I have a question regarding fist fire. How does it work exactly?
I have been reading through AToW and the wording made it sound like there is two rolls involved, 1 for the punch, then one for the weapon.
I understand that I need all actuators to do it (which the archer has, plus battlefists)
So would we do it like this: pilot + movement+ opponent mod - battlefist - melee spec, if pass add a roll for weapon damage: pilot + movement + opponent mod - fist fire.
Or are we doing it like this : pilot + movement + opponent mod - battlefist - melee spec - fist fire and combine as if one attack?
The melee attack works as normal.
If the melee attack hits, make a
second attack roll for the weapon, *just as though you were firing the weapon at a target at Range 1*, but you get a -1 bonus** to hit with the weapon because it's - in theory - in physical contact with the target. There is no Hit Location Table roll; it automatically strikes the location struck by the fist.
Since the weapon attack is resolved exactly like a ranged weapon attack, something like Melee Spec won't help, but something like Jumping Jack would. Also, note that a weapon can only be fired once per turn (even an Ultra AC double-rate attack is still only fired "once" per turn), so if you have Melee Master, the second attack won't get the Fire Fire attempt.
Finally, you have to tell your opponent when you're using Fist Fire BEFORE you make the melee attack roll. You can't wait to see where your punch hits and then decide to use Fist Fire to do extra damage to a desired location.
**ATOW says a +1 to the to-hit roll. That's a bonus in ATOW. To be a bonus in BattleTech, it needs to be a -1.