Walker Combat

Technology

These rules will be a long-term work-in-progress. Cinero will revise based on playtesting.

Basic Rules

1. Cloak, shields, running, and most weapons systems pull from a walker's capacitors. The reactor(s) refill the capacitors.
2. A walker with a cloaking generator can use a cloak or shields, but not both at the same time.
3. Some walkers can maintain multiple layers of cloak or shields.
4. A successful attack by a havoc missile does not damage. Instead it:
   1. Shatters all cloak layers, or...
   2. Shatters one shield layer (two with a raise).
5. Spinning up a salvo of missiles requires a slinger.
   1. This can't be used with Multi-Action. (It requires complete attention.)
6. A salvo is launched in one round and then attacks in the next round.
   1. Attacking with a salvo is a Battle roll. A raise can cause extra damage, as usual.
   2. Instead of attacking, a salvo can cruise above the battlespace. However, most attacks against a cruising salvo get a +4 bonus (due to the missiles' strong heat signature).
7. A CIWS engages against a salvo just before it would hit.
   1. A CIWS must have line of sight.
   2. A CIWS fires autonomously, because hypersonic missiles are too fast for a humanoid to react. However, it uses the Shooting skill of the last user to configure it.
8. Bad weather can interfere with any aspect of battle.
9. The crew can push the Tilt in a variety of ways, such as:
   1. The skipper, XO, and brass can give orders and inspire confidence.
   2. Nav can update the location and movements of friendlies and hostiles.
   3. Nose can update the ECM and ECCM.
   4. A CWIS operator can recalibrate the CWIS.
   5. Drones can use ravens to scout and wolves to attack hostile ravens.
   6. A slinger can re-tune a salvo's avionics before the missiles are launched.
10. Officers are Skipper, XO, and Brass.
    1. Officers can flex to other roles. A common flex is launching a salvo, to allow Guns to focus on attacking with a salvo already in the air.

Walker Turn

On a walker’s turn:

1. Add to capacitors: add power from all active reactors (automatic).
2. Add 1 to cloak or shields (automatic).
3. Load missiles into each battery.
   1. Requires: a slinger and empty tube(s).
   2. Choose the warheads.
   3. The slinger rolls Battle or Boating. Failure: only load half (round down). Raise: push the Tilt.
   4. This is the slinger’s only action this round.
4. 3 other crew actions.
5. (anytime) Move

• An automatic step does not require crew but can be skipped (officer’s choice).
• Some crew actions can add additional power.

Salvo Attack

1. A salvo attacks on its walker’s turn.
2. A salvo must already be in the air (i.e., launched last turn).
3. CIWS fires automatically.
   1. It uses the Shooting skill of the last user to configure it.
   2. CIWS can use Multi-Action (officer or Guns’ choice).
   3. CIWS can use the Tilt (officer or Guns’ choice).
4. Each hit or raise destroys one missile in the salvo, starting in the front of the killing line.
5. Salvo attacks.
   1. Follow the killing line (e.g., Havoc, Frag, Piercer, ECM).
   2. For each missile, Guns rolls Battle. (Remember to apply Multi-Action if Guns also launched another salvo this turn.)
   3. Havoc: Shatters one layer of cloak or shields (two with a raise).
   4. Frag: damage.
   5. Piercer: damage.
   6. ECM: no damage. On a failed attack, the missile crashes or falls to the ground. It can be recovered for salvage and study.

Alert Levels

1. Battle Stations: Imminent threat(s). Crew focus exclusively on combat operations. Missiles are spun up (if not already). Capacitors are charged to 100%.
2. General Quarters: Possible threat(s). Crew must remain at their duty stations, but may perform other tasks. The crane is secured in its axial position. Missiles are spun up. If the outer shell is below full, then more ravens are launched. The wolfpack is launched. Capacitors are charged to 80%.
3. Condition 3 ("all quiet"): No threats. Crew can move freely and conduct normal activities. Some ravens may be out. Capacitors are kept at 20%.

Common Commands and Reports

• Contact: A search reveals a new sensor signal. It may be a "clear contact" (i.e., certain), or a "strong contact" or "weak contact." Contacts are classified or reclassified as:
  • Green: friendly
  • Gray: neutral or ambiguous
  • Red: hostile
• No joy: A search reveals no new contact.
• Ravens out/in, Wolves out/in: Launch or retrieve a flock of drones.
• Picture: A current summary of the battlespace. When it changes significantly, the report is "new picture."
• Run cold: Close all heat sinks. This substantively reduces the walker's heat signature. However, the walker can only store a finite amount of heat before it must be dumped.
• Run silent: All systems and crew activities are kept as quiet as possible. This substantively reduces the walker's acoustic signature.
• Weapons free: Crew can fire at will, within the rules of engagement.

Sensors

Sensors include:

• Electromagnetic (including detecting active transmissions like radio and radar, plus passive EM scatter from electronics and reactors)
• Gravimetric (the target must be large and moving)
• Optical
• Radar
• Sound
• Thermal

On some walkers, magic is also used for detection. This can include magitec systems with semi-autonomous functions.

Drones

A military walker is surrounded by two shells of drones: an outer flock of ravens and an inner pack of wolves. A walker with one drone cube can deploy six drones in each shell. Drones are usually launched via missile tubes and recovered on the flight deck. For immediate launch, drones can pre-positioned on the exterior, but there is a risk of weather damaging them.

• Raven: A smaller, faster drone specialized in detection. A raven is typically not armed, but it can be smashed into a hostile raven. A popular model is an all-electric quad-rotor drone with arctic sky camouflage.
• Wolf: A larger, slower drone specialized in close-in shooting. A wolf can shoot down a raven, wolf, or enemy personnel. (A wolf isn't fast enough to shoot or intercept a hypersonic missile.)

(Technically, a group of ravens is called an "unkindness." But "flock" is faster to say.)

Missiles

A standard walker missile has a generic airframe (e.g., fuselage, control systems). Warheads are modular, so the same airframe can deliver one of many different kinds of warhead.

A missile is usually launched electromagnetically. Then it burns a chemical propellant to reach its attack speed. Electromagnetic launch helps ensure that the walker isn't immediately detected. Once a missile ignites its engine, it's a strong heat source.

Warheads

These warheads are common:

E : Electronic Countermeasures (ECM): electronic jamming and other interference. This disrupts a target's sensors, especially CWIS. An E missile is seldom launched alone, but rather as part of a salvo.
F : Frag: a forward-directed explosion with jagged fragments. This is the standard shipkiller warhead.
H : Havoc: an electromagnetic discharge that disrupts cloaks and shields.
P : Piercer: on impact, a shaped explosive fires a flash-heated armor-penetrating needle. This does less damage than F but ignores some armor.
S : Shotgun: blasts a small or medium area with hundreds of tiny metal spheres. They can't penetrate heavy armor but can be lethal to softer targets. This warhead can destroy cruising missiles. (Once a salvo reaches its hypersonic attack velocity, the missiles are almost impossible to intercept.)

These warheads are less common:

B : Burst: a momentary flash of very bright light. This illuminates a large area and disrupts most sensors.
I : Inferno: a fuel air explosive fills a large area with intense radiant heat. This can't penetrate heavy armor but can be lethal to softer targets.
N : Net: spreads a metal net over a medium blast template. This can be useful for capturing personnel or fauna.

Killing Line

Missiles in a salvo are usually programmed to autonomously order themselves ahead or behind. This ensures that Havoc missiles hit any shields first, followed by Frag and Piercer. Finally, ECM protects the salvo until the end, and then impacts to prevent salvage and study.

Front	Middle	Rear
Havoc	Frag, Piercer	ECM

Tactical Nukes

Nuclear warheads are anathema to the Mother's Children and the Childstealers. However, there are still rumors of their use.

Packages

Most skippers and guns have packages they prefer to spin up first. Good slingers learn to anticipate their comrades' preferred packages.

Here is a popular package for a walker with 12 tubes:

• Salvo 1: "Bell Ringer:" H H H F F E
• Salvo 2: "Shank:" H F F P P E

CIWS

A walker defends against incoming missiles using its Close-In Weapon System (CIWS, "see wiz"). Since an incoming missile can be hypersonic, CIWS is usually automated. CIWS are positioned to have comparable fields of fire in all firing arcs around a walker (except the underside). CIWS cannons or lasers are calibrated to fire through a walker's shields, during millisecond fluctuations.