Bauhaus GBT-49 Grizzly

by Joseph Goodman and Sami Sinerva
conversion to BoW by Jim Williamson

Oct 10, 1997

One of the largest tanks in the solar system, the Bauhaus Grizzly carries a crew of 24 and epitomizes the doctrine of "bigger is better". Bauhaus forces tend to have a higher morale when fighting with a Grizzly on the field, not Only for its battle prowess but because the tanks are notorious for drawing enemy fire. Equipped with two mortars, and anti-tank cannon, a flamethrower, three light cannons, and a plethora of machine guns and anti-aircraft guns, the Grizzly is quipped for dealing with the most dangerous of enemies.
The Grizzly was designed after the MBT-42 Wolf. Using similar technology but with significant alterations and adaptations, it is intended for use in almost any climate or terrain. The tank is so heavy that few obstacles can block its path. When sealed for amphibious assault it can cross rivers and lakes without problems, provided the muddy bottom will support its weight. The huge array of weaponry, ranging from artillery to machine guns to anti-aircraft guns, keeps the Grizzly prepared for any sort of enemy. It also demonstrates one of the Grizzly's few weaknesses: by being built to fight an kind of enemy pretty well, rathar than one enemy particularly well, it can sometimes be overwhelmed by highly specialized forces. But the Grizzly rarely encounters such specialized forces when accompanied by an infantry escort, which gives it more combat versatility than it would have otherwise.
In practice, each Grizzly is usually fielded independantly of other Grizzlies, although it is not unknown for them to team up. But when two or more of the tanks are encountered in one assault, it is a sign Bauhaus is facing a particularly formidable opponent. The greatest concentration of Grizzlies on record was when Imperial assaulted a Bauhaus research and development center, which just happened to be housing twelve Grizzlies for refitting and upgrading. Thanks to this coincidental advantage, the Bauhaus force totally destroyed the assaulting Imperial force, to the last man, without suffering a single casualty.

The GBT-49 Grizzly
Type: Tracked
Size: Really Heavy
MV ACL W FA RA SA MA Cost
GBT-49 Grizzly 5" 2" 15+50/5+20/2+5 30 30 30 30 800

Structure: Each Grizzly is purchased as an individual vehicle. However, the Grizzly is only deployed against infantry when accompanied by infantry support. You may only field one Grizzly for every 200 points of Bauhaus infantry in your force.

Special Rules:

In addition to the special rules below, the Grizzly is subject to the usual Bauhaus rule of reliability. The player controlling the Grizzly may use the Bauhaus The Moment Has Come! special rule.

Armor and Wounds

The Grizzly incorporates a special form of depletable armor. Thes explains the wierd wounds characteristic in it profile.
Forst, and explanation of depletable armor, or DA as we wil call it. DA is a special kind of armor plating, the idea for which has been around for awhile but was first out into practice on the Grizzly. Depletable Armor is not meant to stop bullets, but to absorb their impact. DA is slowly destroyed as it stops blows from damaging the tank. Eventually all the DA has been spent absorbing attacks and the tank is left only with its conventional armor.
In game turns, you should treat DA as follows. The Grizzly has three areas: the body, turret and periscope. This is explained in more detail below. For now it is sufficient to realize that in the above profile, the body has 15 wounds, the turret 5 and the periscope 2. The number following the wouds for each area ("+XX") is the supply of DA in that area. The body has 50 DA, the turret 20 and the periscope 5.
When a shot hits the Grizzly, make the armor rolls as usual. If the Grizzly fails the save, find the difference between the failed roll and the number needed to make the save, and deduct this from the appropriate DA total. As long as an area still das DA remaining, it will not lose wounds when its armor is penetrated. If the DA in an area ever reaches zero, it can no longer stop incoming attacls, and any subsequent failed armor rolls deduct from the appropriate area's wounds as usual.
Example: A Grizzly's body has 15 wounds and 50 DA. A squad of 5 Capitol Infantry attacks it with their M50s. The first two attacks miss. the secondtwo hit, but the grizzly player makes the armor roll against them. But the last attack hits, and the Grizzly player rolls a 19 for his armor roll. The grizzly needs a 17 or less to withstand the attack (armor 30 - damage 13 = 17). The difference between 17 and 19 is 2, so 2 points of DA are lost. The Grizzly now has 15 wounds and 48 DA.
A few rounds later, after the Grizzly has taken a steady pounding, the same 5 Capitol infantry are still fighting it. (They were the lucky ones). The Grizzly now has 4 DA and 15 wounds. The first 3 shots from the M50s miss. But the next attack hits and the Grizzly fails its armor roll with a roll of 20. The Grizzly loses 3 DA, and now has only 1 DA. The next attack hits and the Grizzly fails its armor roll again, this time with a 19. This would indicate that 2 DA are lost. There is only 1 DA lest to be lost however, so the Grizzly is reduced to 0 DA and any subsequent shots that penetrate its armor will deplete its wounds as usual.
A perfect hit against a Grizzly with intact DA still causes a wound. In this case the attack is considered to have been exceptionally lucky and gone through the DA without being absorbed by it.

Movement

Terrain. The Grizzly suffers no movement penalties for any kind of terrain unless that terrain is at least half the mass of the Grizzly. In that case the Grizzly cannot move through the area and will collide with the terrain. Otherwise the Grizzly can plow through houses, forests and smaller tanks at will.
Collisions & Ramming. The Grizzly does not collide with anything unless the other object is at least the same mass as the Grizzly. Whenever the Grizzly comes in contact with another object, consider it as ramming damage, not as collision damage. Damag from a Grizzly ram is 14 plus the speed of the ramming model.
The Grizzly may ram any number of models each turn without having to test for loss of control.
Hijacking. Hijacking a Grizzly is a frightening task. In addition to the Crew mentioned above, there are also 14 other occupants of the vehicle who are necessary for it to move. Unless you want to deal with combat within the vehicle we suggest that you just play that the Grizzly cannot be hijacked.

Weaponry

The Grizzly was equipped with one philosophy in mind: "more is better". The Grizzly has seven gunners and one driver, all of whom are responsible for manning its weapons. In its entirety it mounts two morters, one flamethroer, three 60mm light cannons, one anti-tank gun, five anti-aircraft guns, and seven light machine guns. As you would expect, there are special rules for many of these weapons.
Line of sight and range for each of the Grizzly's weapons should be determined from the tip of the weapon in question. Weapons have a 45 degree fire arc from the tip of the barrel, although weapons mounted in turrets or ball mounts may rotate. (Note that the flamethrower template spans 45 degrees, so you can use it to determine the fire arc for weapons.)
Main Mortar. This is the large mortar mounted in the turret of the Grizzly. The mortar is intended for long range bombardment of fortified positions, which is where the tanks periscope comes in useful: the periscope allows visibility over great distances and lets the tank's gunners plot targets for the mortar. The mortar has a minimum range of 36" - it cannot be fired at any target within 36" of the Grizzly - but its maximum range when the periscope is extended is effectively unlimited. (In practice, if you were to play with a tabletop many miles long in scale, you would have to deal with a maximum range, but we'll ignore that possibility for now.)
The main mortar uses the explosion template. If the periscope is extended, the main mortar has no limit on range although all targets are considered to be at long range. If the periscope is retracted or destroyed, the range for the mortar is severely restricted, to a mere 132" inches. The main mortar may fire indirectly so long as the periscope is extended.
If the main mortar fires at a target that is closer than its minimum range, the explosion template deviates automatically, even if you roll a hit.
Anti-tank Gun. Mounted in the turret of the Grizzly, this massive weapon fires huge shells packed to the brim with explosives. When used against targets of adequate mass, the shells detonate with incredible force. Against smaller targets the shells will not be set off, so they are reserved for use against tanks and enemy vehicles.
The anti-tank gun can only be fired at models that are giant sized (or larger). Like the mortar it has an effectively unlimited range.
Bergdahl Stonecleaver LMG. The Grizzly has seven of these guns. One is in the main turret, two in the front right turret, and two on each side. the Bergdahl is capable of burst fire.
60mm Light Cannons. The main turret and each of the rear turrets mounts a 60mm light cannon. The cannon fires shells that explode in a highly concentrated blast, capable of bloding holes through armor (or flesh) but not particulary good at eliminating large amounts of infantry.
Flamethrower. The grizzly carries a slightly modified version of the Gehenna puker. It is similar enough to be considered to have the same stats, however.
Light Mortar. This is mounted in the front left turrent. The light mortar is operated very much like the main mortar, though without the support of the periscope. It has a minimum range of 12" and a maximum range of 72", and it uses the grenade template. The light mortar may fire indirectly as long as the periscope is extended.
Anti-aircraft Guns. There are three anti-aircraft guns housed in a ball turret in the rear of the tanks, and one more in another ball turret on each side of the vehicle. Their range is effectively unlimited, although they are inaccurate at long distances. The turrets can swivel in almost any direction. The three linked guns fire as a single weapon which does DAM(x3) and is capable of burst fire, while the others fire singly.

WEAPON CR MX RM DAM Notes
Main Mortar * * -- 20(x3) Explosion Template; Indirect fire
Anti-tank Gun * * -- 20(x4)
Bergdahl Stonecleaver LMG 25 50 -4 14(x2) Burst fire
60mm light cannon 35 80 -3 18(x2)
Flamethrower F -- -- 18
Light mortar * 72 -- 17 Grenade template; indirect fire
Anti-aircraft Gun 30 * -6 15

* indicates a special rule

Crew

The crew of the Grizzly is much larger than what we describe here. There are a total of 24 people on board each Grizzly, including loaders, engine mechanics, stewards, chefs and more. but for purposes of tabletop combat, we need only consider ten members of the crew.
The cost of the Grizzly's crew is included in the cost of the vehicle. For purposes of the game, assume that none of the Grizzly's crew is armed with any personal weaponry and the tank cannot function if the crew leaves it.
All of the Grizzly's crew use the same profile as the Bauhaus Dragoon.
Panic and Rout. The crew of the Grizzly will not panic or rout.

Crew
CC MW PW LD AC W ST MV A
Dragoon 10 14 -- 13 3 1 0 3 28

The Driver: In addition to driving, the driver is responsible for the light of the two weapons in the turret, the Bergdahl Stonecleaver and the light cannon. The turret-mounted weapons may fire with a 45 degree arc of fire in whatever direction the turret is facing. If necessary, consider the driver to be the sergeant of the Grizzly's crew.
Main Turret Gunner: This is the only gunner mounted in the turret. He commands the main mortar and anti-tank gun. He is responsible for the turning the turret and aiming its weapons.
Front Gunners: There are two of these. Each mans one of the weapon mounts in the front of the Grizzly. One of the gunners controls the twin Bergdahl Stonecleavers on the right, and the other the light mortar and the flamethrower to the left. The twin stonecleavers are fired together at DAM 14(x4), but if they burst fire, they only get two shots, each at DAM 14(x2).
Rear Gunners: Each of these gunners controls the two rear turrets, each of which houses a light cannon. The rear turrest are small and turn rapidly, so an extra action is not necessary to turn them like the main turret.
Anti-aircraft Gunner: The Grizzly is one of the few armored vehicles that is very susceptible to aerial attack. Its immense size makes it a favored target of bombers. The anti-aircraft gunner is responsible for the ball mounted AA guns on the sides of the tank, as well as the ball mounter threesome of AA guns in the rear. The triple gun fires as one AA gun but at a DAM 15(x3); it cannot burst fire.
Side Gunners: There are two of these. Each controls the two Stonecleaver turrets on each of the Grizzly's sides.
Periscope Commander: The periscope commander is responsible for maintaining the periscope. He may not attack, but he may use his actions to move the periscope, or to Spot from the periscope. The usual -4 penalty to spotting from a vehicle does not apply to spotting attempts by the periscope commander, because the periscope is specially equipped with scopes, scanners and other devices to offset the problems with spotting from a vehicle.

Combat

Turning the Turret. The main turret of the Grizzly is very large and takes some time to change positions. The main turret gunner must use an action to change the position of the turret. With that action he can swivel the turret up to 180 degrees. The turret's weapons can fire with a 45 degree are of fire from the direction they face.
Firing Indirectly. The periscope allows the Grizzly's spotters to pinopoint areas not visible to the gunners, who can the fire either mortar in a lofty are to attempt to hit these areas over intervening terrain. To fire indirectly, the Grizzly must have the periscope extended. The player must declare with the fire action that he is firing indirectly. Line of sight should be determined from the extended periscope, not from the normal location, although range is still measured from the appropriate mortar. The hit roll is a at a -4 penalty due to the inaccuary of the targeting procedure - the gunner is firing based on coordinates relayed to him by the spotter rather than his own vision. If the shot misses it can deviate up to twice the usual distance, but if it hits it does damage as usual.
It is perfectly legitimate for a waiting mortar to fire indirectly.
Close combat with the Grizzly. Close combat attacks to certain areas of the Grizzly recieve a bonus to hit. All attacks against the body are at +2 to hit, and attacks against the turret are at +1 to hit. Models attacking the Grizzly in close combat do not roll on the hit location table when they cause a wound; instead you should just deduct the wound. Models in contact with a weapon on the Grizzly's hull may choose to target that weapon rathar that the Grizzly's main body. In that case use the Grizzly's MA (30) as well as any DA still remaining; if a wound is caused, the weapon is destroyed and no wound is deucted from the Grizzly's total.
Firing at the Grizzly. There is never a penalty to hit the Grizzly based on its speed. It is so immense that attempts to hit it are simply unaffected by its speed. The Grizzly is so huge that it is considered three seperate targets. Models firing at it can choose to aim at the body, the turret, or the periscope.
The body can always be targeted. All shots aimed at the body are at +2 to hit is the etirety of the body can be seen. If only half can be seen, the bonus is _1; if only a quarter (or less) can be seen, there is no bonus. The body is large enough so that amodel can choose which side it will target, so use FA, RA or SA as appropriate for the area of the body that is targeted - although all sides of the tank have the same armor value. Attacks on the body use the Body Hit Location Table below. The body has 15 wounds. If the body is destroyed, the grizzly grinds to a halt as internal explosions wrack its engines. None of the weaponry on the body may be used. The periscope is stuck in place; if deployed it may not be retracted, and if retracted may not be deployed. The turret may swivel, but a half rate (on action moves 90 degrees rather than 180 degrees). The turret gunner may still fire his weapons even if the Grizzly's body is destroyed.
The turret can always be targets. All shots aimed at the turret are at a +1 to hit it the majority of the turret can be seen' if only half or less can be seen there is no bonus. The turret has an armor value of 30 all around. Attacks on the turret use the Turret Hit Location Table below. The turret has 5 wounds; if it is destroyed, the body and periscope can still operate as normal.
The periscope may only be targeted if it is deployed. It takes one action to deplay the periscope and one action to retract it. The periscope uses the vehicles MA (30). The periscope has 2 wounds; attacks on it deduct wounds as normal with no need to roll for a special location. If the periscope is destroyed, niether mortar may be fired indirectly (see above).

Body Hit Location Table
Roll Location
1-15 Internal Structure
16 Crew
17 Weapon
18 Engine/Tracks
19 Ammo Storage
20 Fuel Tanks
Turret Hit Location Table
Roll Location
1-17 Internal Structure
18 Crew
19 Weapon
20 Ammo Storage

Internal Structure. This is a general catagory that applies to the frame and chassis of the Grizzly. Deduct wounds from the location as usual; there are no special effects from the hit.
Crew. First you must make an armor roll to see if the vehicle's armor is penetrated. If it is, one randomly determined crew member within the area is hit. Apply the hit against the crew member with the crew member's A (28 for Dragoons). Whether the crew member is wounded or not, do not deduct a wound from the tank's total. The turret gunner is housed in the main turret and can only be wounded by a hit to the turret, while the other gunners and the driver are all within the body of the vehicle.
Weapon. One randomly determined weapon from all the weapons visible to tha attacker is destroyed. Only existing weapons (i.e. those not already damaged) may be destroyed. Weapons that the attacker cannot see are not potential targets. This does not cause damage to the Grizzly as a whole, so do not deduct a wound from the tank's total. The twin Stonecleavers on the front of the tank and the triple anti-aircraft guns on the rear count as single weapons for purposes of destroying weapons.
Engine/Tracks. The engine or tracks are damaged in some way. Deduct damage as usual. In addition, the Grizzly's MV is halved, rounding down. If the Grizzly's speed is higher than its new MV, it's speed is immediately reduced to the new MV. If the MV reaches zero, the Grizzly cannot move and is stuck in place.
Ammo Storage or Fuel Tanks. Hits to both of these locations have equally spectacular results. Damage to them can ignite internal explosions within the tank, wracking it with explosions and doing irreparable damage. Deduct damage for the hit, but multiply it by 4.

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