Mothership: The Gardens at New Tharsis

I ran a game of Mothership over the New Year for my brother and sister and one of my sister's friends. It's likely to continue at a slow pace, since my sister is only in town every month or two.

The Setup

The Gardens at New Tharsis was once the residence of the Regiphontes, a House Minor oathsworn to the House of Antares (also known as the Aiacids and the House of the Griffon). Approximately 200 years ago, the Regiphontes attempted a hostile takeover on the board of Selexi Incorporated, which was controlled by the Aiacids. As a result, the Aiacids destroyed the Regiphontes and their residence, leaving servants to scrabble for subsistence in the ruins of the house.

Today, the Gardens are inhabited by about 300 descendants of the survivors. Colonization and mineral rights to the planet had been held by Selexi, but were recently purchased by SEBACO, who hired a platoon of Goliant mercenaries to take control of the settlement. In addition, the Halcyon Institute has been excavating the Antares landing site and the old battlefield, trying to recover and reverse-engineer the house's proprietary technologies.

Unbeknownst to all, an Aiacid armiger had been left in suspended animation when the dropship landing the shipping container with his cryopod and armaments was shot down. The Halcyon Institute's dig set off his container's proximity alert and awakened him, after which he killed several members of the dig team.

The crew was hired by the Halcyon Institute for general labor and cargo carrying, but aren't aware of the situation until arriving on the planet.

Players

- Greg (Scientist, Surgery)
- Rian (Marine)
- Jim (Teamster)
- Wesley Escobar (Marine, Tempest Company squad leader, promoted to PC after Jim's death, demoted from PC when I realized it was going to make A Pound of Flesh an absolute mess to run)

The crew landed uneventfully on New Tharsis, had a brief interaction with the spaceport admin, then went on to the dig site. They met Dr Theodore Lawrence, the leader of the dig, and Wesley Escobar, a Tempest Company squad leader running security for the dig. After being informed that the last group in the catacombs had gone missing, the crew went in to search with Escobar and two Tempest troopers.
In the Regiphontes family crypt, they found damage on one of the giant marble sarcophagi. After proceeding deeper into the catacombs, they found the body of one of the diggers, with a massive bullet wound in the chest. They brought the body back to the surface, then returned to the catacombs, where the found several more bodies. In another burial chamber, they found cracked marble flagstones leading to a corridor. They followed it and discovered a massive marble box that had apparently fallen through into the catacombs from above, with open doors at one end. The box contained an empty, open cryopod sized for an 8 foot tall humanoid, an assembly rig for power armor, and a weapons rack containing a six foot gilded broadsword. Greg tried to retrieve the broadsword, but an alarm activated when he entered the box. He quickly left, and closed the box's doors.

The crew then decided to return to the surface. On the way back, they were confronted by a giant man in gold power armor. Rian and Greg ducked back behind cover, while Jim remained in the open with his hands up. The giant asked Jim "To what house are you oathsworn", to which Jim replied that he was contracted to the Halcyon Institute. The giant started to raise his gun, at which point Rian started shooting. A short fight ensued, in which the giant shot one of Escobar's men, killing him instantly, and disemboweled Jim. Jim was able to damage the giant with his vibechete, and the survivors drove him off. Greg fled during the fight, but when he returned to check on the wounded, Jim was already dead. (At this point Jim's player took over Wesley Escobar). Greg was able to collect a sample of the giant's blood, which might be valuable because of his genemods.

Escobar and the surviving trooper returned to the surface, while Rian and Greg set up an ambush at the cryopod. When the giant returned, he quickly hurled both of them out of the box before slamming the doors shut, at which point Rian and Greg returned to the surface.
Escobar tried to make contact with the Goliant mercenary base on the other side of The Gardens, but wasn't able to convince Goliant to involve themselves.

We left off with the whole Halcyon dig team leaving aboard the players' dropship and returning to orbit. The players' plan (?) is to sell the blood sample on the black market - I suggested Prospero's Dream as a location where that might be doable.

HMS Tartarus: The First Three Sessions

I’m currently running a game of D&D 3.5 for some of my family during our beach vacation. We’re doing fairly short and frequent sessions because of the vacation - so far it’s been a two or three hour session every day, once character creation got wrapped up on Sunday.

Cast of Characters

• Sir Guy, Human Paladin 3
• Una, Half-orc Barbarian 3
• Mimsy Whirlwidget, Gnome Druid 3
  • Juno, wolf companion
• Tigvi, Dwarf Wizard 3
  • Rat familiar, name unknown

Session 1

After being hauled aboard the HMS Tartarus, our heroes were grouped into a scavenger crew and ordered to search the hull for things of value. After reading the Gatetown Notice Board, they decided to follow up on a request to retrieve the worldly goods of Jonathan Almsker, a steward presumed dead after being attacked by frogmen. They met Jeremy Swinn, the steward who had posted the notice, and got directions and a list of Almsker’s possessions.

Passing through the Pale Gates, they followed the Straight Road until finding the side passage to Hydroponics Bay 17. Mimsy bribed their way past a pair of feral goldendoodles in a side room. They turned down a side passage, and Sir Guy detected evil behind a door of scorched wood. They opened it to find a hellhound, which was swiftly dispatched, and recovered 600gp from the room. the next door down the hallway was stuck, and took some effort to open. They found a sea chest containing a ruby, a pair of unknown devices, and 10 lead bullets wrapped in wax paper along with a strange black powder.

The next door down the hallway, marked “Summoner’s Study”, led to a room with four frogmen, carrying shields but with their weapons lying on a table. After a brief attempt at negotiation, Tigvi cast sleep, knocking out two of the frogmen and leading to a quick fight in which the others were easily dispatched. After tying up the sleepers, Tigvi cast Charm Person on one of them, then woke him and attempted to sweet talk him. The frogman spat back, and realizing that the spell had failed, Sir Guy took over the interrogation. After intimidating the frogman, Sir Guy got him to reveal that the shaman Revit had taken Almsker’s personal effects, Revit’s location in Hydroponics Bay 17, and a back route into the bay. Opting to avoid the back route due to a vague warning of danger, the party proceeded through the hydroponics storeroom across the hall. Disappointed to find that it contained only rice, fishflakes, and root vegetables, they went on to the bay proper.

Session 2

In the hydroponics bay, a flooded rice paddy with a system of catwalks, they found several frogmen, including a shaman. The shaman demanded 2000gp for the steward’s possessions, which matched the reward offered for their safe return. Tigvi used his wand of Enlarge Person to double Sir Guy’s size, at which point he was able to intimidate the shaman into giving the items back rather than starting violence.

On the way out, the party encountered another group of frogmen. A fight quickly broke out, Mimsy summoned a wolf to aid them, and the frogmen were slaughtered, aside from one who escaped back to the Straight Road.

Upon their return to Gatetown, they returned to Swinn and delivered Almsker’s possessions. Sir Guy attempted to detect evil in the tavern, but found none.

Session 3

The party divvied up the treasure. Sir Guy took one of the “strange devices”, now identified as pistols, while Tigvi took the worm lantern. They also purchased a pack dog, bred over the centuries for enormous size and strength. Returning to the Summoner’s Study, they found the two feral doodles, now reacting with hostility. The party resorted to violence, quickly slaughtering the dogs. Tigvi searched the shelves for interesting books and collected about 20, including treatises on elemental summoning and a few books on the history of the ship.

Opening the next door, they found more frogmen and another shaman. Tigvi cast sleep, Una charged the shaman and slew him in a blow, and the remaining frogmen were slain to a man. At Sir Guy’s insistence, the sleepers were tied up and left behind a chair in the Summoner’s Study.

They next entered the antechamber of the Summoner’s Court and found a hellhound, which was quickly dispatched. Returning to the hallway, they entered the Wardroom, where Sir Guy had detected six evil presences. Thwy found gleaming white skeletons in tattered naval coats with gold braiding, which quickly attacked with cutlasses. The front line held the door and Tigvi cast Flaming Sphere, which destroyed one of the skeletons. They found a gleaming longsword hanging on the wall, which was packed away to be identified on their return to Sterntown.

Beyond the wardroom, Sir Guy detected another six evil presences. The party found an armory occupied by six zombies with greenish skin and metal prosthetics. The party used similar tactics as they had against the skeletons, with Sir Guy and Una holding the door. After destroying the zombies, they found two arquebuses with ammunition, a keg of gunpowder, and twelve salvageable cutlasses.

HMS Tartarus: Sterntown Equipment

Equipment primitive enough or common enough to be available for purchase among the general populace of Sterntown.

Melee Weapons

Boarding Axe. A tool of the ancients made of imperishable steel. Axe head with back spike, crowbar base. 40gp. 1d12, 20/x3. Two-handed, +2 bonus to break or unstick doors. 12 lb.

Fire Axe. A greataxe with a flat back on the head, usable as a sledge. 20 gp. 1d12, 20/x3. Two-handed, +2 bonus to break or force doors. 12 lb.

Ranged Weapons

Pistol, flintlock. 100 gp. A muzzle-loading pistol. 1d8, 20/x2. Range 30ft. Reload as full action. 4 lb. 

Carbine, flintlock. 150 gp. A short, smooth-bored, muzzle-loading firearm. 1d10, 20/x2. Range 40ft. Two handed. Reload as full action. 6 lb.

Musket. 200 gp. A long, smooth-bored, muzzle-loading firearm. 2d6, 20/x2. Range 60ft. Two handed. Reload as full action. 10 lb.

Rifle, flintlock. 500 gp. A long, rifled, muzzle-loading firearm. 2d6, 20/x2. Range 200 ft. Two handed. Five full actions to reload. 10 lb.

Ammunition

Flintlock cartridges, 10. 10 gp. 1lb.

Black powder. 10 gp. 1lb.

Bullets, silver. 10. 20gp. 1lb.

Grenade-like Weapons

Grenade, black powder. 30 gp. Your classic cartoon bomb. 2d6 in 10’ radius. Standard action to light, standard action to throw. Explodes at start of the user’s second turn after lighting. Dex check to pick up quickly. 3 lb.

Armor and shields

Powered

Boilermail. A steam-powered armored exoskeleton, too heavy to be effectively worn without assistance. 4000 gp. +10 AC, 45% ASF, +40lb carrying capacity. 50lb. Consumes 5lb coal per hour. When unpowered, 80% ASF and -8 dex.

Cargo Exoskeleton. A steam powered exoskeleton designed to maximize carrying capacity. 2000 gp. +4 AC, 35% ASF, +100lb carrying capacity. 20 lb. Consumes 5lb coal per hour. When unpowered, 70% ASF and -8 dex

Food and Drink

Ancient

Meal, Ready-to-Eat (1 day). 2 gp. The imperishable food of the ancients. 1lb, reduces fatigue.

Cola, Can. 1 gp. The effervescent drink of the ancients. 2/3 lb, reduces fatigue.

Mermaid’s Milk, Bottle. 10 gp. A brownish, milky liquid with a bittersweet taste. 2/3 lb, reduces fatigue.

Modern

Produce, Fresh. 1d10 gp/lb, rolled weekly (on a 10, reroll and multiply). A limited supply of fresh fruits and vegetables is available in Sterntown, either grown in recovered hydroponic racks or found at great risk in the hull and on deck.

Nori. 1cp. Dried seaweed. 1lb.

Fish Flakes. 1sp. 1lb.

 Fish, Fresh. 3sp. 1lb.

Mushrooms, Edible. 5cp, 1lb.

Rice. 2cp. 1lb.

Rice Wine, Cup. 2cp.

Adventuring Gear

Power, Light, and Heat

Battery, Disposable. 2 gp. 10 units of charge. 0.1 lb.

Coal. 5 cp. An efficient heat source for steam power. 1 lb. Chemlight. 2 sp. Disposable light source, powered by chemical reaction. Once snapped, provides light as lantern for 10 minutes, then light as torch for 50 minutes. Can be safely tossed or dropped without breaking.

Tools

Multitool. 20gp. A common tool of the ancients. 1d3, 20/x2. +2 bonus to basic repairs and dismantling. 1/2lb.

Engineer’s toolkit. 40 gp. Wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, screwdrivers, hammer, grease, oil. 10lb.

Roll of Duck Tape. 5 sp. The adhesive fabric that holds society together. 1/4 lb.

Halligan Bar. 40gp. A steel bar with a combination adze/spike head on one end and a forked prying head on the other. +5 to force doors and break locks, +10 if used in combination with a sledge or fire axe. When used as a weapon, 1d6 damage, piercing or bludgeoning. 12lb.

HMS Tartarus: Player Intro (cousin game)

 Some introductory material for a game I'm running for some of my family. It's possible I'll run another game in the same setting, either in person or online. The debt to Gus L.'s HMS Apollyon should be obvious to anyone familiar with the setting.

Introduction

As you come to, you’re hauled sputtering from cold, briny water onto a foam-slicked floor of dull bronze. “Welcome aboard the HMS Tartarus, flotsam! You’re lucky to be alive, if you can call this living.” The ruddy-faced man chuckles at his own joke, then carries on. “It’s a rough lot you’ve been cast, being pulled aboard a ghost ship. You get five days by the grace of the stewards, then you sign on to the crew.”

HMS Tartarus will be a gritty old-schoolish mini-campaign run using the Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook 3.5, with the Epic 6 houserule, experience for gold, and a nonstandard XP chart. Additional player-facing material may be made available over the course of the campaign, including a mixture of official, third-party, and homebrew sources.

Game details

• Gritty means you’re not the big damn heroes saving the world. The player characters will be thrust into an unfamiliar environment, the vast interplanar liner HMS Tartarus, lost on its maiden voyage to the City of Brass. Character death is on the table, but mechanisms will be in place to allow starting above first level and catch up. Expect a struggle to survive in the early sessions, followed by increasing power and agency as the game progresses.
• Old-school in this case means we’ll be including hirelings, retainers, experience-for-gold, and an acceptance that Dungeons and Dragons hasn’t been balanced at any pont in its history. Negotiation with, and retreat from, dungeon encounters is encouraged. Expect tracking of mundane equipment, encumbrance, ammunition, and money to matter more than in typical games.
• To start, we’ll be using whatever mix of 3.0 and 3.5 core books haven’t fallen apart on me yet. Pathfinder 1e derives most of its rules from D&D 3.5, so some familiarity there may help. Everything in the 3.5 PHB is on the table, DMG and MM content will appear but please don’t build your characters with it. I’m willing to consider additional player-facing material from all kinds of sources, but prestige classes don’t really mesh with the E6 level cap, so they’ll mostly need to be chopped up and made into feat chains (which E6 will let you take eventually). The limit on rules is mostly about keeping the focus on exploration and in-game problem solving rather than character optimization, and I’m willing to relax things as long as that stays the case.
• Epic 6 is a houserule for 3e D&D capping character levels at 6 and allowing progression beyond that via additional feat choices every 10000 XP gained. This is more about giving an upper bound on raw character power that keeps things dangerous even in the nearer sections of the hull while allowing some divergence in character levels.
• Experience for Gold means that an experience point will be awarded to the group playing in a given session for each gold piece worth of treasure brought back to civilization. Aboard HMS Tartarus, that means bringing things from the hull at large into Sterntown and having the Pale Gates shut safely behind you. The goal here is to encourage noncombat solutions to problems - killing the frogmen and taking their stuff is one option, but so is stealing from them, bargaining with them, allying with them, or avoiding them entirely.
• Given the above, you’ll get XP a lot faster than usual, and the level-up chart will be adjusted to compensate. I haven’t nailed it down but the general target is about the same as core 3e (so three or four sessions per level up).

Character Creation

For the beach game, we’ll be starting at level 3, with some level 1 and 2 PC-classed retainers available. Retainers are generally brought on for the long term, and paid either a substantial wage or a half share of the party’s profits. Level 1 NPC-classed hirelings may be available should the party return to Sterntown successfully, but generally will only join a larger expeditions. Starting gold is 3000gp - spend as on PHB and DMG items, no more than 1500 gp on any single item.

Overheard on the Tartarus

• There’s strangers in the hull, all pale skin and black iron. Seen ’em on the Straight Road but never got close enough to shout
• It’s not just plague dead in the hull. They say there’s a walking skeleton in marine armor, clean as the day it was made, who stands guard at the aft chapel.

The Gatetown Notice Board

Among the tattered papers at the Notice Board

• In a mess of typefaces: “Harold’s Scavenger Supplies: The Finest in Arms, Ammunition, and Curiosities. Buying and Selling.”
• A large, fresh poster boldly stating that “Trade with the Frogmen is Strictly Forbidden by the Passenger Class.” A long series of definitions, subparagraphs, and pictograms fills the rest of the poster.
• In neat writing on a small card: “Cyrus of Ephebus, Priest of Pelor. Half share an expedition. Retainer as healer 10gp a week. Find at the Shrine of Pelor”
• In sprawling, messy writing on handmade papyrus: “Scavenger-General (Acting) Ebeneezer Gerund offers a wide variety of MAPS and INFORMATION as to things of VALUE in the HULL. Act quickly! Our SHIP relies on it.”
• In simple block type: SEEKING HYDROPONIC RACKS. DELIVER TO STEWARD SECOND CLASS THEODORE SMITH. REWARD OFFERED. - A PASSENGER
• In neat writing on a small card: “Ulric Red-hand, Bersarkr for hire. Half share an expedition. Find him at the Shrine of the Kraken”
• A ragged poster: “KEEP THEM SCAVENGING”, a blacksmith hammering on glowing metal.
• A faded postcard of an elegant sunroom, scribbled with “Remember what They took from You”
• In simple block type, a price sheet listing dozens of common foodstuffs with prices in the tens and hundreds of gp. The date marked is 1524.05.01 LLS. A stack of slightly varied sheets is pinned beneath it.
• On a ragged scrap of paper: “Elsa and Vissen, scroungers for hire. 20gp each an expedition, or half share. Find us at the sign of the Red Lion”
• On creamy paper in a calligraphic hand: “Steward Third Class Jonathan Almsker was slain by frogmen who approached his expedition under a flag of truce. Jeremy Swinn, Steward Second Class, seeks brave members of the crew to recover his personal effects. 2000gp reward.”

Ventured Horizon - 13 item worldbuilding

In the spirit of Trilemma Adventures' 13 item worldbuilding challenge, example equipment lists for the three human factions on the Absalom Interstellar generation ship Ventured Horizon.

Gaian

• Wool toga
• Bronze knife
• Bronze spear
• Identity Badge, Provisional (Hydroponics Repairman)
• Holly crown
• Goat jerky
• Sandals
• Goat blood warpaint
• Repair Kit, Hydroponics
• Silver amulet
• Book, Children's, Greek Mythology
• Access Key, Genebank
• Vial, Sample (goat blood)

Spacer

• Vaccsuit, Custom Size
• Knife, Chef's, 10 inch
• Knife, Paring, Rebalanced (x5)
• Bandolier
• Long Johns, Thermal, Custom Size
• Identity Badge (Engineer's Mate)
• Songbook, Sacred Harp
• Dosimeter, Radiation
• Cable, EVA, 200 ft
• Carabiner, EVA (x10)
• Dosimeter, Acceleration
• Boots, Magnetic

Crewman

• Chainmail shirt
• Wool tabard
• Silver amulet
• Knife, Chef's, 10 inch
• Goat leather scabbard
• Identity Badge, Provisional (2nd Lieutenant)
• Boots, Steel-toed
• Helmet, Hockey Goalie's
• Canteen, Plastic
• Goat jerky
• Repair Kit, Hydroponics
• Bible, Gideons
• Bone flute

Mothership: the Ventured Horizon

Absalom Insterstellar's Ventured Horizon, part of the Ventured class of slow-boat generation ships, was launched on a 100 year voyage to the Epsilon Eridani system. The last message from the vessel was sent 5 ship years prior to its scheduled arrival, and reported no unusual circumstances. Now, 200 years later, the ship's hyperspace navigation beacon has activated, enabling Absalom to compute a Jump-1 route to the system.

The Ship

The Ventured Horizon, exterior view

As with all Ventured-class vessels, the Horizon is a 10 mile long cylinder 2.4 miles in diameter, hollow through the middle, with three additional modules along a center shaft. Each center module is connected to the outer shell by three spokes. The bridge is located in the forward center module, the Autarch (primary AI core) in the middle module, and the engines on the rear module. Several fabrication units are located in the center modules, including the dedicated fab for the ship's marine complement. The genebank and terraforming AI (GAIA) are located in the aft section of the outer shell.

The Mutiny

After 95 years of transit, the ship's third captain, decided to retain his power by refusing to land, and ordered the ship's AI to cut communications with Absalom Interstellar and the universe at large. This provoked a mutiny among the ship's engineering and terraforming staff, which ended with large sections of the shell depressurized, the engineer faction in control of the low-gravity center modules, the captain's loyalists in the front section of the shell, and a prematurely activated GAIA in control of the rear of the shell. Communication lines from the Autarch to the shell were cut during the mutiny, leaving the loyalists unable to formally authorize any succession following the death of the captain. Conversely, the engineers, while in contact with the AI core and able to authorize successions and promotions within their department, lacked the command authority to replace the captain directly, or to assign any privileged roles outside engineering.

The Spacers

In the two centuries since the mutiny, the descendants of the engineers, now calling themselves spacers, have lived in the low gravity of the center modules. Those born and raised in low-grav grew tall and slender, to a degree impossible under the conditions of gravity. In the poorly-shielded environment, mutations and cancers have run rife.

The chief example of this is the Oracle, born in the first year after the mutiny. With a novel form of gigantism and growing unchecked by gravity, he seemed strangely ageless. By his 70th year, he was a spiritual leader among the spacer population, but could no longer fit in airlocks to move between the modules. When his heart finally succumbed to the square-cube law, his head was removed and placed on life support so he could guide his people, but he still continued to grow. Now a grotesque ten feet of skull and brain, his influence has preserved the belief system of the original engineers, including the understanding of planets and interstellar travel.

The life of the spacers is based primarily around the limited low-grav hydroponics racks and the fabrication units they do possess. Their limited authority prevents them from producing proper military equipment, but they can still construct vaccsuits and EVA gear, permitting travel and trade between modules despite the loss of the Intraship Transit System.

The spacers rarely descend into the shell of the Horizon, and only at great risk. They remain at war with both the Crewmen and the Gaians, and are at a severe disadvantage in the unaccustomed gravity. The risk is worth it, however - the no-mans-land of the algae stacks is home to catfish and herons, the Crewmen only have loose control over their hydroponic gardens, and particularly brave and lucky war parties are occasionally able to poach a goat from Gaian territory.

The Crewmen

Meanwhile, the captain's loyalists ("Crewmen") have regressed into a semi-medieval culture based around the hereditary ranks of their ancestors. However, they are unable to formally authorize any transfer of command authority, leaving their ranks meaningless for interacting with the ship's systems. While their autofabs are therefore limited to producing civilian items, they have cobbled together a hand-crafted material culture that includes a variety of low-tech armor and weapons.

The Crew have lost any understanding of the ship and its journey as such. Their leaders preach that the journey is only a metaphor for the progress of man. They consider the Autarch a god, whose intervention can preserve them from the dangers of the muties.

For food, they rely primarily on their hydroponics banks, which lie immediately beyond their sealed section of the hull. They supplement their diet with fish and birds from the algae stack as well sa the odd goat stolen from GAIA.

GAIA

The prematurely activated terraforming AI, GAIA, has gone insane. Unable to process the fact that she was not on the destination planet, and exposed to a summary of Greek and Roman mythology, she has convinced herself she is in fact the goddess for whom she was named. The descendants of the original terraforming staff have bought in to the mythology as well and have formed a cult around her.

The rear section of the ship has been transformed into an approximation of the Greco-Roman world complete with monsters. Her people herd goats, produce bronze weapons and armor, and wear togas and laurel crowns. The Minotaur and satyrs were an easy job for a superintelligent master of genetic manipulation. While the Medusa never quite worked as planned, the final research subject escaped into the hull and is thought to be lurking in the algae stacks.

Where the Players Come In

The Autarch has recently managed to talk itself into the position that the Horizon's hyperspace beacon doesn't count as communication per se, and as such has followed its original programming and activated it. It hasn't mentioned this to the Spacers, since none of them are bridge officers. Absalom Interstellar has tracked the beacon, and since they retain formal rights to the colonization of Epsilon Eridani, have computed a new Jump-1 route to the system. The players are hired for a basic salvage job - recover as much viable material of lost species from the genebank as possible. No other mission parameters are specified, and the PCs will be the first ones arriving in system since the Horizon itself.

Mediography and Acknowledgements

An obvious debt to Arnold K's Axis Mundi.

Some aspects of the Muties and the overall situation are drawn from Robert Heinlein's Orphans of the Sky.

The Oracle is inspired by the music video for the Gorillaz' DARE

From Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun comes the word "Autarch" and some aspects of the Oracle.

Alternate Combat: One Foot Squares

I've been doing some thinking about how to square realism and playability without breaking the game too badly, partly inspired by Bret Devereaux's recent post on ancient and medieval heavy infantry spacing, partly by this gallery of HEMA fighters in 5-foot squares, and partly by some of my frustrations with both oldschool and 3.x positioning and their implications in different-size rooms. The post title gives away the short version of the answer - one foot squares, with man-size characters occupying a depth of two feet and a width of two or three feet (depending on armament). 

From there, weapon reach becomes important - the front lines are no longer necessarily immediately adjacent, since a spear is going to let a combatant reach 6 squares beyond the space they're occupying. On the other hand, it might not let them effectively attack someone immediately adjacent, making daggers advantageous in wrestling range. The issue then is that the spearman wants to keep the dagger wielder at bay, while the dagger wielder wants to close through the spearman's effective range. The obvious solution here is to borrow attacks of opportunity from 3.x - the spearman gets to make an attack as the dagger wielder tries to pass through their range, and on a successful attack, they not only do damage but also prevent the dagger wielder from closing. Adding the option for the swordsman to retreat would also make the system somewhat more realistic, while giving a major advantage to longer weapon. So far so good, at least if we're looking at a duel on a fencing strip.

PMIM Rules Version 3

Main Rules

Game Structure

Plastic Mechs and Iron Men is divided into three main phases of play: army selection, unit placement, and battle. First, in army selection, forces are selected according to the rules in the scenario, by both players simultaneously. Unit placement occurs second, with rules varying according to the scenario. Finally, in the battle phase, players alternate unit activations.

The Structure of the Battle Phase

In the battle phase, gameplay consists of rounds, in which players alternate activating their units until all units have been activated. If it is a player’s activation, but all their units have been activated, they do not make any actions that turn, and play proceeds to the next player with units available to activate. When all units have been activated, the round ends and unit activations are cleared.

Activations

A non-mech unit may move once and attack once during its activation, in either order. A Warmech may move once and attack up to twice during its activation, in any order. A Warmech may not attack with the same weapon more than once in an activation.

Movement

A unit may move a number of hexes up to its MOV. Some scenarios include impassable terrain, which may not be moved over.

Attacking

When a unit attacks, its player selects one of the attacking units weapons and an enemy unit no more hexes away than the RNG of the weapon the attacker is using. Then, the player makes a single attack roll of 2d6 + the weapon’s ACC, and if the roll is equal to or greater than the target’s DEF, deals damage equal to the weapon’s STR minus the defenders ARM, times the weapon’s REP. If the target is a non-mech unit, this damage is subtracted from the target’s current HP. If a unit’s current HP is ever reduced to 0, that unit is destroyed.

If attacking a Warmech, the damage is dealt to one of its hit locations. The location damaged by an attack is determined randomly, according to the type of the warmech. 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.

Unit Design

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

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

• HP is hit points, 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

Chassis

Chassis	HP	MOV	DEF	ARM	SPT	PTS
Infantry	4	1	8	0	5*	2
ODA	4	1	8	1	5*	3
Beetle	2	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

Warmechs

Warmech Statline: TONS, SPT, MOV, DEF, ARM, HP stats, 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
• HARM is arm HP, the amount of damage each of the Warmech’s arms can take
• HLEG is leg HP, the amount of damage each of the Warmech’s legs can take
• HTOR is side torso HP, the amount of damage each of the Warmech’s side torsos can take
• HCEN is center torso HP, the amount of damage the Warmech’s center torso can take.
• PTS is the points cost for the Warmech, including weapons

Warmechs may not have all four of HARM, HLEG, HTOR and HCEN. See the following sections for details about specific categories of Warmech

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	HARM	HLEG	HTOR	PTS
Heavy	100-120
Paladin	120	30	2	7	2	4	4	4	18
Mjolnir	110	35	2	7	2	3	3	4	18
Lancelot	100	30	2	7	2	3	3	4	15
Medium	55-95
Jaeger	95	30	2	7	2	2	3	4	14
Avenger	90	25	2	7	2	2	3	4	12
Timber Wolf	80	30	2	7	2	2	3	3	12
Leopard	70	20	3	7	2	2	2	2	12
Vinge	60	20	2	7	2	2	2	2	10
Light	35-50
Basset	50	15	3	8	1	3	3	3	8
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
Drake	60	20	2	7	2	2	2	4	10
Rattler	50	15	1	7	1	3	3	6	8
Corvus	40	10	3	8	1	2	3	6	7
Shrew	20	5	4	8	1	2	2	4	6

Avian Warmech Hit Location Chart

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

Saurian Warmechs

Saurian Warmechs have left and right arms, a center torso, and left and right legs. A Suarian Warmech is destroyed if its center torso is destroyed. As with Humanoid Warmechs, if both legs are destroyed, the warmech is immobilized.

The Saurian Warmechs detailed below must take three weapons with total tonnage equal to their SPT, mounting one in each arm and one in the center torso.

Warmech	TONS	SPT	MOV	DEF	ARM	HARM	HLEG	HCEN	PTS
Grumbler	120	40	2	6	2	3	3	8	18
Grenadier	85	30	2	7	2	2	3	6	12
Terrier	45	15	3	8	1	2	2	4	8

Saurian Warmech Hit Location Chart

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

Scenarios

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: A Visit to the Archive

The Archive, E. Eridani II, 26 May 2430

“Provost, I am grateful for the offer of a message of Lost Earth, but a man of the worlds such as I must take practical matters into account.”

“Of course, Margrave . We scholasts understand that not all can be as devoted to knowledge as ourselves. The message contains, as well as its historical content, a previously unknown tread design for the Hippo amphibious tractor.”

“Tractor?”

“A vehicle used for pulling farming machinery in the Seeding era.”

“The very idea! Using vehicles for something a donkey could do.”

“In the days of our forefathers, when Earth was not yet lost, they had the wealth for such marvels. In these times, the Hippo is most notable for having interchangeable parts with the Mammoth GST.”

“And so these treads will work on Mammoths?”

“Precisely, my lord.”

“And what benefits would they provide?”

“The message indicates superior performance in muddy ground, but, of course, we at the Archive have no Mammoths to test this with.”

“Very well. I have asked my seneschal to send a tithe of wheat from my estate on New New York. It will arrive within the week.”

“Many thanks, your lordship.”

Tech Havens

Some research stations and other minor colonies retained advanced technology despite the damage done by the Revanchment Wars. Generally, these are on inhospitable worlds, with limited manufacturing capabilities and small populations. In many cases, only sealed environments are habitable, and without external support, the population is severely limited. Some tech havens posess technologies that are not replicable elsewhere.

Notable Tech Havens

• The Archive at Eridani is located on the surface of Sirius II, a barren husk of a world blasted by its enormous sun. The inhabitants live in a library-city dug into the crust, which holds the last recordings sent from Earth. Many of the transmissions are encrypted, intended for the Earth-bound factions’ colony ships. The Archivists are willing to sell redacted copies of messages, some of which include details about technologies that are otherwise lost, but refuse to divulge any information about the intended recipients or the originating factions.
• New Sumer is a tidally locked world, one side in constant day and the other in eternal night. The majority of the population lives in the twilight zone, eking out a subsistence existence by growing a variety of grain crops. Two tech havens exist on New Sumer, one at each pole. The Day City performs a variety of high-energy manufacturing, including aluminum refinement. The Night City is officially a monastic retreat, but is noted as a source of military and political advisors for the nobles of the Fioran Confederacy, and as a convenient destination for their inconvenient relations. By decree of the Fioran Council, no residents of the polar cities are permitted to operate free-moving vehicles - all movement of heavy goods within the polar cities is done by train, while external transit must be done by non-residents.
• Hermes 7 is a space station near the Alpha Centauri warp point. The station maintains a small clean room and integrated circuit fabrication facility, and as a result has a disproportionate influence for its small size.. Weapons are forbidden in the main wheel of the station, and the exits from the docking wheel are heavily guarded by mercenary troops from Nieu Friesland.

Seven Swords for Seven Kings: The Green Knight

Seven Swords for Seven Kings is a dungeoncrawly Zelda-inspired campaign I'm beginning to build, using 3.x based mechanics with a custom set of classes. The first of these, the Green Knight, is presented below.

The Green Knight

HP: 1d10
BAB: Good
Saves: Fort Good, Ref Poor, Will Poor
Skill Points: 4+Int
Proficiencies: Simple and Martial Weapons, Light, Medium, and Heavy armor, and shields.
Class Skills: urgh

Level	Basic Stances Known	Intermediate Stances Known	Advanced Stances Known	Special
1	2			Stances, Speak with Animals
2	2			Fleet of Foot
3	3			Woodland Stride
4	3	2		Warrior’s Stance
5	3	2		Immovable Object
6	4	3		Reactive Stance
7	4	3	2	Master’s Stance
8	4	4	2	Mettle
9	4	4	3
10	4	4	3	Grandmaster’s Stance

Stances: As a swift action, the Green Knight may assume a stance he knows. At most one stance may be active at a time; when the Green Knight activates a new stance, the prior stance is deactivated. The Green Knight may leave their stance as a free action. The Green Knight begins play knowing two stances from the Basic Stances list, and gains additional stances according to the chart above. In addition, whenever the Green Knight levels up, they may replace one stance they know with another of the same category.

Speak with Animals: 3/day, as the spell

Fleet of Foot: At level 2, the Green Knight may take a five-foot step as a swift action, in addition to the usual five-foot step.

Immovable Object: Starting at level 5, if the Green Knight needs to make a Reflex or Will save and has not moved since the start of their most recent turn, they may instead make a Fortitude save.

Warrior’s Stance: A 4th level Green Knight may assume the Warrior’s Stance. When this stance becomes active, the Green Knight selects two Basic Stances they know. While Warrior’s Stance remains active, the Green Knight gains the benefits of both stances they selected.

Reactive Stance: The Green Knight may assume a stance he knows as an immediate action.

Master’s Stance: A 7th level Green Knight may assume the Master’s Stance. When this stance becomes active, the Green Knight selects one Basic Stance and one Intermediate Stance they know. While Master’s Stance remains active, the Green Knight gains the benefits of both stances they selected.

Grandmaster’s Stance: A 10th level Green Knight may assume the Grandmaster’s Stance. When the Grandmaster’s Stance becomes active, the Green Knight may select two stances they know, at most one of which may be Advanced. While the stance remains active, the Green Knight gains the benefits of both stances.

Basic Stances

• Adder’s Strike: While this stance is active, 5-foot steps provoke attacks of opportunity from the Green Knight.
• Leopard’s Quickness: While this stance is active, the Green Knight may make a number of attacks of opportunity per round equal to his level plus one.
• Shelter of the Oak: While this stance is active, any allies within 10 feet of the Green Knight gain a +4 bonus to AC.
• Eagle’s Eye: While this stance is active, the Green Knight makes ranged attacks as though the range increment of his weapon were doubled.
• Carpet of Vines: While this stance is active, enemies of the Green Knight move at half speed while within 15 feet of the Green Knight
• Bear Arms: While this stance is active, the Green Knight’s reach is increased by 5 feet.

Intermediate Stances

• Nature’s Guardian: While this stance is active, melee attacks against the Green Knight’s allies provoke attacks of opportunity from the Green Knight.
• Maze of Thorns: At the start of each round in which this stance is active, each enemy within 10’ of the Green Knight takes 1d6 piercing damage for every two levels the Green Knight has, rounded down. Reflex save DC 10 + Con + 1/2 level for half damage
• Bramble Ring: While this stance is active, enemies of the Green Knight within 15 feet of the Green Knight act as though they are on difficult terrain.
• Blessings of the Wild: While this stance is active, the Green Knight gains Fast Healing equal to their level.
• Avalanche Strike: While this stance is active, when the Green Knight makes a full attack, they may make an additional attack at their highest base attack bonus.
• Vortex Wall: While this stance is active, a vertical wall of wind is projected from the Green Knight, reaching 20 feet into the air and 45 feet in total length. Effects as wind wall, but the wall must be straight and centered on the Green Knight.

Advanced Stances

• Grasping Roots: While this stance is active, whenever an enemy of the Green Knight is within 20 feet of the Green Knight, they must make a Reflex save once per round or become entangled. Enemies that succeed move at half speed. While Grasping Roots remains active, entangled enemies cannot move. If they spend a standard action and succeed on a strength check (DC 15 + 1/2 the Green Knight’s level), they are disentangled and can move at half speed for the remainder of the round.
• Eye of the Storm: The Green Knight projects windstorm-force winds with a radius of 40 feet. They are not affected by any winds while Eye of the Storm is active.
• Air Walk: While this stance is active, the Green Knight may move through the air at his normal speed. As the Druid spell.
• Nature’s Wrath: Enemies with 30 feet of the Green Knight take 1d6 damage for every two levels the Green Knight has, rounded down. Reflex save 10 + Con + 1/2 level for half damage.

Masterpiece

Landedam, Dortheim, 15 May SY 2428

While a young apprentice worked the bellows, Albrecht’s tongs held the final tread segment in the furnace. Satisfied that the metal was hot enough, he withdrew it and lay it back on the great anvil of the workshop. A fellow journeyman took up a hammer and began striking while Albrecht used the tongs to reposition the work under the hammer. As the metal cooled, Albrecht took a ruler and magnifier and checked his work; for the tread to be accepted as a masterpiece by the Treadwright’s Guild, each piece needed to meet the millimeter tolerances of the original Galactic Standard Template, rather than merely fitting together as a whole. Finding the piece slightly out of tolerance, he plunged the work back into the furnace; another round of heating and hammering should finish the job.

Setting: The Mammoth and the Galactic Standard Template

A main battle tank originally of Seeding-era design, the Mammoth is meant to run on anything that burns and fire anything that explodes. Aboard the resource-rich mining cities of Jotunheim, Mammoths are powered by jet fuel and fire discarding-sabot tungsten projectiles using the latest explosives. When operated by the tanker-barons of the Spinward Reach, the Mammoth’s turbine generator is run on refined vegetable oils or even distilled alcohol, and black powder launches round lead shot from the same smooth bore cannon.

The engineers of the Seeding era designed a range of vehicles, appliances, and heavy equipment that could be produced, operated, and maintained with the contents of a 200-ton standard colony module. Further, a computerized Galactic Standard Template system could automatically modify the designs to account for local variance in available resources, handling alloy variations and even using different metals entirely. GST military vehicles are designed with interchangeable weapons, although in the Plasteel Age, manufacturing precision has fallen to the point where weapon replacements require months of work by expert mechanics and engineers. As such, tanks based on the Mammoth design can be found mounting every 10-ton weapon, from lasers to plasma cannons.

By 2430, no full GST systems are still in operation in the Core Kingdoms, as a result of sabotage and destruction in warfare. Some blueprints are common, however, and are frquently copied, traded and sold. Some Tech Havens are rumored to possess GST systems with fragmentary databases, and the enclaves of the Outer Black are often built around a partially operational GST, though they typically lack the resources and fabrication capacity to take full advantage of it. The discovery of a new GST design is a cause for celebration and conflict. More than one war has been launched by a power-hungry noble in possession of a newly recovered GST blueprint, trying to seize the advantage before the new design can be replicated.

PMIM Playtest matches 1 and 2

Had a friend (Richard, who did the monte carlo simulations previously) over to do a playtest of PMIM. We played two games, using the Take and Hold scenario presented earlier. I took a balanced force: a Timber Wolf and a Vinge, two Tyrants, two Mammoths, three GEVs, three units of infantry, two Beetles, and two units of ODA, with a mix of anti-tank, anti-light, and anti-infantry weapons.

The first game, he went with a heavy composition: a Timber Wolf, a Vinge, seven Tyrants, and two Mammoths, armed with a mix of heavy autocannons and particle beams. That heavy composition had a pretty clear edge over my balanced composition when it comes to combat, but I won by victory points - GEVs can jump from their starting position to the capture zone in the first round, and that, combined with more units to seize points in the midgame, gave me enough of an edge to hit 10VP before my forces were quite wiped out. One major factor in this game was the fact that not all of my units could actually damage any of his units; my infantry had lasers and the Beetles were armed with LAC, with STR 1 and 2 respectively.

The second game, he took a Mjolnir with a gauss and a heavy particle beam and a Paladin with a heavy particle beam and a heavy autocannon as his Warmechs, filling the rest of his ponts with infantry and ODA units, armed with a mix of light autocannons and light plasmas. His first shot on my Timber Wolf took its left arm with the Gauss Gun out, and it was all downhill from there - I didn’t have much in the way of long-range anti-tank that could push for his Warmechs, so he was able to pick most of my vehicles apart before I could get in to hit his mechs, and he outnumbered me with infantry by a fair bit. I’m not sure how the game would have gone otherwise, or if dual 15-ton guns on my Timber Wolf would have made it easier to cope with an early weapon loss.

Overall, balance seemed pretty good, although that was partly down to the scenario rules disadvantaging the low number of units in the tank-heavy composition.

Timber Wolves might be undercosted, but I’d need to look at some alternate 12-point mechs to really decide that (and mech costs don’t have much to do with the costs of other units - the Timber Wolf is probably stronger than a pair of Tyrants, especially since it can take the Gauss Gun).

Light Lasers seem a little weak, but it’s hard to see what to do to buff them without stepping on something else’s toes; 4REP would be an instagib on infantry, a range increase would be put them at a longer range than anything else, and a damage increase would make them stronger than the LAC.

The Mjolnir seemed to be more effective than the Paladin, though that might just be because the Paladin didn’t bring its HAC into play consistently. I’m inclined to think that the Mjolnir should be an 18-point unit, since the heavy particle and Gauss gun combination was extremely effective.

I’m considering adding a requirement to take some light units in certain scenarios. Take and Hold nerfs the all-Tyrants strategy by making unit count matter for victory points, but all-Mammoths would create the same issues for an army that takes some STR 1 or 2 weapons, while putting a few more tanks on the table. I’m not sure how that would have affected the game; Richard would have had to make some tradeoffs, but APDS might have worked as well as the HPB and HAC lineup did, once you account for the 50% more shots being fired.

We noticed that I hadn’t revised the Heavy Mech defense values in the last rules update. That was a mistake on my part, but I’m not sure I shouldn’t just leave them at 6 DEF to keep them killable.

Richard also convinced me to rename Particle Cannons to Particle Beams. That means there’s a unique acronym for every weapon without needing to get creative.

I should be posting a revised ruleset in the next couple days; I’m hoping to get some of the bullet points I had in the first rules post turned into prose.

Giver of Rings

Giver of Rings

Smoke from the great fire filled the plasteel rafters of the feast hall. As the skald finished the saga of Sven Bear-burner’s settlement of Delta Ursae Minoris II, Oli Redbeard stepped forth to lead the next part of the celebration.

“A toast! To our hero, the slayer of giants! To the master of this hall, the ring-giver! To Egil Svenson!”

Mead sloshed as the gathered warriors raised their glasses. “Egil!”

The honoree sat at the end of the hall, surrounded by the spoils of battle: gold and gems, of course, but far more precious to the Ursans was the aluminum and copper captured from an ore hauler as it returned to its base.

“Pietr, come forth.” called Egil.

A black-haired giant of a man, clad in furs, stood and walked toward the throne, limping slightly from an injured leg.

“For our rock, my berserker, twenty kilos of alum and the duke’s knife.”

Pietr knelt to receive the knife. “Many thanks, ring-giver.”

As he returned to his seat, Egil called for another warrior, giving him a kilo of copper and a gold ring. The celebration would go on far into the night, and in the morning, the men would take the spoils of battle to the settlement’s autofab, where the precious copper and aluminum could be worked into the marvels of their forefather’s time, the Second Age of Exploration.

Chronology

• The First Colonies: Mankind reaches the stars using slower-than-light travel and cryosleep.
• The Seeding: humanity invents the warp gate, and launches them to the stars in robotic ships
• The Lost Centuries: Earth is destroyed in nuclear war. Some escape by slow boat or warp gate, but no clear picture of the events ever emerges.
• The Joining: The colonies reconnect as warp gates arrive. A golden age of science, an age of mourning for the lost Earth.
• The Second Age of Exploration: The pre-Seeding colonies launch colonies of their own on freshly seeded worlds.
• The Stagnation: The limits of the Seeding’s original warp gate network are reached. Competition for the limited space of colony worlds leads to war. The Warmech is developed as a military variant of civilian loader frames.
• The Collapse: Wars result in the destruction of many of the warp gates. Trade and diplomacy collapse as a result. The interstellar empires of the first colonies collapse. The rump states become the Core Kingdoms. Many technologies are lost, as their manufacture requires resources that are no longer readily available through interstellar travel.
• The Reconnection: An FTL drive that can arrive at the wreckage of a gate is developed by the Fioran Confederation. Rebels sieze a jumpship, reverse engineer the drive, and broadcast the plans to every world they can reach.
• The Wars of Revanchment: The Core Kingdoms go to war to reclaim their former territories. Although some technologies are reinvented, many are permanently lost, and the destruction of most autofabs means computers are no longer easily replaceable. The end of the Silicon Age.
• The Plasteel Age: the present day, everything is barely maintained, factories exist in some places but the tools to build them no longer do. Remaining pieces of high technology are now the basis of government throughout the settled worlds.

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”