On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 5:28 PM, David Shaw <xxxxxx@btconnect.com> wrote:

>
> The problem, I think, is a rules one, rather than a setting one.  I have a
> feeling that the designers had the battlewagons carrying huge numbers of
> fighters because, well, fighters are cool 'n' stuff.  Then they forgot to
> include a rule allowing you to gang those fighters up and treat them as a
> single unit.

I sometimes wonder if it is actually a simpler rules issue.
You've got all this tonnage, but a locked "1 hardpoint per 100dtons"
... so you can't add more turrets, weapon bays, etc, which a
"battleship" would have
So how do you add more guns _of any sort_ ?
Put them on fighters...

I've argued now and then that the MT "vehicle weapons on starships"
rule should apply here - IIRC, in WWII they mounted .50 cals and such
on BB's in an anti-kamakazi role.
"Hard Times" has some rules on using those in space combat against other ships.
But, as other posters have noted, that leads to some very strange
combat situations.
Swapping a 50dton "heavy fighter" for an equal volume of 1Mw beam
lasers and point defense modules makes a very difficult missile
target.