18 replies to this topic

[bad arcade kitty]

what does it hold in the left hand? it looks as an attache case...

[XphR]

It appears to be more ammunition (another magazine) for the weapon it is holding in its other hand.

[bad arcade kitty]

oh... do mechs in battletech even have that kind of ammo clips?

[XphR]

I do not think so as far as the core rules, but later additions included optional hand held weaponry. Those weapons would have had external ammo replacement. After expending all of the ammo or in other necessary situations the external weapon can be let go(but I believe an external fitting crew is required to reattach the weapon[I could be wrong on reattachment{its been a very long time}]).

[Lance Ninja]

It's his mech-clutch, der. Sometimes a mech wants to both utility and refinement in its carrying accoutrements.

[Egomane]

The mech originaly comes from an animated series (Fang of the Sun Dougram), that is unrelated to Battletech. In that series handheld weapons and ammo clips for those weapons where normal.

This has not been adjusted, when the art was used for Battletech a few years later.

[Fiona Marshe]

The Tech Readout 3025 (original), has the AC5 with 2 x 10 round magazines in the fluff text.

[Triordinant]

Here's another example of a 'mech with a hand-held weapon from TRD 3025 -the Battlemaster:

[XphR]

Valkyrie Guardian mode to the ready!

[XphR]

One universe over and it most certainly can fly like a jet!

[bad arcade kitty]

there are multiple mechs with hand-held weapon, here is another one, vapor eagle, but they don't hold ammo clips in another hand

[Triordinant]

[Triordinant]

Since we're talking about hand-held weapons...

[Strum Wealh]

Triordinant, on 17 May 2015 - 05:42 PM, said:

Since we're talking about hand-held weapons...

So, how about that AXM-6X?

XphR, on 12 May 2015 - 01:17 AM, said:

I do not think so as far as the core rules, but later additions included optional hand held weaponry. Those weapons would have had external ammo replacement. After expending all of the ammo or in other necessary situations the external weapon can be let go(but I believe an external fitting crew is required to reattach the weapon[I could be wrong on reattachment{its been a very long time}]).

The rules for handheld weapons are found on pages 314-316 of Tactical Operations.

Spoiler

Only a heavy (vehicular-class) weapon may be constructed as a Handheld Weapon; no items described as “Other Equipment” on the weapon tables (except for Artemis and TAG systems) may be incorporated into a Handheld Weapon design. The total weight of a Handheld Weapon equals the weight of the weapon(s) placed in the handheld mount, plus the number of any standard (single) heat sinks required to fire the weapon(s) at full capacity and the weight of any ammunition required. Ammunition for Handheld Weapons may be added on a per-shot basis, with each shot’s weight in tons determined by dividing 1 by the number of shots the weapon normally carries per ton (round the total number of shots assigned to the weapon up to the nearest half ton). Note that Handheld Weapons only require heat sinks for energy-based weapon(s); ballistic and missile weapons require no heat sinks to fire when placed in a Handheld Weapon mount.

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When constructing a unit, no tonnage or critical space is required to mount a Handheld Weapon, as the weapon is considered self-contained and separate. However, if a unit is intended to carry Handheld Weapons, it must incorporate two full sets of arm actuators, including hand actuators.

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Because the weapon is self-contained, it will not generate heat, nor can it draw on the unit’s on-board ammunition supplies or take advantage of targeting computer and other electronic enhancements installed within the firing unit’s chassis.

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Handheld Weapons may be picked up or dropped during the End Phase of any turn. Units with functioning hand actuators may only pick up a Handheld Weapon in their own hex. Dropping a Handheld Weapon leaves the weapon in the hex where the unit is currently standing. If a unit carrying a Handheld Weapon falls, it must make an additional Piloting Skill roll to avoid accidentally dropping the weapon, applying any arm actuator damage modifiers in addition to any other applicable Piloting modifiers. A weapon dropped intentionally or otherwise may not be picked up again until the End Phase of the following and subsequent turns.

By TT rules, handheld weapons must be entirely self-contained, with all ammo onboard the weapon itself; as such, they cannot be fed with additional magazines carried in the other hand.

Also of note is that a 'Mech necessarily needs both hands to pick up & use such handheld weapons ("Critical hits to a unit’s hand actuators force it to drop a Handheld Weapon during the turn’s End Phase (or prevent the unit from picking up such a weapon to begin with)"), and that the two-handed firing position precludes the use of other arm-mounted or torso-mounted weapons ("...doing so makes it impossible to make any physical attacks beyond a charge, Death From Above or kick - or to use any weapons mounted in the unit’s arms, torso or Main Gun locations..."), as well as making it impossible to carry more than one such handheld weapon ("Per the ’Mech Lifting Capabilities rule, a ProtoMech or ’Mech unit may only carry a single Handheld Weapon that weighs up to 10 percent of the unit’s own total weight (20 percent, if the unit mounts operating Triple-Strength Myomer)") - so, 'Mechs can't fully go "guns akimbo" with handheld weapons (though, IIRC, doing so with hard-mounted arm weapons is okay).

[Sparks Murphey]

Triordinant, on 17 May 2015 - 04:03 AM, said:

Here's another example of a 'mech with a hand-held weapon from TRD 3025 -the Battlemaster:

Marack Drock, on 17 May 2015 - 02:04 PM, said:

I hate this drawing haha. The arm PPCs are on the RIGHT arm not the left. Other than that yes another example is

Ah, but you see, that's not the true terror in that picture. See the hand-held weapon? See how it's got two barrels? Yeah, they didn't get the PPC in the wrong arm, those are eye-wateringly-large machine guns, while the ridiculously tiny PPC is mostly hidden behind the right arm. It was only later they realised that was mind-shatteringly weird and amended the hand-held gun to be in the right hand and represent the PPC.