From: Donald A. Chipman III <tre@i...>
Date: Tue, 18 Feb 1997 11:08:23 -0500
Subject: FT Mecha rules
Well, I wasted a portion of my life watching the pointless and empty Robotech II: The Sentinels last night. As disappointing as it was (even when viewed through the haze of a 6 pack), it didn't stop me from sitting down and hammering out preliminary Robotech-type fighters for Full Thrust. These are pretty rough, and I haven't figured out pricing yet. They also tend to make the mechs significantly more powerful than your standard figheter, so stock up on your PDAFs. Comments, critisisims, and further ideas would be greatly appreciated. Bear in mind that I'm pretty much a novice in the world of Anime, so go easy on me. Mecha rules: Mecha can be targeted by fighters, ADAF, PDAF, and C batteries (operating in PD mode) exactly as per standard fighters. Command Armor gives Mecha the same advantages as Heavy Fighters. Transforming: Switching from one form to another takes 1 turn, during which the mech has a maximum speed of 10. While transforming, mecha cannot attack, although they can defend if attacked as per the rules for fighters attacked with spent endurance (MT 11): on a roll of 1-2, they suffer the attack from the enemy but may not return fire at all, 3-4 they manage to evade the enemy and continue on course, 5-6 they may engage in dogfighting as normal. Transformable mecha have three forms in which to chose from: Fighter Mode: In this form, the mech looks like an advanced fighter plane, and behaves exactly as per standard fighters (FT 16-17). Guardian Mode: Halfway between Fighter and Battloid modes, the Guardian gains the speed of the fighter with the agility of the Battloid to give the group the abilities of an interceptor group. Movement speed is 10. Battloid Mode: The traditional humanoid robot form, Battloid Mode gives the group the ability to behave as if they had an Ace. While in Battloid mode, movement is slowed to 8 instead of 12, but otherwise the group behaves as if they were in standard fighters. While in this mode, Battloids can engage in boarding party actions. Each battloid which ends its turn within 2" of an enemy ship may attempt to board the ship. On a roll of 3 or better on a d6, the Battloid has made it aboard and can fight as if it was a 4-man boarding Team (MT 7). If the Battloid fails the roll, it is assumed that the pilot couldn't find a large enough entrance for his mech and must remain outside for the remainder of the turn. Battloids can attempt to destroy any one system on board a ship; The attacker must roll a d6. If he rolls lower or equal to half the amount of Battloids involved in the attack (rounded down), he suceeds, and the system is downed as if hit by a needle beam attack. Battleoids attempting such an attack cannot otherwise attack during that turn. Battloids cannot take over a ship or serve as a prize crew; they can only attack its crew and systems. While serving in boarding actions, Battloids do not expend endurance points. Defending ships may use their own Mechs for internal defense; each group acts as 6 defense factors (with each Battloid operating as a 4-man defensive team). A ship can commit all of its mecha groups to internal defense, but can only move them from the hangar bays to the hallways as fast as it launch them normally (1 group per turn for normal craft, 2 for carriers). However, this does not count against the number of mechs the ship can launch. For example, a carrier can launch 2 mecha groups AND divert two groups to internal defense.