I've just recently found OVA, and was looking through the rules and was wondering what was the best way to go about making mecha. I ask this because I have some interest in running a Code Geass type game sometime soon via PbP, and was trying to work out how to design the knightmares properly. An example would likewise be greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Reaper
Making Mecha with OVA
-
Father of Dragons
- Worthy Tortoise
- Posts: 60
- Joined: Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:08 pm
- Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Re: Making Mecha with OVA
In a fortunate coincidence, Clay briefly addresses this very topic on his OVA Revision Blog this week.Reaper wrote:I've just recently found OVA, and was looking through the rules and was wondering what was the best way to go about making mecha. I ask this because I have some interest in running a Code Geass type game sometime soon via PbP, and was trying to work out how to design the knightmares properly. An example would likewise be greatly appreciated.
"If that's pure logic I'll take vanilla."
Mecha are created just like any other character. Want a fast mecha? Give it "Quick." Want it to have a thick metal shell? Give it "Armor." As I mention in the aforementioned post, I saw no reason to add a new chapter just to give the same rules with more robot-sounding names.
Generally Armor is always thematically appropriate, regardless of what other Abilities you pick. But beyond that...let your imagination go wild.
Generally Armor is always thematically appropriate, regardless of what other Abilities you pick. But beyond that...let your imagination go wild.
-
Joe_Mello
- Exalted Amphibian
- Posts: 196
- Joined: Tue Jun 21, 2005 2:50 pm
- Location: Here and There, Now and Then
Re: Making Mecha with OVA
Good luck with that.Reaper wrote:I have some interest in running a Code Geass type game sometime soon via PbP
Joe_Mello: Could you make a common sense roll, please, Ryu?
Ryushikaze: With Smart?
Joe_Mello: Sure
*Ryushikaze rolls*
Joe_Mello: SHE'S DEAD!
Ryushikaze: With Smart?
Joe_Mello: Sure
*Ryushikaze rolls*
Joe_Mello: SHE'S DEAD!
Ok, I'm just working through my first test character creation, and was wondering what abilities would be appropriate for a mecha.
So far I have:
Abilities (10 points): [character has vehicle (mecha) +5]
- Weapon (Energy Cannon) [+2] for 3DT.
- Power Move [+2] For advanced weapon systems.
- Lift Support [+3] for protection against Vacuum, Underwater, etc.
- Perceptive [+2] for a sensor array.
- Endurance Reserve [+2] for additional energy.
- Armour [+2]
Weaknesses:
- Focus [+3] Activation key, Mecha will not operate without it.
Now, my main questions are:
- How do abilities of the pilot, such as Agile, Pilot, Combat skill, Quick, etc, work with the mecha?
- Would the mecha need to have these abilities, or are they instead taken only by the pilot, and then these values are added to the mecha's pool for combat?
- Does pilot stack with the other abilities?
So far I have:
Abilities (10 points): [character has vehicle (mecha) +5]
- Weapon (Energy Cannon) [+2] for 3DT.
- Power Move [+2] For advanced weapon systems.
- Lift Support [+3] for protection against Vacuum, Underwater, etc.
- Perceptive [+2] for a sensor array.
- Endurance Reserve [+2] for additional energy.
- Armour [+2]
Weaknesses:
- Focus [+3] Activation key, Mecha will not operate without it.
Now, my main questions are:
- How do abilities of the pilot, such as Agile, Pilot, Combat skill, Quick, etc, work with the mecha?
- Would the mecha need to have these abilities, or are they instead taken only by the pilot, and then these values are added to the mecha's pool for combat?
- Does pilot stack with the other abilities?
Wow, somehow this post eluded my notice. Let me try to answer this for you.
A) The Revised Game will explicitly state this, but since that's not available yet...
The EASIEST way to handle it is to simply add all dice, both the pilot and the mecha's, that apply. So if you have a Pilot with Quick +2 and a mecha with slow -1, you'd end up with a +1 bonus overall and three dice to roll. Of course, if you couple an awesome pilot with an awesome mecha, this can get to be a lot of dice to roll. But it seems to be the easiest way to handle it and fits anime best. (After all, really awesome drivers can make eighteen-wheelers do stunts in cinematic type games. Likewise, even bumbling teenagers forced to accidentally pilot a mecha somehow manage to activate MOST of its awesomeness.)
B) Yes, very much so. To dig up fond memories of Battletech, a heavily armed Marauder is going to pilot very differently from a light and nimble Wasp, and would warrant different Abilities for each. Of course, if mecha are more scenery than the focus for your game, you may feel less inclined to stat them extensively.
C) Yes. In nearly all cases, you can add as many Abilities as you can justify applying to a task. So if you have Quick and Pilot, add both. Agile arguably wouldn't apply depending on the vehicle. A car? Probably not. A new kind of mecha where you float inside a liquid sphere and actually move your entire body to pilot a mecha? Maybe so.
A) The Revised Game will explicitly state this, but since that's not available yet...
The EASIEST way to handle it is to simply add all dice, both the pilot and the mecha's, that apply. So if you have a Pilot with Quick +2 and a mecha with slow -1, you'd end up with a +1 bonus overall and three dice to roll. Of course, if you couple an awesome pilot with an awesome mecha, this can get to be a lot of dice to roll. But it seems to be the easiest way to handle it and fits anime best. (After all, really awesome drivers can make eighteen-wheelers do stunts in cinematic type games. Likewise, even bumbling teenagers forced to accidentally pilot a mecha somehow manage to activate MOST of its awesomeness.)
B) Yes, very much so. To dig up fond memories of Battletech, a heavily armed Marauder is going to pilot very differently from a light and nimble Wasp, and would warrant different Abilities for each. Of course, if mecha are more scenery than the focus for your game, you may feel less inclined to stat them extensively.
C) Yes. In nearly all cases, you can add as many Abilities as you can justify applying to a task. So if you have Quick and Pilot, add both. Agile arguably wouldn't apply depending on the vehicle. A car? Probably not. A new kind of mecha where you float inside a liquid sphere and actually move your entire body to pilot a mecha? Maybe so.
-
MelancholyofNyX
- Worthy Tortoise
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2009 7:52 pm
Sorry about necroing such an old thread but... since i'm such a fan of mecha and simply love the idea of using this system for my group's Jovian Chronicles RP (The way it seems another intends to do as well) I wanted to figure out how Mecha vs Human conflicts would be resolved should it ever come up. I get this 'Scale Advantage' stuff that gives +5 to their roll and that's all good and fine but what about the damage?
Surely a gundam-sized weapon that has a damage multiplier of say x5 wouldn't deal the same damage to a human target as it would another mecha, right? Scale advantage wouldn't come into play here because that would make it seem like the weapon was more accurate when in fact targeting something so small would (in theory anyway) be MORE difficult. Instead of rolling more dice, you would think it would increase your damage multiplier or something. Thoughts?
Surely a gundam-sized weapon that has a damage multiplier of say x5 wouldn't deal the same damage to a human target as it would another mecha, right? Scale advantage wouldn't come into play here because that would make it seem like the weapon was more accurate when in fact targeting something so small would (in theory anyway) be MORE difficult. Instead of rolling more dice, you would think it would increase your damage multiplier or something. Thoughts?
It really depends on how you want to handle it. From my experience, such encounters are portrayed in such a way that even if the heroes ARE hit by a Gundam-sized weapon, they're usually blown clear of the blast and receive a more minimal amount of pain than expected for their misfortune.
So it might be perfectly feasible not to scale damage. But if you do, just add +5 DT to the Attack and call it a day. Scale can be added to any ability, not just the "add X number of dice" ones.
So it might be perfectly feasible not to scale damage. But if you do, just add +5 DT to the Attack and call it a day. Scale can be added to any ability, not just the "add X number of dice" ones.
-
MelancholyofNyX
- Worthy Tortoise
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Sun Oct 18, 2009 7:52 pm
I've got some further thoughts on representing Mecha, since I'm a huge fan of Super Robot Wars.
Rather than limiting all mecha to being built with the Vehicle Ability, players may also reserve the option of purchasing their mecha's Abilities with the character's points. In this way you can differentiate between the more vehicular "real robots" like Gundam and Macross, and the "super robot" extensions of the pilots like Getter Robo and Gaogaigar.
Since most super robot heroes are essentially superheroes at heart, this works out pretty well; it's up to the player how many weaknesses the "mecha as the character" has; it could be as simple as needing a round or two to get into your mecha (which is always conveniently a "bat-signal" type command away) and utilizing the Power of Friendship for its ultimate attack. And the mecha has essentially as much Health and Endurance as the pilot. Heck, even combining mecha like Power Ranger Megazords can work like this; just make sure everyone has a weakness where they need to stick together (i.e., be combined) to fight with their best powers.
Meanwhile, real robots continue to use the Vehicle Ability. This effectively limits the power of real robots (10 points worth of Abilities after Weaknesses) whereas super robots are only limited by their pilots. In exchange, real robot pilots get more points to devote to their own talents (allowing them to shine outside their mechs more than a similar super robot pilot).
So, a real robot pilot can jump out of his wrecked mecha and continue to fight on foot possibly without prior injury, while the super robot pilot's mecha will always hold out as long as its pilot can; but once the pilot goes down, the mecha is as good as scrapped.
Rather than limiting all mecha to being built with the Vehicle Ability, players may also reserve the option of purchasing their mecha's Abilities with the character's points. In this way you can differentiate between the more vehicular "real robots" like Gundam and Macross, and the "super robot" extensions of the pilots like Getter Robo and Gaogaigar.
Since most super robot heroes are essentially superheroes at heart, this works out pretty well; it's up to the player how many weaknesses the "mecha as the character" has; it could be as simple as needing a round or two to get into your mecha (which is always conveniently a "bat-signal" type command away) and utilizing the Power of Friendship for its ultimate attack. And the mecha has essentially as much Health and Endurance as the pilot. Heck, even combining mecha like Power Ranger Megazords can work like this; just make sure everyone has a weakness where they need to stick together (i.e., be combined) to fight with their best powers.
Meanwhile, real robots continue to use the Vehicle Ability. This effectively limits the power of real robots (10 points worth of Abilities after Weaknesses) whereas super robots are only limited by their pilots. In exchange, real robot pilots get more points to devote to their own talents (allowing them to shine outside their mechs more than a similar super robot pilot).
So, a real robot pilot can jump out of his wrecked mecha and continue to fight on foot possibly without prior injury, while the super robot pilot's mecha will always hold out as long as its pilot can; but once the pilot goes down, the mecha is as good as scrapped.