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#1 verikwolf_dup May 05, 2008 21:37:08

I didn’t like the way d20 Future handled mecha design, so I created these variant rules to build mecha similarly to the way you build d20 Future starships. These rules are influenced by the d20 Mecha rules that Guardians of Order used to make, and influenced by the Eberron With Giant Robots play-by-post game. Like starships, mecha have a number of slots available based upon their hit dice. Divide the mecha’s hit dice by the hit dice per slot value found in the table below and round down to get the number of available slots. Unlike the d20 Future SRD, designers are free to place equipment slots wherever they choose. The number of available slots already accounts for a single pilot. Additional crewmember positions takes up two slots. Size: Medium Hit Dice (Min/Max): 1/4 Hit Dice per slot: 1 Base speed: 30' Robot gear per slot: 2 Base strength/dexterity: 10 Size: Large Hit Dice (Min/Max): 2/6 Hit Dice per slot: 1 Base speed: 30' Robot gear per slot: 3 Base strength/dexterity: 15 Size: Huge Hit Dice (Min/Max): 5/12 Hit Dice per slot: 1 Base speed: 40' Robot gear per slot: 4 Base strength/dexterity: 25 Size: Gargantuan Hit Dice (Min/Max): 8/20 Hit Dice per slot: 1 Base speed: 50' Robot gear per slot: 4 Base strength/dexterity: 25 Size: Colossal Hit Dice (Min/Max): 15/50 Hit Dice per slot: 1.5 Base speed: 60' Robot gear per slot: 8 Base strength/dexterity: 30 A mecha’s superstructure gives it hit points, armor gives hardness and defense. Different materials grant different hit dice, but mecha always receive maximum hit points. A mecha’s base purchase DC is equal to 10 + its number of hit dice. To be piloted, a mecha must be at least one size category greater than its occupant. Otherwise, the mecha is considered to be powered armor. Powered armor is a special type of mecha that is worn rather than piloted. It must be the same size category as its wearer. Its wearer takes up most of the internal volume, giving the mecha only half of its allotted slots. Fortunately, the miniaturized mecha gadget ability can help utilize available slots more efficiently. Powered Armor uses the Powered Armor feat instead of the Mecha Operation feat. It does not require the Mecha Weaponry feat unless the powered armor has built-in weapons. Use the d20 Future starship rules for crew quality when creating NPC-crewed mecha. Powered armor gives strength and dexterity bonuses while piloted mecha replaces the pilot’s strength and dexterity with its own. For more of an anime feel, mecha augment the pilot’s strength and dexterity too. Mecha have a base strength and dexterity as noted in the table. Each additional point of strength and/or dexterity adds +1 to the mecha’s base purchase DC. If the mecha provides a bonus to an attribute instead of a base value, use the attribute modifier instead. To get the attribute modifier: (attribute / 2) – 5, rounded down. Designers may increase a mecha’s base walking speed. Each half-speed increase also increases the mecha’s base purchase DC by +2. Armor will slow down a mecha’s base walking speed. Mecha may use robot equipment from the locomotion, manipulators, and accessories categories in addition to mecha equipment. Robot equipment takes up less space. See the table above for how many robot equipment items fit into a single mecha slot. Add two to the robot equipment’s purchase DC to fit it into the mecha. If the mecha requires the pilot and/or additional crew to be naked (a common theme in anime mecha), subtract 2 from the base purchase DC per naked crewmember. Potential embarrassment aside, it takes a turn to get into and out of the cockpit- and one’s clothing. If a mecha grants a feat (such as Mecha Operation and Mecha Weapon Proficiency), it costs 25 DC and takes up an equipment slot. To build the feat in without taking an equipment slot, the granted feat costs 25 + half the mecha’s base purchase DC. This DC value may be adjusted at the game master’s discretion. Mecha Weapon Proficiency grants the use of all melee and ranged attack feats while piloting mecha if the mecha has a cybernetic neural interface. If you want a mecha that can use a spell-like ability, use the table below to determine the purchase DC of the spell. This DC will let the mecha cast the spell once per day. To cast it more often, find the dollar value of the purchase DC, multiply the value by three, then multiply the product by the desired number of times a day. Finally, take the end result and convert it back to a purchase DC. For a permanent ability, calculate the purchase DC as if the mecha could use the ability 10 times per day. Assume the caster level is the minimum level required to cast the spell. Spell Level $ DC 0 12 1 16 2 18 3 20 4 22 5 26 6 30 7 34 8 38 9 42 You can design your own weapons from scratch . TBD. Sometimes it’s easier to just scale up weapons than create a new one from scratch. Each size category above the weapon’s base size category increases its purchase DC by a cumulative +2. Weapon scaling assumes each size category above Medium gains an approximate cumulative 150% damage increase. Thus, a Huge weapon does 150% more damage than a Large weapon, and a Large weapon does 150% more than a Medium weapon. Here’s a handy table with typical damage scales. Med Large Huge Gargantuan Colossal 1d6 1d10 1d10+3 3d6+2 5d6+1 1d8 1d10+2 2d10 3d10 4d10+3 1d10 1d10+3 2d10+2 3d10+3 5d10+2 1d12 1d12+3 2d12+1 3d12+2 5d12 2d6 3d6 4d6+2 6d6+3 10d6+2 2d10 3d8+3 4d10+3 7d10 10d10+3