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| source: DriveThrurRPG.com |
Week goes by pretty quickly when you've got a lot going on. I've got a lot of catching up to do, so let's wrap up this entry and move on to some really simple games.
One of Mecholite's distinguishing features is that it uses a standard deck of cards for a lot of its game play, in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Mike Pondsmith's classic Castle Falkenstein (which I may use on this blog later, time allowing). Each suit represents one subset of your mech's systems: hearts for Frame (structure), diamonds for Core (power systems), spades for Processor (ability to execute actions), and clubs for Instruments (data-collecting capacity such as sensors). Each of these subsystems is quantified as one of your mech's base Stats, and you have a mini-deck composed of ace through ten for each suit, with the face cards (called Court cards here) held aside for special use.
Mech creation begins by choosing a base model from six options, providing your mech's baseline stats. The four base stats vary from three to five in each model; the base numbers for derived stats Bulk and Vulnerability (measuring the difficulty of, respectively, scoring a physical hit on the mech and scoring a hit on its software systems) start at 3 and are modified by adding half the Frame and Instruments values, respectively. The two other derived stats, Energy and Processing Power, have baseline values equal to the unit's Core and Processing scores, respectively.
Allul looks like closest to what I want in a model: 3 Frame, 4 Core, 5 Processor, 4 Instrument. wizard stats, basically. Bulk and Vulnerability are round-up so each score is 5 at this point. Energy is 4 and Processing Power begins at 5.
The next step is to choose a design, which modifies the base model in two ways: a bonus to one (+2) or two )+1 each) base stats, and a bonus ability. I double down on the "wizard" concept by choosing precise, which adds 2 to Instrument and, when I play any court card, lets me resurrect one card of my choice from my Instrument discards and shuffle it back into my draw deck.
Then there is another round of customizing that lets me add 1 to any base stat (I boost Processor to 6), then add +2 to one skill and +1 to a second.
We haven't really talked about Skills yet. There are five skills: analyze, operate, manufacture, interface, and hack. Each of these can be leveraged by any of the four Stats to perform different types of task. Analyze covers attempts to gather and interpret information. Operate covers performing challenging maneuvers (e.g., feats of strength for Frame or operating machinery for Processing). Manufacture covers building and repairing things, and is the skill used for Recovery actions (which return a card of your choice from one of your discard piles to the corresponding draw deck). Interface covers interactions with other mechs: intimidation, negotiation, deception, etc. Finally, Hack covers attempts to break in or infiltrate. For the rest of my customization I take a +1 bonus to Analyze and a +2 bonus to Hack.
I can further customize my unit with Attachments and Gadgets. Attachments are major devices built into the unit, whereas Gadgets are smaller high-tech devices also built into the unit. Each unit can have one Attachment for each point of Frame and one Gadget for each point of Instruments. Attachments are also limited to particular parts or the mech frame (or Slots), and the unit has two Slots for each part (arm, torso, hip, leg, etc). My small Frame can only handle three Attachments, so as long as they don't all need the same Slot I'll be fine. Energy Shield reduces the cost of evasive maneuvers (by moving energy points to the Use pool instead of the Spent pool); it takes a torso slot. Cloak takes the second torso slot; it makes the unit harder to hit by reducing Bulk by 2 for every point of Energy I spend, up to 3. And I use a shoulder slot to install a drone launcher, which not only launches drones but recharges them between launches.
My Instruments score allows me six Gadgets. An advanced motherboard will unlock three new Processes. Nanobots allow me to repair myself or another unit as an auxiliary process (like a minor action in D&D 4e or a bonus action in 5e). Liquid cooling boosts my Hack skill by 1. A control circuit boosts my Operate skill by 1. A post-processor bumps Analyze by 1.Finally, a drone controller lets me control a drone after I launch it.
That would seem to cover all the mechanical aspects of character generation. All I have to do now is give the unit a call sign and I'm ready to fill in the character sheet. Pushing the magician theme, I call the unit Tony Wonder (after the Arrested Development character) and fill out my character sheet. My drones will be styled "Doves" and given numbers once I have more than one (Dove 1, Dove 2, etc.)
Tony Wonder: Precise Allul
Frame: 3 Core: 4 Processor: 6 Instrument: 6
Bulk: 5 Vulnerability: 6 Energy: 4 Processing Power: 6
Design Ability: Precise (can Recalibrate when playing a court card)
Attachments: Cloak, Energy Shield, Drone Launcher
Gadgets: Advanced Motherboard, Nanobots, Liquid Cooling, Control Circuit, Post-Processor, Drone Controller
In addition to the main character sheet the game provides tracking sheets for motherboard processes and drones; I've provided photos below.
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| Main character sheet for Tony Wonder, with action decks in place |
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| Character sheet at left, with drone sheets (top) and motherboard sheet (middle) at right above the court cards from Tony Wonder's action decks (bottom) |
To catch up, the next few entries are going to be a party of adventurers for original Dungeons and Dragons--simple character generation without a lot of built-in creative demands.
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