판타지 [영문] roboMACS 거대로봇 TRPG 시스템 -1993년 Dave Van Domelen작

[하얀용whtdrgon.]

RoboMACs
The Giant Robot Roleplaying Game
Copyright 1993, 1995 by Dave Van Domelen
Mechanics inspired by Better Games Systems

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FILE ONE OF FOUR (Sections 0.0 - 1.4)

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CONTENTS

0.0 Introduction 3.0 Combat
1.0 Character Creation 3.1 Combat Rounds
1.1 Traits 3.2 NPC Attacks
1.2 Hooks 3.3 Recovery From Wounds
1.3 Generating Traits 3.4 Optional: Location Hits
1.4 Wounds 3.5 Vehicular Combat
1.5 Skills and Systems 3.6 Sample Combat
1.6 Sample Characters 4.0 Advancement
2.0 Task Resolution 4.1 Checkpoints
2.1 Task Resolution Chart 4.2 Trait Advances
2.2 Modifiers to Task 5.0 Appendices
Resolution 5.1 Modelling Established
2.3 Expanded Results Tables Characters
2.4 Ammunition and Energy 5.2 Glossary
Reserves 5.3 Acknowledgements

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0.0 INTRODUCTION

What is a RoboMAC?

It's a MAC in a Robo.

So, what are those?

MAC - Mobile Artificial Consciousness. Any self-motivating machine
intelligence designed to operate some kind of body that allows it mobility. Of
course, MACs are *able* to move, but like mobile homes, don't always do so.
Robo - Shorthand for RObot BOdy. Humans and MACs alike can pilot Robos,
but MACs do a much better job and tend to dominate the scene...hence the name
of the game.
This game is for all the fans of giant robot cartoons and live action
shows who want to roleplay those kind of characters, but have found other
systems too wargame-like. RoboMACs tries to have more of a dramatic, cinematic
flavor to it, and tends to replace hard numbers with general traits and
'hooks.' The bias will be towards RoboMACs as opposed to humans piloting
Robos, and towards transforming Robos over static ones, due to the author's
love of Hasbro's Transformers (TM) toys and cartoon.
This section is intended to be rules useable for any kind of giant robot
game, with as much bias as possible kept out of them. A short glossary of
Jargon and a chart page will follow it. The second section, the Sourcebook,
will present RoboMACs 2163, a fairly complete world using RoboMACs as the main
characters. The third section will present a pair of premade adventures set in
the RoboMACs 2163 campaign world, one for play by the "good guy" faction, and
one for play by the "bad guy" faction.
Needed for play:
- The Rules
- A number of 8-sided dice
- Pencil and paper for character sheets and stuff
- Imagination!

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1.0 CHARACTER CREATION:

While most games use characteristics that have some numerical value,
RoboMACs follows the Better Games (TM) system of using Traits to define a
character. A Trait is something a particular character has or does in greater
quantity than others of his world. Absence of a Trait doesn't mean the
character has no ability in that particular area, rather that he isn't
considered all that good at it. Traits may have bonuses on them to reflect
characters who are even better than good at something.
Example: someone who is Fast +1 is much faster than someone who is merely
Fast, just as a Fast person is faster than someone lacking the Trait entirely.
A Trait at +4 represents the best possible in the world, and no one ever
has more than that on a single Trait. How to increase your Traits, along with
other things, is discussed in the Advancement Rules (4.2).
Traits, however, are simply raw potential. Characters also have skills of
some sort to further define what the character has done with his Traits. In
RoboMACs, players have both skills and systems, which will be described below.
Skills are a function of the pilot or the MAC mind, while systems are a
function of the Robo shell.
Finally, details like psychological Hooks, the nonhumanoid form of
transforming characters and other details flesh out the RoboMAC. Oh, and it
helps to decide what faction you intend to be in whatever world you play in.
Better agree with the other players on this, or your character's lifetime may
be very short.

A Note about Piloted Robos:
The rules for Piloted Robos will be combined with the rules for RoboMACs
where convenient. Otherwise, they will follow the appropriate RoboMAC rule as
closely as possible.

1.1 TRAITS:

Robos and Humans have different sets of Traits.

1.1.1 RoboMAC Traits

All Robos, whether RoboMACs or not, can have the following Traits:
Armored, Brawn, Gadgets, Transforming, Weapons.
RoboMACs may also have Traits Fast and Mind.
Robos may have Trait Piloted, but may not have Trait Mind if they have
Piloted. If a RoboMAC has Piloted, it generally indicates that the Pilot and
the MAC work together somehow.
Note that some systems and skills are only available to RoboMACs with the
appropriate Traits.

Armored: Simply put, this Trait means the Robo has as much shielding as
its frame can carry. No systems or skills derive from this, just a great
capacity for taking damage and surviving even 'lethal' attacks.
Brawn: Great strength and general physical prowess. Those with his Trait
can move great masses and excel in hand-to-hand combat. They also tend to be
very hard to drop in combat, due to the wound levels conferred by this Trait.
Fast: The RoboMAC interface has the advantage of allowing maneuverability
far beyond what is possible for a man in a machine, but those with this Trait
are faster still. Harder to hit, often getting second chances at things and
overall able to invoke the old "how can anything so big move so fast" adage,
RoboMACs with this Trait are just that...FAST. They leave piloted Robos in the
dust, no matter how good the pilot is.
Gadgets: Having this Trait makes a RoboMAC an expert at improvising
equipment from anything at hand, including his own body. It also means that
the RoboMAC is likely to have oddball systems with sometimes unpredictable
combat effects as the result of self-tinkering. Numerous systems available to
such flexibly-minded MACs are unavailable to those without this Trait. In
addition, Gadgets RoboMACs can often jury-rig the right tool for the jobin
noncombat situations. Piloted Robos with Trait Gadgets tend to be filled with
the same kind of oddball stuff as Gadget RoboMACs, but lack the in-combat
flexibility of a RoboMAC.
Mind: Trait Mind indicates a MAC with a much more robust and three
dimensional personality, one who is closer to human than his fellows. Some of
these MACs are even based on human brain patterns and memories, where the
technology for such exists. The overall mental strength implied by this Trait
makes a MAC more resistant to being scrambled by physical or "mental" attacks,
and a few can even learn to directly assault an enemy's MAC mind or shore up an
ally's. This Trait is a must for any leader types.
Piloted: This is actually more of a disadvantage in most cases, and as a
result it is not counted against your Trait total in character generation.
Robos with pilots tend to be slower and less accurate than RoboMACs, although
there are ways to almost eliminate this disadvantage with a good pilot or a
special system. The one strong advantage of Piloted is that by putting all the
skills onto a separate pilot character, you leave more room in your Robo for
systems. There is no meaning to "Piloted +1," this is a Trait you have or you
don't.
Transforming: This Trait means the Robo has multiple forms, giving it
greater versatility and the possibility of disguising itself as something other
than a giant robot. One extra form is gained immediately on selection of this
Trait, with more being available as systems. This Trait also doesn't count
against your total, and like Piloted, there's no meaning to Transforming +1.
Weapons: This Trait means the Robo shell has been modified for greater
offensive ability. Those with this Trait may have built-in weapons calibrated
to their minds for enhanced skill, and may also carry the dreaded Megaweapons
capable to slaying even a RoboMAC with one shot. "Villain" factions tend to be
loaded with Robos possessing this trait, as opposed to the "Hero" faction's
tendency to have Trait Mind.

1.1.2 Human Traits

All squishy organic lifeforms capable of rational thought and therefore
eligible for being Pilots will be referred to as Humans in this work (when they
aren't called Squishies, that is). It will be assumed in these basic rules
that humans have no special abilities above that of the standard Action Hero.
Psychic humans common in some genres can be worked out by the Referee if he
wishes to allow them.
Humans are simpler to make, because compared to Robos they're pretty
fragile and weak. They have three possible Traits:
Guts - Physically tougher than most humans, they can keep going through
the haze of pain for a while. Also usually stronger.
Reflexes - Faster than most humans, better suited to being Pilots than
most. Also a little better at avoiding being taken out of combat by injuries.
Having Reflexes or Reflexes +1 gives a +1 against Interface Penalty. Having
the Trait at +2 or better gives +2 against IP (see Task Resolution section 2.2
for what the Interface Penalty is).
Smarts - From street savvy to scientific brilliance. Not a combat trait,
but necessary to build and repair things. Gives a bonus of +1 to any skill the
Referee thinks would be helped by it, plus an additional +1 for every +1 on the
Trait itself. So a human with Smarts +3 would have +4 on any intelligence-
based skill he took, automatically!
Most humans have no traits. Some have one. And the most exceptional
examples of humanity have two. Pilots fall into this group. Only NPCs
(possibly genetically engineered) are likely to have all three Traits.

1.2 HOOKS:

Aside from these Traits, every MAC has some personality Hook. In various
fictional robot shows, it seems that there's only a handful of personality
types, and that's true here as well. MAC personalities tend to be one
dimensional, and the charts below give that one dimension. MACs with Trait
Mind still have such a Hook, but it's less pronounced. Humans can also have
Hooks if you wish to play a more stereotypable character, but they're never
required to play the Hook to the hilt. Roleplaying one of the more severe
Hooks can be as challenging as facing Antiochus in single combat.

1.2.1 "Hero" Hooks

If you're playing one of the world's "good guys," roll d8 on this table
for your Hook, or determine a suitable one with your GM.

1 - Vain: Concerned overly with looks and abilities. Will tend to brag about
his capabilities, but may retreat from a battle where he is taking
too much cosmetic damage or risks system loss.
2 - Hyperactive: Never really got the hang of slowing down his thoughts to
the level of his actions (inertia still rules the RoboMACs), he will
speak quickly and incessantly, always be trying to do too many
things at once, will frequently invoke Multiple Action Penalty
(see Task Resolution, section 2.2) for it.
3 - Gruff/Angry: Carries a chip on his shoulder, and it ain't a microchip. May
complain about bad leadership, the weather, anything. Often is
actually *happy* to be annoyed.
4 - Logical: Not much personality at all, more machine than man. Flustered by
illogical or emotional situations, tends to overanalyze.
5 - Martyr: Self-sacrificing type, always taking the blame for others or diving
in the way of shots. While you might like him as a combat partner,
you'll go nuts having to spend time around him out of combat.
6 - Sullen: Less vocal than the Angry types, this Hook makes a MAC passive,
moody, depressed. He'll still be able to act relatively normally
when he needs to, but when not active will mope about. Resists
all attempts to cheer him up, and may even be angered by them.
7 - Curious: Wants to know MORE. Frequently associated with Gadget types, but
if one of these guys lacks that Trait, it won't stop him from trying.
He may miss battles because he took apart his legs and can't figure
out where that one bit goes. Also tends to nose into conversations.
Basically your inquisitive little kid personality.
8 - Cheerful: A ray of sunshine in all situations, enough to give a guy
sunstroke. Never deterred, always optimistic and happy. Attracts
'accidental' friendly fire like crazy. Likes to talk to the enemy
during combat, he's sure this can all be settled peacefully.

1.2.2 "Villain" Hooks

If, instead, you'd rather play one of the people painted by the foolish
humans as a "bad guy," you're better off with a Hook from this list, or one
similar.

1 - Vain: As above, but with a darker edge. Will put others down to boost
his own self-image.
2 - Arrogant: Anyone who hasn't proven their superiority will be assumed
inferior and treated like scum. Arrogant types often also have Mind
because nothing feeds an ego like actually *being* superior.
3 - Sadistic: Loves seeing a foe squirm, will often toy with them if in a
position of strength, giving them time to recover. May even spend
an action gloating over a Scrambled foe instead of pressing the
advantage.
4 - Logical: As above, but with no compassion at all. Cold fish.
5 - Craven: Will run for cover unless threatened by his superiors with more
pain. If in a position of strength he will bully his foe, pounding
relentlessly. But once his prey shows signs of fighting back, he
runs (or at least starts using defensive skills and systems).
6 - Treacherous: Wants all the power and he wants it now. Will only keep his
word when it suits him, and will toady to anyone his superior.
Against "Heroes", he will use every dirty trick he can think of,
like surrendering then firing a built-in weapon at his foe's back.
7 - Manic-Depressive: Combine Hyperactive and Sullen from above, then toss in
some Angry, and have them go off at random. This MAC's personality
program is fuller of bugs than a roach motel, and it shows. He will
act erratically at times, and not act at all at other times.
8 - Smug: Like Arrogant, but not as vocal. He knows he's superior to other
MACs, and probably has the Mind Trait to prove it. However, instead
of using his superiority to boss others around, he lets them do what
they want. Once they fail, he steps in and shows them how it's
really done.

Since these Hooks can determine good Traits to take, you may wish to roll
for a Hook before generating Traits. Sometimes you may simply want to take
Mind to offset a particularly obnoxious (to you) Hook.

1.2.3 Alternate Hooks

The Hooks presented above aren't the only ones available, they're simply
the most common. Other Hooks can be devised by players wanting to play a
specific personality type, but remember, a Hook should be a one-dimensional
character trait, something fairly extreme. The challenge comes in roleplaying
well *with* this cardboard facsimile personality, not by simply ignoring the
problem.
Some other Hooks might include:
"Heroes" - Aggressive/Savage, Pacifist, Petulant, Condescending, Hazy
"Villains" - Noble (but still devoted to the "villain" cause), Toady
(combination of Craven and Treacherous), Greedy, Animalistic
When adapting characters from your favorite transforming robot cartoon or
comic, you may need to devise a Hook that better describes him. If the
character doesn't have a very pronounced Hook, assume he has Trait Mind to
lessen the effect of whatever Hook he does have.

1.3 GENERATING TRAITS:

The number of Traits you allow depends on the power level you want your
players to have. Only the toughest RoboMACs have 5 and 6 Traits, while those
with 1 or 2 are pretty much cannon fodder unsuitable for playing. In addition,
Traits like Piloted and Transforming should be decided on by the players at
this time. It's best if all players either have the trait or don't have it,
since one Piloted character in a sea of RoboMACs is going to feel left out.
>From the remaining Traits, the author suggests 3-4 total, using the table below
for help.

Roll Traits
---- ------
1-4 Any three Traits
5-7 Any three Traits plus: Mind if "Hero", Weapons if "Villain"
8 Any four Traits

This reflects the tendency of "Heroes" to have better brains and "Villains" to
have better guns. If this division doesn't exist in your campaign world, or if
Mind isn't possible because of widespread use of Trait Piloted, then replace
that line with "Any three Traits plus Gadgets," which gives flexibility.

Optionally, you can devise your own chart where the Traits rolled depend
on the character's Hook. An example is below:

Roll Traits for Curious Hook (RoboMAC)
---- ---------------------------------
1-3 Gadgets, Weapons and Mind
4-5 Gadgets, Weapons and Fast
6 Gadgets, Weapons, Fast and Mind
7 Gadgets, Armored, Brawn
8 Mind, Armored, Brawn, Fast

Feel free to expand on this idea if you like it. The writer prefers the
more flexible system above it.

Human Pilots are assumed to have two Traits, let the player choose which
two it'll be. The Traits of their Robo might be influenced by their Hook if
they take one, since given a choice they'll pilot Robos that suit their
personalities.


1.4 WOUNDS:

It's been mentioned how the RoboMAC interface has the advantage of greater
speed and reaction time. However, there is a disadvantage as well. The MAC
mind is intertwined with the details of the Robo shell, and cannot easily or
long survive outside it...if the body is destroyed, the MAC may die as well.
Hence, a system for keeping track of damage is needed.
There are five levels of Wound that precede total destruction of the Robo
shell, and quite possibly the MAC inside.
Flesh - A flesh wound, minor damage to a human, but painful enough to take
an untrained person out of combat. This might scratch the paint on a Robo.
Bone - Structural damage to a human or other things of similar toughness.
Only the toughest humans can function in combat after such an injury, and it
might cause damage to a very senstive part of a Robo (like optics) if a
critical hit (Overkill) is scored.
Metal - An attack capable of rending metal and armor. This is the Robo's
equivalent of a flesh wound, but will fatally injure any human.
Structure - Internal structural damage to a Robo, often accompanied by
loss of a limb or partial loss of a system. Most MACs will have difficulty
with the feedback from such a wound, as will Pilots if they're hooked into the
Robo's systems sufficiently. Also called Structural Wounds.
Critical - Major system damage, will take most Robos out of action for at
least a round, and will destroy the weaker ones. Only repeated blows or the
powerful Megaweapons can inflict this level of Wound. Needless to say, a human
would be turned into a fine red mist by this level of attack.
Wrecked - This is death for the Robo shell, and could also spell death for
the MAC or Pilot inside.

1.4.1 Wound Determination

The number of Wounds of each type a Player human or RoboMAC can take is
determined by their Traits, according to the chart below. Note that Nonplayer
Characters (NPCs) can be weaker or stronger than this list would allow. When a
Trait is mentioned twice in a column, that means it gives two Wounds of the
appropriate type. When all the Wounds of one type have been taken, the
Overflow Effect is applied (see below).
The Robo line is the base Wounds for any Robo shell. The MAC line is the
added benefit of being a RoboMAC, and doesn't confer to Piloted Robos. The
extra Wrecked Wounds for MAC and Mind do not allow it to continue functioning,
the Robo is still destroyed. It represents that line between death of the
body and death of the mind. However, the Armored line under Wrecked does allow
the Robo to continue functioning...but only if the MAC or Pilot hasn't shut
down from damage.

Flesh Bone Metal Structure Critical Wrecked
------------------------------------------------------------------
Guts.......Guts...................................................
Reflexes..........................................................
......................Robo........Robo.........Robo...............
......................MAC.........MAC..........MAC.........MAC....
......................Armored.....Armored......Armored.....Armored
......................Armored.....Armored.........................
......................Brawn.......Brawn........Brawn..............
..................................Brawn...........................
......................Gadgets.....................................
...............................................Mind........Mind...
......................Weapons.....Weapons.........................

In other words:
Guts: 1 Flesh, 1 Bone
Reflexes: 1 Flesh
Robo: 1 Metal, 1 Structure, 1 Critical
MAC: 1 Metal, 1 Structure, 1 Critical, 1 Wrecked
Armored: 2 Metal, 2 Structure, 1 Critical, 1 Wrecked
Brawn: 1 Metal, 2 Structure, 1 Critical
Gadgets: 1 Metal
Mind: 1 Critical, 1 Wrecked
Weapons: 1 Metal, 1 Structure

Having bonuses to the Trait gives the Wounds again for every +1 on the
Trait. So Mind +2 would give a total of 3 Critical and 3 Wrecked.

1.4.2 Overflow

When a character has taken all the Wounds he has in a particular category,
he has the option of suffering that category's Overflow Effect, or
"overflowing" the Wound to the next higher level. Damage taken this way is
called overflow damage, and is generally not as severe in the long term as
direct damage of the same level. If he has no Wounds in any category above the
one taken, he must take Overflow Effect. Damage may be overflowed until it
hits a non-empty Wound level if the Overflow Effect at each level can be
overridden.

Wound Overflow Effect
----- ---------------
Flesh Knocked Unconscious, out of combat (humans only)
Bone Shock, out of combat and needs medical attention (humans only)
Metal Critically wounded, will die if he doesn't get medical attention
(humans only)
Metal Automatic Recall, RoboMAC will retreat if possible and Piloted
Robo will also probably retreat. Can be overridden by any
character, overflowing the Wound to Structure (Robos only)
Structure Instant Death (humans only)
Structure System Shutdown, can only be overridden by Piloted Robos and
RoboMACs with Trait Mind. This is the equivalent of Shock.
Overriding overflows to Critical (Robos only)
Critical Wrecked Wound, cannot be avoided (Robos and humans)
Wrecked Total Destruction (Robos and humans)

In general, the less important NPCs will always take the Overflow Effect,
dropping out of combat faster than the important ones. Note that a Robo has a
better chance of being brought back from a Wrecked Overflow Effect than a
human does, of course.

Example: Jonny Wacko (Guts, Reflexes, has 2 Flesh and 1 Bone) is trying to
reach his Robo, but is waylaid by an Enemy Agent. He decides to duke it out,
but after two rounds is battered and bruised (out of Flesh Wounds) without
having taken out his foe. He's hit again, for a Flesh Wound, and has a
choice: take the Overflow Effect, or overflow the damage to Bone. Knowing what
will happen if he doesn't make it to the Robo, he grits his teeth and overflows
the damage, feeling the internal bleeding start as he leans into that kick.
If he takes another Flesh Wound, he'll automatically take the Overflow Effect
of that Wound, since he's now out of wounds above Flesh. Will he escape?

Example: Blueblaze has been fighting all afternoon and is out of Structure
Wounds and Metal Wounds, but has a few Critical Wounds left. Roughhouse
strikes him a glancing blow for a Metal Wound, and Blueblaze's player now has a
choice. Blueblaze has Trait Mind, so he could pass the Structure Overflow
Effect and take a Critical, continuing to fight despite massive internal
damage. Or he could take the Metal Overflow Effect and flee while he's still
in one piece. In essence, he's deciding how severe the Wound is, paying for
continued action with a more damaging shot (there's that cinematic thing
again). He decides the battle isn't very important, and as the shot strips off
a dangling bit of armor he turns and runs.

1.4.3 Pain Effects

Damage to the body translates into problems for the mind, as well as for
any passengers the RoboMAC may be carrying. This is split into two parts,
Scramble effects and Tricklethrough.

Scramble: Any time a RoboMAC takes a Structural Wound, he is at -2 to his
actions next round as his systems try to compensate for the damage. A Critical
wound causes the loss of all actions the next round as major systems need to be
rerouted. Having Trait Mind allows one to ignore these effects. However, a
Wrecked result will Scramble any MAC into inactivity, Trait Mind or not. Some
skills can cause a Scramble directly, in which case Trait Mind defends against
them by subtracting one from the attacker's roll, plus an additional -1 for
every +1 bonus taken to the Mind Trait.
For humans it is similar but worse. Taking a Bone Wound gives a human -2
on all actions taken until the Wound is healed. These penalties are
cumulative, although few humans can take more than two Bone Wounds before
succumbing. Taking a Metal Wound knocks a human out of action, period. On the
positive side, unless made vulnerable by some special system, a human Pilot
will not suffer the -2 penalty from his Robo taking a Structure Wound, although
he still loses a round to system failure from a Critical.
Overflow damage counts for pain effects.

Tricklethrough: If a human is riding inside a RoboMAC during combat, he
will take some damage from what is done to the Robo. Normally, this damage is
two levels below the damage done to the Robo: so Structural damage inflicted
on the Robo will do a Bone Wound to a totally unshielded pilot or passenger.
Special systems can reduce this damage to the point where a pilot can survive
the wrecking of his Robo. Tricklethrough damage is based on *actual* damage
caused, not on overflow damage. This makes those Megaweapons much scarier to
pilots.

1.4.4 Death

The big scrap heap in the sky? Not necessarily. First off, RoboMACs are
pretty hard to kill. Even if their body is Wrecked, they have protected backup
areas for their minds. Large amounts of damage are needed (character must take
all their Wrecked wounds) to totally destroy this, and even if that happens,
most MACs have backups in some secure location back home. Once a new body can
be built, the mind needs to be downloaded into the body and given time to
adjust. In general, the MAC should lose any skill slots learned recently
(defined as since the last time they had a chance to backup, assume lose 1
skill if last backup not known) and may lose some systems which aren't
available for their new body. In any case, it takes weeks to get active again
in all but the most ideal situations.
Why is it so hard to recover? And why can't the MAC just project itself
out of the body before it's Wrecked to find haven? The adaptation of the mind
to the body is the answer. A MAC can't really be active outside its body, and
goes dormant when placed in storage or otherwise removed from the body. The
effect is akin to sensory deprivation, and the MAC shuts down to protect itself
from psychological damage.
Overall, death really only puts the character out of the game for the rest
of the adventure. He'll probably be back next time, but perhaps missing a few
skills and systems. Unless the character is human, of course. Human death
tends to be pretty final in all but the most fantastic giant robot worlds.

1.4.5 Optional: Bruise Wounds

If your campaign spends a significant amount of time on humans outside of
their Robos, the Wound levels given are not quite sufficient, being too much on
the lethal side.
To fix this, there is an additional level of Wound below Flesh, called
Bruise Wounds. Bruise Wounds are basically just that, minor injuries which may
cause pain, but rarely slow down a real hero or villain.
In Hand to Hand combat, anyone may inflict a Bruise on Advantage Phase
with degree Difficult. If the attacker has Reflexes, the degree drops to
Routine. If the attacker has Brawl skill, he may inflict a Bruise on either
phase with Routine difficulty, useful for friendly brawls where you don't
really want to make the other guy bleed.
Normal humans have 0-4 Bruise Wounds, found by rolling d8/2 and dropping
fractions. So rolling a 1 gives 0 Bruise Wounds. Someone with no Bruise
Wounds is frail and noncombatant.
NPCs will have 2 Bruise for every 1 Flesh Wound and 3 Bruise for every
Bone Wound they have, unless you've worked out their Traits. An NPC made up as
a character with Traits will have Bruise Wounds as a PC. Robos have infinite
Bruise Wounds.
Every Trait possessed by a character gives 4 Bruise Wounds, and that
includes Trait bonuses. So someone who's Reflexes +1 and Guts +2 would have 20
Bruise! The experienced heroes never seem to notice attacks by lesser
opponents, wading through the fray with a smile and a good right cross.
Overflow Effect of Bruise Wounds is to be stunned and out of combat for d8
rounds (or about a minute if done ambush-style out of combat).
Bruise Wounds are healed back at the rate of one per ten minutes, or all
come back after an hour if you wish more simplicity.
If the Referee wishes, he can design nonlethal weapons that do d8 Bruise
Wounds per attack, dropping most normals in one shot but giving PCs a chance to
resist. Rubber truncheons, tasers and the like do Bruise damage.

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Subject: RoboMACs v2.1: Rules 2 of 4
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RoboMACs Rules
copyright 1993, 1995 by Dave Van Domelen

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FILE TWO OF FOUR (Sections 1.5, 1.6)

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1.5 SKILLS and SYSTEMS:

Now that your RoboMAC has a personality, Traits and Wounds, it's time to
outfit that body with systems, and the brain with skills.
Skills are just that, skills. Things learned by the MAC brain or the
human pilot. They allow use of systems as well as using outside objects like
sidearms and communications satellites. Most skills presented here will be
combat skills, but feel free to expand on the noncombat skills. Many noncombat
skills can be gotten 'for free' with Referee approval ("No, you don't have to
use a skill slot for knowledge of rock bands from 2034 to 2040..."). The
general rule of thumb is that if a skill looks like it will frequently be
useful, it should cost a skill slot. If it will only sometimes be useful, or
never be very useful, it should be free.
Systems are physical parts of a RoboMAC's body, as opposed to things that
the RoboMAC may be carrying. Systems cannot be picked up in combat, nor
removed without serious effort (or a Wrecked result).
Starting RoboMACs get a total of 12 skills and systems, to split up
however the player desires. Piloted Robos get a total of 12 skills and systems
as well, but you cannot buy skills for the Robo without the Tailgunner system
(putting a brain in the Robo) or having the Pilot as a Sidekick (RoboMAC with
extra human Pilot). Starting Pilots get 6 skills. Later advances can
determine the number of skills and of systems (see Advancement, 4.2), so plan
carefully. It is highly recommended to take at least the basic combat skills
(Brawl, Blast, Dodge), but beyond that, have fun. Some skills are helped by
various Traits or systems, and many systems are only available to those with
the right Trait.
All skills have a degree of difficulty: Routine, Difficult, Tasking and
Limit (of ability) in increasing order of toughness. These will be detailed
later. Some systems have inherent degrees, but most rely on some skill.
Buying a skill more than once gives a +1 on the skill, up to a maximum of
+4 on the skill. It is recommended that starting players be allowed to take no
more than 3 of their skills as bonuses, so that they don't start off too
specialized.

1.5.1 Skills

1.5.1.1 Robo Combat Skills

These can be taken by anything that can run a Robo.

Hand to Hand Combat Skills: Enhanced by Brawn, enhanced version in {} brackets
All skills work at Close Range only. Unless using an energy weapon
for Weaponmaster skill, all attacks are Matter mode. It is always
possible to 'pull' your attack and do less than the maximum damage
allowed by the skill, but the degree does not change if you do so.

Brawl (Difficult): Do Metal on Advantage or Bone on Responsive (useful
for squishing a repulsive fleshling if you have nothing better to do). {Do
Structure on Advantage or Metal on Responsive}
MACJitsu (Tasking): Do Metal in either Phase. If done on Advantage the
trickiness of the maneuver will give the user -2 to be hit this round. May
also be used to try trick maneuvers like throwing a foe into an open power
converter. {Degree Difficult}
Weaponmaster (Tasking): If using an object intended for use as a weapon,
do Structural in Advantage. If using an improvised weapon or club, do Metal.
Having a Built-in hand weapon (see systems) reduces the degree to Difficult.
{Critical if using a proper weapon, Structural if improvised. Still Tasking
unless built-in weapon used}
Grab (variable): Pin an opponent's arms, legs, tentacles, etc. The degree
you choose to roll is the degree he needs to roll in order to get out. While
grabbing someone, you can squeeze them with Brawl or MACJitsu, but may not
attack anyone else. Held opponent takes one level higher damage from all
attacks, although outside attacks can hurt the grabber on a Mixed. {If you have
Brawn and he doesn't, he needs one degree higher than you rolled. If you lack
Brawn and he has it, he needs a degree lower. If both have Brawn, same as if
neither does.} Escape attempts always negate damage done from squeezing if
they are successful. Example: Lyonheart grabs a MACE trooper and prepares to
rip off a few limbs. On Advantage he rolls Brawl, and since he has Brawn, he
does Critical to his held foe. But when the trooper's action comes around, he
rolls a 16 and escapes, never having taken the Critical result.
Parry (Routine): If you have the same attack as is being used on you or
possess some system that helps in blocking, you may block it on Routine. If
not, the degree is Tasking. The ease of blocking simulates the tendency
of RoboMAC hand combats to be mostly thrust and parry, with little actual
damage (see most any cartoon of the genre). Brawn does not help this skill.
Trip (Difficult): Causes opponent to fall or become unbalanced in a
situation where falling isn't possible (like Zero G). If performed on
Advantage, the victim cannot make a hand-to-hand attack this round, and will
be at -4 if he tries a ranged attack. If preformed on Responsive, the user has
the option of either negating the opponent's attack from this round or of
setting up the foe to be +4 to be hit next round. Brawn does not enhance this
skill.

Ranged Combat Skills: All are made one degree less difficult when performed
with a Built-in Weapon. Weapons used for this are usually Energy mode,
but may be Matter mode. Referee discretion as to whether these attacks
can be 'pulled' for less damage, as it will often depend on the particular
weapon.

Blast (Difficult): Use a weapon to inflict Metal at Close Range on
Advantage (harder than Brawl because it cannot be tripped or parried in
general).
Killing Shot (Tasking): Concentrate fire in an attempt to do serious
damage to opponent. Effect is lessened if used on Responsive since less time
is taken firing. Do Structural on Advantage or Metal on Responsive, only Close
range.
Sniper Shot (Tasking): Aim carefully and fire at an opponent at Not Close
range for a Metal Wound. Doing more damage at Not Close requires a weapon
with the Autoranging system (section 1.5.2).
Godcannon Shot (Tasking): Use a Megaweapon system to do a Critical on
Advantage, but bracing to fire gives you +2 to be hit this round. May only be
used if the RoboMAC has a Megaweapon system, or picks up one on the
battlefield. Close range only.
Obliterating Shot (Limit): Concentrate the fire of a Megaweapon to utterly
destroy an opposing MAC, doing a Wrecked Wound. However, the strain of using
the weapon does a Metal Wound to the user as well as giving him +2 to be hit
this round. May only be used on Advantage. Must own the Megaweapon to use it
in this capacity (no using 'found' weapons for this). Close Range only.
Trick Shot (Tasking): Use any weapon to perform a tricky shot, whether
it's knocking a weapon out of a foe's hand, triggering a device, or what have
you. If used to cause damage (like bouncing off a wall and hitting the foe
from an angle) it does a Metal Wound.

General Combat Skills:

Dodge (var): Routine to give one foe -3 to hit you, Difficult to give all
foes -3. Bonuses to this skill may be used to either make the roll easier
or to increase the defensive bonus conferred by it, determined before making
the roll.
Range (Routine): Change from Not Close to Close range or vice versa.
Tasking to do this if you don't have the skill. This skill only applies to
Robo form, as vehicle forms (if possessed) use Maneuvers (see Vehicle Combat,
section 3.5).
Stunt Driver (none): When in vehicle mode, you maneuver more like a Robo
than a vehicle. In Vehicle Combat, character can change facing automatically
(no roll needed, as opposed to Automatic Degree), but still must use the Range
and Enter Facing Maneuvers from section 3.5. The Range Skill (above) may be
substituted for these Maneuvers if it is to the character's advantage (such as
when the character has +1 on their Range skill, as you cannot take bonuses to
the Vehicle Combat Maneuvers). If used, however, both the Enter Facing and
Range Maneuvers will be Routine instead of Difficult. The character can do
things like turn 90 degrees at Mach 3, drive up the side of a building, etc.
If trying something truly outlandish, the Referee should assign a degree to it,
and plusses to this skill count toward that roll.

1.5.1.2 Human Combat Skills

All skills may be taken to be used outside of a Robo, but the damage done
is reduced. Metal wounds become Flesh, Structure becomes Bone, Critical
becomes Metal and Wrecked becomes Structural. An appropriate weapon must be
had in order to do the damage...a pistol cannot be used for Godcannon Shot, you
need an emplaced weapon. Make a note next to the skill that it's not for use
in Robo. Referee discretion as to whether Guts enhances HTH skills for humans.
Example: Johnny Wacko has Brawl for inside his Robo, but buys Brawl again
for himself, since he gets into an inordinate number of scuffles on his own.
He'd punch for Flesh wounds on Advantage. Later on, he decides he really needs
to carry a gun, and takes Blast and Killing Shot for use outside his Robo.
Given a handgun or rifle he can do Flesh or Bone wounds respectively with those
skills. Should he take Godcannon Shot for himself, he'd need to find a Really
Big Gun to make it work for him.
Due to the amount of skills needed for running a Robo, few characters will
have more than Brawl or Blast taken for outside use. They're pilots, not
infantry.
Pilots are assumed to have the ability to drive their Robos without buying
the skill, GMs are left to decide how hard it is for untrained persons to
operate a Robo they stumble onto. The most user-friendly Robos should still
give at least a degree shift in difficulty, and ones with sufficiently arcane
command systems should be totally undrivable by the untrained.

1.5.1.3 Mind Skills

These skills may only be bought by MACs with Trait Mind. At Referee
option, a paranormal human (such as the Newtypes of Gundam (TM)) might purchase
these skills for use against other humans (in which case the skills can affect
Piloted Robos normally) or against MACs.

Scramble (var): Attempt to project a virus program that will overwhelm an
opponent's personality. Degree Tasking to make them lose their next action
re-establishing their persona. Degree Limit to take them out of combat. If
the target has Trait Mind, the roll is at -1, plus an additional penalty of one
for every +1 taken on the Mind Trait. This skill can only be used once on a
particular foe each combat, since after the attempt is made, defenses are set
in place. Against Piloted Robos it is a degree mode difficult, due to the fact
that most decisionmaking is in the Pilot.
Rally (Difficult): Boost the personas of your allies, making them immune
to Wound-induced Scramble as if they had Trait Mind for the next d8 rounds.
This does not defend them from use of the Scramble skill, however. May only be
effective once per combat, but can be tried until it is effective. No effect
on Piloted Robos.
Charisma (Difficult): Try to win over the opposing side to your
philosophy. May only be tried once per combat, but if successful it causes
foes to doubt themselves and be at -2 to all rolls for d8 rounds. No effect
on Piloted Robos.
Note: Rally and Charisma may be used against each other. Rally will cure
your side of opposing Charisma, and Charisma will end a foe's Rally, instead of
having the normal effect.

1.5.1.4 Other Skills

Anyone capable of skills can have these, but generally a Tailgunner won't
have these. Sidekicks often have them.

Knowledge Specialty: Have a deep understanding of some relevant topic,
such as physics, repair work, tactics, orbital mechanics, etc. If the topic is
too narrow or trivial, it doesn't cost a skill. Must be bought once for each
topic deemed important.
Style: Look good at anything, degree depends on how bad you would normally
look. Fail with aplomb. Never let'em see ya rust.
Communication: Not the same as a Knowledge Specialty in Commsystems, this
is the ability of RoboMACs and Pilots in Robos to interact with humans without
scaring the pants off them. Robos are generally several meters tall, and both
MACs and the kind of person who Pilots a Robo tend to have personalities that
put off even each other...this skill lets you talk to humans without spooking
them, very important if you're trying to get them out of a combat area before
combat starts.
Add other skills as you feel they fit the campaign.

1.5.2 Systems

Only Robos can have Systems, unless you want to design an odd cyborg
variant system.

1.5.2.1 General Systems

Any Robo may have these systems, and this is not an exhaustive list of the
possibilities, rather the more common ones. Make more as you see fit, so long
as they don't seem to belong more in the Weapons Systems or Gadget Systems
groups. Note that as characters advance they may have more spaces for systems
than there are systems on this list. In such a case, feel free to invent more
systems or allow +1's on systems to reflect automatic bonuses when using the
system with any skill.

Autorepair: More of an auto-juryrig, this allows the RoboMAC to scavenge
some damaged systems to fix others. On a Difficult roll, repair a combined
total of d8 wounds of the Metal and Structural levels. This can be done only
once in combat, any other damage will need to be repaired normally.
Flight: Ability to move through the air in one or all modes. Possible to
intentionally limit flight to one mode. This must be bought for an air vehicle
mode to be able to fly.
Other Movement Mode: If a movement mode in the campaign other than
standard ground, air or water movement is significantly useful (such as ability
to move on maglev tracks) then it costs a system. Otherwise, it can be taken
for free...it shouldn't cost extra to be able to move on tracks, for example,
if there aren't many.
Sidearm: The ability to use internal components to fashion a weapon. This
keeps the RoboMAC from getting disarmed in combat, but this makeshift weapon is
not calibrated like a built-in weapon, and gives no bonuses. Such weapons
sometimes seem to be pulled out of thin air.
Submersible: All RoboMACs are able to operate in any medium, but this
system allows free movement underwater. Without it, actions are at a degree
higher underwater. In addition, the GM may require this system of Piloted
Robos if he decides it's not standard to be sealed against water. The system
can also be taken to make a Robo sealed against vacuum if that's not considered
a typical ability of Robos in the campaign world.
Tailgunner: This is a secondary computer or semi-organic mind that's
capable of using all the Robo's weaponry without Interface Penalty. It needs
skills of its own to use the weapons, and these skills count towards the total
for the RoboMAC. For Piloted Robos, the benefit is obvious. For RoboMACs, it
allows an extra attack per round without incurring Multiple Action Penalty. It
can also be programmed to flee combat if the MAC or Pilot is somehow
incapacitated, such as by use of Mind skills.

1.5.2.2 Transforming Systems

Must have Trait Transforming to use these systems, some are useless to
those without the Trait.

Combat Form: The nonhumanoid form of the MAC is also suited to combat, and
can use all skills and weapons possessed by the MAC. However, arcs of fire may
still be limited. Without this system, the nonhumanoid form can't use any
attacks other than ramming.
Merge: Bought with a group. You and others in the group may merge (taking
a full round, disrupted if any member is hit by an attack) into a giant RoboMAC
with great power. The Merged form adds the Traits of the members (If three of
them have Brawn, he's Brawn +2, etc) but has its own systems and skills. If
none of the members have Mind, the merged form will have to be run by consensus
of all members, not a great tactical move. If only one has Mind, he runs the
combined form. If more than one have Mind, they share command. See the
Advancement rules for more on how to deal with Merged or Combined forms.
Merged Robos are the most powerful on the battlefield, but their mental
problems (conflicting personalities in the groupmind or Piloting corps can
cause trouble) often keep them from being used as often, as does their trouble
in gaining experience (again, see Advancement, section 4.2). Merged Robos are
often called FortressRobos due to their size, or FusionRobos to avoid confusing
them with the tremendous city-sized type of FortressRobo.
At Referee discretion, Fusions and other FortressRobos do one level of
damage higher in hand-to-hand combat and cannot be Parried by normal-sized
Robos.
Multiformer: All Robos with Trait Transforming have one form other than
that of a humanoid robot, but this system lets you have more forms that that.
Must be taken for every additional form (so having three nonhumanoid forms
costs 2 systems).
Quickchange: Normally, changing between Robo and vehicle forms takes up a
character's action and prevents them from participating in combat that round.
However, this system allows for rapid transformations that let a RoboMAC act
freely in the same round as his transformation. This system is common among
more experienced MACs, and although it was once a system reserved only for
Gadget types, it is now available to anyone.
Ramplate: In vehicle form this is bought to cover one facing, usually
front. It lets the RoboMAC take less damage from a ramming attack in vehicle
combat. In Robo form, it's useless, although it may transform into some other
system, like a Shield (see Gadget Systems) or a club.

1.5.2.3 Weapons Systems

Must have Trait Weapons to buy.

Built-In Weapon: A special weapon that is part of the RoboMAC's body, and
has parts of the MAC's mind devoted to running it. This linkage makes it much
more accurate than normal weapons, as seen in the skills sections. Such a
weapon cannot be taken away in combat, although it can be broken as the result
of a Mishap or Trick Shot. Buying it multiple times gives multiple built-in
weapons, and the Built-In may be ranged or hand-to-hand, Energy or Matter.
Explosive Weapon: Hurls bombs or creates energy fields to harm multiple
foes. It is used with the normal weapon skills, but it does damage to all foes
(or d8/2 foes if they're scattered about). Hand to hand explosive weapons are
weird, but doable (they often are Energy based and involve the attacker
exploding or something like that).
Megaweapon: A unique and very powerful weapon designed for the particular
RoboMAC, who is the only one who can exploit its full potential. Usually this
is also bought as Built-In for a cost of two systems. An Explosive Built-In
Megaweapon costs three slots and is very nasty...it should stay out of player
hands until they've gained some experience and power.

1.5.2.4 Gadget Systems

Must have Trait Gadget to buy. This is only a partial listing. Feel free
to add as many as strike your fancy as players gain experience.
NOTE: Letting a RoboMAC have both Sponge and Ablative systems is a Bad
Idea.

Ablative Skin: Attacks by Matter weapons do one degree less as the impact
is distributed across the body better. Does nothing against Energy weapons.
Autoranging: Bought on a particular ranged skill, it allows the use at Not
Close range with no penalty. Alternately, it can be bought on a particular
Built-in weapon, and all uses of the weapon can be made at Not Close without
penalty. So, a character might have "Autoranging for Killing Shot," letting
him do Structural damage at Not Close range with any weapon, or he could have
"Autoranging with Built-In Energy Rifle" to let him use any skill with his
Energy Rifle at Not Close. Can be bought multiple times to cover multiple
skills and/or weapons.
Holograms: Degree rolled by user is the degree needed by observers to
detect flaws in the image. If used to simulate Invisibility, it works like
that system but only confers -2 penalty to attackers who know where he is.
Invisibility: As long as no weapons are used, user cannot be attacked or
seen without Sensor Pack. If he fires or is pointed out by someone, he's still
-4 to be hit. Being hit will deactivate this system for the rest of combat.
Passenger Armor: Passengers take one less level of damage from
Tricklethrough (Structural inflicts Flesh, Wrecked inflicts Bone). Can only
be taken once, but if the Robo is Piloted it will cover both the Pilot and any
Passenger Space, plus Sidekicks if any.
Passenger Space: This is for any form not that wouldn't normally have
passenger space (such as a "vehicle" form that's a giant gun). Otherwise,
vehicle forms are assumed to have the passenger space appropriate to the form.
This lets the RoboMAC carry people and things inside itself while in humanoid
form instead of carrying them in its hands or on its shoulder, or inside a
nonhumanoid form that otherwise wouldn't have room for people. It need
only be bought once to cover all forms that need it. Piloted Robos are
assumed to only have space for the Pilot (and any Sidekicks) if this option
isn't taken. How much can fit inside the Passenger Space is for the player
and Referee to agree on.
Remote Interface: The Robo is designed to be run by someone not actually
inside the shell. The slight lag in transmitting signals results in a -1 on
all rolls to operate remotely, but also removes the possibility of operator
death (in most cases). Pain effects other than loss of action due to a
Critical wound are also ignored. Unfortunately, it's easier for outside
influences to take control, and all attempts to use Mind skills on a Remote
unit are at one degree easier (and ignore the Piloted nature of the Robo, if it
has one). A MAC buying this system for a subsidiary Robo may choose to
continue to feel pain effects in exchange for not suffering the -1 penalty.
Scrambleguard: Scramble effects from attacks are taken as one damage level
lower. So Structure wounds do nothing and Criticals cause -2 next round.
Wrecked still takes you out unless you're Armored, though, as the body is
trashed.
Sensor Pack: Advanced sensory gear, can see through Holograms and
Invisibility, plus any other systems you may create that seem appropriate.
Shield: If you have the Parry skill, this gadget lets you use it against
any attack, not just against attacks you yourself possess. Routine to parry
any hand to hand attack, Difficult to block ranged attacks. If the MAC lacks
Parry skill, or loses the skill due to mishap, the rolls are two degrees
higher.
Size Change: There can be a noticable size difference between forms,
usually the size of a given form is fixed. But at Referee discretion, a single
form may be usable at multiple sizes. In this case, changing size takes the
character's action unless he has Quickchange as well. Needs only be bought
once no matter how many forms the character possesses, and for Robos without
Transforming System can allow the Robo to grow or shrink at will.
Snare Gun: Use with the regular weapon skills, but a Metal wound
translates into the foe needing a Difficult roll to escape the snare, and
Structural forces a Tasking roll. While snared, the foe has the same penalties
as if Grabbed (see skills). Attacks of the same Mode as the snare will first
break the snare, while attacks of the other mode will ignore it. So Matter
attacks can bypass Energy shackles and really mess up the snared MAC. Snare
Megaweapons are rather bizarre, and generally can't be escaped from (Critical
becomes Limit, Wrecked becomes Dice Don't Go That High). Such a weapon is best
left as a Referee plot device.
Sponge: Attacks by Energy weapons do one degree less damage as part of the
energy is absorbed into the repair systems. Does nothing to stop Matter
weapons.

1.5.2.5 Piloted Systems

These are systems only really useful if the Robo is Piloted, but can be
taken for any Robo, just as General Systems.

Cyberinterface: The Pilot becomes much more plugged into his Robo, giving
a +1 against Interface Penalty. On the down side, the pilot suffers Pain
Effects as if a RoboMAC, in addition to any damage taken to his own body.
Also, Cyberinterface reduces the safety buffer of Remote Interface: if the Robo
takes a Critical Wound, a Remote Operator takes a Flesh Wound, and if the Robo
is Wrecked, the Remote Operator suffers a Bone Wound. Effectively, CI plus RI
protect the Pilot better than Passenger Armor, but give no other real benefit.
Cyberinterface can also be used to simulate a sort of bonding between the Pilot
and Robo, as seen in some stories, especially when combined with RI.
Escape Craft: The Pilot's compartment can detach and become a small craft
capable of taking the Pilot to comparative safety. Default is a ground vehicle
that can fly a few dozen meters in order to get in and out, and has 1 Metal and
1 Structure wound. If you wish it to be Flying, you need to use a system to
do this (unless your Robo has Flight already, in which case you don't need to
buy it twice).
Sidekick: An additional Pilot can operate the Robo, allowing for multiple
actions without penalty and a splitting of skills: one can specialize in the
guns, and the other in hand to hand. Taking Piloted on a RoboMAC is like
adding a Sidekick system without costing a system. Note that any one system
cannot be activated twice in the same round, once by the main Pilot and once by
the Sidekick.

1.6 SAMPLE CHARACTERS:

These are beginning-level characters, two from the RoboMACs 2163 campaign
world and one generic (parody) character to demonstrate Piloted Robos.

RoboMAC: Blueblaze
Group: Guardian (the "Heroes" of the RoboMACs 2163 campaign)
[chosen by player]
Hook: Hyperactive
[rolled a 2 on the "Heroic" Hook table]
Nonhumanoid form: Sports car
[chosen by player]
Function: Fire Support and Rapid Evacuation
[chosen by player]
Traits: Mind, Weapons, Gadgets, Fast and Transforming
[rolled a 6, Mind plus any three other Traits, all RM2163 transform]
Wounds: (4/3/3) Wreck = 2
[The notation for Wounds is (Metal/Structure/Critical), taken from table]

Systems:
Built-in Explosive Weapon with Autoranging: Shoulder-mounted bombs. This
systems is actually a combination of three systems in one weapon. Being
Explosive lets Blueblaze hit everyone in a small area with the bombs. Being
Built-In gives him one degree easier on all attacks with this weapon.
Autoranging, a Gadget system, lets him use it at Not Close range without
needing the Sniper skill. This combination is very effective, but a single
Mishap can wipe it all out. The bombs are concussive, for Matter mode.
Built-in Energy rifle: It looks like a separate handgun, but it's stored
in his forearm and calibrated like any other built-in weapon. It fires
electrical bursts with a range of over 18km, but he can't hit a damn thing with
it outside Close Range (except maybe a mountain or something like that)
Passenger Armor: When in his vehicle mode, his passengers (up to four) are
protected from Tricklethrough.

Skills:
Blast +1: Can use either of his built-in weapons or one he finds lying
about.
Dodge +1: His speed lets him better evade incoming attacks.
Brawl: Basic training only, nothing tricky.
Killing Shot: Able, but reluctant, to concentrate fire for greater damage,
often saturation bombing of an area.
Stunt Driver: He may be a sports car, but he maneuvers off road better
than a Hummvee.

History/Personality: Blueblaze is the 'son' of Max and Spitfire (see the
Sourcebook section), with his personality programmed by the two. However, due
to some timing problems, he tends to work at slightly faster than normal speed,
often thinking faster than his body can follow. This can get him into
situations his slower friend Thresher has to get him out of. He's still a
'kid' in MAC terms, maybe 20 years old.


RoboMAC: Thresher
Group: Guardians
Hook: Gruff
Non-Robo form: Combine
Function: Food production, defense of fields from MACE attacks
Traits: Brawn, Armored, Transforming
Wounds: (5/6/4) Wreck = 2

Systems:
Sidearm: Threshing devices can be used as a Matter weapon in hand to hand
combat.
Combat Form: Able to fire weapons while still in Combine form, or mow down
the opposition.
Ramplate: Front mounted, allows greater ramming damage without harm to
self.

Skills:
Brawl +2: Very good at basic hand combat.
Weaponmaster: Uses thresher as a sort of wicked sword
Parry: Can parry all but MACJitsu
Grab: Has overly long arms as well
Trip: Use thresher to sweep opponent's feet out from under them
Blast: Generally uses a Matter weapon to avoid lighting fires from
ricochets in the fields.
Knowledge Specialty: Farming

History/Personality: One of the first MACs to undergo the process to enable
shape changing, Thresher's personality is basically that of the crusty old
farmer down the lane. Beneath his gruff exterior is a geniune love for the
land and for the humans he feeds by his labors. Recently he has taken the
impetuous Blueblaze under his wing and is trying to teach the lad some
patience, since Blueblaze's regular patrol route carries him past Thresher's
fields. Thresher has never advanced in combat skills because he prefers to
simply tend to his fields, and his skills lie in noncombat areas.


Robo: Gigantic Robo
Group: World Heroic Organization
Hook: None
Traits: Piloted, Brawn, Armored, Gadget
Wounds: (5/5/2) Wreck = 1

Systems:
Ablative Skin: Takes one degree less from Matter attacks.
Autorepair
Cyberinterface
Escape Craft: Head detaches and flies off with Johnny Wacko. Wounds
(1/1/0), has Flight.
Flight: Big jet back on back
Passenger Space
Passenger/Pilot Armor: Johnny usually pilots from inside GR, but can use
the RI/CI combination to operate remotely if he thinks this armor won't be
enough.
Remote Interface: Requires Control Helmet, usually kept inside Gigantic
Robo for safety (and to allow Johnny Wacko to be separated from it for dramatic
necessity)
Sensor Pack: Radar, Infrared, Sonar (only underwater), Ultrasonics.
Shield
Sidearm: Wrist-mounted mini-rockets, Matter weapon
Submersible: Sealed against vacuum, can enter space or go underwater.

Pilot: Johnny Wacko
Group: World Heroic Organization
Hook: Hyperactive (he's a kid)
Traits: Guts, Reflexes
Wounds: (2/1) or (8)(2/1) [for humans, the notation is (Flesh/Bone) or
(Bruise)(Flesh/Bone) if using Bruise Wounds]

Skills:
Blast (Robo): Rarely carries weapons other than GR's Sidearm, however.
Brawl +1 (Robo): Enhanced by Gigantic Robo's Brawn.
Brawl (Personal): Not enhanced by his Guts, he's just a kid.
MACJitsu (Robo): Enhanced by GR's Brawn.
Trick Shot (Robo)

History/Personality: Johnny Wacko's father, Professor Wacko, designed the
Gigantic Robo to defend Earth against evil alien invaders, but was killed by
their agents before he could perfect the Cyberinterface system. Instead, the
system would only work for his son, who he had tested it on. With no one
brilliant enough to make the system work for anyone, WHO was forced to let
Johnny pilot the Gigantic Robo in the fight against the aliens.
Johnny's still just a kid, and often acts his age. But he's proven time
and again that he's got what it takes to pilot the Gigantic Robo, even if in
the process he's given WHO's leadership conniptions.

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Subject: RoboMACs v2.1: Rules 3 of 4
Message-ID: <3ffb1h$qol@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
From: dvandom@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Dave Van Domelen)
Date: 17 Jan 1995 02:46:09 GMT
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RoboMACs Rules
copyright 1993, 1995 by Dave Van Domelen

===========================================================================

FILE THREE OF FOUR (Sections 2.0 - 3.5)

===========================================================================

2.0 TASK RESOLUTION:

This section covers how to succeed or fail in doing things where a roll is
important. Referees may choose to ignore the dice and simply decide if an
action attempted by a player should work or not.
Specific combat-oriented charts for NPC use are included in the Combat
section.

2.1 TASK RESOLUTION CHART:

As shown above, all skills require rolling against some Degree of
difficulty. These rolls, as well as many others in the game, use 2d8 (two
eight sided dice, for the few of you who don't know) on the table below.

Degree Overkill Success Mixed Failure Mishap
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Automatic 13+ 12-4 3-2 --- -----------
Routine 14+ 13-8 7 6-2 less than 2
Difficult 15+ 14-10 9 8-3 2 or less
Tasking 16+ 15-12 11-10 9-5 4 or less
Limit 17+ 16-14 13-12 11-8 7 or less

Results above 16 or below 2 can occur because of bonuses to skills or
penalties from adverse conditions like heavy rain or low power.
Success and Failure are basically just that, nothing special about them.
Overkill results mean that the character has done much better than
expected, sometimes with negative consequences, but not always. Later in these
rules will be a sample table for Overkill results, but feel free to tailor such
tables to each player's character. Overkill should generally do something
interesting, not just increase the damage of the attack.
Mixed results are successes with some minor cost, such as doing less
damage than hoped, or realizing you only have d8 shots left or damaging
yourself. Such results are generally dependent on the ability used, so no
general table will be presented.
Mishaps are Really Bad Mistakes, which can severely affect the flow of
battle. Again, a sample table will be presented, but feel free to make your
own. As a simple default, Mishap means you break whatever you were using.

Automatic Degree: Out of combat, many combat skills will automatically
be successful, such as using Blast to shoot a wall. The Referee should decide
what rolls are Automatically successful, and can also simply reduce the degree
of difficulty without making it Automatic.

2.2 MODIFIERS TO TASK RESOLUTION:

2.2.1 Standard Modifiers

Interface Penalty (IP): The interface between human and machine is rarely
as good as that between machine and machine. As a result, any action attempted
by a human pilot in a Robo suffers a -3 penalty. Several things can modify the
Interface Penalty, but it's always at least -1 for human Pilots. The simple
fact that human brains are electrochemical slows them down.
Reflexes at +0 and +1 gives +1 against IP.
Reflexes at +2 or better gives +2 against IP.
Cyberinterface system gives +1 against IP.
Remote Interface Gadget system adds -1 to IP.

Multiple Action Penalty (MAP): It is possible, and sometimes encouraged,
to try to do more than one thing at a time. Sometimes this is simply a frantic
attempt to juggle different actions (like dodging and shooting) and other times
it represents a synergy of skills that might be greater than the sum of the
parts. However, trying such actions has a cost. Any time multiple actions are
combined (with the exception of the Range Skill) the degree of each is raised
by one. So three Difficult actions all become Tasking. Often stacking such
actions can lead to truly spectacular successes...or failures.
Having multiple operators (Tailgunner, Sidekick) can allow multiple
actions without incurring MAP.

Unskilled Use: Any time a player attempts a skill he doesn't have, the
Referee must determine if it's even possible. Performing Quantum Field
Analysis without skill is not possible, for example, but Stunt Driving is.
Then, depending on how exacting the skill is, the Referee should make the roll
one or two degrees harder. If this makes it harder than Limit, it is
impossible for the character.
Example: Blueblaze has captured a Megaweapon and has to use it to destroy
a barrier between his team and freedom. Normally, someone with the skill could
do this Automatically, since it's a stationary target. However, Blueblaze has
no Godcannon Shot skill, and the Referee decides the degree is two harder. he
must roll a Difficult to hit the broad side of a wall. Failure probably means
he couldn't trigger it.

Good/Bad Conditions: A catchall modifier. If the Referee thinks
conditions are severe enough to make skill use easier or harder, he's free to
give bonuses, penalties or even degree shifts to reflect this. Shooting in a
driving rainstorm should be harder than normal, while doing repair work in a
fully stocked and sterile lab should be easier.

2.2.2 Optional Modifiers

These two rules, Multiple Attempt Bonus and Defensive Modifier, can get
out of hand at higher levels of expertise. Be careful if you choose to use
them.

Multiple Attempt Bonus (MAB): MACs with really fast bodies or minds can
often get to try something more than once, or eval‎uate an action before doing
it, giving them greater chance of success. As a result, MACs with Traits Fast
and/or Mind get better and better at their actions, as reflected in this bonus.
The number on the chart below is the number of times a MAC may roll the dice,
taking the best result of them. Note that this can increase the chance of
Overkills, so a player may opt (before his first roll) to waive the extra
rolls. Take the best result possible from below (if Mind and Fast gives 2 and
Fast alone gives 3, take 3). And, of course, since only MACs can have Mind and
Fast, only RoboMACs can get MAB.

Common Bonus Mind Only Fast Only Mind and Fast
----------------------------------------------------------
0 1 1 2
+1 1 2 2
+2 2 2 3
+3 2 3 3
+4 3 3 4

Common Bonus applies when you have both traits, and refers to the bonus on the
lower of the two. So Mind +1 and Fast +3 would have a common bonus of +1, and
give 2 rolls on any attempt. In this case, the player would take the Fast Only
route of 3 rolls.

Defensive Modifier: Really fast MACs are hard to hit, and heavily armored
ones are hard to hurt. In this game, that translates into a Defensive
Modifier, which is applied to all 'physical' attacks against the MAC. It does
not defend against the Mind skill Scramble, or against weird magickal powers
should such be encountered. Read this chart like the one above. Non-MAC Robos
can have the Armored part of Defensive Modifier.

Common Bonus Armored Only Fast Only Armored and Fast
--------------------------------------------------------------
0 0 0 -1
+1 0 -1 -1
+2 0 -1 -2
+3 -1 -2 -2
+4 -1 -2 -3

Thus, someone who is Armored +3 and Fast +0 would be -1 to be hit/hurt by an
attack, while Armored +0 and Fast +3 can be taken as -2 to be hit.

2.3 EXPANDED RESULTS TABLES:

2.3.1 Mishaps Table
This is a sample Mishaps table for general combat-related Mishaps.
Referees are encouraged to make their own, or better yet get the players to
make tables for their own characters. Be careful, though, that they neither go
to easy on themselves nor too hard (it can be a competition who can screw up
most spectacularly sometimes: a Mishap that destroys the planet should be
revised downward).

Roll 2d8:
3 or less: Scrambled! - Power arc surges through MAC processor or pilot,
character is knocked out of combat and may die if not helped afterward.
4-5: Catastrophic Failure - System or device used explodes/fails in such a
spectacular manner that it takes part of the Robo with it. Character
takes a Critical and loses the system for the rest of combat, until
replaced.
6-7: Severed Link - Something breaks the link between the MAC mind or the
human pilot and the Robo. Take no actions for d8 rounds while frantically
rehooking connections. Body runs on automatic defense, so the RoboMAC is
hit as normal, and takes no extra damage from attacks.
8: Brownout - Power cell drain causes -2 on all actions for the remainder
of combat.
9: Glitch - System or skill used is lost until repairs can be made out of
combat.
10-11: Lag - Systems slow down as processing power is rerouted to cover some
major problem caused in the Mishap. For the next d8 rounds, only act
every other round, lose use of Fast Trait for Defensive Modifier and lose
all MAB.
12-13: Identify Friend or Foe? - Lose ability to tell who's on what side as a
minor MAC glitch surfaces in the heat of battle or the telltales on the
pilot's panel go haywire. Attack random targets or none at all for the
next d8 rounds as you now think you're the only person on your side.
14 or more: Was That Important? - Wipe out your protected backup personality.
If Trait Mind, lose Scramble protection for the remainder of combat. If
not Trait Mind, take Scramble as if the damage is one level higher. A
Wrecked result will automatically kill the MAC. Craven types will retreat
in such a case lest they die the final death. Piloted Robos reroll twice
and take the worse of the two results.

When making your own tables of this form, be sure to put the nasty results at
the ends of the bell curve...3 or less and 14 or more. Put the milder stuff in
the middle.

2.3.2 Sample Overkills

Overkills are more dependent on the type of system used, but the simple
chart below should help the Referee determine the effects of any given Overkill
roll.

Duration(d8): 1-6 = Only for next round
7-8 = For remainder of combat/adventure
Side Effects?(d8): 1-6 = No
7-8 = Yes

Possible effects include doing extra damage, gaining a Defensive Modifier,
gaining actions in both Advantage and Responsive phases, finding new systems,
etc. Side effects can include hitting everyone (allies as well as enemies),
not being able to take defensive actions for a while (locked in a berserker
rage), draining energy reserves dangerously (only d8 actions before you drop)
and so forth. Players should always wince a little when they roll an
Overkill...it could win the battle, but it might lose the war.

Here's a possible Overkill table for the sample character Blueblaze when
he's using his lightning gun. He'd also need another table for HTH and missile
attacks if the player were to take this route to Overkills. You can see how it
can get bookkeeping-heavy doing Overkills this way, but it lets the player
flesh out his character more.

3 or less: Lightning Bolt! - Charge buildups on the target cause a lightning
bolt to lance down and strike the area, doing a Critical to the target and
a Metal to everyone else within Close range of the target, Guardian and
MACE alike.
4-5: Discharge! - Target's main weapon discharges internally (ammo explosion
or the like) causing its damage to the user (Metal if normal, Critical if
a Megaweapon) and destroying the gun. If the target is written up as an
NPC, he drops one level in attack power and takes a Structural instead.
6-7: Static - Target takes Scramble effects of one higher level of damage from
what was attempted.
8: Chain Lightning - Electricity arcs from the target to the nearest other
RoboMAC, causing him damage (enemy or ally) at the same level.
9: Snow - Target is cut off from his ComNet and also loses any radio
transmission ability, confining him to speech for the rest of combat.
10-11: Spazz - Target's motor pathways get jolted, giving them a -3 on all
rolls for the next d8 rounds.
12-13: Polarized! - Target builds up enough charge that he now attracts metal
and many energy attacks. He is +4 to be hit for the next d8 rounds by
electricity, metal and magnetics. Electrical attacks must be shifted to
be of opposite charge, or they will be at -4 instead, however.
14 or more: Scrambled! - Surge fries the target's brain, taking them out of
combat with a Scrambled result. However, backlash also causes Blueblaze
to lose his next action recovering.

2.3.3 Optional Rule: Intentional Overkill

Sometimes (especially to satisfy the Flamboyant Checkpoint, see section
4.1 of Advancement) characters go for broke. All or nothing. Hero or goat.
If the Referee wants to allow that, he can let players intentionally try for
Overkill.
To intentionally Overkill, you simply declare you're going to do it, then
any success is an overkill...but Failure and Mixed become Mishaps. If the
player has Overkill tables like above, he can choose his result if the Referee
agrees. In general, players should not get to try this more often than once
per adventure.
This can simulate things like burning all your capacitors at once in a big
attack, ignoring safety interlocks and firing all your missiles, diving out a
transport onto a FortressMAC hoping impact will be enough to hurt it, etc.


2.4 AMMUNITION AND ENERGY RESERVES:

It's a fairly standard plot device in the robot genre that characters have
limited power or ammunition. However, such shortages almost always only hit at
the Worst Possible Time (TM). Therefore, assume the character has enough
energy or shots left...until that Mixed or Mishap comes up, when suddenly the
shortage comes in. Or simply decide where in the plot the shortage will hit,
and then assign a maximum number of actions left. But in general, keeping
track of every shot fired or every joule expended will not enhance play. So
don't do it.
For those interested in a more detailed energy system, the VerminMACs
subgroup presented in the Sourcebook section gives a possible set of rules for
those who want less left to the whim of the GM or the dice.

2.5 OPTIONAL: TRAIT ROLLS

Any time the Referee decides he wants all players to roll for something
that there isn't a skill for, he can use a Trait Roll. A Trait Roll works as
follows. First, the Referee decides what Trait best fits the situation and
assigns a degree to the roll. Then, players without the Trait have to try to
make the roll at one degree higher, and players with bonuses on the Trait can
roll with those bonuses applied.
Example: A door is closing and the players have to make it in. The
Referee decides it's a Routine Fast roll. Thresher isn't Fast, so he needs a
Difficult. Blueblaze has gained a little experience since creation, and is now
Fast +1, so he needs a Routine with +1 on the roll.

3.0 COMBAT:

Most of what you need for combat has been covered above. Still needed are
the structure of the combat round, NPC rules, and vehicular combat rules.

3.1 COMBAT ROUNDS:

Every round has three Phases. Advantage, NPC and Responsive. Actions in
all phases are considered to be more or less simultaneous, thus a defense on
Responsive can negate an attack made on NPC Phase. The main effect of this
structure is in Real Life...players can either damn the torpedos and use major
attacks at the cost of knowing if they need defense, or hold back just long
enough to see what the enemy is firing. If you hold back just that little bit,
you can defend yourself, but at the cost of being able to mount an effective
attack of your own. There are a few exceptions, but those are mainly because
of the realities of dice rolling...if you're going to modify a foe's attack
dice, it's easier if you do so before he rolls.

So, during a round we have:
1) All out attacks (Advantage Phase)
2) Incoming enemy attacks, with foes knocked out in Advantage losing their
attack, assume their shots are knocked astray (NPC Phase)
3) Actions of those who used some caution (Responsive Phase)

Transforming Robos may transform on any Phase they can act on, but PC
Robos must declare intention to transform on Advantage Phase even if they plan
to wait until Responsive to actually transform. This is because transformation
incurs Multiple Action Penalty on all actions for that round unless the Robo
has Quickchange system. Note that a Robo can attack on Advantage but wait
until Responsive to transform, so long as the player tells the Referee on
Advantage so that MAP may be assessed.

3.2 NPC ATTACKS:

Really important NPCs can be made up as PC characters, and can use any of
their skills on the NPC phase. Less important NPCs (most of them) resolve
their attacks according to the tables below.

3.2.1 NPC Robo Attack Chart

Type Critical Structure Metal Miss Rank Multiple
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cannon Fodder(CF) X 15+ 14-11 10- 1
Normal Troops(NT) X 13+ 12-8 7- 1
Elite Troops(ET) 15+ 14-12 11-7 6- 2
WarRobos(WR) 13+ 12-10 9-6 5- 2.5
Commanders(Cm) 11+ 10-8 7-5 4- 3
FortressRobos(FR) 8+ 7-5 4-3 2- 4
(alternately, FR do Wrecked on 15+, Critical on 14-8)

Mode of attack needs to be defined as well. Energy Mode is all weapons
that do damage mainly by burning, blasting or otherwise applying energy to a
target. Matter Mode represents projectiles, fists, swords and other physical
weapons. The Mode is only really important if someone has Gadget systems
designed around one Mode (like Sponge system), but it can be important for
roleplaying reasons ("Look, a gas main! Better not use any Energy Weapons near
it...").
This damage represents the aggregate damage of a full barrage of all
weapons available to the MAC. For simplicity, you can roll for a group of one
type as a single member of a higher type if they all attack one target. So a
horde of Cannon Fodder might be as effective as one Elite Troop and roll once
for their mobbed attack.
Rank is an optional system for helping determine how well the sides are
balanced. For PCs, the Rank is simply the sum of their Metal, Structure and
Critical wounds for Robos, sum of Flesh and Bone wounds for humans. For NPCs,
it is this sum times the Rank Multiple listed for their type. Thus, a
Commander is at least as tough as a trio of PCs who each have the same number
of wounds as he does. When the rank of one side is much higher than the rank
of the other, the higher side will almost definitely win.
In general, it is up to the Referee to decide if a particular NPC will
suffer Overflow Effects from loss of all Wounds of a type. Generally, Cannon
Fodder always will, Normal Troops usually will, Elite Troops sometimes will,
WarMACs rarely will and those above WarMACs almost never do. Otherwise, decide
if the NPC would have Trait Mind, and that will determine which Overflow
Effects they can override. Other pain effects are ignored in NPCs for
simplicity.

3.2.2 NPC Human Attack Chart

Type Metal Bone Flesh Bruise[1] Miss Rank Mult
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noncombatant X X 15+ 14-10 9- 1
Joe Normal X X 13+ 12-8 7- 1
Trooper X 15+ 14-10 9-6 5- 1.5
Commando X 13+ 12-8 7-3 2- 2
Heavy Weapons 15+ 14-10 9-6 5-3 2- 3 [2]
Warmonger 13+ 12-8 7-3 2- X 4 [2]

[1] - Bruise Wounds are optional. If not using them, treat this as a miss.
[2] - If ranked against Robos, the Rank Multiple multiple is 1.

3.2.3 NPC Types

Now for a description of each of the types, and notes on what kind of
proportion they have in the RoboMACs 2163 campaign world.

Human:
Noncombatant: Average person on the street, at best carrying weapons of
opportunity like chairleg clubs. No Flesh or Bone Wounds, but treated as Rank
1 for purposes of working out odds. Most humans in 2163 are this type.
Joe Normal: Physically fit, has had a few self-defense courses or carries
a serious weapon that he has little training with. Might have a Flesh Wound,
but counted as at least Rank 1 in any case. A number of humans in 2163 are
fit enough to rank here.
Trooper: Trained in combat and generally armed with a light weapon of some
sort, a pistol or truncheon. Has 1 Flesh Wound, maybe two. Very rare in 2163,
as humans aren't trained in combat. None of the higher levels of human are
generally found in 2163, but have shown up in the past, usually as MACE spies.
Commando: Elite troops, presents a serious threat to players. Is armed
with exceptionally good weapons for the campaign, and knows how to use them.
Has at least 1 Flesh Wound, usually 2 or more, and 1 Bone Wound.
Heavy Weapons: Also Elite troops, but these carry some of the best and
biggest weapons available, ones capable of hurting a Robo if they hit the right
spots. Frequently armored as well, giving them higher Wound totals than they
might normally have. Probably won't have Metal Wounds, however, but will have
a minimum Rank of 1 versus Robos.
Warmonger: A human in an armored suit loaded with weapons a normal human
couldn't even lift. May not exist in all genres, but if he does he should be
rare and dangerous during adventures outside the Robos. To Robos, he's a minor
threat, but still worth watching. He'll have many Flesh and Bone Wounds,
and at least one Metal Wound as well.

Robos:
Cannon Fodder: Your basic MACs without any special combat training, in
Robos without special equipment. Piloted, they're usually utility vehicles.
They typically have Wounds of (2/1/0) (any Critical will Wreck them) and are
rank 3 each. About 30% of RM2163 MACs fall into this category, and these are
the scientists, builders and general purpose MACs. As a general rule, MACE has
less than 30% this type and Guardians more.
Normal Troops: These have some training and generally have a weapon of
some sort (while Cannon Fodder tend to use hand to hand or improvised weapons),
either Matter or Energy. Typical Normal Troops have Wounds (2/2/1) and Rank 5.
60% of RM2163 MACs are in this category, more in MACE and less in the
Guardians. The sum of Cannon Fodder and Normal Troops is about 90% for both
sides, though.
Elite Troops: Almost all characters will be at this level, with
specialized training and weapons. Not all Elite Troops are warriors by trade,
but all are pretty tough (see Thresher above for a non-warrior who qualifies as
an Elite Troop). Typical Elite Troops have Wounds (3/2/2) and Rank 14 as NPCs,
Wounds (4/4/4) and Rank 12 as PCs. Maybe 6% of each RM2163 side is made up of
MACs on this level.
WarRobos: Robos built totally for combat, with little left over for other
niceties. They will always have Combat Forms if Transforming, and often have
Megaweapons. Typical NPC WarRobos will have Wounds (4/3/2) and rank 22.
Typical PC WarRobos will have Wounds (6/7/4) and Rank 17 (Weapons, Armored and
Brawn). Also called WarMACs if a RoboMAC. With combat so preval‎ent in RM2163,
perhaps one in thirty MACs (3%) has a WarRobo.
Commanders: Experienced MACs who have refined their physical abilities
over decades of conflict, or Pilots who earned command positions on the
battlefield, these are the best warriors on either side. Less than one in a
hundred MACs or Pilots fall into this category, but not all of them actually
command troops in battle (Patriarch, in RM2163, is a Commander level MAC, but
is relatively noncombatant). Typical NPC Commanders' Robos have Wounds
(5/4/4) and Rank 39, able to take on any three Elite Troops with ease. There's
no typical PC Commander setup, although any at this level will have at least +1
on most Traits, and up to +4 on one or more, giving ranks into the 30s or
higher.
FortressRobos/MACs: Some MACs control entire citylike structures studded
with numerous weapons and often capable of independent movement. In addition,
some teams of Elite Troops or WarMACs have Merge systems to become towering
masses of power. Those in the extremely small first group are called
FortressRobos or FortressMACs, and generally the only defense against one is to
call in one of your own. Although slowed by the sheer size of the systems
their minds must deal with, they have awesome firepower and defensive abilities
that more than make up for it. FortressMACs will have Wounds of at least
(10/10/6) and ranks of more than 100. Only a handful of them exist, and most
are assigned to protect very important locations. Merging groups, also called
FusionMACs or FusionRobos, are a little more common, and tend to be at the low
end of this scale (Wounds of (10/10/6) exactly). The number of weapons on a
FortressMAC means it will rarely miss entirely, although the constraints of a
single mind operating it mean that all weapons must be trained on one foe.
However, since some FortressMACs have weapons capable to obliterating a Robo
with one shot, this is not as much of a problem as it might seem. PC
FortressMACs will have all Traits except Fast, often at some bonus, and
generally be of the Merger type unless the GM really feels like giving out
powerful characters. In the RM2163 world, the non-merging type of FortressMAC
is often called a CityMAC, for they replace entire cities and hold thousands of
humans inside them.

3.3 RECOVERY FROM WOUNDS:

In combat, the Autorepair system is about the only way to recover Wounds
lost. Some Gadget systems may also allow healing if the Referee permits them,
but in general the genre frowns on too much recovery during a fight.
After a combat is over, a RoboMAC may take a few minutes to effect minor
repairs and get back d8 Metal Wounds (up to fully healed), or simply heal
back all Metal Wounds if repair facilities are available (via a Transforming
form of one of the players, for example). However, repair of Structural and
Critical Wounds takes several hours out of combat, and usually requires someone
with Knowledge Specialty in repair (note: this skill is only available to
humans if they have Trait Smarts). Wrecked Wounds take days to fix, good
facilities and expert help. As a general rule of thumb, figure on players
getting back Metal Wounds right after a fight ends, getting back Structural
Wounds any time they have an hour or so between scenes (and aren't on the move
individually), getting back Critical Wounds only if there are several hours
between scenes and only getting back Wrecked Wounds at the rate of one per game
session.
Humans heal more slowly, and require a day or more of rest to get back a
Flesh Wound, and a week or more of medical care to get back a Bone Wound.
Futuristic medical science can speed this up.

3.4 OPTIONAL: LOCATION HITS:

For purposes of color, I generally roll for the location of any Structural
Wound. Since Robos don't bleed to death, it can be dramatic to have a limb be
lost or a gaping hole made in the chest when such a major injury is inflicted.
With squishies, of course you have to be a little more careful with limb loss,
since limbs are harder to replace in most games. Use whatever location hit
chart you like best, or make one up. The author generally uses the Hero
System (TM) hit location chart, simply because he has it memorized.


3.5 VEHICULAR COMBAT:

The vehicular combat system presented here is intended to be very
cinematic, as opposed to systems which map out every move of every combatant on
the map. It may lead to some situations that can't be embedded in normal three
dimensional space, but hey, it's fun to violate causality!
First off, if your Robo doesn't have Transforming, or it transforms into
something that isn't a vehicle, forget this section altogether. If you don't
have the Combat Mode system you can't do anything in vehicle combat except ram.
If you do have Combat Mode, you should define what facings you can fire into.
If you lack Weapons or Gadgets traits, assume you have a fixed forward field of
fire. If you have one or both of those traits, you can assume a turret or
enough weapons to cover all fields of fire. So for all but the lucky ones,
vehicle combat is a matter of trying to get your front facing the other guy.

3.5.1 Additions to Round Structure

Order of Actions: Because jockeying for position is so important, you will
want to go last. At the start of combat, roll d8, rolling twice and taking the
better result if Trait Fast. The highest number goes first in the Maneuvering
Phase, and down through the numbers. Ties reroll each round that they fight
each other (if they don't fight each other, don't bother).
Rounds: An additional Phase is added before Advantage Phase, the
Maneuvering Phase. This Phase is where all jockeying for position takes place,
as well as Opportunity fire. Advantage, NPC and Responsive follow normally.
During Maneuvering Phase, RoboMACs still in humanoid form use the Range skill
(if they have it) instead of the Maneuvers listed below.

3.5.2 Maneuvering Phase

Because combat is often a confused muddle, no attempt will me made to map
out actions exactly. All that is important is the relative positions of the
attacker and the target. Those still in humanoid mode or who have turrets (or
similar ways of having 360 degree fields of fire) can ignore such positioning
problems since weapons aren't in specific locations in this game. Those who
have to aim their fronts at a target must declare who they 'chase' on this
round, in order of Maneuvering. Determine what side of yours faces him and
what your range is by rolling below.

3.5.2.1 Normal Facing Determination

Your side facing target: 1-2 = Front
3-4 = Left
5-6 = Right
7-8 = Back
Range: 1-6 = Close
7-8 = Not Close

In addition, if the possibility of getting above or below someone exists
(such as in aerial combat), roll on this chart:

Your elevation facing target: 1 = Directly above, ignore side facing
2-3 = Above and to side rolled above
4-5 = Same level
6-7 = Below and to side rolled above
8 = Directly below, ignore side facing

You can bring front-mounted weapons to bear as long as you are not
directly above or directly below your opponent. If you have "360 degree"
coverage of weapons that is actually limited to your elevation (such as for a
car that's currently flying) then locations 1 and 8 also prevent firing.
Roll again on the facing and elevation tables to determine what side of
the enemy faces you. This is only important if they decide to attack you back
and you want to get out of their arc of fire, or if you're trying to hit a
particular part of their body.
Example: In a confused melee, Blueblaze turns into his sportscar form to
get some extra speed. He lacks Combat Form, so to attack a Normal Troop
between him and his goal he needs to face the Troop. Rolling a 3, he finds
himself at an angle to the foe (who is in his Truck form). Rolling a 1 he
finds he's at Close Range, and another roll of 3 has the truck's side to him.
He'll need to change his facing, but won't need to use Range or Enter Facing
maneuvers since the Truck's gun is pointed away. Being a Stunt Driver,
Blueblaze makes it Automatically and may Ram on Advantage phase unless the
truck moves by using an Enter Facing maneuver. And since that requires getting
out of Blueblaze's way, he wouldn't mind that at all.

3.5.2.2 Dogfight Facing Determination

If your target decides to choose you to attack, the two of you enter a
Dogfight. Your target now doesn't have to roll relative positions, as his
position has been determined in your Maneuvering Phase. As long as the two are
locked in a Dogfight, keep track of the relative positions from round to round,
as changed by maneuvers taken: do not roll on the facing and elevation charts
again while the Dogfight is going on. Outside of a Dogfight, relative
positions change from round to round, even if you keep the same target (since
he moves to attack his foe), so roll each round. Dogfight can be ended by
either combatant choosing to target someone else, but this is seen as
"chickening out."

3.5.3 New Maneuvers

There are three basic Maneuvers performed in Vehicle combat: Change
Facing, Enter (foe's) Facing and Range. If a humanoid Robo and a Vehicle are
fighting, they must both use these ideas, but the Robo uses the Range skill for
the last two, and can do the first one at will for free.

Change Facing (Difficult): Change what side you present to the enemy.
Every change of 90 degrees requires a roll, with MAP applied for multiple
rolls. Normally this is a Difficult roll, but those with the Stunt Driver can
do it for free, as can those in humanoid form. Turrets make this maneuver
unnecessary except for rams. Changing what elevation of yours faces an
opponent counts as one change for every level on the Elevation chart (i.e. from
Directly Above to Above And The The Side is a roll, from Directly Above to Same
Level is two rolls).
Enter (foe's) Facing (Difficult): Used if you want to prevent an opponent
from shooting at you, this only really applies in Dogfights, and is a 'wasted'
action if your target declines the invitation to Dogfight. As with Change
Facing, MAP is applied for multiple moves. Stunt Drivers roll as Routine or
can use their Range skill if any, and those in Robo form use Range skill.
In Aerial combat, each line on the Elevation chart counts as a facing for this
maneuver.
Range (Difficult): Change from Close to Not Close (to avoid a Ram) or from
Not Close to Close (to bring more attacks to bear). This Maneuver becomes
Routine if the MAC or Pilot has Stunt Driver. Robos in humanoid form use Range
skill instead (and need a Tasking roll if they lack it) and Stunt Drivers may
use the Range skill if they want to (since they might have a +1 or more on the
skill, but no bonus on the maneuver).

Combining any rolls from the maneuvers above invokes a MAP on all the
rolls, but not on rolls in the other Phases, IF the Robo is a RoboMAC. The
integrated systems of MACs allow them to perform normally even when moving,
regardless of their form (hence Range skill doesn't apply against MAP either).
Human pilots add all MAPs together, making a Sidekick more useful if vehicle
combat is likely.

The one combat maneuver that does join in on the MAP during Maneuvering
phase is Opportunity Fire. Opportunity Fire is taken before the target can get
out of the way, but at a cost. Firstly, it takes MAP if any maneuvers were
used, even the Range skill. Secondly, all attacks made as Opportunity Fire are
at -2 on the dice. As a result, Opportunity Fire is often used in desperation
by slower combatants, since it has a really good chance of a Mishap.

The rest of combat works normally, with humanoid Robos attacking as usual,
and vehicles making attacks if they have a target in their arcs. Vehicles
cannot make hand-to-hand attacks, however. Instead they Ram.

3.5.4 Ramming

On Advantage Phase, a vehicle can try to Ram his foe. This does not
require that his front be facing the foe, but it helps. There are four basic
Ram types: Sideswipe, Tailgate, T-bone and Head-On. Any bonus taken to one of
the following skills can be added to the Ramming roll: Brawl, MACJitsu, Stunt
Driver.
Example: After a few years of experience, Blueblaze has Brawl +2, MACJitsu
+1 and Stunt Driver +3. For all ramming attacks he can take a +3 to his rolls.
Note that a Ramplate will reduce the damage taken by the one "wearing" it,
but only if it is on the proper facing (buy Ramplate four times to get it on
all facings, you get the top and bottom for free if you take four Ramplates).
Ramplate will reduce the damage by one level.

Ram Types
Sideswipe (Routine): Rammer's side (right, left, top, bottom) faces a side
(same definition) of the target. The target takes Metal and the attacker takes
Bone. If the target decides to participate in the Ram, Degree is Automatic
and both sides take a Metal.
Tailgate (Difficult): Rammer's front faces the target's back. Damage done
to target is Structural, and the attacker takes a Metal (Bone if using a
Ramplate on front). If the target decides to hit the brakes and help the ram
along (perhaps he has a ramplate and knows you don't), the attack will succeed
if either rolls a Routine, and both will take a Structural.
Reverse Tailgate (Difficult): Same setup as Tailgate, except that the
attacker is in front of his target and slams on the brakes. This only does a
Metal to the foe (and Bone to the rammer) if successful. See above for mutual
tailgate.
T-Bone (Tasking): Rammer's front faces the side (see Sideswipe) of the
target, or any facing if the target is not moving. Damage is Critical to the
target, Structural to the attacker. If, for some odd reason (see below) the
target wants to be hit, both sides take Critical and the Ram is successful if
either makes a Routine roll.
Reverse T-Bone (Tasking): This bizarre maneuver involves driving in front
of a foe and letting him hit you when he wasn't expecting it. Your side (see
Sideswipe) must face his front. Both participants take Structural. This is a
desperation move unless you happen to have side ramplates.
Head-On (Limit): Your front faces his front. Limit roll if he doesn't
want to be hit, and since the damage to your foe is Wrecked, he probably won't
want to be. The rammer takes a Critical in such a non-mutual Head-On Ram. If
both sides desire the collision, a successful Routine roll by both ensures that
both take a Wrecked result. Of course, it helps to be the only one with a
Ramplate in such a case. If either (or both) of the participants in a mutual
Head-On fails the Routine roll, treat it as a successful mutual Sideswipe.

3.5.5 Road Combat

If confined to a linear field of combat for some reason (flying in a
tunnel, driving in a gully), use the following facing tables on Maneuvering
Phase instead:

Your side facing opponent: 1-3 = Front
4 = Right side or Top side
5 = Left side or Bottom side
6-8 = Back

For results 4 and 5, ignore the Top/Bottom if confined to a plane. If in
aerial combat, roll another die: even and the first result applies, odd and the
second does. This counts as directly above or below. So, rolling 4 then 3
means your top faces your foe.
The side of your opponent facing you will be determined by whether he's
driving your way or not, and if either of you is flying upside down. If you
don't know if your foe's flying upside down, assume he is on a 1-2 on d8.

3.5.6 Final Notes on Vehicular Combat

Crash Tables: Since Robos can easily right themselves by transforming
into Robo form then back to vehicle, crashes are merely color and have no real
combat effect. A Mishap on a Maneuvering roll could put the player out of
action for the rest of the round, however, as he pulls out of the side of a
building or something.

In general, combat with the vehicle modes of RoboMACs will be very loose
and violate certain rules of physics or at least automotive design. Characters
will shift back and forth between modes in combat almost at random, and trying
to use a more detailed vehicle combat system would needlessly bog down the
dramatic feel of most giant robot worlds.

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Subject: RoboMACs v2.1: Rules 4 of 4
Message-ID: <3ffb27$qon@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
From: dvandom@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Dave Van Domelen)
Date: 17 Jan 1995 02:46:31 GMT
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RoboMACs Rules
copyright 1993, 1995 by Dave Van Domelen

============================================================================

FILE FOUR OF FOUR (Sections 3.6 - 5.3)

============================================================================

3.6 SAMPLE COMBAT:

Set up: The characters and situations in this example are taken from the
RoboMACs 2163 Campaign World.
After a spy Scrambled the mind of Chiplex, one of the major FortressMACs
on Earth, Antiochus V led a raid with the intention of destroying the citylike
MAC before it could wake up. The Guardian defenders were overwhelmed, but held
the fort for nearly an hour, long enough for a hastily assembled relief force
to arrive from southern Illinois. The battle quickly evened up, and eventually
the two leaders, Antiochus V and Spartacus, were face to face. Neither was
unharmed, but neither was willing to back down. Blueblaze and Thresher are
nearby when the battle arrives. Spartacus is the Player Character, Antiochus
the NPC.

Round One:
"Your assaults on Earth end today, Antiochus. This I swear."
"Of course they end! With you dead, victory will be ours, and no more
assaults will be needed!" >fsssshPUM!< The massive sphere of metal misses the
nimble Guardian by mere centimeters!

Spartacus declares Advantage Phase. He decides to Dodge, anticipating an
attack. For effect, he will remain still until Antiochus fires. The Referee
decides that this will give a -2 to Spart's roll, but Spart succeeds anyway,
giving Antiochus -3 to hit. On NPC phase, Antiochus tries a Godcannon Shot,
and needs (after his +3 with the skill and the -3 for Dodging) an unmodified
Difficult roll. The Referee rolls an 8, which is a miss, and would have hit if
not for the Dodge. Antiochus is attacking as a PC, with skills, but would use
the Commander line at +2 if attacking from the NPC Attack Chart.

Round Two:
Spartacus says nothing more, instead turning his dodge into a flying spin
kick, which warps the barrel of Antiochus's massdriver and hurls the MACE
commander back against a wall.
Antiochus snarls, "I don't need my cannon...I'll rip out your optics with
my bare hands!" and launches himself at Spartacus.

Spartacus again takes Advantage, and decides to try and disarm Antiochus.
He uses MACJitsu for the task. Antiochus's Megaweapon (massdriver) is Built-
In, but the Referee rules that it can be disabled. However, the cost will be
sacrificing the normal -2 defensive bonus conferred by MACJitsu. Rolling a
natural 16, Spart scores an Overkill, which the Referee decides means Antiochus
takes a Metal Wound as well as being disarmed.
On NPC Phase, Antiochus tries a Grab of Difficult level, and succeeds.
Spartacus is now pinned.

Round Three:
"Die!" screams Antiochus, his mechanical voice carrying as much emotion
as any human's voice. He presses his attack, trying to crush Spartacus's
faceplate.
Spartacus says "Not today, and never by your hand!" as he flips the
villain over and into a wall.

Spartacus elects to wait for Responsive. On NPC Phase, Antiochus uses
Brawl to try and do a Critical wound (he has Brawn and Spartacus is Grabbed).
Rolling a 13, he succeeds. Taking his Responsive action, Spart tries to
combine Parry and MACJitsu. Parry becomes Difficult and MACJitsu becomes
Tasking (Difficult base for Trait Brawn). However, the Referee decides that
the synergy works well, and removes the MAP for the MACJitsu, leaving Spart
with two Difficult rolls to make. He succeeds on both, and Antiochus takes
another Metal as well as no longer having a Grab on Spart. Spartacus could
simply have elected to make a single Difficult roll to break the Grab and avoid
damage, but decided to get fancy.

Round Four:
Antiochus gets up on one knee and grabs a shard of debris. Grunting out
of imagined effort, he heaves the shard at Spartacus, who just stood up.
Spartacus winces in pain and pulls the shard out, holding it as a sword.

The Referee tells Spartacus's player that he can either attack from a
prone position or get up and act on Responsive. He elects to go Responsive.
On NPC Phase, Antiochus uses his Weaponmaster skill with an improvised weapon,
normally Tasking to do Metal. However, Antiochus has +1 on this skill and
rolls a 15, which becomes a 16...Overkill. The attack does a Structural
instead, but Spartacus is Mind so he suffers no pain effects. However, for a
sense of drama, the player elects to take his action pulling out the shard to
use it as a sword.

Rounds Five through Ten:
Antiochus draws a laser sword and leaps at Spartacus. The two circle,
alternately striking and parrying, neither hitting the other.

Parrying is easier than attacking, and a lot of it occurs here.

Round Eleven:
Blueblaze and Thresher arrive, drawn by the sounds of swordfighting.
"We gotta help Spartacus!" shouts Blueblaze as he moves to enter the fray.
"No," says Thresher, laying a massive hand on his partner's shoulder,
"This is Spartacus's fight."
Encouraged by the presence of his friends, Spartacus takes a gamble and
performs a mighty side kick into Antiochus's face, sending the tyrant over a
ledge with a thunderous crash of metal.

Blueblaze and Thresher are now at Close Range, but elect not to enter
combat. Spart uses Brawl and rolls a 13 after modifiers, doing a Structural to
Antiochus. Antiochus tries to Trip Spart on NPC Phase, but rolls a 2, a
Mishap. So he ends up leaning into the attack and is sent over a ledge in
addition to the injury.

Round Twelve:
Spartacus brings his Megaweapon on line and leaps down to Antiochus. "Now
it ends." Meanwhile, Blueblaze and Thresher have circled some debris and are
on the other side of Antiochus from their leader.
Antiochus looks up at the Megaweapon barrel trained on him, then a sidearm
lost in battle by one of his men catches his eye. Spartacus fails to see the
weapon. Antiochus begins to crawl toward the gun. "Mercy, Spartacus...mercy!"
he pleads.
"You, who have no mercy now ask it of me? I thought you were made of
sterner stuff, Antiochus...."
Just then, Blueblaze spots the gun Antiochus is working toward. "No,
Spartacus, it's a trick!" he shouts, and before Thresher can stop him, he's
dashed out and grappled with the far-stronger Antiochus V. Antiochus has
managed to get the gun.
"Blueblaze! Move! I can't get a clear shot!" cries Spartacus, but it's
too late. Antiochus has easily reversed the hold and now uses Blueblaze as a
shield.

Spartacus holds his action until Responsive, but engages in dialogue.
The Referee decides Spart needs a Tasking perception roll to see the gun, but
Blueblaze needs only a Routine. Spart fails, Blue succeeds, and goes on
Advantage. He tries a Grab on Antiochus, at the Difficult level. He succeeds,
and grapples the MACEr.
On NPC Phase, Antiochus needs a Routine (he has Brawn and Blueblaze
doesn't) to break the Grab, and decides to combine that with his own Grab roll
at Routine, making both Difficult. He makes both rolls, and now Blueblaze is
grabbed, and needs a Difficult next round to break out.
On Responsive Phase, Spart decides to not fire, since a Mixed or Mishap
could hit Blueblaze.

Round Thirteen:
"Now DIE, Spartacus!" Channelling his power into the sidearm, Antiochus
unleashes a torrent of energy at Spartacus, who cannot fire without hitting his
friend. Spartacus reels.

The Referee tells Spartacus he now needs a Trick Shot to hit Antiochus,
and such a shot can't do enough damage to force the MACEr to drop Blueblaze.
Instead, he opts to let Antiochus shoot at him, since if Antiochus fired on the
held Blueblaze, the shifted damage (Wrecked) would kill the young Guardian. On
NPC Phase, Antiochus fires and does a Critical to Spartacus. Blueblaze tries
to get free on Advantage, but fails. Note that Antiochus has a special system
that allows him to use any energy weapon to fire a Godcannon Shot.

Round Fourteen:

"NOOOOO!" shouts Blueblaze, but Antiochus continues to fire as the brash
youngster struggles. Spartacus is pummelled again and again by energy blasts.

On Advantage Blueblaze still can't get free. Antiochus fires again,
bringing Spartacus to zero Critical wounds (as was mentioned, neither was
fresh).

Round Fifteen:

Spartacus falls to the ground, smoke pouring from his sides as he clutches
the gaping holes in his torso. Antiochus grins and tosses Blueblaze to one
side, then stands over Spartacus to gloat. "Now you fall..." he says as he
puts one last round into the Guardian leader.

Spartacus hopes to lure Antiochus in closer, and perhaps let go of
Blueblaze, so he falls to the ground. Antiochus throws Blueblaze to one side
(MACJitsu) for a Metal, then fires at the fallen foe, an Automatic roll.
Spartacus takes overflow into Wrecked, and normally would be out of combat
entirely. However, because his Mind Trait has such a high bonus on it (+3) and
he's also Armored, the Referee rules that he can act without penalty for one
more round before falling.

Round Sixteen:
Antiochus turns to Blueblaze and Thresher and gloated. "How does it feel
to be Romeo to his Mercutio, Blueblaze? Or don't you read the Bar...UNGH!"
Spartacus springs to his feet and piles into the battered MACE Emperor,
ramming him back over an even higher precipice, then stopping. Antiochus falls
tens of meters before hitting a titanium surface, bouncing, and continuing to
fall. By the time he comes to rest, he has fallen nearly a hundred meters to
the ground, and lies still and unfunctioning. His lieutenant, Starbolt,
screams "MACE, retreat!" and they gather up their fallen and leave.
Up atop Chiplex, Spartacus falls over, his eyes dimming....

On Advantage, Spartacus uses Brawl, combined with a bonus of +3 from
faking out his foe (bonus decided on by the Referee). He rolls an Overkill,
doing a Critical wound plus knocking Antiochus off the wall. Spartacus falls,
a distance which the Referee decides does damage like Two Commanders. This
results in two more Criticals (not Antiochus's round, is it) and he overflows
into Wrecked as well. Both combatants are now Wrecked and out of the fight.
The MACErs take their actions to retreat, and the battered Guardians don't try
to stop them.

You'll note that in the combat above, things like Defensive Bonuses and
Multiple Attempt Bonuses were not used. Such rules tend to bog down combat
when the foes are evenly matched, and may be ignored at Referee discretion,
even if he normally uses them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.0 ADVANCEMENT:

As time passes and MACs and Pilots do things, they learn from their
experiences. In addition, as they prove themselves and climb the chain of
command on their respective sides, they are fitted with better and more
equipment. To represent this process of both learning and advancing in
society, RoboMACs uses the Checkpoint system of advancement.

4.1 CHECKPOINTS:

What is an Checkpoint? It is some important point of development which
all characters must go through before they can advance. At the end of a game
session, players try to convince the Referee that their actions satisfied the
conditions of one or more Checkpoints. If he agrees, they check it off on
their sheet. Once all Checkpoints are passed, the player can take a +1 to
any one of his character's Traits, as well as gain more skills and systems (see
below). A Checkpoint may not be passed a second time until all nine
Checkpoints have been. This encourages players to be well-rounded.
The nine Checkpoints are: Clever Plan, Conflict, Flamboyance, Importance,
Precaution, Purpose, Risk, (Place in) Society and Unknown.

Clever Plan: Whenever the character comes up with some innovative way of
doing something instead of just using the tried and true, he might be able to
pass this Checkpoint. The plan need not be terribly clever if the character
isn't a genius...it only needs to be clever *for that character*. So,
something a tactical genius might do by reflex could check this box for a
tactical idiot. The important thing is that the idea be relatively new.

Conflict (Praise conflict!): Being in a battle, or a contest of wills or
whatever. Often the easiest box to check in most games. Later on, a character
will either have to be in a senses-shattering battle or a more subtle contest
of wills to pass this Checkpoint.

Flamboyance: Most MACs tend toward the logical path, no matter what their
Hook is. It comes from being a machine intelligence...efficiency is hard to
get out of the 'blood'. In order to truly grow, a MAC must be able to abandon
the simple route and try something flashy, swashbuckling. At lower levels of
experience, entering hand to hand combat with swords might be enough to check
this, while later on it may be necessary to truly push the bounds of common
sense (and physics) to check it. For human Pilots, logic is replaced by fear
of death or pain...overcoming that by means of Flamboyant actions is necessary
for growth.

Importance: If a MAC or Pilot never participates in anything major, he's
not going to advance in rank or get those nifty new systems. Hence, players
must get involved in events of at least local importance once in a while, and
as time goes on they must delve into matters of planetary concern. Doing so
can let the player pass this Checkpoint.

Precaution: Planning ahead. Being ready for any contingency. This is
different from Clever Plan in one major respect: Clever Plan usually involves
thinking fast on one's feet to overcome an unexpected obstacle, while
Precaution means expecting the obstacle in the first place and being ready.
For inexperienced MACs this can be checked by something as simple as thinking
to bring along a repair kit and some spare parts. For those with alot of time
under their belts, it means planning out every possible part of an event, being
ready for anything.

Purpose: Acting in such a way as to advance the cause of your side in a
significant manner. Here's how it works in the RoboMACs 2163 world:
For MACE players, this goal is the defeat of the Guardians, the
destruction and supplanting of humanity. For Guardian players, this means
protecting humanity and helping stop MACE plans before they start. Beginning
players can check this with things like stomping a few humans (MACE) or keeping
an advance warning buoy from being destroyed (Guardians). Major characters
need to do major deeds, like releasing a virus that will kill thousands (MACE)
or blowing up a Luna-based Massdriver (Guardians).
This Checkpoint is the one most needing extra work from the Referee to
tailor it to his campaign world. If your campaign world doesn't have factions
with clear-cut goals and purposes, you may need to have each player define
personal Purposes to be fulfilled in order to pass this Checkpoint. The action
that furthers the player's Purpose need not be Important, but often is.

Risk: Facing a threat in order to accomplish some goal. If applied to
combat, you must be facing overwhelming odds to pass this Checkpoint. The risk
need not be taken flamboyantly or cleverly...it need not even succeed. But it
must be a genuine risk.

(Place in) Society: This is the most strongly noncombat of the
Checkpoints. It involves furthering your status in the community, which often
means out of combat actions. Sometimes a major combat victory can check this
box off, but most of the time you have to act on your victories to cultivate
contacts or respect. Here's how the Checkpoint works in RoboMACs 2163:
MACE society is very survival-of-the-fittest, a hierarchical structure
with Antiochus on top, followed by several Lieutenants striving for his spot,
with their own underlings looking to take over the boss's job, and so forth.
Stabbing a superior in the back (figuratively) can pass this Checkpoint, and
generally your superior gets tougher as you do, so this Checkpoint scales
itself automatically. Guardian society is very close-knit and cooperative, but
there are still conflicts and power struggles despite that. Gaining the praise
of Spartacus or another highly placed Guardian can boost your position, as can
highly visible good deeds. Guardians can also check this requirement by
finding themselves outcasts for a time and redeeming themselves (like after a
major failure). Few things make Place in Society seem as important as when
you lose it, after all.

Unknown: Not all things are explained by science even in the advanced
RoboMACs worlds. Exposure to events that shake a character's faith in reality
(as he knows it) can let him pass this Checkpoint. Magic, human psychics, time
travel and the like can all check this. Even the realization by a MAC that he
may have an immortal soul can check this (MACs getting religion could be an
interesting plot device). Being able to pass this Checkpoint requires that the
Referee set up situations once in a while where it can happen.

You'll notice that many of these Checkpoints overlap. This is
intentional, to allow some flexibility for those with trouble passing certain
Checkpoints. One action may qualify for several Checkpoints at once...a Clever
Plan may be Risky and Flamboyant while serving Purpose. However, any one
action may only let the character pass one Checkpoint. If later on, the player
does an action that can only pass a Checkpoint previously passed under such a
multi-qualifier, he may not move the old Checkpoint. So if the player took
Purpose for the Risky Flamboyant Clever Plan, then later on did something that
only could check Purpose, he couldn't shift that old check onto Risk. So be
careful when deciding what Checkpoints you pass. Once all nine are checked
off, you may once again try to check any of them.

4.2 TRAIT ADVANCES:

When all nine Checkpoints are passed, the PC gains a +1 to any Trait other
than Piloted or Transforming (since they are bonusless Traits), up to a maximum
of +4 on a Trait. He also gains 5 new slots for skills and systems. If the
Referee wants a bit of realism, he can enforce the chart below for skills and
systems gained as a function of the Trait.

4.2.1 Robo and RoboMAC Trait Advances

Trait Skills Systems Notes
----- ------ ------- -----
Mind 5 0 Concentrate on the mind not the body
Armored 4 1 Little room after all the armor for new
systems
Brawn 3 2 An even mix, tilted to training the body
Fast 2 3 An even mix, titled to adding to the body
Weapons 1 4 So many new systems leave little time to
train
Gadgets 0 5 All the MAC's time is spent on adding new
systems, none left to train.

The balance can be shifted by paying two of one type for one of the other.
So taking +1 to Gadgets can also give one skill and three systems, or two
skills and one system. Going against the 'natural' flow penalizes the player.
Of course, the Referee can simply let the players divide the new skills
and systems up any way they want out of the total of five.

4.2.2 Pilot Trait Advances

Pilots may choose to take +1 to one of their personal Traits, or improve
their Robo's Traits. However, if they take a +1 to one of their own Traits,
they cannot add skills or systems to their Robo: all additional skills must go
to the Pilot. If the world is such that a Pilot isn't stuck with one Robo for
his entire career, the Referee may choose to automatically transfer Pilots to
stronger Robos when they advance, so all Trait advances can be taken on the
Pilot himself. He gets better, so he rates a better Robo.

4.2.3 Special Notes on Powerful Characters and Fusions

You may notice in the Sourcebook section that not even Antiochus and
Spartacus have more than a total of +6 to their Traits. This should give the
Referee a clue how hard it is to pass Checkpoints once you get past a certain
point. In fact, about the only time you'll see more than +6 on anyone is a
FortressRobo, especially the combiner types. CityMACs like Chiplex mentioned
in the sample combat tend to be totally NPC, and don't have Traits, so aren't a
worry. But combiners (especially player character combiners) usually do have
Traits. When these add, calculate skill totals as if the FortMAC had earned
the plusses by experience.
Example: The DinoMACs are dinosaur-like Guardians who can combine into a
huge Tyrannosaur. They are:
Bronn - Brontosaur, Traits Brawn and Armored. Right Leg
Frill - Monoceratops, Traits Weapons and Armored. Left Leg
Pterro - Pteranosaur, Traits Fast and Gadgets. Right Arm
Ripclaw - Velociraptor, Traits Mind, Weapons and Fast. Left Arm, Brain
Klubb - Ankylosaur, Traits Armored, Weapons and Brawn. Torso, Tail

When they combine into T-MAC, the combined Fortress MAC has:
Brawn +1, Mind, Armored +2, Weapons +2, Gadgets, Fast
Base 12 Skills+Systems, plus 13 skills and 12 systems.
Wounds: (17/15/8) Rank = 40

Let's say they have some adventures and each gain a plus one to a Trait.
Bronn and Klubb take +1 to Brawn, Frill takes +1 Armored, Ripclaw takes +1 to
Mind and Pterro takes +1 to Gadgets. Now T-MAC has:
Brawn +3, Mind +1, Armored +3, Weapons +2, Gadgets +1, Fast
Base 12 Skills+Systems, plus 28 skills and 22 systems.
Wounds: (22/21/12) Rank = 55

This lets Combiners get tougher faster than normal MACs of their same
power level, since the individual components advance as lower powered MACs.
However, to balance this, and encourage not overusing the Combined form, any
actions taken in Merged form must meet the criteria of their power level.
Hence, almost *nothing* the DinoMACs do as T-MAC can pass Checkpoints, compared
to their deeds as separate entities. This cuts down abuse of Merged Robo
forms, making it a Deus Ex Machina of last resort for Player Character mergers.

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5.0 APPENDICES

5.1 MODELLING ESTABLISHED CHARACTERS:

Every reasonable attempt has been made to make this system flexible enough
to allow you to use it for playing in any campaign world you want, including
those owned by various companies, such as US Toys' "Transformers" (TM) or the
ever-popular "Robotech" (TM) agglomeration. If a particular system your
character of choice possesses isn't on the systems list, work with your Referee
to make one up.
However, just because a system isn't on the list by name doesn't mean
there's not rules for it. For example, the Transformers (TM) line includes
something called a Pretender (TM), where the transforming robot resides inside
a (usually) non-transforming robot shell. The inner RoboMAC can be made
normally, with the shell being a Piloted Robo with at least Gadgets Trait, and
the following systems: Remote Interface, Cyberinterface, Passenger Compartment
(assumed big enough to hold the inner robot) and Tailgunner (since the robot
and shell can act in tandem when separated). Similarly, a Headmaster (TM) or
Powermaster (TM) could be made using Piloted Robos with Cyberinterface and
Passenger Armor (the armor suit worn by the pilot).

5.2 GLOSSARY:

Advantage Phase - the part of a combat round where all-out attacks without
regard for defense take place.
Bonus - The extra "plus" on a Trait, skill or system. The maximum bonus
allowed on any one Trait, skill or system is +4.
Checkpoint - An "experience point" of sorts. There are nine of them, and all
must be checked off in order to gain a Trait bonus.
DM - Defensive Modifier. Optional rule making fast and tough Robos hard to
hit or injure.
Degree - How hard a roll is. The simplest is Automatic, followed by Routine,
Difficult, Tasking and Limit (of Ability).
Hook - A defining character trait, common among the more two-dimensional MACs.
Human - Any non-mechanical lifeform. Also known as Squishies.
IP - Interface Penalty, caused by the slowness of the human mind in piloting.
MAB - Multiple Attempt Bonus. Optional rule allowing greater chance of
success to faster and smarter RoboMACs.
MAC - Mobile Artifical Consciousness. A machine mind with a personality, as
opposed to a Drone (see Tailgunner).
MAP - Multiple Action Penalty. Doing many things at once makes them all
harder.
Megaweapon - A Really Big Gun, capable of destroying Robos in one shot.
Mishap - A result of task resolution, a really bad "whoops."
Mixed - A result of task resolution, a partial success, perhaps with a side
effect.
Mode - 1: One of the forms a Transforming Robo can take. 2: The type of
"stuff" an attack is made of, energy or matter.
NPC - 1: Non-Player Character. 2: NPC Phase, the part of a combat round when
NPCs take their actions.
Overflow Effect - Some negative result incurred by a character taking a
Wound of a type that has been exhausted. Some may be overridden and the
Wound "overflowed" to the next higher level.
Overkill - A result of task resolution, a spectacular success, but one which
may carry negative side effects.
Phase - A part of the combat round. There are three phases in a normal round,
Advantage, NPC and Responsive. Vehicular combat adds the Maneuver Phase.
Pilot - Anyone/thing that runs a Robo, with the exception of an integrated
MAC. A MAC is only a Pilot if running a body it's not currently part of.
Rank - An estimate of combat power. If one side's total Rank is much higher
than the other side's, the side with the higher Rank will probably win.
Referee - The person running the game, also known as Gamemaster or GM.
Responsive - The phase of combat where defensive actions and other actions
delayed for the sake of caution occur.
Robo - RObot BOdy. The war machines of this game. Can be Piloted or
integrated with a MAC.
RoboMAC - The fusion of MAC mind and Robo shell, they are superior to Piloted
Robos because of faster response time and greater ability to resist
outside control.
Scramble - Damage to a MAC mind or to control circuits of a Robo. Can be the
result of physical damage to the Robo, or of electronic warfare.
Skill - Something learned by the Pilot or MAC. Pilots retain skills even if
they move to a different Robo, but MACs sometimes lose skills when their
Robo is destroyed.
Squishy - A somewhat derogatory term for humans, especially humans not in
Robos. Used by RoboMACs and Pilots. RoboMACs generally also call human
Pilots squishies, but sometimes make up new terms.
System - A piece of hardware in the Robo.
Tailgunner - An additional brain added to a Robo for purposes of avoiding IP
or allowing multiple actions. Tailgunners are generally Drones, machine
intelligences without personalities or self-motivation, but can also be
genetically engineered humans, secondary MACs or other things, as your
campaign world allows. Tailgunners shouldn't be able to run the Robo
effectively without the presence of a Pilot or main MAC.
Trait - Something the Robo, MAC or Pilot has more of than most, like speed
or intelligence. Those without the Trait don't necessarily lack the
attribute, they simply aren't outstanding. The exceptions are Traits
Piloted and Transforming, which are yes/no propositions.
Tricklethrough - Damage taken by humans inside a Robo when the Robo is damaged.
Wounds - Different levels of damage that a character can suffer. From smallest
to largest, they are Flesh, Bone, Metal, Structure, Critical and Wrecked.
Robos effectively have an infinite number of Flesh and Bone Wounds, and
never take Overflow Effects (see above) from them.

5.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To Hasbro/Takara for developing the Transformers (TM) line that inspired
this game.
To Better Games for supplying the basis for the mechanics used, and for
giving the author a chance to get some works published.
To the people on the Internet newsgroup alt.toys.transformers, for their
help in getting this game working, and for being an audience.