Optional equipment

From MegaTravellerWiki

This is a smorgasbord of optional vehicle equipment for MegaTraveller vehicles.

Sensors

TL    Optional Component                Pwr      Wt       Vol     Cost
---  -------------------------------  -------  -------  -------  ------------
 5     Small Aimable Searchlight-5      0.003    0.005    0.008          250
 6     Small Aimable Searchlight-6      0.002    0.004    0.006          250
 6     Small Trackable Searchlight-6    0.005    0.005    0.008          500
 7     Small Aimable Searchlight-7      0.001    0.002    0.004          250
 7     Small Trackable Searchlight-7    0.003    0.004    0.006          500
 8     Small Trackable Searchlight-8    0.001    0.002    0.004          500
 8     Small Automatic Searchlight-8    0.008    0.006    0.008        1,250
 9     Small Automatic Searchlight-9    0.003    0.004    0.006        1,250
10     Small Automatic Searchlight-10   0.001    0.002    0.004        1,250

• Pwr is in megawatts (MW); 0.001 MW is equal to one kilowatt (kW)
• Wt is in tonnes (t); 0.001 t is equal to one kilogram (kg).
• Vol is in kilolitres (kL); 0.001 kL is equal to 1 litre (L). 1 kL is exactly equivalent in dimension to 1 cubic metre (m³).
• Cost is in credits (Cr).

TODO: large aimable searchlights, rules for making arbitrarily-sized searchlights,
  bullet-resistant searchlights, infrared searchlights, ultraviolet searchlights,
  etc.

Aimable Searchlight

The aimable searchlight is a light on a support arm that is physically aimed by hand (requiring someone to be riding on the exterior of the vehicle) and pointed at any tile within VLong range. If there is a clear, unobstructed path to that tile, it illuminates a Danger Space of 1.5m in that tile and its immediate surrounds. Anyone so illuminated is considered to be covered in daylight for purposes of how easy they are to hit. If the beam strikes an obstacle when tracing a line to the intended tile, the searchlight is assumed to be pointing at the obstacle instead.

On any given combat turn, a character who is operating an aimable searchlight cannot do anything else during the turn. The searchlight can be turned on or off instantly, but cannot be turned on or off more than once per turn (e.g., if you turn on and aim the searchlight, then have another person shoot at the illuminated enemy, you cannot then turn off the searchlight before the enemy has a chance to return fire). If a person wants, they may turn on the searchlight while adjacent to it without taking control of the searchlight -- for instance, pressing a button on the searchlight and then raising their gun to shoot at a now-illuminated target. This is considered an Incidental Action in the revised combat system.

Any searchlight can be targetted by any small arms fire. Difficulty of hitting a small searchlight increases by 1 level due to its small size, but is otherwise considered to be at the same range as its parent vehicle. The searchlight is also considered to be illuminated by daylight whenever it is on (no modifiers for darkness). Any successful hit destroys the searchlight and causes half damage to the vehicle. If someone is aiming the searchlight when the searchlight is shot out, roll 1d6: if 2-, the hit strikes the person instead of the vehicle after destroying the searchlight.

If someone stops aiming a searchlight, it remains pointing in a relative direction from the vehicle. For instance, a searchlight that was aimed 22 metres north and 17 metres east of the vehicle will continue to point to that relative location when the vehicle moves, and will rotate along with the vehicle when the vehicle turns.

Aiming at a Moving Target

A searchlight is easy to aim and can be used to "track" a moving target with little difficulty:

Trackable Searchlight

A trackable searchlight is like an aimable searchlight but is controlled through mechanical motors from inside the vehicle. If only the driver controls the vehicle, attempting to aim a searchlight using the controls means the driver cannot do anything except drive directly forward at present speed for the current combat turn (though if the driver was in the middle of a continuous turn during the previous round, the driver could opt to continue turning while aiming the searchlight). Any other occupant of the vehicle with access to a control panel is assumed to be able to control the searchlight.

If using the The MTWiki Revised Combat System, aiming the searchlight is a Short Action.

Automatic Searchlight

An automatic searchlight is linked to the operator's head position using sophisticated sensors that allow the searchlight to point anywhere its operator looks. Because of this, the operator no longer needs to concentrate to control the searchlight and can operate weapons, fire, or drive while simultaneously aiming or re-aiming the searchlight at any desired location or target.

Additionally, the difficulty of aiming the searchlight at a moving target drops from Routine to Simple.

Defences

TL    Optional component                Pwr      Wt       Vol     Cost
---  -------------------------------  -------  -------  -------  ------------
 5    Small Smoke Generator             0.02     0.05     0.08         2,500
 5    Large Smoke Generator             0.2      0.5      0.8          7,500

• Pwr is in megawatts (MW); 0.001 MW is equal to one kilowatt (kW)
• Wt is in tonnes (t); 0.001 t is equal to one kilogram (kg).
• Vol is in kilolitres (kL); 0.001 kL is equal to 1 litre (L). 1 kL is exactly equivalent in dimension to 1 cubic metre (m³).
• Cost is in credits (Cr).

Smoke Generator

The smoke generator is a device designed to release a thick, obscuring cloud of smoke behind the vehicle while it is engaged. The smoke generator is useless without a reservoir of smoke fluid to provide the necessary material to produce the smoke cloud. Smoke fluid is a special variety of chemicals which upon exposure to oxygen produces a thick cloud of as-light-as-air smoke particles that cannot be seen through.

Small generators release a thin trail of smoke which expands to cover an area equal to 25 cubic metres per second—depending on the speed of the vehicle emitting the smoke, this produces either a thick wall of smoke or a thin trail of smoke. The rate of emission can be controlled anywhere from 1 cubic metre per second up to the full rate of 25 cubic metres per second. Small generators are typically used for aerobatic skywriting and are rarely used for battlefield situations.

Large generators release a massive wall of smoke, equal to 150 cubic metres per second. Again, depending on the speed of the vehicle emitting the smoke, this will be either a huge wall or a thin trail. The rate of release can be constricted anywhere from 25 m³ up to 150 m³ per second.

A smoke tank provides the necessary reservoir of chemicals to be used in generating the smoke. Smoke tanks cost 100 Cr per kilolitre of capacity. Unloaded weight is 0.01 tonnes (10 kilograms) per kilolitre of capacity—weights reduced below 0.001 are considered negligible. The volume of the tank is as follows:

TL    Volume per Capacity
---  -------------------------
 5    1 kL per 1 kL capacity
 7    750 L per 1 kL capacity
 9    500 L per 1 kL capacity
11    375 L per 1 kL capacity
13    250 L per 1 kL capacity
15    125 L per 1 kL capacity

Example: At TL5, a 125-litre tank contains 125 litres of smoke fluid. At TL15, a similarly-sized tank contains 1000 litres of smoke fluid under high pressure (800%).

Tanks can be any size desired, with a minimum of 10 litres. Every litre of fluid in the tank provides 100 cubic metres' worth of smoke and weighs 1 kilogram. Thus, the volume of smoke produced by a full tank is found by multiplying the capacity by 100.

There are several varieties of smoke fluid designed to work with the smoke generator:

TL    Fluid                             Cost per kL
---  ---------------------------------  -----------
 5    White Smoke                              500
 5    Coloured Smoke (Red, Green, Blue)      1,250
 7    Infrared-Obscuring Smoke               2,500
 8    Millimetre-Wave Obscuring Smoke        5,000
11    Neutrino-Resistant Smoke               8,000
15    Neural-Resistant Smoke                12,500

A single tank can only carry a single type of fluid at a time; otherwise the chemicals intermix and produce a black smoke that dissipates within several seconds.

Smoke will disperse at a rate of double its volume every five minutes. Assuming stagnant wind conditions, it will take approximately sixty minutes before the smoke is too diffuse to affect detection.

White Smoke

White smoke is extremely thick; just one cubic metre of the smoke is entirely opaque. This renders white smoke mostly impenetrable by lasers. However, its primary function is to obscure the movements of troops on the ground, protecting them from snipers or opportunity fire.

Coloured Smoke

Coloured smoke is only rarely used in a smoke generator, being primarily used in smoke grenades, smoke grenade launchers, and the like. Commanders may be able to devise uses for the smoke generator, however, and it sees use for skywriting. It is otherwise similar to white smoke.

Infrared-Obscuring Smoke

Infrared-obscuring smoke is dark grey in colour and in addition to obscuring sight and cohesive beams like ordinary white smoke, it also completely blocks heat signatures through the smoke, preventing the use of IR sensors and LIDAR. The smoke itself also takes on the same ambient temperature as the background and produces no visible "hole" in the heat of the surrounding terrain.

Millimetre-Wave Obscuring Smoke

Millimetre-wave obscuring smoke provides a light grey cloud which in addition to completely inhibiting infrared and visual detection also acts as a radio jammer for anything inside the smoke or behind the smoke relative to the receiver. It also completely prevents radar/all-weather radar from detecting targets within or through the cloud, and completely prevents the use of densitometers, magnetic sensors, and microwave-based sensors. Neutrino sensors, radiation sensors, and neural sensors are not inhibited by MMW-obscuring smoke.

Neutrino-Resistant Smoke

Neutrino-resistant smoke, in addition to providing all of the benefits of millimetre-wave obscuring smoke, also absorbs radiation emissions from a fission or fusion reactor, reducing the range of neutrino or radiation sensors by three categories before it attempts to pass through the smoke (e.g, a V. Distant sensor drops to Long). Neutrino-resistant smoke cannot absorb all neutrinos emitted, but is better than nothing when laid in front of a column of your vehicles.

Neural-Resistant Smoke

In addition to its neutrino-inhibiting qualities, neural-resistant smoke provides a barrier against psionic signals which reduces the effective range of a neural sensor by three range categories (e.g., a Regional neural sensor drops to V. Long). It also completely inhibits psionic abilities—any such ability cannot affect anything in or behind the cloud, and a psion cannot use psionic abilities when within the cloud. Neural-resistant smoke has no other ill effects on personnel inside the field, though exposure to a full-strength cloud over several days will result in headaches, even in non-psions.

Such a prolonged exposure situation should never come up. However, if it does, then after 2d6+22 hours, the person develops a splitting migraine (in half of that time, the person experiences a slight headache which gradually builds). Treat the migraine as temporary characteristic damage of 1d6 points to Edu or Int (player's choice), which occurs only once regardless of how long the exposure lasts. Neither attribute may be reduced to zero as a result of this effect. The migraine recovers naturally at a point of 1 point per hour when the person is no longer exposed to the cloud. A person forced to endure the neural-resistant smoke at normal concentration for several weeks would be very, very, very grumpy but would otherwise suffer no lasting effects.

It is specifically not possible to concentrate NRS deliberately as a weaponised agent. A deliberately concentrated dose of NRS would simply cause headaches in less time (divide the time to a migraine by the square root of the concentration if this ever comes up).

Miscellaneous

TL    Optional component                Pwr      Wt       Vol     Cost
---  -------------------------------  -------  -------  -------  ------------
 6    Minesweeping Plough               --       2.0      4.0         25,000
 7    Minesweeping Combine              2.5      4.0     10.0         75,000
 8    Minesweeping Chain Rig            2.7      3.0      9.0        150,000

• Pwr is in megawatts (MW); 0.001 MW is equal to one kilowatt (kW)
• Wt is in tonnes (t); 0.001 t is equal to one kilogram (kg).
• Vol is in kilolitres (kL); 0.001 kL is equal to 1 litre (L). 1 kL is exactly equivalent in dimension to 1 cubic metre (m³).
• Cost is in credits (Cr).

Minesweeping Plough

Minesweeping ploughs are "cowcatcher"-like constructions with dozens of steel teeth attached to a solid steel plate which is affixed to the front of a minesweeping vehicle. To begin sweeping landmines, the vehicle lowers this plough, reducing its effective movement rate to 50% of its off-road speed in soft soil and 25% of its off-road speed in hard soil due to the added terrain friction.

When the vehicle drives its lowered plough directly into a mine, the mine detonates harmlessly (causing damage to anyone else stupid enough to be in the mine's Danger Space, however). However, on a roll of 2 on 2d6, the minesweeping vehicle fails to plough the mine and drives onto the mine before it detonates. The mine explodes normally against the vehicle, potentially destroying the minesweeper.

Minesweeping Combine

A minesweeping combine is a powerful rotary system with gigantic steel blades which chew up the terrain. It is considerably larger and heavier than a plough. Like a plough, when the combine is lowered and activated it reduces speed to 50% while ploughing soft terrain and 25% while ploughing hard terrain. The advantage is that a combine is considerably safer to the minesweeper. On a 2- result on 2d6, instead of the plough failing to detonate a mine, the plough successfully detonates the mine a little too close to the vehicle. This causes just 10% of the mine's damage directly to the vehicle (considered a very low penetration result regardless of the mine's typical penetration). If the landmine is an antimatter mine or some other form of extremely explosive device with a danger space greater than or equal to 45, full damage is scored instead.

Minesweeping Chain Rig

A minesweeping chain rig is a lighter, faster variant of the minesweeping combine that is constructed out of a rotating cylinder with long metal chains attached. It chews up the terrain like a combine but allows the vehicle to operate at 75% speed while in soft terrain and 50% speed while in hard terrain because the chains do not need to dig as deep as the blades to set off the mines. It is otherwise similar to the combine.

Custom Minesweepers

The figures given in the Defences table are the minimum sizes of minesweeping components. These allow the vehicle to cut a swath 3 metres wide (enough to clear two squares' horizontal distance at the 1.5 metre scale). A minesweeper of any size may be selected, subject to the limits of vehicle size.

Ploughs 

Ploughs are 500 kilograms (1/2 tonne) per kilolitre, and must be a minimum of 4 kL. They do not require power.

Combines 

Combines are 400 kilograms (2/5 tonne) per kilolitre, and must be a minimum of 10 kL. They require 0.25 mW per kilolitre.

Chain Rigs 

Chain rigs are 333.33 kilograms (1/3 tonne) per kilolitre, and must be a minimum of 9 kL. They require 0.30 mW per kilolitre.

Every 100% increase in size from the minimum size allows an additional 1.5 metres of clearing width. The 50% width increase per 100% size increase assumes that the other 50% is spent on the mechanism and structural reinforcement of the minesweeping component, allowing it to retain its shape across its full width in spite of the width of the vehicle it is attached to.

Advanced Minesweeping

At tech levels beyond TL8, minesweeping usually amounts to remotely detecting the mines with sensors and firing at the mines with focused electromagnetic discharges or conventional weapons. This guarantees no possibility for collateral damage.