Quote:
Whatever Simulated Knave says, he's jumping through some quite tortuous logic loops to claim that Tarantulas are used as a mobile asset in battle, as he's working against direct and unambiguous statements to the contrary.
Because why present what I think when you could oversimplify and omit to your benefit, right? <_<
I mean, that's why I gave them a movement stat that's
slower than infantry. Because I can't get over the idea of super-speedy mobile Tarantulas. Not for issues such as playability. Just because I think Tarantulas should zoom across the terrain, gambolling merrily over obstacles.
Anyway. On Speed"In every version of an Epic-scale game I can find where they've had rules, they've been mobile. And always for the same reason.
Codex Titanicus (1989) - gravitic base which allows it to traverse rough terrain easily
Armies of the Imperium (1991) - 10cm move on charge. Gravitic reaction motors
Squat Tarantula in Ork and Squat Warlords (1992) - 10cm move on charge. Possesses gravitic reaction motors.
EDIT: Epic 40,000 Armies - Support weapons (which encompasses Tarantulas) have a 10cm move - the same as basic SM Infantry. :EDIT
It was man-portable in Space Crusade, as well. Furthermore, I'm not clear on how two or three Space Marines and Servitors couldn't manhandle a weapon system around if necessary in any case."
A speed of 10cm does not make them a mobile asset. It barely makes them mobile at all. They are immobile in 40K. But Epic represents a larger timescale. While in the course of a 40K battle a Tarantula may be set up and left alone to do its job, at Epic level it seems quite possible (and even probable) that the Tarantulas may be moved around somewhat in order to deal with the battlefield circumstances changing. Not far, and not fast - but it would seem very strange if they couldn't move at all. Indeed, last I checked, Epic did not have any immobile units. Indeed, last I checked, nothing moved slower than 15cm.
Bulky artillery pieces and the Rapier Laser Destroyer are apparently quick enough to deserve 15cm movement speeds - so giving the Tarantula 10cm or 5cm to represent the possibility of its crew/custodians manhandling it around when new situations arise seems quite in keeping with the larger scale of the game and the more mobile nature of Epic (where things generally seem to have their mobility slightly overestimated for playability's sake).
Anyway, I went with mobile (but quite slow) Tarantulas for reasons of playability, an ability to represent the various iterations of the Tarantula, and to keep it more consistent with the overall philosophy of Epic.
At
minimum give them a 5cm speed so they can get into Rhinos more easily. Complete immobility seems likely to make them massively inconvenient to work with. Also, despite what E&C may claim, there is background justification for Tarantulas riding in Rhinos. I didn't make it an option in the Apocrypha because it just felt
weird (and because giving them transport DID make them a mobile asset), but if they're going to be 5cm (or 0cm), they should have some transport.
On TypeIn regards to LV vs. INF - Tarantulas, IMO, should be INF. It's consistent with all the other artillery pieces and would well represent the fact that immobile batteries are usually camouflaged better. They're also kind of small (or, at least, some of the models are. I admit I don't know how big the new ones are).
My VersionFor reference, my Tarantulas have:
Tarantula MkI (Heavy Bolter)
INF 10cm Sv 6+ CC 6+ FF 5+ TL Heavy Bolter 30cm AP4+
Tarantula MkI (Lascannon)
INF 10cm Sv 6+ CC 6+ FF 5+ TL Lascannon 45cm AT4+
CC 6+ would represent any crew/custodians which might be hanging around and the fact that heavy bolter shells to the face at close range are still unpleasant. I think I'd likely remove CC from the LC variant, now that I think about it.
Sv 6+ is because, dammit, they still have SOME armor.
Cost is 175 for three HBs and two LCs.
