Background After the war of 3039, it was realized that the Inner Sphere needed a universal military weapon. Thus was born the Brawler. It's a Mech equivalent to most assau It Mechs in defensive capabilities, yet able to keep up with most medium Mechs for Recon purposes. During testing it showed that it can deliver a reasonable offensive punch. But - the most unusual feature of the Mech is that it is designed to carry a company of foot infantry and a platoon of jump infantry! This little surprise keeps the enemy guessing just how many forces are on the battlefield at any one time. As of 3049, the Brawler has just finished testing, and is being produced for the Draconis Combine. Technical Data The technical aspects of the Brawler all but rival old Star League technology. The power plant is the most powerful on the market today; with the Combine's recent advantages in technology, it is only half as heavy as the norm. The heat sink systems are built right into the engine, literally living up to the name of 'freezer' in its capacity to handle all of the weapons and the engine with no heat buildup. Next comes the armor system, with thirteen tons of high grade armor, the brawler can punch with the best of Assault Mechs. As to the weapons systems, the one shot Longbow is a nice warning weapon to soften up a target . With Thunder LRMs (as they become available), the capability will exist to set up a great little minefield as one is escaping. The next two weapons are from the metallic series, the Gold pulse laser, and the Platinum streak missile system. They pulse laser is an intriguing choice: it builds up much heat and is poor on range, but anything which gets into its range will be devastated. The streak missile system is so perfect because of its discriminatory nature and its guaranteed strikes. The other large laser is of standard make. It only adds to the versatility of the Brawler. The next two systems are the myomer accelerated signal circuitry (MASC) and the phased sensor array. The MASC system allows the Brawler to be the fastest in its weight class, providing for rapid changes in position to assist in other portions of the battle. The phased sensor array is designed to assist the mechwarrior by giving suggestions on which weapon system would be most useful for the particular situation. (Of course there have been some problems with this. One warrior quipped to himself, "I'd like to get that girl", only to find the system suggesting the laying down of a Thunder LRM minefield around her house!) The last items to be covered are the platoon carrier systems, and the ejection system for them. The sections are comfortable, but the inhabitants do get bounced around a lot. The shoulder socket arrangement is specially designed as a type of shock absorber to keep this down to a minimum, and the computer does give warning in case of any sudden movement that may occur in a combat situation. Now the ejection system is simple, and serves two purposes. Basically it consists of seven 30m myomer cables which issue out of and are drawn back into a specially designed retrieval storage area. The line pays out of seven 'linger line" apertures. The soldier simply slides down the line to the ground. The full company of foot infantry can be out and deployed in under two minutes. The jump infantry use a small portal on the side of the Brawler to affect their entrances and exits. They need no additional assistance because of their jet packs. (NOTE: Infantry units can deploy while the Mech is still moving, and have been known to do so at speeds up to 100 kph. This practice is extremely hazardous to the soldiers' well-being, and so is discouraged.) During testing, the myomer steel cables were discovered to have a second function. They can also be used to entangle an enemy Mech's legs, causing it to fall. This of course allows the infantry to swarm the fallen Mech and destroy it. Overall, the Brawler seems to be a good Mech for both scouting and behind the lines missions. It is certain to prove its worth in combat. BLR-1A Brawler Mass: 80 Tons Chassis: Dragon Industries Ltd Power Plant: LTV 400-XL Cruising Speed:54 kph Maximum Speed: 86.4 kph/ 108 kph Jump Jets: None Jump Capacity: None Armor: Dragon X-9 Heavy Slab Armament: 1 Gold Medium Pulse Laser 1 Platinum Streak SRM-2 1 Nightwind Large Laser 1 Star Flash Small Laser 1 Longbow LRM-5 One Shot Manufacturer:Dragon Industries Ltd Communications System: Silver Commo Array Targeting/Tracking System: Dragon Phased Sensor Array Type: BLR-1A Brawler Tonnage:80 Tons Internal Structure: Endo-Steel 4.0 Engine 400 LTV-XL 26.25 Walking MPs: 5(10) Running MPs: 8(10) Jumping MPs: 0 Heat Sinks 10 (10 double) 0.0 Gyro: 4.0 Cockpit: 3.0 Armor Factor: 20813.0 Location: Internal Structure:Armor Value Head 3 9 Center Torso: 25 30/11 Rt/Lt Torso: 17 22/8 Rt/Lt Arms: 13 24 Rt/Lt Leg: 17 25 Weapons and Ammo: Location Critical Pulse Laser (Med) RA 1 2.0 MASC RL 2 2.0 MASC LL 2 2.0 Streak SRM-2 LA 1 1.5 Ammo SRM-2(50) LT 1 1.0 Large Laser LT 3 5.0 LRM 5-pack (1 -shot) CT 2 2.5 Foot Infantry Carrier RA 3 3 Foot Infantry Carrier LA 3 3 Foot Infantry Carrier RA 3 3 Jump Infantry Carrier FIT 4 4 Myomer Whip RA 1 0.75 Rules Variant Weapon Myomer Whip: To entangle an opponent with a myomer whip, it must first be in a adjacent hex to the whipping Mech. Roll gunnery skill roll with a target number of 5. If successful, use the standard location table to see which area has become entangled. Then, to unbalance the entangled Mech, roll 2d6. If the roll is 7 or better (with appropriate modifier), the Mech falls and suffers as if it had been pushed. (See the Rules of Warfare.) The modifiers: for every 10 tons that the attacking/ entangling Mech is heavier than its opponent, the attacker get +1 to his piloting roll. For every 10 tons that the attacking/ entangling Mech is lighter than its opponent, the attacker gets a -1 to his piloting roll. Weapon Crits Weight Myomer Whip 1 .75 Back to BattleTechnology 13 Table of Contents Back to BattleTechnology List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1990 by Pacific Rim Publishing. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com