Battletech/Mechwarrior PbP: "Days of the Jackal" [closed]

[Urbanmech]

You are the golden boy.

Yea I guess that is how I have turned out. But my golden finish doesn't shine as bright as it used to. Sometimes even the Davions can drop the banner of democracy and freedom.

Douane- Do the bonuses from background stack with our initial advantages? Would having well-equipped twice give me it at a 2 rating? Also as far as my SI skills how does SI/Star League History 2 and SI/Mech Manufacturers 1 sound? Alex is quite bookish for a Mechwarrior.

Hey Shuri welcome to the game! Now we have a demicompany (6 mechs) if you take a mech. You are right we really could use some long range fire power. Even a Dervish or Griffon would do the job, but anything heavier would be great.

 

[Douane]

A mechanics question. I can put Hasic's Gunnery or Pilot up to 3/3+. How big an impact is that going to have on his survivability. I suspect that Pilot would be more significant, but am not sure. Could you let me know?

Oh, what the hell. He needs a little luck.
1d10 - 8, 1d10 - 10, Result - 18. Not going to use Edge. Not going to roll again.
1d10 - 7, 1d10 - 4, Result - 11. Reroll. 1d10 - 4, 1d10 - 7, Result - 11.

Doghead,

usually the Gunnery/Mech skill is considered to be more important in tabletop Battletech, but in your case, considering your Locust and its traditional recon role, the piloting skill might be a better choice (besides fitting the concept better in my opinion).
While it won't make you harder to hit in ordinary combat, it will be still very useful because I intend to make use of the full gamut of environment conditions BT and MW have to offer, ie. Zero-G, underwater, blizzards, arctic, urban, erupting vulcanoes, etc. Under many of these conditions the better piloting skill might make the difference between staying on your feet and going down (or worse). [Who really wants to fall into a patch of magma?]


Folkert

 

[doghead]

Some more thoughts.

OK. Piloting/mech 3/3+ it is.

Been doing a bit of quick reading of the House book. The warrior houses sound interesting. Hasic would have been keen to attend one. Some possiblities - his father said no. He went for a few years but it was during a homestay that "the crisis" happened (Hasic was about 14?). Hasics uncle always intended to get Hasic back to finish his training, but somehow events always conspired to push them in the other direction.

So Hasic v1 is the man Hasic always imagined himself to be - the acadamy trained Warrior. It really was a sweet skill set. Oh well Hasic's feeling about his history are a bit conflicted. He can't help but regret losing the opportunity to have become what he dreamed of being. But he also feels that in some ways, the adversities he has faced, and the life he has been forced to have lived (christ! he has almost started becoming good a scrounging!) cannot have but made him more capable in many ways. More prepared. But for what?

Regardless, I'll use bonus skill points on something like SI/Warrior Philosophy 2. If he did time with a Warrior House, it will be an extension of that, if not, what he has picked up over the years.

Career? Does he have one? SI/Cappelan Politics 1.

Hobby. Gotta have one. Hang gliding? Active but serene in a way. Not an option? Caligraphy? A bit of a cliche. Humm.

Douane. As Hasic develops, I am more inclined to feel that he would not fight against the forces of The Confederation. While an outsider, he is a believer. Not sure how this would affect the game.

If it came up, he would leave the unit rather than join battle against the forces of House Liao. At this end, I would have no problem pulling him out and generating a new character. I've always thought that the character should do what makes sense for the character. But I don't know how things stand at your end.

If fighting the forces of House Liao is likely, and you're not keen on the idea of changing characters, I'll draw up a new character. Again, at this end, its not a problem. It makes more sence than trying to a round character into a square hole.

the head of the dog.

 

[Festy_Dog]

Well seeing as others seem to be reaping the rewards of this random system, I thought I'd try my hand at it and go the 2d10 way:

Roll 1: 6, 10 = 16.
Roll 2: 10, 2 = 12.

Not too shabby if you ask me.

Also Douane, I have an idea I'm pretty happy about for Kevin's background, once I've got a clearer picture of it I'll run it by you and see what you think. Probably need 12-24 hours to think about it.

 

[Douane]

Doghead,

just sent you an email concerning Hasic.


Folkert

 

[Douane]

Festy_Dog,

sounds sood!


Let me know when you are comfortable with your background. Until then I won't assign your rolls so that they better fit your chosen background.


Folkert

 

[Douane]

Yea I guess that is how I have turned out. But my golden finish doesn't shine as bright as it used to. Sometimes even the Davions can drop the banner of democracy and freedom.

Ahem! The "Davion Citizens for Integrity" society protests against this statement!

Douane- Do the bonuses from background stack with our initial advantages? Would having well-equipped twice give me it at a 2 rating? Also as far as my SI skills how does SI/Star League History 2 and SI/Mech Manufacturers 1 sound? Alex is quite bookish for a Mechwarrior.

Yes, the advantages stack directly. Of course you can go back and "re-adjust" your chosen advantages to account for the bonuses gained from your background.


The skill selection sounds fine and there is really no better institution to acquire them than the NAIS.


Folkert

 

[shurai]

My Mechwarrior

Well I think I do want the mechwarrior track; probably Academy even (mmm, tasty point-buy abuse!).

Here's a rough sketch of what I had in mind:

Jacob Lowry
A drifting mercenary

Jake doesn't really come from anyplace in particular, and so it fits that he doesn't really know where he's going. His parents had some nondescript life in some nondescript part of the Sphere. He was recognized for his natural aptitude and eventually joined a mechwarrior academy, eventually graduating with decent marks. Always something of a wanderer, he didn't much care for the regimented military lifestyle, so he served his time and then left, taking a job as fire support in a mercenary unit. At the moment, he doesn't really have any strong aspirations in life; in some ways even though he's almost thirty he's still trying to figure out what he really wants. (Should I arrange his background so he's more free at the moment, like maybe his old merc group just broke up?)

I was having trouble cooking up the statistics for what I wanted for him, though. I wanted 27 Attribute points, but there's no way to have both that and a Heavy mech. What I'd really like is a slight modification to line B3: Attributes 27, Skills 16, a heavy mech (Warhammer), and 2 points of advantages. I figure 25 tons of mech has to be worth a point of advantage, right? : ]

-S

PS - I'll add some detail once I get a better handle on the various political things going on.

 

[Douane]

I was having trouble cooking up the statistics for what I wanted for him, though. I wanted 27 Attribute points, but there's no way to have both that and a Heavy mech. What I'd really like is a slight modification to line B3: Attributes 27, Skills 16, a heavy mech (Warhammer), and 2 points of advantages. I figure 25 tons of mech has to be worth a point of advantage, right? : ]

-S

PS - I'll add some detail once I get a better handle on the various political things going on.

Shurai,

I've no problems with your proposed alternate configuration.

Go ahead and design the unit's resident "heavy guy"!


Folkert

 

[shurai]

Jake's Statistics:

Physical Description:
About 5'10" and powerfully built, Jake usually wears a simple quasimilitary pilot suit (the kind with lots of zippered or velcroed pockets, and quite broken-in), boots, and a beat-up old yellow ballcap reading "VOX". His dark hair he keeps relatively short, but it tends to be somewhat messy. He's never sported a beard or mustache. His hazel eyes aren't very exciting, but he does seem to have a piercing gaze. His ordinary face usually doesn't give much of his feelings away, and some have called him quiet or thoughtful. Most people are surprised by his uncanny reflexes, though he rarely needs or uses them (outside his mech, that is).

Origins:
He's from the Free Worlds League, one of the smaller, less-inhabited worlds. His mother was a botanist, and his father worked as a manager in a smallish manufacturing facility.

Attributes: 27 points
BLD 4
REF 6
INT 5
LRN 4
CHA 3

Athletic 8+
Physical 7+
Mental 9+
Social 10+

Skills: 16 points (Academy Package + 1 point other + 4 points "basketweaving")
Gunnery/mech 3 (4+)
Piloting/mech 3 (4+)
Small Arms 2 (5+)
First Aid 2 (7+)
Unarmed Combat 1 (7+)
Survival 1 (8+)
Drive 1 (6+)
Harmonica 2 (7+)
Cooking 1 (8+)

Advantages:
Extra Edge
Extra Edge

I'd like to pilot a Warhammer, unless you all can suggest something more suitable for the long range/fire support role (remembering that versatility is relatively important for the unit the squad).

Edit: I felt he needed something to take him away from his all-business skills list, so I gave him a little musical skill. He'll own one that he always keeps with him, too. I think he picked it up from his uncle, who played in the family band (not a professional money-making kind, his is the kind of family that was sort of musical in general).

Edit again: Took the four free skill points; re-added Drive. Added detail regarding background.