 December 18, 2010 - 8:12pm | Refer to: Mobile Weapons Platforms. I was working on this a while ago when the discussion of Mechs had come up in the forums and though it is very barebones, at the moment I think it might serve to give us a framework to use to create steam powered mechs in this setting. The construction aspects are very simple and I did not include any information about costs, as that is something we haven't even begun to discuss. "Hey guys I wonder what this does"-Famous last words "Hey guys, I think it's friendly." -Famous last words "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." -Famous last words "Did you here that?" -Famous last words |
 December 18, 2010 - 9:44pm | (some of my thoughts) A mech is basically a vehicle with "walker" as the mode of transport. A full-body vehiclewhich encases the pilot in a special full-body sensor suitthat amplifies movement, moving the walker more like aperson than a vehicle. It has shoulders, elbows, wrists,hands, fingers and a mobile waist. These vehicles should have abilities like characters; strength, dexterity and reaction speed. |
December 18, 2010 - 9:59pm | I gave them Dex/RS scores but I didn't like the idea of giving them a Strength score because giving a mech a score of Strength 500 or more seemed somehow wrong, so I opted instead to just give them an arbitrary physical attack damage rating, and list how much they could lift, or move. I thought that was the best way to marry the vehicle concept, with the mobile suit aspect. I also chose not to mention a physical description so that the "mech" could be built to look like anything from a giant robot, to a steam powered spider (like the one in Wild Wild West). "Hey guys I wonder what this does"-Famous last words "Hey guys, I think it's friendly." -Famous last words "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." -Famous last words "Did you here that?" -Famous last words |
December 18, 2010 - 10:04pm | As this is Steam punk I envision the pilot wearing a jumpsuit with an aviator helmet, and flight goggles. He would be sitting in a cockpit filled with levers, and gauges rather then actually wearing a powered exoskeleton, and as the machine moved steam would issue from vents in the contraption. "Hey guys I wonder what this does"-Famous last words "Hey guys, I think it's friendly." -Famous last words "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." -Famous last words "Did you here that?" -Famous last words |
December 18, 2010 - 10:48pm | Mechs can come in any shape or size, I gave one example. I think all mechs should have moving parts, that's what makes them different than vehicles. For instance a mech with 200 STR could lift 6.4 tons. If you make weapons have weight, then you would need enough strength to lift it. Ahh the possibilities! By having ability scores mech's can have contests like characters. Who can lift more, who is faster and so on. |
December 18, 2010 - 11:28pm | I wasn't considering adding a multiplier to the Strength score, but perhaps you would need to purchase a skeletal armature for the mech and each type would apply a multiplier to the mech's Strength (which should be a base 100). For example buying a skeletal armature type B might give a multiplier of x4, so that particular mech would effectively have a strength of 400 without us having to give a strength score over 100. If however the mech was built using an armature type D for instance with a modifier of x8, that same mech's strength would effectively by 800. "Hey guys I wonder what this does"-Famous last words "Hey guys, I think it's friendly." -Famous last words "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." -Famous last words "Did you here that?" -Famous last words |
December 18, 2010 - 11:33pm | We might even incorporate the attribute multiplier system to other things like creatures or even characters allowing for truly superhuman stats, without the base stat score going beyond the 30-100 range....Thinking of Star Frontiers based superheroes now. "Hey guys I wonder what this does"-Famous last words "Hey guys, I think it's friendly." -Famous last words "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." -Famous last words "Did you here that?" -Famous last words |
December 26, 2010 - 8:17pm | Just an update. Even though the holidays have slowed me down, and I'm trying to get my own project to the next level, I haven't forgotten about this. I'm reading everything I can get my hands on about mechs (mostly over dinner) and I might have something a little more complete in the near future. "Hey guys I wonder what this does"-Famous last words "Hey guys, I think it's friendly." -Famous last words "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." -Famous last words "Did you here that?" -Famous last words |
