Claw

For fanmade variant versions, see Heatclaw and Taserclaw. A BattleMech Claw is a melee weapon most frequently used in the arena fighting on Solaris. The Claw consists of a series of hardened steel blades mounted on reinforced tungsten frames. Mounted in place of a 'Mech’s hand actuator, the Claw is used to grab, twist, and otherwise shear off an opponent's armor plating.

The Claw may have inspired the Talons created by the Jade Falcons.

Game Rules
A Claw can only be mounted in an arm and takes the place of a hand actuator. The Claw inflicts 1 point of damage for every seven tons of weight. It uses up one critical slot for every fifteen tons of 'Mech weight (rounding up). Because the Claws are bulkier and less agile than the standard hand actuator, they inflict a +1 to hit penalty.  ’Mechs with (heat)claws may lift objects as normal, but must make a successful Piloting Skill roll with a +2 target modifier to avoid damaging them. If the object is extremely fragile (such as a human being), an additional +1 modifier applies (at the gamemaster’s discretion or mutual player agreement). (Heat)claws may not be combined with any other melee weapon in the same arm, but they may be used to grab and wield an improvised club, with an additional +2 to-hit penalty (see pp. 146-147, TW). A failed attempt to lift an object effectively destroys it.