Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Assault on Dextrose IV – Mecha of the 1/23rd Battalion

This is some of the mecha designs I came up with for our little playtest campaign for War of the Mecha by JB over at B/X Blackrazor.  I'll post more as they come into play.  I don't have the mecha sheets for the other players, so it may be after the campaign ends before I can post theirs (hint, hint guys).


Model: Archangel
Assault mecha
Total AP (80+1d20): 87, Walk/Run: 4/6, Jump: No, Heat Sinks 30
Weapons: 3 Large Energy Weapons

Quick on their feet and with long range weapons, the Archangel is a solid threat.


Model: Artemis
Assault mecha
Total AP (80+1d20): 93, Walk/Run: 3/5, Jump: No, Heat Sinks: 30
Weapons: 4 Large Missile Weapons

A fairly simple long-range attack mecha, the Artemis can fire all of its weapons while running and generate no heat.


Model: Bodyguard
Heavy mecha
Total AP (60+1d20): 78, Walk/Run: 5/8, Jump: No, Heat Sinks 20
Weapons: 2 Large Ballistic Weapons, 1 Large Energy Weapon

Surprisingly fast for a heavy mecha, the Bodyguard can run and fire all its weapons, generating no heat. It favors close in combat, but it can get in some damaging potshots while moving in.


Model: Brickhouse
Assault mecha
Total AP (80+1d20): 81, Walk/Run: 3/5, Jump: No, Heat Sinks 25
Weapons: 3 Large Ballistic Weapons, 1 Large Energy Weapon, and 1 Small Energy Weapon

The Brickhouse pilot has to be careful about heat as firing all weapons generates more heat than the basic array of heatsinks can handle. In close, all those weapons hitting will devastate the target, which is very tempting for most pilots.


Model: Fireball
Light mecha
Total AP (20+1d20): 29, Walk/Run: 8/12, Jump: Yes, Heat Sinks 10
Weapons: 1 Small Energy Weapon

Fireballs are designed primarily for scouting purposes and screening heavier units on the move. They are some of the fastest mecha on the battlefield and their jump capability will get them behind an enemy mecha for quick, cheap hits when fighting in urban of heavily forested terrain.


Model: Pharos
Assault mecha
Total AP (80+1d20): 96, Walk/Run: 3/5, Jump: No, Heat Sinks 30
Weapons: 8 Small Energy Weapons

The Pharos (a.k.a. Death-blossom Special) is a rude surprise for any opponent it closes with. This mecha rewards a pilot that makes use of cover to close with the enemy until stepping out at 90 m or less and then “lighting them up”. A full strike from a Pharos will vaporize light mecha, destroy a medium mecha, and deeply wound or kill a heavy or even an assault mecha.


Model: Sentinel
Medium mecha
Total AP (40+1d20): 41, Walk/Run: 6/9, Jump: Yes, Heat Sinks 10
Weapons: 2 Large Ballistic Weapons

The Sentinel was designed for fighting in urban terrain or very uneven terrain with many canyons or foothills. The designers sacrificed heat sinks for the ability to jump, so it has a tendency to run hot in combat, something the pilot has to pay attention to. Most pilots jockeying one appreciate the tactical flexibility granted by the high speed and jump-capability granted by the Sentinel.

1 comment:

  1. I see the benefit of a point-balancing system based upon your write-ups. A quick perusal of the rules reveals that almost everything can be converted to Small Weapon System (SWS) equivalents. Every 5 Heat Sinks accounts for 1 SWS. Each improvement to the Walk/Run speed accounts for 1 SWS - and the base 3/5 of an Assault Mech should amount to 1 SWS base level. If you also make every 5 AP cost 1 SWS then you can also account for the randomization factor as well to get a good profile for a Mech's base power level. Thus:

    Light: 20 AP (4 SWS)
    6/9 Mv (4 SWS)
    1 Lg WS (2 SWS)
    1 Sm WS (1 SWS)
    10 HS (2 SWS)
    Total: 13 SWS (+/- 1-4)

    Med: 40 AP (8 SWS)
    5/8 Mv (3 SWS)
    2 Lg WS (4 SWS)
    1 Sm WS (1 SWS)
    15 HS (3 SWS)
    Total: 19 SWS (+/- 1-4)

    Heavy: 60 AP (12 SWS)
    4/6 Mv (2 SWS)
    3 Lg WS (6 SWS)
    1 Sm WS (1 SWS)
    20 HS (4 SWS)
    Total: 25 SWS (+/- 1-4)

    Asslt: 80 AP (16 SWS)
    3/5 Mv (1 SWS)
    4 Lg WS (8 SWS)
    1 Sm WS (1 SWS)
    25 HS (5 SWS)
    Total: 31 SWS (+/- 1-4)

    Not sure how accurate this would actually work out - 2 Lights against and Assault would seem to be fairly one-sided - I'd have to see it played out and how important Movement, Terrain and Development plays into things (I'm leaning towards 5 SWS per +1 Pilot/Gunnery - thoughts?) Using Development levels as a balance to unevenly paired sides could make things more balanced, as could Terrain/Scenario Advantage multipliers (Ambush/Defense x1.5 SWS Mult - maybe more)

    Shades of Star Fleet Battles BPV rears it's ugly head (BWAHAHAHA!)

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