Biological and Chemical Weapons
Sarna News
Under BattleTech game rules, biological and chemical weapons (or bio-chemical weapons) - a catchall term representing a wide variety of substances, toxins and pathogens - are treated similarly to the point where effectively no distinction between the two subtypes is made.[1]
Such weapons are categorized with 5 classes or tiers of effect. Lower tiers include non-lethal irritants; higher tiers are designed to kill or inflict suffering, remain active and dangerous for prolonged periods of time to serve as an area-denial or scorched earth weapon, and are considered Weapons of Mass Destruction, capable of destroying entire worlds.[2]
Class I
Class I chemical weapons (or bioweapons, if applicable) are "legal" weapons intended to subdue or incapacitate targets while avoiding bloodshed, such as tear gas. The effect of this type of weapon is immediate, usually short term, and usually not lethal.
Class II
Class II chemical weapons or bioweapons are more dangerous versions of short term damaging weapons intended to incapacitate, but can easily kill targets if left untreated. This is the lowes tier to be considered Weapons of Mass Destruction. This type of weapon is used to subdue targets when there is no specific need for the victims to survive the attack. This class usually causes severe internal damage or significant chemical burning to the the target. Examples of this type of weapon are chlorine gas or mustard gas.
Class III
Class III are exceptionally dangerous fast acting bio-chemical weapons, usually nerve agents, which are designed to kill immediately; survivors usually have lasting permanent disabilities.
Class IV
Class IV weapons are typically engineered, slow acting bioweapons or toxins, usually designed to get into the water or food supply of a target, where it will affect the populace. These are usually poisons which won't show major effects until at least a day after contact. If left untreated, these weapons can be lethal to any victim who comes into contact with them.
Under game rules, Class IV agents are the only case where chemical weapons are treated differently from biological weapons, with the latter being slightly harder to evade, taking longer to take effect, and remaining potent for (much) longer in contaminated areas.
Class V
Class V weapons are similar to class IV weapons, except in that they are designed to kill. This type of weapon is also used as an area denial type of weapon, as they are typically engineered to have extremely long lifespans. They are designed to poison everything they come into contact with, which will prevent habitation of the affected area for extremely long periods of time. This type of contagion is also highly infectious, and will typically travel from person to person rapidly, unless proper precautions are taken to stop or minimize contamination. The bioweapon known as the Curse of Galedon is a prominent example of this class of weapon.