Districts can now boast a collection of Onis, making these defensive units far more effective than the past, and a major impediment for any who dare try to claim the Dragon's worlds. Oddly, despite the disdain of the DCMS as a whole, the Oni hasn't found itself for sale to foreigners.
Like the lighter Kishi, which ended up as the designated replacement for the Raiden in no small part thanks to its appearance, the Oni excuses jump jets, which is good and bad. The good is that it frees up more mass for a higher ground speed and other equipment, while the bad is that it reduces mobility in the field. With the maximum standard ground movement for a medium bipedal suit, the Oni is going to be a fast mover in cities, just like the even swifter Kishi. Also able to generate a Target Movement Modifier if it runs its maximum distance each turn, the Oni lacks any buffer to deal with rough terrain. For those familiar with the Grey Death mediums, you'd obviously play the Oni just like them.
Like the Kishi, and representing the MWDA brawling capability, the Oni mounts a Heavy Vibro-Claw, meaning that it can inflict melee damage on other infantry units, albeit only a point per suit. The Oni also gets a tiny boost when conducting Anti-Mech attacks, an even less impressive one point for the entire squad. The claw also allows Mechanized Battle Armor operations, but given the lowly status of the Oni within the DMCS, within the universe you probably wouldn't find them operating with Omnis, but what a player does on the tabletop is obviously often different. A token boost to the marine boarding points wraps up the benefits from the main claw, with the Basic Manipulator on the other arm being effectively useless.
jymset: The ghost-like appearance of the MWDA miniature was the inspiration for the ECM, since I didn't want to go the stealth route.
The addition of an ECM module provides for some useful capabilities. It can help the suit hide from enemy sensors while laying in ambush, for example, although a smart opponent will know that some form of battle armor is there and given the scarcity of ECM-equipped suits in the DCMS it wouldn't require a genius to work out what. Of course, the Oni could also be hiding another unit from scans, so I'd recommend this approach to at least inflict some sort of surprise. The recent nerfing of Ghost Targets does limit the usefulness of that, but for battle armor every little helps, so I wouldn't discount it. Perhaps a more useful option when operating with C3-equipped units would be ECCM mode, helping defeat any attempts to jam the data links. Obviously, the ECM module can also be used to simply jam enemy electronics, with the AFFS notably using C3 for themselves.
jymset: The MWDA unit had heavy armor, so I felt the BattleTech version needed to be better than normal armor.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Oni is its Fire Resistant armor, a Clan technology finding its way onto Inner Sphere suits at last. Freeing the Oni of fear from Inferno attacks and limiting damage from other heat-based weapons, such as Plasma Rifles, the armor is perhaps of more use in assault suits, but, again, every little edge helps. The extended life support module came about due a discussion between jymset and me while the last finishing touches were being made to the Oni. If Technical Readout 3145 had been written in the style of the past few Readouts, which concentrated more on design trivia rather than usage in the field, you perhaps would have read that the life support system was intended to compensate for the not-quite perfect implementation of the fire resistance technology. We had the idea that the prototype suits tended to transfer too much heat to the operator, and so the enhanced life support system was added to help keep him or her cool.
With a maximum of ten points of armor, the Oni can also withstand many shots that will kill both the Kishi and Raiden. Even with the energy weapon-resistant armor of the Kishi, there's only a few attacks which will be worse for the Oni, such as a Clan ER PPC or Medium Laser, or Inner Sphere Heavy PPC. Balanced against that, the Kishi will be worse off against all but the heaviest ballistic and missile weapons.
jymset: The configurations were also determined by the MWDA stats, although the improved targeting isn't represented. The latter could have been used to give it a pulse laser, but other weapons were chosen. Some of the MWDA game pieces had armor piercing, which combined with the big ammo belt of the miniature dictated the selection of the Bearhunter.
The Bearhunter might not be a Kuritan player's first choice, with an AP Gauss no doubt being the preference of many, but despite its hideous range and accuracy, it can punish enemy infantry and battle armor. I'd heavily consider this configuration in city fights. The range you encounter foes will often be short, especially when fighting inside buildings, and the heavy firepower allows you to end such fights quickly and favorably. The three points of damage per gun when used against ’Mechs and vehicles also helps, particularly when conducting Swarm attacks, where the accuracy issue doesn't matter.
For less specialist use, there's the Support PPC and Medium Recoilless Rifle. The latter will probably be the go to weapon for most players, combining solid damage and range for a battle armor weapon, with the added benefit of increased firepower against PBIs. The PPC is a little longer ranged, if not quite as hard hitting, but it'll no doubt find those who prefer it to the rifle.
jymset: The MWDA unit's homing beacon dictated the final armament option.
The last configuration is also very much a niche setup, with each suit fitted with a four-shot Compact Narc launcher. Due to the nature of the launcher, only a single suit fires per turn, so that means that a full squad could potentially mark sixteen targets before running dry. Of course, most squads will be dead long before this, but one can hope. I'm in two minds about this one. The battle armor units themselves aren't going to get any direct benefit from the Narc pods, so you will need supporting troops equipped with the appropriate munitions. If the battle armor get destroyed before marking a significant number of targets, then you're putting those supporting units at a disadvantage, plus every ton of Narc-compatible ammo means one less ton of other, sometimes more useful munitions.
Given the payload and slot capacity of the Modular Weapon Mount, the Oni is begging for Active Probe and C3 configurations. The latter would be one of the more usable examples of that type due to the speed and general toughness of the suit, although the lack of armament would be worrisome. With Clantech now a possibility, the AP Gauss would be an ideal choice, but doing so would invalidate the Support PPC and Medium Recoilless Rifle, so don't expect to see it as a canon setup any time soon.
Like the Kishi, the Oni is a natural at urban warfare. The close confines of streets and buildings favor the short range nature of all battle armor, and with its high ground speed, the Oni can quickly dash to and from cover. In more rural environments, the Oni can run into trouble, whether it be rivers or extreme elevation changes that it cannot cross, or simply being bogged down in terrain that jump-capable suits can hop over. This same mantra has been repeated in numerous Battle Armor of the Week articles for jump-less fast moving suits, so I won't bore you with repetition.
Overall, I like the Oni. It's a good, dependable design which brings enough unique features to the battlefield to give it a useful role. As I noted in the Kishi article, I would much prefer the heavier suit over the DCMS' favorite, even though both have their benefits. That the Oni has been all but cast aside by the hidebound Kuritans is just one more plus point in my eyes; it gives the suit added character.