Author Topic: Mortars and Smoke  (Read 1892 times)

RolandHTG

  • Recruit
  • *
  • Posts: 18
Mortars and Smoke
« on: 12 September 2023, 10:32:16 »
Per Alpha Strike rules, only units with the LRM and SRM.special abilities can utilize smoke ammunition, but I'm Classic mortars have smoke rounds as well, so how do we give mortar equipped units smoke?

pokefan548

  • Captain
  • *
  • Posts: 2775
  • The Barracuda knows where it is, hence the -2 mod.
    • Poke's Aerospace Academy (Discord Server)
Re: Mortars and Smoke
« Reply #1 on: 12 September 2023, 14:35:47 »
That's an issue with missile specials being kind of terrible ATM, in my strong opinion (see as well Alpha Strike making Artemis 'Mechs immune to ECM and AMS).
Poke's Aerospace Academy
The best place to learn and discuss AeroTech.

"Poke is just a figment of our imagination really." - Siam
"Poke isn't a real person, he's just an algorithm programmed by CGL to try and get people to try the aerospace rules." - Phantasm
"I want to plant the meat eating trees and the meat growing trees on the same planet! Watch that plant on plant violence!" - Sawtooth
Leviathans: The Great War Backer #224
BattleTech: Mercenaries Backer #23

theagent

  • Master Sergeant
  • *
  • Posts: 345
Re: Mortars and Smoke
« Reply #2 on: 07 October 2023, 23:30:09 »
That's an issue with missile specials being kind of terrible ATM, in my strong opinion (see as well Alpha Strike making Artemis 'Mechs immune to ECM and AMS).

How exactly are Artemis-equipped 'Mechs immune to AMS?  AMS makes you subtract 1 point of damage (minimum damage of 1) from any unit that has the IF#, SRM#, or LRM# special abilities, & not just when using those special abilities but for regular attacks as well (AS:CE, p. 76).  Note that the errata for Point-Defense (AS:CE, p. 88) modifies the last paragraph to have 1 point of PD be treated against IF#/SRM#/LRM#-equipped units as if AMS was used.  And granted, ECM doesn't have it listed, but the same rule could easily be added, since ECM blocks the extra +1 damage that Narc/iNarc pods provide.  Remember, the effect of a Narc/iNarc pod for a non-Artemis launcher in CBT is identical to the effect of Artemis on a launcher (+2 on the Cluster Hits table), so the effect on ECM in AS on Artemis should be the same as on Narc/iNarc attacks.

Now...if you mean that it's because Artemis-equipped units aren't identified in Alpha Strike, then the solution is simple:  add an ART special ability for all units that have Artemis-equipped LRM/SRM/MML/ATM launchers.

What I find more strange, actually, is that despite ATMs having three different types of ammo (& therefore different damage profiles like an MML), they don't have some sort of different damage profile for a "special" attack.  Essentially, they could have something similar to "SRM#/#" and "LRM#/#/#" values, representing the use of HE or ER ammo...but they don't.