While I'm at it, Here's the Type-61 Tank and FF-S3 Saberfish. The FF-S3 can be used at the atmospheric version by removing the missiles.

So I've been working out how I want to handle beam weapons. I looked at how lightsabers are handled as a pretty obvious source of inspiration. I really like the way they are handled.

Lightsabers, and also beam weapons in Gundam, are so over the top lethal that standard damage tracking in most RPGs really isn't equipped to handle them.

If you don't know, FFG's elegant solution was to set their crit at 1, and give them decent enough damage to actually be able to trigger a crit. Since cannon fodder mooks die to a single crit, a lightsaber can tear through swaths of them. And again tougher opponents each successful hit is potentially a lost or crippled limb, or worse.

So I'm going with that. Really low crit rating on beam weapons. I'm also introducing a "Beam" weapon quality that makes the weapon ignore defense provided by equipment. Meaning the beam weapon goes right through a Zaku's shield. I'm also introducing an "Anti-Beam" quality that negates the beam quality and raises the attackers crit rating by two. Most beam weapons will also have the Sunder quality and probably some low level of vicious and breach.

21 hours ago, Tesoe said:

So I've been working out how I want to handle beam weapons. I looked at how lightsabers are handled as a pretty obvious source of inspiration. I really like the way they are handled.

Lightsabers, and also beam weapons in Gundam, are so over the top lethal that standard damage tracking in most RPGs really isn't equipped to handle them.

If you don't know, FFG's elegant solution  was to set their crit at 1, and give them decent enough damage to actually be able to trigger a crit. Since cannon fodder mooks die to a single crit, a lightsaber can tear through swaths of them. And again tougher opponents each successful hit is potentially a lost or crippled limb, or worse.

So I'm going with that. Really low crit rating on beam weapons. I'm also  introducing a "Beam" weapon quality that makes the weapon ignore defense provided by equipment. Meaning the beam weapon goes right through a Zaku's shield. I'm also introducing an "Anti-Beam" quality that negates the beam quality and raises the attackers crit rating by two. Most beam weapons will also have the Sunder quality and probably some low level of vicious and breach.

So, for the Anti-Beam quality, is that going to be added to the mobile suit itself or to their shields?

6 minutes ago, satkaz said:

So, for the Anti-Beam quality, is that going to be added to the mobile suit itself or to their shields?

You could add it to a mobile suit, but like in the show it's going to mostly just be on shields. I doubt I'll introduce any suits with an Anti-Beam coating on the suit itself into the game. I can only think of like two anyways.

1 minute ago, Tesoe said:

You could add it to a mobile suit, but like in the show it's going to mostly just be  on shields. I doubt I'll introduce any suits with an Anti-Beam coating on the suit itself into the game. I can only think of like two anyways.

Ah, okay. Was wondering how far one could take this in the UC era.

7 minutes ago, satkaz said:

Ah, okay. Was wondering how far one could take this in the UC era.

Within the UC era they only apply Anti-Beam coating to shields usually. The reason being it wears out and the part has to be replaced/recoated. It's a lot easier to do that with a shield than an actual portion of the suit.

Even out into the end of the UC timeline, in Victory, they just use better shields instead of coating entire suits.

Speaking of, I haven't quite settled on how I want to handle a beam shield. Probably just a really high defensive value. I-fields I've decided just result in miss automatically, but you still roll if you choose to attack something with an I-fields. That way any left over advantage or threats from the attack roll can still be used.

2 minutes ago, Tesoe said:

Within the UC era they only apply Anti-Beam coating to shields usually. The reason being it wears out and the  part has to be replaced/recoated. It's a lot easier to do that with a shield than an actual portion of  the suit.

  Even out into the end of the UC timeline, in Victory  , they just use better shields ins  tead  of coating entire suits.

   Speaking of, I haven't quite settled on how I want to handle a beam shield. Probably just a really high defensive value. I-fields  I've decided   just result in miss automatically, but you still roll if you choose to attack something with an I-fields. That way any left over advantage or threats from the attack roll can still be used.             

I-fields tend to be very useful against only beam weaponry, if I'm correct. Usually, missiles and projectiles go straight through it, so I wouldn't have it miss automatically for all attacks.

16 minutes ago, satkaz said:

I-fields tend to be very useful against only beam weaponry, if I'm correct. Usually, missiles and projectiles go straight through it, so I wouldn't have it miss automatically for all attacks.

Yes, that's correct. I-fields only effect beam weapons. Any other form of attack would pass through the field unaffected. Sorry for not stating that explicitly.

Just now, Tesoe said:

Yes, that's correct. I-fields only effect beam weapons. Any other form of attack would pass through the field unaffected. Sorry for not stating that explicitly.  

No problem. Will be looking forward to more of your work.

Just now, satkaz said:

No problem. Will be looking forward to more of your work.

Thanks! I appreciate all the feedback I can get.

OK, here's the most up to date version of thing.

Mobile Suit Rules

Mobile suits are vehicles, but the pilot can use most Personal Scale talents with their mobile suit.

A mobile suit's armor and brawn is based on if the suit is classified as Standard or Heavy, and the material the armor is made from.

• Standard mobile suits made from Super-Hard Steel Alloy have a base armor of 6.
• Standard mobile suits made from Titanium Alloy Ceramic Composite have a base armor of 8.
• Standard mobile suits made from Luna Titanium (Gundarium ) have a base armor of 10, and are immune to the Vicious quality.
• Standard mobile suits have Brawn of 4.
• Heavy mobile suits have both a Brawn and Armor characteristic one higher than a Standard mobile suit.

Mobile suits can use the Reposition manuever at speed 0+.

Mobile suits have separate speed and handling characteristics depending on their mode of movement.

• Mobile suits use their ground speed and handling characteristics anytime they are walking, driving, hovering, or otherwise moving across a solids surface. The control skill for a mobile suit using it's ground speed/handling is Driving.
• Mobile suits use their flight speed and handling anytime they are moving using their rocket jets to fly, or jump, in the air or space. Aquatic mobile suits also use their flight speed and handling when moving through the water. The control skill for a mobile suit using it's flights speed/handling is Piloting.

A mobile suit's pilot uses either Driving or Piloting to make melee attacks using their mobile suit. Which skill is used depends on which skill the pilot is also using to control the mobile suit's movement at the time. Piloting if the suit is in the air/freefall, and Driving if the suit is standing on a solid surface.

A mobile suit's pilot uses Gunnery for all ranged attacks using the mobile suit's weapons.

Mobile suit weapons with the Stun or Stun Damage qualities apply their strain or strain damage to the suit's system strain. The pilot also suffers half (rounded down) the strain or strain damage, applying their own soak value to the reduced effect.

New Qualities
Anti-Beam (Passive)

An item with the Anti-Beam quality still applies any bonuses to defense it grants against attacks made by weapons with the Beam quality. Additionally weapons with the Beam quality increase their critical rating by 2 when attacking a target using items or vehicles with the Anti-Beam quality.

Beam (Passive)

This weapon fires a focused beam of massive, high-velocity mega-particles, which cannot be deflected by magnetic fields and tears through any conventional armor material. A weapon with the Beam quality ignores any defense provided by gear that does not also have the Beam quality, unless otherwise specified.

I-Field

Attacks, made using weapons that have the Beam quality, against a target protected by an I-Field automatically fail, regardless of the number of successful and failures rolled. Advantage, Triumph, Threat, and Despair rolled may not be used to trigger item qualities or critical hits.

Alrighty then! I've finally got to stating up the early federation mobile suits. Including the white mobile suit itself.

I've been thinking about it more, and I think I need to up the handling values on the Gundam.

Ok, so I've most everything updated in the WordPress site I'm using for the campaign. Including a couple suits I haven't posted here. There's still a couple legacy entries from when I was using Savage Worlds, but I should have those fixed before too long.

mobilesuitgenesys.wordpress.com

Ok, so I've most everything updated in the WordPress site I'm using for the campaign. Including a couple suits I haven't posted here. There's still a couple legacy entries from when I was using Savage Worlds, but I should have those fixed before too long.

mobilesuitgenesys.wordpress.com

We've been playing for a few sessions now and have made a few updates. Mobile suits are now steered using just the Piloting skill, and we created a new skill we call Striking for making melee attacks with a mobile suit's melee weapons. We all agreed the old way was probably more realistic, but this was just simpler, and fit the groups play style better.

I've also worked rules for how to handle bits/funnels/incoms, and a few examples. I'd love feedback on that. I'm going to cross post in the mecha thread to try and maximize feedback.

Bit, Funnels, and Incoms

Bits, Funnels, and Incoms are types of equipment sometimes attached to a vehicles with either a Psycommu or quasi-psycommu system. Such a vehicle is referred to as the mother unit.

Bits and Funnels are types of a drone units that are designed to be remotely controlled by a Newtype pilot using a vehicle equipped with a Psycommu. A Newtype pilot is able to control these units with great precision, allowing him to remotely attack an enemy from all directions.

Bits and funnels are fundamentally similar, except that a bit has its own on-board power generators, and do not require re-docking with the mother unit for recharging. When funnels are not in use, they are attached to the mother unit for recharging.

Incoms are a type of weapon developed by the Federation’s Murasame Research Institute for normal (i.e. Oldtypes) pilots. They are similar to bits and funnels operated by psycommu system, except that Incoms are wire-controlled by a quasi-psycommu or psycommu system. They have to be tethered to their control unit by wires because the electrical signals to the incom would be otherwise disrupted by Minovsky Particles. They can execute the apparent all-range attack like bits and funnels, but are inferior in attack range and complexity of maneuvers.

Unless otherwise specified the term “Bit” will be used to refer to both Bits, Funnels, and Icoms collectively.

Bit Rules

As a collection of remote vehicles controlled by the minds of the pilot of their mother unit, Bits function in a manner similar to both Minions, Animal Companions, and Vehicles, while still having some rules unique to themselves.

• Unless otherwise specified, bits follow all the same rules for vehicles, and perform maneuvers and actions as if they were a vehicles with a silhouette of 2, a handling of +4, and the same max speed as their mother unit.
• Bits may use the Reposition maneuver at speed 0+.
• Bits may be deployed from the mother unit by its pilot, or re-dock with the mother unit, as an incidental.
• When deployed from the mother unit, bits may be controlled individually or broken up into groups by the pilot controlling them. A group of bits can contain any number of deployed bits, of the same type, controlled by the mother unit. A character may break up, rearrange, or otherwise change the number of bits in the groups they control as an incidental.
• Once per round in structured encounters, the pilot of the mother unit may spend one maneuver to direct the groups, or individual, bits they have deployed in performing one action and one maneuver each. The bits must be within range of the mother unit’s psycommu system to do this, or still tethered to the mother unit in the case of an incom.
• All checks made using a weapons equipped to a bit use the Cunning characteristic of the pilot of the mother unit.
• A group of bits may use both the Blanket Barrage and Concentrated Barrage actions, as long as the group is made up of at least two bits. In addition, the pilot of the mother unit may choose use the weapons equipped to a group of bits to perform either of these actions in conjunction with the mother unit’s own weapons of the same type, as if the bit’s weapons were equipped to the mother unit. Doing so still requires the pilot to have spent a maneuver directing the bits they control, and uses the actions of both the pilot and the group of bits used for the round. Any checks the pilot makes as part of these actions uses the appropriate skill for the check, at the pilot’s skill rank, and the pilot’s Cunning characteristic. These actions may be performed regardless of the silhouette of the mother unit or bits.
• Like minions:
  • Unless otherwise specified, Bits do not suffer strain. Anything that normally inflicts strain inflicts wounds on a bit instead. Bits also cannot voluntarily suffer strain.
  • Bits do not possess skills. They can compensate for this by operating as a group. A bit’s profile lists several skills in which that bit type gains ranks when acting as a group.
  • Bits can fight as a group. Controlling bits in groups containing more than one bit has several advantages. It simplifies combat and makes bits more dangerous while allowing a pilot to control a large numbers of bits in encounters.
  • Working as a group also allows bits to use skills. A group of bits gains one skill rank for each bit in the group beyond the first, as long as the skill is on the bits’s profile. So, a group of three bits would count as having two ranks (for
  • the two bits after the first) in any skill checks the group makes for skills listed on their profile.
  • A group of bits has a single wound threshold, shared by all bits that group. A group of bit’s wound threshold is equal to the sum of the wound thresholds of every bit in the group. (For example, a group of three bit, each with a wound threshold of 4, has a wound threshold of 12.) Each time any bit in the group suffers wounds, you apply the wounds to the group’s wound threshold. Individual bits in the group are defeated one at a time, each time the total wounds suffered exceeds a bit’s share of the group’s wound threshold. For example, when the bit group exceeds 4 wounds, one bit is defeated.
  • When characters attack a group of bits, they attack the group as a whole, not an individual. Narratively you may describe them as attacking an individual bit, but mechanically they’re attacking the group.
  • Critical Injuries destroy bits. If a bit suffers a Critical Injury, it is immediately destroyed. If a group of bits suffers a Critical Injury, it suffers one bits’s worth of wounds plus one (so that one of the bits in the group is destroyed).

I-Fields do have some limitations, even when used against beam weapons. They're more effective at medium to long range. Against point blank fire they should work more like soak, and the i-field will overheat requiring a cooldown period.

Also, when it comes to beam weapons I think instead of having a damage rating there should be a multiplier. Then give environments a Minovsky rating with space having higher ratings compared to Earth. Beam weapons should deal damage equal to the Minovsky rating times the multiplier. Might also consider anything with multiplier higher than x2 to have charge up mechanic to raise the multiplier. (I might be making things to complicated.)

16 minutes ago, Thanatos said:

I-Fields do have some limitations, even when used against beam weapons. They're more effective at medium to long range. Against point blank fire they should work more like soak, and the i-field will overheat requiring a cooldown period.

Also, when it comes to beam weapons I think instead of having a damage rating there should be a multiplier. Then give environments a Minovsky rating with space having higher ratings compared to Earth. Beam weapons should deal damage equal to the Minovsky rating times the multiplier. Might also consider anything with multiplier higher than x2 to have charge up mechanic to raise the multiplier. (I might be making things to complicated.)

Yeaaaah, I think that might be a bit more complicated than my group wants to deal with. I'm interested in why you'd go that way though. Atmospheric conditions don't really change beam weapon effectiveness in an appreciable way. They're a one hit kill in anything but underwater conditions basically.