I was wondering if someone were to use a mech, a big humanoid robot basically, how would their attacks be done?

Would they use brawl to punch and kick, or maybe piloting?

Would you have to use gunnery to make an attack with a gun?

Feel free to ask any related questions as well.

Depends on the setting, doesn't it? If it's Pacific Rim , you use Brawl, Melee, and Ranged, exactly as if you were on foot. If it's Gurren Lagann , you probably fight with Cool or Leadership (or Discipline, for the Anti-Spiral).

For melee attacks, it'd use the Melee skill since that's what it's for (" The Melee skill is what your character uses to fight…when using a weapon. " CRB 67.

For mecha weapons, it'd be Gunnery. CRB page 69 says that you use it to " fire weapons mounted on vehicles. " Of course, if it's a neural interface, I'd allow Ranged (Heavy) and Ranged (Light) as if the mecha was a character—two-handed weapons using Heavy, one-handed using Light.

4 minutes ago, c__beck said:

For melee attacks, it'd use the Melee skill since that's what it's for (" The Melee skill is what your character uses to fight…when using a weapon. " CRB 67.

For mecha weapons, it'd be Gunnery. CRB page 69 says that you use it to " fire weapons mounted on vehicles. " Of course, if it's a neural interface, I'd allow Ranged (Heavy) and Ranged (Light) as if the mecha was a character—two-handed weapons using Heavy, one-handed using Light.

I might uncouple Melee from Brawn if you do that for Mecha Melee Weapons, especially if the melee attack is done through joysticks rather than some sort of gimbal/harness system. Maybe match in with Cunning as a sort of perception-based coordination needed to judge the distance between you and your target and the length of your melee weapon (or mecha's fist/leg).

Not sure I'd allow Ranged to work for mecha weapons, as Gunnery is specifically for vehicle mounted weapons; and mecha are vehicles.

But that's me. YMMV

I would reserve the pilot skill for maneuvering your mech (also, likely make Piloting (Mech) its own skill unless there's nothing else to pilot in your setting. They usually seem to operate extremely different from normal planes/ships).

For combat, I'd probably make a separate melee skill for Mechs just like Gunnery is separate from Ranged (and second DarthGM's suggestions on which characteristic to use). That is, unless you plan on never having combat outside the mechs, then just keep it called melee.

6 minutes ago, DarthGM said:

I might uncouple Melee from Brawn if you do that for Mecha Melee Weapons, especially if the melee attack is done through joysticks rather than some sort of gimbal/harness system. Maybe match in with Cunning as a sort of perception-based coordination needed to judge the distance between you and your target and the length of your melee weapon (or mecha's fist/leg).

Not sure I'd allow Ranged to work for mecha weapons, as Gunnery is specifically for vehicle mounted weapons; and mecha are vehicles.

But that's me. YMMV

I normally wouldn't allow Ranged to be used in a mecha, but some are neurally linked to the pilot and follow their movements exactly. Their biggest advantage over the "traditional mecha" (whatever that may be for your setting) is that the skills you use outside the mecha translate to inside the mecha.

In game terms, Ranged instead of Gunnery. But again, that would be the exception, not the rule.

I'd create a new set of skills. Mecha (Ground), Mecha (Air), Mecha Melee, Gunnery is probably a good start.

If you're going for the real robot genre, I'd focus on Agility and Intellect. For unusual piloting mechanisms, like Neon Genesis Evangelion , something like Willpower would be more appropriate for piloting. Larger mechs would probably use the Operation skill.

For the super robot genre, it really depends. I'd stick with the same, but using Willpower and/or Presence are good options.

Thanks guys, these are all great ideas! I will most likely end up making new skills for the setting.

Thanks again!!!

One concept for the mech (and other very large creatures) I have been considering is adding separate initiative (including action and maneuvers) for different parts of the mech, as well as separate wound and strain threshold. So a humanoid mecha might have a left system, a right system, and a pilot/body system. Each of the three systems would have their own initiative slots, with separate actions and maneuvers from each other. The pilot could move the mech around, a right arm system might have a arm mounted cannon, so the right arm could aim and fire it's cannon on it's turn, and even take a separate maneuver pulling from its own system strain to aim again, or perform another maneuver. This wouldn't be hard to implement, you'd just need to define various systems for different sized mechs, and then define their stats like wound and strain threshold accordingly. Then run them as 'separate' characters during the combat. However for mechs I would definitely say if the pilot is taken out then the entire mech becomes inert. This would definitely be fun in play because battles would be super dynamic, with the possibility that your right systems might be blown up mid combat, but you'd still keep fighting with a single arm system.

This same idea could be used for excessively large kaiju type monsters, where the head might have a breath weapon, while it's tail and arms are separate systems also. So a really big monster might move and do a breath weapon with it's head, then do a tail swipe, and grab with it's claw.

2 hours ago, Doughnut said:

Each of the three systems would have their own initiative slots, with separate actions and maneuvers from each other. The pilot could move the mech around, a right arm system might have a arm mounted cannon, so the right arm could aim and fire it's cannon on it's turn, and even take a separate maneuver pulling from its own system strain to aim again, or perform another maneuver.

Might end up a bit time-intensive, unless the PCs are all Voltron'd together.