Here's another preview chapter for Skyfall Blade. Keep in mind that in
the final version, the mecha will be illustrated, and therefore
clearer.

CHAPTER FIVE: Mecha

I had it in my sights. It was four-legged, but its legs were hinged
strangely, more like an insect, and it had claws like a crab and one
of those twisted, human cannons mounted on top.
There was a lock-on, and I frantically pushed the big red button. But
at the last minute, the thing scuttled out of the way and rolled
against a building, and my shot went wide.
I cursed. I would have to wait for the cannon to power up again. Hands
dancing in my datagloves, I dodged the acidic spoo the other humans
were lobbing at me, and then suddenly there was a distinct snap. The
HUD and all controls went dark.
I cursed louder. I'd gone too far, and pulled out the electrical cord
that connected my experimental combot to the nuclear reactor.

What is a Mecha?

In anime, a mecha is any sort of vehicle. In America, and in this
text, we'll generally be talking about the giant robots that anime is
well-known for, though these rules could work for other sorts of
vehicles.
If you've honestly never seen an anime with mecha or read a manga
featuring such a thing, I suggest a quick Google search on "Robotech"
before continuing with this chapter.

Mecha Combat

Mecha combat (a fight between two or more mecha) works exactly like
normal combat in Unsung, with some small, but key differences. But in
general, it's the same. The pilot of the mecha makes a Guts Check to
shoot other people, and a Meat Check when hit to see if the mecha goes
Down or is Tagged. And so on.
This may seem counterintuitive, but keep in mind that in anime, a
mecha is usually an extension of the pilot. In many ways, the mecha is
a surrogate for the pilot, or the pilot's closest friend. So it makes
sense to use the pilot's Meat to see how tough the mecha is, as the
mecha is in many ways only as tough as its pilot. (Plus, Eyes like
Prodigy allow you to make rolls that would normally be difficult or
impossible…)
The main difference is when the mecha is Tagged or Down, the pilot is
usually better off. In many ways, the mecha make Unsung combat
slightly less lethal, which fits the anime/manga genre quite well.
It works like this. When the mecha is Tagged, the pilot is technically
fine, and only has the Tagged penalty while using the Mecha. When the
mecha goes Down, the pilot is Tagged, due to the damage to the mecha,
but can still crawl out of the mecha if he wants to.
At the end of the combat, the character makes separate Meat Checks as
needed for himself and the mecha; a "dead" mecha is damaged beyond
repair. (Similarly, "first aid" and healing for a mecha is done the
same way as on a person, as far as game mechanics, only it's a repair
rather than first aid and time in the hanger rather than time in the
hospital, as it were, which may affect relevant Descriptors. Medical
skills can also be relevant for mecha with organic components, like
most human-built mecha in the Skyfall Blade setting.)
The other major difference between mecha combat and a normal battle is
that the mecha may grant a bonus (or penalty) to certain kind of
Checks made in it, like Meat Checks for a heavily armored mecha or
firing-based Guts Checks for a mecha with an unusually good targeting
computer. Similarly, just like normal weapons, mecha weapons grant a
certain penalty to the Meat Check made when a protagonist-controlled
mecha are hit by said weapon. These bonuses and penalties, plus any
other additional notes about the mecha, make up the game "statistics"
of the mecha.
These statistics can be as detailed or bare-bones as the players and
GM want. Statistic blocks assume a protagonist is driving the mecha;
if the mecha is being driven by a GMC, bonuses will often translate
into penalties and vice-versa as common sense dictates. (For example,
a bonus to Guts Checks needed to hit would translate into an
equal-sized penalty for the Sense Check for the protagonist mecha to
dodge.)
The final difference between normal battle and a mecha fight is scale.
These rules assume mecha fighting other mecha. In the case of a mecha
fighting someone who doesn't have a mecha, or vice-versa, there's a
+10 bonus to all Checks made by the mecha pilot or a -10 penalty to
all Checks made by the person without a mecha, whichever makes more
sense. The only exception are Guts Checks by a mecha pilot to hit
someone who is not in a mecha, or a Sense Check by a person without a
mecha to dodge mecha fire; such Checks are made with no bonus or
penalty (other than those normally granted by the mecha, Descriptors,
and the GM).

Your Mecha

As mentioned in Chapter 1, the Insurgency cell that the player
characters are a member of has at least one mecha, and probably one
mecha for each character. The nature of the mecha is up to the
players, and the statistics are determined as mentioned below. The
arsenals of all nations were raided, so really anything you can
imagine is possible. The mecha might even have been stolen from the
human invaders. The only important thing to keep in mind is that karan
mecha are usually very mechanical, while human mecha are often organic
or pseudo-organic. The important thing is that your mecha be cool, and
provide interesting opportunities for the story.
Usually, the statistics for a mecha owned by a protagonist will be
either created as a group or by the player of the protagonist who will
usually use the mecha. Any player, or the GM, may veto a given
player-produced statistic block; a mecha "design" is not considered to
be official until all participants agree the statistics are kosher.
For examples of statistic blocks, see below.

Sample Mecha

These are examples of various human and karan mecha, and the
statistical benefits each would provide. They are only examples; they
do not have to actually exist in a given game of Skyfall Blade. Your
own game could be more (or less) wild than this; this just provides an
interesting baseline to work from.

Harrituta Cycle. This karan mass-produced mecha saw lots of use in the
last karan conflict before the Great Peace and the human invasion, so
many Insurgency cells have several. The single-wheel design may seem
awkward, but the cycle is designed to tap into the psionic potential
of the user, allowing it to perform amazing stunts.
The cycle gives a +4 to all Sense Checks due to its intuitive
connection with the user, and a +4 to any Check related to
maneuvering. This assumes the pilot is karan; humans have an equal
penalty to use the cycle under such conditions. The open cockpit is a
problem, giving a -2 to all Meat Checks. The mounted energy blasters
give a -2 penalty to another mecha's Meat Check.
There is a legend that, for some reason, the Harrituta Cycle performs
better for women. This is actually true; there's a +1 to all Checks if
the pilot is female. This is because the original psionic circuits
were calibrated with a female test pilot.

Harrituta Cycle – Type H. Designed for officers, this variation on the
Harrituta Cycle could transform into a humanoid suit of armor,
protecting the pilot a little better. Statistics are above, except
that when transformed, the bonus to Sense Checks and maneuvering is
only +2, but the mecha provides a +1 bonus to the wearer's Meat Check
rather than a penalty. The handgun is the same as the cycle's
blasters.
Interestingly, the Type H was calibrated with a male test pilot, so
that when transformed, the +1 bonus to all Checks only apply if the
user is male, while returning to normal (i.e. female-oriented) once
the machine is in cycle mode.
When using a Type H, transforming requires a successful Savvy check on
the part of the pilot.
Both versions of the Cycle were designed by the CEO of the tiny but
profitable Harrituta corporation: Aita Harrituta, son of the legendary
and infamous Hiro Harrituta.

Harrituta Jetfire. During the human invasion, the Harrituta family,
owners of the highly successful Harrituta corporation, rushed into
production a mecha based on old plans drawn up during the last armed
conflict before the Great Peace, but never implemented. The mecha had
been designed by a mad genius, the founder of the clan, old Hiro
Harrituta. It is said after designing the Jetfire, he had plans for an
even more devastating weapon, but by that point Aita had had Hiro put
into the asylum for trying to eat his own daughter, Aita's favorite
sister, alive. Some tried to psionically pry the plans for the "lost
Harrituta weapon" out of the old man's head during the human invasion,
but instead only went mad and cannibalistic themselves. The asylum was
destroyed during the final days of the invasion, and neither Hiro
Harrituta, nor his son Aita, who was visiting at the time, have been
seen ever since.
Very few of the Jetfire mecha were made before the main Harrituta plan
was swarmed by human Runts and razed to the ground. It is said the
humans later salted the earth the plant once rested on, so the land
could never be used for anything ever again.
The mecha is capable of transforming between two modes, a jet and a
robot. In both modes, it gives a +6 to all Sense Checks. In jet mode,
it is capable of long-range missile fire, which gives a -4 penalty to
all Meat Checks by the enemy when hit. In robot mode, it can punch
(with a +1 bonus to the enemy mecha's Meat Check), or it can use its
vibrosledge, which is only usuable at short range but is devastating,
giving a -6 penalty to enemy Meat Checks. However, in robot mode the
mecha must be at close range in order to attack.
As with the Type H, transforming requires a successful Savvy Check on
the part of the pilot.

Mitsubishi Krab. This four-legged techno-organic mecha, with its
powerful energy cannon and large claws, is favored by the elite human
soldier. It gives a +2 to hit with the cannon, and +3 to hit with the
claws, assuming the mecha is in range. The cannon gives a -3 to
appropriate Meat Checks, and the claws a -2.
Like nearly all human mecha, the Krab must be fed nutrients every so
often, in the form of pails of a substance that looks not unlike baby
food. The Krab makes a disturbing, hollow slurping noise when
"feeding."

Pinpilinpauxa Lineman. This is a mecha designed by the Pinpilinpauxa
megacorporation right before the human invasion. As such, while it was
designed as a military mecha, it had a dual use as a construction
mecha, with the handgun and missile pods being optional.
This mecha has a +4 to all Meat Checks due to its heavy-duty
construction. The handgun gives a -3 penalty to enemy Meat Checks, as
do the missile pods. There's no Meat Check penalty to the enemy if the
mecha punches another mecha.

Tong Shen Lobber. These four-legged techno-organic mecha are designed
to stay behind other mecha, lobbing canisters of chemical and
biological weapons with its twin howitzers. The Lobber has a +3 bonus
to any Check to hit with one of its cannons, and the Meat Check
penalty varies by payload, though the average explosive playload gives
a -6 penalty. On the other hand, the Lobber is very fragile, with a -2
to any of its own Meat Checks.
The Lobber uses an experimental nutrient pack, which injects fluids
into it using several hundred needles on the underside of the pack,
which humans call the "Tong Shen Centipede". Every time the Lobber is
"fed", it cries out in pain, with an inhuman screech that some humans
describe as being like a lobster being boiled.

Mitsubishi Runt. This tiny, two-legged mecha is the standard issue for
a human grunt, linking into its user with techno-organic tendrils.
This is why it's two-legged, with two claws, and two guns that track
where the pilot looks, and fire when the pilot blinks.
The link with the pilot is perhaps too good, given the fact the thing
is not exactly human-shaped. There's a -2 penalty to any Guts Check
involved with attacking, and -2 to Sense Checks to dodge. The claws
give a -1 penalty to Meat Checks, and the guns, which spit globules of
acid, give a -2 penalty to the Meat Checks of an enemy hit by it.
Like nearly all human mecha, the Runt must be fed nutrients every so
often, in the form of pails of a substance that looks not unlike baby
food. The Runt makes a sort of crunching, munching noise, like a
million maggots, when "feeding."

Tong Shen Tallman. This fully-humanoid techno-organic mecha most
commonly sees use by human officers, and is feared by most karans for
its booming "voice", a techno-organic public address system often used
to taunt the enemies of the humans. The voice has a peculiar, sexless
quality to it, and sounds sort of wet, as if the pilot is speaking
through mud, yet with crystal clarity of pronunciation. Most karans
find it disturbing, and so do those humans with the fewest livetech
implants.
The techno-organic integration with the pilot is so extensive that all
Checks, of all kinds, are at a +4. The mecha can punch (with a -1 Meat
Check penalty to the mecha so hit), or it can squirt poisonous acids
from its arm gun which burst into flame on contact with the air, with
a -5 penalty to any Meat Checks made by a mecha hit by the organic
napalm stream.
However, because of how extensive the techno-organic integration is,
only one pilot can ever use a Tallman during its lifetime. When that
pilot dies, the Tallman pines away, refusing to "eat" the nutrient
mush which is normally fed to it in the Mitsubishi style rather than
by the experimental method used in the Tong Shen Lobber.


--
Kirt "Loki" Dankmyer -- http://ivanhoeunbound.com -- xiomBRAG on AIM
cats * hats * RPGs * love * Eris * Agent Patriot * anime * Dada * poetry
"Only ONE MAN can kill this many Russians. Bring his guitar to me!" -Death