RTK-3K Lance [3087 AU]

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VanVelding
09/17/16 05:37 PM
75.1.89.127

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3087 is a Battletech alternate universe where The Jihad never happened. Instead, political fractures and spiraling conflicts temper much of the technological and industrial progress of the last few decades. Its history is told through the pages and designs of TRO: 3087. I'm sharing a handful of posts on a few different sites to gauge interest in further editing/development of this project.

Code:
DOC-16093085#1701; DIST-REF/TRN; CLASS-CON(b)(c)(d); AUTH-S. Kaas; STAT-Review(08073086); PUB-12103087; 
TTL-"TRO:3087p13","TRO:3087p14";
Latest Revision by S. Kaas on 08073086
This document is in review for fact-checking and editorial standards. It is not for distribution.

RT3-K Lance
Overview
The battle over Luthien was one of the hardest fought of the Black Dragon Revolution. Nowhere was the
fighting harder than around the Luthien Armor Works facility. When the last of the loyalists forces pulled
off planet, the Draconis Combine's omnimech production facilities were in ruins.
The new management quickly passed over the idea of resuming omnimech production. The encroaching Ghost
Bear forces and the public's low morale demanded a speedy return to production.
The Lance was built from the least decimated production line of Luthien Armor Works, that of the Raptor.

Capabilities
The Lance is primarily tasked with fire support work, using its target acquisition gear to spot for
indirect missile fire. Its NARC pods also help friendly specialty munitions. Lances are also capable
distractions in a smaller 'Mech force; units like Panthers and Whitworths can strike while the faster
Lance draws enemy fire.
Once its ammunition store are expended Lances are generally relegated to making physical attacks or
flanking with their lasers. Some commanders have tried sending them back to friendly resupply points to
reload before returning, but the Lance has proved slightly too slow return before the battle is decided.

Battle History
When the Star League Defense Forces landed on Luthien to stop the Ghost Bear advance, the Lance
production line was their primary target to defend. For the next month, Lances walked off of the production
line and straight into the fight. The Lance became a celebrated sight on Luthien and a respected 'Mech
inside the meager forces of the SLDF.
When the Ghost Bears returned ten years later, it was a lance of Lances that held off the Ghost Bear
advance while the nuclear fail-safe under LAW was activated. The names of Hikaru Wada, Toshiyuki
Fukuda, John Jeon, and Kebin Ito have since become part of the common culture of Lance
mechwarriors; few assign their Lance a name that is not derived from one of those four.

Variants
While it serves as a fine support 'Mech, the Lance is often modified by the warrior assigned to it. Its
chassis is no longer capable of hot-swapping omni pods, but it is still very easy to customize to suit
an individual warrior's tastes.
The most common alteration drops a NARC launcher for a four-shot short range missile rack with a ton of
NARC-compatible ammunition. The additional firepower allows it to take a more active role in combat, even
if the additional ammunition makes it more prone to destruction.
Other variants remove the NARC launcher to add jump jets, additional heat sinks and lasers, a small
cluster of machine guns, or even additional ammunition. Though there are no production variants, it's
still hard for enemy ‘mechwarriors to know exactly what any Lance they encounter is capable of.
Some within the Combine’s leadership have suggested a variant which can expend its ammunition stores,
resupply, and return to combat in a more timely manner. The suggestion of trading C3 technology for
Federated Suns extralight engines has been tabled. Others are thinking of waiting for the Diamond Shark trade
group to arrive within the Combine’s borders, although they have little to say on what they'd offer the
Clan merchants in exchange. Yet others think that the Lance was forged perfectly in the fires of Luthien and
balk at the thought of changing a thing.

RT3-K Lance
Type/Model: Lance RT3-K
Tech: Inner Sphere / 3071
Config: Biped Battlemech
Manufactured: Draconis Combine
Fielded:
Draconis Combine (Common)
Star League Defense Force (Uncommon)

Mass: 30 tons
Equipment: Crits Mass
Int. Struct.: 0 3.00
51 points
Engine:180 Fusion 6 7.00
Walking MP: 6
Running MP: 9
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 10 Single [10] 3 0.00
(Loc: 1 CT, 1 LL, 1 RL)
Gyro: 4 2.00
Cockpit, Life Sup., Sensors:5 3.00
Actuators: 16 0.00
L: Sh+UA+LA+LH R: Sh+UA+RA+RH
Armor Factor: 0 5.00
80 pts Standard

Internal Structure Armor Value
Head: 3 8
Center Torso: 10 11
Center Torso (Rear): 3
L/R Side Torso: 7 10/10
L/R Side Torso (Rear): 3/3
L/R Arm: 5 7/7
L/R Leg: 7 9/9
Weapons and Equipment Loc Crits Tons
---------------------------------------
TAG RT 1 1.00
Narc Launcher RT 2 3.00
Narc Launcher LT 2 3.00
Medium Laser RA 1 1.00
Medium Laser LA 1 1.00
@Narc (Homing) (6) LT 1 1.00
---------------------------------------
TOTALS: 30.0
Crits & Tons Left: 38 0.0


Known issues: Repetition of "additional" under Variants, repetition of "also" under Capabilities, repetition of "hard" under Overview, has hand actuators for no reason, consistently/correctly capitalizing, abbreviating, and punctuating terms such as "extralight," "NARC," "OmniMech," etc., reversing the apostrophes on "`Mech", 'Mech names not italicized. I'm also assuming the lack of line breaks is an issue with the previews and not actual post formatting.
I write stuff, make podcasts, and say curse words on the internet. Pretty original stuff if you've never seen the internet before.


Edited by VanVelding (09/17/16 05:43 PM)
ghostrider
09/18/16 12:15 AM
66.74.61.223

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Ok. There are a few things that need to be clarified in this.
First thing comes to mind is the definition of fire support. To my knowledge that is long range weapons being used to support other units, normally lrms and things of that nature. Not narc pods. The TAG is nice.

Second. The mech shows it has 2 medium lasers, but yet the fluff says when it runs out of ammunition, it goes into physical attacks. I have yet to hear of lasers running out of ammo. As the lasers do more damage then a punch for this weight, I would think they would use the lasers all the time and only kick when in range.

As for having 2 narc launchers and only 6 shots seems a waste of weight having the second launcher, though I guess getting rid of the ammo quickly would be a good thing.

The question of the hand actuators for no reason needs some clarification as well. Other then saving a little bit of money or needed the critical space for other things, a mech should have hand actuators. The reason is for grabbing things, like when raiding supplies or being put into use as a construction unit when needed.
VanVelding
09/19/16 03:10 PM
75.1.89.127

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That is a misuse of "fire support" on my part. I guess it's technically fire support support. Noted.

I'll prioritize the medium lasers over the physical attacks for that bit. Mentioning the more damaging attack first is a fine stylistic choice. Noted.

The excessive NARC launchers and lack of hand actuators are part of some designs being intentionally suboptimal for various reasons.

This is all the kind of stuff I wanted to hear. Thanks for the feedback.
I write stuff, make podcasts, and say curse words on the internet. Pretty original stuff if you've never seen the internet before.
ghostrider
09/19/16 09:28 PM
66.74.61.223

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Maybe fire designator (target designator) might be a better term then fire support.

Also being from the combine, and with the clan invasion, the c3 computer might be a good addition to the unit. With a master in a different unit, it would be a great designator following the in close fighting suggestion in the fluff, though I know you were leaving it intentionally suboptimal.
Also the raptor used the c3 as indicated in the 3058 tro.
Granted it doesn't work with the narcs, but it is just a suggestion.


Edited by ghostrider (09/19/16 09:28 PM)
VanVelding
09/20/16 03:09 PM
75.1.89.127

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*Checks notes. Double checks. Triple checks.* It, um, looks like I made an off-the-cuff decision about seven years ago that The Combine doesn't use C3 in large numbers anymore, which is a huge change because that's one of the setting's few very strong nation/tech associations. In looking into that, it seems I shifted some designs around and the Lance ended up being the only DC 'Mech in the TRO. So that's also not good.

Mention why the DC doesn't use C3 anymore & eliminate another change to the setting (plus remove the reference here) OR give the DC C3 back & ensure a DC 'Mech showcases it. Noted.

Shift entries in the TRO to give the Draconis Combine--an actual Successor State--more than one TRO entry. Consider more joint projects between states. Noted.

Again, thanks for the help.
I write stuff, make podcasts, and say curse words on the internet. Pretty original stuff if you've never seen the internet before.
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