So the Mordel site is being a bit jank. So I'm copying fluff over here in case it decides to delete my configurations
=============================================================================================== Overview: A: First posting. Partially learning the system to post. May edit this one into the prime depending on how the site deals with omni units. Also figuring out how ammo is supposed to be added. B: Base chassis for the main production run of Bolos. Capabilities: The Bolo, named after the fictional super tanks crested by Keith Laumar, was initially conceived on the observation that you could transport 3 light units of upto 50 tons each for every mech that could be transported. Picking firepower and armor from the holy trinity of unit design the Bolo ended up with 20 tons of pod space in interchangeable turrets and 12 tons of ferro fibrous armor. (Which just happened to exactly match the maximum armor limits for vehicles introduced with total warfare. Fortuitious.) Deployment: In practice, the vulnerability of tanks to motive and critical damage negated much of the potential for offensive operations. The relatively cheap price tag however did lend itself to a unit that can be used to fill defensive depth, giving close coverage to vulnerable locales. Variants: The 20 ton omni turret concept spawned entirely too many configurations, a number of them more because they could rather then they actually gave tactical advantage. There was also a phase where nearly every motive system received its own chassis to mount the turrets. Which you know is getting ridiculous when there is a submarine variant. Even mechs were designed around 20 ton omni load outs. And to be fair future designs will no doubt pay attention to the idea, if only because it gives experienced commanders a short cut in knowing what capabilities are at their disposal. Past silliness aside. The Bolo is being phased out for more modern and expensive mark III and III-c variants which offer greater battlefield survivability at the cost of greater expense. Old Bolos meanwhile are being refurbished into "Dragon's Teeth" drone platforms where they aren't simply being recycled.
Bolo fluff
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- Last Post 02 May 2024
Overview: The Bolo Prime. Despite a plethora of other variants to pick from, this one gets picked the most. It's almost as if throwing a bunch of hypersonic rocks tends to make problems go away. Capabilities: It's a gauss rifle. Above average punch going out to above average range. 3 tons of ammo gives above average duration of fire, or let's you take pot shots. Twin ER medium lasers give just a touch of backup firepower out to medium ranges. Deployment: This configuration is perfectly happy finding some nice cover and laying down fire. Admittedly most configuration feel the same way. The only question is how close is the cover to the enemy, and how hard is the cover they can hide behind. Variants: Sub configurations are not commonly seen. The most common change may be to replace a ton of ammo with electronics be it a c3 slave or TAG. Notable MechWarriors: A recent action saw a company of Bolo III Primes supported by a company of mechanized Tsunami mrk II battle armor face down a company of modern heavy mechs. In a reversal from the norm it was the infantry who got stuck in, triggering the Tanks rescue reflex. They were too slow to save the infantry, but did handily shatter the surviving mechs with massed fire. They Suffered minimal casualties and only a single lost tank in the mopping up.
Wonder if Stolen Thunder ever comes around. Him and his massive fleet of I think battleships he called his hyper sonic crowbar. Was reminded of that when writing this fluff.
How much does it weight?
Bolo's are 50 ton vehicles. 3/5 2 ton turret, 20 tons of omni space. Lots of armor. By happy coincidence when they added limits to how much armor a vehicle could have in total warfare, the bolo was exactly on that line.
They were my flagship design for quite awhile. Though use has fallen off greatly. Vehicles are just too vulnerable.
Still they can get the job done if they're able to be deployed against mechs at the 3 to 1 ratio they were intended to take advantage of strategically.
I did something similar at 48 tons, 3/5 and a 1.5 tons turret (not an OmniTank) and "lots" of armor (as much as I can with an ICE).
Ok, but Why 48 tons?
Good question.
I wanted something under the 55 tons so it could be transported in Light Vehicle Bays unlike the Tiger. And since I was making a competitor for this tank, I went for the name Panther and tried to stick with the weight of the German tank.
I have also tried to make the T-34 and the Centurion but only the first one would have a not classical weight.
https://store.catalystgamelabs.com/products/battletech-experimental-technical-readout-1945-pdf
Good odds there are already official versions of some of those units.
T34 was there but I wanted to make them more efficient and not Support Vehicle.
Battletech fluff issue. Stuff in the future is supposed to be tougher then what we had then.