Away Borders

Tactical Boarding Rules

by Harrison Coulter

The Following are modifications and additions to the standard MechWarrior combat simulation system for tactical recreations of zero-G shipboard combat.

Skills:

Zero-G Combat (Dex/Lng) This skill reflects the degree of training which the character has received in fighting with handheld melee weapons and fire combat weapons in a zero-G environment. This skill does not impart any special'tohit' modifiers with any weapon, but for every level of skill, a modifierof-1 maybe applied to a saving roll against going into a spin as a result of combat. It also will allow a similar modifier when using zero-G combat armor or a Personal Maneuvering Unit.

Combat:

The use of projectile and melee weapons while in freefall presents a major difficulty to the men fighting under those conditions. Any force on a body in freefall will cause that body to spin. The recoil of a firearm or the force of a blow with a handheld weapon can send a man caroming off like a billiard ball.

Any time an attack is made with a hand-held or projectile weapon in zero-G, the character using it must make a saving roll against the average of his dexterity and his learning scores, modified as per Table 1 below to right.

If a character fails his saving roll, he is sent into an uncontrollable spin in a random directions. (Roll 1d6 for direction.) This spin will carry the character in the direction of the spin until he collides with something. The speed of the spin depends on the type of weapon used. Any hand weapon makes the character move at one hex per turn as will a bow or crossbow. A projectile weapon gives the character a speed of 2 hexes per turn.

Should the spinning character collide with a moveable object or another character at one hex per turn, the spinning character will stop. If the spinning character's speed at the time of the collision is two hexes or more, the object or character struck will also begin to spin in a random direction. Both the spinning character and the objector character struck will now be moving at one half the spinning character's speed at the time of the collision (rounding down). Should the spinning character collide with an immovable object, he will stop, taking one hit point of damage for every hex of speed he was traveling at at the time. A spinning character may not make and sort of attack while moving.

Movement:

A character in freefall may move in two ways: by crawling along a solid surface at one half his normal movement rate, or by pushing off from a solid object and 'flying' at a movement rate equal to one half his Body attribute score. A 'flying' character may move only in a straight line.

If a 'flying' character fires a projectile weapon, he automatically goes into a spin at two hexes per turn faster than his 'flying' speed.

A Personal Maneuvering Unit will permit a' flying' character to alter his course by one sixty-degree increment each turn. This device will also permit a spinning character to arrest his movement at the end of the next movement phase.

Equipment:

Personal Maneuvering Unit: (2/U) The PMU is a smaller version of the standard infantry jump pack, and is intended strictly for use in zero-G. A PMU will permit a character to maneuver in freefall and move at a speed of 25 meters per turn.

Weight: 3 kilos Cost: 10,500 C-bills

Zero-G Armor: (2/R) Zero-G armor is an air-tight, one-piece suit of ballistic cloth with an attached helmet. The body suit has a protection value of 30 points. The helmet has a value of 20 points. Also incorporated into the armor is an emergency air pack (which will provide 5 minutes of breathable air), a short- range communicator, and a PMU.

Weight: 7 kilos Cost: 25,000 C-bills

Table 1: Zero-G Spin Modifiers

Weapon Die Roll Modifier
Club/Stun Stick +2
Dagger / Vibroknife +1
Knife / Bayonet (not fixed) +1
Sword / Vibroblade / Neural Whip +3
Fixed Bayonet / Spear +2
Tranq Pistol Dart Gun +1
Rifle / SMG Needier Rifle +3
Auto Pistol Heavy GYrojet Rifle +3
Pistol / Needier Pistol +2
Gyrojet Rifle / Gyrojet Carbine +1
Shotgun (any) +5
Grenade Launcher (any) +5
Flamer +1
SRM Launcher /Heavy Rifle +4
Portable Machine Gun +4
Longbow / Crossbow 0
Each level of zero-G combat skill -1
Bracing against a wall, etc -1
Full automatic fire +3

Away Borders


Back to BattleTechnology 10 Table of Contents
Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Magazine List
© Copyright 1988 by Pacific Rim Publishing.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com