bpmasher Posted December 22, 2020 Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 Cracked open Ultimate Vehicle and started tinkering. Here's the result. Atlas 7-D (assault 'mech) Size: 10 Length: 10" (20 meters) Width: 5" (10 meters) Mass: 100 tons DCV: -6 STR: 60 KB: -10 BODY: 20 SPD: 4 (3" per phase, 54km/h) Armor, front: 2+18 (20 DEF) (coverage 180 degrees) Armor, rear: 2+10 (12 DEF) (coverage 180 degrees) Weapons: Heavy autocannon RKA 4d6½, 5 charges (1 ton of ammunition) Long-range missiles RKA 2d6, AF20, 12 charges (2 tons of ammunition) Short-range missiles RKA 3d6, AF6, 15 charges (1 ton of ammunition) 4x medium lasers RKA 3d6½, increased END cost (x3, 15 END per shot) Power Plant: Endurance Reserve (60 END, 60 REC) Systems: (same as TUV book) Mech sensors, Radar Nightsight System Mech communications system Ejection seat Life support archer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpmasher Posted December 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 I don't know whether to go theatre of the mind or just mapped combat with these versions of mechs. The original idea was to use BT minis alongside with other vehicles and foot soldiers on the table. You can do that with the BT board game itself though, so I don't know whether I'm going to just ditch this project or work it into something. I had other ideas for mecha, and the Ultimate Vehicle seems to be able to do robot suits passably, so I could create a homebrew campaign around a military-themed game with mecha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjack Posted December 22, 2020 Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 It’s a nice write-up, but what does it look like? The thread said vehicle, so I’m imagining some kind of a team transport, but whether it’s a team car or a one man mech... Is there a real world military vehicle it resembles? Is this an A-Team style rebuild of a school bus with armor plating welded over it gunports everywhere and a big ass cannon on the roof? Or maybe it’s a futuristic multi tracked combat machine styled like an old episode of Thunderbirds. Write ups are only half the battle (as G.I. Joe might say) you need to engage the imagination of your players with a description that will get them excited about their character’s riding this beast into battle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpmasher Posted December 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 Here's the classic Atlas with modern styling: Tjack 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpmasher Posted December 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 Battletech weapons to Hero Damage Classes: BT damage -> Hero damage 1 (LRM damage, 6 damage classes) = 2d6 2 (SRM damage, machine guns, AC/2 etc., 9 damage classes) = 3d6 3 (Hvy machine guns, 10 damage classes) = 3d6+1 4-5 (RAC/5, AC/5, flamer, pulse laser, 11 damage classes) = 3d6½ 10 (AC/10, large pulse laser, ER PPC, etc., 12 damage classes) = 4d6-1 15 (Heavy PPC, ER PPC, 13 damage classes) = 4d6+1 20 (AC/20, Long Tom etc., 14 damage classes) = 4d6½ 25 (Long Tom, 15 damage classes) = 5d6 30 (Long Tom flechette ammo against infantry, 16 damage classes) = 5d6+1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjack Posted December 22, 2020 Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 Way cool! Does the “driver” sit in the head or the main body? I’m lousy at imagining scale on things like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpmasher Posted December 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2020 24 minutes ago, Tjack said: Way cool! Does the “driver” sit in the head or the main body? I’m lousy at imagining scale on things like this. Pilots are usually in the head portion. They can get punched to death by other mechs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted December 23, 2020 Report Share Posted December 23, 2020 Yeah, pilots sit in the head. Usually mechs have a certain number of hardpoints where weapons can be mounted and the particular weapons can be dismounted and a different weapon mounted so the mech is more effective in various missions. There's also modifications like an extra padded and armored cockpit mod so the pilot is more protected. But since that adds weight, you have to either cut down on the number of weapons carried or the amount of armor the mech has. The engine that runs the mech can only carry so much weight so in Battletech, it's a constant question of mini-maxing the amount of weapons, armor, and mods the mech has. And a lot of it depends on the capabilities of the teammates that mech is deployed with. If the Atlas is deployed with a lot of units which have long range missiles, the Atlas might need to be out front soaking up enemy damage and need a cockpit mod to help it spot enemy units for his teammates who are hanging back. In other missions, the Atlas might be out fitted with more long range missiles, less armor, and his teammates are out there engaging at close range while the Atlas hangs back. Usually mechs have higher REC when standing in water because that disperses the significant amounts of heat which the mech builds up while in action (and is the SFX explaining why the lasers can't shoot at full power all the time and draw infinite amounts of power out of the fusion engine). This example is set up like a brawler. It's looking to get close and rip up the enemy. When it runs low on ammo or END for the lasers, it's going to punch or step on opposing mechs (many of which are significantly smaller than an Atlas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowcat1313 Posted December 23, 2020 Report Share Posted December 23, 2020 some mechs have a center torso cockpit, and are not quite as vulnerable to head shots[Archer, Orion].. there are also mechs that have 2 seat cockpits[Battlemaster, Cyclops, at least one Madcat Variant, at least one Atlas Variant] and some mechs have a whole head cockpit that can be ejected[Hatchetman, Axeman] FASA had a rather large Atlas model built for display at cons, it used a 2-seat F-16 Trainer cockpit model for the cockpit, it was built by Steve Venters iirc. not sure who built the later Madcat model they used after the Atlas was destroyed in transit someplace in Europe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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