Taking Cover from Bombs and Artillery

Characters caught in the open during an artillery or bomb attack are particularly vulnerable to injury or death.Going prone on the ground should be treated as having hard cover and it will cut the damage/effects of explosive, stun/sonic, and tangler attacks by 75 percent unless the attacker has rolled an automatic hit. Prone characters in the secondary blast radius receive no damage.

Going prone does not protect against gas attacks, but it will mitigate the effects of foam bombs, electrical discharge, field crusher and incendiary warheads. If caught within the immediate blast radius, treat a prone character as being in the secondary blast radius (unless the enemy has rolled an automatic hit). Prone characters in the secondary blast radius receive no damage.

Characters in unarmored vehicles are subject to damage from artillery, bomb and missile attacks. Those in armored vehicles, such as tanks, may have partial or even full protection from damage until any defenses are breached.

Energy screens can protect or reduce the damage done to characters, vehicles and structures.

Artillery Rules

Star Frontiers never provided much in the ways of artillery rules (the only exception was the Sathar automatic cannon that was featured in the “Starspawn of Volturnus” module.

The “Tanks a Lot!” article offered cannons and a howitzer, it never tackled the concepts of indirect fire, time on target(coordinating the fire from many weapons so the rounds land at the same time), or even an abstract idea of how long it takes an artillery shell to travel from its firing location to a distant target. What follows are some suggested house rules providing an Artillery weapons skill, direct fire versus indirect fire, spotters, Time on Target, and counter battery rules.

New Skill: Artillery

Most characters will not be able to use artillery weapons without the specialized Weapons: Artillery skill. An artillerist can fire a weapon directly at a target if he can see it. If he is firing the weapon at a target he cannot see, the artillerist uses indirect fire and will usually need a forward observer of some sort – a character or robot – or will be relying on other remote sensor information or calculating a to-hit roll based upon a known distance. Otherwise, firing such a weapon blindly is almost guaranteed to miss.

Weapons: Artillery

Type: Military PSA/Enforcer

Success Rate: ½ LOG + 10% per level

PR: Alpha Dawn: None; Zebulon: Mathematics 2

A military specialist with this skill is capable of firing artillery-like weapons, maintaining such equipment and acting as an artillery observer. Unlike most weapons skills, it is based ona character’s Logic (LOG) score rather than Dexterity or Strength. Outside of a few specialized planetary militia units and the UPF Landfleet, this skill is uncommon. This character can also use grenade mortars and grenade rifles.

Even if the first few shots miss a target, each turn that a forward observer provides information, the artillerist can add +5% to his success rate to a maximum of +20% bonus.

Direct Fire

As with the use of lasers, gyrojet, projectile and sprayer weapons, an artillerist who has a line-of-sight to his target can fire directly at it. To direct fire a weapon accurately, it  should have a sighting device and the firer needs an unobstructed view of the target.

If there is intervening terrain, buildings, or other units in the way, the attacker cannot use direct fire.

Opponents are easily able to fire back at an artillery unit that utilizes a direct fire attacks.[1]

Heavy Weapon Modifier. Remember attackers using artillery have a -10 percent penalty when firing.

Indirect Fire

Indirect fire is the preferred way that artillery units operate. Targets are out of the line-of-sight of the enemy and munitions are fired on a ballistic trajectory. Shots are normally directed by a forward observer. Artillery can than shoot over obstacles and friendly units while being concealed from direct fire attacks.

However, artillery units are vulnerable to enemy artillery counter-battery fire.[2]

Game use. In addition to the -10 percent modifier for heavy weapons, the artillerist receives an initial -10 percent penalty for using indirect fire. Each turn that a forward observer provides information, the artillerist can add +5% to his success rate to a maximum of +20% bonus. (This adjustment of fire is called “registering.”)

Illustration source: Source: http://www.gutenberg-e.org/mas01/mas12.html

Spotters

A forward observer is critical when it comes to directing indirect artillery fire. This observer can be airborne, a satellite, a robot, a remote sensing device, a drone, or a person. The spotter’s job is to provide real-time information to artillery units so they can hit their targets.

Remote sensors can also act as spotters. For example, a seismic sensor post could detect enemy troop movements and opposing artillery fire and can be used to triangulate on an area. In game use, characters using such a remote system to target artillery fire receive an initial -15 percent penalty modifier.

Time on Target

It was long discovered during the ancient wars of the Humans, Yazarians and Vrusk that most casualties in an artillery bombardment occur within the first few seconds when troops are in the open. Once the initial rounds hit, soldiers go prone on the ground or take cover. This dramatically reduces deaths and injuries due to shrapnel or high-explosive blasts.

As a result, artillery units learned how to fire their weapons in an order so that all their shells would hit a target at the same time and inflict the most damage possible. [1]

Large cannons as well as howitzers are capable of using time on target attacks, firing multiple shots at different elevations, speeds and timing so they will arrive at the target area at aboutthe same time.

Large cannons can fire up to three TOT shots, howitzers can fire five TOT shots, and railguns can fire up to six such shots.

A player must declare that they are using a TOT attack, up to how many shots they are firing in this manner, and write down the locations on the map that the shells are aimed at. The shells will all arrive on the same turn after the last one is fired.

TOT Usage. Large cannons have a rate of fire of one shell every two turns (1/2). It will take 6 turns for a large cannon to fire three shots for a TOT attack.

A howitzer has a ROF of one-fourth (1/4) so it will take 20 turns for it to fire its last shell in a TOT attack. A railgun has a ROF of one per turn so it will take 6 turns for it to fire its last round in a TOT attack.

How long before an artillery shell hits? A number of factors come into play in the modern world to determine how long it takes for anartillery shell to reach its target from the gun that fired it. Such factors include gun speed, the angle and gravity.

For game purposes, assume that all artillery shells hit a target that it takes 1 second for an artillery shell to travel 1 kilometer. So, if the target is 6 kilometersor less from the gun, it will be hit the same turn the round was fired unless the artillery unit is using a Time on Target attack. For every 6,000 meters of distance the target is away from the gun, add a turn before the shell hits.[2]

Enemy units with radar or other scanners can detect incoming artillery rounds, which will allow them to sound an alarm so soldiers can take cover, turn on inertia screens and activate anti-missile or anti-artillery lasers. (Note, sound travels 1,988 meters per game turn, so an artillery unit can be heard firing up to two kilometers away during the same turn.) Any ready counter-batteries may then fire in retaliation even before the first artillery shells in a TOT attack hit their targets. 

Counter-Battery Fire

When an artillery unit fires, not only will it make a tremendous sound (assuming it is used on a planet with an atmosphere), which will provide a warning to any nearby opponents, but its shells are visible on radar. For each round fired by an artillery unit, it gives the enemy a vague idea where the shots are coming from, permitting them to fire back at that location. Basically, a counter-battery radar would act as a forward observer.

Game use. Use the indirect fire rules. For each round fired by an enemy artillery unit, the counter-battery receives a +5% bonus to zero in on the attacker’s location.

The only way to avoid counter-battery fire is to relocate an artillery piece between shots. Otherwise,  stationary artillery units are dead artillery units.[1]

Anti-Aircraft Mode

Artillery weapons – cannons, howitzers and railguns – can be used in an anti-aircraft mode. To do this, they must be mounted in a manner that allows them to shoot upwards, such as a universal turret. 

They will fire standard or high explosive shells with proximity fuses. Most other specialized munitions are not useful against aircraft, though one could imagine the nasty effects a tangler explosive may have against an aircar’s engines. 

These guns have an additional -15 percent to hit a flying aircraft, however. A “near miss” – within a roll of “5” from the to-hit number, means that the enemy aircraft was in the secondary blast area and will take damage that way. Need to add more info. Railguns versus assault shuttles and landing ships?

Cannons have a single, long barrel and fire single shells at high rates of speed. The impact of the shell is impressive. On smaller vehicles, cannons tend to “rock” the vehicle backward when fired. They are often fired as indirect weapons, but can also be fired directly at a target. If the cannon is too close, it can get damaged or destroyed by its own shell. These weapons can also be fired at aerial targets, but often that requires changing to a different type of ammunition.

The precursor to portable gauss rifles, the railgun is an artillery weapon that has beam technology characteristics. It uses an electromagnetic launch system instead of gunpowder or a propellant to fire an armor-piercing projectile up to Mach 10. It delivers its munitions with a range and destructive force that far exceeds conventional weapons. Generally this weapon is unavailable except for well-equipped planetary militias, the UPF Landfleet or the richest mega-corporations.

“As you arrive at the left flank, the Mechanon forces are about to be heavily attacked all along the line. A strange new Sathar automatic cannon is wreaking horrible damage among the Mechanons. This gun must be destroyed, or the Kurabanda air troops will never be able to join the battle; the cannon would massacre them in the air.”

--Starspawn of Volturnus

Nicknamed the “King of Battle” artillery has often played a decisive factor in war through the centuries.

From ancient times, siege engines such as the ballista (basically a large, Roman crossbow), catapults and trebuchets were used to smash the gates and walls of cities and other fortifications. Defenders could similarly use these weapons to repel attackers.

With the advent of gunpowder, cannons came into use by the 13th century. Yet, they were often inaccurate and even dangerous to the gun crews.

In the Star Frontiers setting, some of the artillery weapons that were presented include the sathar automatic cannon from the Volturnus. The “Tanks a Lot!” story by Alex Curylo in issue 99 of Dragon Magazine offered additional cannons and a howitzer. Larry Moore had updated the vehicle combat rules in issue 15 of Star Frontiersman magazine and introduced a few other weapons.

These rules never tackled the concepts of indirect fire, time on target (coordinating the fire from many weapons so the rounds land at the same time), or even an abstract idea of how long it takes an artillery shell to travel from its firing location to a distant target. What follows are some suggested rules including introducing the Artillery weapons skill, using spotters, along with how to handle counter battery and anti-aircraft missions.

New Skill: Artillery

Most characters will not be able to use artillery weapons without the specialized Weapons: Artillery skill. An artillerist can fire a weapon directly at a target if he can see it. If he is firing the weapon at a target he cannot see, the artillerist uses indirect fire and will usually need a forward observer (i.e. spotter). The spotter could be a player character, a robot or drone, an aircraft, radar information or some other remote sensors.

The artillery crew could even be shooting from a set location to a known target area with a pre-calculated distance. Otherwise, firing such a weapon blindly is almost guaranteed to miss.

Note: The story “Tanks again!” in the November 1985 issue of Dragon magazine had a different way of handling the use of artillery weapons. According to writer Curylo, “Cannons and howitzers use Projectile Weapons skill; if either is used as an indirect fire weapon, use the new Military skill of Indirect Fire. (This skill could also be used to fire mortars, rifle grenades, and other indirect-firing weapons.)”

The “Tanks again!” story also provided information on direct versus indirect fire by saying: “The ranges given on the charts for cannons and howitzers are both for indirect fire. Both weapons can also be used in the direct-fire role; a cannon has the range of a vehicle rocket launcher, and a howitzer has the range of a vehicle recoilless rifle.”

Weapons: Artillery

Type: Military PSA/Enforcer

Success Rate: ½ LOG + 10% per level

Prerequisite Skills: Alpha Dawn: None; Zebulon: Mathematics 1.

A military specialist with this skill is capable of firing artillery-like weapons including mortars, cannons, howitzers, field guns, artillery rockets and the like. This character has the know-how to maintain such equipment, handle ammunition, and can act as a forward observer. The character can also use recoilless rifles, grenade mortars and grenade rifles. Outside of a few specialized planetary militia units, the UPF Landfleet or a mercenary outfit, this skill is uncommon.

Unlike most weapons skills that are based on a character’s Dexterity or Strength scores, artillery uses the Logic (LOG) score. Even if the first few shots miss a target, each turn that a forward observer provides information, the artillerist can add +5 percent to his success rate to a maximum of +20 percent bonus.

Heavy Weapon Modifier. Remember attackers using artillery weapons have a -10 percent penalty when shooting.

Direct Fire

As with the use of lasers, gyrojet, projectile and sprayer weapons, an artillerist who has a line-of-sight to his target can fire directly at it. To direct fire a weapon accurately, it should have a sighting device and the firer needs an unobstructed view of the target.

Opponents are easily able to fire back at an artillery unit that utilizes a direct fire attacks. If there is intervening terrain, buildings, or other units in the way, the attacker must use indirect fire.

Indirect Fire

Indirect fire is the preferred way that artillery units operate. Targets are out of the line-of-sight of the enemy and munitions are fired on a ballistic trajectory. Shots are normally directed by a forward observer. Artillery can than shoot over obstacles and friendly units while being concealed from direct fire attacks.

However, artillery units are vulnerable to enemy artillery counter-battery fire.

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Game use. In addition to the -10 percent modifier for heavy weapons, the artillerist receives an initial -10 percent penalty for using indirect fire. Each turn that a spotter/forward observer provides information, the artillerist can add +5 percent to his success rate to a maximum of +20 percent bonus. This adjustment of fire is called registering.

Spotters

A forward observer is critical when it comes to directing indirect artillery fire. This observer can be an aircraft, a satellite, a robot, a remote sensing device, a drone, or a person. The spotter’s job is to provide real-time information to artillery units so they can hit their targets.

Remote sensors can also act as spotters. For example, a seismic sensor post could detect enemy troop movements and opposing artillery fire and can be used to triangulate on an area. In game use, characters using such a remote system to target artillery fire receive an additional -5 to -15 percent penalty modifier; the modifier varies depending upon the sophistication of the remote sensors being used.

As the spotter provides more information, the artillerist can add +5 percent to his success rate to a maximum of +20 percent bonus.

Handling Misses

When an artillery shell or mortar round misses, it will land somewhere, possibly still close to the target to cause damage or inadvertently hit something – or someone – that the attacker did not mean to destroy. In the event of a miss, use the Ranged/Dropped Weapon Miss Chart.

The asterisk represents the target and the arrow represents the direction the artillery weapon was firing from. The distance by which a shell misses is dependent upon the range.

EXAMPLE, Gil Renner fires a grenade mortar at a pirate encampment from a distance of 345 meters, which is medium range for the weapon. Renner’s shot misses. Consulting the Ranged/Dropped Weapon Miss Chart and multiply it by the number provided determine how far off target the artillery shell lands

Defenses from Artillery Attacks

Characters caught in the open during an artillery attack are particularly vulnerable to injury or death. Going prone on the ground should be treated as having hard cover and it will cut the damage/effects of explosive, stun/sonic, and tangler attacks by 75 percent unless the attacker has rolled an automatic hit. Prone characters in the secondary blast radius receive no damage.  (Or the referee could opt to roll on the Revised Blast Area Resolution Table.)

Going prone does not protect against gas attacks, but it will mitigate the effects of foam, electrical discharge, field crusher and incendiary warheads.

Blast Radius and Minimum Safe Distance

“Any time artillery is used within 600 meters of a friendly force, it qualifies as ‘Danger Close.’ This term tells the cannons that friendly units are nearby so they can be extra cautious,” according to St. John’s University ROTC Department of Military Science.

Explosive weapons in Star Frontiers have a defined blast radius for game purposes. For example, most grenades have an immediate blast radius of three meters. However, the larger warheads found in larger mortar and artillery shells may have a secondary blast area. This secondary blast area is equal to 1.5 times the radius of the immediate blast area; round any fractions up to the nearest whole number.

For example, if the immediate blast area of an explosive shell has a radius of 10 meters, the secondary blast radius extends out another 5 meters to 15 meters from the blast point.

Immediate Blast Area. Characters within the primary burst radius can take concussive damage, where they will be knocked down and stunned for 3d10 turns, but are also injured by fragments. If a shell has a “damage additive” and/or a “damage multiplier,” it is only applied to targets within the immediate blast area.

For example, the small cannon round will do 8d10 points of damage with an immediate blast radius of 4 meters. The shell’s secondary blast radius extends from 4-6 meters.

Saving throws can be made to reduce damage. Characters within an enclosed armored vehicle may be unaffected by an explosion outside of the vehicle.

Secondary Blast Area. Anyone within the secondary blast area will take moderate to light damage and can be stunned for 1d10-2d10 turns – see the “Secondary Blast Area Table.” Moderate damage is anything from 1d10+5 to 2d10 points. Light damage is 1d5 to 1d10 points.

Characters in the secondary blast area can make a Reaction Speed check to dive for cover/go prone on the ground. They may avoid damage or reduce its effects, see the Secondary Blast Area Resolution Table for effects. Disregard any blast additive or blast multiplier damage; it does not apply to targets within the secondary area.

Characters within enclosed, armored vehicles will avoid damage altogether.

Damage Additives and Damage Multipliers

Earlier editions of the “Things that go boom!” series, notably Parts 7 and 8 introduced the concepts of damage additives and damage multipliers for bombs. For example, the howitzer presented in Dragon magazine would do 75d10 points of damage. This was altered to (5d10 x 10) + 50 points in this work.

The “x 10” is the damage multiplier. So, when the howitzer – now called the “small howitzer” – hits a target, roll 5d10 and multiply the result by 10. Then add 50 points to the result. The “+50” is a damage additive and is only applied to targets within the primary blast area. The amount of damage from the howitzer would range from 100-550 stamina or structure points.

Vehicle Damage Modifier (VDM)

In Star Frontiers vehicle combat, whenever a vehicle is struck by gunfire, an exploding grenade and the like, the character rolls a 2d10 and checks the “Vehicle Damage Table.” The number of dice of damaged caused is added to the result as a modifier. Since they player is not necessarily rolling large numbers of dice, a vehicle damage modifier has been added to the descriptions of the bombs.

Structure Point Damage to Vehicles and Buildings

Stamina (STA) points are used to record wounds to characters and animals plus damage to robots and other small equipment. Structure points (SP) represent the damage sustained to various walls, doors, computers, and even vehicles. Please refer to Parts 7 and 8 of the “Things that go boom!” series in the issue 29 of Frontier Explorer magazine for a more complete discussion of these subjects.

Time on Target Attacks

It was long discovered during the ancient wars of the Humans, Yazarians and Vrusk that most casualties in an artillery bombardment occur within the first few seconds when troops are in the open. Once the initial rounds hit, soldiers go prone on the ground or take cover. This dramatically reduces deaths and injuries due to shrapnel or high-explosive blasts.

As a result, during an initial artillery barrage, units learned how to fire their weapons in an order so that all their shells would hit a target at the same time and inflict the most damage possible.

Mortars, small, medium and large cannons, howitzers and other field artillery pieces can perform TOT attacks. These units fire multiple shots at different trajectories, speeds and timing so they will arrive at the target area at about the same time.

TOT Usage

TOT attacks are normally performed by artillery units during the initial bombardment. In order to use such a strike, the target must be at least Medium Range to Extreme Range. Thus, if the target is at short range or less, the unit cannot use this assault.

Counter-Battery Fire

When an artillery unit fires, not only will it make a tremendous sound (assuming it is used on a planet with an atmosphere), which will provide a warning to any nearby opponents, but its shells are visible on radar. For each round fired by an artillery unit, it gives the enemy a vague idea where the shots are coming from, permitting them to fire back at that location. Basically, a counter-battery radar would act as a forward observer.

Game Use. Use the indirect fire rules for counter-battery fire. For each round launched by an enemy artillery unit, the counter-battery receives a +5 percent bonus to zero in on the attacker’s location.

The only way to avoid counter-battery fire is to relocate an artillery piece between shots. Otherwise, stationary artillery units may become dead artillery units.

Anti-Aircraft Use

“Even before 1914, when most people visualized military aircraft with a speed of no more than 75 mph and  ceiling of about 4,500 feet, the artillery arm was engaged in studying problems of anti-aircraft defence… for better or worse, the 75-cm field gun was adapted for anti-aircraft fire.”

--“Anti-Aircraft Artillery,” by M. Camille Rougeron, published in L’Europe Nouvelle, c. 1940

Before the development of proximity fuses by the time of World War II, artillery used timed fuses for flak guns. But often mathematical errors caused the rounds to go off too early or too late to damage aircraft. Defenders often had to shoot thousands of rounds at aircraft before achieving a hit.

Various names given to such anti-aircraft weapons over the years including ack-ack, flack or flak guns, pom-poms, or the Bofors gun, which was an automatic, double-barreled anti-aircraft weapon from the World War II era.

The United States developed proximity fuses that used a radio transmitter and receiver. It worked by transmitting radio waves and measured the time it took for those waves to bounce back; then the shell detonated at a set distance from the aircraft, sending out a cloud of lethal shrapnel.

Some WWII anti-aircraft (AA) guns could fire some 15 projectiles per minute to altitudes greater than 30,000 feet (3,962 meters). Those high-explosive shells weighed upwards of 20 pounds (about 9 kilograms). 

With the advent of surface-to-air missiles (SAM), artillery weapons were often relegated to close-in defense only.

AA Usage. In Star Frontiers, artillery weapons – cannons, howitzers and railguns – can be used to fire at aircraft especially if it is low hovering jetcopter or aircar. To shoot at higher flying aircraft, however, guns must be mounted in a manner that allows them to fire upwards, such as a universal turret. Note, the universal turret and other artillery mounts will be discussed further on in this story.

Artillery guns that can fire at aircraft will typically use standard or high explosive shells with proximity fuses. Most other specialized munitions are not useful against aircraft, though one could imagine the nasty effects a tangler explosive may have against an aircar’s engines.

AA Ceiling Height. The maximum ceiling of most artillery munitions – when fired vertically – is approximately 60 percent of the weapon’s extreme range.

Types of Artillery Weapons

Grenade mortars and the man-portable recoilless rifle (the 15 kilogram version) are found in the Alpha Dawn Expanded Game rulebook and are not covered here. Other artillery weapons include the vehicle recoilless rifle, cannons (in small, medium and large sizes), and the small howitzer. Along with standard explosive warheads, most artillery weapons have other munitions (incendiary, sonic, tangler, etc.).

Author’s note: The weights, damage and prices of some these weapons have been altered the original source material.

Vehicle Recoilless Rifle. Introduced in the “Tanks a lot!” story, this is a direct-fire projectile weapon that is similar to the version in the Star Frontiers Alpha Dawn Expanded Game Rules book, but it has a larger caliber. It can use standard explosive or electronic discharge shells.

Skill: Projectile (AD), P.G.S. Weapons (Zebs) or Artillery (AD or Zebs)

Cannons, Small, Medium and Large. These weapons have a single, long barrel. They fire single shells at high rates of speed and tend to rock small vehicles backward. They can be used as direct or indirect fire  weapons. If the target is too close to the weapon, it can get damaged or destroyed by its own shell.

Skill: Projectile (AD), P.G.S. Weapons (Zebs) or Artillery (AD or Zebs)

Howitzer, Small. This is a generic term that refers to a long range artillery weapon that is often fired in an indirect mode. In the Star Frontiers game, this weapon normally will only be encountered when used by planetary militias or large mercenary companies. The model offered in “Tanks a lot!” is the smallest model available.

Skill: Projectile (AD), P.G.S. Weapons (Zebs) or Artillery (AD or Zebs)

Weapon Hardpoints and Mounts

Note: The following rules are a revision of those provided in the “Tanks” story and Moore’s story in Star Frontiersman Magazine with a bit of Zebulon’s Guide thrown in.

A hardpoint (hp) is a reinforced weapon station on non-civilian vehicles where weapons. It is here where a weapon mounts are attached and connected to the vehicle’s electronic system. Note, in the “Tanks a lot!” story, harpoints were called “spaces” or sp. Vehicles designed for light security detail aren’t going to have as many hardpoints as those designed for more rugged military campaigns.

Having a hardpoint is not enough to install a weapon on a vehicle; weapons need a mount. Weapons’ mounts come in different sizes and shapes. They are containers into which modular weapons can be placed.

Some mounts are purely external to the vehicle while others take up some internal space. Line-of-sight mounts that require the vehicle’s pilot to line up his shot. Directional turrets are one type of mount that permit a weapon to be aimed and fired in multiple directions.

The size of the mount (small, medium, large, and extra large) affects what size of modular vehicle weapon that can be installed into it. If a weapon is removed from a mount, a like or smaller weapon can be mounted in its place. In order to install a larger weapon than the mount will allow, the mount must first be removed a replaced with a larger mount.

Cargo Limits. Some weapon mounts require cargo space in addition to hardpoints. Make sure there is enough room for ammunition payloads!

Planetary Restrictions. Some laws govern whether a vehicle can have externally mounted weapons and may require a permit. Otherwise you may have to pay the extra cost to conceal them internally.

Surface Mount.  A simple mount or standoff is fixed in place on the vehicle. It has a simple 90-degree firing arc and is very noticeable to passersby. Usually (though not always) fired by the pilot or copilot of the vehicle because vehicle facing is crucial to lining up a shot.

Surface mounts are popular because they take up hardpoints and nothing else, and are the easiest on the pocketbook. However, they are able to be targeted by a gunner with good aim.

Internal Mount. This type of mount is hidden, concealed within the body of the vehicle itself. When activated, just enough of the mount extends from the vehicle to allow the weapon to fire. This type of mount, despite the fact that it consumes a fair amount of cargo units of the vehicle, is popular among corporate and security duty vehicles because it allows it to pass as a civilian vehicle until the time is right.

Similar to a surface mount, the internal mount has only a 90-degree firing arc. Activating or deactivating the mount takes an action in a combat turn.

Open Turret. This is basically a circular hole cut into the roof of a vehicle with a 360-degree swivel gun mount, like those found on the Explorers in the “Mission to Alcazzar” module. They are not powered. The gunner stands in the vehicle, aims, and fires. Or, if the vehicle has an open flatbed or open rear compartment, this may be a simple post where the weapon is mounted. Again, the gunner needs to stand, aim and fire.

Regular Turret. This is a semi-circular mounted turret fixed to the vehicle’s surface. It can rotate 360-degrees horizontally or vertically (depending on whether it is mounted to the top or side of a vehicle) but only 90-degrees in the other direction.

Turret mounts are often operated by a gunner other than the pilot since the facing of the vehicle is far less crucial to the targeting of the shot. Turrets have internal components that allow them to rotate and move, but this consumes some of a vehicle’s internal cargo capacity. Although more expensive than the surface mounts or open turrets, regular turret mounts are popular on vehicles with more hardpoints, especially those designed for the battlefield.

Extra Large Turrets. These are generally made to hold one very large weapon (or two large weapons) and some supplemental weapons. An example of this would be the turrets found on a main battle tank. Such a turret could have a small open or regular turret on top (secondary turret) and surface mounted weapons to either side. Except for any weapons mounted in the secondary turret, all other weapons would have to fire in the same direction as the main gun, The Mount Size Table provides some examples of different weapons configurations though the referee could make other ones.

Universal Turret. This turret is similar to the regular turret, but it can elevate up from the vehicle so the gunner can aim at targets from -15 degrees up to 90 degrees. It will eliminate any minimum range penalties and allows artillery weapons to fire at high-flying aircraft.

Pop-Up Turret. Invisible until it is needed, once a pop-up turret is activated, it is able to fire in a full 360-degree arc. Also called an “internal turret,” it resides within the vehicle’s body and emerges when activated. It can be designed as either a regular or universal turret.

Gun Carriages and Accessories

Along with installing weapons in vehicles, artillery pieces and other heavy weapons can be fitted to gun carriages. Basically, a carriage is a frame that supports the weapon, allowing a gun crew to move, aim and fire it. Some gun carriages are powered – such as the Sathar automatic cannons (see Frontier Explorer issue 25 for more information).

Below are samples of some of the gun carriages that are available on the Frontier. Besides the frame, the carriage will include a gun shield that will provide the crew with hard cover from enemy fire, and a recoil mechanism. Field artillery pieces without a recoil mechanism will have to be repositioned after each shot, which could take 1d10+5 turns. A one-time mounting cost is included in the prices below.

Firing Restrictions. If more than one weapon is mounted on a gun carriage, it can only fire in the direction of the main gun.

Crew Sizes. The approximate number of people needed to operate a weapon(s) mounted on a gun carriage varies, so a range is provided. Generally, energy weapons require fewer crewmembers while projectile and missile weapons require more.

If a weapon is operated with fewer crewmembers than is optimal, the referee can assess various penalties such as reducing the initiative modifier (IM), or a to-hit penalty of -5 to -15 percent, and the rate of fire might be decreased. For example, a vehicle recoilless rifle operated by only one character can only fire once every three turns instead of once every two turns.

The use of automatic loaders and robots can considerably reduce the crew member requirements.

Small Gun Carriage. The small gun carriage can mount a 1 hardpoint worth of weapons,

Medium Gun Carriage. The medium gun carriage can mount 4 hardpoints worth of weapons.

Large Gun Carriage. The large gun carriage can mount 10 hardpoints worth of weapons.

Extra Large Gun Carriage. This weapons platform is for very large weapons and can mount up to 20 hardpoints worth of weapons.

Powered Gun Carriages. Some gun carriages can be powered, making them self-propelled vehicles in their own right. This permits the gun crew to more easily relocate and fire an artillery gun than relying on a tow vehicle/robot or a team of horses/beasts of burden.

Powered units cannot move and fire during the same turn, but can pivot 360-degrees and still fire. They can utilize wheels, treads or hover units and still can be towed by another vehicle as well. Vehicle Size 1 powered gun carriages require a Type 1 parabattery; Size 2 and 3 need a Type 2 parabattery. They can operate for 1,000 hours or for the equivalent of 1,000 kilometers.

These units have the following movement rates:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Top/Cruise Speeds: 50/25 meters/turn (m/t);

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Turn Speed: 25 m/t;

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·         <!--[endif]-->Accel./Decel.: 25/25 m/t.

The cost of a powered gun carriage is double the non-powered types while the weight is increased by 50 percent. The structure points are unaltered.

Armor and Energy Screens. Other than the gun shield, a gun carriage cannot use spray armor nor will it have any “coats of protection.” They can be outfitted with defensive energy screens.

Both Curylo’s “Tanks” story in Dragon and Moore’s “Non-civilian duty vehicles” story in Star Frontiersman provide information on defense screens. The following information more adheres to Moore’s interpretation.

“Vehicle screens work the same as character based screens with one caveat; inertia screens halve damage from flamethrowers,” noted Moore. “If a screen’s power is depleted before soaking up all the damage, for each 10 points of damage, rounded up, that make it through the screen add 1 to the roll on the vehicle damage table.

“All defensive and holo screens require emitters. The number of emitters required for each type of defense is equal 2x the vehicle’s size. A vehicle can have any number of emitters’ installed but only one screen may be active at one time.”

Shimmer Screen. This specialized power hungry screen is designed to protect a vehicle form all damage types for short periods of time. The screen shifts between albedo, gauss, inertia and sonic defenses. There is a small chance a hit penetrates the screen during the instant it shifts from one defensive type to the next; any hit roll of 01-05 ignores this shield's protective effect. Although the screen offers the very best protection in the Frontier, while it is activated no weapons can be fired out of the shield.

Holo-Screen. This vehicle version of the character based holo-screen projects a 3-dimensinal image around the vehicle. The imager can hold up to 3 images of a like-size vehicle. The imager holo-disk costs 500 credits and the images must be specified at the time of purchase. The holo image is limited to roughly the same size and shape as the vehicle. A holo-screen is only 80 percent effective; on a roll of 81-00 an onlooker will notice something is wrong.

A camouflage feedback loop can be added to the holo-screen for an additional 1,000 Cr. The camouflage loop adjusts the holo image to match nearby surroundings, giving the wearer an 80 percent chance to be "invisible" to onlookers. For an additional 2,000 credits a projection system can be installed that projects an image up to 20 meters. The image can be any size from a human to a very large tanker truck (size 6 vehicle).

Types of Artillery Munitions

Although they act similar to their smaller grenade counterparts, because artillery shells are larger, most tend to have a secondary blast area.

Standard Explosive. The standard explosive shell will cause normal damage to people, structures, robots, and vehicles.

High Explosive. High explosive shells are more designed to inflict maximum damage to “soft targets” – i.e. people, animals, light structure buildings. When used against robots, vehicles, buildings, spaceships, characters in powered armor, etc. the amount of damage inflicted is similar to a standard explosive bomb.

High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT). A shaped charge, a HEAT shell inflicts maximum damage to armored units and bunkers. It uses a proximity detonator to explode just before reaching its target; this creates a high-velocity shockwave and a jet of metal particles in a 15-degree cone that will penetrate most conventional armors.

Skeinsuit material is useless against a HEAT shell. Spray-on armor will only absorb one-tenth of the damage inflicted as will any normal vehicle armor. Inertia screens, however, will act as normal against this type of weapon.

Electrical Discharge. Releasing a high charge of electrical energy when it strikes, the electrical discharge bomb short-circuits every device in the blast radius including computers, chronocoms, and other normal electronics. The ED warhead acts as an electrostunner set to damage (5d10) for every bioform in the primary blast area; beings in the secondary blast area receive half damage. If the target is specially insulated, the damage can be negated!

The chance of disabling an electronic device is based on the amount of energy that is used. Computers, robots, mines and other electronic equipment have a resistance level to avoid shorting out. If the attacker rolls at or below the resistance number, the result will yield a malfunction. (See “Things that go boom! Part 7” in Frontier Explorer issue 29 for more information).