Hardpoint Weapons

Hardpoint Weapons In addition to (or sometimes instead of) built-in weapons, many vehicles have hardpoints. These are stations onto which external weapons can be attached. The most iconic hardpoint weapons are simple bombs dropped from aircraft, but numerous other types of ordnance can be attached as well. Typically, vehicles that are relatively heavy yet compact (such as tracked tanks) rely on large internal weapons, while vehicles that are broad in size but limited by weight or balance concerns (such as aircraft, walkers, and hovercraft) have hardpoints.

Hardpoint-mounted weapons are fired by the driver/pilot, just like built-in fixed weapons. Unless otherwise indicated, a hardpoint weapon cannot be fired in the same attack as an internal weapon, nor can two different types of hardpoint weapon be fired together. Multiple hardpoints carrying the same type of weapon can normally be fired together. Reattaching new weapons to hardpoints typically takes at least 15 minutes, and requires the vehicle to be stationary and shut down.

Remember to apply the weight of all hardpoint weapons against the vehicle's maximum cargo weight.

Aircraft Hardpoint Symmetry Unless otherwise indicated as centerline, an aircraft's hardpoints are located on its wings. Normal practice is to load and fire the aircraft's hardpoints symmetrically - that is, to mount the same hardpoint weapons on each wing, and fire the hardpoints in matching pairs. Pilots may decide against this practice, but an aircraft that has become asymmetrically loaded will lose 1 EFN and 1 AGI. Some weapons are excluded from this rule.

Bombs Bombs are simple and powerful, though imprecise. They can only be mounted on aircraft hardpoints, and can only be dropped when the aircraft is strafing. Offense rolls are never used when dropping bombs, and the bomb's actual drop location is a random zone within 1 zone of the target (roll a d10 to choose one of the 9 zones, re-rolling any 10s). If multiple bombs are dropped, each one rolls sepately for drop zone and WAoE d20. Bombs cannot be dropped properly in Speed Class 0. A bomb can be dropped simultaneously with all other kinds of bombs, but never with any other type of normal or hardpoint weapon. Strafing aircraft can automatically hit a ship with bombs. Bombs with impact damage use this damage value only against ships or other similarly large objects which can be hit directly.

Explosives are volatite-based unless otherwise indicated.

	Impact damage	WAoE type	High damage	Low damage	Weight	Price
Small Gunpowder Bomb	frag: 770 drv310 blast: 310	Point, size 1	frag: 190 drv75 blast: 75	frag: 95 drv40 blast: 40	200	175
Small Bomb	frag: 1160 drv465 blast: 465	Point, size 1	frag: 290 drv115 blast: 115	frag: 145 drv60 blast: 60	150	600
Large Bomb	frag: 2125 drv850 blast: 850	Point, size 2	frag: 530 drv210 blast: 210	frag: 265 drv105 blast: 105	500	1000
Bomblet Dispenser	frag: 4200 drv80 blast: 80	Cluster, size 2	frag: 210 drv80 blast: 80	frag: 100 drv40 blast: 40	150	700
Cluster Bomb	frag: 8400 drv80 blast: 80	Cluster, size 5	frag: 210 drv80 blast: 80	frag: 105 drv40 blast: 40	500	1150

Bomb Devices Bomb devices (see Devices) which use WAoE rules can be loaded and dropped from hardpoints if their weight is 500 or less. However, either the pilot or another character inside the aircraft must meet the bomb's competency requirements. If the character is not the pilot, that character must spend a major action arming the bomb within 1 minute (12 turns) before release, or the bomb will not detonate. The bomb will go off on impact like a normal aircraft bomb. This usage does not require Repurposed Ordnance (Technology).
High Altitude Bombing An aircraft can drop bombs without strafing - in other words, drop them from high enough to avoid any ranged attacks from the ground. If this is done, the pilot must make a vehicle offense roll of 2d20 on DEX for each bomb dropped. For each success, the bomb hits the desired zone; for each failure, the bomb hits a random zone within 3 zones of the target zone. Attacking a ship requires success on the offense roll.

Rocket Pods Alacrian rocket pods weigh 500 pounds and cost 2000 coins each. A single pod contains 20 rockets, which are simplified, lengthened, less accurate versions of Elæa rockets. Rocket pods can be operated in either burst AoE or cluster WAoE mode.

In AoE mode, the pilot/driver chooses how many rockets to fire from the pod(s), to a maximum of 10 rockets per pod. A specific character or vehicle may be targeted with impact damage, like a normal burst AoE weapon; however, a targeted character will be struck directly by only 10% of the rockets even if the attack succeeds, or 25% of the rockets for a vehicle target. Rocket pods follow all normal Speed Class rules for AoE weapons (unless a more restrictive rule is found here). Land vehicles cannot attack at extreme range with rocket pods.

In WAoE mode, the pilot may fire either 10 or 20 rockets from each pod. Each portion of 10 rockets causes a cluster WAoE of size 1. Land vehicles cannot target their own zone in WAoE mode.

Rocket pods can be fired simultaneously with all other rocket pods, but never with any other type of normal or hardpoint weapon.

Damage values for each rocket pod mode are found below:

Burst AoE mode		WAoE mode (cluster, size 1)
Impact damage (1 rocket)	Area damage (1 rocket)	High damage (10 rockets)	Low damage (10 rockets)
frag: 330 drv210 blast: 105	frag: 90 drv35 blast: 35	frag: 210 drv80 blast: 80	frag: 70 drv30 blast: 30

Seekers     Seekers are large Alacrian rockets guided by an intelligent light sensor, intended to engage other vehicles. Although most combat vehicles are kinetic-shielded, seekers can still destroy lightly-armored vehicles through direct blast damage, which can only be blocked by high-precision energy shielding - a rare phenomenon in vehicle combat. Seekers' sensors can lock onto any target of vehicle size or larger which the driver/pilot can see, provided the vehicle has an appropriate vehicle device to use the seeker (see Vehicle Devices). When locked on, seekers require no offense roll, but can only be fired one at a time, and only in the following situations:

    -Aircraft at Speed Class 1 to 3 may fire seekers at land vehicles by strafing, or at another aircraft they have any amount of dogfighting advantage over. SC has no effect on the seeker.
    -Aircraft hovering at Speed Class 0 may fire seekers at land vehicles, or at other SC0 aircraft, at a distance equivalent to extreme range for land vehicles. Land vehicles using vehicle stealth cannot be attacked in this way.
    -Land vehicles may fire seekers at aircraft which are strafing their zone or an adjacent zone, or at an aircraft that fired a seeker at extreme range (see above) on its previous turn.
    -Land vehicles may fire seekers at other land vehicles at any range, including extreme range. Seekers do not require an INT roll to aim first at extreme range.

    In any of the above usages, a seeker will automatically hit its target. Only certain vehicle devices can prevent a locked-on seeker from hitting. Locked-on seekers do not inflict critical hits, and cannot use caution in their burst AoE chances to hit characters engaged with the vehicle.
    Seekers can be fired in other situations, or by vehicles which do not have an appropriate vehicle device to lock them on. In this case, the seeker functions as a normal heavy vehicle weapon with an offense roll.
    Seekers come in two sizes. A single hardpoint can carry 2 large seekers or 6 small seekers. As long as an aircraft is loaded symmetrically with seeker tubes initially, firing an odd number of seekers will not imbalance the aircraft.

	Impact damage	Area damage	Weight	Price
Small Seeker	frag: 260 drv300 blast: 150	frag: 85 drv34 blast: 34	50	700
Large Seeker	frag: 550 drv400 blast: 200	frag: 120 drv42 blast: 42	150	1800

Seekers & Grenade Devices     Grenade device rules (see Devices) can be alternatively used to create special payloads to replace a seeker's volatite warhead. To do so, simply follow three rules:
    1. Upon creating the device, you must specify that it is a seeker warhead. It cannot be used normally as a grenade.
    2. The maximum size increases on the device are 7 for a large seeker, or 4 for a small seeker. The actual weight of the seeker remains the same, and it does not imbalance the aircraft if mixed with other warhead sizes or with normal seekers.
    3. Excess degrees of competency only count towards advanced device effects if the user also has excess degrees of Diagnostics competency; use whichever excess is lesser.
    Either the driver/pilot firing the seeker or another character inside the vehicle must meet the device's competency requirements. If the character is not the driver/pilot, that character must spend a major action arming the modified seeker within 15 seconds (3 rounds) before firing, or the warhead will not function.
    Extracted volatite warheads from seekers can be repurposed as volatite shaped charge satchels (1 per small seeker, 3 per large seeker).
Exuro Pods     Some vehicle-grade Alacrian Exuro weapons could be mounted in self-contained hardpoint pods, allowing a vehicle to gain direct-fire energy weapons without confining it to that option. Hardpoint Exuro pods weigh 450 pounds (without volatite) and contain two Exuro Carus.
    Each pod may be loaded with up to 24 volatite crystals (480 charge; 240 per Carus). Because firing an Exuro pod does not change its weight, they may be fired asymmetrically without hampering an aircraft. Exuro pods may be fired simultaneously with the vehicle's fixed weapons, just as if they were internal fixed weapons themselves.
Gun Pods     Orcish autocannons are also available in hardpoint pods. Hardpoint gun pods weigh 250 pounds (without ammo) and contain two autocannons. Each pod may be loaded with up to 300 rounds of ammo (150 per gun).