One of the issues for GMs to deal with in all three eras of the earth saga is that Mecha combat is limited to only three forces. 1) Aliens 2)EBSIS 3)RDF/ASC/REF. Now there are ways to mix this up a bit, hightech bandits stealing stuff, refitting stuff or building some sort of Mech-enstein's monster/hybrid. But that's still limitting for GMs. Especially when most armed forces on the field would be hard pressed to field a solid conventional force, let alone run the expense and effort to keep a mecha unit in the field. Mecha are hyper complex pieces of machinery.
Here are some ideas on how to make infantry, bandits and other ground pounders more threatening to mecha. Usually, I just grab one of the Palladium books that has a larger collection of SDC weapons like N&SS or the HU GMs guide, and convert from there. They give you ranges, payloads and SDC damage which is a big help for where to get started.
The X-cal lists one of it's weapons as a 12.7 mm Machine gun that inflicts MDC. 12.7mm is the same as a fifty caliber. Lots of those already in existance. But we also know that their are SDC versions of the same weapon. Odds are the differance between the two is the nature of the rounds, not the gun itself. Granted the MGs are likely made out of lighter more relisant MDC materials then their SDC throwing counterparts. In all likelyhood these improved rounds probabaly place more stress on the weapon and would be dangerous to use the MDC rounds in standard 50 cal MGs. There is an easy solution for this.
A few new parts for old guns. "Bob's guns mod kits" for conversion of SDC weapons into MDC weapons, bullets not included. Available with instructions in Chinese, Russian, Spanish, English and Zentraedi. Likely there are dozens of small nations and military forces that not only produce these things for themselves but for export as well. Easily mounted on the back of a jeep, APC or the like, as well as any other place one might find a MG in a conventional setting. Odds are there are similar kits for similar weapons like the 14.5mm MG.
"Big Bah-Da-Boom!"
The next feature would be Grenade Launchers, rocket launchers and mortors. The easiest way to deal with them I have found is to simply take the base stats of the SDC weapon and apply mini-missiles style MDC damage read outs, with a little down grading. A Fragmentation Mortor would inflict somewhere in the neighboorhood of 2d6 to 5d4 or 4d6 MDC. The damage coding varies with the era (the more time these various "Non-Mecha" and EBSIS supported groups have had to unravel RDF/ASC/REF technology the more potent these weapons become. Also, the resources and brains a particular weapons supplier has the more potent the weapons.
Disposable SDC weapons, such as a one shot rocket launcher, can be swapped out with minimal conversion. Just change the warhead supply and no stop work needs to be done on the assembly line. Reloadable might need a reinforcement here or there, but that's not a major issue. The big change is the explosion, not the means of travel so existing weapon systems should take the upgrade, no problem.
A weapon like the 40mm Grenade Launcher, so often underslung on assault rifles of many types, should have little problem delivering a 2d4 or 1d6 MDC hit to a 15-20 foot area, by about 2015 or so.
"True small arms."
These weapons are trickey because they aren't available early on and when you finally can use them, they are lasers the PCs are likey wearing laser resistant armor cutting your damage in half. To deal with that, I find the idea of the Soviets flooding the market with Koskov 47s is the premuim choice. The gun is small, light weight, easy to use, lots of fire power and cheap. Everything you could want when challanging the ASC. While one guy in body armor with a K-47 isn't much of a threat, even to a CDC light, six guys in no body armor will take alot longer to deal with and provide much more of a threat.
Though I personally love the Gallant H-90, it's specialized training makes it a poor choice for not REF characters to use. WP E-pistol gives you everything the ASC, EBSIS and most of the REF's weapons, WP H-90 gives you just the H-90.
"The best offense is a good defense."
A statement of dubious nature, but sufficent to open the next line of ideas. The various Mecha equiped forces on or of the earth will be leaving behind plenty of debris in the form of damaged armor plating. Especially the Zentraedi. While cobbling a Mecha together is unlikely for most bandits and other human hostiles, scrounging together armor plating for a car, jeep or APC isn't out of the question, as we can see in the AZO-II. They don't have to be high MDC values, just enough that a lucky shot from a light head laser won't cripple the vehicle. Use your imaginations on this part. 40 MDC for a jeep is too much, but 12 MDC isn't to bad at all.
"Location location location"
The last part of making this kind of combat work is where it goes down. Bandits attacking Mecha forces in the expanse of a Zentraedi Blast crater would be short and deadly for the bandits. But doing it in city loaded with SDC buildings, maybe a residential section, would force the pilot of that mecha to think real hard about which weapon system he was going to use and the damage setting he wanted before he pulled the trigger. Even one missed round in a burst could cause alot of heart ache suffering.
"Putting it together."
Now let's use the above guide lines to make for adventure idea.
A Drug ring operating out of Mexico City could steal a batch of medical supplies from the RDF/ASC base there. A PC is given the order to purse and engage. Now then, in the old system, the jeep and it's occupants are imputant to do much about anything at all. New guide lines, the Jeep has three occupants, one working a .50 call machine gun in the back, one driving and one trying to uncase an MDC throwing RPG. All the while the jeep is hurtling down the sides streets of Mexico City's slums. Now that should make a PC sweat a bit.
I wouldn't worry about manufacturing explosive 5.56mm rounds. If your going for that, you want them in the 7.62mm varity. 1) Whatever that exposive substance is, you can get more of it into the larger round 2) 7.62 just happens to fit the most manufactured assault rifle in the world. The Klasnikov. Terrorist and rebels aren't soldiers, they need a weapon that is easy to maintain and will function no matter the abuse.
. 100% accuracy. Presumably he shoots them all....so there are shots not shown in the series. If he shot 2 per cartridge (and the series only shows he did that once) that would be at least 12 rounds per magazine.
