Discussion: Game Mechanics

On a related note, when selecting mission conditions, the following applies:

• Attacker - rolls for time of day/weather/wind (with x1 reroll available)
• Defender* - determines BV limits (attacker will match Defender's BV)

*only applies in PvP missions. PvE mission BV is determined by contract rating (ie. the GM). For PvE missions, taking above or below the determined BV limit will increase/decrease your reward by the same percentage.

 

First draft revision of Event Skills:

Leadership (removed Heavy Support BV buff to improve balance for PvP)

• (+5 or >) = Scouts 3, +5xp, +1 Initiative
• (+3 or 4) = Scouts 2, +5xp
• (+1 or 2) = Scouts 1
• (0) - nothing happens
• *(-1 or 2) = Enemy gains: Scouts 1
• *(-3 or 4) = Enemy gains: Scouts 2, +1 Initiative
• *(-5 or <) = Enemy gains: Scouts 3, +2 Initiative

*PvE only​

Awareness (Recon Report removed; can be bought/traded instead)

• (+5 or >) = Target of Opportunity 3, Ambush, Rare Item - Found
• (+3 or 4) = Target of Opportunity 2, Ambush
• (+1 or 2) = Target of Opportunity 1
• (0) - nothing happens
  
• *(-1 or 2) = Exposed 1
  
• *(-3 or 4) = Exposed 2, Enemy gains: Ambush
  
• *(-5 or <) = Exposed 3, Enemy gains: Ambush, Rare Item - Lost

*PvE only​

Administration (Efficient & Requisition were unnecessary and removed)

• (+5 or >) = Hot Drop 3, Extra Repairs, Salvager Savant
• (+3 or 4) = Hot Drop 2, Extra Repairs
• (+1 or 2) = Hot Drop 1
• (0) - nothing happens
  
• *(-1 or 2) = Breakdown 1
  
• *(-3 or 4) = Breakdown 2, Jammed
  
• *(-5 or <) = Breakdown 3, Jammed, armor repairs & ammo reloads ONLY

*PvE only​

Negotiation (Connected merged with "Fire Support")

• (+5 or >) = +1 to all new Negotiation rolls, Morale Booster, +50% Reputation**
• (+3 or 4) = +1 to all new Negotiation rolls, Morale Booster
• (+1 or 2) = +1 to all new Negotiation rolls
• (0) - nothing happens
• *(-1 or 2) = -1 to all new Negotiation rolls
  
• *(-3 or 4) = -1 to all new Negotiation rolls, Morale Trouble
  
• *(-5 or <) = -1 to all new Negotiation rolls, Morale Trouble, -50% Reputation**

*PvE only
**Increase/decrease reputation earned from your current contract
​

Any constructive feedback is encouraged and appreciated.

 

Anyone? Speak now or forever hold your peace (not really, but you get what I mean).

 

I see no issues. But we might not get any until trying it out.

 

Yeah, I kind of figured this too. I will just do my best to make it fair and hope for the best. We can re-evaluate it at the conclussion of this campaign.

 

PvP Revised Skill Event Rolls (for now):
http://goo.gl/forms/jWmT3wCwTK

​

Unchanged/Modified/New Bonuses Explainations:

• Scouts Lvl 1/2/3: +400/+800/+1600 BV; any unit =/< 25 tons except aerospace
• Target of Opportunity Lvl 1/2/3: +50k/+100k/+200k C-bills for meeting secondary objective
• Ambush: deploy anywhere outside 18 hexes from an enemy's starting position (or closer if out of LOS).
• Rare Item: gain/lose one rare item of player's choice
• Exposed: enemy gains reinforcements (+100% BV) after “x” number of turns during mission; Lvl 1 = 28, Lvl 2 = 20, Lvl 3 = 12
• Hot Drop Lvl 1/2/3: at the beginning of a mission you may hold in reserve 1/2/3 drone unit(s) to be deployed anywhere in LoS during any movement phase w/ a 1 turn delay
• Extra Repairs: each Tech gains one additional repair action
• Salvager Savant: double salvage limit & change ONE unit's status from “destroyed” to “disabled”; any unit salvaged this way cannot be repaired until next turn
• Breakdown: roll 2d6 using standard hit location rules; section receives internal damage = to 10% of unit's weight (up to 1 hp remaining).
• Breakdown Level = number of critical hits automatically applied to that location (see standard rules; Critical Hits for details).
• Breakdown exceptions: critical hits to cockpit/shoulder/hip are rerolled, sections are never blown off or destroyed.
• Jammed: ammo for each weapon is reduced by ½ (round down); if unit has no ammo, +1 engine hit instead; removed only end of Turn.
  
• Morale Booster: improves lowest event roll by one tier, this is applied to only one support skill.
• Morale Trouble: decreases highest event roll by one tier, this is applied to only one support skill.

UPDATE (Hot Drop changed to "Tactical Strike" and now has more options):

• Tactical Strike (Airstrike): Deploy one aerial unit =/<30% of player BV; unit must retreat off map after first attack.

• Tactical Strike (Artillery): At start of mission, deploy one veteran artillery infantry platoon.

• Tactical Strike (Hot Drop): At start of mission, skip unit's deployment; at beginning of any subsequent turn, deploy unit anywhere.

• Tactical Strike Level = number of Tactical Strikes (Airstrikes, Artillery, or Hot Drops) that may be performed in a mission.

• Tactical Strike exceptions: (Airstrike) cannot be DropShip; (Hot Drop) cannot be mission critical objective/unit.

 

Really looking forward to see what kind of surprises you guys throw at eachother with the Hot Drop ability.

 

NEXT TOPIC - RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

There is a lot going here that we are doing differently in the goal to speed up things behind the scenes and generally make things easier for myself as GM to do my job(or anyone working Admin).

Repairs will be greatly simplified using a "location-based" system:
This is extremely different from the "component-based" system we had before. In essence, rather than having to track damage and repairs of each individual component on a mech, tracked damage will now be limited to location destruction (destroyed limbs or torso). Basically, if at the end of a mission you have a damaged leg, but the leg has not been severed/destroyed, it will be considered fully repaired after your contract is over. The RP reasons for this is that even common mechs in the 34th century are highly advanced compared to what we have known until now. To some extent, all mechs will have basic "hardpoint" functionality that will make repairs vastly easier. Furthermore, nearly all LancerMechs can be expected to use highly advanced omni technology to suite their expansive set of skills on the battlefield.

HOWEVER, there will be an exception: some contracts will require a series of consecutive missions to be completed. In this specific case, all damage will carry over and you will have access to only limited repairs (such as replacing all armor). The idea is that if you are operating behind enemy lines, you will not have access to full repair facilities. more info on this can be found here: http://www.theskjaldborg.com/index....lancer-abilities-equipment.10480/#post-253562

==========

Cash rewards will be based on BV:
For now I have a very simple formula to determine mission payout:

The Reward Modifier works this way:

As you can see, you could very well take 2,000 BV to face off against a 1,000 BV enemy force, but expect to recieve only HALF the pay you would if your force matched that of the enemy. This is to discourage "overkill" (or to put in terms of RP; prevent wasting resources). The main goal here is to put the degree of risk directly in the hands of the player. As GM it can be very difficult to gauge what is the "proper" amount of difficulty for each individual. In other words, I would rather the degree of difficulty be determined entirely by the player. This makes complete sense to me for PvE, but expect to see some basic restrictions in regards to PvP. For PvP, there will be hard limits, but expect to see some "poker-like" ante system when it comes to selecting force size; something like the Clan's bidding system, but not exactly.

==========

Reputation rewards will also be based on BV:
Naturally, Reputation will use a similar formula as mentioned above:

The Reward Modifier is applied the same way as before.

The above will always apply in every case. The reasons are simple: taking on a larger force and winning will grant you more prestige. Taking on forces that are no match for you will not earn you as much. However, there are still other factors that could further modify rewards...

==========

Faction Influence will affect EVERYTHING:
Each corporate faction is covertly (some more covertly than others) trying to gain a monopoly of manufacturing on Antallos. Depending on who succeeds and who fails on missions, the tide of influence will fluctuate accordingly. As seen on roll/20, the planet surface is dotted with areas of importance. On rare occassions, if the tide of influence pushes hard in one direction, some of these areas might be captured by another faction. However, as is reflected in real life, there are many consequences to such an event and not all are necessarily beneficial to the individual.

The basic tug of war will continue to center on Cash vs. Reputation, but in the case of Faction Influence they are entirely inverse to eachother:

The opposite is also true:

In essence, the more powerful a faction becomes, the richer they become and the more they are willing to pay for your services, but they will also become equally less interested in sharing advanced technology with you (remember that obtaining new tech is tied to your Reputation with a faction). In theory, it is possible for a faction to become so powerful as to max out the Cash Reward bonus to +100% and reduce Reputation gain to 0%. The logic here is that once a faction hits critical mass, they could see Lancers no longer as allies, but rather obstacles to their own machinations. As a result, they would be more reserved in sharing access to their technology. On the other hand, weakened factions would be cash poor, but more grateful and generous in sharing their more exclusive technology (ie. giving higher Reputation bonuses).

This mechanic plays purposefully into the RP of what a Lancer represents (at least in theory): a force of balance. They do not enforce authority over citizens, but rather are intended to keep the rich and powerful in check and to limit the scope of warfare between rival factions.

 

test

https://calendar.google.com/calenda...roup.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York

 

NEXT TOPIC - REPAIR MECHANICS
Repairs have been greatly simplified.

1) PLAYER REPAIRS
+Repairs are always done prior to signing up for a mission.
+Units are always fully repaired and rearmed at the end of a Turn.
+Units are fully rearmed with ammo at the end of each Mission (this can be negated by Lance Event outcomes; see p.4)
+At the beginning of each Turn, players gain ONE Repair Token (RT) for each level of Administration they have; this does not stack with other characters.
+RT's may be used to complete multiple contracts in a single Turn.
+Spending a single Repair Token will do the following on a single unit:

• repair all armor damage
• repair two limbs
• repair one torso section
• change loadout (must be fully repaired first)

NOTE: All units that you own as well as NPCs you have hired will all occupy hangar slots in your dropship as well as require RTs to keep functional. You will have to be selective on how many allies you want to have and how many spare units you wish to keep at the ready for yourself.

2) REPAIR BONUSES
+Additional RT's may be gained by having a MRV or upgrading your Dropship (see Logistics; p.3)
+Locational Repair Bonuses:

• In The Field: Player does not have access to a Mobile Repair Vehicle or Dropship; no bonuses.
• Field Workshop: Player has access to a Mobile Repair Vehicle; +2 RT.
• Transport Bay: Player has access to Dropship hangar; free armor repairs.

 

reserved

 

NEXT TOPIC - CCG + ROLL20 INTEGRATION

Our previous game mechanics relied heavily on spreadsheets and roll tables to determine events, force strengths, and mission modifiers. It was fairly well developed, but made it difficult for semi-casual players to keep track of what was going on. This system also relied heavily on dice rolls... which are fine, but limit the capabilities for strategic gameplay since it was heavily reliant on chance.

In an effort to streamline this system, I am looking to incorporate CCG cards into our campaign mechanics. Using Roll 20's built-in card system, players will now easily be able to check at any time the status of their characters and know what strategic options are available to them. These will replace some (but not all) of our event and skillcheck rolls. The goal is to both simplify record keeping as well as increase the amount of strategy involved. Finally, please note that effects of many of the cards will be changed as needed to fit our demands.

Sample Event Cards (WIP):


Full list can be found in the Roll20 lobby.

 

Updated with better resolution templates:


I'm making new ones with multi-layered images as it is easier to make more of these than trying to edit existing ones.

I left empty space for fluff text... because half the fun of making these is adding the fluff text.

 

Updated template again with corrected card dimensions:


And fully finished:

 

I like where you are going with this, but I recommend coordinating with me before going too crazy with the fluff text. I actually had some of these already done when posted them.

 

CCG features may be developed more later, but I'm switching gears to focus on more immediate concerns.

 

NEXT TOPIC - QUICK PLAY MECHANICS

Setup is probably one of the most time consuming parts to playing campaigns. In an effort to speed things up, I'm creating these optional rules.

QUICK PLAY REPAIR RULES:

• Any time a player's units return to their dropship, they may be fully repaired.
• All units not destroyed may be fully repaired at the end of a single mission.
• Damage carries over between sequential mission contracts using normal in-the-field repair rules.

CALCULATING BASE REPAIR COSTS:

1. At the end of combat, a player divides their current owned BV from their total for the mission.
2. The sum is then subtracted from 1 (or 100%) to get BV percentage amount lost.
3. This percentage is then applied to the total current value of all deployed units owned by the player and then reduced by half.
4. Round to nearest 50,000.

Repair cost formula:

1. [Current BV] / [Total BV] = v
2. (1 - [v]) = p
3. [Total Current Value] x [p] x [1/2] = Total Base Repair Cost
4. Round to nearest 50,000.

Example:

Note that while this number certainly appears high, this *BASE* cost will then be increased/reduced further depending on the contract offered.

 

QUICK PLAY CONTRACT RULES:
Due to limiting schedules, I've greatly simplified the contract selection process.

1. At the begin of play, all players perform an Administration Skillcheck. Highest rolling player chooses first faction for contract.
2. [OPTIONAL] If contract is against another major faction, the second highest rolling player may choose any opposing non-pirate faction of the first (see faction chart for details).
3. If players do not wish to fight for any of the selected factions, they may opt to "Sub-contract" their work. When Sub-contracting, all rewards are the same except Reputation gained. For this, Reputation is reduced by half, but players may gain Reputation with any faction they choose.

Certain mission conditions will be decided by the players (some exception will apply). These currently include:

• Mission Type
• Mission Zone (must be specific to factions selected)
• Mission Rating (8/16/24/32/40/48/56/64/72/80/88/96/104/etc.)

All time of day and weather conditions are determined as per normal rules (dice table rolls).

Example Mission Generated: