Armored Core: The RPG?

[Kyeudo]

I love the Armored Core games, especially the latest titles (Armored Core 4 and 4 Answer) and I'd love to find an RPG that could capture the feel of the series, but I've only had experience with one mecha pen-and-paper RPG (some version of Mechton Zeta) and I'd like to find a game that captures the great feel of Armored Core in a reasonably balanced way.

Now I've thought about using M&M, but a big part of Armored Core is being able to tweak your AC to better fit whatever mission you are just about to run and M&M's character generation rules are a little too time consuming to be reusing every hour at the table.

Anyone got any suggestions on what I should look into?

[The Rose Dragon]

I'm so tempted to suggest Exalted.

That said, how about CthulhuTech? I hear it has some mecha in it.

[Xallace]

I hear Heavy Gear is pretty awesome, but not having played it myself, I cannot say much more.

If you can nab Future Tech and d20 Future for d20 Modern, you'll have plenty to work from (Future Tech is pretty much necessary for AC since, well, the mechs in d20 Future are apparently giant power suits rather than separate vehicles).

[The Rose Dragon]

If you can nab Future Tech and d20 Future for d20 Modern, you'll have plenty to work from (Future Tech is pretty much necessary for AC since, well, the mechs in d20 Future are apparently giant power suits rather than separate vehicles).

Then again, you'll still be playing d20 Modern. Win some, lose some.

[Susano-wo]

I'm not very familiar with the rules, but Heavy Gear is designed to be a mecha RPG with a more military tone (as opposed to a more super-hero-ey tone)
--Semi-ninja'd

[Crossblade]

I've hear mention of Battletech on these boards before. I know little about it though. I'd love to find a good mech table top game too, though...

[Xallace]

Then again, you'll still be playing d20 Modern. Win some, lose some.

I can accept that.

[Susano-wo]

@ Crossblade. I haven't played the most recent addition of the Mechwarrior RPG, but it struggled hard to not be simply an addon to the squad comabt game. (though it does use a priority system for the cahracter, where you put priorities from 1-5 in different catagoies, such as race, skills, and Mech, which I liked)

But the battle system, though fun as a wargame/squad combat game, is quite fiddly as an RPG system, as well as lending to a clunky, lumbering tank feel.

Unless you're a Veritech Valkyrie Land Air Mech...in which case you are broken. Which is why they in fiction destroyed al lthe production facilities, so they could eliminate them (they are a semi-lost tech, so after the last LAM factory was destroyed, no new mechs or LAM specific parts were able to be made) :D

[Kyeudo]

I'm not looking for a mechwarrior type feel in the system. Armored Core is alot closer to Gundam Wing in feel than anything from the Battletech universe.

Battletech is a completely different kind of awesome.

[hustlertwo]

Is there a Front Mission pen and paper RPG? I always felt Wanzers were not dissimilar from Cores, aside from the vast difference in gameplay styles of course.

I remember the fun I used to have the AC series, but now it just seems dismal. Ask me, it peaked with Master of Arena.

[Knaight]

Seraphim Guard produced a small game called Mecha Aces. I don't have a very in depth familiarity with it, but what I've seen looked impressive, and it is aimed at a more Shonen anime mecha style than Battletech or similar.

[Gabe the Bard]

One of the things I loved about the old Armored Core games was the flexibility. You could make something slow and cumbersome, laden of lasers and long range missiles, or you could make the fastest, sleekest Core armed with only a sword.

On the old Playstation game, my friend and I used to have sword-only duels using the fastest ACs. The physics and everything got really wonky, but it just made the battles more epic because your sword thrust would suddenly pull you up into the stratosphere, or if you came down vertically and slashed during mid-fall you would do double or quadruple damage. It captured the spirit of a Gundam sword battle pretty well in its own glitchy way

Anyway, I don't know enough game systems so I can't recommend one in particular, but maybe there's something out there that can capture a wide range of possibilities from Gundam to Battletech.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Then again, you'll still be playing d20 Modern. Win some, lose some.

Or win some and win some more.