Editing User:Doneve/Battle Armor Construction Steps

='''This! Is a step by step introduction, to design various [[battle armor]] models and variants.'''=

==Step 1: Design the Chassis==
===Choose Technology Base===
====[[Tunnel Rat]]====
[Keith] - is designing the Tunnel Rat, an industrial [[exoskeleton]] intended for mining and digging operations. He decides this battle armor design will use an Inner Sphere Technology Base.

====[[Sylph]]====
[Lou] - chooses the Clan Technology Base for his battle armor design. He decides to name his battle armor the Sylph.

====[[Purifier]]====
[Max] - wants to develop the last word in Inner Sphere stealth technology for the [[Word of Blake]]. Choosing an Inner Sphere Technology Base, he calls his battle armor the Purifier.

====[[Fenrir]]====
[Peter] - chooses an Inner Sphere Technology Base for his battle armor as well. He sees this battle armor—the Fenrir—as a fearsome mobile weapons platform.

===Choose Weight===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith] - As an exoskeleton, Keith's Tunnel Rat—in accordance with the Battle Armor Structure Weights Table—has a range of 80 to 400 kilograms to work with.

====Sylph====
[Lou] - chooses a light battle armor weight class for his Sylph, providing a weight range of 401 to 750 kilograms.

====Purifier====
[Max] - has a standard medium-weight range in mind for his Purifier. According to the Battle Armor Structure Weights Table, that means he's looking for his suit to fall anywhere from 751 kilograms to a maximum of 1,000.

====Fenrir====
[Peter] - To maximize his armor and weapon options, Peter chooses the assault weight class for his Fenrir, which offers him a weight range of 1,501 to 2,000 kilograms.

===Allocate Weight for Innternal Structure===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith's] - Tunnel Rat is an exoskeleton with an Inner Sphere Technology Base. Thus, its chassis will weigh 80 kilograms. Keith notes that the battle armor receives 1 point of internal structure to represent its pilot (the gray-shaded circle on the armor line on the record sheet). He also notes that the humanoid Tunnel Rat will have 2 weapon slots each in its Left Arm, Right Arm and Body locations. Of its potential 400 kilograms in total weight, the Rat has 320 kilos left to work with (400 kg – 80 kg = 320 kg).

====Sylph====
[Lou's] - Sylph is a light battle armor design built with a Clan Tech Base. On the Battle Armor Chassis Weights Table, Lou finds that its chassis will weigh 150 kilograms. Lou notes the battle armor's default 1 point of internal structure as the gray-shaded circle on the armor line in the record sheet, and that the humanoid design will have 2 weapon slots each in its Left Arm and Right Arm, and 4 weapon slots in its Body. The Sylph has up to 600 kg remaining of its original 750-kilogram maximum (750 kg – 150 kg = 600 kg).

====Purifier====
[Max] - chose a medium weight class for his Inner Sphere-made Purifier. Thus, its chassis will weigh 175 kilograms. After noting the single gray-shaded point of internal structure that represents its trooper on his record sheet, Max jots down the weapon slots available to his humanoid design: 3 each in the Left and Right arm locations and 4 in the Body location. Of the 1,000-kilogram maximum available to it, the Purifi er has used 175 kg, leaving 825 kilograms to work with (1,000 kg – 175 kg = 825 kg).

====Fenrir====
[Peter] - For his assault-class, Inner Sphere Fenrir battle armor, Peter chooses a quad body type, rather than a humanoid design. The chassis weight for the Fenrir, according to the Battle Armor Chassis Weights Table, will be 550 kilos, and provides the battle armor with 11 weapon slots in its Body location. Pete also notes the standard 1 gray-shaded point on the Fenrir's armor line on the record sheet, representing its controlling trooper. The Fenrir's maximum potential weight of 2,000 kilograms has 1,450 kilos left to spend (2,000 kg – 550 kg = 1,450 kg).

==Step 2: Install Motive Systems==
===Determine Ground Movement===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith] - As a humanoid battle armor design, Keith's Tunnel Rat exoskeleton has 1 free Ground MP and a maximum of 3 Ground MP per the Battle Armor Ground MP Table. Keith decides that his battle armor doesn't require any more speed, and spends no additional weight on more Ground MP.

====Sylph====
[Lou's] - Sylph has 1 free Ground MP as a humanoid design. Because he intends to incorporate a more potent alternative motive system, Lou decides that 1 Ground MP is enough for his purposes, and spends no additional weight on Ground MP.

====Purifier====
[Max] - For his Purifier, Max also decides the 1 MP of Ground movement is sufficient, and so  invests no additional weight in more Ground MP.

====Fenrir====
[Peter's] - Fenrir has 2 free MP of Ground movement, according to the Battle Armor Ground MP Table. The battle armor has a maximum limit of 4 Ground MP. Despite the 160-kilogram cost per extra MP, Pete decides to go for it, investing a full 320 kilograms into maxing out its mobility. The Fenrir will have 1,130 kg remaining after this (1,450 kg – 320 = 1,130 kg).

===Determine Non-Ground Movement===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith] - Even though it is a humanoid design, and so may be equipped with non-Ground MP systems, Keith decides that jump jets would be totally inappropriate for his subterranean Tunnel Rat, and its Inner Sphere Tech Base makes it incompatible with [[VTOL]] or [[UMU]] technologies (which he feels would also be inappropriate anyway).

====Sylph====
[Lou] - has decided that his Sylph will take advantage of its Clan Technology Base and humanoid design to make use of the VTOL systems. As light battle armor, the Sylph can attain a maximum of 6 VTOL MP, at a cost of 40 kilograms per MP. Lou settles on 5 VTOL MP, however, hoping to save some weight for armor and other systems. He spends 200 kilograms on VTOL equipment for his battle armor (5 VTOL MPs x 40 kg per VTOL MP = 200 kg). This leaves the Sylph with up to 400 kg left to spend for its weight class.

====Purifier====
[Max] - As an Inner Sphere battle armor of humanoid design, Max's Purifier may only employ Jumping MP as a non-Ground MP option. Because his medium battle armor has only 1 Ground MP, he decides to install [[jump jet]]s, to attain the maximum of 3 Jumping MP. The weight for such jets is 50 kilograms per MP, and so Max has to spend 150 kilos (3 Jumping MP x 50 kg per Jumping MP = 150 kg) for this capability. This leaves the Purifier with up to 675 kg of unspent weight (825 kg – 150 kg = 675 kg).

====Fenrir====
[Peter] - Because Peter's Fenrir is a quad design, it may not mount non-Ground MP systems.

===Special Physical Enhancements ([[Jump Booster]], and [[Partial Wing]])===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith] - Because his Tunnel Rat has no Jumping MP, Keith may not mount any of the Jumping MP enhancements available to it as an Inner Sphere battle armor. 

====Sylph====
[Lou's] - Sylph does not have jump jets and so cannot use the jump booster, and its Clan Tech Base means it may not install a partial wing even if it did carry jump jets. 

====Purifier====
[Max] - As Inner Sphere battle armor with jump jets, Max's Purifi er may use either the jump booster or the partial wing, and attain a Jumping MP of 4 into the bargain. He decides not to employ enhancements at this time, saving the weight for other components.

====Fenrir====
[Peter] - Because Peter's Fenrir battle armor uses an Inner Sphere Tech Base and is a quadruped design, it cannot have non-Ground MP and is incompatible with both of the Jumping MP enhancements. Pete proceeds to the next step.

==Step 3: Add Manipulators==
===Determining Anti-'Mech and Mechanized Battle Armor Capabilities===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith] - Believing that his Tunnel Rat industrial exoskeleton can best benefit from maximizing its flexibility, Keith decides to equip the design with modular equipment adaptors, and places one in each arm. The adaptors weigh 10 kilograms and occupy 2 weapon slots each, leaving the Rat with 300 kilograms (320 kg – [2 Modular Equipment Adaptors x 10 kg per adaptor] = 300 kg) and no weapon slots in the arms (2 slots per arm – 2 slots per Modular Equipment Adaptor = 0 slots per arm).
Keith also decides to install a default configuration for these modular adaptors; he places a [[Basic Manipulator]] in the exoskeleton's left-arm adaptor and an [[Industrial Drill]] on the right. These manipulators weigh 30 kilograms in total (0 kg for the basic manipulator + 30 kg for the drill), leaving the default Tunnel Rat conﬁguration with 270 unspent kilograms.
Checking the Battle Armor Capabilities Table, Keith notes that his Tunnel Rat—as an exoskeleton that lacks the minimum manipulator requirements—may not engage in anti-'Mech attacks or mechanized battle armor actions in either its base or its default industrial drill conﬁgurations. If, however, he were to swap the right-arm industrial drill with another basic manipulator, his battle armor would meet the qualiﬁ cations for these capabilities.

====Sylph====
[Lou] - decides that his humanoid Sylph battle armor will use a single standard battle claw, which he places on the battle armor's left arm. This claw occupies no weapon slots and weighs 15 kilograms. Deciding to place no manipulator in the right arm, Lou calculates that his Sylph has up to 385 unspent kilograms remaining (400 kg – 15 kg = 385 kg).
As light humanoid battle armor with a battle claw, Lou ﬁnds that his Sylph qualiﬁes for anti-'Mech and mechanized battle armor capabilities.

====Purifier====
[Max] - also wants to give his Purifier battle armor anti-'Mech and mechanized battle armor capabilities, so he also installs a single battle claw on the design, placing his claw on the right arm. At the same cost in weight—15 kilograms—the Purifier will have 660 unspent kilograms remaining (675 kg – 15 kg = 660 kg). As the medium-weight humanoid Purifier meets the minimum manipulator requirements for the desired actions, Max is content to move on to the next step.

====Fenrir====
[Peter] - Because Peter's Fenrir battle armor is a quad design, it may not mount manipulators, and also may not engage in anti-'Mech attacks or deploy using mechanized battle armor rules.

==Step 4: Add Armor==
===Battle Armor===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith] - decides to provide his Tunnel Rat with some armor protection. As an exoskeleton, the battle armor may carry a maximum of 2 armor points. Because he is not expecting combat, however, Keith decides on a minimal amount of armor, and so chooses a single point of standard  armor. With a weight of 50 kilograms per point, and no slot space requirement, Keith finds that his Rat has 250 unused kilograms left without manipulators (300 kg – 50 kg = 250 kg) or 220 kilograms, for the industrial drill configuration (270 – 50 = 220).

====Sylph====
[Lou] - As a light battle armor design, Lou's Sylph can mount up to 6 points of armor, according to the Maximum Armor Levels shown on the Battle Armor Protection Table. Deciding on standard Clan armor, he elects to install 5 points on his design for 125 kilograms (5 points x 25 kg per point [Standard Armor, Clan] = 125 kg). The Sylph now has up to 260 kilos of unspent weight remaining (385 kg – 125 kg = 260 kg).

====Purifier====
[Max] - plans his for Purifier to epitomize stealth and looks to the last word in Inner Sphere stealth technology for his battle armor: mimetic armor. As medium battle armor, the Purifier may mount up to 10 points of armor, but as doing so would cost 500 kilograms (10 points x 50 kg per point of mimetic armor), Max decides on a more modest 6 points of protection, which costs him 300 kilograms. This leaves the Purifier with 360 kilograms of unspent weight (660 kg – 300 = 360 kg).
Because mimetic armor also takes up 7 weapon slots—which can be distributed throughout the design—Max must allocate slots accordingly. He decides to allocate 4 slots to the Puriﬁer's Body location and 3 to its Right Arm, leaving the 3 Left Arm slots open for additional equipment.
Meanwhile, he also notes that the Purifier's mimetic armor has a special ability of "Movement Modifiers (+3/+2/+1/0)." This means that when the Puriﬁer stands still, it imposes a +3 to-hit modiﬁ er on weapon attacks against it, a +2 modiﬁ er if the battle armor moves 1 MP per turn, +1 if it moves 2 MP and no modiﬁ er if it moves 3 or more MP.

==Step 5: Add Weapons, Ammunition and other Equipment==
===Battle Armor Weapons, Ammunition and Equipment===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith] - Deciding that his Tunnel Rat is sufficiently completed, Keith chooses to add no more equipment to the design, leaving 220 unallocated kilograms remaining on the industrial exoskeleton—which may be subsequently used by alternative manipulator configurations, such as high-capacity cargo lifters. 

====Sylph====
[Lou's] - Sylph is intended for combat, and with its VTOL motive capability would find the [[Bomb Rack]]—a uniquely Clan one-shot weapon system—ideal. The bomb rack weighs 100 kilograms and occupies 2 weapon slots, which Lou allocates to the Sylph's Body location. For a Primary weapon, Lou decides the Sylph will mount a [[Micro Pulse Laser]], which occupies 160 kilograms and 1 weapon slot. This item he places in the battle armor's Right Arm location. With a total of 260 kilos spent on weaponry, Lou finds that he reached the maximum weight of light battle armor.

====Purifier====
[Max's] - Purifier has 360 kilograms remaining, and only 3 weapon slots on its left arm in which to place equipment. To improve the battle armor's flexibility, he decides to place a [[Modular Weapon Mount]] in the arm, at a cost of 10 kilograms and 1 slot. This will allow the battle armor to carry any non-missile weapon desired in that location, so long as its weight—including ammunition—does not exceed 350 kilograms and its size does not exceed 2 slots (the remaining slots in that location).
As a Primary conﬁ guration for this modular mount, Max decides the Puriﬁ er will carry an [[ER Small Laser]]. On the Inner Sphere lists, this weapon weighs 350 kilograms and occupies 2 weapon slots—which perfectly ﬁ ts the remaining space and weight he had available to his battle armor.

====Fenrir====
[Peter] - has 880 kilograms to spend on weapons, and 11 weapon slots in the Body location to place them. He decides to start by making the Fenrir's armament modular, choosing the configurable turret mount for his design. As the configurable turret requires a certain pre-determined size for its mount—to determine its weight and slot capacity—Pete selects a 3-slot capacity for the mount, meaning the entire turret mount will weigh 80 kilograms and occupy 5 slots (3-slot capacity + 2 for the turret mechanism = 5). 
In the turret—and also ﬁxed to the Fenrir's body—Peter can install 800 kilograms' worth of weaponry that can occupy a grand total of 9 slots (3 in the Conﬁ gurable Turret + 6 in the Body). Per the Weapon Limits Table, Peter can install up to 4 anti-personnel and 4 anti-BattleMech weapons in all this space. He decides at this point that the base conﬁguration for his Fenrir is complete.
For one configuration, Peter decides to place an [[SRM-4]] launcher in the conﬁ gurable turret mount. The SRM weighs 240 kilograms and occupies 2 slots on its own, leaving 1 slot open in the turret for ammunition.  Peter decides to give the SRM the maximum ammunition load of 4 shots, which takes up the remaining turret weapon slot, and costs 160 kilos in weight (4 SRM-4 shots at 40 kg per volley = 160 kg). Though the resulting weapon weight is only 400 kilograms, leaving the SRM-4 Fenrir 400 kilos shy of its 2,000-kg maximum (800 kg – 400 kg = 400 kg), Peter cannot allocate more weaponry to the Fenrir without making it a completely diﬀ  erent design (because he reserved all the leftover weight for his conﬁ gurable turret).

==Step 6: Complete the Record Sheet==
===Formations===
====Tunnel Rat====
[Keith] - verifies that all of the valid data is filled in for his Tunnel Rat squad, including the Rat's full name, its Inner Sphere tech base, its Ground MP of 1, no alternate MP type and a single white armor circle after the gray-shaded circle for each trooper. (Because it is an Inner Sphere "squad," he also blacks out all but four complete rows of armor dots.) He notes the armor 
type under the armor rows (Standard, no modifi ers), and lists no weapons in the inventory.
After  making a copy for later configuration purposes, Keith will add the industrial drill to the Weapons Inventory, and check off the Swarm, Leg and Mechanized boxes beneath the inventory, to note that the Tunnel Rat is capable of all such actions.

====Sylph====
[Lou] - Repeating similar steps to Keith, but with a completed battle armor, Lou also notes the Sylph's alternate motive type "(VTOL): 5" and its armament, including the names of its weapons (such as the "Micro Pulse Laser"), their damage ("3" for the micro pulse laser) and ranges (blank for the micro pulse's  Minimum  Range, "1" for Short, "2" for Medium and "3" for Long).
As the Sylph is a Clan design, Lou duplicates the armor values with ﬁ ve rows of armor points, rather than four..

====Purifier====
[Max] - Because Max intends his Purifier to serve with the Word of Blake, he has opted to provide armor rows for six troopers, rather than four or five. Peter's Fenrir, intended for service with the [[Lyran Alliance]], receives four rows’ worth of armor to indicate its four troopers.

====Fenrir====
[Peter] - Both Max's Purifier and Peter's Fenrir also incorporate modular technologies, and so their completed record sheets approximate that of Keith's Tunnel Rat, with one sheet established as an un-configured "base" model and secondary sheets generated for loadouts. In the case of Peter's SRM-armed Fenrir, an ammo count is even noted beside the SRM's inventory listing, to show how many volleys each trooper carries, with enough space left over for the player to track during game play.