Anyone playing Mechamorphosis?

[Impeesa]

Form feats can be used to buy extra gear slots. If someone finds themselves short on gear points to spend on weapons or tech gear they can drop a few form feats into Gear Slots.

It's also a good way to beef up a sagging Armor Class brough about by increased size with the Armor Boost form feat.

Hm. The way I'm reading the Gear Slot feat (I am assuming that's the one you're referring to), it doesn't grant you more priority points to spend. I think it just allows you to increase your limit for how much gear/weapons can be linked to your alt form - after all, some forms are quite restrictive for how much gear can be linked to them. That's a separate can of worms, though. Looking at it now, it seems like if you prioritize gear at 5 and alt form at 1, you have no form choices that can have that much gear linked. Any time you switched to alt form, you'd have your extra gun rattling around loose in your pickup bed or something.

I like the idea for applying the construct hit point rule in some form. Though mechamorphs have the hp bonus from con that constructs lack, it would be very nice to have a built-in way for very large characters to not be ridiculous glass cannons in melee. The only problem is that matching their defenses to their offensive ability starts to make the available choices balanced only in the RIFTS sense of the word.

--Impeesa--

 

[DnDChick]

A friend of mine just suggested a simple and elegant way of handling the strength discrepancy problem.

Extra melee damage is already taken care of with the increased damage due to size. To handle other matters of Strength, such as when you need to make a Strength check, simply apply a bonus to your roll of +4 per size category above Medium. Elegantly enough, this is the same bonus you'd get if you did use the size change rules to increase the Strength score.

That way, you can still represent a high strength without also having a high bonus to damage and melee attacks.

So, that's what I plan to do.

Large: +4 bonus on Strength checks.
Huge: +8 bonus on Strength checks.
Gargantuan: +12 bonus on Strength checks.
Colossal: +16 bonus on Strength checks.
Immense: +20 bonus on Strength checks.

One problem solved.

Now, the issue with hit points...

I'll (pardon the expression) grind my gears over that for a little while longer.

Also, some ideas are rolling in from the players. No names as of yet, but so far the ideas include:

A garbage truck Controller, whose companion is a big garbage can that transforms into a dog

A motorcycle (with sidecar) soldier who is a sniper. The sidecar may or may not be made into a companion.

A police car soldier who is a melee combat expert. The police lightbar turns into a power sword.

An animech of some kind.

The Tyrants I've come up with so far are:

Gravesite and Tombstone, a hearse/casket Controller.

Blackhat, a device massmorpher that transforms into a wireless router (gawd I am SUCH a geek... ). He has the special power suggestion, which lets him assume limited control over enemy robots.

Backlash, a backhoe with the extra form special ability to transform into a scorpion. (The front bucket splits into the forward claws, and the hoe inverts to form the scorpion tail).

 

[DnDChick]

BLACKHAT
“Your mind doesn’t matter.”

Back on MechaTerra, Blackhat was a computer networking specialist and top-level data spy. Since his arrival on Earth, he has found his job all the easier thanks to primitive human technology. Although he despises his boxy, inefficient-looking alt form, he is still quite proud of his ability to bring world commerce to a screeching halt with just a few minutes of work. Even more frightening, he has the ability to wirelessly hack into the very processors of other mechamorphs and issue commands they feel compelled to carry out! He is currently in the employ of DevCorp, acting as a double-agent for Vorpal.

Mechamorph Scout 1
Hit Points: 9
Armor Class: 14 (+3 class, +1 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed 13
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: +0
Attack: +0 melee, +1 ranged
Damage: 1d6 (unarmed), 1d10 (blaster carbine)
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +3, Will -1
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 8, Cha 10
Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+5), Athletics 4 (+4), Build/Repair (Complex) 2 (+7), Build/Repair (Simple) 4 (+9), Computer Use 4 (+24), Concentration 4 (+5), Fine Manipulation 4 (+5), Interaction 4 (+4), Knowledge (Geography and Human Culture) 4 (+9), Pilot 4 (+5), Programming (Computer Tech) 4 (+9), Senses 4 (+3)
Feats: Greater Special Power Focus, Special Power Focus
Form Feats: Masterwork Tech Object (+5 to Computer Use), Repair Tools
Class Ability: Defense (+1 doge bonus per 2 scout levels if fighting defensively)
Priorities: Alt Form: 3 (Medium/Tiny Massmorph; wireless router, +10 to Computer Use), Form Feats: 1 (Up to 2), Ability Scores: 5 (36 pts.), Special Power: 4 (‘Bot Hack, as suggestion spell, Int-based, Will save DC 20), Gear: 2 (Blaster Carbine)

Morph Sequence: Each side of the router splits, slides up or down, and rotates to form arms and legs, the front of the router forms the torso with the status lights beneath th the head, which rises up from the center, the wireless antenna attaches to the back of the robot form, while all this is going on it increases in size.

I’m assuming that the save DC calculation is the same as the spell save DC, 10 + spell level + key ability (or in this case 9 + priority + key ability).

 

[DnDChick]

I've added morph sequence descriptions to all of the 'bots I've posted so far.

 

[DnDChick]

One of the characters has been turned in.

LONGSHOT
Function: Sniper

Motorcycle w/sidecar

Stats: STR 10, DEX 18, CON 12, INT 14, WIS 16, CHA 10
Base Attack: +0
Attack: +0 melee +4 ranged
AC: 18 touch 14, ff 14
Saves: Fort 3, Ref 4, Wil 3
HP: 13
Form Feats: Concealed Weapon, Gear Slot, Gear Slot,
Bonus Feat: Point Blank Shot
First Lvl Feat: Combat Pilot
Class Ability: Marksmech 1
Skills: Pilot 8, Build/Repair 6, Knowledge (Warfare) 6, Senses 7
Gear: Light source (spotlight on sidecar) 1, Longrange Visual 1, Blaster Rifle (in side car alt form) 3, Automatic Blaster Rifle 7
Special Power: Primary form link (Segment of Sidecar becomes an Owl named Spotter) Rank 3

 

[DnDChick]

Here is Gravesite's companion, Tombstone.


TOMBSTONE
“Don’t fear death. Fear me.”

Mechamorph Scout 1
Hit Points: 8
Armor Class: 16 (+1 size, +3 class, +2 Dex), touch 13, flat-footed 14
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: -4
Attack: +1 melee (+1 size), +3 ranged (+1 size, +2 Dex)
Damage: 1d6 (unarmed), or 1d8 (morningstar)
Saves: Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +0
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+6), Athletics 4 (+4), Build/Repair (Simple) 4 (+4), Fine Manipulation 4 (+10), Interaction 4 (+4), Knowledge (Human Culture) 4 (+4), Stealth 4 (+10), Senses 4 (+4)
Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative
Class Ability: Sneak Attack (+1d6 damage)

Morph Sequence: Arms slide out from the side of the casket, lower half of the casket splits to become the legs, casket lid flips up and over top to slide down the back of the body like a cape (similar to Gravesite’s “cape”) to reveal a ghostly white face as if a body is peering out from inside the casket.

*When making up Tombstone, I made the discovery that Scouts don't get Stealth as a class skill. I've houseruled that in.

 

[Shawn Carman]

This thread is awesome.

I'll see if I can find my old logs of the campaign I ran when this book first came out. In between bouts of mocking laughter you might be able to find some nugget of inspiration.

 

[DnDChick]

Ok here are my solutions to the three main problems I've run into: Strength vs. Size, Hit Points, and Human Scale. I've also included some minor errata.

The Strength vs. Size Discrepancy:
A Mechamorph recieves a +4 bonus on Strength checks per size category above Medium and a -4 penaly per size category below Medium. This bonus does not include a bonus to hit or to damage. This rule will be applied in reverse to D&D/d20 monsters used as alien menaces.
Diminutive: -12 bonus on Strength checks.
Tiny: -8 bonus on Strength checks.
Small: -4 bonus on Strength checks.
Large: +4 bonus on Strength checks.
Huge: +8 bonus on Strength checks.
Gargantuan: +12 bonus on Strength checks.
Colossal: +16 bonus on Strength checks.
Immense: +20 bonus on Strength checks.

The Hit Points Discrepancy:
A Mechamorph recieves 10 bonus hit points per size category above Medium. This may seem like an unfair benefit, but with their relatively low AC's, the larger Mechamorphs will be getting hit a lot more often.
Large: +10 bonus hp.
Huge: +20 bonus hp.
Gargantuan: +30 bonus hp.
Colossal: +40 bonus hp.
Immense: +50 bonus hp.

Mechamorph Weapon Damage:
The damage listed for the Mechamorph weapons assumes a Medium size wielder. Use the Increased Damage by Size table on pg. 44 to increase the weapon damage according to the Mechamorph's primary form size. Again, this may seem unfairly weighed towards the larger Mechamorphs, but the lower AC and the size penalty to hit helps balance out the increased damage.

Human Scale:
With the changes above, (hopefully) one could play a human using the d20 Modern rules without requiring special rules. Since Mechamporphs have a +6 level adjustment, a human in a 1st-level Mechamorph game begins play at 7th level. Alternately, the player of a human character could run two characters with total levels adding up to 7.

Minor Errata:
Stealth: The Stealth skill is described, but none of the Mechamorph classes have it as a class skill. Stealth is a class skill for Scouts.
Speed in Alt Form: According to some errata I found at the FFG forums (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?num=1107136335), the speed of a Mechamorph in primary form is:
Medium: 40 ft.
Large: 40 ft.
Huge: 50 ft.
Gargantuan: 50 ft.
Colossal: 60 ft.
Immense: 60 ft.

Also, a bot's highest class level provides a modifier to speed, as shown below:
Controller: -10 ft.
Scientist: +0 ft.
Soldier: +10 ft.
Scout: +20 ft.

Other House Rules:
Carrying Capacity: Incorporating the Strength bonus rules from above, use the following formula to determine the carrying capacity of a Mechamorph: Strength + (2x Strength Check Bonus) = Effective Strength.
Size for Semis: The semi truck size is Huge, not Gargantuan, and includes such vehicles as busses, and large RVs. The alt form of a semi truck is only Gargantuan if it incorporates the trailer itself into the primary form. (Even big city busses aren't more than 30 feet long, which puts them well under the minimum size for Gargantuan. A semi truck with a trailer is about 50 ft. long, which is within the Gargantuan category.)
Use of d20 Modern: Feats from the d20 Modern and d20 Future books will be allowed for Mechamorphs on a case-by-case basis after review by the GM (me).
Use of Miniatures: I like using a battle mat and miniatures. In the absence of properly-scaled Transformers toys, I'll be using dice or other markers to represent characters. If you want, you can purchase a "Hot Wheels" car of the proper design to represent your vehicle alt form on the battle mat. They are just about the right scale for 10-foot squares.

 

[DnDChick]

Also, does anyone have any good ideas for a Controller? One of the players is considering running one, but doesn't have any ideas. He doesn't want to do a CD player or otherwise copy Soundwave from the old TF cartoon.

The only idea I could come up with was, well, rather silly; a moving van alt form, with the companion alt forms being various pieces of furniture. ("Couch Potato! La-Z-Boy! Idiot Box! Attack!" )

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Also, does anyone have any good ideas for a Controller? One of the players is considering running one, but doesn't have any ideas. He doesn't want to do a CD player or otherwise copy Soundwave from the old TF cartoon.

The only idea I could come up with was, well, rather silly; a moving van alt form, with the companion alt forms being various pieces of furniture. ("Couch Potato! La-Z-Boy! Idiot Box! Attack!" )

How about a vending company van, with the companions being various coin-op machines.

 

[Shawn Carman]

Also, does anyone have any good ideas for a Controller? One of the players is considering running one, but doesn't have any ideas. He doesn't want to do a CD player or otherwise copy Soundwave from the old TF cartoon.

The only idea I could come up with was, well, rather silly; a moving van alt form, with the companion alt forms being various pieces of furniture. ("Couch Potato! La-Z-Boy! Idiot Box! Attack!" )

In the game I ran, our only Controller had an alt form of a laptop. So naturally he was a pretty small mechamorph to begin with. His companions were all peripherals, like a zip drive, and were even smaller. They were like a tiny black-ops infiltration squad, breaking into places and haxxoring their Internets to pieces. It was pretty cool.

 

[Impeesa]

Or if you want something big and burly, maybe a big semi with a car-transport trailer. The more companions he has, the more cars he's carrying.

 

[DnDChick]

I figured I needed to learn how to do Animechs, since one of the players wants one.

SPINN
“The best web is one of deceit.”

Spinn is an Arachnon, a tribe of mercenary Animechs with loyalty only to one another. Unlike most of his tribe, however, Spinn has actually chosen sides in the battle for Earth: he has cast his lot with the Exiles. Although not trusted at first thanks to the reputation of other Arachnons, Spinn has proven himself to be loyal to the Exile cause and an enemy of the Tyrants. Some of the more honorable and forthright Exiles often disagree with his methods.

Scout 1
Hit Points: 9 (29 using my bonus hp house rule)
Armor Class: 14 (-2 size, +4 class, +2 Dex), touch 10, flat-footed 12
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: +9
Attack: -1 melee (-2 size, +1 Str), +1 ranged (-1 size, +2 Dex)
Damage: 2d6+1 (unarmed), 2d6 (blaster rifle), or 3d6 (shell launcher) (4d6 and 5d6 respectively, using my weapon size house rule)
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +1
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 8
Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+6), Athletics 4 (+5), Build/Repair (Simple) 4 (+5), Computer Use 4 (+5), Disguise 4 (+3), Interaction 4 (+3), Pilot 4 (+5), Senses 4 (+5), Stealth 4 (-2)
Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative
Form Feats: Armor Boost, High Performance
Class Ability: Sneak Attack (+1d6)
Priorities: Abilities (2, 24 pts.), Alt Form (3, AH-64 Apache Helicopter*/Huge Spider), Form Feats (1, up to 2), Special Power (5, Multi-Form), Gear (4, 12pts, Infrared Sensors, Low-Light Sensors, Radar 2, Blaster Rifle [linked to primary and helicopter form], 2 Shell Launchers [linked to helicopter form only])

Spider Form
Hit Points: 10 (30 using my bonus hp house rule)
Armor Class: 15 (-2 size, +4 class, +3 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: +9
Attack: +2 melee (-2 size, +4 Str), +1 ranged (-2 size, +3 Dex)
Damage: 2d6+4 (bite), plus poison (DC 13 to resist, 1d8 Strength damage)
Saves: Fort +2, Ref +5, Will +1
Abilities: Str 19, Dex 17, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 8
Special Abilities: Darkvision 60 ft., poison, tremorsense 60 ft., web
Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+8), Athletics 4 (+11), Build/Repair (Simple) 4 (+5), Computer Use 4 (+5), Disguise 4 (+3), Interaction 4 (+3), Pilot 4 (+7), Senses 4 (+9), Stealth 4 (+3)
Feats: Dodge, Improved Initiative

Web: In spider form Spinn can throw a web eight times per day. This is similar to an attack with a net but has a maximum range of 50 feet, with a range increment of 10 feet, and is effective against targets up to one size category larger than Spinn. An entangled creature can escape with a successful DC 12 Escape Artist check or burst it with a DC 16 Strength check. Both are standard actions. The check DCs are Constitution-based, and the Strength check DC includes a +4 racial bonus.
Spinn often creates sheets of sticky webbing 30 feet square. He can position these sheets to snare flying creatures but can also try to trap prey on the ground. Approaching creatures must succeed on a DC 20 Spot check to notice a web; otherwise they stumble into it and become trapped as though by a successful web attack. Attempts to escape or burst the webbing gain a +5 bonus if the trapped creature has something to walk on or grab while pulling free. Each 5-foot section has 14 hit points, and sheet webs have damage reduction 5/—.
Spinn can move across his own web at his climb speed and can pinpoint the location of any creature touching its web.
Tremorsense: In spider form Spinn can detect and pinpoint any creature or object within 60 feet in contact with the ground, or within any range in contact with the his webs.
Skills: In spider form Spinn has a +4 racial bonus on Stealth and Senses checks and a +8 racial bonus on Athletics checks. He can always choose to take 10 on Climb checks, even if rushed or threatened.


Morph Sequence (Helicopter to Humanoid): Main rotors rotate to the back, head rises up tail splits to form legs as the tail rotor folds into the right leg, sides of helicopter cockpit extend sideways to form the arms and hands, radar dome at the nose of the helicopter splits to reveal the head.

Morph Sequence (Helicopter to Spider): Main rotors split in half and bend at concealed joints to form eight spider-like legs, helicopter flips upside down as the tail folds back on itself to form the spider head, tail rotor forms into fangs, radar dome becomes spinnerets.

*By length an Apache would be Gargantuan but by weight it’s only Huge. I went with Huge. Otherwise, I used the data from the Attack Chopper line.

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

How about a large screen television with the usual attachments - sound system, vcr / dvd player, at least 1 game system? Just to be unexpected, the actual controller is the remote.

A decked out minivan? The minions are the fancy stuff inside like a tv or um...

 

[DnDChick]

Hm. The way I'm reading the Gear Slot feat (I am assuming that's the one you're referring to), it doesn't grant you more priority points to spend. I think it just allows you to increase your limit for how much gear/weapons can be linked to your alt form

I do believe you are correct. My bad!

 

[DnDChick]

I did a little playtest combat with a friend on Saturday, and my changes seemed to work well. It was Punchbug vs. Rundown (Tyrant supercharged Dodge Viper police interceptor).

For some reason, the guy running Rundown never bothered to come out of vehicle form. During the fight Rundown tried the PIT maneuver (a Slam, using the vehicle combat rules) and managed to dent my fender and spin me out of control. I regained control as he sped by, so I turned and drove off in the opposite direction. Punchbug was too slow to even try to outrun Rundon, so I had her pop up into robot form, climb onto an Interstate overpass and open fire.

I missed a lot thanks to Rundown's high AC and the fact that he has the Combat Pilot feat (Rundown's AC was 18 and we forgot to add the AC bonus for speed-- otherwise I'd have never hit him).

I did mange to hit him twice, though. One of the houserules I came up with is that the firearms damage is sized for a Medium wielder and increases with the size of the 'bot, so Punchbug was doing 3d6 with her carbine. With the bonus HP houserule Rundown took the two hits fairly well. He was damaged, however, and sped away to find a good mechanic.

The houserules for damage and HP worked well, but we didn't get a chance to use the "Strength bonus for size" rule.

 

[DnDChick]

... and now that I've had a chance to do a thorough read-through of the rules, I realize that I have to rework all of the characters I've made. Tech gear is linked only to the alt form, which limits what one should put for the Gear priority since vehicle alt forms have built-in limitations on such things.

Edit: I've updated Punchbug, Roadtrip, Gravesite, and Spinn to correct their Tech Gear.

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

Played this briefly with a few buddies when it came out, but aside from the initial session never really did much with it.

Re-read it a short while ago after seeing the TF movie, and these days the book feels more like it was tossed together and pushed out the door just to get it out the door.

Personally I'd like to see something like this get a full-work up instead of the patch-job book that got published.

Like you've shown DnDChick, there's quite a bit of work to be done to really make this playable. I was toying with the idea of scrapping the D&D d20 rules and implementing SW Saga d20 rules, but sadly I lack the time for such an endeavor.

 

[DnDChick]

Well, as I mentioned earlier, it's just a matter of divorcing Strength from attack and damage rolls. Mutans and Masterminds does the same thing, although that game takes it a step further and does the same with Dexterity.

That was the biggest hole that needed plugging, IMO, to make it more compatible with the rest of d20, but technically it didn't need to be plugged at all. The game as written is scaled for giant robots, not humans, and says as much on the first page. The problem is that it didn't scale well, and didn't account for relative size differences between the giant robots. It also limited what else from d20 you could use with it.

 

[DnDChick]

Heehee... these character ideas come fast and easy once one gets inspired.

STREETWISE
“You can ‘morph, but you can’t hide.”

Streetwise is a sly investigator highly trained in tracking down rogue mechamorphs. She operates in the city, searching for concealed Tyrants among the crowded streets and back alleys using her advanced Nexus sensor suite. Soon after her arrival on Earth Streetwise saved the life of cab-driver Dana Rawlings who was intrigued by the alien robot rather than terrified of it. After hearing the strange tale of MechaTerra and war between the Exiles and the Tyrants, Dana agreed to help Streetwise track down her enemies on Earth. Streetwise took on the alt form of Dana’s taxi cab — perfect camouflage in the big city — and the two have since formed a close partnership.

Mechamorph Scout 1
Hit Points: 9 (19 using my bonus hp house rule)
Armor Class: 14 (-1 size, +3 class, +2 Dex), touch 11, flat-footed 12
Base Attack: +0
Grapple: +4
Attack: -1 melee (-1 size, +0 Str), +1 ranged (-1 size, +2 Dex)
Damage: 1d8 (unarmed), or 3d6 (blaster rifle) (4d6 using my weapon size house rule)
Saves: Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +3
Abilities: Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 12
Skills: Acrobatics 4 (+6), Athletics 4 (+4), Computer Use 4 (+6), Disguise 4 (+5), Interaction 4 (+5), Knowledge (Earth Culture, Earth Geography) 4 (+6), Pilot 4 (+6), Senses 4 (+7), Stealth 4 (+2)
Feats: Combat Pilot, Dodge
Form Feats: Gear Slots 4 (total of 5)
Class Ability: Sensors (double sensor range)
Priorities: Abilities (4, 32 pts), Alt Form (1, Four-Door, NYC Taxi Cab), Form Feats (2, up to 4), Special Power (5, Warp [as dimension door), Gear (3, 8 points, Nexus Sensors, Blaster Rifle)

Morph Sequence: Front fenders and wheels slide forwards and rotate down to form the arms and hands with the front wheels near the wrists, rear half of the cab unfolds so that the rear bumper is at the “knees” and the feet are formed by the angle of the rear window, body swivels at the waist to orient the feet in the right direction, head rises out of the front grille.

I might eventually make up Dana Rawlings as a d20 Modern character as well, if for no other reason than to see how such a character would stack up to a 1st level Mechamorph.