Mech Mechanics

Mechs will take on a special role in this game by adding a secondary combat aspect to some missions. Unlike the regular characters, there are far fewer limits on classes and subclasses for mechs. Spellcaster classes can be adapted over as well as melee classes that feature spells and spell-like abilities (as well as the standard melees as well if you so desire). To ensure all the parts are plugged in and connected, we the DMs will be working with you to take the ideas you have and put them to paper. We have designed this system with the Roll20 5e sheet in mind in effort to make things as intuitive as possible, but we unfortunately can’t edit the actual bones of the sheet, so there will be places where we will assign info that you will have to ignore the premade label. Bear in mind, mechs are the big experiment of this campaign, so this is where I would expect the most patches to be made as we go along and see what works and what does not. It's likely to be a process, but one we think will have some great rewards.

Mech Types
Similar to how normal player characters can have a race and subrace that change their abilities, all mechs will have a list of makes and models to choose from. Each manufacturer will have three choices of model, each with a built in pro and con which will change how your mech operates.


 * Stellaris- Known for the power they add to a mech’s weaponry, Stellaris is the go to source for pilots that value being able to hit much harder than they will be hit.  After all, a glass cannon is only bad if you get caught.
 * Rigel
 * Boosts INT score by 2, docks CON by 4
 * Draconis
 * Boosts WIS score by 2, docks CON by 4
 * Centauri
 * Boosts CHA score by 2, docks CON by 4


 * Prime Manufacturing (PM)- Known for pushing the limits of mech performance, PM units are all about putting it on the line to ensure your skills have the best vehicle they can have to show off.
 * Vortex
 * The heavy hitter.  STR, CON, and ACs all boosted by 2, but fuel cells are reduced by 100.
 * Chromia
 * Known for speed, not for efficiency.  +10 to speed, but an additional -5 to fuel on movement.
 * Optimus
 * Better handling, DEX is boosted by 2, but STR is decreased by 4.
 * Toyota- Considered the old reliable of manufacturers, Toyota mechs are not going to impress much, but will rarely leave you high and dry when the pressure is on.
 * Camry
 * The Four Door Sedan of Mechs.  Bare basics of everything, no real boosts, but not much weakness either.  Nice interiors for the price.  (Also has passenger seats?)
 * Himalia
 * The safest ride in the galaxy, added +3 AC and +50 HP to all systems, - 2 to all spell casting stats
 * Europa
 * The efficiency king.  Fuel cost is reduced by half (rounded down) but speed is reduced by 5 and AC by 2.

Stats
Regular ability scores will be used with a point buy system so you will have the opportunity to customize your build to your specifications. Things like skill checks will largely not be used, instead sticking with just the saving throws and occasional tool checks. (This includes grapple checks and physical ability checks, both of which are just straight saving throws.)  The biggest change is that mechs run not only on HP, but also on Power Cells. Each mech will have a reserve of charge used to power the unit as well as a smaller reserve for an emergency back up to help out in the clutch. Power will decrease by 10 at the start of each turn, and each action taken will bring it down 5 more. Additionally, half of all damage received by the mech will be docked from the Power Cells as well.

Ex- The Main Power Reserve is listed in place of the Current and Max HP, where 500 is listed. The Emergency Power is listed in place of Temp HP. Note also that the personality traits slot is being coopted here so the power rates can be listed easily.

Your base Power Cell pool at level 1 is determined by your mech class, as well as the make and model. d6 hit die classes receive 200 power at the start. d8 receive 300, d10 receive 400, and d12 receive 500. If your make/model may add or substract from this pool depending on what you chose. Your Emergency Power will always be 150, as is standardized across all mechs.

Every level up, you get to add more power to your Power Cells. This is determined by the max number of your hit die + your CON mod x 10. For instance, a Cleric-type mech has a d8 hit die. On a level up, the pilot would calculate (8 + their CON mod) x 10 and add that to their existing Power Cell pool.

Ability Scores
For ability scores, we will be using a point buy system. However, due to the unique nature of the mech sheets, things need to be set up a little before anything can be decided.

We will be using the point buy calculator to streamline this process. Once on the site, navigate over to the Custom Rules tab. Set Minimum Purchasable Attribute Before Bonuses to 10 and ''' Available Points to 39. ''' Your screen should look like this: Now, navigate back to the Calculator tab. Set all ability scores to 10. Your screen should look like this:

You are now ready to proceed as normal and assign your remaining points as you would like.

Armor Class
The next biggest change comes in the Armor Class as every mech will now have a General Armor Class that looks at the unit as a whole, and a Local Armor Class that is for each limb specifically. Along with this, each limb will have a dedicated HP count as well.

During combat, attackers will declare where on the target they are intending to hit, allowing them to choose to aim for center mass for an easier hit, or to be more strategic and try and take out a limb. Attacks will roll twice for each individual roll (using the advantage toggle on R20), once to hit General AC, and again to try and hit the Local AC. If an attack hits General AC, but not Local AC, the damage is dealt to an area at random. If the General AC roll to hit the target to begin with lands successfully, then rolling a critical hit on either AC roll will double the amount of damage dice rolled. If criticals are rolled on both of the dice, the amount of damage dice is tripled.)

Ex- Let’s say my target has a General AC of 21, but I would like to take out their sword arm which has an AC of 22. Leaving the advantage toggle of Roll20 on, the first number will be toward General AC, the second toward Local AC. In this case, both will hit, meaning this damage is dealt directly to that arm.

Along with this, each limb has it's own pool of HP. Base HP for each limb is standardized, with the head having 100, the chest having 200, and each limb having 150. Every level up, each of these receives an additional 50 HP.

Because each limb has its own HP, mechs can find themselves with disabled parts while in combat. This will decrease mech performance in varying ways depending on the limb or combination of limbs that is lost. For example, losing one leg can cut speed by 10-15. Losing both will reduce speed to 5. Losing your strong arm may cause you to make all melee attacks offhanded, but losing both arms will cause you to lose many of your attacks in general.

Equipment and Weaponry
Weapons in mech will be more laser and beam base, though there will certainly be room for flavor. Standard longsword is replaced by a beam sabre which will mean increased damage to match the scale for mech combat. Additionally, each mech comes with 5 equipment slots that can be filled with weapons or gadgets such as guns, grenades, extra tools, etc. Ammo for weapons is counted in the same equipment slot as the weapon itself and will be marked on the sheet in place of the money/coin counters.

Abilities, Features, and Feats
All mechs will come with some basic features as well as a set of standard features based on their specific class. All mechs regardless of class will have a basic repair ability that will allow either themselves or another unit they are repairing to roll hit die and recharge some fuel cells. All mechs are designed to be upgradable be it through an ASI, new feats, or just a round of enhancements (a “Level Up” if you will). All can be obtained and added or removed, but all upgrades will have to be procured by the pilot themselves. Upgrades can vary on cost depending on their quality, but frugal pilots can find ways to make the margins work more in their favor if they know where to look, such as scratch and dent sales and even by taking on sponsorship contracts.

At base, mechs come with 2 features that are preinstalled based on their class and then 5 feature slots that can be filled with abilities, class features, or feats. The contents of these slots can be swapped out from the pool of what you have obtained (that is, both unlocked and purchased) prior to mission starts.

Essential Abilities:


 * Barbarian- Rage, Reckless Attack
 * Bard- Spellcasting, Bardic Inspiration
 * Cleric- Spellcasting, Channel Divinity
 * Druid- Spellcasting, Wild Shape
 * Fighter- Fighting Style, Action Surge
 * Monk- Ki, Martial Arts
 * Paladin- Spellcasting, Divine Smite
 * Ranger- Spellcasting, Favored Enemy
 * Rogue- Sneak Attack, Cunning Action
 * Sorcerer- Spellcasting, Metamagic
 * Warlock- Spellcasting, Invocations
 * Wizard- Spellcasting, Spellbook

Level ups on mechs will unlock class features for purchase, but because the true limiting factor will be ability slots and the money you have to purchase upgrades, achieving a level will unlock the potential for not only abilities in your class, but some abilities in other classes as well known as Crossovers. This means that abilities that come from Sub-Classes, are not available, but abilities that are part of the core build of other classes could be. Abilities borrowed from other classes will come at a noticeably higher cost as converter kits will be required in order to bridge the gap in class, but with this, it will be theoretically possible to customize mechs to a greater degree.

Notable Caveats

 * Mech5.png’s must have ability scores good enough to meet the multiclassing requirements for each class.  If your mech does not meet the Dexterity requirement for Rogue, it can not get sneak attack; if it does not meet the Strength requirement for Barbarian, you can not equip Rage; and so on.
 * Mech Classes that are not initially caster classes can not equip full caster slots onto their build, they must use the partial caster block instead.
 * Any abilities that increase level to level are sold on a per level basis with a greater premium to the higher leveled versions.  Ex- A Wizard mech that has just reached Level 8 could potentially purchase the Sneak Attack ability from the Rogue class, but they would pay a much higher cost for the Level 8 version (4d6) than for the Level 4 version (2d6).  Doing this ensures there is a benefit to actually playing a class rather than using the Crossover later on as a mech paying for upgrades to their purpose built class abilities will have a much lower cost than one that is adding it on.
 * Mechs can not take extra abilities from other sub-classes within their class.  A Wild Magic sorcerer can not take Clockwork Sorcerer abilities, and a Moon Druid can not take abilities from Stars Druid.
 * Wild Shape is exclusive to Druid Class mechs due to the ability being a full mech transformation meaning the mech would have to be built from the frame up specifically to accommodate the changing.

Ex- My druid class mech has the essential features of Wild Shape and Spellcasting, marked with an (E) by the ability. In addition to this, I have five more ability slots that I can fill as shown here. In this case, it uses 2 abilities from the Moon Druid subclass as well as 1 feat, and two Crossover abilities from the Ranger and Rogue classes respectively, indicated by the (C) next to the ability.

Spellcasting
Spellcasting will be reflavored to take the magical effects and make them scientific. Spell attacks can be done via special weaponry or through parts of the mech itself, depending on how you would like your mech to operate. Perhaps one mech uses a beam rifle as their “spellcasting focus”, while another mech has the “focus” located in the arm of their unit. At this time, the only things we are taking off the table are any spells that teleport persons or objects (as teleportation tech is not currently available yet), and any spells that allow for physical objects/matter to be created from nothing. (If a workaround can be done for a spell, we can try it, but, as always, have back ups in mind.)

To account for the larger scale of numbers used in Mech combat, all spells will have their damage output increased by a number of dice in order to keep them roughly to scale. For spells that deal splash damage, such as Fireball, the damage dice will be divided up and dealt to sections in turn, similar to magic missile or scorching ray.

Ex- My fireball spell did 56 damage overall, but specifically 10d10, broken down as shown in the text below the roll. This means my target would take these numbers to each section of their mech, starting from the top and moving down the section list (Head, Chest, R. Arm, L. Arm, R Leg, L. Leg) and looping back again.