Askhati
04/04/07 06:05 PM
168.209.97.42
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Late in 3063, in the midst of yet another series of Clan skirmishes and probing attacks across the Kuritan border, the Origami Expansive Sensory System (ESS) was born. Although their warrior code gave the DCMS troops a fair chance in a one-on-one fight against a Clan opponent, more often than not the Kuritan forces found themselves outwitted and outranged by Clan machinery with far superior range and camouflage abilities (especially in the case of the Clan battle armour). Unit coordination deteriorated rapidly as surgical strikes by Clan attackers would often disable or destroy Kuritan command units at the outset of a fight, and the units’ fighting capabilities were quick to follow suit. As solution to this dilemma, it was suggested that advanced battlefield surveillance might be the key in detecting enemy units before they could initiate their strikes, as well as giving the ability to detect these hostile forces at longer ranges and have units sent to intercept them accordingly. While existing equipment like the Beagle and Bloodhound active probes, along with the C3 modules and various ECM designs in use, were deemed satisfactory, it was felt that their integration (teamwork as such) in most BattleMech designs were somewhat lacking, and a way was sought to have these separate pieces of equipment integrated. Thus the Origami ESS was conceived, and testing began during the June of 3063. Consisting of two parts – a centralised mainframe computer, to integrate the functions of the various separate electronic equipment, and a collapsible radar array built into one of the ‘Mech’s side torsos – the Origami was initially scorned by most of the warrior elite in the DCMS, and was consequently first issued, in refitted designs like the Grand Dragon, to second-line Kuritan troops.
In operation, the Origami ESS is somewhat odd to observe the first time. The radar array, mounted in a side torso of the BattleMech (the right torso for the refitted Grand Dragons), is built into the inside of a slab-like piece of chest armour, with the radar surface on the slab’s inside, and a powerful set of hydraulics mounted at the slab’s top to assist the array in deploying. When deployment is initiated, the slab of armour disengages at the bottom of the torso and proceeds to swing vertically through 180 degrees before coming to rest on the BattleMech’s shoulder, perpendicular to the ground and with the radar array now pointing outwards and to the front of the BattleMech. The primary advantage of this arrangement is the increase in power, as well as receptive- and broadcasting surfaces, offered by the raised array. The disadvantages are rather serious: due to the extended array, a section of the BattleMech’s front torso is essentially open to incoming fire (vastly increasing the chances of suffering internal damage), and most pilots experience heavy drag in manoeuvring their machines with the array deployed, effectively reducing their top speed. The array is also not strong enough to withstand the aerodynamic torture of jumpjet use, and operating in deep water creates a serious possibility of suffering a hull breach in the side torso where the array is deployed.
All said and done, the Origami ESS proved remarkably successful in combat, and was soon being deployed to front-line units as well, where their advanced battlefield management capabilities, coupled with existing C3 circuits, were to prove their worth time and time again. The design concept was so successful that it was even taken into use by FedCom forces (the Archer ESS), and later the Capellans (the Manta ESS). Marik forces were the last to acquire the ESS system, although their versions of the Archer and the Manta, supplied through WoB channels, are known as the Vigilance and Sentinel respectively. By 3067, the ESS concept had spread through-out the Inner Sphere, and was no rare sight on any battlefield.
Rules:
- When not deployed, the ESS offers no bonuses or penalties.
- When a player plans to use an ESS, he must declare so at the start of his Movement phase. For the duration of the round, the ‘Mech has it’s top speed reduced to 4 hexes, and cannot run or jump. The armour in the location is unaffected. The deploying takes one round, and the ESS is fully operational the round after which deployment was initiated.
- Once deployed, the following penalties are in play: max movement reduced to 3, unless the pilot wins a Piloting Roll of 10+; no running; no jumping; entering a water hex of depth 2 – roll 2d6 and suffer a hull breach in the ESS’s side torso at a roll of 9 or less; entering a water hex of depth 3 or deeper – automatic hull breach in the side torso housing the ESS; armour temporarily reduced by 25% of the side torso’s armour, up to a maximum of 5 points (these points are restored once the ESS is collapsed and repacked in the side torso); any damage to the side torso housing the deployed ESS gets a roll on the Critical Hits table to see whether any internal components were damaged; when any damage is received to the side torso housing the deployed ESS, roll 2d6 – on a roll of 6 or less, the ESS array is blown away, and jettisoned by the pilot. The ‘Mech regains full movement, but the penalties for entering water hexes and taking damage to the affected torso still apply, and the temporary armour reduction for having the array deployed becomes permanent. All bonuses for having the array deployed are also lost.
- Once deployed, the following bonuses are in play: any active probe, ECM or TAG slaved to the ESS gets a 50% increase in range, rounded up; for the purposes of being jammed by enemy ECM, the ESS counts as an ECM unit itself. So to jam any component slaved to the ESS, two ECM’s are required: one to jam the ESS (thus shutting down the bonuses the ESS provides), and then another to jam the targeted component; any Artemis–guided launchers on the BattleMech get a +1 on their Missile Table roll (they do not need to be slaved to the ESS directly – the mere presence of the ESS increases their efficiency); C3 units slaved to the ESS will not be cut off by any one enemy ECM, as one enemy ECM will only jam the ESS, nothing else; any AMS slaved to the ESS gets a +2 added to its roll to determine how many missiles it shoots down, but the ammunition usage and heat generated remain the same as if the +2 bonus had not been added; the pilot can choose any one of the following modes to be activated once the ESS deploys: AA Mode (-1 BTH to any attacks against airborne – flying, jumping, hovering - units), LR Mode (-1 BTH to any attacks against targets at range 15 or further) or SR Mode (-1 BTH to any attacks against targets at range 7 or less)
Models:
1) Origami ESS
Users: Kurita
Weight: 3 tons
CritSlots: 2
Slave Slots: 3
Notes: cannot slave any AMS; cannot use AA Mode once deployed
2) Archer ESS (Vigilance)
Users: FedCom (WoB)
Weight: 4 tons
CritSlots: 4
Slave Slots: 5
Notes: 5th slot for AMS only, other slots can be used for any slave
3) Manta ESS (Sentinel)
Users: Capella (WoB)
Weight: 3 tons
CritSlots: 3
Slave Slots: 3
Notes: none
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Askhati
04/07/07 03:42 PM
168.209.97.42
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Well, someone must think something...
Or has the forum really died now?
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Karagin
04/07/07 09:46 PM
24.26.220.4
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No just been busy.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Karagin
04/07/07 09:47 PM
24.26.220.4
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I like the ideas a lot. I have posted some of my ideas on here from time to time...I will toss some others out here soon for you.
Karagin
Given time and plenty of paper, a philosopher can prove anything.
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Askhati
04/08/07 11:36 AM
168.209.97.42
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Well, I liked the idea of creating specialized 'Mechs for fullfilling a very specific, but also very important, niche on the battlefield. The ESS fits in perfectly for the role of electronic warfare.
Some further rules that I forgot:
- In the turn during which the ESS is being collapsed back into the side torso, all penalties still apply, without any of the benefits.
- the BV of the ESS is calculated into the Defensive category of the BattleMech's BV. It consists of a fixed value (depends on the ESS type) as well as 50% of the BV of all components slaved to the ESS (including 50% of any Artemis' units BV). The fixed values are as follows:
Origami - 50
Manta - 65
Archer - 80
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Askhati
04/10/07 08:32 AM
155.232.128.10
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Just thought of an fixed ESS array, one that does not have to be deployed to function, but is permanently in the deployed position (think Galahad, with that huge sensor radome over its head).
The penalties would change:
- max speed of 4 (no piloting roll required)
- no weak spot in the armour, so no need to roll for a Critical Hit whenever the location mounting the fixed ESS is hit, and no possibility of a hull breach when the 'Mech enters a water hex of depth two or deeper
- whenever damage is taken to the side torso mounting the fixed ESS, roll 1d6. On a 5 or higher, the damage is dealt to the ESS instead of the torso. The ESS will have (x) armour points and (x) internal structure points, where (x) is the number of critical slots the ESS occupies (varies ffrom Origami/Archer/Manta). The ESS will only stop functioning once it takes at least one point of damage to its own internal structure. Any damage left over from an attack that hits the ESS will be negated (ie will not travel down into the side torso). Once the fixed ESS is destroyed, following attacks all hit the side torso (no need to roll 1d6)
The benefits would be the same, but with the following changes:
- the bonus mode (AA/LR/SR) would be fixed before the battle, and remain constant until the 'Mech has a chance to dock at a fully operational Mech bay and be reconfigured
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