Mini-Review: The Mecha Hack Mission Manual

So, full disclosure: I backed this on Kickstarter, and as such got access to various previews and early PDFs. This also means I was predisposed to like the product, as if the various blog articles on this game system didn't give it away. Here's a few thoughts on what they delivered.

 

The Mission Manual is probably best described as a chunky GM resource pack for the original rulebook. It's not mandatory in any real sense, but what it does offer are a means for you to run a campaign or one-shot with even greater ease. This is where the titular Missions come in, which are presented in a single page format for you to build from. These seem elegantly minimalist, but as these are obviously light in detail, I'd imagine this could be intimidating for a novice. On the other hand, the book spends a lot more time fleshing out its Lodestone Alpha setting so less prep work is needed. Overall? If you liked the basic rules, but for whatever reason you wanted more flesh on the bones, it does that job pretty well. Thus far, I've only tried one of these new Missions myself, and while a success, I've found copying the format of them to be unexpectedly useful in focusing my ideas. I'm also toying with the idea of running one of the sample campaigns once gaming in person becomes possible again. So, yes. I have decided post a review despite not fully exploring the product. Please don't hold it against me.

More immediately interesting though are the expanded character creation rules. These were previewed, and ended up being used in several oneshots I ran, and I've found them handy if overly specific in places. The Vet and Merc feel like they've always been there, but the Hybrid and Pariah are homaging something more definite and such aren't as adaptable. I'm not sure what the Bionic is referencing, and along with the Vanguard & Auxiliary, it seems to be a logical outgrowth of game mechanics. As we have 64 possible character combinations, new modules, and new weapon qualities, we can now run games of 5+ players without doubling up on something. Which is nice. These are labelled as optional rules, and TBH a lot of the stuff in that section does feel that way. There's many good tools here, possibly too many, if I were to nitpick. Maybe it's because I'd already worked out my own solutions to some of the problems they solve. The combiner rules lack oomph, and function like a party standing really close together. I'd treated such things as having their own statblock, although I never got around to posting it here. That said, the rules for space-fighters and aerial combat would have been useful to have earlier.

One observation I would make is that the new list of enemies seem nastier than rulebook foes of a similar level, and more complicated. This lines up with the experience I've had with running games, as players tend to walk through combat until they hit something obviously overwhelming. As I've aimed for cinematic rather than tactical combat, this hasn't been problem really, but it might be something to consider. The big change is the addition of Swarm mecha, a way to further abstract combat with multiple combatants. This largely replaces individual HP with a degrading dice mechanic, and I've been wanting to playtest it aggressively. While this does not look to be suitable for map-based combats, this definitely is handy as a time saver and as a genre tool. I would however lean towards a blob of simple mecha rather than mixing units.

In summary: a useful expansion pack to an already good game. Not essential, but I would not be surprised at all if this became a compilation or the basis of a 2^nd edition.

Gunpla: The RGMGM-79 GM/GM (Build HG)

The thing about the assorted Build series is that it allows Bandai to do more or less whatever they want. Most of the time, this means easy retooled kits and easier narrative, but sometimes you can only look at something and assume there's "a story" behind it. The GM/GM is one of them. It's name is a pun, and it's meant to be a customised spin on the original cannon fodder mecha. Oh, and it's used by an organised crime operation.

What makes the GM/GM so curious to me is that it feels like someone decided to modernise the original design, but for whatever reason, it never made it to a UC anime. Build gunpla tend to be quite individualistic, and while there are army builders, army builders usually don't get to be kits as nice as this. This is because its not an army builder, its a extensive retool of the Star Burning Gundam, although I've not handled that one personally. As such, its significantly more involved than the original GM, and indeed a majority of HG kits I've done, but not in bad way. No, it's more like it's a superior example of the style used immediately before Bandai started using the 30MM technology everywhere. Its not perfect though. The main design quirk is the pop-out shoulder assembly, which I don't like. When used, this looks like the chest is breaking, so it's fortunate that articulation is otherwise very nice. The joints were originally intended for martial arts poses, which is a plus. There's also some odd gaps in the heel area, seemingly a by-product of the retool.

In terms of equipment, a GM/GM is functional but very customisation focused. There's the beam spray gun, two beam sabers and a nicely executed shield. This mounts securely, with a slot for the second saber, and turns the Federation symbol into a spike weapon. There's no alternate hands, but a choice of 3 heads and an eye-watering number of 3mm ports, many concealed behind tabs. This is some extreme custom fodder. I feel that I'm not getting most out of this kit just by following the instructions.

While there are other GM kits out there, it would not surprise me if this was the best one. I regret that its taken me this long to post about it.

Battlefleet Gothic: The 2010 Ork Clans Review

 So, I had this idea to write a series of tactical analysis articles about a dead game I've hardly played, and am not likely to play for the foreseeable future. Why? Well, its something to do. I'm building some Ork Ships, so why not use the creative energy that's there?

Well, I've put this off for long enough. I still can't play this game, but as I've researched and written more on the topic of Ork fleets, I've kept coming back to the 2010 Compendium Clans List. It just adds a lot and was apparently tournament legal. Given that Ork ships have a “mixed” reputation, this has a certain appeal. What follows are my thoughts on the rules, such as they are.

Big Picture Stuff

Fleet composition is rather involved by BFG standards, based around a revamped Warlord system. Players take 2 Squadrons per reroll, one of which is always Tiddlers AKA Escorts. A Warlord and his ships are basically fleets in their own right, meaning these rerolls can't be shared around. This is a little unwieldy, but is compensated for by the fact a Warlord is free, and grants a one shot +2 bonus to boarding actions. A Warlord still does not offer a higher leadership value, but you can swap crews and get numerous inexpensive rerolls under this system, which is nice. Fortunately, while you are mandated to field Escorts, these have received a few buffs. These get +1 leadership if in high numbers, and you can get freebie scrubs if their leadership was terrible. Escorts also gain access, like your Kroozers, to a dramatically expanded selection of upgrades, affecting largely all aspects of ship performance. This does however tie into the Warlord thing, so you can't apply these freely. Finally, there's the titular Clans, and a few new ships, two of which I've already talked about. The overall approach is not to expand the number of ship classes, but to maximise the functions of what's that exist already. There is also a slight trade-off in Boarding Value in exchange for this greater utility,as you aren't gonna be rocking the 20 any more, but between the Goffs and other newness, its not really a compromise.

 

Gubbins

A direct expansion of the original Warlord upgrades, these are given a single price for individual capital ships and whole squadrons of escorts. In practice, Gubbins end up being applied to your 3 or 4 most important/only capital ships in much the same way as other Ork Fleets. You'd probably only see these applied to escorts if A: you've purposefully placed a Warlord there or B) its actually a Clan thing, more on that in a mo. You'll also find not all ships benefit equally from some gubbins, like in circumstances where Heavy Gunz get replaced. Basically, if the ship was pretty good in the first place, think for a moment, but if its unpopular, the only way is up. I'm not gonna list all of them, but my picks for most interesting and/or useful are as follows.

Assault Karrier: a freebie sidegrade for when you want to spam assault boats and boarding torpedoes. Does cut into your air cover however.

Extra Turrets: a reasonably pricey solution to a Kroozer's bomber issues, but also applicable to escorts. While the bonus is reduced, a Grunt or Ravager would have 3 turrets this way, which is hysterical. Maniak Turrets also exist as a cheapo version.

Looted Lances: Orks have always struggled with 6+ armour, and these present a solution. And a reason to try Savage Gunships again as those get a strength 2 Lance at 15cm. However, as these replace all of a ships Heavy Gunz with a flat bonus, probably the best fit is the Kill Kroozer.

Klaws: thanks, Tyranids. These are looking a lotta fun.

Ram Prow: makes a ship more likely to ram, and does a minimum of 1 damage if it connects. Good synergy with Goffs.

Shock-Attack Lance: another freebie sidegrade, with a few quirky limits on this use, but yes. This is a space use version of the infamous Shock-Attack Gun. This doesn't do actual damage, but it does inflict nasty leadership penalties. Pick a target with its Shields down, take moment to explain it to your foes, and enjoy. 

 

The New Ships

This list features the Grunt and the Lite Kroozer, two ships which I'm sure have a prior history, but I first encountered them here. I have also talked about both previously at some length, so I'm not gonna do so again in much detail here. Both benefit greatly from Gubbins like Klaws, although I'd be inclined to say the Lite is the weaker of the two. It's more a slot filler, while the Grunt brings something new to the table. It also presents the “ZUKOV'S KLAW ORK ASSAULT KROOZER", a heavily customised Terror Ship. Unless I'm misreading it, this is slightly undercosted, and serves as an example how to maximise boarding actions.

 

 

The Clans

Here we go, the main event. This system overlaps with the new ship upgrades, as two/three of them are those upgrades with an actual new coat of paint, and I'm not overly keen. You can have a clan bonus without interfering with your gubbins, which is nice, but the costs are usually the same, and it forces the ship into a particular play-style. The usefulness of the individual Clan gets very subjective very quickly. Goffs are impressive right out of the gate, as boarding better is good, as is easier rams. It is however outmoded by Holofields, but you can't have everything. Evil Sunz merely go faster, but it's cheaper than the Gubbins version, which it stacks with. Bad Moons is Maniac Gunners via another door, so a bit meh, but powerful on the right ships. Deathskullz is similarly looted stuff in greater abundance, but you end up paying more for torpedoes for SOME REASON. Snakebites get a free leadership bonus to Brace, but only use Roks or Hulks, so not much application there. Finally, Blood Axes get humie escorts and refits, rather than stealth. Freebooters don't exist. 

 

 

 

OK. Can you tell why I'm lukewarm on these? There's no reason to take certain ships for certain clans, because you are paying for a bonus you can't use. This puts me in mind of the original Ork codex, where you were expected to mix & match Clans according to their speciality, where more modern spins on the concept don't cost points and tend to be less rigid in applications. While this, and the painting requirements, is rather frustrating to me, its not all bad. In fact this is the simplest way to to improve your escorts en-mass, while your Warlords sit on the big ships. The cost of a Clan is roughly one gunship, so you may end up trading one model for a significant performance boost, only to get a bonus ship anyway due to poor leadership. I don't normally advise picking a clan purely on performance, but if that's how the list actually works, so be it.

Conclusion

Well, there's good and bad here, but this is probably worth a try. For all its apparent complexity, the Clans list is mainly an equipment based expansion with quality of life improvements. Discuss it with your foe, but I don't think people will mind.

 

 

Plamo: The Ork Space Hulk Scratchbuild

When it comes to the Ork fleet, the eventual end point for a player is usually the Space Hulk. Its most unique vessel Orks have, and one of the largest in the setting overall. Its also a scratch building project through and through. Space Hulks are a demonstration of the Hyperspace is a Scary Place trope, being distorted amalgamations of derelict spacecraft, each a chaotic assemblage of garbage and the damned. They tend to be filled with Genestealers and absurdly valuable salvage, so having one appear in orbit is very bad news as treasure hunters and other dickheads go aboard and comeback infested. Also, there can be Daemons, Necrons or indeed any amount of eldritch weirdness. The orkish response is however to board, spend a satisfying few weeks gleefully evicting what lurks there, and turning it into a colossal warship. Then a Waaaggghhh! happens, which is a different flavour of very bad news for the first planet they come across. 

 

The model was built and painted in much the same way as my Roks, just on a larger scale. You may well recognise various parts from earlier projects, mainly the big bag of spaceships, that 3D printed cruiser, and off-brand lego. It was preceded by a much smaller prototype, where I experimented with DIY filler as an alternative to polystyrene or modelling putty. I was heavily inspired by the various scratchbuilding videos I've been watching on youtube lately, specifically, this one, which had me doing Roks in the first place. This filler proved to be easy to work, and good for stone effects, but it's too squishy to make a whole model from. As a result, it ended up being a surface element and, well, a filler, on a polystyrene body. Aside from that, the only real hurdle was its base, Hulks being far too bulky for the GW standard, causing me to permanently install a plastic tube for stability. This isn't ideal from a gameplay perspective, but I'd rather it balance without worry. Mind you, it's a bit of a bodge. 

 

Speaking of gameplay, a Space Hulk is the rare Ork vessel considered intimidating by both players and the fluff. Its roughly the same weight class as the Planet Killer or a Blackstone Fortress, and will quite happily trade fire with them due to its extremely bullet-spongy nature. A Hulk can take on a fleet by itself, and if that fleet didn't bring the right tools for the job, it's gonna have a tough time. On the other hand? A Space Hulk has the same basic weaknesses as a Rok, ie very limited mobility which hampers its guns and vulnerability to weapon batteries. This means a foe can "kite" around it and wear it down. 

 

Overall, things turned out nicely, but I didn't quite capture what I was aiming for. It's clearly recognisable as a Space Hulk, but it's maybe too Rok-like. It may also have benefited from more recognisably BFG bits. That said, people seem to have really liked this one.

Up next? Well, I have a Gorbag's Revenge I never painted, but once that is done, there's nowt for me to do but actually play...

The Mecha Hack: Civilian Applications

Occasionally, the Mecha genre gives us giant robots doing something other than violence. Sometimes it's just around the edges of the lore; such things being spin-offs of spacesuits, or construction vehicles. More rarely, that's kinda the point of things. The archetypal example is Patlabor, a episodic comedy anime OVA, turned TV series, turned serious film series, turned live action. This sees a fairly grounded take on the Mecha concept, with "Labors" arising from big construction projects, and prompting law enforcement to acquire some. I really wish there was more convenient youtube clips of it, and that I'd seen more. I've just kept missing it, somehow. Nevertheless, here are a few ideas for how to include civilian-oriented giant robots in your Mecha Hack game.

A Sample Cop Class

The class below assumes that your idea of a Police Officer is someone closer to the "British Bobbie" ideal, than the overly-militarised American Dirty Harry trope. I.e. someone trained to bring offenders in alive, de-escalate a situation, and only carry firearms in matters of extreme seriousness. If you wanted a more “shooty-bang-bang” take on law enforcement, you can just use the regular classes and call it the SWAT team. Of course, this is not to suggest British coppers are any less prone to racism, corruption, and outright villainy than anyone else. Especially given recent events. But what I'm aiming for here is the film Hot Fuzz and The Ankh Morpork City Watch. Use, or cynically subvert, as you see fit.

Patrol Officer Chassis

Hit Die d8 Damage Die d8 Reactor Die d6

Starting HP

1d8 + 4

Weapons and Armour

All handheld weapons, shields, & armour

Levelling Up

Roll your hit die to gain new hit points. Roll to see if attributes increase, rolling twice for Mobility and System. At levels 3, 6, & 9, gain a new module.

Starting Equipment

Revolver (Light Ranged Weapon), Stun Baton (Light Melee Weapon), Shield (2AP), Patrol Armour (3AP), Comlink, assorted Police tools, paperwork, and paraphernalia.

Design Features & Weapons

Protect & Serve: see Kinetic Absorbers, page 17.

You're under arrest: You may choose to have a successful melee attack inflict only "disabling damage". This works just like normal damage, except that if this removes the last HP a foe has, that foe is incapacitated rather than destroyed.

A Sample Labor Mecha Class

The rulebook gives a fair few examples of these as foes, but not as player characters. Logically, such things should be based around improvised attacks and feats of strength. Ranged attacks would be problematic, possibly based around modules and Reactor die, as these are explicitly not meant for combat. The class below draws most directly on the famous Power Loader from the Aliens franchise, something I wish to see again at some point. Other example includes the aforementioned Patlabor, and Gundam's Worker Zaku.

Teamster Chassis

Hit Die d8 Damage Die d8 Reactor Die d6

Starting HP

1d8 + 4

Weapons and Armour

All handheld melee weapons & light armour.

Levelling Up

Roll your hit die to gain new hit points. Roll to see if attributes increase, rolling twice for Power and System. At levels 3, 6, & 9, gain a new module.

Starting Equipment

Industrial Claws (Light Melee Weapon) Tough Hull (3AP), Comlink, assorted builders paraphernalia, I.e cup of tea, Yorkie Bar, tabloid newspaper etc.

Design Features

Grapple & Lift: As a Use action, test Power to hold a close foe in place. It may not move away from you until you fail a Power, Mobility, or System test.

Lift & Throw: Following your melee attack, you may test Power to throw an enemy you just defeated at another close target for 1d8 damage. Roll your Reactor Die.

 

 

Alternatively, you may wish to represent such a machine being slowly upgraded to combat grade. In this case a player could have the option to gain a new weapon, shield, or armour proficiency at each level up or third level.

A Sample Sports Class

Would people use giant robots in sport? I have no idea of how sport works. I know they already use armoured roombas for deathmatches, but would you see stuff like races? Would there be mecha jogging around the Nürburgring? Would there be sub-cultures of highly customised vehicles with their own gangs? Would Top Gear even have to change its name? The following assumes that civilian mecha exist, which can be tuned for speed, and possibly for the bass.

Boy Racer Chassis

Hit Die d6 Damage Die d6 Reactor Die d6

Starting HP

1d6 + 3

Weapons and Armour

All single handed melee weapons, shields.

Levelling Up

Roll your hit die to gain new hit points. Roll to see if attributes increase, rolling twice for Mobility & Presence. At levels 3, 6, & 9, gain a new module.

Starting Equipment

Knuckleduster (Light Melee Weapon), Shield (2AP),  Comlink, Deafening Sound System, Furry Dice, etc.

Design Features 

Speed Freak: you can take 2 move actions in a single Moment without having to roll your Reactor Die for repeating an action.

Watch this!: Once per moment, you may roll your Reactor die to limit the damage you just suffered, in daring manoeuvre. If your Reactor die degrades, you suffer the damage as normal, otherwise it is reduced to 1. Abilities of friendly mecha do not affect this roll, I. E the Auxiliary class Core Overrride ability.

Wrapping things up

Well, there we go. I may do more stuff on Patlabor if I get to around to watching more of it. If you end up using these rules, please drop me a comment.

Not-Lego: The MyBuild Engineer T2 5014

You know, these are extremely fun ways to spend an afternoon. I need to be careful, this is habit forming.

However, there were a couple of minor irritations here. For one, the product renders make it look like the robot is in high visibility neon, when it's more of a JCB yellow. Good thing I like those colours. The other was an inexplicable white speckling on a black piece. Never seen that before. None of this is significant, but still a downer.

As this is the 3rd I've built, I suppose I should ask the obvious question, is this getting a bit samey? Truthfully, a bit. All of these largely boil down to a layering of thin/smooth pieces to armour the limbs, with its body being designed to hold an omitted mini-figure. The differences between them do tend to be a matter of visuals and price bracket. Fortunately, the Engineer T2 does have the visuals. Its undeniably a plant vehicle, with squat proportions, safety lights, and no head. It even comes with a barrier and traffic cones, which is adorable. It's variant of the Mecha Frame meanwhile has an odd quirk. It ends up with some curious offset knees that end up very limited in the full build. That is however fixable, and I see this working well for amphibious designs or aggressively armoured ones.

All-in-all? Another fun distraction, but I think I might have to get more ambitious next time

 

 

Plamo: Scratchbuilt Ork Rok (Battlefleet Gothic)

While I left them out of the original article, Roks do fit well into the Ork army/fleet metaphor. These are akin to Mek Gunz, an inexpensive glass cannon but with some fairly major quirks. With the Mek Gunz, these quirks arise from being a crew-served artillery piece. As built by a lunatic. Roks meanwhile are crude asteroid space stations with engines on them. As built by a lunatic. Another factor is the scratch built aspect, as much like the Hammer Class, no official model ever existed, with players encouraged to raid their bitz box and dress a lump of polystyrene. While this does not actually make a Rok free, it does make them something an experienced modeller can throw together without much trouble. As I am an experienced modeller, and I had some time off, I took a swing at it, as opposed to trying to do a Space Hulk.

TBH, getting the stone effect was something I had to experiment with, and I feel I should talk about it so you can avoid my mistake. For my first prototype I didn't use Stirland Mud technical paint and it ended up looking too smooth. Fortunately, polystyrene tends to be plentiful once you've found it, so you can take a few dry runs. I painted the rocky bitz with Stirland Mud, followed by a drybursh of Zandri Dust, washed with Seraphim Sepia, and then lighter drybrushes of Ushabti bone and Wraithbone. That said it came out very well, and I've started work on more. And as this already reads like a like a how-to, here's a how-to.

 

A rough guide to Rok Building

You will need

Polystyrene, in lumps about the size of an egg. Hobby/craft shops can help.

PVA glue *WARNING* regular glue and spraypaint contain solvents melt the polystyrene producing TOXIC FUMES. Don't be a moron.

A suitable flying base.

A bits box, featuring plastic tubing, sheet plastic and Orky parts.

Suitable toy spaceships and scale battleships.

Stuff you didn't use in your last BFG project.

Textured paint I. E Stirland Mud.

Your preferred colours for stone and metalwork.

Steps

1) Prepare weapons and other gubbins separately. If superglue or spraypaint is needed, do it now and far, far, FAR away from the polystyrene to avoid producing the aforementioned toxic fumes.

2) Rough up your polystyrene, before securing your bits with PVA glue. You may wish to cut indentations to help things set in place.

3) Leave things to dry for at least a hour.

4) Roks usually end up unbalanced, so take a moment to find it's centre of gravity. Then insert the base there so everything will stay standing up.

5) Paint the rocky bits with textured paint as a base coat.

6) Once this dries it should have a sandy appearance, and you can now paint the rest. Aim for a contrast between the asteroid bits and the other stuff.

Where next? Well, I suppose the Space Hulk...