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Amaril
2013-04-12, 05:48 PM
At the request of another poster from my current community world-building thread (which can be found here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=279254)), I'm posting what I have so far of the combat system I've designed for the world. While I'm mainly putting this up for the benefit of the person who requested it, I'd love any feedback you can give on the mechanics listed, since I'm hoping to make this part of an entire homebrew system designed for the setting.

This game is intended to emulate the style of Japanese mecha fiction, with mobile, anthropomorphic mechs rather than the slow, heavy vehicle-looking ones that characterize the western interpretation of the genre. The rules will feature an expansive list of customizable parts with which to alter one's machine. My intention has been to design the rules so that any math required for gameplay can be done quickly and easily (although character creation will likely end up being much more math-intensive), which is what prompted me to base pretty much all the mechanics around percentile dice.

Not every mechanic I'm planning on implementing for combat is here--this is just the most important ones. Various parts and pieces of equipment will add other dimensions to combat, but those will be covered in detail in the same chapter of my design document that covers equipment. Thus, what you see here may not provide the most complete picture. I'm hoping it'll be enough to critique, though.

Anyway, this is what I have.

Combat

Johnny the Union pilot is standing guard outside a base when he spots an approaching Coalition scout. Since he has orders to engage any hostiles who come within his line of fire, he initiates combat with the enemy!
First, Johnny and the gamemaster both roll to determine whose turn comes first. I haven’t decided how this works yet, so I’ll skip it for now.
Johnny wins, so he gets the drop on the enemy. It is now his turn. At the start of his turn, Johnny has two actions to spend—these are the resource he uses to do things during a battle. Most actions that Johnny could take would consume one action, but some would me more involved and time-consuming and require two, while others are particularly quick and easy and can be done for free.
Johnny decides that the first thing he wants to do is move to a position with better cover. He spots a barricade nearby that will help protect him from the enemy’s attacks, so he spends one action to move his mech behind the barricade. Now that he is in a good position, he decides to open fire on the enemy. He thus spends his remaining action to fire a shot with his mech’s assault rifle.
Aiming at the enemy, Johnny rolls his dice and adds his rifle’s Accuracy bonus. The rifle is a reasonably accurate weapon, and he gets a total result of 65%. Attempting to avoid the incoming fire, the Coalition pilot (controlled by the GM) rolls his dice and adds his mech’s Evasion bonus. The scout mech is light and nimble, but the pilot rolls poorly, getting only a total result of 43%—lower than Johnny’s attack. The shot connects with the Coalition mech.
Johnny now has to determine how badly his shot damaged the enemy. He rolls his dice again, this time adding his rifle’s Damage bonus. His total roll is 38%, since the rifle is not particularly powerful. However, his enemy’s mech has armor that may block some or all of the damage. The Coalition pilot rolls his own dice and adds his mech’s Armor bonus, getting a result of only 25% due to his scout mech’s light armor. Subtracting his Armor roll from Johnny’s Damage roll, his mech takes a total of 13% damage.
Johnny has now used up all his actions, so it is the Coalition pilot’s turn. His mech has taken some damage, and he doesn’t want to risk any more—if his mech is damaged to 100%, it will be destroyed. But there’s no nearby cover that will offer him a clear line of sight to Johnny’s mech. In order to reach the nearest suitable cover, he needs to run, so he spends both his actions to move. His mech dashes as fast as possible to the cover of a nearby boulder. He now has some protection from Johnny’s fire, but since he’s used both his actions to move a greater distance, he doesn’t have time left to fire any of his weapons. It’s now Johnny’s turn again.
The two combatants will continue taking turns until the fight ends—either when one mech is destroyed or retreats, or until something else happens to end the battle.

This example only shows a few of the most basic combat mechanics—there are far more things pilots can do with their mechs during a firefight. Some mechs are equipped with energy shielding that blocks damage, others with cloaking technology that makes them invisible, and still others with even more powerful and diverse technologies and capabilities. However, most actions in combat can be accomplished by variations of the simple mechanics presented above.
Below is a more comprehensive list of key terms and actions in combat.

The Basics

Combat in Animus proceeds in turns, with each participant taking their turn to act, and the rotation beginning again after it finishes.
The success or failure of actions taken in combat is determined by rolling percentile dice, adding or subtracting from the total based on your character and the situation, and comparing the result to a target number or another similar die roll.
While it is not necessary, it can be helpful to represent combat with miniatures on an inch-square grid. This can help keep track of positioning and how many combatants there are. The rules assume that maps and miniatures for combat are on a scale of one inch on the table to five feet in the game.

Initiative

The first step in any battle is to roll for initiative—this is what determines the order in which participants take their turns. Mechanics for initiative are still under development.

Movement

Every mech has a movement speed, based on various factors. This determines how far the mech can move. In order to move during combat, a pilot spends an action to move a distance within the limit of their movement speed.
A pilot can spend both their actions to double-time, moving double their speed in one turn. This grants them an extra 10% to their Evasion bonus against enemies making reaction attacks from Overwatch (see below).

Flying

Some mechs can equip systems that allow them to fly. In this case, they will have a flight speed separate from their overland movement speed. Other than this, and the fact that flying mechs can move vertically, flight works exactly the same way as overland movement.

Attacking

In order to destroy enemy mechs, a pilot must make effective use of their various weapons. While there is variation in the detailed mechanics of different types of weapons, they all follow the same basic process for attacks.
Attacking normally takes up one action, with some rare exceptions. Most weapons can attack twice in the same turn, if both actions are spent. In order to attack, the attacker first selects their target, which must be within their weapon’s maximum effective range. If they have a weapon with Precision, they decide now what part of the enemy they want to target—otherwise, the attack is automatically assumed to be aimed at the target’s body. They then roll percentile dice, and add to the total the accuracy bonus of the weapon with which they are attacking, plus any other relevant bonuses or penalties. This total determines the required value of the target’s evasion roll. The target then rolls percentile dice and adds their mech’s evasion bonus, plus any other relevant bonuses or penalties. If the total of this roll is higher than the attacker’s attack roll, the attack misses—if it is lower, the attack connects.
If an attack hits successfully, the damage of the attack must then be determined. To do this, the attacker rolls percentile dice and adds their weapon’s damage bonus, plus any other relevant bonuses or penalties. Then the target rolls their percentile dice and adds their mech’s armor value. The total of the armor roll is subtracted from the total of the damage roll, and the remainder is deducted from the integrity of the part that was hit.

Overwatch

Sometimes, it’s better to wait an enemy out than try to attack them right away. In situations like this, the best thing to do is go on Overwatch. Overwatch is like delaying an attack until later—it allows you to wait for an opening and fire as soon as you see your target. Entering Overwatch only consumes one action, but it can only be done at the end of your turn. You will remain on Overwatch until the beginning of your next turn. While on Overwatch, a combatant waits until an enemy moves within their line of sight, and then attacks them immediately (if they are within range). Afterwards, they leave Overwatch and cannot make more attacks in this manner. Attacks made from Overwatch are called reaction attacks, and suffer a -10% penalty to accuracy.

Melee Attacks

Melee attacks work exactly like all other attacks, except that their effective range will always be listed as “melee”. This means that the attacker must be adjacent to the target in order to attack.
Also, melee weapons cannot be blocked by shields (see below).

Missiles and Explosives

Missiles consist of an explosive warhead attached to the front of a rocket-propelled module designed to be fired from a mech-mounted launcher. They work similarly to other weapons, but with a few differences.
Missiles tend to do much more damage than other weapons. In addition, when they explode, they can damage all parts of a target rather than just the body (see below), and can even damage multiple targets over a large area. However, they travel more slowly than bullets, which can allow the target to intercept them if they are quick enough.
When a combatant makes an attack using a missile weapon, the target can make an intercept roll to try and shoot down the missile before it hits (provided they have a weapon powered up and operational). An intercept roll is just like an attack roll—in order to shoot down a missile, the intercept roll must be higher than the attack role of the attacker. If a missile is intercepted, it has no effect. If the target fails their intercept roll, they may still roll to evade the missile as normal.
When a target is hit by a missile, damage and armor rolls are made as normal. However, damage from a missile applies to all parts of the target’s mech rather than just the body—all parts take the same damage rolled. In addition, more powerful missiles can damage large areas around the target. Missiles with this capability will list their blast damage separately from their direct-hit damage, as well as their area of effect. AOE missiles require two evasion rolls—one to avoid a direct hit, and another to escape the blast radius. If the second roll is successful, the target chooses any space adjacent to the blast radius and places their mech there. If a missile’s blast radius is greater than the target’s movement speed, they cannot escape the blast—they automatically take blast damage.

Damage and Hull Integrity

When a mech is hit in combat, its hull will take damage. If the damage becomes severe enough, the mech’s systems can be crippled—it may even be destroyed entirely.
Every mech has five sections that can be damaged—head, body, right arm, left arm and legs. Most weapons are not accurate enough to target specific sections of an enemy mech in combat—by default, attacks are assumed to target the body. Each part has its own integrity total, and is usually damaged separately. The maximum hull integrity of each part is 100%--when it reaches 0%, it is disabled.
Each part has different effects when it is disabled. If the body of a mech is disabled, the entire mech is destroyed, since the body contains both the cockpit and most of the vital systems. Destroying another part of a mech does not affect the entire machine, but a mech cannot activate any systems attached to a disabled part—for example, if your mech’s right arm is fitted with a laser cannon, and another pilot disables that arm, you cannot fire the cannon until the arm is repaired. However, when a part is disabled, any power that was being allocated to systems attached to that part is freed up to be used by other systems.
If a mech’s body is disabled, the pilot rolls percentile dice. On a roll of over 50%, the mech explodes, causing damage to the surrounding area. Detailed rules for exploding mechs are under development.

Firing Into Melee

Shooting ranged weapons into melee combat makes it much more difficult to hit one’s intended target. When firing at two or more mechs that are engaged in melee, the attacker assigns an equal range of results on a set of percentile dice to each, and then rolls their dice. The result of the roll determines which target is hit. This is done after designating the part of the target that is being aimed at, if applicable.
For example, Jill is aiming her mech’s sniper rifle at an enemy mech that is currently engaged in melee with one of her allies. She wants to cripple her target’s sensors, so she decides to aim for the enemy mech’s head. Because there are two combatants in melee, Jill assigns a range of 1% to 50% to her intended target, and a range of 51% to 100% to her ally. She then rolls her percentile dice, getting a roll of 71%--she hits her ally’s mech in the head, destroying its cameras and blinding it. Oops.

Cover and Concealment

Mechs are built to take a pounding, but your armor can only withstand so many shots. In order to maximize your protection from enemy attacks, the best thing to do is to stay in cover.
The way cover works is simple. Any time there is an object of at least a certain size and thickness between you and your enemy, it counts as cover. There are two levels of cover—partial and full. While in partial cover from an enemy, you gain a 20% increase to your evasion bonus against their attacks—in full cover, the bonus is 40%.
It’s important to remember that cover doesn’t automatically protect you from every angle of attack. If an enemy has unobstructed line of sight to you, the cover bonus doesn’t apply against their attacks.
Another good way to avoid getting hit is to not be seen. This can be accomplished with terrain that provides concealment. Like cover, concealment is divided into partial and full levels. If you have partial concealment from an enemy, they take a -20% penalty to attack rolls against you—with full concealment, the penalty is -40%. Cover is similar to concealment, but represents different situations. If your enemy’s shots are blocked by a wall you are hiding behind, that’s cover—if you are hidden by dense foliage (that will do nothing to actually stop incoming bullets), that’s concealment.

Shielding

Many mechs can equip systems that project a Kinetic Interdiction (KI) Field, more commonly called a shield. Shields function a lot like armor, but with some differences. Below is an example of a turn in combat during which a shield comes into play.

Johnny’s mech has taken some serious damage from the Coalition scout’s laser sniper rifle, and he needs to take steps to protect himself. Powering off his jump jets—he wasn’t using them anyway—he spends his first action to turn on his mech’s shield battery. Once activated, it projects a KI Field with a shield rating of 25%. He spends his remaining action to fire another shot from his rifle, missing by a fair bit.
The Coalition pilot’s turn begins. He needs to get to better cover, so he spends his first action to move to a safer position. Having moved already this turn, he can’t fire his laser sniper rifle, so he switches over to his light machine gun and takes aim at Johnny. He’ll need to breach Johnny’s shield before he can damage his mech.
He rolls his attack, getting a result high enough to overcome Johnny’s evasion attempt. His shot connects with Johnny’s shields. The Coalition pilot rolls his damage, getting a total of 45%. However, instead of an armor roll, Johnny makes a shield roll to prevent damage. This works the same as his armor roll, but he uses his shield bonus instead of his armor bonus. His total roll is 30%, so the Coalition scout’s LMG deals 15% damage to Johnny’s shields. His mech is protected and takes no damage, but the shield is weakened—if it is damaged 100%, it will fail, exposing his mech to further attacks.

Shields essentially form an extra layer of armor that prevents the user’s mech from taking damage until it has been breached. However, shields are notably different from armor in that if they go a certain number of turns without taking damage, determined by the shield battery’s recharge threshold, they will regain some of their power and regenerate partially. For example, if Johnny manages to hide and prevent further damage to his shields for two turns, they will recharge by 5%, bringing their integrity back up to 90%. For this reason, shields can often be much more effective in combat than standard armor, and are often relied upon strongly by heavy combat mechs.

What do you think?

Rabidmuskrat
2013-04-13, 04:46 AM
Looks okay, but I have to ask. What happens if your damage roll is lower than the opponents armour roll? No damage?

Amaril
2013-04-13, 11:34 AM
Looks okay, but I have to ask. What happens if your damage roll is lower than the opponents armour roll? No damage?

Yeah, the shot bounces harmlessly off their armor.

Alexkubel
2013-04-13, 12:16 PM
I have a question.

how wold you deal with mechs that me and my group call 'dreadnoughts' within dreadnoughts you get various types:

Titan - heavily armoured mech (always has shields) with a few powerful weapons, good shielding, usually quite slow. they usually are the damage taker of the force.
Super heavy weapons platform - this mech only needs firepower. speed and armour are not relevant, these are dangerous if they get the jump on the enemy. (Warhammer 40,000 Imperial titans not elder ones)

Fast Dreadnought - as the name Implies they're fast, speed over armour and weapons. (elder titans go here)

Battle Dreadnought - these are low armour (for a dreadnought) powerful guns and fast.

Alexander class - this is a group of vehicles, that don't fit into any other categories as they include tanks. they have heavy armour but not on par with a Titan, powerful weapon system but not on par with the Weapons Platform, and not as fast as the Fast or Battle dreadnoughts.

the question is
These things usually have parts of significant size that you can pick out with relative ease. but the system as far as I can tell does not at any point say if this is possible and the benefits of it.

also I approve of what you chose for your penetration method.

EDIT: forgot
Super dreadnought is the biggest set e.g. The Warhammer 40,000 Imperiator titan is both a titan and a super dreadnought but the warhound is a titan and a fast dreadnought, reaver at Battle Dreadnought warlord at Super.

Fast Dreadnought less then 300 tonnes
Battle Dreadnought 300 to 600 tonnes
Superdreadnought 600 tonnes or heavier

Amaril
2013-04-13, 12:30 PM
I've been thinking about the best way to handle size mechanics (I definitely want to include massive mechs--I'm planning on having Titans be the largest size category that are almost never used), and I'm really not sure how to deal with body part targeting in cases of big size differences.

Here's a thought--if you're within a certain range of a mech that's several size categories bigger than you, you can target body parts as if you were using a weapon with Precision or High Precision (keywords for weapons--I'll explain them some other time). Melee attacks against mechs that are a certain number of size categories bigger than you can automatically target individual parts.

Also, while I'm definitely going to have multiple size categories of mechs, I'm not sure yet whether I want to further differentiate mech types within those categories (so you'd have things like Covert Ops light mechs or Artillery super-heavies). One thing I'm prioritizing is allowing players to have plenty of control over their mech's individual equipment and capabilities--if your mech is big enough to fit both a massive rocket launcher and a cloaking field, you can do that. On the other hand, I do like the idea of different mech chassis having limits on what they can and can't equip, or at the very least giving bonuses to certain types of equipment (the last option is the one I'm leaning towards). Regardless of what I do with that, though, I'm going to require pilots to have certain skills trained high enough to be able to equip certain systems, so you can't just automatically do everything.

Alexkubel
2013-04-13, 12:38 PM
I've been thinking about the best way to handle size mechanics (I definitely want to include massive mechs--I'm planning on having Titans be the largest size category that are almost never used), and I'm really not sure how to deal with body part targeting in cases of big size differences.

Here's a thought--if you're within a certain range of a mech that's several size categories bigger than you, you can target body parts as if you were using a weapon with Precision or High Precision (keywords for weapons--I'll explain them some other time). Melee attacks against mechs that are a certain number of size categories bigger than you can automatically target individual parts.

Also, while I'm definitely going to have multiple size categories of mechs, I'm not sure yet whether I want to further differentiate mech types within those categories (so you'd have things like Covert Ops light mechs or Artillery super-heavies). One thing I'm prioritizing is allowing players to have plenty of control over their mech's individual equipment and capabilities--if your mech is big enough to fit both a massive rocket launcher and a cloaking field, you can do that. On the other hand, I do like the idea of different mech chassis having limits on what they can and can't equip, or at the very least giving bonuses to certain types of equipment (the last option is the one I'm leaning towards). Regardless of what I do with that, though, I'm going to require pilots to have certain skills trained high enough to be able to equip certain systems, so you can't just automatically do everything.

I can't help but notice you used the term Artillery super Heavy, and a picture of this came into my head (google it, it's the one with the single huge gun) the P.1500 Monster. fact is I made an error forgetting the 'Super dreadnought' was actually the largest of the size categories used Fast was the smallest and Battle was the one in the middle. these are 'Dreadnought mechs' and the descriptions are just the general trend.

Also I'd love to see the rough tonnage and size of some of the mechs, it'll give me an idea of just how HUGE the Dreadnoughts are.

Amaril
2013-04-13, 12:55 PM
I can't help but notice you used the term Artillery super Heavy, and a picture of this came into my head (google it, it's the one with the single huge gun) the P.1500 Monster. fact is I made an error forgetting the 'Super dreadnought' was actually the largest of the size categories used Fast was the smallest and Battle was the one in the middle. these are 'Dreadnought mechs' and the descriptions are just the general trend.

Also I'd love to see the rough tonnage and size of some of the mechs, it'll give me an idea of just how HUGE the Dreadnoughts are.

I'm not completely sure how I want my mechs to compare in size or weight, so maybe you can help me out. I'm planning on having five size categories--light, medium, heavy, super-heavy, and titans. Light mechs are, of course, the smallest and lightest--I'd pictured them being maybe 25 to 30 feet tall, designed for mobility above all else. From there, I'm not quite sure how big I want each category to be, but I know I want titans to be bigger than many small starships, and require special facilities to be maintained and launched.

All the mechs are, of course, controlled solely by the pilot--since they operate the mech by neural link, any other crew would be pointless. However, operating larger mechs is considerably more difficult and requires special training--the number of pilots qualified to operate titans would probably be in the low triple digits.

EDIT: Actually, now I think about it, a good size comparison for titans would probably be the Evas from Neon Genesis Evangelion, which, if you haven't seen that show, are absolutely freaking massive. So yeah, that would be the upper limit of mech sizes.

Durazno
2013-04-13, 05:41 PM
Evas vary in size between shots, and are about 200 meters tall at their largest (if I remember right.) You might also look to the incredibly depressing Bokurano for another size comparison. The machine our protagonists pilot in that is about 500 meters tall, which gives the show a very different look.

I think I'd recommend allowing for the existence of specialized teams of pilots that either work together to control a single machine or control linked machines.

Amaril
2013-04-13, 08:58 PM
I think I'd recommend allowing for the existence of specialized teams of pilots that either work together to control a single machine or control linked machines.

In the setting I have in mind, the basic organization of mech units in the military is in fireteams of four or five, depending on the mission and the individual skills of each team member. The exception would be titans, which have only ever been deployed solo, since they're so rare and so huge. I'm not sure why, but for some reason the idea of mechs with multiple pilots has just always bugged me. Somehow it just seems a lot less cool. But yeah, I'm all for mech pilots working in teams.

Durazno
2013-04-14, 03:38 AM
If you have a single character piloting starship-sized titans, then starships themselves might have similar systems.

Huh, sorry, this is more worldbuilding, isn't it?

Any room for combination? I don't necessarily mean Megazord-style super robot combining, but perhaps something like carrying a downed ally like a backpack so they can keep shooting.

Rabidmuskrat
2013-04-14, 07:01 AM
I'd say mechs are designed too close to their weight limits, carrying a second mech would be too much.

Amaril
2013-04-14, 11:10 AM
It could work in zero-gravity, but yeah, I don't think it would be the most practical thing in-atmosphere. There will, however, be repair tools mechs can equip that'll allow them to fix allies up in combat so they're not immobilized or disarmed for the whole battle.

DMMike
2013-04-14, 12:23 PM
- You'll probably want your map scale to be larger than 1"=5'. Mechs are big, no?

- If you want to maintain a cinematic or cartoon feel to the game, you'll allow mechs to fly and run and shoot and do flips at the same time. So give a player two sets of actions to perform in a turn: movement and weaponry. With very expensive computers on board, flying at full speed probably won't reduce the ability to hit or be hit, so you probably won't need penalties for moving and firing.

- Your flying section should be a bit more complex, since movement in three dimensions is way more complex than two. This goes back to the cinematic thing: maneuvering at high speed between buildings and bridges is bread-and-butter for Mecha, as far as I know.

Amaril
2013-04-14, 02:32 PM
- You'll probably want your map scale to be larger than 1"=5'. Mechs are big, no?

- If you want to maintain a cinematic or cartoon feel to the game, you'll allow mechs to fly and run and shoot and do flips at the same time. So give a player two sets of actions to perform in a turn: movement and weaponry. With very expensive computers on board, flying at full speed probably won't reduce the ability to hit or be hit, so you probably won't need penalties for moving and firing.

- Your flying section should be a bit more complex, since movement in three dimensions is way more complex than two. This goes back to the cinematic thing: maneuvering at high speed between buildings and bridges is bread-and-butter for Mecha, as far as I know.

1--I thought about that, but I also want the system to be able to easily represent infantry and other vehicles, since mechs aren't the only things on most battlefields in this world. Keeping the base scale focused on human-sized things makes that easier.

2--So, two actions for movement and two for combat? That's an interesting idea, if it's what you meant...I'll think about ways to emphasize the mobility and fast pace of mech combat. You're right about the targeting computers--they're accurate enough that the target's speed doesn't matter, at least not any speed a mech can achieve.

3--I'm not sure how to expand on the flight rules, but you're right that they need to be more extensive. What would you recommend?

Amaril
2013-04-14, 07:33 PM
I have a first attempt at a skill list for this system that I just finished, so I'm going to put that on here too. Please let me know how you think I can improve it :smallsmile:

I haven't decided yet whether I want to have character creation outside of mechs be entirely skill-based, or whether I want to have an attribute system, but since I'm going to have skills either way, I figured I'd make this first and then decide on attributes later if I needed to.

This list isn't intended to cover every possible skill that a pilot could have, just the ones that would be directly useful for piloting (plus some like Diplomacy that are more situational but could still be helpful to a pilot). If you think of any others I should add, please let me know.

Skills

• Light Mech Operation: Affects your overall proficiency at operating light mechs.
• Medium Mech Operation: Affects your overall proficiency at operating medium mechs.
• Heavy Mech Operation: Affects your overall proficiency at operating heavy mechs.
• Super-heavy Mech Operation: Affects your overall proficiency at operating super-heavy mechs.
• Titan Operation: Affects your overall proficiency at operating titans.
• Starship Operation: Affects your skill at crewing spacecraft.
• Light Vehicle Operation: Affects your skill at advanced driving and operating vehicles like cars and motorcycles.
• Heavy Vehicle Operation: Affects your skill at operating heavy military vehicles like tanks.
• Projectile Weapons: Affects your skill with weapons that fire physical projectiles, like machine guns and scatter guns. Required to equip these weapons.
• Energy Weapons: Affects your skill with weapons that use energy, such as laser cannons and plasma rifles. Required to equip these weapons.
• Explosives: Affects your skill with explosive weapons, such as missile launchers and grenade launchers. Required to equip these weapons.
• CQC: Affects your skill with melee weapons and certain close-range guns. Required to equip these weapons.
• Marksmanship: Affects your skill with weapons that require precise aiming to use effectively, such as sniper rifles. Required to equip these weapons.
• Ordnance: Affects your skill with large or heavy weapons. Required to equip these weapons.
• Aviation: Affects your skill at maneuvering while flying. Required to equip aeronautics systems such as thruster packs.
• Covert Ops: Affects your skill at remaining undetected and carrying out stealth missions. Required to equip systems such as cloaking field generators and sensor jammers.
• Engineering: Affects your skill at building, repairing and operating complex machinery. Required to equip systems such as repair tools.
• Electronics: Affects your skill with electronic devices. Required to equip systems such as shielding, EMP devices, advanced sensors and e-war modules.
• Programming: Affects your skill with computers and software programming efficiency. Required to equip systems such as advanced targeting computers and cyberwar modules.
• Tactics: Affects your skill at military strategy and command. Required to equip systems such as advanced comms networks.
• Survival: Affects your ability to find food, water and air and survive in the wilderness.
• Navigation: Affects your ability to navigate around planets. Required to equip advanced navigation software.
• Astrogation: Affects your ability to navigate through space. Required to equip advanced astrogation software.
• History: Affects your historical knowledge.
• Diplomacy: Affects your skill at negotiation and persuading others.
• Coercion: Affects your skill at intimidation and threatening people into agreeing with you.
• Deception: Affects your skill at lying and tricking others.
• Political Studies: Affects your understanding of world politics and current events.
• Cultural Studies: Affects your knowledge of world cultures and current events.

DMMike
2013-04-15, 10:48 PM
Good looking skill list, but I'm thinking about high-tech computers again. I'm pretty sure that Projectile Weapons and Energy Weapons are just as easy to use when your on-board targeting does a lot of the work for you.

So...maybe these aren't Skills, but Mech Upgrades?

Anyway, your flying rules aren't so important if you have only Mechs fighting each other. But if there will be helicopters, jets, and starfighters involved, each one will maneuver differently, and some will have advantages over others in flight-based combat. Remember, a lot of aerial combat is done without cover, which makes maneuverability highly important.

So you'll need maneuverability classes, air rules versus vacuum rules, and methods for measuring vertical distance on a two-dimensional map. And corresponding skills for tactics (since flight computers handle the details of powering engines and wings).

Amaril
2013-04-15, 10:56 PM
Good looking skill list, but I'm thinking about high-tech computers again. I'm pretty sure that Projectile Weapons and Energy Weapons are just as easy to use when your on-board targeting does a lot of the work for you.

So...maybe these aren't Skills, but Mech Upgrades?

Anyway, your flying rules aren't so important if you have only Mechs fighting each other. But if there will be helicopters, jets, and starfighters involved, each one will maneuver differently, and some will have advantages over others in flight-based combat. Remember, a lot of aerial combat is done without cover, which makes maneuverability highly important.

So you'll need maneuverability classes, air rules versus vacuum rules, and methods for measuring vertical distance on a two-dimensional map. And corresponding skills for tactics (since flight computers handle the details of powering engines and wings).

I got the idea for weapon type skills like Projectile Weapons from EVE Online--I'm taking a lot of inspiration from the skill system that game used (although I'm obviously simplifying it a lot because that system was freaking incomprehensible). In EVE, you need to have skills with a certain type of weapon high enough in order to fit it on your ship. Why this is is never really explained, but I think it should help keep the game balanced if only people trained to use a particular type of weapon can be effective with it.

Also, mech pilots have to do most of their aiming themselves--the targeting computers don't actually aim for them, they just affect the precision with which the mech can respond to the pilot's mental control. That's why a pilot has to be familiar with a certain type of weapon to be accurate with it.