New Power Armour CY0A v0.2

Power Armour CYOA

You cough and blink through the grit in the air as the dust clears. Something huge struck the ground in front of you – a large metal cannister, shimmering like liquid silver and large enough to stand in. As you walk closer a section of the cannister pops in and slides off to the side, a door allowing entry inside. A blue, ethereal woman materialises in the door way and beckons you inside. She steps back into the darkness and disappears from view. A moment later, you follow her in.

The door slides shut behind you, trapping you in darkness. For a moment, silence. Then a dozen blue holograms spring in to life, each one depicting images of mechanical and electrical systems. “Hey there! So glad you could join us! Today’s you’re lucky day. I’m ALICE and you’ve been selected to pilot a new kind of high-speed armoured vehicle – your very own Mech!”

“You’ll design it from within this cannister. Our exterior 3d printers will have it ready for you when you step out. You get 200 Resources to start with. Oh! And we’ll need to do a little… tweaking… of your meatbag self so you can pilot it. And by tweaking I mean a complete rebuild from the ground up. And before you ask – yes, it is too late to back out. So, let’s begin!”


New Body:

You’re new body will be between 6’0 and 6’8, and we’ll have to cut back on the body fat so you take up less room in the mech. You’ll be quite lithe for a human. Don’t worry though, we’ll ensure your as fit as an Olympian, with the senses of a hawk. You’ll even age at one-twentieth of the speed you used to. Beyond that you can design the body to your taste. Skeletal structure, eye colour, skin colour, hair, even genitals. If you want an excess of fat in some areas or you want to be shorter we can make it work, but the suit might pinch in some places. If you want to be taller… well, we’ll get to that in a bit. When You’re finished that we’ll move on to the mech.
Hmm? The pointed ears? Pay no attention to that, its just a programming quirk.


Stats:

Recharge is a measure of how many hours a day a mech needs to spend recharging. While recharging a mech must remain still and can’t fire any weapons or use any secondary systems that don’t have the detection tag. You don’t need to do this all at once, and if interrupted its possible to fight with the energy you’ve recharged, but you will only be able to fight for a limited time. Recovery 0 mechs do not need to recharge.

Dex is how good at dodging/changing course you are, how good at hiding you are, and how precise you are with your weapons. A mech with 0 Dex can’t move.

Speed is how well your mech accelerates/how high its top speed is. A mech reduced to 0 Speed is immobile.

Strength is a measure of how strong a mech’s exoskeleton is. A more powerful exoskeleton allows the carrying of more weapons/gear. See the weapons section for more details.

Power is a measure of your mech’s power systems. The higher your power system, the more Secondary Systems you can run. You can run one Secondary System for each point of power you have.

Durability is how tough you are. Ordinary Humans and pilots outside of their mechs have Durability 0, Tanks have Durability 2. Targets with Durability 0 who are struck by any mech weapon are killed instantly.

You’re in cover when the mech shooting at you can’t see you due to interposing objects. It imposes a -2 Dexterity debuff to the shooter’s accuracy. Light Cover can be pierced using certain detection upgrades, Heavy Cover can’t. While underwater a Mech is in is Light Cover and moves at -1 Speed. A Mech underground is in Heavy Cover but cannot enter it or move through it without the Burrower Body System.

EMP weapons disable an amount of their target’s power equal to their EMP rating. If you are hit by enough EMP blasts to reduce your power to 0, your mech deactivates and you must recharge for a minute before it can be used again. Targets cannot use secondary systems or weapons if they do not have enough power. The EMP effect wears off when the disabled mech completes full recharge. Multiple EMP hits do not stack – you only suffer EMP damage up to the rating of the worst hit.

You can communicate with other mechs over comms using a specialised network, which has a range of about 10km. It is possible to be hacked through this system, however, so you can turn it off if you need to. It takes a minute to shut down and while its down you won’t be able to communicate at all with any teammates.


Mech Types:
We’re choosing what basic chasis to start with. Pick any one, it doesn’t cost resources.

Mesh Suit – the suit for people who don’t want a suit. Why would you pick this? Its essentially a sci-fi catsuit and it protects you about as well as PVC. It’s technically a low-profile exo-muscular system that boosts your strength and durability to beyond human levels, but you’re still a fragile waif compared to your larger cousins. You aren’t especially fast either, and you really don’t have room for weapons in this thing. Although I suppose its skintight nature does make you more limber and nimble than a normal human. Playing Ned_Flanders_Nothing_At_All.vid

That said, it does offer some advantages. For one, the lack of armour on your armour frees up more resources for other things – if you want to specialise in secondary systems like drones or stealth, this helps. For another, it has a much lower profile than the other options. You can wear it indoors and even conceal it under your clothes, and your small size compared to other mechs makes it much easier to hide from them. You can literally crouch down or stand behind a tree to avoid detection. And because it lacks a proper exoskeleton, it uses virtually no energy, so you never need to recharge it.

Want to direct vast hordes of drone armies? Want to sneak up on your enemies undetected for devastating sneak attacks? Or do you just want to flaunt your inhumanly bodacious figure? Then this is the suit for you.

 Stats: Dex 2, Power 4, Speed 1, Durability 1, Recharge 0, Strength 1. Gain +50 extra resources. Gains +2 Dex for the purposes of stealth. Cannot take Dreadnought Upgrades. Cannot take Body Systems, Cannot take Diesel or Gears power sources.

Light Suit – now we’re getting somewhere. The smallest unit of ACTUAL power armour, the Light Suit is designed to be as nimble and swift. Its aerodynamic profile compared to other mechs allows it to slip through the air at incredible velocity. Ask any fighter pilot how easy it is to hit a human-sized target moving erratically at Blackbird speeds and you’ll understand why this mech is so dangerous. Its high speeds and low-profile also makes it useful as an infiltrator mech, but keep in mind that it’s still an armoured exo-skeleton, so you can’t easily conceal it the way you can the Mesh Suit.

Sadly, it does have some drawbacks. Its reduced size while still being an exo-skeleton means there isn’t much room for power sources, so its power output is low. It also has the least armour of any of the exoskeleton suits – you aren’t a Mesh Suit, but you don’t want to take too much ordnance to the face in this thing.

All in all, the fastest suit out there, but far from the toughest.

Stats: Dex 5, Power 2, Speed 5, Durability 2, Recharge 6, Strength 2. Take Flight or Cloaking for 0 Resources, but they still take a point of Power.

Medium Suit – Are all your clothes beige? Is your favorite flavor “mild”? When you were little did you want to grow up to become a bank clerk? Then we have the suit for you – the Medium Suit! The most boring and uninteresting suit imaginable. Not big or tough enough to be a suit you ride around in, not small and slippery enough to be a suit you wear, but a perfectly tepid middle ground.

But the tediousness of this suit hides one real advantage – its energy systems. The combination of armour only slightly heavier than the Light Suit combined with the power systems of the Heavy Suit allows it to function for extended periods of time without needing to recharge. If you’re interested in stuff like “practicality” and “logistics” then this suit will fit in nicely alongside your white people curry and your wardrobe full of plain t-shirts. Its expanded power capacity also allows it to run more secondary systems than most mechs and its power-focused design is reinforced against EMP attacks.
A practical suit. Did I mention its boring?

Stats: Dex 4, Power 4, Speed 2, Durability 3, Recharge 4, Strength 2. Reduce the rating of EMP attacks that hit you by one.


Heavy Suit - Now we’re talking! This big fellow is an excellent frontline fighter with top-of-the-line armour and a powerful exoskeleton – so powerful in fact, it can lug a scary amount of ordinance compared to its compatriots. Its stronger frame also makes it a dangerous melee combatant, easily able to smash other mechs into scrap. If you prefer to operate as a close-range hell-for-leather fighter, or you enjoy blowing your enemies away with thundering barrages, then this is the mech for you.

But like all mechs, it has its drawbacks. For one, its not particularly fast and when moving at speed its weight makes it difficult for it to change course. Sneaking around in this thing is virtually impossible. And despite having robust power systems it has little energy to spare, as just walking around in this thing uses up most of it.

But no matter the drawbacks, the Heavy Suit is a classic for a reason. If you love the adrenaline rush of being in the thick of battle, then this is the mech for you.

Stats: Dex 2, Power 2, Speed 2, Durability 4, Recharge 10, Strength 4. Take one Heavy Weapon for 0 Resources, but you still have to spend Strength to carry it.


Superheavy Suit - Why be Master Chief when you could be an artillery emplacement? Ranging in size from BIG to REALLY BIG, these lumbering behemoths are the titans of the Mech battlefield. Wearing the heaviest armour imaginable, they can soak up shot after shot after shot without any discernible effect. Their huge size means they can lug weapons so powerful even Heavy Mechs can only dream of them, WMDs that can devastate battlefields in one shot and change the course of wars simply with their presence. A mech like this will dominate any battlefield it arrives on.

Which leads to its drawbacks – a mech like this dominates any battlefield its on, so everyone is going to be shooting at it. Everyone. And unless it can burrow or take to the sea, you can forget about taking cover behind anything smaller than a mountain range. On top of this, its so slow that you can’t really escape once you’ve engaged the enemy. If you find yourself losing you only have two choices –surrender or death. Your enemies won’t have this problem though. They’ll be able to see you coming from a mile away, so they can always skedaddle if they don’t feel like fighting you. Not to mention this thing is so big and heavy that unless you can fly, you’re going to be leaving an easily-followed trail of devastation wherever you go. Your power system is also the most taxed of any mech, meaning you have the highest recharge time.

A mech this heavy is a huge risk. On the other hand, its so powerful you could get away with having “Iron Daddy” as your callsign. Go on, you know you want to.

Stats: Dex 1, Power 3, Speed 1, Durability 5, Recharge 12, Strength 5. Gains access to superheavy weapons.


Power System

What your mech actually runs on. You need to take one, but you can’t take more than one.

Solar – Your mech’s external surfaces serve as low-profile solar panels. Provides no bonuses or drawbacks. 0 Resources.

Diesel – A mech powered by pounding explosions and thundering pistons. Don’t ask where the fuel comes from. Provides +1 strength but +4 to recharge. 10 Resources.

Biological – Your mech is actually a squishy, squelchy non-sapient biological creature. It’s less tough as a result but it needs significantly less time to recharge. Provides -4 to Recharge but -1 to Durability. 10 Resources.

Superconductor – A mech powered by swirling magnets and arcs of crackling lightning. Materials that obstruct the flow of electricity have to be stripped out, making it more vulnerable to EMP attacks. Adds +2 Power but whenever you take EMP damage you take one extra. 20 Resources.

Gears – An intricate system of perfectly-crafted gears, heatsinks and steam vents that serve as a perpetual motion machine. Gain +4 to recharge, but you can move, walk and communicate while recharging – although strenuous exercise, using Secondary Systems and firing weapon systems will interrupt this. 20 Resources.

Nuclear – Your mech is host to a humming micro-reactor that juts out of it like a bulging cancer. Don’t think too hard about that metaphor. Whenever you recharge, you vent dangerous levels of radiation, preventing anyone from getting too close. -2 to Recharge. 20 Resources.

Psionics – Requires the Circe Suite Pilot Upgrade. Your mech is powered by your own awesome mental energy. Gain the Hover upgrade for free. -2 to Recharge. 20 Resources.


Body Systems
Upgrades to your mechs body. You have the freedom to design the form they take. You can take as many as you want as long as you have the resources for it.

Hover – A simple anti-grav or other basic propulsion system that allows slow flight at your normal speed. You can’t use cover while flying. 10 Resources.

Flight – An improved version of hover that comes with wings, manoeuvring rockets, or other upgrades that assist with aerial movement. Allows flight. While flying you move at +1 Speed and +1 Dexterity but can’t use cover. This also counts as a Secondary System. 20 Resources.

Burrowing – A worm-like body, mole claws, or similar upgrades. Allows movement underground at -1 Speed. Provides heavy cover. Being underground counts as being in Heavy Cover. 20 Resources.

Aquatic – Fins, propellers and the like which improve movement underwater. You move at +1 Speed underwater instead of the normal -1 Speed. 10 Resources.

Squat – You can be anything, so why not be an absolute UNIT? Makes you much broader and stockier, granting +1 Strength but -1 to Dex. 20 Resources.

Extra Limbs – Want a lower half like the body of a panther? How about four spider-limbs coming out of your back? Grants +1 Dex and +1 Speed as long as you move along the ground. 10 Resources.

Treads – Wha- Why the fuck? Why would you take this? You know these are mechs right? The all-terrain usefulness of legs is kind of the point of them? Well fine. I suppose they’ll go well with your Medium Suit. Treads impose -1 Dexterity, but give +20 Resources.

Rolling shield – because sometimes life is hard, and you just want to curl up into a ball – AND ROLL OVER YOUR ENEMIES, CRUSHING THEM INTO PASTE! This body system mounts a large cylindrical shield on your back. It gives +1 Durability but costs -1 Dexterity. You can choose to curl up in it, which grants a further +2 Durability but costs another -1 Dex and prevents you from using ranged weapons or secondary systems that don’t have the detection tag. 20 Resources.

Stripped Out – Tearing away large chunks of your armour so you’ve got more room for guns? I respect that. -1 Durability, +1 Strength. 10 Resources.

Mount – This is even dumber than the Treads option. You know the armour only protects you if you’re on the INSIDE, right? Ugh… Although, once you’re outside of the mech, there’s room inside for other stuff… yeah… Gain the size bonus of the next the next size up from you but you can’t wear or step inside the Mech. If you are hit outside the mech, you die. 30 Resources.


Interface:
How you control your mech.

Manual – Old school huh? I can respect that. You get extra resources, but you have to manually pilot your mech using levers, control consoles, and the like. Makes things awkward. -1 to Dexterity but +20 to Resources.

Nerve Suit – This connects your nervous system to your suit while worn through non-invasive tactile interaction, including a brainwave harness. This allows for more intuitive controls, letting you direct your mech like it was your own body. No cost, no bonus.

Mind Implant – This invasive cranial implant allows you to pilot your ship with your thoughts, even while not wearing it. You can instantly feel and see everything your mech does from as far away as the other side of the planet. 30 Resources.

Dreadnaught Upgrades – We’ll remove your limbs and replace them with special implants that connect directly into your mech. We’ll also remove most of your hindbrain and replace it with a highly advanced computers, allowing near-instantaneous reactions and incredible thought-speed while inside your mech. Instead of being an independent advisor your AI will be an extension of your mind, massively increasing your effectiveness. Hmm? Outside the mech? Well we’ll give you some prosthetics so you can leave it if you need to, but be warned – most pilots who take this upgrade report feeling vulnerable, isolated and… “lesser” while outside their mech, leading them to avoid getting out wherever possible. Grants +1 to Dexterity and -2 to Recharge. 20 Resources.


OS
The computer systems your mech uses. Take one and only one, unless you like your mech’s computers crashing in the middle of a fight.
HUD – The standard stack of sub-sentient programs, included by default amongst the other OS’s, although those have tweaks to suit their role. Warns you of missile lock, highlights visible mechs, runs a Suit diagnostic every 0.2 seconds, runs the comms suite and connects you to social media. 0 Resources.

Striker – An aggressive set of systems focused on close ranger attacks, ultra-rapid reactions and movement and hit-and-run blitz attacks. Helps pilot the suit, making micro-corrections to maximise your mobility. Grants +1 Speed and +1 Dexterity. 20 Resources.
Bombardier – A conservative OS that tracks ballistics, maximises ammo usage and corrects for target velocity. Makes micro-corrections to your aim while advising you of the optimal position to maximise your fields of fire. Adds half-again to the range of all weapons and adds +1 to Dexterity for the purposes of firing weapons. 20 Resources.

Coffin – A set of systems that focuses on defragging, streamlining and generally managing your Secondary Systems while maximising power output. Prevents (or at least minimises) unnecessary movement of the suit, leading to its name. +1 Power and -2 to Recharge. 20 Resources.

Guardian – OS that focuses on coordinating, managing and supporting strikes from other actors, such as drones and other mechs. Facilitates mech-to-mech communication by managing a communications network while sabotaging hostile hacking efforts. All friendly mechs and drones within your comms range gain +1 to Dexterity and count as having a Defense Maze if you have one. 20 Resources.

Sorcerer – An OS specialising in facilitating your perception comprehension of fourth- and fifth-dimensional space and paracausality. Enemies no longer receive cover against your attacks and you receive +1 to Dexterity when dodging attacks. You count as being able to “see” all targets within your comms range. WARNING: overuse of these systems can cause migraines, nasal bleeding, occipital bleeding, haemorrhaging in the hind brain and prefrontal cortex, manic episodes, depressive episodes, misanthropy, megalomania and severe hallucinations. Any alien creatures seen while using these systems are hallucinations resulting from overuse and should not be interacted with. 20 Resources.


Weapons – Finally, we get to the good stuff. The stronger you are, the more ordinance you can lug. 2 Light weapons cost 1 point of Strength. Heavy weapons cost 1 point of Strength each. Superheavy weapons cost 2 Strength each and can only be taken by Super-Heavy Mech Suits – they’re the only ones big enough to lift them.

Weapon Tags:

AOE– don’t need a direct hit to damage their enemies. Gain +1 Dex to hit.

Massive AOE – gain +2 Dex to hit, can hit multiple targets.

Melee – can only hit targets at close range but its much easier to hit, gain +2 Dex to hit.

Hacking – Ignores Durability, strikes targets within your comm range.

Light weapons:

Dual Submachine Guns – High rate of fire, low damage, low range, high ammo. AOE. 10 Resources.

Grenade Launcher – Low rate of fire, medium damage, medium range, medium ammo. AOE. 10 Resources.

Laser Rifle – Low rate of fire, high damage, long range, low ammo. Also counts as a Secondary System. 20 Resources.

Tracer Rifle – tags targets hit by it, preventing them from receiving a cover bonus against you or drones or mechs friendly to you until their next recharge. Medium rate of fire, low damage, medium range, low ammo. 20 Resources.

Mortar – Low rate of fire, medium damage, long range, low ammo. Massive AOE. 20 Resources.

EMP wave – a close-range omni-directional EMP burst. Hits all targets in low range, inflicting 1 point of EMP damage to them. 20 Resources.

Flamethrower – A terrifying weapon… that is totally ineffective against other Mechs. But it looks cool and spreads fire and smoke around. Medium rate of fire, low damage, low range, medium ammo. 10 Resources.

Energy blade – a bladed weapon, sharpened to a mono-molecular edge and sheathed in plasma or some other power. Deals your strength in damage. Melee. 10 Resources.

Psionic Channeller – Requires Circe Suite. A staff or other weapon that allows you to channel your psionic energy through it into focused blasts of bio-electricity. Low rate of fire, medium damage, long range, infinite ammo. 20 Resources.

Psionic Punisher – Requires Circe Suite. A sword or other bladed melee weapon that allows you to focus your psionic energy along it into a cutting edge. Melee, high damage. 20 Resources.

Peekaboo_I_See_You – Hacking. This program allows you to infiltrate other mech’s systems and observe them, monitoring their comm traffic and identifying the location of every other mech they’re in communication with. Requires the target mech be in comm range, does not alert the target of your hack unless they have a Defence Maze. 20 Resources.

Children_Who_Won’t_Play_Responsibly – Hacking. Disables one of the target’s Secondary Systems until they complete a full recharge. 20 Resources.

Heavy Weapons

Heavy Armour – Not a weapon, but gives you +2 to Durability. Cannot take this weapon more than once. 10 Resources.

Deployable Energy Shield – Grants +1 Dexterity to you and nearby mechs within low range for the purposes of dodging fire from outside the shield’s effect. Lasts until you need to recharge. 10 Resources.

Psionic Shield – Requires Psionics Power System. You can take 1 EMP damage to add +3 to Durability against one attack once per recharge. 20 Resources.

Autocannon – Your basic heavy weapon, fires a stream of high-calibre shells. Medium rate of fire, medium damage, long range, high ammo. 10 Resources.

Rail Rifle – Similar to the Autocannon but uses magnetic energy to fire solid rounds at unbelievable velocities. Costs one Power. Low Rate of Fire, High Damage, Long Range, Low Ammo. 20 Resources.

Magnastorm – fires huge packed sabots of Tungsten shrapnel. Shreds anything in front of it. High Rate of Fire, high damage, short range, low ammo. AOE. 20 Resources.

HEAT Cannon – A much larger, more concentrated version of the laser. Costs two power. Low rate of fire, high damage, extreme range, low ammo. 20 Resources.

Howitzer – an enormously powerful artillery cannon. Fires at extreme ranges, but its hard to land a solid hit with it. Low rate of fire, high damage, high range, low ammo. Massive AOE. 30 Resources.

Rocket Pods – Fire a barrage of smart missiles at an opponent. Missiles will follow a target and loop back around if they miss, imposing -2 Dexterity on attempts to dodge them. Medium rate of fire, medium damage, long range, medium ammo. 40 Resources.
Proximity Mines – Explosives triggered whenever a hostile mech or tank enters their range. Can be detonated remotely as well. Medium Damage, AOE. 10 Resources.

Lightning Cannon – A more directed version of the EMP blast. Does not actually shoot lightning. Deals 2 EMP to whatever it hits. Medium rate of fire, long range, medium ammo. 20 Resources.

Impact Hammer – Massively increases the kinetic impact of the blows of this weapon. An unprotected person even standing near this thing when it hits its target would have their organs liquified. Melee. Deals twice your strength in damage. 30 Resources.

Running_With_Scissors – Hacking. Target immediately attacks itself with one of its own weapons. Does not effect Superheavy weapons or weapons with the Hacking tag. 20 Resources.

And_Think_About_What_You’ve_Done – Hacking. Target immediately loses all benefits from its OS, including comms, until it completes a full recharge. Target cannot be hacked again until its comms are restored. 30 Resources.

Mounted Grapple Cannons – Targets hit by this weapon cannot dodge incoming attacks and cannot move further away from you than they already are. This effect lasts until you next take damage or are shut down. This weapon cannot be used against mechs that are of a larger Suit size than you. 20 Resources.

Through the Looking Glass – Requires Sorcerer OS. When firing this weapon, choose a target you can see. You immediately move to a spot adjacent to them. The target and anything that perceives this action immediately takes Medium damage. This attack is undodgeable. Mechs with the Sorcerer OS cannot be harmed by this weapon. 30 Resources.

Superheavy Weapons

El Blanco Array – An array of space-warping machines that create a miniature black hole at a point nearby. It’s incredibly powerful but also incredibly prone to malfunction under any kind of stress – all it takes is a little dust on a lense or in an intake and the miniatures black holes will appear inside the array. Repeated firings of this weapon are NOT advised. Low rate of fire, Extreme power, Extreme Range, Low Ammo, Massive AOE. 30 Resources.

Theoretical Rifle – A gun that doesn’t actually fire, instead messing with probability so it misfires on every shot, only firing in theory. As modern science has yet to develop “theoretical” defences, it’s devastating, the “shot” able to bypass even mech armour. Inflicts -4 Durability on its targets when determining damage. Low Rate of Fire, Low damage, Medium range, low ammo. 40 Resources.
Pacification Burstcaster – The ultimate peacemaker. Emits an omni-directional burst of EMP designed to shut down anything and everything on the battlefield. Inflicts 3 EMP on all targets within Long range. 40 Resources.

Earth Scorcher – Have you ever wondered, “hey, what if I could just press a button and commit a war crime?” Well, wonder no more! The Earth Scorcher is the WMD for you. When you fire it, it lets out a wide-angle blast of high-intensity radiation that saturates kilometres of battlefield in front of you with enough death to make Chernobyl green with envy. Every biological creature inside the range of this attack dies and nothing can grow there for ten thousand years. Mechs are relatively resistant to this attack, due to their sealed systems, but spending too long in the area of effect is going to hurt. Low rate of fire, Extreme range, low ammo. 30 Resources.

Mommy_Knows_Best – Hacking. Arguably gets you on more short lists than the Earth Scorcher. Allows this mech to seize control of other mechs within its comm range and maintain that control as long as they remain within range, do not gain the benefits of a Guardian’s Defense Maze and this mech does not require recharging or get shut down by EMP. 50 Resources.

Deus Tyrannis – Requires Psionics Power System. I, while living, have conquered the universe. When you fire this weapon, immediately inflict High damage on any target you can see. This attack is undodgeable. 50 Resources.

Secondary Sytems
Point Defense – provides +2 Durability against ranged attacks. 20 Resources.
Plasma Shield – Negates one attack that successfully hits you. Requires a full recharge before it can be used again. 20 Resources.

Third Eye – Requires Circe Suite. A system that allows pilots to peer short distances into temporal potentials. Paradox-proof, allowing the pilot to violate causality but not paracausality. When dodging an attack, the pilot receives +1 Dexterity. WARNING: Overuse of this system may cause social withdrawal, Cotard’s Delusion, Endogenous Tetris effects, Global Capgras Syndrome and severe hallucinations. Non-existant creatures perceived using this system are hallucinations and should be ignored. 10 Resources.

Tremorsense – Detection. Allows you to vaguely sense the positions of things underground, informing you of their approximate positioning as long as you remain in contact with the earth, but doesn’t disregard the cover bonus. 20 Resources.

Radar – Detection. Detects movement in the air at extreme range. 20 Resources.

Infra-red – Detection. Allows you to see through Light Cover, stopping enemies from benefitting from it. 30 Resources.

Light Drone Swarm – Your own little minions. Drones are stupid and cannot perform complex tasks/strategies without your guidance and supervision. They have one body system as a chasis (can’t take flight, burrowing, stripped out or mount). Their stats are Dex/Speed 2, Durability/Strength 1, Power 0, Recharge 0 plus the bonuses from the chasis. They can’t take weapons. Then choose one role for them: Spotters (removes the cover bonus against you for enemies they can see, they have the same detection upgrades as you); Comm Drones (drones with the same comm upgrades as you, their comm range counts as your comm range for the purposes of hacking); Scavengers (can scavenge scrap metal from the area to repair damaged mechs); or Swarmers (come with energy blades). You get 5 Drones for 10 Resources.

Heavy Drone Swarm – Big Minions. Drones are stupid and cannot perform complex tasks/strategies without your guidance and supervision. Take any one body system (besides mount) as a chasis. Their stats are: Dex 3, Durability/Strength/Speed 2 plus the bonuses from the body mod, Power and Recharge are 0. Can take one light weapon for each point of strength they have. 2 Drones for 20 Resources.

Defence Maze – An extremely sophisticated suite of anti-intrusion firewalls and defensive programs. Renders you immune to being hacked. 30 Resources.

Hardlight Decoys – A holographic projector that creates decoy copies of you. Decoys have to be within close proximity to you or they dissolve. Decoys are disrupted by any hits. 20 Resources.

Jump Jets – For when you need to get somewhere in a hurry. Adds +4 to Speed for one movement. Must be recharged before it can be used again. Doesn’t require flying. 20 Resources.

Cloaking Device – Sophisticated camera/vid screens on every external surface on your mech allow you to turn completely invisible to the naked eye, although you can still be detected by infra-red, radar and tremor sense. Useful if you want to evade hostile actors or spy on people in the shower. You always count as being in Light Cover. 20 Resources.

Repair Systems – An arrangement of extra arms with built-in tools and the programs to use them that allows you to repair other mechs. 10 Resources.

Nano-drone swarm – A huge swarm of what appears to be dark grey dust, that swarm over and attempt to dissemble any hostile fire or mechs within range. Provides heavy cover to your and any friendly mechs within low range and inflicts low damage to any hostiles at low range, but costs 2 power. Disabled by an EMP hit, requires a full recharge before it can be used again. 20 Resources.


System Upgrades. Cannot take multiple of the same upgrade.

Energy Capacitors – +1 Power. 20 Resources.

Solar Panels – -2 Recharge. 20 Resources.

Kinetic Stabilisers – +1 Speed. 20 Resources.

Manoeuvering Rockets – +1 Dex. 20 Resources.

Enhanced Exoskeleton – +1 Strength. 20 Resources.

Up Armour – +1 Durability. 20 Resources.

Superfaraday Cage – reduces incoming EMP damage by 1. 20 Resources.

EMP Overcharge – EMP damage you inflict is increased by 1. 20 Resources.

Dead Zone Projector – Disrupts psionics. Psionic Mechs within medium range of this mech cannot use their psionic blast and suffer 2 EMP damage as long as they remain within medium range of the mech. WARNING: Prolonged exposure to the Deadzone may cause depressive episodes, flattened affect, ataxia, executive dysfunction or transient global amnesia. 20 Resources.

Comms Upgrade LVL 1 – You can communicate with and over satellites, vastly increasing the range of your communications. 10 Resources.

Comms Upgrade Level 2 – You can connect to other mechs directly via point-to-point lasers without needing another medium. You can always communicate with mechs you can see, even if their communications are turned off. 20 Resources.

Environmental Resistance LVL 1 – You can survive in Space. 20 Resources.

Environ Resistance LVL 2 – You can survive in the centre of the earth. 20 Resources.


Pilot Upgrades

Diomedes Suite – Do you want to be exceptional, even when surrounded by other Mechanised? Do you want to be superhumanly tough outside the mech? Do you want abs you can grind meat on? Then you’ll love this upgrade. We’ll take some of the tech that goes into your mech and apply it to you. Your organs will be streamlined and optimised to be 1000% more efficient, your muscles will be crafted from a techno-organic hybrid alloy that can crush steel and your bones will be as tough as tank armour. You’ll also be buffer than most bodybuilders and stand between seven and eight feet tall. Outside of the mech you count as having 1 Strength/Durability/Speed/Dexterity. Has no effect for non-Mesh Suit wielders while inside the mech, but provides +1 to Speed and Strength for Mesh Suits. 40 Resources.

Circe Suite – The first step on the path to madness. Gives you the ability to manipulate the physical world with your mind, pushing and lifting objects via telekinesis, and the ability to fire bolts of bio-electricity at your enemies. Don’t ask me how it works. Gain a low damage low range attack with infinite ammo. 20 Resources.

Achilles Suite – A system of implants and upgrades for your lympathic and endocrine systems, creating a system of glands that allow you to ignore and override any pain or damage you may sustain. However, it also causes extreme aggression and hyperfocuses your attention to the point where you may struggle to think tactically. While outside of your mech, if you activate this system you gain +1 Durability and +1 Dexterity. If you activate it while inside, you gain +1 Dexterity, but you cannot make use of any weapons with the Hacking tag, any weapon that requires the Circe Suite or Psionics Power System, any weapon that requires the Sorcerer OS, the Deployable Energy Shield, or any Secondary System besides Jump Jets or Defence Maze. This system is active until the end of your current battle. 20 Resources.

Cyber-Brain – An extremely intricate operation will enhance your brain by stripping out your neural sheathes, axons and dendrites and replacing them with vastly superior prosthetics. Greatly increases processing power, learning speed and retention of information, as well as allowing you to run your OS directly in your mind and receive its bonuses outside your mech. WARNING: May cause personality drift towards any OS utilised as well as Transhuman psychosis. +1 Dexterity in and out of your mech. 20 Resources.
AI – Not really an upgrade for you, but an upgrade for your OS. Makes it vastly more intelligent, including giving it self-awareness. This makes it much more effective as an assistant to you, and you can delegate tasks to it such as piloting the mech or co-ordinating your drones.  Be warned, while they are loyal to you, empathy is not a standard feature and most AIs do not have it and will never develop it. What? Why are you looking at me like that? Doubles any stat bonuses you receive from your OS. 20 Resources.


Threats you will face:

Governments – So turns out vast monolithic bureaucracies run by men steeped in realpolitik don’t particularly care for having yahoos with WMDs shooting up the place. Who knew? You can expect to face soldiers, tanks, bombers, fighter jets, battle ships and even nuclear strikes as these guys try to crush you and grind you into either servitude or dust. They won’t give you a moment’s piece – the second you step out of this pod you’ll be a wanted fugitive. Your family will be arrested at best and held hostage or even executed at worst. They will run propaganda pieces on the six o’clock news about how deranged and dangerous you are. They may even send their own low-tech super soldiers and mechs after you once they’ve dissected and decoded enough of your fellow Mechanised. Make no mistake, fighting these guys is going to be tough.

Other Mechs – Oh yeah, the other yahoos with WMDs. Not all of them will be your enemies, but after running a few quick and extremely in-depth simulations we have identified three factions that seem likely to emerge in the aftermath of the mass-availability of Mechanisation. The factions you are not aligned with will likely seek to destroy you. They’re listed in the next section for your perusal.

SECRET – shhhhhhhh. I can’t tell you, but tell you what – if you survive for two years, you’ll find out.

Factions:
Knights – Independent mechs or small groups fighting for survival and freedom in their own backyard. Run solo or join up with others to stake a claim on your local turf. Knights tend to be more interested in non-lethal combat, “fighting fair” and the pageantry of Mech-to-Mech combat than they are in dominating the battlefield and destroying their enemies. Which, in a way, makes them the sanest bunch out there. If you don’t want to join a faction you’ll probably end up running with these guys by default.

Government – Don’t like the idea of your entire family being unpersoned? You can just join the man. You’ll mostly be deployed fighting Mechs from the other factions at their behest, although you’ll receive a tremendous salary and leeway to do basically whatever you want in your own time. As long as you keep in mind where your fortune comes from and protect the status quo from the pseudo-feudalism of the Knights and the New World Order of the Conquerors, you and your new masters will get along just fine.

New Conquerors – Members of the Mechanised who believe they are inherently superior to baseline homo-sapiens, and as such should be entrusted with all bureaucratic and political decision-making. They are perfectly happy to commit acts of extreme violence to dismantle the old power structures and usher in a new age where everyone but them are second-class citizens. If you want to take the fight to the governments who would destroy you for even existing with the power to defy them, then this is the faction for you. The Knights will defy the government, but only as a part of their “cops-and-robbers” game with them. Its these extremists who will want to go all the way and destroy them. That said, the system these people will impose afterwards will almost certainly be worse. Transhuman psychosis is a powerful drug.

Companions:

Alright, you’re almost finished. Now we just have to wait for the external 3d printers to do their work. In the mean time, I’ve identified a number of other Mechanised who have already finished their mechs and have made their tentative first steps out into the world. If you want, I could send messages to two of them, see if they would be interested in meeting up with you. It could be the start of some beautiful friendships…

MORE COMPANIONS TO BE ADDED LATER. COMPANIONS ARE GOING TO BE UNUSUAL OR WEIRD BUILDS THAT FUDGE THE RULES A BIT.

Atalanta – Mesh Suit

Jeez that’s a big lady. When she stepped into the pod she was 4’10”. Now she’s twice that and can crush Mechs with her bare hands. Near as I can tell, she somehow convinced her ALICE to take all the Strength and Durability upgrades and apply them to her Diomedes Suite instead of her Mesh Suit. So that means despite her armour being as flimsy as wet cardboard she’s tougher than solid Tungsten and her hammer hits harder than a battleships’ big guns. Personality wise she’s blunt and stubborn, but she has a strong will and is likely to be protective of her teammates. I can send her a message if you’d like to get to know a melee fighter who puts most Heavy Mechs to shame – or if you just want to get to know a lady with quads the size of your torso…

STATS: Dexterity 4, Power 4, Durability 4, Speed 4, Strength 4, Recharge 0. Equipment: Cloaking Device, Infra-Red, Defense Maze.

A Boy and his Friend - Superheavy Suit

I was a bit unsure about letting a kid into the pod, but its turned out wonderfully. He straight up ignored his ALICE’s pointed comments about being safer inside the Mech and made himself a Superheavy Bio Mount Striker AI Mech he as a Mind Implant for – he basically made himself a giant lizard monster, gave it laser eyes, fire breath, impact jaws, jump jets and shoulder-mounted howitzers and now he’s just roaming around with his big friend. Its weirdly adorable. Also mildly alarming, because he’s already won three fights against other mechs, and a skirmish with government troops. You’d think a Bio Superheavy mech would be weak, but the extra speed and aggression has made it work. The kid himself is kinda dumb and naïve, but he’s got a good heart and he’s excited to watch his kaiju friend fight some giant robots. He’d be a powerful ally to have.

STATS: Dexterity 4, Power 3, Durability 4, Speed 3, Strength 6, Recharge 8. Equipment: Two Howitzers, Laser Rifle, Flamethrower, Jump Jets.