Ship Weapons & Systems

Overview

Ship weapons are divided into three categories, light, medium and heavy. A ship may only mounted weapons that its hull can handle. The amount of each type of weapon that a hull may carry is listed on the Ship Hulls rules. Facilities can be equipped by any ship but exceptions are marked where appropriate. Each of the following also has a required Character Rank Level to purchase.


Light Class Weapons

Beam Blaster Turret - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This weapon has 2 beam rifle sized weapons mounted in a turret. Though it is considerably smaller then a beam cannon this weapon fires at a faster rate. They have the same firing arc as CIWS. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Beam Cannon - 20 Points - Character Rank Required: E
Beam cannons fire beams of energy in a straight line. They have a fixed firing position from wherever they are mounted and cannot turn or pivot. This weapon is the only light class weapon capable of damaging heavy class ships. An additional barrel can be added for 10 points. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Chain Needle Turret - 36 Points - Character Rank Required: E
Using particle acceleration on specially treated needles, chain needle turrets function similarly to CIWS Turrets, however they can be used in all environments. Though not as powerful as their ballistic counter parts, these turrets can offer a distinct advantage underwater.

CIWS Turret - 20 Points - Character Rank Required: E
These weapons are identical to the mobile suit variant, although of a larger caliber, and used to shoot down incoming missiles aimed at the ship. They can fire 90 degree arc both vertically and horizontally and can be placed anywhere on the ship. They can shoot down numerous missiles but only within the area they are facing. For the points you receive four turrets that can be placed anywhere on the ship you like. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Laser Guided Missile Rack - 35 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This rack of missile can be equipped on all class of ships and is identical to the standard missile rack in all respects but one. The weapon comes equipped with a laser designation system that can paste a target with a laser allowing the missiles to home in more accurately on their target. While dodging is nearly impossible, they are still vulnerable to being destroyed like regular missiles.

Missile Rack - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
Holding 12 missiles, this rack of missiles is effective against mobile suits and smaller ships. They do not, however, have the power to endanger larger heavy ships. The racks are fixed in position and home in on their target via radar locks provided by the ships sensors.

Machine Turret - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
Firing regular projectile ammo of a larger caliber than CIWS these turrets can actually cause damage to none phase shift targets. They have the same firing arc as CIWS's and can be mounted anywhere. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Neutron Turret - 35 Points - Character Rank Required: E
Mounting two small gatling cannons this gun can send a spray of energy rounds into the air quicker than any gun currently known. Designed to strike at slower moving heavy frame mobile weapons and small and medium class ships, this turret is a potent defense. The firing arc is identical to other turrets in this section. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Pulse Cannon - 45 Points - Character Rank Required: D
This forward facing cannon is a newly developed anti MS cannon. Fast firing it is capable of firing a round a second with each round being a highly charged projectile of energy. A direct hit from this gun can blow limbs off a MS or send a light class ship spinning off at an angle. For medium ships it can easily blow holes in armor plating with continued pressure. This weapon cannot be used underwater.


Medium Class Weapons

Anti Ship Missile Launcher - 30 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This launcher is much larger than the standard missile rack. It contains 12 large missiles that are designed to be used on slow moving ships.

Demolisher Cannon - 20 Points per barrel - Character Rank Required: D
Each barrel of this gun acts like a long range ballistic cannon. It fires a powerful ballistic shell that can rip parts off an enemy ship quite easily. The gun cannot be turned but can be raised and lowered slightly to alter the distance the shell will be fired. However, for a further outlay of 30 points the gun can be given a turret mounting so that it can turn, this turret has a 180 degree firing arc. This gun can be drawn into a ship for protection. A total of three barrels can be purchased for this gun. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Dual Beam Cannon - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
A double version of the single beam cannon. Again they are not turret mounted and usually only fire forwards. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

High Energy Beam Cannon - 35 Points - Character Rank Required: D
These turreted cannons can fire in a 180 degree arc with a vertical angle of 90 degrees giving them a very good all round range. They can also be drawn into the ship to avoid enemy fire but this takes time to do. Although only coming with one barrel a second can be added for an additional 25 points. It takes a turn to charge them before they can be fired. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Linear Gun - 30 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This gun is an improved version of the railgun capable of puncturing even a heavy ship's armor with a clean hit. It also benefits from a 360 degree arc. Due to the magnetic fields used in the firing mechanism, this weapon can be fired underwater. Like the HEBC this gun can be drawn into the ship for protection.

Magnetic Cannon - 45 Points - Character Rank Required: D
The magnetic cannon is a new development in ship beam technology. For the outlay of points you receive two cannons, each the size of a standard beam cannon. These cannons are mounted anywhere on the hull and don't even have to face forwards. The firing point is contained within a magnetic field generator that can be used to bend the particle stream in a given direction. This gives the cannon a firing arc of 180 degrees both on the horizontal and vertical plains. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

The system take a single hard point due to its small size. Both cannons can be upgraded to dual, triple and quad beam cannons at the cost of 30 points per pair of extra cannons. Also to use a triple or quad array you need a Weapon Relay Reactor installed on the ship. Further to this the scale of the quad cannon array is much larger than its counterparts and in order to mount this two hard points are required.

Phonon Cannons - 45 Points - Character Rank Required: E
Designed for ships operating in and under the water, these cannons are much like their mobile weapon variant. However, they are much larger yield, have a greater firing range and cause a lot more damage on a direct hit. Like their smaller cousins they can be used out of the water.

Railgun Turret - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: D
Like its MS variant the railgun turret is designed for puncturing power. This turret, which has a complete 360 degree arc, can easily puncture the armor of any light of medium vessel. This gun can be drawn into a ship for protection, and can be used underwater.

Red Ram Assault Cleave - 40 Points - Character Rank Required: D
Whilst ships do not usually participate in melee combat the Red Ram was designed to provide line breaker ships with greater striking power. The weapon mounts a large sharpened ram to the front of the ship that is designed to puncture the hull of opposing ships. The ram mounts a array of laser cutters that slice into armor and enable the ram to push it aside. Only one can be mounted on a ship and it cannot be combined with a module system.

Torpedo Rack - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This rack of 10 torpedoes is an anti submarine/vessel weapon. They can only be fired when in or under the water and track waterborne targets using sonar location.


Heavy Class Weapons

Mass Driver - 80 Points - Character Rank Required: C
The ultimate in planetary bombardment this weapon draws in dust and particles from the surrounding space and stores it in massive hangers. When fired the material is compressed and combined with unstable ion particles in a magnetic shell. The shot is very slow firing and requires three turns to draw in enough matter to fire. The shot itself also moves slowly but the destructive force is more than capable of ripping a smaller ship in half. The weapon requires two hard points to mount and a system slot for the inner workings of the firing mechanism.

Plasma Cannon - 40 Points - Character Rank Required: D
Firing highly charge shots of energy the plasma cannon is mainly used for bombardment. The force of these shots can rip even heavy hull ships apart as the plasma charge destroys the metal at the molecular level, however they travel slowly and can be shot down much like a missile with concentrated fire. Each shot takes two turns to charge and, like the high energy beam cannon, can have a second barrel mounted on them for 30 points. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Positron Cannon - 70 Points - Character Rank Required: C
This huge particle cannon is capable of blowing just about any target out of the sky. No more than two can be mounted on a heavy ship and it takes two hard points to mount it. The cannon also requires three rounds worth of charging before it can fire and cannot be used at the same time as any special system such as a mirage colloid or a deflector screen. This gun can be drawn into the ship for protection. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Quantum Discharge Cannon - 70 Points - Character Rank Required: C
This cannon has been praised and condemned in equal proportions. It was designed on the basis of a large scale blaster cannon targeted at smaller ships and mobile weapons. The focal point of the weapon creates a large charge of energy that can easily rip targets apart in its firing line but does not have the puncturing power required to breech thick ship armor. The reason for the criticism is that the weapon drains the ships reactor to such a degree that all energy based systems go offline. After firing this cannon all energy based weapons and systems cannot be used for two turns. The ships speed is also reduced by half. This weapon cannot be used underwater.


Facilities

Ablative Gel Discharger - 15 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This system allows a ship to enter an atmosphere by secreting a gel that protects the hull from the heat of re-entry.

Advanced Engineering Bay - 70 Points - Character Rank Required: C
This facility allows all of the abilities of a normal engineering bay but it also allows a ship to manufacturer its own weaponry for the ship. These created weapons are for the ship only and must obey the following restrictions; Light class ship weapons can be created at 10 points less than their normal price and medium class weapons can be created for 5 points less than their normal asking price. The bay has no effect on heavy class weapons, which are too large and complex to skimp on, or any other facility/system/meteor the ship has. The bay also has no effect on mobile suit weapons. Due to the size requirements needed to manufacture weapons this bay takes two facility slots to mount and cannot be used by light class ships.

Advanced Mobile Weapon Catapult - 35 Points - Character Rank Required: D
This facility is a double version of the normal weapon catapult. Mounting two catapults next to each other it can launch two suits at once and can do so much quicker than a standard catapult. The catapult also has a number of hydraulic system mounted in it meaning the catapults angle can be altered to launch suits in different direction. This angle is a 90 degree arc in the direction the catapult is facing.

Armory - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
Available to all classes, this facility gives the NPC crew of a ship the ability to fight back if the ship is boarded.

Boarding Shuttle - 15 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This shuttle is equipped so it can latch onto an enemy ship and cut through the hull allowing a boarding party to enter the ship. A shuttle can only be used once though and after this it must be purchased over again. Not usable by light class ships.

Direct Launching Bay - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This bay allows a ship to store a single mobile weapon in a purposefully designed store and launching system. The bay provides storage for a single mobile weapon and also serves as a personal catapult system. This allows a mobile weapon to be launched much quicker compared to a regular bay and catapult but a separate one must be bought for each mobile weapon wishing to use such facilities.

Drop Pods - 20 Points - Character Rank Required: E
Used to transport up to four mobile suits through a planets atmosphere, this pod can also be used to store mobile weapons separately instead of in a mobile weapon bay. When used to drop mobile suits the pod breaks open and is therefore lost in the process. Not usable by light class ships.

Engineering Bay - 30 Points - Character Rank Required: D
This facility gives you the ability to repair mobile weapons on your ship without having to return to a port. It also allows you to fix any problems with your ship without returning to a port.

Medical Bay - 15 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This bay allows crew members to be healed but serious injuries will still require a trip to a proper hospital.

Mobile Weapon Catapult - 20 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This system is required on all ships in order to launch mobile weapons.

Mobile Weapon Bay - 20 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This facility allows mobile weapons to be stored within the ship in order to combat the enemy. Each bay increases the docking capacity of the ship by 2.

Module Unit - 50 Points - Character Rank Required: D
The module unit ship system works much like a pack system for a ship but with a difference. Unlike a pack system the module system cannot be changed during battle and once attached remains a permanent feature on the ship. Each module adds an external addition to the ships hull that can be used to mount weapons. Each module can hold either 1 heavy weapon, 2 medium weapons or 4 light weapons. This system allows lighter framed ships to equip larger weapons than they would otherwise be able to equip by providing reinforcement to the superstructure and safety bulkheads. Please note, a medium weapon requiring two hard points to mount will use both weapon choices on a module. Likewise a heavy weapon that requires two hard points cannot be mounted on a module.

Orbital Booster System - 15 Points - Character Rank Required: D
This system mounts two large boosters on the side of the ship giving it the ability to leave the Earth's atmosphere without the use of a mass driver.

Pressure Hull - 20 Points - Character Rank Required: E
A special feature of a ship, the pressure hull, allows it to venture farther into the depths then most other vessels. Though most vessels can easily handle most depths, at certain locations, the pressure of the surrounding area is to great. While Phase Shift can also be used to avert such danger, pressure hulls offer the protection at a cheaper cost.

Weapon Relay Reactor - 60 Points - Character Rank Required: C
A ship installing one of these reactors benefits from a reduced weapon charge cycle. Weapons can draw the power they need to charge from this secondary reactor as well as the ships primary one reducing their charge/recharge time by a turn. Thus a weapon that requires one turn to charge can be fired ever round, a weapon that requires two turns to charge will only require one. This reactor does not have any effect on heavy weapons as it is dangerous to rush such charge cycles.


Special Systems

Additional Armor - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This armor provides extra protection against piercing weapons. A railgun hitting a ship with this type of armor will not pierce the armor on the first shot, several will be required to pierce it.

Anti Beam Charge Launcher - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
A defensive system that launches missiles into the area around a ship. When they explode they create a miniature anti beam explosions that can deflect incoming beam shots. The effect only lasts for a few seconds though and then fades away. The system can be used ten times before it requires reloading at port. This system cannot be used underwater.

Anti Beam Mist Launchers - 35 Points - Character Rank Required: C
Similar to the charge launchers, this system fires numerous missiles around the ship. Each one explodes and spreads a thick anti beam mist into the area around the ship. The mist renders all form of beam weapons, melee and ranged, useless for three turns. Bare in mind that this also affects your own beam weapons and those of your allies. The system can be used five times before it requires a reload at port. This system cannot be used underwater.

Booster System - 40 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This system fixes additional engine mounts to a ships hull that has the effect of increasing its speed rating by one point. Only one can be mounted on a ship.

Burst Laser System - 60 Points - Character Rank Required: C
This system is an all range attack that can be launched by a ship in dire need. The ship’s hull is basically covered in small beam cannons totaling several hundred in number. When fired it produces a 360 degree all axis attack of beam shots with the ship in the center. Each shot is about the same power as a beam rifle and fires a several second beam. This system is dangerous to use when allies are present as it can easily hit them in the process as well as the enemy. This system cannot be used underwater.

Due to the power requirements of such a wide range attack the level of fire is governed by the ships size. Light class cannot mount this system, medium can fire it once per battle and heavy ships twice per battle. The system requires 4 turns to recharge between firing and cannot be used when charging any other weapons or using a positron screen.

Deuterium Beam Recharge System - 20 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This system has to be accompanied by a similar system on the MS/MA in question. This high energy beam can recharge a suits battery power instantly negating the need to flee from battle due to having a flat battery. Again, if a suit does not have a receiver then it cannot be used. It takes a full turn for the suit to recharge during which time it cannot fire, dodge or move in any way. This system cannot be used underwater.

ECM Countermeasures - 25 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This system generates a high frequency ECM wave that surrounds the ship and stops radar or heat sensors locking onto it. This therefore defends against all types of missile attacks. It can also be used as a somewhat effective cloak against scanners but the scanners would still pick up the ECM wave and the ship is still visible to the naked eye. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Grappling Claws - 20 Points - Character Rank Required: E
This system places a number of small claws along the bottom of a ships hull. These claws are sharpened and can latch onto any known surface. The system provides enough claws to hold a ship to an object. Only usable by light class ships.

Laminate Armor - 35 Points - Character Rank Required: C
This type of armor is used to protect against beam weapons. When a beam strikes it the armor converts the energy to heat and absorbs it. This only works up until a certain point though, repeated beam hits will heat up the armor to such a degree that it will melt and become useless. This armor cannot be used on a ship that has phase shift armor.

Meteor System - 60 Points - Character Rank Required: A
This special weapon is not so much a ship weapon but rather a ship addition for mobile weapons. It is basically a giant customizable weapon platform that mobile weapons can use in combat. It fixes to the outside of the ships hull and can be detached so mobile weapons can join with it. Once joined a mobile weapon gains a massive speed increase of +3 to their speed, due to two large engines mounted on the Meteor, and the use of several additional weapons. The Meteor has six weapon hard points and must be made up of weapons from the mobile weapon rules not the ship rules. It's weaponry can be fired whilst attached to the ship but it is much more useful in the hands of a mobile weapon. For the cost you get the mounting systems and one unequipped Meteor platform. Additional Meteor platforms can be purchased for 40 points each plus weapons.

Mirage Colloid - 50 Points - Character Rank Required: C
This system is identical to the mobile weapon variant. It will shield the ship from the naked eye and also from sensors. While helpful this system power draw prevents weapon charging while the system is active, however, weapons that don't require charging can still be used. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Phase Shift Armor - 50 Points - Character Rank Required: C
This system is the same as the mobile weapon variant, providing the ship with a better physical protection against bullets and missiles. It cannot be used at the same time as a mirage colloid or a positron deflector and cannot be installed if the ship has laminate armor.

Positron Deflector Screen - 80 Points - Character Rank Required: A
This system, when activated, creates a large screen of energy that can block even a blast from a positron cannon. No current weapon can penetrate this shield but it can only be used once before it requires a six turn recharge period. Not usable by light class ships. This weapon cannot be used underwater.

Sentinel System - 45 Points - Character Rank Required: A
This system can be compared to that of a BIT system on mobile weapons. For the initial cost layout you receive a tracking system (which fills a the system slot) and a single bit unit. This bit unit takes up a weapon hard point on the ship and up to 4 bits can be bought per hard point. These additional bits cost 25 points each and all are armed with twin beam rifles. This system cannot be used underwater.

The bits have limited power capability and will have to return to the ship for recharge every 3 turns, a recharge takes 2 turns. Additional weapons can also be added to each bit. Either a beam shield generator or a missile rack can be added to each bit, both costing 25 points on top of the normal cost.

The size of the ship equipping them also governs how many bits can be equipped.
Light Ships: 4 bits
Medium Ships: 6 bits (2 bits will occupy a second weapon hard point)
Heavy Ships: 8 bits (4 bits will occupy a second hard point)