Shadowrun - The Shadowrun Supplemental 04

Expansion Four: Aerospace by Francis Greenaway

Expansion Four: Aerospace Table of Contents: Disclaimer

... 2

Choice of Rules Soucres

... 3 ... 3

Aerospace Fighters Standard Aerospace Fighter Armour Diagram Armour Internal Structure Example 3025 TR-10 Transit Example 3025 CHP-W5 Chippewa Example 3025 SYD-21 Seydlitz

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Combat and Damage Resolution Internal Structure Damage Effects Destroying an Aerospace Fighter

... 9 ... 10 ... 11 ... 12

Dropships Filling out the Armour Diagram Example Upgraded 3057 Union Class Dropship Combat

... 13 ... 13 ... 13 ... 14

Jumpships Filling out the Armour Diagram Jumpship Combat

... 16 ... 16 ... 16

Appendix A: Worked armour values

... 18

4 4 4 5 7 7 8

Disclaimer: BattleTech, Battlespace, Aerotech, Renegade Legion, Interceptor and Leviathon, are Registered Trademarks and Copyrights of FASA Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Used without permission. Any use of FASA Corporation’s copyrighted material or trademarks in this file should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. Cover art by Jeff Laubenstein, the Renegade Legion Logo by Doug Shuler, scanned and combined without permission. The Renegade Tech title graphic by Marco Pederzoli, used with permission.

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© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

Expansion Four: Aerospace Aerospace: Aerospace fighter combat has never been handled wonderfully in the BattleTech universe. We currently have no less than three sperate sets of rules for the use of fighters in the game (Aerotech, Battlespace and the Air support rules found in the BattleTech Rules of Warfare), each of them are different, and each of them does things differently to that found in the standard BattleTech rules. So for a designer trying to get some sort of continuity where there is none, what is one to do?

These rules are for small scale fighter skirmishes as found in the original Aerotech rules, as such they are unsuitable for creating mammoth battles like those portrayed in Battlespace. Instead these rules will attempt to let players recreate battles with a few fighters, a couple of dropships, and for those desperate moments, the odd jumpship. Note that these rules can also apply to conventional fighters as well, if desired.

Choice of Rules: Before you go any further though, you have a couple of decisions to make regarding what rules you want to use. Aerospace itself will only replace the rules regarding damage to fighters, but for a fuller game the following needs to be taken into consideration. The following list is what I use, where there is a choice, then it’s down to personal preference. Space Movement:

Aerotech or Battlespace (for those with only one set of rules, Safe Thrust = Thrust, Max Thrust = Overthrust) Heat Buildup: Aerotech Pilots and damage to: Aerotech Fuel: Aerotech: 1 thrust = 1 fuel point 1 overthrust = 2 fuel points Battlespace: 1 thrust = 1/5 fuel points 1 max thrust = 1 fuel point Atmospheric Entry: Aerotech or Battlespace Atmospheric movement and combat: Battlespace Air to ground combat: Battlespace As can be seen, what I consider the best set of rules to use is a combination of the two.

Sources: By FASA: BattleTech Master Rules Aerotech (as found in the boxed game, the BattleTech Manual and the BattleTech Compendium). BattleTech The Rules of Warfare: Used for the Air support section dropped from the Master Rules. Battlespace Jumpships and Dropships sourcebook The 2750, 3025, 3055 and 3057 Technical Readouts Leviathan the mass fleet combat game of the Renegade Legion series By others: Intercepter, 2nd Edition, the fighter combat game of the Renegade Legion series, although created for Nightshift Games before the license went back to FASA. This can be found at Kanniks Renegade Legion web site [http://www.madcoyote.com/renleg/int/int.htm]

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

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Expansion Four: Aerospace Aerospace Fighters: Aerospace fighters share a lot in common with both BattleMechs and vehicles. They have multiple locations and can survive the destruction of a location, like ‘Mechs, but their armour diagrams are filled out much like the optional rules for vehicles.

Standard Aerospace Fighter Armour Diagram:

P: F: Ls: Av:

Pilot FCS Radar Life support Avionics

Aft 1 2 34 5 6

Cockpit Destroyed

Dest. Ls P F Av

Destroyed

1 2 3

1 2 34 5 6

Fuselage

1 2 34 5 6

1 2 345 6

Right Wing

Left Wing

1 2 34 5 6

Nose

Depending on which set of rules you are using will decide how you go about filling out the armour diagram, however the order to filling out the sheet should go wing internal structure, wing armour, aft armour, internal structure, nose armour and then the fuselage and cockpit. This is just for ease though.

Armour: Firstly, you have to work out how much armour your fighter has, and this depends on your ruleset. Aerotech: If you are using Aerotech, then you can use the values from fighters you have designed or from the various Technical Readouts that were designed using that system. Note that Engine is called Aft in these rules. These armour values may be translated into rows as if the fighter was a ‘Mech, thus divide the value in the location by four, and then add one. An expanded armour table appears in Appendix A. The cockpit is treated like head armour, and use the following table for the expanded armour values. Page: 4

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

Expansion Four: Aerospace Cockpit Armour

Armour Rows

10-12 13-14 15-16

5 6 7

Battlespace: If using fighters designed via Battlespace, then you’ll have to convert the Battlespace armour values to Aerobattle values, and from there you can then convert into Renegade Tech armour rows, as if the fighter was a ‘Mech. To get cockpit values, use the following formula: 4 + ( (Battlespace armour value * 40) / 10 ) rounding up This will give the amount of armour rows directly for Renegade Tech. BattleTech ROW: If you using the air support rules from the Rules of Warfare, then you can use the values from the following table. The tonnages and engine ratings will be used later for placing the internal components of the fighter.

Light Figter Medium Fighter Heavy Fighter

Cockpit

Nose

5 6 7

4 10 15

Wings

Fuselage

3 8 12

4 10 15

Aft 3 8 12

Tonnage 30 50 75

Engine 240 200 225

Internal Structure: The internal structure of any fighter craft is worked out in the same way, regardless of what system designed the craft. Only wings and the body of the fighter have internal structure locations.

Wings: Each wing has a certain amount of internal structure which is based on the tonnage of the fighter. Divide the tonnage of the fighter by 20 (round up), and then add 2 to get the wing structure. Fighter Tonnage

Wing Structure Rows

0-20 21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100

3 4 5 6 7

Place these internal structure rows next to the thick black destroyed row on the armour diagram, and place the armour on top of this. Body: The body of the aircraft has a larger internal structure area than the wings. This is worked out by dividing the tonnage of the aircraft by ten (round up) and then adding three. Before placing the internal structure on the diagram, place the Aft armour on the diagram, then place the internal structure next to that, and finally place the nose armour on top.

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

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Expansion Four: Aerospace Fighter Tonnage 0-10 10-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100

Structure Rows 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Once all the armour and internal structure has been placed on the armour diagram, it’s time to place the internal components on the diagram. Every fighter has certain components that must be placed, and once they have been positioned, weapons and other equipment may be put down. Unless noted, any item may be placed anywhere in the internal structure part of the armour diagram in the main body section. Components that may be placed in the wings will be noted so. These components include: Engine: Every fighter has an engine, and this takes up a large chunk of the fuselage. An engine takes up an amount of boxes equalling its rating / 15 (round down). All these boxes must be joined together, and at least 2 must be placed on the border of the structure joining the Aft armour. Fire Control System Radar (FCS Radar): This system controls the gunnery of the craft, and takes up two boxes worth of internal structure. They need not be together. Note that the cockpit contains one FCS Radar box. Avionics: This also takes up two boxes, and like the FCS Radar, need not be mounted together. Indeed, for the better survival of the craft it is probably wise not to mount them both together! Note that the cockpit already contains one Avionics box. Fuel: Fuel takes up 2 boxes per ton of fuel carried. Each box may be sperate, and fuel may be mounted in the wings. Landing Gear: This takes up 2 boxes that must be together. Life Support: This only takes up one box. One Life Support box also comes with the cockpit. Control: This represents the various control systems in the wings that keep the craft flying. Each wing must have two sets of 2 boxes dedicated to control Each set of two boxes must be joined together. Heat Sinks: Each fighter must place excess heat sinks on the armour diagram. The engine contains (rating / 20) heat sinks that don’t need to be placed (just like a BattleMech), but the rest take up one box each. They need not be joined and may be mounted in the wings. Weapons: Weapons take up two boxes per critical slot. A weapons boxes must all be located together and be joined. The craft design should already state where the weapons are to be mounted. Ammo: Ammo takes up 2 boxes per critical slot, but need only be joined in groups of two boxes. Ammo may be placed in any location, including the wings. Other Equipment: This takes up 2 boxes per critical slot, and generally must be joined together. With Battlespace, if you don’t know exactly what weapons the craft has, assume that each mount takes a single critical slot, and types of LRM, SRM, AC and mixed require 1 ton of ammo per mount. Sometimes, with all the equipment that a craft must carry, you’ll sometimes end up with no room to place it all in the main body. If this happens, then you may lower the requirements of the largest weapon (or several if needed) to make all the components fit. As long as each weapon has at least one box devoted to it, then it should still be considered legal. If you’re still having trouble, then the engine may be reduced, but only as a last resort. Nearly all the designs from the various technical readouts will fit into the new layout with no tweaking required, and the ones that do can fit with only a slight tweak of the weapons.

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© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

Expansion Four: Aerospace Shown below are some example fighters. All were taken from the 3025 Technical Readout.

Example 3025 TR-10 Transit: Aft 1 2 34 5 6

Cockpit Destroyed Con.

Dest. Ls P F Av

Con.

Fu Fu Fu Fu Fu ML

Fu Fu Fu Fu ML Fu

Con.

Destroyed

Engine Land F Ls ML Av Ammo

F H Av ML Ammo

Pilot FCS Radar Life Support Avionics Heat Sink Landing Gear Medium Laser Autocannon Type 20 Autocannon ammunition Control Fuel

Con.

P: F: Ls: Av: H: Land: ML: AC/20: Ammo: Con. Fu:

AC/20

1 2 3

1 2 34 5 6

Fuselage

1 2 34 5 6

1 2 345 6

Right Wing

Left Wing

1 2 34 5 6

Nose Example 3025 CHP-W5 Chippewa: Aft 1 2 34 5 6

Cockpit Con.

SL

Laser

F Av

SL Engine Land Fu Fu H Ls ML ML

LRM 15

Fu Fu Fu Fu H H H H Large H

Large Laser

Laser

F Av Ammo Ammo

Laser

Destroyed Con.

Dest. Ls P F Av

Fu Fu Fu Fu H H H H Large H Large

Con.

Destroyed

Ammo Ammo

Pilot FCS Radar Life Support Avionics Heat Sink Landing Gear Small Laser Medium Laser Long Range Missiles LRM ammunition Control Fuel

Con.

P: F: Ls: Av: H: Land: SL: ML: LRM 15: Ammo: Con. Fu:

1 2 3

LRM 15

1 2 34 5 6

Fuselage

1 2 34 5 6

1 2 345 6

Right Wing

Left Wing

1 2 34 5 6

Nose

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

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Expansion Four: Aerospace Example 3025 SYD-21 Seydlitz: Aft 1 2 34 5 6

Cockpit Dest. Ls P F Av

F Av Av F Land Large Ls

Destroyed Fu Fu Fu

Con.

Fu Fu Fu

Engine

Con.

Destroyed Con.

Pilot FCS Radar Life Support Avionics Heat Sink Landing Gear Control Fuel

Con.

P: F: Ls: Av: H: Land: Con. Fu:

Laser

1 2 3

1 2 34 5 6

Fuselage

1 2 34 5 6

1 2 345 6

Right Wing

Left Wing

1 2 34 5 6

Nose

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© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

Expansion Four: Aerospace Combat and Damage Resolution: Due to the various rules around, there are several ways of determining the type of damage inflicted on the aerospace fighter.. Aerotech: Generally this is the easiest approach, as the various technical readouts list all the various weapons that the fighters carry, so all the basic templates from Renegade Tech can be used ‘as is’. However, if the Fire Factor system is being used, then use the following template to determine the damage from this:

↑

Battlespace: If you can get hold of a technical readout to determine what the actual weapons are on the craft, then that is the best approach. If you can’t but you can work out what the weapons are, then more power to you. However, sometimes you can’t figure out what the ship is supposed to carry, and in that case, the following system can be used. Scale up the various fire factors, and then divide into 5 point attacks as normal. Each five point attack will have its own template as determined by the following, and may not actually end up as five points of damage. AC: LRM: SRM: Laser: Pulse: Point: PPC: Mixed:

Use a AC/5 template Use a 5 point LRM attack Treat as if 2 SRM’s hit the ship Treat as a Medium laser Treat as a Medium Pulse laser Treat as three machine gun attacks Treat as a PPC attack Treat as a AC/5 template

Combat then proceeds as normal. Choose the weapons you are going to fire, and the order in which they will be fired in, and if you hit, roll 2D6 on the following hit location table.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Front

Aft

Left/Right Side

Above/Below

Cockpit Nose Fuselage Right wing Nose Nose Nose Left wing Fuselage Nose Cockpit

Aft Fuselage Fuselage Right wing Aft Fuselage Aft Left wing Fuselage Fuselage Aft

Cockpit Side wing Aft Fuselage Side wing Fuselage Side wing Nose Aft Side wing Aft

Cockpit/Aft Fuselage Aft Right wing Aft Fuselage Nose Left wing Nose Fuselage Cockpit/Aft

Cockpit/Aft: If attacking from below, the location hit is Aft, else it is the Cockpit

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

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Expansion Four: Aerospace Once you know the location, you can then roll a centre point and apply the damage template as normal.

Internal Structure: Once the armour on a various location is destroyed, the internal structure underneath is attacked as normal. Wings and the Cockpit are easy to work out as the internal structure is directly underneath the armour and thus the damage template can just flow into the internal structure to damage things as normal. The Nose and Aft sections on the fighter are also determined in the same way. The fuselage is directly connected to the internal structure under the nose, and thus when an attack penetrates the fuselage armour, use the same centre point and apply the remaining damage to that part of the internal structure under the nose armour, even if the nose armour hasn’t been breached yet.

Aft

Aft

1 2 34 5 6

1 2 34 5 6

Engine F Av Av F Land Large Ls Laser

Engine F Av Land

1 2 34 5 6

Av F Ls

1 2 34 5 6

Fuselage

Fuselage 1 2 34 5 6

1 2 34 5 6

Nose

Nose

The above diagram shows an SYD-21 Seydlitz before combat (only the Nose, Aft, internal structure block and Fuselage are shown for clarity). As can be seen, the Seydlitz isn’t intended for stand up combat, so when it gets hit in the fuselage by a medium laser (the second diagram), it is in trouble. The laser penetrates the armour of the fighter, and thus the penetrating damage will damage the internal armour along the same centre point, which in this case means that the damage will destroy the fighters only weapon.

Internal locations are destroyed when a single point penetrates into the thick black destroyed area on the armour diagram, or (in the case of the internal block sandwiched between the nose and aft armour locations) when an unbroken line of damage can be traced straight through it. This damage doesn’t need to breach either armour locations.

Aft 1 2 34 5 6

F Av Land

Av F Ls

1 2 34 5 6

Fuselage 1 2 34 5 6

Nose Continuing the example above, the Seydlitz gets into further trouble, and in a display of some very lucky die rolling, the unfortunate craft gets hit in the same fuselage location by an AC/5 and then a medium laser. This damage is enough to case an unbroken line through the internal structure, and thus the craft is destroyed.

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© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

Expansion Four: Aerospace Damage Effects: When a craft gets damaged, various systems will start to fail, bringing on the ultimate demise of the craft. Wing Effects: Control: When a control box gets hit, the craft starts to lose its manoeuvrability. When this happens, roll on the following table. Note that you have to roll whenever a control box is hit, thus if one of the control boxes on a wing takes 1 point of damage, then that is one roll. If it gets damaged later, then that requires another roll. 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6:

Random movement No turns to that side No turns to that side Random movement Control lock - no turns at all No turns to that side (permanent)

With the exception of (6), all results will clear with a successful Piloting roll. All effects take effect at the beginning of the next turn, with rolls to clear them happening in the end phase of that turn onwards. In an atmosphere, a Control effect will cause the craft to lose 2 levels of altitude unless a Piloting roll is made. Random Movement: Roll on the following table for Each point of current velocity that the craft has. 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10: 11: 12:

Hard left Soft left Hard left Soft left Straight Straight Straight Soft right Hard right Soft right Hard right

Hard: Forward one hex, 120 degree (2 hexsides) turn Soft: Forward one hex, 60 degree (1 hexside) turn Straight: Forward one hex A random movement effect at Very Low or NOE altitude will cause the craft to crash automatically. Wing Destroyed: If a wing is destroyed, then each turn the pilot must make a Piloting roll, and if unsuccessful, must roll as if the craft had suffered a Control result. Regardless, in an atmosphere, the craft will lose one level of altitude per turn. A destroyed wing gives a +5 to all landing rolls.

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

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Expansion Four: Aerospace Internal Structure Block: Engine: Whenever the engine is hit, roll 1D6 and add the damage that was inflicted to the engine this turn (not the total amount). 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: 7: 8: 9: 10: 11: 12+

Craft loses 1/4 current thrust Craft loses 1/4 current thrust Craft loses 1/4 current thrust Craft loses 1/4 current thrust Engine shielding hit - +5 heat per turn Craft loses 1/3 current thrust Craft loses 1/3 current thrust Craft loses 1/3 current thrust Engine shielding hit - +10 heat per turn Craft loses 1/2 current thrust Craft loses 1/2 current thrust Engine explodes, craft destroyed

Any thrust loss will require a recalculation of the overthrust of the craft. Fuel: Each box destroyed loses the craft 2D6 worth of fuel points. The last fuel box destroyed loses all remaining fuel. FCS Radar: Each hit to this system gives the craft a +2 to hit modifier. When the last box is destroyed, the craft may no longer fire or target its weapons. Avionics: Each hit gives a +1 to all piloting roll. After three hits, all rolls are at +5. Life Support: When hit, the life support is destroyed. This gives 30 minutes of oxygen left for the pilot, and all heat avoid rolls are made with a -2 modifier. Landing Gear: The crafts landing struts are destroyed, meaning all landing rolls are at +5. Heat Sinks: Each heat sink destroyed decreases the crafts ability to dissipate heat by 1 or 2 points. Weapons: A hit to the weapon destroys it. Ammo: The ammunition has been hit and explodes, as per the Renegade Tech rules. Internal Structure Destroyed: If the internal structure is destroyed, then the craft is considered destroyed and out of play.

Cockpit: Pilot: If the pilot is hit, they are killed, and the craft is considered destroyed. Cockpit destroyed: This result will kill the pilot and render the craft destroyed.

Destroying an Aerospace Fighter: A fighter is considered destroyed when: The Pilot is killed The Cockpit is destroyed The Internal Structure Block is destroyed The Engine explodes

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© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

Expansion Four: Aerospace Dropships: Dropships are treated as large aerospace fighters. The main difference is that they have 2 armour blocks per location instead of the normal one, and they only have one internal structure diagram.

Filling out the Armour Diagram: If using Aerotech or the Jumpships and Dropships sourcebook, then all armour values may be gotten from that. Once gotten, divide the values by two and then apply this new value to each armour block as if the dropship was a ‘Mech. If using Battlespace, you’ll have to scale the armour values up. This is done by adding up all the dropship armour values (remembering that they have four sides), multiplying this value by ten, and then splitting this new value into the following locations: Nose: Left side/wing: Right side/wing: Fuselage: Aft:

20% 20% 20% 25% 15%

Then divide each location by 2, and apply this halved value to each armour block as if the dropship was a ‘Mech.

Example Upgraded Version, 3057 Union Class Dropship: Nose

Left Side

Right Side

Fuselage

Aft

12345612 3456 1-3 4-6

12345612 3456 1-3 4-6

12345612 3456 1-3 4-6

123 45612 345 6 1-3 4-6

123 45612 345 6 1-3 4-6

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

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Expansion Four: Aerospace Dropship Combat: Dropships in combat are handled pretty much like any other vessel with just a couple of twists to make things interesting. Firstly you have to hit the target as normal, and then you have to roll for a location. Aerodyne dropships use the same hit location table as aerospace fighters (although all cockpit hits become nose hits), while Spheriod dropships use the following table:

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Nose

Aft

Left/Right side

Nose Nose Fuselage Right side Nose Nose Nose Left side Fuselage Nose Nose

Aft Fuselage Fuselage Right side Aft Fuselage Aft Left side Fuselage Fuselage Aft

Nose Side Aft Fuselage Side Fuselage Side Nose Aft Side Aft

Once the location has been found, the armour is damaged. You’ll notice that dropships have extra wide armour blocks. To gain a centre number for these, you can do one of two things. If you have one, you can simply roll a 1D12 to gain the centre point, or else you can roll 1D6 to determine which block the template will be placed in, and then you can roll another 1D6 to determine the exact centre number. In either case, templates can be positioned to cover either block, but they cannot be placed to cover a block in a different location. Then it’s just a simple case of applying enough firepower to breach the armour. When the armour is breached, any and all damage is transferred to the single internal structure diagram. The same centre point is used to determine where the damage falls and what components are damaged. The damage effects are as follows: Bays: When a bay takes damage, the cargo is damaged, and is destroyed when the bay is destroyed. Bay Doors: When a bay door is damaged, each box hit increases the time taken to load and unload cargo. When all boxes are crossed off, that door is destroyed, the bay is depressurised and it may not be used until repaired, thus fighters may not be launched. Bridge: Each 2 boxes crossed off means that all piloting rolls the ship has to make are at +1. Also everytime the ship spends 2 or more thrust points, it must make a piloting roll. If successful, nothing adverse happens, else the ship is out of control and next turn it may not spend any thrust points and all combat is at a +2. This only effects the one turn. When the bridge is destroyed the ship gets a further +1 to all piloting rolls, and must roll whenever it attempts to spend a thrust point. If the CIC is also destroyed, then the ship may not longer expend thrust points. Combat Information Centre (CIC): During a normal game this will have no effect except to function as an auxiliary bridge to let the craft use thrust when the bridge is destroyed. However in mass battles this functions as a control centre for coordinating the battle. Computer: When the computer is damaged, add a +1 to all gunnery and piloting rolls for each two points of damage it has sustained. A destroyed computer gives no additional ill effects, a ship has enough back up systems to still continue to operate, although at a much reduced rate. Crew Quarters: In battle this has no effect other than to act as a damage sink. In campaigns however, this will have serious effects for the crew, resulting in decreased performance until repaired. Docking Collar: When the collar is damaged, all times taken for a dropship to reattach back to a mother ship are doubled. When destroyed, the dropship may no longer hook back unto a jumpship.

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© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

Expansion Four: Aerospace Fusion Plant: When damaged, the ship may no longer supply all the power to feed all the weapons and ships drives. Thus for every two points of damage inflicted after the first four, either one weapons bay or the transit drive may not be used. This may be changed every turn as power is redirected towards deferent systems. When the fusion plant is destroyed, the ship may no longer fire weapons, generate thrust or operate the life support systems. Hull Collapse: When this happens, the crafts integrity gives way, the ship is holed and it may no longer fire weapons, generate life support or operate the transit drive. When this is destroyed, so is the craft. Landing Gear: When damaged, all rolls to land are made at +5. When destroyed, all landing rolls are made at +10. Left/Right Thruster: For each two points of damage in these locations, it takes an additional thrust point to be able to turn in that direction. When the thrusters are destroyed, turning in that direction is impossible. Life Support: When damaged, all further piloting rolls are made at a +1. When destroyed, the crew must wear pressure suits and all rolls (piloting and gunnery) are made at a further +1. Navigation Systems: During combat, this is essentially a free hit, but in campaigns, this means that the ship will have trouble getting where it wants to go. Plant Destroyed: When this is damaged, it means that the ship no longer has power, cannot generate any thrust and the life support is non functional. Radar: Again, during combat this will have no effect, but when destroyed it means that the craft is effectively blind. Reaction Mass: Every hit to this reduces the available fuel by 15 points. There is also a chance that the ship will explode roll 2D6, and subtract 1 for each hit inflicted on the fuel. On a 4-, the fuel explodes destroying the ship. Ship Destroyed: The vessel is out of play. Transfer: This is how stuff gets from a dropship to a jumpship, and vice versa. When damaged, all transfer times are doubled, and when destroyed, any transfers cannot happen. Transit Drive: Every two hits inflicted on the drives reduces the available thrust by 1. Recalculate Overthrust as appropriate. Weapon Bays (marked WP): When damaged, half the weapons in that arc are destroyed and cannot function. When destroyed, all weapons in that arc are destroyed. The various weapon arcs are: FL: FR: Nose AL: AR: Aft

Forward left (or left wing) Forward right (or right wing) Aft left Aft right

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

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Expansion Four: Aerospace Jumpships: Jumpships are treated much like dropships. They have double-spaced armour locations and a single internal structure location. However they have more armour locations than dropships do to account for their much larger size!

Filling out the Armour Diagram: If you are using Aerotech rules, then you can simply take the armour values from the various technical readouts, multiply by 0.75 and then apply this value (converted to Renegade Tech rows) to each half of the double-space armour blocks, much like a dropship. If you are using Battlespace, then you’ll have to convert the armour values. This is done by adding up the armour values of all sides of the jumpship (remembering that there are six sides), and then multiplying this value by ten. Then divide the armour amongst the following locations: Command Section: Nose: Right side: Left side: Cargo Section: Right side: Left side: Engine Section: Right side: Left side: Aft:

15% 12.5% 12.5% 15% 15% 10% 10% 10%

Then multiply the armour value in each location by 0.75, convert it to Renegade Tech rows, and apply the value to each half of the double-spaced armour blocks.

Jumpship Combat: Jumpships in combat behave much like dropships in combat. Well, technically they don’t, they’re not as agile (!), don’t pack as much of a punch and can’t carry nearly as much armour, but rule wise they are very similar. After a hit has been achieved, the location must be known, which is done by rolling on the following hit location table. Nose 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Command section: Nose Command section: Right Command section: Right Command section: Right Dropship/Command: Right Command section: Nose Dropship/Command: Left Command section: Left Command section: Left Command section: Left Command section: Nose

Aft

Sides

Engine section: Aft Engine section: Right Dropship/Egine: Right Engine section: Right Engine section: Right Engine section: Aft Engine section: Left Engine section: Left Dropship/Engine: Left Engine section: Left Engine section: Aft

Command section: Nose Engine section: Side Command section: Side Command section: Side Dropship/Cargo: Side Cargo section: Side Dropship/Cargo: Side Engine section: side Engine section: Side Command section: Side Engine Section: Aft

Once all the armour is breached, then the single internal structure block begins to take damage, and this is handled in the same way as for dropships.

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© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

Expansion Four: Aerospace Damage Effects: For the most part, a jumpship has the same damageable components as a dropship, but it also some special ones which are listed below: Grav Deck: Grav decks cannot be used while the ship is in motion, so it is unlikely that these be critical to a ships operation, but their destruction will mean that the crew will have no ability to be in a simulated gravity environment, and this can have long term harmful effects. Any damage will prevent a grav decks use. Jump Sail Array: This is the mechanism that coils and unfurls the delicate jump sail. For every point of damage inflicted, the time taken to coil and unfurl the sail is increased by 50%, although the risk that the sail will be damaged in the process is drastically increased also. K-F Drive Destroyed: With this destroyed, the ship may no longer attempt to make jump. K-F Drive System Components: Drive Charging System Helium Tank Field Initiator Drive Coil Drive Controller Lithium Fusion Battery See Battlespace for the long term effects the damage to these systems will have on a campaign, suffice it to say that each will have a significant effect on a ships ability to make a safe jump. Station Keeping Drive: This is what enables a jumpship to maintain its station in space. Any damage will mean that the ship cannot even attempt long distance thrust movement, but as long as one point of damage remains, the ship will still be able to maintain its station.

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a

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Expansion Four: Aerospace Appendix A: This appendix lists standard Battletech armour points and their corresponding value in armour rows for the Renegade Tech system.

Battletech 'Mech Armour Value

Rentech 'Mech Armour Value

1 2-5 6-9 10-13 14-17 18-21 22-25 26-29 30-33 34-37 38-41 42-45 46-49 50-53 54-57 58-61 62-65 66-69 70-73 74-77 78-81 82-85 86-89 90-93 94-97 98-101 102-105 106-109 110-113 114-117 118-121 122-125 126-129 130-133 134-137 138-141 142-145 146-149 150-153 154-157

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Cockpit Armour

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Armour Points

RenTech Rows

10-12 13-14 15-16

5 6 7

© Francis Greenaway (‘Cheap and Tacky Backshed Productions’) 1999 Version 1.0b2a