Anyone playing Mechamorphosis?

[DnDChick]

Ok, a friend of mine wants me to try to run a Mechamorphosis one-shot, so I am trying to learn the rules. It all seems pretty straightforward, but I'd like some input from others who might be more experienced with the system.

Here's my first attempt at a character to get a feel for the rules.

PUNCHBUG
“There will be two hits: me hitting you, and you hitting the floor.”

Punchbug is small but fierce. She is a hand-to-hand expert, and often charges headlong into battle without even thinking to retrieve her rifle.

Mechamorph Soldier 1
Hit Points: 14 (24 with my bonus hp house rule)
Armor Class: 18 (-1 size, +6 class, +3 Dex), touch 12, flat-footed 15
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: +6
Attack: +1, +2 blaster carbine
Damage: 2d6+2 (Unarmed), 2d6 (blaster rifle) (3d6 using my weapon size house rule)
Saves: Fort +4, Ref +3, Will -1
Abilities: Str 15, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 10
Skills: Athletics 4 (+6), Build/Repair (Simple) 4 (+5), Senses 4 (+3)
Feats: Improved Grapple, Improved Unarmed Strike
Form Feats: Alt Form Strike, Armor Boost 2, Greater Improved Unarmed Strike, Increased Acceleration 2
Class Ability: Brawler (Counts as Huge size when grappling)
Priorities: Alt Form: 1 (Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, Size Large), Form Feats: 3 (Up to 6), Ability Scores: 4 (32 pts.), Special Power: 5 (Nexus Empowerment, +6 to Str, +1 to hit for 1 round), Gear: 2 (4 points, Blaster Rifle, All-Terrain Tires)

Morph Sequence: Car body hinges and extends just past the front wheels, hood and front bumper form the torso, rear portion splits in two to form the legs, rear wheel wells and fenders rotate downward to form the feet, front wheels and fenders form the arms and hands, head extends upward from a spot just past the hood.

http://www.vw.com/newbeetlecon/en/us/

Everything seem like it adds up?

I do have a question... What is the Weapon Network feat? It's not described.

 

[DnDChick]

Here's another one. I think I'm getting the hang of it.

I do find it a little odd that your size has no bearing on your Strength score. In fact, if you make size a priority, you have even fewer points to spend on ability scores. I guess it works out for balance purposes, but it still "feels" odd to me that my VW up there is stronger than this Winnebago that's a full 2 size categories larger. Maybe I'm just reading too much into a simple "beer and pretzels" game.


ROADTRIP
“Freedom is the open road.”

Roadtrip is a consummate explorer. He has an intense curiosity about the alien world on which he finds himself stranded, and often goes off by himself on long drives through the country. Roadtrip can often be found cruising in his alt form in national parks, coastal roads, and anywhere there is a “scenic route.” He has little use for combat, but does not shirk his duties when the need for it arises.

Mechamorph Scientist 1
Hit Points: 7 (27 using my bonus hp house rule)
Armor Class: 10 (-4 size, +3 class, +1 Dex), touch 7, flat-footed 9
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: +13
Attack: -3 melee, -3 ranged
Damage: 2d8+1 (Unarmed), 2d6 (blaster rifle) (4d6 using my weapon size house rule)
Saves: Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +4
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 10
Skills: Build/Repair (simple) 4 (+7), Computer Use 4 (+7), Concentration 4 (+5), Knowledge (Earth Biology, Earth Culture, and Earth Geography) 4 (+7, +10 for Geography), Pilot 4 (+5), Programming (Ecologist) 4 (+7), Senses 4 (+6)
Feats: Skill Focus (Earth Geography)
Form Feats: Gear Slot 4, Lab Tools, Repair Tools
Class Ability: Database (1d20+4)
Priorities: Alt Form: 2 (Winnebago Sightseer Recreational Vehicle [stats as semi trailer], Size Gargantuan), Form Feats: 3 (Up to 6), Ability Scores: 4 (32 pts.), Special Power: 1 (Nexus Enrichment, as the resistance spell), Gear: 5 (16 points, All-Terrain Tires, Cable [primary and alt forms], LIght Source [primary and alt forms], Reinforced Bumper, Winch [primary and alt forms], 1/R Sensors, Lab Tools 3 [primary and alt forms], Blaster Rifle)

Morph Sequence: Front portion splits, extends, and higes to form the legs, arms rotate out of the sides and lock into place with the rear wheels at the shoulders, rear half swivels around at the waist to reveal the front of the torso and head.

http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/winnebago/sightseer/

 

[DnDChick]

I might scale Roadtrip down to Huge size. Checking the stats of the Sightseer, it's only 26 feet long. Granted that's a big RV, but it's well within the Huge size category. That will help his AC and combat a little by decreasing his size penalty.

 

[Hjorimir]

I don't really know anything about the game (other than the fact that it has a catchy name), but I'd say from looking at your examples you're doing a great job capturing a Transformers feel.

 

[DnDChick]

I don't really know anything about the game (other than the fact that it has a catchy name),

You can get the PDf for $5 here:
http://enworld.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=8704&src=RPGShop

but I'd say from looking at your examples you're doing a great job capturing a Transformers feel.

Heehee... thanks. The guy who wants me to run this said the same thing. (I think he should actually run it, since he's the big Transformers fan, but he wants to play, not run. lol)

I just think of a vehicle, assign a "personality" to it, and come up with a catchy quote. It's not that hard.

BTW, I recognize your username at the True20 Boards. I'm True20Chick over there. This game is simple enough that it could probably be fairly easily converted to True20. I don't plan to do that for the one-shot game I'm running, but if someone was more interested in a campaign and liked True20, it wouldn't take much work at all.

 

[DnDChick]

Hmm... I also just noticed that the soldier class has the 3/4 level attack bonus advancement. I wonder if that's on purpose or errata? Most combat types in d20 have an attack bonus equal to level. For now, I'll assume its on purpose. I've adjusted Punchbug's attack line accordingly.

 

[drothgery]

Hmm... I also just noticed that the soldier class has the 3/4 level attack bonus advancement. I wonder if that's on purpose or errata? Most combat types in d20 have an attack bonus equal to level.

I'm pretty sure the Soldier advanced class in d20 modern doesn't.

 

[hafrogman]

We tried running a PbP game of it here on the boards a while ago. While it's great fun, the game design itself seems to have a few serious holes that need patching. We felt that the soldier class had 3/4 advancement because gigantic robots were already pretty easy to hit. But the size differences caused major issues, and if I remember correctly, ramming was by far the most lethal combat method.

if you feel like taking a look over our discussions or our characters or the game itself.

 

[DnDChick]

Thanks! I'll read those later when I have a chance. I'm at work now.

I think the first hole I see that needs plugging is the size and strength disparity.

Do you think it would be a problem to nix the Strength rules in the book and go back to regular values?

My idea is that the 8 base for Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are based in a Medium-size alt form. If your alt form is larger, you'd use the size change rules in the Monster Manual to adjust Str and Con up and Dex down.

Thus, the stats for a Large mechamorph would be Str 18, Dex 6, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 8, Cha 9 and you buy them up from there. The Large mechamorph would also get a +2 bonus to AC, since AC increases with size as well.

This works in the opposite direction, too, if you want to make smaller ones.

You don't need to tinker much with carrying capacity, because that's already adjusted for size.

Doing this would increase hand-to-hand damage as well as hit points, so the firearms damage might have to be tweaked as well. I'll tinker with that later.

Right now, as someone who has had some experience with the game, how much to you think this would affect things?

 

[DnDChick]

I tried out my idea, and the characters gain some HP and a significant bonus to AC and to melee attack rolls and damage. The attack bonus is balanced out somewhat by the AC boost, but the increase in HP isn’t really enough to counter it.

Still, mechamorphs get that DR 10/nexus energy trait that also helps counter the high melee damage bonus. It would also make nexus energy melee weapons all that more dangerous, though, since they bypass the DR.

If I did that, it would change Roadtrip thusly: +24 to Str, -4 to Dex, +12 to Con, +9 to AC

Mechamorph Scientist 1
Hit Points: 13
Armor Class: 18 (-4 size, +9 bonus, +3 class, -1 Dex), touch 15, flat-footed 19
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: +25
Attack: +9 melee (-4 size, +13 Str), -5 ranged (-4 size, -1 Dex)
Damage: 2d8+13 (Unarmed), 2d6 (blaster rifle)
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +1, Will +4
Abilities: Str 37, Dex 8, Con 25, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 10

The changes to Punchbug would be: +8 Str, -2 Dex, +4 Con, +2 AC

PUNCHBUG
Mechamorph Soldier 1
Hit Points: 16
Armor Class: 19 (-1 size, +6 class, +2 bonus, +2 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed 17
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: +14
Attack: +5 melee (+6 unarmed) (-1 size, +6 Str), +1 ranged (-1 size, +2 Dex)
Damage: 1d8+6 (Unarmed), 1d10 (blaster carbine)
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +2, Will -1
Abilities: Str 23, Dex 15, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 10



I think if I do this, I'd have to increase the cost for Alt Size priority. I like the way things work out with this method, since it gets rid of the need for special rules regarding size and damage, but the larger mechamorphs come out way overpowered in the area of Strength and melee attacks.

Any input?