(Answered) Rolling Thunder scenario pack & non-functional equipment

[Weirdo]

(pages 19, 22, 34, 44)

To represent the hardscrabble era that this scenario pack takes place in, some of the mechs in the Rolling Thunder company and their opponents start play with inoperable equipment, such as the right arm PPC on Mikhail Cherenkov's Warhammer.

What is the status of such damaged weapons, with respect to critical hits? Is the weapon missing entirely(meaning any critical hits to those slots are treated as empty and rerolled), or is it physically present but nonfunctional(meaning that crits to those slots are not rerolled)?

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this second part, but I just want to make sure: If an ammo-using weapon is nonfunctional and the mech does not possess any other weapons of that type, is it safe to assume that the corresponding ammo bin is empty?

[Xotl]

You may assume any relevant ammo bins are empty.  No one is going to waste time and reduce battlefield survivability to load an non-operational weapon.

As for non-functionality, there's a few ways to go about it.  In terms of TW-level play, you could mark off the top-most critical slot, effectively critting the piece of equipment.  Alternatively, you could use the Non-Functional Item quirk, if those optional rules are in play.

[Weirdo]

Thanks!