While Hammers Fell, Lances and Points, Take and Hold

Fiction: While Hammers Fell

outside Landedam, Dortheim, 3 Aug SY 2428
Albrecht shifted in his seat, unused to the cockpit of the Beaver’s Promise, the Vinge medium Warmech that had been granted to him on reaching the rank of master in the Treadwright’s guild. He would almost have preferred his former seat as a commander of a Tyrant superheavy tank, the cornerstone of Dortheim’s industry and defense, but his new station demanded he take arms as a Mechholder of the Guild.

“Attention all units, drop pods hit in ten! Nine! Eight!..”

Albrecht looked up and saw the smoke trails descending towards the field in front of him.

“Seven! Six!”

Albrecht shifted again and set his hands back on the unfamiliar controls. Though he had piloted loader frames as an apprentice, they lacked the responsiveness and degrees of freedom of a proper Warmech.

“Five! Four!”

He flicked off the safety on his left arm plasma cannon, then the autocannon on his mech’s right arm.

“Three! Two!”

Albrecht tensed on the triggers, ready to answer whatever emerged.

“One! Impact!”.

A pod smashed into the ground a quarter klick ahead, out of effective range of the plasma cannon, but well within range for an autocannon. Albrecht sighted on it, started his mech lumbering forwards. “With me, men!”.

The pod opened, unleashing a Basset, ten tons lighter than his own Vinge. Behind it, man-sized pods released their cargo: a squad of mercenaries in power armor. Albrecht fired his autocannon at the Basset, ripping an arm off it. Behind him, his old Tyrant opened up with its heavy laser, burning a pair of mercenaries out of their armor. The answering fire was deadly; three of his apprentices, called up as infantrymen, were slain. He steadied his aim again, trying to close with the Basset before it could do more harm.

The invader would have none of it. He backed off and took cover behind his pod. “Jacob, I need a flanker.” His journeyman, acting as a GEV pilot, responded immediately, sending his Ascarid screaming forward to the left, taking the Basset from its flank. Albrecht broke right, followed by the Tyrant, though his apprentices lagged behind on foot.

As the Ascarid fired on the Basset, the enemy mech charged forward, trying to keep the pod between itself and Jacob’s plasma cannon. Albrecht smiled - the Basset had played right into his hands. As it closed to 100 meters, Albrecht fired with his own plasma cannon. He scored a hit on the left leg, smashing its workings open. The Basset stumbled, but responded with an answering burst of plasma fire, though its light plasma cannon couldn’t penetrate his heavier armor in one shot.

The Tyrant behind him fired again, this time focusing on the Basset. The beam raked across the Basset’s torso, baring its interior to Albrecht’s next burst. As the Basset stumbled forward, Albrecht took aim again. This time, his plasma cannon smashed through the right leg of the Basset, sending it careening to the ground. As his apprentices sawrmed it, Albrecht moved on; a downed Warmech was no threat, and was as likely to be spoils of war for the Treadwright’s Guild as it was to be salvaged by the invaders.

Rules: Lances, Points, and Unit Selection

The basic unit of organization for typical armies in Plastic Mechs and Iron Men is the Lance, composed of a Warmech and its supporting vehicles and infantry. In principle, each Lance is worth 36 points total, although scenarios will generally specify only a total points limit and a number of Warmechs to select, rather than requiring that forces be precisely divisible into Lances. For instance, the Take and Hold scenario has a limit of 72 points and two Warmechs, so a valid selection would be two Lancelots at 15 points each, 6 Mammoths at 4 points each, and 9 infantry squads at 2 points each, although this selection cannot be broken evenly into two lances with one Warmech each.

Scenario: Take and Hold

Sides: two, symmetric.
Points: 72 per side.
Warmechs: 2 per side.
Map: 20x14 hexes, short grain.
Deployment: Each player deploys along a long edge of the map. Infantry deploy within four hexes of the edge, vehicles and Warmechs within two hexes of the edge.
Objectives: Six objective hexes are located along the center line of the map, with a 1-hex radius capture zone around them. At the end of each round, if one players has more units adjacent to an objective, that player gains one Victory Point. The first player to end a turn with more than 10 Victory Points while having more Victory Points than their opponent wins.

PMIM Units and Weapons 2.0

After some discussions on IRC and seeing some Monte Carlo simulation data helpfully provided by a friend, I’ve updated unit and weapon stats from the previous rules post. ACC and DEF have been changed across the board - weapons now have 0 to 2 ACC and units and warmechs have 7 to 8 DEF. Ranges have been increased for most weapons. New Light and Heavy Plasma Cannon variants have been introduced. Infantry and Orbital Drop Armor units can now use 5-ton weapons with a -1 penalty to RNG, and the Beetle costs only 3 points. Finally, the Mastodon has been renamed the Tyrant to reduce confusion with the Mammoth.

Chassis

Chassis	WND	MOV	DEF	ARM	SPT	PTS
Infantry	4	1	8	0	5*	2
ODA	4	1	8	1	5*	3
Beetle	3	3	8	1	5	3
GEV	2	4	8	1	10	4
Mammoth	3	2	7	2	10	4
Tyrant	5	2	7	2	15	6
Nebula	3	4	7	2	10	6

* Infantry and Orbital Drop Armor units use 5-ton weapons with a -1 penalty to RNG..

Weapons

Weapon	RNG	ACC	RPT	DAM	TON
Sabot cannon	4	0	1	4	10
L. Plasma Cannon	2	0	1	3	5
M. Plasma Cannon	2	0	1	5	10
H. Plasma Cannon	2	0	1	6	15
Minigrenades	3	0	2	3	10
L. Autocannon	4	1	1	2	5
M. Autocannon	4	1	3	2	10
H. Autocannon	4	1	3	3	15
L. Laser	5	2	3	1	5
M. Laser	5	2	2	2	10
H. Laser	6	2	2	2	15
L. Particle Cannon	5	1	1	3	10
H. Particle Cannon	5	1	1	4	15
Gauss Gun	6	1	1	5	20

Humanoid Warmechs

Warmech	TONS	SPT	MOV	DEF	ARM	WARM	WLEG	WTOR	PTS
Heavy
Paladin	120	30	2	7	2	4	4	4	18
Mjolnir	110	35	2	7	2	3	3	4	16
Lancelot	100	30	2	7	2	3	3	4	15
Medium	60-90
Timber Wolf	80	30	2	7	2	2	3	3	12
Vinge	60	20	2	7	2	2	2	2	10
Light	35-50
Basset	50	15	3	8	1	3	3	3	9
Ultralight	20-30
Ripper	30	10	4	8	1	2	2	3	7

Avian Warmechs

Warmech	TONS	SPT	MOV	DEF	ARM	WTOR	WLEG	WCEN	PTS
Corvus	40	10	3	8	1	2	3	6	8
Shrew	20	5	4	8	1	2	2	4	6

Plastic Mechs and Iron Men: First Rules Draft

• hex grid (TODO: any interesting terrain rules)
• no stacking of units
• alternating unit activation, all units activate before any may reactivate (allows multiple moves in a row at the end of a round)

Basic units (non-mechs) are composed of two parts: a chassis, representing the movement and defenses of the vehicle or infantry, and a weapon, representing the primary weapon of the unit.

Chassis Statline: WND, MOV, DEF, ARM, SPT, PTS

• WND is wounds, the amount of damage a unit can take before being destroyed
• MOV is movement, the distance in hexes a unit can move in a turn
• DEF is defence, the difficulty of hititng the unit
• ARM is armor, protection against damage
• SPT is spare tonnage, used to mount weapons
• PTS is the points cost for the unit, including weapons.

Weapon Statline: RNG, ACC, RPT, STR, TON

• RNG is range, the maximum distance a weapon can hit at
• ACC is accuracy, a bonus to attack rolls
• RPT is repetitions, the number of shots per hit
• STR is strength, the amount of damage per shot
• TON is tonnage, the spare tonnage taken up by the weapon

Each standard unit moves and shoots, in either order, once per activation. The unit makes a single attack roll, and if successful, deals damage based on its weapon’s Strength and Repetitions and the target’s Armor. Warmechs may move once and shoot up to twice, in any order. A Warmech may not attack with the same weapon twice in an activation.

A standard unit reduced to zero WND is destroyed.

Warmechs have six hit locations. The location damaged by an attack is determined randomly. If a hit location is destroyed, the Warmech may not use any weapon mounted in that location. If an attack would hit a destroyed part of a Warmech, the hit location is rerolled. See the Warmech section below for further details about hit locations and their effects when destroyed.

Attack roll: 2d6 + ACC vs DEF
Damage: (STR - ARM) * RPT
Warmech Hit Locations: 6 locations (2 arms, 2 legs, 2 torso), d6 table, no facing

Basic units take one weapon of TON equal to their SPT.

Chassis

Chassis	WND	MOV	DEF	ARM	SPT	PTS
Infantry	4	1	8	0	*	2
ODA	4	1	8	1	*	3
Mammoth	3	2	6	2	10	4**
Mastodon	5	2	6	2	15	6
Nebula	3	4	6	2	10	6
GEV	2	4	9	1	10	4
Beetle	3	3	6	1	5	4

* Infantry and Orbital Drop Armor units use Small Arms, with no tonnage cost.
** A Mammoth tank armed with a Black Powder Cannon costs only 3 points

Weapons

Weapon	RNG	ACC	RPT	STR	TON
Small Arms	1	2	1	2	-
Sabot cannon	3	0	1	4	10
Black Powder cannon	2	0	1	3	10
Plasma Cannon	2	0	1	5	10
Minigrenades	2	0	2	3	10
L. Autocannon	3	2	1	2	5
M. Autocannon	3	2	2	2	10
H. Autocannon	3	2	2	3	15
L. Laser	4	4	3	1	5
M. Laser	4	4	2	2	10
H. Laser	5	4	2	2	15
L. Particle Cannon	4	2	1	3	10
H. Particle Cannon	4	2	1	4	15
Gauss Gun	5	2	1	5	20

Warmechs

Warmech Statline: TONS, SPT, MOV, DEF, ARM, WARM, WLEG, WTOR, PTS

• TONS is the total tonnage of the Warmech
• SPT is spare tonnage, used to mount weapons
• MOV is movement, the distance in hexes a unit can move in a turn
• DEF is defence, the difficulty of hititng the unit
• ARM is armor, protection against damage
• WARM is arm wounds, the amount of damage the Warmech’s arms can take
• WLEG is leg wounds, the amount of damage the Warmech’s legs can take
• WTOR is torso wounds, the amount of damage the Warmech’s torso can take
• PTS is the points cost for the Warmech, including weapons

Humanoid Warmechs

Humanoid warmechs have left and right arms, left and right legs, and left and right torso segments. If both torso segments are destroyed, the Warmech is destroyed. If both legs are destroyed, the Warmech is immobilized. Note that if both arms are destroyed, the Warmech is not destroyed, but is merely unable to attack.

The humanoid Warmechs detailed below must take two weapons with total tonnage equal to their SPT, mounting one on each arm.

Warmech	TONS	SPT	MOV	DEF	ARM	WARM	WLEG	WTOR	PTS
Heavy
Paladin	120	30	2	6	2	4	4	4	18
Mjolnir	110	35	2	6	2	3	3	4	16
Lancelot	100	30	2	6	2	3	3	4	15
Medium	60-90
Timber Wolf	80	30	2	7	2	2	3	3	12
Vinge	60	20	2	7	2	2	2	2	10
Light	35-50
Basset	50	15	3	8	1	3	3	3	9
Ultralight	20-30
Ripper	30	10	4	8	1	2	2	3	7

Humanoid Warmech Hit Location Chart

Roll	Location
1	Left Arm
2	Right Arm
3	Left Leg
4	Right Leg
5	Left Torso
6	Right Torso

Avian Warmechs

Avian Warmechs have left, right, and center torso segments and left and right legs. An avian Warmech is destroyed if its center torso is destroyed. As with Humanoid warmechs, if both legs are destroyed, the Warmech is immobilized.

The Avian warmechs detailed below must take one weapon with tonnage equal to their SPT, mounting it in their center torso.

Warmech	TONS	SPT	MOV	DEF	ARM	WTOR	WLEG	WCEN	PTS
Corvus	40	10	3	8	1	2	3	6	8
Shrew	20	5	4	9	1	2	2	4	6

Avian Warmech Hit Location Chart

Roll	Location
1	Left Arm
2	Right Arm
3	Left Torso
4	Right Torso
5	Center Torso
6	Center Torso

Titanomachy

Artois, Neo-Burgundy, Ile St Germaine, 17 June SY 2430

The vox crackled. “Hostile Warmech, two blocks north, one west, moving east. Mjolnir heavy”. Reginald, already moving north, pushed the throttle forward, bringing the Martel, his Paladin heavy Warmech, to a trot. As the heavy Warmech accelerated slowly into its new gait, he flicked off the safeties and charged the left arm’s plasma cannon. The Mjolnir rounded the corner and he fired into its right shoulder, turning two tons of plasteel armor into so much slag. As it twisted towards him, he slammed the throttle forward, pushing the Paladin into a run, and raked its right flank with a burst of autocannon fire from his mech’s right arm. The Mjolnir, caught off guard, ground to a halt and spun as it tried to keep him in its front arc.

Reginald ducked his mech into a side street as he brought it back down to a walk. “Well spotted. Any ID?”.

“Not positive, my lord. Blue and red livery, a wolf rampant.” replied the GEV pilot who had made the initial call.

“Ulrik Stormhand, Jarl of Vindsval. His Mjolnir’s modified, left arm is a Gauss gun” said a third voice.

“Thank you, heraldry”. Reginald turned his mech around, readying himself for another confrontation. The young knight took a moment to steady himself, fingers brushing the hammer and fluer-de-lis sigil carved into the Martel’s console.

“That Mjolnir’s headed your way, sir.”

“Roger. I’ll take him alone”. Reginald brought the mech back up to a trot, knowing he couldn’t afford to give Ulrik an easy shot with a Gauss gun. The Mjolnir came into view at about 30 meters, a short range for such a mech. Reginald pushed his mech into an angled charge, twisting his mech’s torso to keep the Mjolnir from drawing a bead on anything vital. As he closed to 20 meters, he activated the autocannon, pouring a full magazine of late-detonating shells into the Jotunheimer’s left torso. Ulrik fired in response. His Gauss gun’s kinetic projectile cracked like thunder into the Paladin’s right shoulder. Reginald swore as the damage indicators lit up, showing that his Warmech’s right arm was immobilized. He dumped another mag of autocannon into the Mjolnir, unable to miss at such short range. This time, the shells cracked the plasteel on the Warmech’s left torso, showing the capacitor banks beneath. As the Jotunheimer’s mech shook, the young knight brought his plasma cannon to bear on the Mjolnir’s damaged shoulder. A burst of laser fire from the Jarl cooked one of Reginald’s vision blocks, but it was too little, too late. Reginald fired, and a capacitor in the target’s shoulder burst into flame, causing a cascading failure. As the Mjolnir’s damage control sprang to life, Reginald lowered his mech’s shoulder and braced for impact.

“Quarter! Quarter!” came over a clear channel, the Jarl surrendering rather than see his Warmech and himself cut to pieces.

Reginald halted his mech, scanning for further enemies. “And your men?”
“All units, this is Jarl Ulrik Stormhand. Lay down your arms. We surrender.”

 The Warmech

The premier combat units of the Dark Age of Technology are the Warmechs, colossal humanoid robots powered by fusion generators and driven by polymer pseudo-muscles. Warmechs range from 20 tons for the lightest, such as the Shrew reconnaissance mech, to 120 tons for the heaviest, such as the Paladin close assault mech. With better all-terrain capabilities, and fields of fire than a traditional tank, Warmechs dominate the fields of battle of the 25th century. As a result, from the guildmasters of the Free Stars to the sworn brethren of the Order of the Void, those leaders with the resources to maintain them have taken over most of the settled worlds.

Arms and Armor

The Warmech is classically armored in plasteel, a composite material blending advanced plastics and steel alloys. Some Mechholders choose to mount carbon-fiber composite instead, which is harder to repair but lighter, allowing for greater speed or a heavier combat load. Others use more primitive materials, such as aluminum alloy.

Most Warmechs have two weapon mounts located on the arms. While this leaves them more exposed to enemy fire, it also allows for maximum aim flexibility. Typically, mechs are armed with one projectile weapon and one energy weapon, although exceptions exists, such as the Mjolnir, which has a standard armament of a light laser cluster in the right arm and a particle cannon in the left. In addition to the standard weapon mounts, some Warmechs have shoulder mounts, which most often carry limited-use missile pods.

Godkillers

East Hrungnirheim, Asgard, Jotunheim. 22 May SY 2430

The auxiliary fans howled as Darius cut the throttle and slammed the joystick to the left, putting the Sword of Saladin into an unstable slide. The left wall of the GEV’s plenum chamber scraped across the thin soil, bleeding velocity and tightening the turn. As he released the stick and brought the throttle forward, an arc of dirt flashed into steam and dust to his right. From the gunner’s perch on Darius’s right, Eskandar swung the light particle cannon around to aim another shot at the left leg of the Lancelot heavy Warmech that had just missed them with its arm-mounted laser. As he steadied the cannon and adjusted to the new velocity, the Lancelot swung its torso around to bring an autocannon to bear on the pair’s Arsacid light GEV.

Eskandar took his shot. The sickly green of the particle beam turned another chunk of the Warmech’s plasteel armor into so much dust. “Three, left leg” he called over the squadron channel, knowing the two GEVs following the Sword of Saladin’s lead were working the same target. The Evening Star, the middle GEV of the trio, opened up with a pulse laser. Steam explosions from the Warmech’s hydraulics tore into the freshly exposed mechanisms of its leg. The Lancelot stumbled, but its right leg found purchase and it stayed up long enough for secondary hydraulics to engage and keep it in action. It let off a rattling burst of autocannon fire, but the stumble had disrupted its aim. As shells burst behind them, Darius brought the Sword of Saladin into a loose turn to take another pass.

Meanwhile, Balthazar, the third GEV, dumped two volleys of rocket-propelled minigrenades into the Lancelot’s left side. The spread of the weapon meant only four shots hit on the leg; two hit the side torso and the remaining pair burned off into empty space. The Warmech’s return fire finally took effect, as an autocannon burst ripped into the Evening Star’s plenum chamber. The GEV scraped against the ground, unable to keep the air pressure needed to keep it aloft.

As the particle cannon’s reload finished, Eskandar held fire, waiting to get an angle on the damaged leg again. The Evening Star’s gunner let off a desperate burst as the pilot opened the canopy, cursing the luck that had taken out his lift fans. The remaining GEVs circled the Warmech, giving Eskandar his target once again. “Four, left leg”, as the Warmech stumbled again, its polymer muscle-analogues cut. The hydraulics engaged, locking the leg, but the Lancelot was effectively immobilized. “Next hit should finish” called Balthazar’s gunner, his minigrenades already in flight. As they struck home, cracking the Warmech’s knee and starting its slow collapse, Darius’s voice crackled over the vox. “Next up, Mammoth tank, 10 o’clock, hold fire til we have rear.” Eskandar swung the gun around, shifted the focus of his targeting computer, ready for the mercenary squadron’s next engagement.

The GEV

“GEV” refers in military parlance of the 31st century to what is properly termed a light hovercraft*. Held aloft by lift fans, and maneuvered by a separate jet or fan propulsion system, the GEV is able to achieve high velocities in reasonably flat terrain with little need for roads or similar infrastructure. GEVs are powered by compact fusion generators. As a result, they are typically armed with energy weapons that take advantage of their high power generation without requiring additional weight for ammunition. Generally, GEVs have either a two-man crew with a pilot and a gunner, or a three-man crew with a pilot, commander, and gunner.

GEVs are typically employed as either reconnaissance or fast-attack craft. In either role, their speed over moderately rough ground gives them an advantage over traditional wheeled or tracked vehicles. Their ability to travel over water is essential as reconnaissance craft, allowing them to outflank enemies on an operational scale. As fast-attack craft, they typically carry heavier armaments than wheeled alternatives, which are usually hydrocarbon-powered and therefore unable to mount effective energy weapons.

As expensive and finicky vehicles without the prestige of a warmech, GEVs are rarely seen as part of a standard Lance. Some members of the higher nobility will field a GEV squadron in addition to their usual complement of ground vehicles and infantry. More often, GEVs are found as part of a mercenary unit, which provides both crews and maintenance staff for their vehicles. Ishtar, a water world on which mercenary naval warfare predominates, has a reputation for providing the best mercenary GEV units.


* Technically speaking, a ground effect vehicle is a winged vehicle which requires aerodynamic interactions with the ground to generate sufficient lift to keep it airborne, while a hovercraft uses an air chamber under the vehicle kept at high pressure to provide lift.

Hrungnir

The bluntside shovel-left hangar bustled as the city groaned to a halt. As the prince-regent clambered into his ancestral Warmech, the Cold of Iron, a pair of archaic Mammoth heavy tanks were being drained of fuel, their usual bio-diesel not energy-dense enough for the extended maneuvers that might be needed today. Across the hangar, a trio of Hummingbird GEVs were undergoing plenum chamber pressure checks as their three-man crews rushed out of the ready room. On the shovel-right middle gangway, the chief armorer watched as pages bolted the finishing touches onto the Aesir-class power armor of a squad of heavy infantry.

The regent’s squire stepped up to the Warmech’s cockpit, checking that the buckles were secure and straps fastened. At his nod, the cockpit began to close, sealing the regent into the hull. As the squire read through the pre-activation checklist, the regent flipped switches and checked dials, slowly bringing the noble machine to readiness. Finally, he lifted the cover from the primary activation switch, flicked it into active mode, and felt the hum of the great fusion generator lighting up beneath him. Meanwhile the GEV crews buttoned up their hatches and spun up the main drive fans, the Mammoth’s turbine generators came to screaming life, and the heavy infantry clambered down into their Goliathground effect APC. At last the hangar door began to open, sunlight streaming through the narrow crack. The regent thumbed the vox switch, bringing speakers crackling to life throughout the hangar and the rest of the bluntside military complex.

“Hrungnir expects that every man shall do his duty”