RE: DS II: Combat Walkers

I am unsure why they put this distinction in the rules (other than to
give a
visible distinction between infantry and combat walkers). 

Infantry walkers (size 1) seem to me to be nothing more than larger and
easier to kill Power Armor. Easier to kill, because you can use all
Heavy
weapons at normal ranges and strengths against them, while range and
chit
draw are limited against power armor.

If your group agrees (and I see no reason not to agree), expand Combat
Walkers to sizes 2-5. Most Battletech mechs fit this range.  I would
use:
 Mech Type:	Walker Size:	Example:
 Light: 	Size 3		Wasp, Locust
 Medium:	Size 4		Phoenix Hawk
 Hvy & Assault: Size 5		Warhammer, Atlas

If you want to try to convert actual Mechs, you can try:
Weapons Conversions: 
BT Weapon		  DS2 System
AC's (All Types)
AC2			  HPK/2
AC5			  HVC/3
AC10			  HVC/4
AC20			  HVC/5
ECM (any type)		  Superior ECM
ER PPC			  HEL/5
Flamer			  DFFG/1
Laser, Small		  HEL/1
Laser, Medium		  HEL/3
Laser, Large or ER Large  HEL/4
LRM (All Types)
LRM 5			  3 SLAM
LRM 10			  4 SLAM
LRM 15,20		  5 SLAM
Machine Gun		  APSW
PPC			  DFFG/5
Probe or NARC		  Superior Guidence or FCS
Pulse Laser, Small	  DFFG/1
Pulse Laser, Medium	  DFFG/3
Pulse Laser, Large	  DFFG/4
SRM (All Types)
SRM/Streak 2 or 4	  GSM/L
	SRM/Streak 6		  GSM/H
Thunder Warhead - Places a mine marker

To figure the armor, take the Center Torso Armor and divide by 5
(maximum
armor = walker size).
Give all Mechs Stealth/1 or better (if you want it to survive)
If the Mech has jump jets (and your group agrees), allow the Mech to do
a
pop-up attack like a VTOL.
Sometimes the equipment of a BT mech won't fit in the capacity of a
Combat
Walker, so choose the most often used systems.

-----
Brian Bell
bkb@beol.net
-----

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Balentine [SMTP:balentine_media@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 11:46 AM
> To:	gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
> Subject:	DS II: Combat Walkers
> 
> After purchasing some clearance rack Battletech minis,
> I set about getting them ready for an upcoming game of
> Dirtside.
> 
> While going through the rules on walkers, I noted that
> the only sizes mentioned are size 1 infantry walkers
> and size 4 or 5 combat and transport walkers.
> 
> Why not size 2 or 3? Has anyone noted unbalancing
> effects from designing combat walkers in sizes 2 and 3?
> 
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