SS:EH - Mechwarrior Conversion: Mechs

[Cgeist7]

Hello all,

I'm very new to SS:EH, but as I've decided to give the game a solid shot, I thought I would start with something near and dear to my heart: Battletech and mechs. This is my first time using the Trappings system, so I thought I'd post my initial work here and let people edumicate me on the error of my foolish ways. So, here goes.

I decided to use Trappings to develop the four different classes of mech first: Light, Medium, Heavy and Assault. From there, I figured that I'd give each mech a set of subsystems that I can customize to explain the difference between an Atlas and a BattleMaster. Some of the elements of the builds below seem off to me (possibly durability, definitely value), so any help would be fantastic. So:

Light Mech Chassis: R2 S20 T6 V17, Automatic, Ground +5, Sensors +3, Defense +4, Move 3 (Ground), Vehicular Scale, Quarters 10, 2x Subsystem 10, Armour 1 (Durability 2), SFX: Fast, Flaw: Volatile, Durability 5.

Medium Mech Chassis: R2 S21 T6 V23, Automatic, Ground +3, Sensors +3, Defense +2, Move 2 (Ground), Vehicular Scale, Quarters 10, Subsystem 12, 2x Subsystem 10, Armour 1 (Durability 4), Flaw: Volatile, Durability 7.

Heavy Mech Chassis: R2 S21 T6 V26, Automatic, Ground +1, Sensors +3, Defense +1, Move 1 (Ground), Vehicular Scale, Quarters 10, Subsystem 14, 2x Subsystem 12, Armour 2 (Durability 6), Flaw: Volatile, Durability 9.

Assault Mech Chassis: R2 S22 T6 V29, Automatic, Ground +0, Sensors +3, Defense +0, Move 1/2 (Ground), Vehicular Scale, Quarters 11, Subsystem 16, Subsystem 14, 2x Subsystem 12, Armour 2 (Durability 9), Flaw: Volatile, Durability 11.

I also sat down and developed one weapon system to use as a benchmark:

Medium Laser: R1 S10 T6 V11, Combat, Shooting +6, Medium Range, Vehicle Scale, Flaw: Heat*, 1 Wound (3 wounds total with size)

*Heat is going to be a limit on what a mech can do in a turn - basically like another stress track, but I haven't figured it out exactly yet. Again, any brilliant ideas would be great.

Edit: It also just occured to me now that I could remove the hard-coded Armour values and make them into sub-systems as well:

• Light Armour: R0 S3 T5 V5, Automatic, +2 Defense, Armour 1, Durability 2.
• Medium Armour: R0 S4 T5 V6, Automatic, +2 Defense, Armour 1, Durability 4.
• Heavy Armour: R0 S8 T5 V7, Automatic, +2 Defense, Armour 2, Durability 6.
• Assault Armour: R0 S10 T5 V8, Automatic, +2 Defense, Armour 2, Durability 9.

So... that's it for now. Any takers?

CG7

[Lord Crimson]

I think the "Heat" subsystem might not fit real well. It makes sense in BattleTech because you can fire multiple weapons in a single action. But, in SS:EH, you can already only do "one thing plus a move" in a turn as written and you already have a Reliability rating.

Your choices on Value seem a bit high, if only because an Assault Mech would be expensive enough to break the bank of all the nations of the Earth. But, since it's a point build system, I can see the quandary in getting what you want into the trapping but then having to find some place in the RSTV for those points to go.

And remember that the Reliability rating is going to "shut down" your mech until it's worked on. And since there are so many things to which these mechs add bonuses, that's a LOT of possibilities for rolling a 1 or 2 on the d20.

You might be better off dropping the Reliability entirely and then turning all of your subsystem slots into a single "subsystem pool" (see the option on p25 of the Ops Manual) for each mech.

It looks like you've added the Armor Subsystems into your sample chassis, but not accounted for them taking up any subsystem space in any of those samples. If it's supposed to be the default armor rating of the chassis instead, then it shouldn't have a separate Durability rating for the armor -- as the armor's Durability is a function of the chassis' Durability, not a separate Durability in addition to the chassis'.

Otherwise, though, I like what you've got here. The variant classes of chassis works really well for scaling Mech size and amount of installable firepower/armor.

I do recommend making missiles (which you'll likely add at some point, it being BattleTech-inspired) into single-shot subsystems rather than Reliability-limited ammo supplies.

[Cgeist7]

Hi LC,

Thanks for the comments! They are very helpful in wrapping my head around SS:EH Trappings. Since you posted, I've set up my standards and started developing the basic Battletech weapons and armour packages as baselines. The idea is that you don't just buy each individual weapon on a mech, but that you purchase a weapon suite based off the ideas below. This is especially useful for the smaller weapons that might be mounted in pairs or triads.

Ballistics

• Machineguns: R1 T4 S7 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +6, Wounds: 2, Range: Close, SFX: Rapid fire, Ammo, Flaws: Slave
• AC 5: R1 T4 S10 V7, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +7, Wounds: 3, Range: Long, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave
• AC10: R2 T4 S11 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +5, Wounds: 5, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave
• AC 20: R2 T4 S12 V9, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +5, Wounds: 8, Range: Short, SFX: Armour Crushing, Flaws: Slave, Slow, Bulky

Energy Weapons

• Small Laser: R0 T5 S6 V3, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 2, Range: Close, SFX: Fast, Flaws: Slave
• Medium Laser: R0 T5 S8 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 3, Range: Medium, SFX: Fast, Flaws: Slave
• Large Laser: R0 T5 S10 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 5, Range: Long, SFX: , Flaws: Slave
• PPC: R1 T6 S11 V10, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +6, Wounds: 7, Range: Extreme, SFX: Daze, Flaws: Slave, Range Ban: Close

Missiles

• SRM 2: R1 T5 S3 V3, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 2, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Volatile, Disposable
• SRM 4: R1 T5 S6 V4, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 4, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Volatile, Disposable
• SRM 6: R2 T5 S8 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 6, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Volatile, Disposable
• LRM 5: R1 T5 S6 V5, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 4, Range: Extreme, SFX: Area Affect, Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Range Ban: Short, Volatile, Disposable
• LRM 10: R1 T5 S10 V7, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 6, Range: Extreme, SFX: Area Affect, Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Range Ban: Short, Volatile, Disposable
• LRM 20: R1 T5 S12 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 8, Range: Extreme, SFX: Area Affect, Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Range Ban: Short, Volatile, Disposable

Armour

• Light Armour: R0 T5 S4 V6, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Armour 2, Durability 4, Flaws: Slave, Bulky
• Medium Armour: R0 T5 S8 V9, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Armour 3, Durability 5, Flaws: Slave, Bulky
• Heavy Armour: R0 T5 S9 V12, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Armour 4, Durability 6, Flaws: Slave, Bulky
• Assault Armour: R0 T5 S11 V14, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Armour 5, Durability 7, Flaws: Slave, Bulky

I'll put these up on the Wiki too with some explanation.

Cheers!

CG7

[Cgeist7]

Alright, so I put together a spreadsheet on the iPad to help me put together the mechs. Here is a first try sample:

Commando: R0 T6 S21 V22, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicle, Quarters: 10, Move: 3, Specialties: Ground +5, Sensors +3, Defense +4, Subsystem (4) Light Armour, Subsystem (8) Medium Laser, Subsystem (7) Machineguns, Subsystem (0) None, Durability 5, SFX: , Flaws: Volatile

• Subsystem 1: Light Armour: R0 T5 S4 V6, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Armour 2, Durability 4, Flaws: Slave, Bulky;
• Subsystem 2: Medium Laser: R0 T5 S8 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 3, Range: Medium, SFX: Fast, Flaws: Slave;
• Subsystem 3: Machineguns: R1 T4 S7 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +6, Wounds: 2, Range: Close, SFX: Rapid fire, Ammo, Flaws: Slave;
• Subsystem 4: None

So, with an average mechwarrior who has Competency +5, we get the following abilities:

Average Commando Mechwarrior
Ground +10, Sensors +8, Defense +11
Move 3, Durability OOOOO A L MG C Q / Armour 2 OOOO
Medium Laser +13, Medium Range, 3 wounds, SFX Fast
Machineguns +11, Short Range, 2 wounds, SFX Rapid Fire, Ammo

[Cgeist7]

And an Assault Mech:

Atlas: R2 T6 S24 V22, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Quarters: 10, Move: 0.5, Specialties: Ground 0, Sensors +3, Defense 0, Subsystem (11) Assault Armour, Subsystem (12) AC 20, Subsystem (12) LRM 20, Subsystem (10) Large Laser, Durability 11, SFX: None, Flaws: Volatile;

• Subsystem 1: Assault Armour: R0 T5 S11 V14, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Armour 5, Durability 7, Flaws: Slave, Bulky;
• Subsystem 2: AC 20: R2 T4 S12 V9, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +5, Wounds: 8, Range: Short, SFX: Armour Crushing, Flaws: Slave, Slow, Bulky;
• Subsystem 3: LRM 20: R1 T5 S12 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 8, Range: Extreme, SFX: Area Affect, Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Range Ban: Short, Volatile, Disposable;
• Subsystem 4: Large Laser: R0 T5 S10 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 5, Range: Long, SFX: none, Flaws: Slave

Average Atlas Mechwarrior
Ground +5, Sensors +8, Defense +8
Move 1/2, Durability OOOOO OOOOO O A AC LRM LL C Q / Armour 5 OOOOO OO
AC 20 +10, Short Range, 8 wounds, SFX Armour Crushing, Slow
LRM 20 +15, Extreme Range, 8 wounds, SFX Area Affect, Ammo, Disposable, Volatile
Large Laser +13, Long Range, 5 wounds,


And a Heavy Mech, the Zeus:

Zeus: R1 T7 S23 V23, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Quarters: 10, Move: 1 (Ground), Specialties: Ground +2, Sensors +3, Defense +2, Subsystem (9) Heavy Armour, Subsystem (11) PPC, Subsystem (8) SRM 6, Subsystem (8) Medium Laser, Durability 9, SFX: None, Flaws: Volatile;

• Subsystem 1: Heavy Armour: R0 T5 S9 V12, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Armour 4, Durability 6, Flaws: Slave, Bulky;
• Subsystem 2: PPC: R1 T6 S11 V10, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +6, Wounds: 7, Range: Extreme, SFX: Daze, Flaws: Slave, Range Ban: Close;
• Subsystem 3: SRM 6: R2 T5 S8 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 6, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Volatile, Disposable;
• Subsystem 4: Medium Laser: R0 T5 S8 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 3, Range: Medium, SFX: Fast, Flaws: Slave

[Cgeist7]

Making use of the double post by uploading two more mechs. I've moved beyond the weapons lists for trappings and am now using them for miscellanious items as well. These two mechs incorporate two of these trappings: Jump Jets and ECM.

Hatchetman HCT-3F: R1 T7 S22 V19, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Quarters: 10, Move: 2 (Ground), Specialties: Ground +3, Sensors +3, Defense +3, Subsystem (11) AC 10, Subsystem (8) Medium Armour, Subsystem (10) Hatchet (Mech), Subsystem (5) Jump Jets, Durability 5, SFX: None, Flaws: Volatile

• Subsystem 1: AC 10: R2 T4 S11 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +5, Wounds: 5, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave;
• Subsystem 2: Medium Armour: R0 T5 S8 V9, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: None, Flaws: Slave, Bulky; Armour 3; Durability 5
• Subsystem 3: Hatchet (Mech): R0 T1 S10 V5, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Melee +5, Wounds: 3, Range: None, SFX: Armour Piercing, Flaws: Slave; Durability 2;
• Subsystem 4: Jump Jets: R1 T6 S5 V3, Class: Handling, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Flight +4, Defense +3, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Move 2 (Flight), Flaws: Slave, Jumping Only; Durability 2

Raven: R1 T7 S20 V22, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Quarters: 10, Move: 3 (Ground), Specialties: Ground +4, Sensors +6, Defense +4, Subsystem (4) Light Armour, Subsystem (10) Large Laser, Subsystem (5) SRM 2, Subsystem (6) ECM Suite, Durability 5, SFX: None, Flaws: Volatile

• Subsystem 1: Light Armour: R0 T5 S4 V7, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: None, Flaws: Slave, Bulky; Armour 2; Durability 4;
• Subsystem 2: Large Laser: R0 T5 S10 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 5, Range: Long, SFX: None, Flaws: Slave;
• Subsystem 3: SRM 2: R1 T5 S5 V4, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 2, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Volatile;
• Subsystem 4: ECM Suite: R1 T7 S6 V12, Class: Awareness, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Stealth +8, Defense +3, Wounds: 0, Range: Short, SFX: ECM - Stealth and Defense bonus applies to all allies in Short range, Flaws: Static: -3 to all Sensor rolls while in ECM field

[Cgeist7]

Hello all,

I'm still at work on this and have pretty much finalized an iPad Numbers spreadsheet to input characters, special abilities, vehicles and trappings! On the Mechwarrior front, I've upgraded Mechs to Tech 7 generally and am considering LosTech to be Tech 8, Clans to be Tech 9 and the Post-Clan Experimental Equipment Tech 10.

To celebrate, here are two more mechs: the Centurion and the Dragon

Centurion: R1 T7 S22 V17, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Quarters: 10, Move: 1 (Ground), Specialties: Ground +3, Sensors +3, Defense +3, Subsystem (8) Medium Armour, Subsystem (11) AC 10, Subsystem (10) LRM 10, Subsystem (8) Medium Laser, Durability 7, SFX: None, Flaws: Volatile;

• Subsystem 1: Medium Armour: R0 T5 S8 V9, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: None, Flaws: Slave, Bulky; Armour 3; Durability 5;
• Subsystem 2: AC 10: R2 T4 S11 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +5, Wounds: 5, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave;
• Subsystem 3: LRM 10: R1 T5 S10 V7, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 6, Range: Extreme, SFX: Area Affect, Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Range Ban: Short, Volatile, Disposable;
• Subsystem 4: Medium Laser: R0 T5 S8 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 3, Range: Medium, SFX: Fast, Flaws: Slave

Dragon: R1 T7 S22 V19, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Quarters: 10, Move: 2 (Ground), Specialties: Ground +4, Sensors +3, Defense +4, Subsystem (9) Heavy Armour, Subsystem (11) AC 10, Subsystem (4) SRM 4, Subsystem (8) Medium Laser, Durability 7, SFX: None, Flaws: Volatile;

• Subsystem 1: Heavy Armour: R0 T5 S9 V12, Class: Automatic, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Defense +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: None, Flaws: Slave, Bulky; Armour 4; Durability 6;
• Subsystem 2: AC 10: R2 T4 S11 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +5, Wounds: 5, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave;
• Subsystem 3: SRM 4: R1 T5 S4 V8, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +10, Wounds: 4, Range: Medium, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: Slave, Volatile, Disposable;
• Subsystem 4: Medium Laser: R0 T5 S8 V6, Class: Combat, Scale: Vehicular, Specialties: Ranged +8, Wounds: 3, Range: Medium, SFX: Fast, Flaws: Slave

Also, a few pieces of Trappings for review:

• Laser Pistol: R0 T6 S4 V5, Class: Combat, Scale: Personal, Specialties: Shooting +6, Wounds: 2, Range: Medium, SFX: Armour Piercing, Flaws: None; Durability 1
• Mechwarrior Helmet and Cooling Vest: R0 T4 S6 V4, Class: Automatic, Scale: Personal, Specialties: Survival +3, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: None, Flaws: None; Armour 1; Durability 2
• 9mm Slug Thrower: R2 T3 S4 V4, Class: Combat, Scale: Personal, Specialties: Shooting +5, Wounds: 1, Range: Short, SFX: Ammo, Flaws: None; Durability 1
• Knife: R0 T1 S4 V3, Class: Combat, Scale: Personal, Specialties: Melee +4, Wounds: 1, Range: None, SFX: Armour Piercing, Flaws: None; Durability 1
• SMG: R2 T3 S5 V5, Class: Combat, Scale: Personal, Specialties: Shooting +5, Wounds: 1, Range: Short, SFX: Auto fire, Ammo, Flaws: None
• Ballistic Trenchcoat: R0 T4 S9 V6, Class: Automatic, Scale: Personal, Specialties: Defense +2, Mental Endurance +2, Wounds: 0, Range: None, SFX: Distributed Weight, Flaws: Ban: Ballistic armour only; Armour 2; Durability 3

[Treebore]

Dang! Just looking at these is making me get interested in doing a Mecha game!

[pansophy]

cool. Thanks for putting this up, I really like the designs!

[pansophy]

Two things:
1) Are you happy including your designs in my SSEH Equipment /House rule document and make them available for download
2) may I ask for the Numbers spreadsheet? Would make things a lot easier ...