Mecha Modes Secrets

Veritech Modes

• Jet: 2 bonus dice for speed and maneuverability
• Guardian: 1 bonus die for speed and maneuverability.  1 bonus die when using of the Guardian mode's hands for manipulation and causing harm.
• Battloid: 2 bonus dice when using the Battloid's hands for manipulation and causing harm.

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Character Secrets for Robotech: Team Leader & Hardened

In Robotech a military command plays an important part in the story.  It's one of the ways through which we see Rick Hunter grow as the series moves forward so I really wanted to make it part of the game.  So, here goes...

Secret of Team Leader: The character has two wingmen under his command. This means that the Team Leader can draw pool points from the men under his command up. To do so he must succeed at a Leadership(Instinct) test which determines the maximum number of points that may be extracted from the subordinates this action. He's also able to channel these points to his Squadron Commander. Note that points can only be extracted from NPCs. If the subordinates are PCs then they assist in the normal manner. In addition, subordinates can soak harm for the commander on a 1 for 1 basis using their mecha Effect. Leadership has its burdens. For each subordinate lost in combat the commander suffers level 4 Harm (Reason) but this can be somewhat mitigated with the Hardened Secret.

Secret of Hardened: The character has become jaded to the face of violence. At most, the character suffers level 1 Harm (Reason) for an incident that would cause mental fatigue such as losing a subordinate in combat.

Hat Tip to this thread in the Arkenstone forum over at The Forge.

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Solar System Mecha

A couple of weekends ago I picked up the Solar System RPG from Arkenstone Publishing.  At first I wondered, What in the world is this?  But I finally got the hang of things after actually giving the game a whirl and poring over the original Shadow of Yesterday rules for clarification.

Anyways, I've long been wanting to run a Robotech/Macross game and have been putting effort in a FATE/Starblazer Adventures conversion.  I love FATE 3.x.  It's one of my go-to systems.  After grokking Solar System (tSoY) it really seemed that the series could be emulated with even less effort.

Here's what I've got so far:

Solar System Mecha

• Treat as Effects
• Character Secrets can be used to power abilities that mecha provide

Character Abilities

• Mecha Pilot (Reason)
• Mecha Weapons (Instinct)

Missiles and Guns

• Are their own Effects attached to the mecha
• Examples: GU-11 2, Missiles 2

Mecha as Effects

• When a mecha's Effects (Veritech 3, for example) are used up it is immobile/inoperable.
• Damage is not tracked at the mecha level.  Remains on the pilot's stress track

Mecha Scale

• Man to Mecha: -3
• Mecha to Mecha: +-0
• Mecha to Ship: -3
• Rolling against a lower scale does not count toward transcendence

Mecha Secrets

• Sensors (Reason): Adds 1 bonus die to Tracking, Jamming, Communication actions.
• 57 [controls] to be exact: For 1 Instinct point can use the mecha ability Transform along with another ability as one action. Prerequisite: Mecha Pilot 1
• Fokker's Feint: (2 Reason) You can maneuver a Veritech better than almost anyone else making you an elusive target.  For each success vs. the enemy, one penalty die is assessed to their next action.  Fokker's Feint also counts as defense. Since this is an extremely difficult maneuver, failure can place you into a more perilous position.  For each success the enemy wins by a penalty die is assessed to your next maneuver. Prerequisite: Mecha Pilot 3

Mecha Abilities

• Transform 1: This is a simple action that can be used to build dice as part of a parallel action or can be tapped with the 57 [controls] to be exact secret.

Weapon Secrets

• Smart Missile: The next round, after a miss, the missiles attack again on their own but with an additional penalty die.

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