Rules for artillery in Alpha Strike

Rolling thunder on the battlefield: the rules for artillery in Alpha Strike

In the world of BattleTech, artillery is often the decisive factor that breaks a stalemate or stops the enemy’s advance. In Alpha Strike, artillery is represented either by units with the Artillery special ability (ART) or by the Battlefield Support system. This article explains the rules for both systems in detail.

1. the ART special ability

Units that have the ART special ability (e.g. Sniper, Thumper or Long Tom) can make an additional artillery attack in each combat phase, in addition to their normal weapon or physical attack. If a unit has multiple artillery weapons (e.g. ART-S2), each attack is handled separately.

Goals and reach

• Direct fire: The artillery can target an enemy unit or a Point of Impact (POI) on the map.
• Indirect fire: If the artillery is fired indirectly, it can only target one POI.
• Range: Unless otherwise specified in the artillery table, artillery can reach any point on the playing field. Artillery cannons are an exception, as they have limited ranges.

Determination of the target number

The base target number is the unit’s skill value. Since artillery attacks cause area damage(area effect), a modifier of +1 is always added. Instead of the usual range modifiers, most types of artillery use a fixed +4 malus (regardless of actual range), except for artillery cannons, which use standard modifiers.

Additional rules:

• Attacks on a POI ignore all target movement modifiers (TMM).
• Spotter: A friendly spotter with line of sight to the target can improve the throw. If the spotter has TAG or LTAG, the target number is reduced by -1.

2. damage and area effect (AoE)

Artillery deals damage to all units that are within the Area of Effect (AoE) template.

• The stencils usually have a diameter of 2 inches or 6 inches (depending on the type of artillery).
• Weapons with a large radius often have two damage values (e.g. 3/1). The first value applies to units within the inner 2-inch radius, the second value applies to units in the outer 6-inch radius.
• Units at different altitude levels must add the difference in altitude to the distance from the POI to determine whether they are still affected.

3rd deviation (scatter)

If an artillery attack misses its target, it deviates. The Area of Effect template is used to determine the new position:

1. A 1D6 determines the direction (1 corresponds to “North”).
2. The distance of the deviation is twice the difference (Margin of Failure) by which the throw failed. Artillery cannons only deviate by a single difference.

4. advanced rules: Off-Board Artillery

For larger scenarios, artillery units can be placed outside the playing field.

• Flight time: Depending on the distance (in inches), the projectile takes 0 to 5 rounds to hit the map.
• Coordinates: The player must note the time of impact and the X-Y coordinates in advance.
• Lock on: Once a weapon has successfully hit a POI, the coordinates are considered “logged in” – subsequent shots at the same point hit automatically as long as the target is not changed.

5. artillery counter fire (counter-battery fire)

If enemy artillery fires from outside the field, friendly artillery can attempt to engage the enemy position.

• This is only possible after the first enemy impact has been observed by a friendly unit.
• Each additional hit by the opponent improves the chance of triangulating his position (up to -4 bonus to the target number).

6. battlefield support

This is a simplified method of integrating artillery via Support Points (BSP).

• Thumper (7+), Sniper (8+) and Long Tom (9+) have fixed target numbers without additional modifiers.
• This support can generally only be used once (one-time use).

7. alternative ammunition types

There are various special projectiles for artillery weapons (except cannons):

• Cluster: Increases the AoE radius, but reduces the damage by 1.
• Smoke: Creates smoke screens that obstruct the view.
• Homing (e.g. Arrow IV): Requires an active TAG marker and hits a single unit directly on a roll of 4+.
• Copperhead: Works like homing ammunition for conventional tube artillery.

Conclusion

Artillery is a powerful but complex tool in Alpha Strike. While standard artillery exerts immediate pressure on the field, off-board artillery requires precise planning and coordination with scouts. Protect your spotters to ensure the maximum precision of your heavy batteries!